Chapter 371
Once the class was done, the Professor called him to
come and sit at the front row of desks.
He was just sitting down when he heard her say, "Do
you need anything, Miss Granger, Miss Greengrass?"
"Errr... No," replied a now blushing Hermione. "We
were just waiting for Harry."
The Professor said, "The exam will take about an
hour. I suggest you wait for him back at your
apartment."
Both witches gave a nod of agreement in return and
quickly left.
When he turned back from seeing the girls out it was
to see the Professor drop the multi-paged exam on the
desk before him. As usual, it was face down.
"You'll need quills, ink and a couple of sheets of blank
parchment in case you need to work something out
and prefer to see it with your own eyes," she
explained. "Once you have those out you may not
retrieve anything else from your bag. It must remain
on the floor until you are done. Understood?"
"Yes, Professor," he replied, quickly pulling out the
necessary stationery.
_‗_
―==(oIo)==―
ˇ
Fifty five minutes later Harry sighed, laid his quill
down, looked to the professor and said, "Professor? I
believe I'm done."
She quickly checked the time, smiled back at him and
said, "Very well, Lord Potter. You may go. I believe
there are two ladies back in your apartment who are
most eager to learn from you how well you believe
you did."
Packing his stationery away, he stood, shouldered the
satchel and gave the professor a little bow. "Thank
you for you efforts in assisting me, Professor."
She smiled again and replied, "You're welcome, Lord
Potter. I should be giving you the results at or by
dinner, this evening."
He gave another nod, spun about and calmly walked
from the room. As he pulled the door shut behind him
and headed for the Lords' Quarters, he needed to
massage the quill cramp out of his writing hand. He'd
written quite a bit.
_‗_
―==(oIo)==―
ˇ
Checking the time, himself, he saw that lunch had just
started. He hadn't even heard the bell. So decided to
hurry a bit.
As he was climbing the stairs from the fourth to fifth
floors he met both girls coming back down.
Hermione almost brought both herself and him into
tumbling down the stairs when she gave a little girlish
'Squee' and dived at him for a Hermi-Hug. He'd
managed to catch them both.
"Easy, Hermione!" he exclaimed. "You nearly had us
both tumbling down the stairs."
But, it seemed she hadn't even realised what she'd
nearly done or what he said, as she'd already
launched into Hermione-babble of old. "How did you
do, Harry? Were there any questions you missed? If
so, was that because I didn't think to cover them? I'm
pretty sure I covered all of them, but I could have been
wrong. Did you provide enough information for all the
questions? Did you get the names of all the runes
right? Oh, I do so hope you did well. It'll be nice to
have you in the class with us."
Instead of trying to answer, he just held her in his arm
and let her wind herself out. Once she was done, he
pushed her away to arms length and looked her dead
in the eye.
"I believe I did very well," he calmly replied. "I do not
believe there is anything more we could have done
preparing me for the exam. I am confident I will be
approved for placement in the class. The Professor
will let me know before or at dinner. Worrying about it
now is pointless. Now, we just wait. It won't be long.
Alright?"
With her eyes cast down in embarrassment - she knew
she'd slipped back to her old ways - she more calmly
replied, "Yes, Harry. Sorry. You're right." Then looked
him back in the eye.
His smile back relieved her.
_‗_
―==(oIo)==―
ˇ
After lunch they were back in the DADA classroom
with a double. Again, they were revising and Harry
was having fun. He'd completely forgotten he was
waiting for the results of the exam.
And the class was over even faster than he
anticipated.
As they walked out, again with Neville accompanying
them, he looked to Hermione and said, "That was
fun!"
Neville chuckled and said, "Yeah, it was. Dad had me
revising a lot of my work as an attempt at helping me
get control of my magic before school restarted."
"Oh?" Harry smirked. "So, what happened in Charms,
then?"
The boy blushed and led them off to one side. He
quickly looked about to see if they'd be overheard and
leaned in. Quietly, he said, "Believe it or not, that was
deliberate." And grinned.
Hermione stared at him in shock as Harry let loose a
big belly laugh.
Once he'd managed to calm down again, he leaned in
himself and said, "You did that, to show everyone
you're not really a squib, after all. Didn't you?"
Neville grinned back and said, "Guilty."
That had Harry laughing again as Hermione laid 'girly'
punches on Neville's arm. "That wasn't nice!" she
said.
Again having to fend off getting hit, he explained, "It
wasn't my intention you'd get hit, Hermione. That part
was an accident."
She gave him a glared frown of, 'I'm still not happy
with you,' but dropped it.
Thinking for a bit, Harry asked, "Hey, Nev. Wanna grab
your two girls and meet Hermione and me in the
library for some research and assignments?"
Though Hermione was surprised, she didn't say
anything. However, Neville smiled and replied,
"Actually, that was already our plan. Coming out of
the apartment to join us lesser folk?"
Harry just blew him a raspberry in retaliation.
As they began to head to the library, Hermione asked,
"Where will they meet us?"
Neville replied, "In the library."
Hermione, a little worried, said, "I need to go up to the
apartment to collect my assignments."
"Is there some place you keep them?" asked Harry.
"Yes, on my tallboy," she replied.
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---------------
Chapter 372
"Duck into a vacant classroom or broom closet on the
way and call Betsy to get them for you," he said.
Hermione sighed. "I'm going to get lazy."
"No, you're really not," he disagreed. "It will give you
more time to start making an effort towards other
research and study. You also need to work more on
your Occlumency."
"I do that every night when I go to bed," she said.
He was surprised and said, "I didn't know that. But,
there's still what you need to learn of the nobility. The
wife of a Lord needs to know everyone of importance.
It's important for when the Lord and Lady of the
House are entertaining, plus much more."
Hermione nodded and said, "I did make a start on that.
But, other things keep cropping up."
He gave a nod and said, "That's going to happen."
_‗_
―==(oIo)==―
ˇ
Just before they reached the library, Hermione spotted
a broom closet, popped inside, called Betsy and had
her elf collect her assignments for her. The elf was
back with them in moments.
All up, she was only in there for less than twenty
seconds.
When they walked into the library it was to see the two
'Puffs already there and working on assignments.
As soon as they spotted the three, the two 'Puffs split
apart to give Neville room between them. And Harry
and Hermione sat opposite.
After quiet greetings, in case they earned the ire of the
'dragon of the library', Madam Pince, they were soon
hard at work on their assignments. They were even
quietly helping each other out with advice on what to
look for, or suggestions on where to go.
It was a couple hours later when Pince walked past
and suggested they hurry to the Great Hall. Dinner
had already just begun and she wanted to close the
library up while she ate, herself.
_‗_
―==(oIo)==―
ˇ
Once in the Great Hall and heading for their seats,
Babbling intercepted Harry as he was about to walk
around the head end of the Gryffindor table and
handed him a note with his results. She was smiling.
As he quickly unrolled the note, she quietly said,
"Very well done, Lord Potter."
Harry discovered he'd scored a low Outstanding. Still,
it was actually above what he expected - an Exceed
Expectations.
He smiled back and said, "Thank you, Professor."
She gave him a nod and went back to her seat two to
the left of Marchbanks and sat down, as Harry finally
rounded the table and sat next to Hermione.
She was bouncing so much in her seat in excitement
he had to offer the note to the girl before she slipped
and snatched it out of his hands. That would mean
he'd have to berate her again; and he really did not
want to do that.
After dinner they returned to the library and returned
to their assignments. And had to be, yet again,
'tossed' from the library when the time was quickly
approaching curfew.
_‗_
―==(oIo)==―
ˇ
Once back in their apartment, Harry was quick to pull
out the concubinage agreement Ted had sent him that
morning
He and Hermione read it through before he started to
list down a few of the changes he wanted to see
included in his and Daphne's; and clauses he wanted
removed.
He listed down on a spare sheet of parchment clauses
for both of them to easily void it if they'd not had sex.
Then clauses she - but not he - could void it if they did
have sex. Then clauses they could void it if they'd had
sex and she'd fallen pregnant from it. Each one more
restricting than the previous.
It took a while to write that as he was blushing
furiously the whole time. It was only employing his
iron will and determination to do what was right that
had him continue.
He then included the rest of the information he'd
already told Ted he wanted to see included.
Once he was done and Hermione had read what
changes he wanted included, she smiled at him and
said, "I cannot see any changes I'd like to see
included in what you've written. Send it."
With a huge sigh of relief, he had Dobby take it up to
the owlery and send it off using Hedwig. It was already
too late in the evening for him to have Dobby just
deliver it direct.
With that out of the way, they both headed for bed.
_‗_
―==(oIo)==―
ˇ
For the Fourth Year Gryff's, Friday's classes ended at
lunch unless you also attended Muggle Studies. The
entire afternoon was theirs to do with as they wished.
But, they still had a pretty full morning: A single of
History of Magic with the 'Puffs, a single of Charms
with the 'Claws, morning tea and wrapping up with a
double of Potions with the Snakes.
After getting an earlier night's sleep both teens were
up and ready in plenty of time for breakfast.
As they were ready and about to leave, Harry
suggested, "How about we have breakfast in the
apartment tomorrow?"
"That would be nice," said Hermione. "But, what about
mail?"
He thought about it for a moment and shrugged, "It'll
be there at lunch, as usual for those who don't show
up for brekky."
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Chapter 373
Closing the door behind them while Harry paused a
moment, she said, "It'll upset Hedwig."
"I'll figure something out," he said.
_‗_
―==(oIo)==―
ˇ
MacNair almost had to call in sick, that morning; but,
he couldn't. The Dark Lord had given him a new task
to do relating to work in the Ministry and he had to get
it done that day.
The previous evening, the Dark Lord had been very
generous with the Cruciatus upon him. He was not
happy to learn that MacNair had found where he
believed Potter to be staying, but did not think he had
sufficient evidence to take back to his master.
After much yelling and a few Cruciatus curses, the
Dark Lord then attacked his mind with brutal force
Legilimency. Again, the pain was almost excruciating,
but of a different form.
When the Dark Lord withdrew it was so sudden
MacNair collapsed to the ground, panting in agony.
"You've been obliviated, MacNair!" the Dark Lord
sneered. "Multiple times. And also had Compulsion
charms laid on you.
"Believe yourself lucky I discovered that or Nagini
would now be enjoying her dinner of you!"
"Y-y-yes, M-master!" gasped MacNair, wishing he
could just curl up and die.
"Since you were a failure at this simple task, I have
another for you," sneered Riddle. "Consider this one a
test. Fail at it and your life is forfeit."
"Y-yes, M-master!" he gasped.
"You are to go to the Ministry and discover just what
wards have been placed upon the residence you've
been monitoring for the past few weeks," explained
Riddle. "You are also to discover how many, and
which, aurors have been assigned to watch over the
property now that the Potter boy is back at Hogwarts.
"Once you have that, you are to ensure the
information reaches me with all due speed. I will be
unhappy if it is delayed even a single hour.
"Y-yes, Master."
"Succeed at that and I will have more work for you to
do. Now, begone!"
"Y-yes, Master!" he gasped yet again, as he tried to
stand. He couldn't properly and was forced to almost
crawl out of the room. He was thankful that, as soon
as he was out of the Dark Lord's sight, Pettigrew halfcarried him out.
He thought the man was showing a rare moment of
kindness, but he was not. Pettigrew just wanted him
gone, lest the Dark Lord's ire again rise and be
directed at him.
_‗_
―==(oIo)==―
ˇ
After breakfast for the students of the castle it was the
morning classes, then morning tea and then on to
Potions.
History of Magic was another new Professor for Harry
and Hermione. At breakfast Neville had told them the
new History of Magic Professor was also the new
Deputy Headmaster.
"We were a little wary of him, at first, but he's actually
alright," explained the boy. "He also makes the
subject interesting now. But, that might have more to
do with how he refused to focus on goblin wars.
"He said we've more than adequately studied those
and it was beyond time for us to spend time on other
historical events."
"What did he focus on last Monday?" asked
Hermione.
"The foundation of the Ministry of Magic and the
Wizengamot," replied Neville.
"Awww, damn," said Harry. "And I missed it?"
This time the professor focussed on the formation of
the ICW and which member nations were the charter
members of the then fledgling organisation.
Their new Deputy Headmaster and Professor of
History of Magic was both staid and excited about his
subject. It was like watching a rocket on the pad as
the jets fire up, but the rocket doesn't move. He spoke
clearly and concisely with almost a drawl, but at the
same time spoke with enthusiasm. He was a vocal
contradiction.
Harry loved it.
When they left to head for Charms, Hermione was
clearly just as excited about the class. "That was wunderful!" she exclaimed. "He clearly really knows what
he's talking about. I'll have to see Susan and Hannah
and see if I can get a copy of their notes for the first
class they had with him on Monday."
_‗_
―==(oIo)==―
ˇ
Dumbledore was entering his fourth day under the
dubious care of the medi-witches and Healers of the
DMLE secure ward at Saint Mungo's and had yet to
figure out how he was going to get out of having to
answer the Bones woman's questions under
Veritaserum, let alone get out of her clutches
completely. And he knew he was getting well enough
he'd soon be moved back into a holding cell in the
DMLE at the Ministry.
In his mind he'd already run through many ideas and
calculations. After all, what else could he do? He
wasn't even allowed a copy of the Daily Prophet to
read.
All he was allowed was a quill, ink and a few sheets of
parchment. And he knew those were only given to him
on the off chance he would write something that
would aid Bones in her interrogations.
Each time a medi-witch or -wizard came in, he'd ask
her or him questions to try to find out what was going
on out in the wider wizarding community. Each time,
they would respond with bland answers that provided
no information, at all.
The one time he flat-out asked if anyone had asked
about him, he was told simply, "No one, but Madam
Bones."
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Chapter 374
To him, that meant they were either lying to him, or no
one knew he was currently an unwilling resident of the
DMLE secure ward, or even in Saint Mungo's at all.
Each morning, the Bones woman would come in, find
out his progress in person and leave again. She was
due any moment.
Sure enough... the door opened and she walked in.
"Madam Bones," he quietly greeted her.
"Well," she exclaimed. "It seems you can teach an old
dog new tricks, after all."
When he scowled, she asked, "Does this new attitude
towards employing proper respect when speaking
with others also come with a change of attitude
towards answering my questions, Mister
Dumbledore?"
"As I have said before, Madam Bones, I will happily
answer what I can," he huffed. "I will not answer any
question related to the security of the realm."
"And since you will not answer any questions relating
to Lord Potter, means you consider the matters
surrounding Lord Potter to be a security of the realm
issue," she said. "Thank you, for that. It gives me an
angle through which I can research."
He gave another huff of annoyance and looked away.
'Damn it!' he thought.
Smirking at him, she said, "By the way, Albus; you
should be congratulating me."
"Why is that?" he snarked, which only made her grin
even more.
"I am in the final stages of seeing to my niece, Susan,
being bonded through a Concubine Bond Agreement
to young Neville Longbottom," she explained. "She is
very happy with that arrangement, as it's what she's
wanted since she was a little girl."
She did not know why, nor cared, that this news made
the old man angry. However, he never said anything.
She had no idea, yet, that Dumbledore considered
young Neville the 'alternate' to go after Tom if Harry
failed to properly sacrifice himself to the man. And
that such a Bonding would mean young Neville would
be even more unlikely to sacrifice himself for the
Greater Good than without one.
"See you tomorrow, Albus! We're getting closer and
closer to that custom version of Veritaserum for you!"
she over-cheerily said to him, before she walked to
the secure medi-witches' station and knocked on the
door. She was let in a moment later.
"Blast it!" he muttered.
_‗_
―==(oIo)==―
ˇ
In Charms, the professor only revised back to the
beginning of Third Year. That was done by about
halfway through the second half of the second class
of the double period. He then told them they'd be
focussing on the Banishing charm.
"Some see it as the opposite of the Summoning
charm, but it's really not," he explained. "The
Summoning charm will summon an object to you from
a specific spot, while the Banishing charm will just
send the object away from you. That may or may not
be in the direction you wanted it to go, or as far as you
want it to go. That sort of control takes finesse you're
not expected to achieve yet."
They then used the same cushions they used for the
Summoning charm to banish them towards the
blackboard. Harry was carefully watching Neville. The
boy gave a slight smirk, at one stage, then clearly
shook his head and applied normal power.
Harry thought, 'I think he might have been tempted to
put the cushion through the blackboard, for a moment
there.'
That's when Harry got the idea of banishing the
cushion towards the blackboard, then immediately
summoning it back, before again banishing it.
Flitwick watched him and then laughed, "Yes, Lord
Potter. Five points to Gryffindor for alternatively using
the banishing and summoning charms on your
cushion."
That had others then copying him. Another fun
exercise to end the class; and, for the Gryffindor
Fourth Years, the week.
_‗_
―==(oIo)==―
ˇ
Straight after class, Harry suggested to Hermione they
immediately head back to their apartment and change.
"Why?" she asked.
"You need to start being comfortable wearing
upmarket, but casual, wizardingwear, Love," he
explained. "I know you prefer jeans, jumper and
trainers for this time of year; however, for a little while,
you need to project an image. For at least the next few
weeks, I'd like it for you to be aware of your status as
Lady Presumptive in front of these kids and the staff."
"I have a class on this afternoon, Harry," she replied.
"Arithmancy."
"Oh!" he exclaimed. "Sorry. I completely forgot you
were also taking that class.
"Actually, that's not quite true," he corrected himself.
"I just didn't know when the class was on."
She smiled back and said, "I have a double
Arithmancy on Friday afternoons, and a single on
Mondays immediately before lunch."
"Thank you," he replied. "I'll note that down on my
schedule. And I apologise for not being a good
betrothed and asking you when those classes were
for you.
"I still want to get changed, though, if that's alright
with you."
"Of course it's alright," she smiled.
"However," he said, "After you finish Arithmancy, I still
want to see you change into wizardry casual, alright?"
"Alright, Harry. I'll do that."
_‗_
―==(oIo)==―
ˇ
Walking into the Great Hall they'd only entered when,
within fifteen seconds the noise of all the children and
staff dropped to about a quarter of what it was. Again,
they were being stared at.
They found Neville again already waiting for them. He
was still in Hogwarts robes.
Sitting down they both greeted him and began to build
a lunch each. However and unusually, even he was
looking at them in surprise.
"Errr... Harry?" he asked. "Why aren't you wearing
Hogwarts uniform?"
Harry calmly replied, "No classes this afternoon for us
Gryffindor Fourth Years, Neville; except those doing
Arithmancy such as Hermione, here and, probably,
those doing Muggle Studies. We're done for the
week."
With an expression that showed dawning
understanding, Neville was about to say something
when Professor Babbling came down and said, "Lord
Potter, why are you not wearing your Hogwarts
uniform?"
Harry looked to her and said, "I have no classes on
this afternoon, Professor. I'm done for the week."
She frowned and said, "It is a school rule that you
must wear Hogwarts robes, Lord Potter."
Harry looked confused for a moment before he stood
and said, "Professor, please step over here." And
gestured to a spot out of the way near the wall and
between the head table and the Gryffindor table.
Without even waiting for her to agree, Harry stepped
over the bench and walked over to where he said.
Then waited for her to join him. She was still frowning
with both confusion and determination.
Knowing they were being watched by both students
and staff alike, he flicked up a privacy bubble and
said, "Professor, why do you believe I have to be
wearing Hogwarts uniform?"
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Chapter 375
"It's in the school rules, Lord Potter," she replied.
Harry gave a small snort and calmly said, "Professor,
you seem to be operating under an error of fact. The
school rules state that all students must wear
Hogwarts uniform for, 'A', the school feasts - this not a
feast - and, 'B', for all classes, unless leave is
otherwise given by a member of staff with the
authority to grant such leave - and this is not a class.
"As such, as per the school rules, I am quite within
the rules of the school to be wearing civilian wear
right now. My school day is done. Actually, since this
is a Friday, my school week is done.
"Do you have any questions for me, Professor,
concerning the information I have just clarified for
you?"
As Harry spoke the Professor's face changed from
confusion to shock. He knew she wasn't being
malicious with her question to him about his lack of
uniform, so he'd chosen to remain polite and gently
lead her through to the truth.
"Errr... No, Lord Potter," she eventually replied.
"Thank you. I shall endeavour to update my
knowledge on the school rules with some measure of
haste."
He gave a small abbreviated bow and said, "That
sounds wise, Professor."
When he returned to the table, a worried Hermione
immediately asked, "Are you in trouble?"
"No," he replied. "The Professor was operating under
a misunderstanding of the rules of the school. I
clarified it for her."
Surprised, she asked, "She didn't know the rules?"
He smiled back and said, "Do you?"
Confused, she asked, "Sorry?"
He smirked and asked, "Tell me, Miss Granger, what is
the first rule of the school rules?"
As she tried to remember she suddenly realised she
had no idea, and looked back at him in shock. She
quietly replied, "I... don't know."
"The first rule of the school rules is that all students
and staff must read, understand and obey the school
rules," he replied. "Have you breached that rule, Miss
Granger?"
Shocked even more Harry saw her try to figure that
out before her expression suddenly closed and she
looked at him with suspicion. "You have a copy of
them, don't you?"
"Of course," he grinned. "And, before you ask, I'll give
it to you once we're back in the apartment."
She scowled back for a moment before she switched
to her own smirk.
She turned to the side and softly called, "Betsy."
When the elf quietly popped in she said, "Could you
locate for me a Potter copy of the Hogwarts school
rules and put it on the table, here?"
"Yes, Mistress," the elf curtseyed and popped away
again.
She spun back to Harry and smirked at him. Harry
quietly chuckled and gave her a little quiet clap.
About five seconds later the elf was back with a copy
of the book that contained the school rules, the
history of the changes to the rules and the charter of
the school.
She immediately flicked it open and began to read the
first few pages.
"Lunch, first, Hermione," he chided her. "The
information in the book is not going anywhere."
She gave a small blush and said, "Just the
introduction, Harry. I promise."
Knowing the introduction was only a couple of
paragraphs he nodded.
_‗_
―==(oIo)==―
ˇ
Meanwhile, up on the head table as Babbling returned
to her seat, Marchbanks asked, "What was that about,
my dear?" Though, she actually had a fair idea.
Babbling continued to sit and then leaned forward to
look around Sinistra to answer. "According to Lord
Potter, the rules state he does not need to wear his
Hogwarts uniform to meals other than the feasts."
Marchbanks frowned and said, "Of course not.
Whatever gave you the idea he did?"
Blushing in embarrassment, she replied, "I believed
they did because they always do."
Marchbanks made a little 'Tsk' sound of annoyance
and said, "Have you not read the Hogwarts rules for
yourself, dear?"
"I did not know they were written down anywhere,"
she replied.
That made Marchbanks frown even more. "Of course
they are. How can you expect the students, or even
yourself, to obey the rules if they and you do not know
what they are?"
"I... had not thought of that," she shamefully admitted.
"Well!" huffed Marchbanks. "It appears we need to
correct that knowledge with some level of alacrity!"
She then looked to Harry and watched as his young
lady summoned an elf behind her. A few moments
later, what she recognised as a copy of the rules even
from this distance, appeared on the table before her.
'Clever,' she thought.
_‗_
―==(oIo)==―
ˇ
As lunch broke up due to students needing to get to
afternoon classes, including Hermione, Harry asked
her to show him where the Arithmancy classroom
was.
"Frowning in confusion, she asked, "Why?"
"Because I'm just curious?" he asked right back.
"You've never... oh," she replied. "That was the old
Harry."
"Yup," he replied.
"Are you thinking of also adding Arithmancy to your
schedule?" she asked.
"No," replied. "I won't have the time. I've no doubt I'll
have enough work to do with the added load of being
the Lord of One of the Seven."
"Well, alright then," she replied.
He was glad she didn't push it, as the reason he
wanted to know where it was had to do with his
promise to Wendell and his personal desire to protect
her. He felt he'd have an easier time of it if he knew
her approximate location during classes throughout
the week.
Though Marchbanks had made it clear to all her views
and the new punishments for attacks within the
school, there would still be those who thought
themselves above that sort of thing; or thought they'd
get away with it, if they were caught. Harry had no
intention of Hermione being the one attacked by those
who thought they could.
_‗_
―==(oIo)==―
ˇ
After finding out the Arithmancy classroom was in the
same area of the school as the Ancient Runes
classroom, he saw her enter the room and walked off.
He hadn't even realised where he was headed until he
realised he was walking up the corridor towards the
Headmas- Headmistress's office gargoyle.
'Hunh!' he thought. 'Why not?'
Approaching the gargoyle he said to it, "Lord Potter to
see the Headmistress, if she's available."
The gargoyle didn't move for a few long seconds
before it suddenly, nimbly hopped aside, as the stairs
beyond began to rotate upwards.
Stepping through and onto the stairs, he patiently
rode them up to the top. Then knocked on the door.
"Enter," he heard from within.
Opening the door and walking in, he saw the woman
sitting behind her desk at the other end and calmly
walked forward. She appeared to be writing something
down.
As he did, she glanced up for a moment and conjured
a comfortable cushioned chair before her desk. "Good
afternoon, Lord Potter," she said. "Take a seat."
As Harry sat down, Marchbanks finished up what she
was looking through, set it aside and asked, "What
can I do for you?"
"Something I had meant to mention to you much
earlier that this, but had slipped my mind," he began,
"Are you aware Dumbledore removed from the
mandatory book lists for First Years the need for a
copy of the school rules?"
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
---------------
Chapter 376
"I am now," she replied. "After your short discussion
with Professor Babbling about the school rules, I
asked her why she did not already know that. She,
apparently, had no idea the rules were even written
down.
"That led me to coming up here and checking the
booklists. Though I guess I should not have been, I
was surprised to see the book was... as you just
pointed out... not included in them.
"It will be back on them for next year. Actually, I'll be
putting it on the booklists for every Year for next
year."
"Thank you," he said. "That saves me having to
convince you to do it. For your information, though,
my research a couple years ago identified
Dumbledore had removed it from the booklists about
two years after he first became Headmaster. That was
about 1957. That's why Professor Babbling, who didn't
attend her own first year until well after then, did not
know it was supposed to be there.
"I do recommend, though, you alert Obscurus Books,
the publisher of the text, you'll be putting it on the
booklist and that you'll be needing about four hundred
copies. As very few now even know about the text, I
don't think they've been publishing all that many over
the years."
"Well reasoned, Lord Potter," she replied. "I shall do
just that."
"My next point," he said. "I seem to have lost my auror
detail. Except for one, that is. Is there something I
need to know about that?"
She smirked back and replied, "You have and have
not. You still have aurors watching after you. However,
now it's the entire school."
Harry gave a snort and muttered, "Disillusioned."
"Possibly," she murmured. "I will neither confirm nor
deny that supposition."
Again he gave a snort. "Next, Alliance Secret time.
Two points."
"Go on," she said.
"First, Heir Longbottom has informed me about the
negotiations for the BA and CBA between his father,
Madam Bones and Mister Abbott. He expects that
negotiation will be completed by the end of the
weekend. Later, I advised him to request access to the
Lords' Quarters direct from you. He was hesitant, but I
told him that all you would tell him if he couldn't have
said access was 'No'; and it didn't hurt to ask. I think
I've convinced him enough."
"Well done," she said. "For your information, Lord
Longbottom has already been in contact with me to
inform me he, Madam Bones and Mister Abbott will be
visiting the school tomorrow afternoon. There's little
doubt as to why."
"No, I guess not," he replied.
"Next?" she asked.
"Ah! Secondly, I have already been approached by
Heiress Greengrass on behalf of her father to float the
idea of a CBA between her and I. From that, I have
contacted my Law-wizard of Record, Ted Tonks, to act
as my negotiator for this; and Lord Greengrass that I
was open to the suggestion and he should contact
Ted if Ted had not already contacted him.
"Yesterday, Law-wizard Tonks sent me a modified
standard Concubine Bond Agreement and asked me
to list down what other changes I wanted. I sent that
back to him last night."
"Good," she firmly stated. "The news of Heiress
Greengrass the elder entering concubinage will take a
lot of pressure off Samuel."
"That's why I'm willing to go through with this," he
agreed. "However, I've told Ted it's a deal breaker if
the Agreement does not include easy, no-penalty
escape clauses out the whazoo."
Leaning forward a little she stared directly at him and
asked, "And what if she falls pregnant? Will the
escape clauses still be in effect?"
"Hell no!" he blurted. Calming a little he added, "That
is, escape clauses may still be there, but different
ones that are a great deal harder to execute. The easy
ones included are there for if nothing... ummm...
physical happens between us. They're for if she's
uncomfortable with concubinage, after all."
She sat back and stared at him for a few moments as
her face relaxed to a smile.
Eventually, she said, "You're an amazing young man,
Lord Potter. I very much doubt there would be many
who would be so kind."
Harry blushed and had to look away. He shrugged and
said, "I can help. But that doesn't mean I can... will...
take advantage of the situation. It wouldn't be right."
Looking back, he said, "It doesn't even matter to me
that Greengrass is an allianced House; but, it certainly
helps."
"Indeed," she smiled.
"Oh," he said. "I think this is going to happen pretty
quickly. Do I have your advanced permission, with
Lord Greengrass's permission once this is done, to
ask Heiress Greengrass to move into that third
bedroom of my Lord's Quarters?"
"Of course," she replied. "That is, after all, why I
warned you of that third bedroom."
"Ummm... yeah," he softly said. He'd temporarily
forgotten that. His embarrassment made him forget.
_‗_
―==(oIo)==―
ˇ
After meeting up with Hermione as she came out of
the Arithmancy classroom, Harry asked her how it
went.
"Mar-vellous," she smiled. "Arithmancy is my
favourite subject."
"Good," he replied. "She wasn't too upset with you for
missing the first class on Monday?"
"No," she replied. "Monday was just an overview of
what was planned for the year. Daphne gave me a
copy of her notes. She's about on par with me when it
comes to taking notes in the class."
"Anything you need to do now before we return to the
Lords' Quarters?" he asked.
"Just assignments and I need to copy Daphne's notes
so I can give hers back to her," she replied. "But, we
can do that in the apartment."
"Then, let's return to the apartment and continue with
getting assignments out of the way," he suggested.
"Though 'fake' Harry didn't care, 'real' Harry really
doesn't like the idea of having assignments hanging
over his head over the weekend."
She smiled back and said, "I really like this part of the
'real' Harry.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
---------------
Chapter 377
With the next day a Saturday, their first back in the
castle, the two teens had breakfast in their apartment.
Hermione, as promised, was wearing wizardingwear
casual.
After breakfast they immediately set to work to get all
the rest of their assignments for the week out of the
way and had them done well before lunch.
Finally, they exited the rooms into the public part of
the castle, not that long before they needed to get to
the Great Hall if they wanted to have lunch there. They
did.
She asked, "Feels better not having assignments to
do when you're goofing off, doesn't it?"
"I know," he replied.
"What now?" she asked.
"How about, lunch; then, if it's what you want to do,
we visit the Gryffindor common room," he suggested.
"Why do you want to go to the Gryffindor common
room?" she asked.
"I don't, really," he replied. "I thought you might want
to."
She gave a little huff of amusement and replied, "I
don't."
"Fair enough," he said. "Then, I guess we'll figure out
something to do during lunch."
As they walked, it was about three minutes later when
Hermione asked, "Heard back from Ted, yet, about
the... CBA?"
"No," he replied. "It's only been half a day, Hermione.
Give the man some time."
"You still think this is going to happen pretty quickly,
though?"
He gave a firm nod and replied, "I do. Nothing has
changed my belief Samuel Greengrass wants this
done fast."
"Then how about, after lunch, we go back to the
apartment. Just the two of us," she suggested.
"There's something private I need to talk to you
about."
"We can do that," he agreed.
_‗_
―==(oIo)==―
ˇ
Lunch was normal for a Saturday. Due to no classes -
and, therefore, no class timetables - people came and
went as they felt like it. Their only limitation was lunch
did not start until 12noon and ended at 1.30pm. You
could stay longer or arrive earlier, but no food
appeared until noon and all food was removed at
1.30pm sharp.
Harry and Hermione walked in at 12.30pm. That meant
they arrived after the 'ravenous' ones ran in and who
also probably skipped breakfast, but still had plenty of
time before the stragglers realised they were going to
miss out if they didn't get a wriggle-on and tried to
bolt their food down.
Neville joined them about ten minutes later and, on
seeing them, broke into a wide grin and lead his two
girls over.
Hermione gestured for them all to sit.
When the two girls looked uncomfortable with that,
Harry said, "The only time you are restricted to your
House tables for meals is; the welcoming feast, the
breakfast where class schedules are distributed, any
special feast that arises and the leaving feast. That's
it. You are allowed and, according to the rules, even
encouraged to sit at other tables at all other times."
Both and Neville, looked back in shock.
"Really?" squeaked Susan.
"Really," he wryly returned.
Hermione reached for her satchel and realised it
wasn't there. Then sighed. Meanwhile, Neville and the
two girls sat opposite with Neville in the middle.
Harry noticed Hermione had reached for her satchel
and said, "Look it up when we get back to the
apartment, Love."
She nodded, "I will."
Neville, sensing the break in the conversation quietly
said, "I have news. Harry, can you put up that privacy
charm you do?"
Harry gave a nod, looked to see how far away the
nearest people to them were, gave a second nod and
cast the charm.
"There," he declared. "Only those who come right in
close will be able to hear anything other than an
annoying buzz."
"Thank you," said Neville. Grinning to the two girls,
who were almost bouncing on the bench either side of
him, he said, "Dad sent me an owl, this morning―"
Susan cut in, "And Auntie Ami and Mister Abbott sent
us owls, too!" Which had Hannah happily nodding as
well.
"Good news?" smirked Harry.
"The best!" grinned Neville, though he looked a little
nervous. "He, Madam Bones and Mister Abbott are
coming to the school tomorrow, after lunch. We're to
meet with them in the Headmistress's office at
1.30pm. They'll be signing the agreements there and
Lady Marchbanks will be witness."
"That is the best news!" laughed Harry. "Nev, that's
fantastic! I'm so happy for you; for all three of you,
actually."
"Me too!" squealed Hermione. Unable to contain
herself any more, she popped up, ran around the table
and, as the girls were rising, dragged them both into a
Hermi-Hug.
Once the two were clear of the bench, they all hugged
each other and jumped around in joy.
While the girls were otherwise occupied, Harry said to
Neville, "While you're there, mate; don't forget to ask
the Headmistress for permission to move into the
Lords' Quarters with the girls. Trust me."
Neville firmed up, gave a nod back and said, "I will."
_‗_
―==(oIo)==―
ˇ
After signalling to Daphne and Tracey, who were
sitting at the Slytherin table watching and clearly
understanding what was happening, the five went out
to the antechamber they'd used previously.
A couple of minutes later, both Slytherins came out of
the Great Hall and hurried over, slipping in through
the door.
Both Hannah and Susan turned to them, squealed in
happiness and launched themselves at both girls.
"Yes?" asked Tracey.
"Yes!" both girls replied, before Hannah added,
"Tomorrow!"
That had all four now happy.
Daphne managed to separate and walked over to
where Neville was standing a little apart with Harry
and Hermione.
Without a word, she laid a big hug on him; behaviour,
Harry never expected of her.
Once she'd hugged Neville, Harry asked her, "Mind
stepping over here for a moment?" And moved a little
further away.
She gave a nod and joined him apart from everyone
else.
"I have contacted my Law-wizard of Record, Ted
Tonks of the House of Black, to inform him of my
decision to approach your father seeking a Concubine
Bond Agreement between you and me," he told her. "I
also sent an urgent message to your father, at the
same time, letting him know we had an agreement-inprinciple and that Ted would be in contact with him.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
---------------
Chapter 378
"Ted sent me a modified standard agreement
yesterday and I sent back the changes I wanted to see
included.
"Just so you know what the gist of them are, they are:
One; so long as nothing... physical... happens
between us, both of us will have easy escape clauses
we can activate at any time. Two; if something
physical happens, you will still have the easy escape
clauses, but I will not; mine will have significant
financial penalties involved. Three; if we... if you... ffall pregnant from s- physical activity between us,
then escape clauses will still exist; but, such escape
clauses will have serious financial penalties for the
one who then breaks the agreement, especially me."
As he was talking he worked hard to keep from
blushing, but wasn't completely successful. It was
hard enough to get through saying it.
"There will not be a clause that requires you to... you
won't be required to do anything you don't want to;
understand?"
As she looked at him with wide eyes she couldn't
speak. She just nodded back while staring fixedly at
him.
"This is to keep you safe from those who would mean
you and or your House harm―"
That was as far as he got before she mimicked a
Hermi-Hug and jumped at him, throwing her arms
around him in a tight hug.
"Thank you, Harry," she sniffled.
"You're welcome," he replied, finally bringing his own
arms up to caress her back.
After a few moments he gently pushed her away to
again look into her now watery eyes. "Now it just
depends on your father. If he tries to use this situation
to demand fiscal benefits... then, I'm sorry, I've
instructed Ted not to proceed."
"He won't," she earnestly promised. "Father's not an
idiot. He'll very quickly work out what you're doing
and will approve."
"Good," he said, relieved. "I also want you to know
that, if you want out because you've met someone and
would prefer to be with them, I'm open to discussing
that; alright?"
"Thank you, Harry," she replied.
"I don't ever want you to think that you'll be with me,
or are with me, because you have to be with me. You
get to choose."
She nodded and smiled, her eyes sparkling with
brimming moisture.
When they pulled apart to turned back to the others, it
was to see them watching back. Harry checked
Hermione and saw not a hint of jealousy. If anything,
she clearly approved.
_‗_
―==(oIo)==―
ˇ
After they'd left the antechamber and he was walking
alone with Hermione returning to their apartment,
Hermione looked to Harry and said, "You did good, in
there."
"I don't think I could do anything else," he simply
returned.
"No, I don't think so, either," she agreed.
As they approached the door to the Lords' Quarters, it
was to see Malfoy and his pet bookends step out of an
alcove with a smirk on his face. All three had their
wands drawn. It was clear Malfoy wanted to 'start'
something.
Harry sighed. He knew this was going to happen,
sooner or later. Malfoy just couldn't help himself.
As a mutter loud enough for only Hermione to hear, he
said, "Whatever you do, do not retaliate. Let the new
wards do their job."
"Understood," she quietly replied.
When they were about twenty feet away, Malfoy raised
his wand to a more ready position and said, "Potter.
Rumour has it―"
But, surprising Malfoy, Harry didn't even pause as he
expected. Instead, he kept walking forward; which
brought Malfoy's little monologue to an abrupt and
confused halt.
When he was about four feet away, Harry finally
stopped. He chose the distance as it put him in reach
to snatch Malfoy's wand out of his hand if the little
white ferret tried to launch a curse or hex.
With a sigh, he said, "Mister Malfoy, is it your intent to
piss off the Lord of the Noble and Most Ancient House
of Potter, or the Heir Tertiary of the Noble and Most
Ancient House of Black?"
When Malfoy looked confused, he continued, "I only
ask as I'll need to know if I shall be contacting your
father directly, as Lord Potter, to inform him how badly
his Heir completely and utterly screwed up; or Lord
Black, so he can have the honour."
When Malfoy still looked confused - Potter didn't
retaliate, as he expected - Harry continued to explain,
"And, I only ask because your father will want to know
why it is he's just discovered his marriage contract
has been irrevocably torn asunder, the Black dowry
your mother received from the House of Black has
been yanked out of his own accounts back to the
House of Black accounts and your mother and you
have been Disowned."
Malfoy went white. "Y-you wouldn't!"
"I would," he shot back. "And faster than you can say,
'Wait 'til my father hears of this'."
Malfoy stood there for a few moments more before his
face flushed and he developed an angry scowl. "You'll
get yours, Potter!"
"My Share? Oh, I intend to, Malfoy," he happily
declared back. "I'm sure Lord Black will happily give
me my share of what was part of the Malfoy fortune,
when he yanks it out of your father's accounts. What
do you think; is one fifth of it a fair cut?
"After all, I'll have been the one that pushed you far
enough you engaged your wand and not your brain,
didn't think it through and had a shot at me; which
allowed Lord Black to legally take it.
"You see, Mister Malfoy; I do not think it's a matter of
'if' with you, only a matter of 'when'. And I'm happy to
bide my time until your over-developed sense of selfentitlement exceeds your pitiful authority and gives
me that excuse."
The whole time Harry was smirking at the boy in
amusement, Malfoy could only stand there feeling
impotent. And he now knew Potter knew that.
Harry chuckled and said, "I do not know why you
bother to engineer these little incidences between you
and me, Malfoy. Unless your godfather has been there
to pull your nads out of the fire by swooping in and
assigning me and others with me with spurious losses
of points and detention, you've never won a single
one of them; not on the grounds, not on the Express,
not here in the castle. Even then, you never won; he
did, by abusing his authority as a Professor.
"Well, he's now in Azkaban partly because of that
abuse of authority. So, regarding him, I won in the
end.
"Now, will there be anything else, or will you blurt
'Wait 'til my father hears of this' and storm off like you
usually do?"
Clearly furious, Malfoy lowered his wand, backed up
half a step started to say, "Wai―" before he snapped
his mouth shut and stormed off.
Harry watched him go and looked to the two now
confused bookends. "Well?" With a flick of his fingers
he indicated Malfoy's direction and said, "Your lord
and master went that way. Best hurry to catch up.
Without you both standing there looking mean,
someone's liable to laugh at him."
Both boys, still confused, turned and hurried to catch
up with the blonde ferret.
Harry then heard chuckling and turned just in time to
see an auror standing ten feet away dispel the last of a
Disillusionment charm as he watched the three hurry
away.
Turning his attention to Harry he said, "That was
hilarious." And chuckled again.
"I'm glad you're amused," Harry smirked back. "And
I'm sure you'd never consider sharing the memory of
that with the auror bullpen. That would be shameful
behaviour. Lucy Malfoy might find out about it if you
did that and go into a right royal snit."
The auror laughed again and said, "You're an evil
young man, Lord Potter." Then turned and walked
away as he re-donned his disillusionment charm.
Once they were sure he'd gone, Hermione asked,
"How'd you know he was there?"
"I didn't," he replied. "I just suspected he or another
was. However, I'm also aware of the new and
reactivated wards Headmistress Lady Marchbanks
has activated. As soon as Malfoy fired a curse, the
entire staff would have been alerted to it. All we both
needed to do was avoid it and wait. That's why I
specifically said, 'Don't retaliate'."
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
---------------
Chapter 379
Once inside the apartment, where Harry was still
chuckling a little, Hermione said, "Take a seat. I need
to get something from my room for our talk."
As he sat back Harry managed to calm down and
waited for his Love. He was thinking about how much
easier life in Hogwarts was going to be with both the
new wards and the presence of the aurors. And how
accepting Hermione had apparently become of the
still-developing CBA between he and Daphne.
Hermione then re-entered the living room wearing the
same fluffy pink dressing gown he'd accidentally seen
her wearing their last morning at the Granger
residence, when he'd heard her cry out and raced up
stairs to help.
Same as then, it did not look like she was wearing
anything under it. However, this time, she wasn't
wearing the white towel wrapped around her head for
her hair.
As she walked forward, she asked, "Remember this?"
"Errr... yes?" he replied. His throat felt a little tight.
As she got closer she said, "Well, if you were about
ten seconds slower, you would have seen this!"
And, just like that, she flicked the robe off her
shoulders and allowed it to drop to the floor as she
stopped about five feet and in front of him.
She was naked.
As she stood there, with her left knee closed over her
right a little to 'cover' the lower part of her lady bits,
Harry couldn't utter a word.
Finally, he managed to squeak out, "I... I... W-wow!"
Quickly snapping his eyes back up to hers, he was in
time to see her stop worrying at her bottom lip with
her top teeth and smile back.
"Y-you... Y-you're gorgeous!" he blurted.
Her smile widening into a blushing grin she softly
said, "Thank you, Harry."
When he then tried to stand so he wasn't face to...
lady cauldron, she stepped forward, placed a hand in
his chest and pushed him back into the chair.
As soon as he was back in it she spun around and sat
on his lap. She was very pleased to feel he definitely
appreciated her looks. And gave a little squirm.
As soon as she saw the slight expression of pain flit
across his face, she stopped as she did not want to
hurt him; and leaned into him with her arms around
his neck.
All Harry knew was that he now had a lap full of a very
attractive naked young woman and 'little Harry' had
painfully popped up to say, 'Hello!'
When she leaned into him and wrapped her arms
around his neck, he reactively wrapped his arms
around her waist. Her... naked... waist. And that led to
a slow snogging kiss.
Little Harry was calling out, 'Hey! Here I am! The twins
and I are getting crushed here!'
Finally getting his will power back under control, he
gently pushed her back to sit upright a little to give
him some room to breathe and managed to say, "Not
that I don't appreciate it, very much; but, what brought
this on?"
She gave another little squirm and replied, "Multiple
reasons. First and foremost, I wanted to. I think our
relationship should progress a bit more and I didn't
think you'd be against it―"
"I'm not!" he quickly blurted.
Pausing to smile at him, she continued, "Second, if
the Concubine Bond Agreement between you and
Daphne is finalised as quickly as even I now suspect,
Daphne will be up here with us before very long; and I
don't think I could do this - walk out here and be nude
- if she was here.
"And, third, as you've now finished reading that book
Sirius had you read, I wanted to give you the gift of
seeing, at least the part of it about a woman's body, in
the flesh."
Standing up again, she stepped away and gave a slow
twirl with her arms out a little. "What do you think?"
"I said it already," he breathily replied, looking her
over again. "Wow!"
When she gave a little giggle, she chose this time to
sit alongside him and sit back.
Which caused him to slide a little further away and
turn towards her.
She sat there, leaning back onto the back cushions,
her hands clasped over her lower tummy and her legs
out straight before her with her ankles crossed.
"Now," she smiled. "Review time. About chapter
eight―"
Giving a start, he blurted, "But that's about your...
umm―" And indicated towards the junction of her
legs.
"I know," she quietly said, smiling while uncrossing
her ankles and slowly allowing her legs to spread.
However, Harry could also see the worry buried in her
eyes, too. He was determined he wasn't going to mess
this up. He'd rather die, first.
_‗_
―==(oIo)==―
ˇ
Hermione finally managed to coax him into touching
her, "You need to touch some places to feel for
yourself, Harry. You can't see them without... sticking
your face in there and forcing me open."
When she was sure Harry had 'felt' everything he
needed to understand, she managed to coax him to
disrobe. "Don't you think it's a little unfair you get to
see me and I don't get to see you?"
"But... ummm... you see―"
"You have an erection," she simply stated. "It's
natural."
While he was blushing madly she finally managed to
get him out of his clothes and lay back like she did.
Then she convinced him to allow her to touch him.
And, as she was touching him, he had to warn her
about something... Then it was too late.
Mortified while Hermione didn't seem that surprised,
she eventually managed to calm him down again. "It's
alright, Harry," she soothed. "No need to be
embarrassed. I'm actually quite happy that happened."
And used his wand - the wooden one - to clean up the
mess.
After that 'accident', they were able to sit there and let
their hands do the walking for a while as they asked
each other intimate questions about each other's
bodies.
But, after almost two hours, she said, "I think we'd
better stop and get dressed again. Dinner's not that
far away. Besides," she giggled, "You need to wash."
_‗_
―==(oIo)==―
ˇ
After that couple of hours of learning about each
other's bodies, both redressed and were ready for
dinner in plenty of time.
Once dressed, Hermione said, "Now, how about we
invite the other Heirs up here for dinner, tomorrow
night?"
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
---------------
Chapter 380
Dressed himself but still pulling his shoes on - he did
need that shower first - Harry replied, "Sounds good.
We'd have to subtly check with Neville and his two
girls first, though. They might have only just moved
into their own Lord's Quarters and want to experience
it on their own."
"We'll ask," she replied.
Lacing his second shoe up and standing up, Harry
said, "I'm ready."
"Just in time," she replied, then indicated the door.
"Shall we?"
Harry smiled, nodded and headed for the door to open
it for her.
As they walked down the short hallway to the main
door back into the public corridor, he said, "Thank
you. That was... wonderful."
She smiled back and said, "You're welcome. And
thank you, for allowing me to explore, as well.
"And, because you didn't push for more, I think we
can allow hands to wander a little more freely when
we... snog... in future."
He happily smiled back.
_‗_
―==(oIo)==―
ˇ
Before they went down for breakfast the next morning,
Harry called Dobby.
"Yes, Master Harry?" he asked.
Indicating the large window in the room, he asked, "Is
it possible to do something to that window to allow
owls to travel through it without vanishing the glass,
or something?"
"Oh, yes, Master Harry," replied the little elf. "Dobby
can be using elf magic to make the glass so owlies
can pass through. It be stoppings everything else,
though."
"That's excellent, Dobs," replied a relieved Harry. "Can
you do that and set up a roost for owls near it? I have
a feeling Hedwig would be welcoming of it."
"Dobby can gets it done, Master Harry," the elf firmly
replied.
"Thank you, Dobby," he said.
Less than thirty seconds later, Dobby caused the large
window to glow blue for a moment, then turned
slightly and set up a roost that would fit two to three
owls. Directly with it he also conjured a small tray for
owl treats and water. And under it he conjured a tray
that would catch any droppings.
Harry was somewhat amazed. "Brilliant, Dobby! That
looks perfect!"
Dobby gave a pleased smile, caused the owl treat tray
and water to be stocked and popped away again.
After quietly watching Dobby perform the work,
Hermione said, "That's actually quite clever."
"Thank you," he said.
_‗_
―==(oIo)==―
ˇ
Ten minutes later, the two walked in through the doors
of the Great Hall. Today was the day Neville would be
entered into two relationship agreements; a Betrothal
Agreement and a Concubine Bond Agreement. And
they wanted to make sure all three were alright and
weren't about to panic.
Looking to the Hufflepuff table as they walked, both
could see both girls were fine. If anything, they were
both ineffably pleased and excited. The only darkness
in their moods was when they looked to Neville and
worried a little.
As they walked past to round the head end of the
Gryffindor table, Harry could see his mate looking
almost sick. He cast a quick glance in Hermione's
direction before they moved to sit either side of him.
After sitting and his mumbled greetings, Hermione
asked Neville, "How are you with your assignments?
Up to date?"
Confused, he looked to her and muttered, "Sorry? I've
had other things on my mind."
"We noticed," she said. "So, how are your
assignments coming along?"
"Hermione, you know they're fine," he grumbled.
"Why are you asking?"
"It's called 'distraction therapy', Neville," she replied.
"You're way too focussed on something that's making
you fret. I want you to focus on something else."
"I'm fine," he muttered.
"That won't work," she smiled. "That's Harry's default
response when he's unhappy about something."
Harry chuckled and replied, "It is, too!"
Neville sighed and said, "I don't think you're going to
be able to 'distract' me."
"Hmmm," said Harry. Then quietly asked, "What if
Hermione shows you her breasts. Would that distract
you?"
As Neville's head snapped around to stare back in
shock, Hermione quietly exclaimed, "Harry!"
That had the boy blush to the roots of his hair and try
to look anywhere but at either of them.
Hermione firmly, but quietly, declared, "I am not going
to show Neville my breasts!"
"I'm not saying you should, Hermione," said Harry.
"I'm just trying to set a level at which Neville can be
distracted."
"Errr... Ummm―" Neville stuttered.
"Mmm," said Harry. "Maybe something else, then."
"Definitely," snapped Hermione.
"How about..." he mused. "After breakfast, we all head
to the library. Neville, my educating of Hermione on
pureblood and noble customs and etiquette has, so
far, been rather slap-dash. I've been teaching her what
I can, but my knowledge is not that much older than
hers.
"That I can do!" Neville was quick to say. 'Anything to
get off the subject of Hermione's boo- err... breasts,'
he thought.
"Great!" exclaimed Harry. "Now, she knows the
basics; such as, the various levels of Houses, the
various levels of nobility, the various levels of heirs,
that sort of thing. But, I meant to go over how a House
is created and another elevated. It would also help her
to know how a House can be, though rarely, dropped
back a rank.
"Do you think that's something you can help teach?"
"Yes," Neville firmly replied. "Gran made sure I knew
all of that before I even started at Hogwarts... here."
"Excellent," grinned Harry. Leaning around him he
said to Hermione, "Looks like you won't have to show
him your breasts after all, Love."
Again, Neville blushed and refused to look at either of
them.
"Harrison James Potter!" she quietly but firmly
declared. "You and I will be having words later."
"I never said you should or will show him your
breasts, love," he said, oozing sincerity. "I just asked
if it would distract him."
Neville finally turned to look at him and smirked, "That
was... evil."
"Hey!" he said. "It worked, didn't it? I've now got your
promise you're going to help me teach Hermione, after
breakfast, more about the Houses."
Hermione glared back, but he could also see she'd put
two and two together and figured out what he'd done.
"Fine," grinned Neville. "It worked. Happy?"
"Yup!" he happily declared back. "Now, while we eat,
how about we go over a plan of attack of what to teach
her?"
With a sigh, Neville replied, "As you said, how a
House is formed, promoted or demoted. We can do all
that in that order. I'm sure the library, here, has the
books we need."
Harry nodded and said, "If not, we can ask the elves to
collect the books you might need from our two
Households. Now, eat up. We can't have you collapse
at the table in the library from hunger while you're
trying to teach."
And, finally, Neville was able to eat without feeling as
if he was just going to vomit it all back up again.
_‗_
―==(oIo)==―
ˇ
A little while later, as Neville was trying to go over with
Hermione an overview of what he'd be teaching, Harry
excused himself to go over to the 'Puff table and talk
to the two girls.
Immediately sitting in a space opposite, he quietly
said to them, "Neville was on the verge of throwing up
when Hermione and I turned up. He was shaking
somewhat and looked a little faint.
"To snap him out of it I gave him something to think
about other than fretting over what's going to happen
immediately after lunch."
Suspicious, as she'd been carefully watching Neville's
reactions, Hannah immediately asked, "What did you
do?" It even sounded accusatory.
Looking to make sure no one was trying to listen in,
he leaned forward and quietly said, "Don't hex me for
it, as it clearly worked; but, I asked him if Hermione
showing him her breasts would work."
Both girls looked back, stunned. Susan gasped, "Yyou didn't!"