Chapter 391
Walking into the office and as they'd been there
before, neither Harry nor Hermione hesitated. And
Daphne only gave a very slight pause before she
hurried forward behind them to catch up.
In the office was Marchbanks, of course; but also
present were Samuel Greengrass, Ted Tonks and...
Sirius.
Both Harry and Hermione grinned as they walked
forward. As Harry started to step forward to get a hug
out of Sirius, he was beaten to it by Hermione. So, he
turned to Samuel just as Daphne pulled back from her
hug with her father, and shook the man's hand.
"Lord Greengrass," he firmly said, offering his hand to
shake. "A pleasure."
"Lord Potter," the other man returned, shaking his
hand. "Thank you, very much, for doing this."
"My pleasure, sir," said Harry. "It is my fervent hope
your Heir Primary, Daphne, finds security within the
Noble and Most Ancient House of Potter."
"As it is mine, Lord Potter," he returned.
Then Harry suddenly felt himself yanked sideways
into Sirius's arms for a hug.
"Oi!" he mock-complained. "How am I supposed to
give the impression I'm the big, bad, tough, nononsense Lord of one of the Seven if you go ahead
and ruin it like that?"
Sirius laughed and released him while Harry also saw
Samuel relax and smile.
Ted then gave a slight cough to get everyone's
attention before he looked to Harry and asked, "Lord
Potter, is it your intention... free of magics compulsing
you... to enter a Concubine Bond Agreement between
the House of Greengrass and your own, for Daphne
Ophelia Greengrass to become your Concubine
Presumptive?"
"Yes," Harry firmly replied.
"You are aware and accept that, based on the clearly
defined situations and stipulations in the agreement,
the agreement will become a contract if the as-stated
situations come into effect? And that both the
agreement and the contract requires you to provide
for the health and protection of Heiress Daphne
Ophelia Greengrass of the Noble and Ancient House
of Greengrass?"
"Yes and I do," he firmly stated.
Ted gave a nod and small smile back. "Very well, as
your Law-wizard of Record I recommend you proceed
with signing the agreement."
Harry asked right back, "Edward Tonks, as Law-wizard
of Record for the Noble and Most Ancient House of
Potter, do you attest to there being no additional
alterations to the copy of the agreement you had
caused to be sent to me and which I received early
this morning?"
Surprised for a moment, Ted then grinned and replied,
"I do, Lord Potter."
Harry grinned back and then turned to Daphne. "Last
chance, Daphne. Do I sign or not?"
She immediately replied, almost begging, "Please sign
it."
He gave her a nod and smile before spinning back.
"Let's do this."
Less than two minutes later, it was done. Once Lady
Marchbanks and even Sirius signed as witnesses, Ted
created legal copies of them and distributed them, one
each, to the four signatories.
Turning back to a clearly very relieved Daphne he was
about to ask her a question when she jumped forward
and tightly hugged him. Her head rested on his
collarbone. "Thank you," she fervently squeaked.
"You're welcome," he said, moving her back out to
arms reach. "With the behaviour of certain members
in the House of Slytherin, is it your desire to move into
the Potter apartments within the Lords' Quarters, in
your own room, until things settle down again?"
Surprised at the offer, she hesitated and said, "I... yes.
I think that would be for the best." And immediately
looked to her father.
Harry also turned to him and asked, "Do you have a
problem with this idea, Lord Greengrass? I will not be
offended if you do."
"No, actually," he replied. "I believe it a very wise
idea."
Relieved, Harry turned to Marchbanks and asked,
"Headmistress?"
Marchbanks just smiled back and turned away for a
moment, "Toby."
When the elf popped in she organised with it to move
Daphne's effects out of the Slytherin dorms and up
into the spare bedroom in the Potter apartment.
Turning back to Daphne, Harry said, "It will be easier
for me to watch over you if you're in the apartment
with Hermione and me. But, I'm sorry, I can do nothing
along these lines for Tracey or Astoria."
Then he glanced at Samuel with a cocked eyebrow.
Samuel was no idiot. He knew exactly what Harry was
implying. He gave a little throat clear and said, "Lord
Potter, the House of Greengrass will be in your debt if
you act with my authority to step in, when and where
necessary, to protect from harm my Heir Secondary,
my second daughter, Astoria."
"I accept, Lord Greengrass," Harry immediately
replied. "If I am alerted to your daughter, Astoria,
encountering danger or harm and I am able to step in
to protect her, then under your authority I shall do so."
And both bowed to one another.
Sirius chuckled. "Very clever, Harry."
It now meant Harry could deal with any idiot who tried
anything with Astoria, now that Daphne was
'unavailable' and legally untouchable.
As they were starting to talk a little, Harry heard a sob
from behind where Daphne was standing. Suddenly,
she burst into tears and Hermione had to jump
forward to hold her up from collapsing to the ground.
The Headmistress was quick to conjure a sofa for her
and Hermione. And Hermione guided her into it.
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Chapter 392
While Harry might have been a little confused as to
why she suddenly reacted like that, the Headmistress
wasn't.
"Hmm..." she muttered. "I believe, Miss Greengrass, I
shall be excusing you from attending afternoon
classes, this afternoon. A single of Potions, and
another of Transfiguration I believe? Yes."
When Daphne didn't appear to react to the question,
she continued, "I'll take that as a 'yes'."
As Samuel stepped forward to comfort his daughter,
she then turned her attention to Harry and Hermione.
"As you two only have a single of Potions this
afternoon, I shall be excusing you from attending
while you... assist Miss Greengrass to settle in to the
Potter apartment. Yes."
Both Harry and Hermione replied, "Thank you,
Headmistress." Harry didn't know if Daphne had
heard, or not.
Harry asked her, "Can you call an elf to have delivered
a note to Miss Tracey Davis, to inform her of where
her friend will be? I do not wish to see her worry."
"I shall organise it," she smiled back.
After Daphne settled a bit and after not wanting an
offered calming potion, the three gave their goodbyes
and left.
With the two walking either side of her, they escorted
Daphne up to the apartment.
Before entering though, Harry stepped her through
being accepted as a resident of the apartment and
quickly authorised it. "You can now come and go as
you please," he explained to her. "You no longer have
to wait to be allowed entrance."
She just nodded back.
As Hermione then practically helped the girl to her
new room, she asked her, "What do you want to do
now?"
"If you don't mind," replied Daphne. "I'd like to take a
nap."
"We don't mind at all," replied Hermione. "Do you
want to be woken if... when, I guess... Tracey comes
up?"
"Can you just send her in?"
"Of course," replied Hermione.
After ensuring her effects were all in the room or in
the ensuite, Daphne laid on the bed and was soon
asleep. Hermione had left as soon as the girl dropped
onto the bed and laid down.
_‗_
―==(oIo)==―
ˇ
Walking out and dropping onto the couch alongside
Harry she said, "She's been terrified for so long. She
hasn't shown it, but she has. I could tell."
"I know," he replied. "Hopefully, this will give her
peace."
"How about organising some afternoon tea?" she
asked.
"Mmm..." he muttered. But, before he had a chance to
call Dobby, there appeared on the coffee table before
them a full tea serving for two with little freshly baked
biscuits.
Harry gave a snort of amusement, said to the air,
"Thank you, Dobby." And sat forward to make a cup
for them each.
Hermione quietly said, "Once we enjoy this, I think we
should try to get our day's assignments out of the
way. We may need that available time later."
He muttered, "Of course."
_‗_
―==(oIo)==―
ˇ
Within a few minutes of hearing the bell signalling the
end of the last period of class, there was a soft knock
on the door. Harry opened it and saw a fretful Tracey
standing there. "May I?" she gestured in. She gave all
the signs of having run the whole way from class.
Harry calmly stepped clear and said, "Of course you
may."
Tracey stepped in and looked around.
From where she was sitting working on assignments,
Hermione indicated Daphne's room and said, "She's
taking a nap. She asked if you'd come in and see her
when you got here."
Tracey gave a quick nod back and said, "Thank you."
Before hurrying across the room, giving a soft knock
on the door, opening it and walking in before closing
the door behind her.
After seeing Tracey hurry across the room to the door,
Harry just closed the 'front' door and made his way
back to his seat next to Hermione. As did she, he still
had a bit of work yet to do on the day's assignments.
About ten minutes later, Tracey stuck her head out the
door and called, "Hermione?"
When both turned to look at her, she was looking at
Hermione and gestured for her to come. "Can you
come in? We want to have a 'girl talk' session."
"Of course," said Hermione. As Tracey again withdrew
her head, both teens turned back. Hermione
immediately packed up her things and said, "I don't
think this is going to take too long. How about
organising for us to have dinner here."
Surprised, he replied, "That's actually a very good
idea. Dobby!"
The elf popped in and asked, "Dinner in, Master
Harry?"
"Yes, please, Dobs," he replied. "I'll even let you cook
tonight."
Dobby grinned back and said, "Master Harry is too
kind to Dobby." And popped away before Harry could
retort.
"Cheeky little―" he muttered. And shook his head in
exasperation, returning to his assignments.
A few minutes later, Susan and Hannah knocked on
the door; and, once Harry opened the door wide for
them, looked hopeful.
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Chapter 393
Harry just gestured to Daphne's room and said, "In
there."
The two girls grinned back and hurried to the door.
This time, Harry decided to just leave the door open.
He was glad when, less than thirty seconds later and
he'd just returned to sit on the sofa, Neville stood in
the doorway. "Harry?"
"Come on in, Nev," he replied. "Your two are in with
my two and Tracey in Daphne's room."
Coming over and sitting on the sofa opposite, Neville
smiled and asked, "So, the signing obviously went
ahead as planned?"
"Yep," he replied. He gave a quick glance to the door,
leaned towards his friend and quietly said, "But,
Daphne kinda... broke down... immediately after it. I
think she's been so stressed with worry for so long
that... when the signing was done and she became my
concubine presumptive and, therefore, protected... it
all caught up with her.
"As soon as we got back, she went into her room.
Hermione said she did a quick check to make sure all
her effects were here, collapsed onto the bed, laid
down and almost immediately went to sleep."
"Understandable," said Neville. "The pressure that
was put on Lord Greengrass has been going on for
years. It's only recently that its really been brought to
bear. I have no idea how he was able to hold out for so
long. And he's not been one to keep Daphne or
Astoria in the dark about that."
Harry said, "Mmm..." Then sat back again. "I'm
organising dinner for just her, Hermione and I for
tonight. I think we need a little alone time to start to
get comfortable with one another. And, I'd definitely
not leave Hermione out of that."
"Good idea," his friend returned. "My two and I will go
to the Great Hall for dinner. I also have an idea I want
to put to you."
Surprised, Harry asked, "Oh?"
With a grin, he replied, "In order for Daphne to be
protected, others need to know that she's now in a
Concubine Bond Agreement with you. I was
wondering if you'd like my two, as you call them, to...
let slip... to Parvati and Lavender about the truth of
that."
Harry looked back in surprise for a moment before he
let out a quiet chuckle. "Neville, that's brilliant! I know
Ted left here immediately after the signing to go to the
Daily Prophet to 'officially' inform them of the CBA;
and Lord Greengrass will confirm it. But, it being
'confirmed' by rumours already within the castle?
Hah!
"What a truly Slytherin thing to do. Just the right
amount of political shenanigans to have others sit up
and take notice you're a 'player', without pissing
anyone off."
Grinning wider and clearly pleased, Neville said, "I'll
let the girls know. They're looking forward to it."
After the time crept closer towards the scheduled
dinner time in the Great Hall, Harry called Betsy to
have the elf inform the girls that dinner would soon be
served and they needed to get a wriggle on.
Five minutes later, the door to Daphne's room opened
and disgorged witches.
As Susan and Hannah walked over to Neville, who'd
just stood up, he said, "Harry said, do it."
That had both turn to Harry and grin. "This is going to
be fun," said Susan.
"Just... don't go overboard," he warned. "Stick to the
facts, no matter how much they try to demand more."
"Oh, don't worry so much, Harry," said Hannah. "We
can handle those two witches."
The way she said 'witches' Harry knew it was with a
silent initial 'B', not a 'W'.
As Neville and his two left, Tracey left with them.
Which left Harry's two in the living room with him.
Following Tracey, he closed the door behind her and
turn to face them. Looking to Daphne and concerned,
he asked, "Are you feeling better? I hope you don't
mind, but I've organised with Dobby for us to have
dinner in here―"
It was as far as he got before Daphne quickly covered
the intervening distance and wrapped him in another
tight hug. She'd not said a word and still hadn't while
hugging him.
Not knowing what else to do he wrapped his own
arms around her and tried to rub her back in such a
way it didn't come off as if he was trying to 'cop a
feel'.
Hermione just stood back and watched with a small
smile of contentment on her face. While Harry was
worried she might turn a little jealous, she hadn't yet.
After a long few seconds, Daphne eased back until
she was standing just close enough to have her hands
holding him by his sides under his arms.
"You... are amazing," she firmly said.
Instantly blushing a little, he stumbled over his words
before he said, "I... just... only know how to do the
right thing. That's all I'm doing."
"No," she smiled. "Thank you." Then she leaned in
and kissed him.
It wasn't a snog of an engaged or newly-wed couple. It
wasn't the peck of a friend to a friend. It was... a
simple lips-to-lips kiss.
His blush deepening a little, he tried to change the
subject.
"How's the room?" he asked. "Is it alright? We can
change it, if you want. Or, just replace the furniture.
You can also add anything you want. If you still feel
threatened, or anything, I won't even mind if you put a
lock on the door, or something―"
As he kept trying to find something else to talk about
she stepped back a bit more and turned with a grin at
Hermione. "You're right. When he blushes he gets real
cute and babbles."
Suddenly stopping, he asked, "Hunh?"
"I was telling her how cute you looked when you
blush," replied Hermione. "She wanted to see it for
herself."
"Oh," he softly said, and blushed again.
Daphne said, "In answer to some of your questions; I
love my room. I don't think I'll change anything for a
while. And, even then, only to put up some pictures or
something. And, no, I will not be putting a lock on my
door. I do not feel threatened by you; I actually feel a
great deal safer."
Managing to not blush this time because of her
remarks, he asked, "What about a personal elf―"
"Hermione's already offered to share Betsy with me,"
she replied.
He then gave a massive pout and said, "And here I
was, hoping to come across a hero by asking
Hermione to share her, and she beats me to it."
She gave a laugh, said, "You didn't need to do that to
be my hero, Harry. You did that by the offer and
wording of the agreement." Then she stepped forward
and kissed him on the cheek before stepping back
again.
As soon as she saw he blushed again, she turned to
Hermione with a grin and asked, "Does that ever get
old?"
Hermione smiled and said, "No."
Trying his best to clamp down on his blush he said,
"I'm going to go see how Dobby is getting on with
dinner." And left for the kitchen.
Or, perhaps it was better to say, fled to the kitchen.
_‗_
―==(oIo)==―
ˇ
After a delicious Dobby dinner, the three returned to
completing assignments. Or, rather, Harry and
Hermione returned to them while Daphne made a start
on hers.
When Daphne found out from Hermione Harry had
caused for a great swag of Potter family library books
relating to the subjects they were studying to be
brought to the school to populate the bookcases in
the library, she was quick to dash in there to look for
herself.
Seconds later she gave a small, 'un-Daphne-like'
squeal of joy; and Hermione grinned at Harry. He just
smiled back and gave one of his half-shrugs.
He knew 'The Ice Queen' was as much of a façade as
'old' Harry. But, he had no idea she was or would be
this free with her emotions when not forced to be her
'public' self. It was pleasing to see and hear. She
wasn't even this free with herself when it was in the
company of the Alliance. For him, it demonstrated she
truly did trust him and Hermione.
They'd been at their work for almost an hour when
there was a knock on the door. Harry rose and
answered it to find the Longbottom's grinning at him.
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Chapter 394
With a smirk and cocked eyebrow he stepped back
and gestured them within.
"It worked," said Neville moving to sit on the tripleseat sofa again. Both girls, of course, immediately
moved to sit either side.
"It was funny!" declared Susan, who suddenly broke
out in laughter.
"It went as planned, then?" asked Harry.
"Like clockwork," replied Hannah.
"We were lucky, too," said Susan. "We ran into Patil
and Brown in the entrance hall, before we went in.
Hannah also immediately saw the opportunity and, in
a voice both could hear, said to me―"
"... Isn't it surprising Potter's entered into a Concubine
Bond Agreement with Greengrass," finished Hannah
in a 'stage' whisper.
Susan took it up again, "That had Patil and Brown in
our faces as if they'd apparated there, demanding to
know more."
Neville added his own bit. "I told them both, quite
sternly mind... Parvati and Lavender, that is... that
Harry wouldn't like them gossiping about his private
life."
Laughing Hannah said, "Then he said, 'Besides,
Daphne is a lovely girl and will make Harry very
happy'."
"Thereby confirming it was true," grinned Harry.
Neville slightly blushed.
Hermione, who found out at dinner what the
Longbottoms were going to do, thought it was a bit
unfair to use Patil and Brown like that. Then decided it
couldn't have happened to a 'nicer' pair of witches.
Just like the two 'Puffs, Hermione sounded as if she
put a silent 'B' to the last word.
Susan, now getting into it, explained, "That then led to
what happened in the Great Hall."
Still laughing, Hannah said, "Both Patil and Brown
practically ran into the Great Hall ahead of us. Before
we even walked in they were already going from witch
to witch in their gossip network across Gryffindor,
Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff."
Explaining, Hannah said, "There are two Ravenclaws
who then spread the word to Slytherin."
"Uh-hmm," said Susan. "Thinking we might have had
to help spread the word, Hannah and I were prepared
to sit back at Hufflepuff. However, it was instantly
clear we wouldn't have to. So, we sat with Neville at
Gryffindor with our backs to the wall and just...
watched it all happen."
Neville said, "It was astonishing. I think we'd only just
sat down when Nott jumped to his feet and yelled, 'No!
Greengrass is mine!' Which had everyone stare at
him."
Hannah said, "It looked like Headmistress
Marchbanks was going to berate him; but, before she
could say anything, Malfoy jumps to his feet, draws
his wand and snarls at Nott, 'Greengrass is mine,
Nott! My father is organising it as we speak!'"
Neville, laughing, said, "It looked like there was going
to be a challenge to duel, right there in the Great Hall,
as Nott and Malfoy went at each other. But, the
Headmistress stood and fired off a Cannonblast
charm before things escalated too far."
"Spoil sport!" declared Susan, mock piously.
Neville said, "She then slowly stood and demanded,
'Who is responsible for the spread of this private
information of two Noble and Ancient Houses?'
"Almost every witch in the place looked right at Patil
and Brown."
Susan said, "Then Lavender, obviously realising even
the Headmistress was now staring at her, stands and
declares, 'Parvati and I were told by Abbott and
Bones.'"
Hannah immediately added, "That's when Susan
stood and said―"
Susan smoothly cut in and said, "We did not tell Miss
Patil nor Miss Brown. Both... witches... overheard a
private conversation of members of the PotterLongbottom Alliance that was of a sensitive nature.
"Heir Longbottom, when they tried to demand more
information, immediately warned both of them that the
information was both private and that speaking of it
would offend Lord Potter and he would not appreciate
his private life being a subject of gossip.
"Apparently, they ignored that warning."
"Oh, this is getting better and better," said Harry.
Neville nodded and said, "That's when the
Headmistress immediately docked them both twenty
five points each and assigned them a month's
detention."
Hannah said, "And then she said both girls should
consider themselves very lucky that the information
that Miss Greengrass was now in an agreement... but
not what type... with Lord Potter was true."
Hannah said, "That's when both Malfoy and Nott were
shouting, yet again, about how Daphne was supposed
to be 'theirs'. And she docked both of them twenty five
points each. Plus, assigned the same month's worth
of detention."
Susan took it up. "When she turned her attention back
to Patil and Brown she added they should thank
Merlin it was true because, if it wasn't, Lord Potter
would have the right to demand satisfaction from
them both for defaming the Lord of a Noble and Most
Ancient House. And that she'd be unable to save them
if he did, because you had the right under the law to
deal with them, directly."
Susan said, "Both were crying, by that time."
Neville cut in again and said, "That's when she
confirmed the real facts, but still left out it was a
Concubine Bond Agreement, only saying it was a
formalised legal relationship agreement and said she
could only say that because she knew the public
announcement of it would be in tomorrow morning's
Daily Prophet.
"Then she warned everyone about the consequences
of gossiping about the Nobles, how Lord Harrison
Potter is not the meek young boy everyone thought
him to be and told them, from that point on, anyone
caught gossiping such sensitive information should
expect to be sent home suspended, if not expelled."
Hermione mused, "It sounds like she was looking for
an excuse to state that."
Harry turned a surprised look to her and said, "You
know; I think you're probably right."
While Hermione looked back, pleased, he turned to
see how Daphne was handling it.
When he saw her expression, he thought, 'Obviously
alright with it, from that smirk.'
"So," he said, "We've been outed in a very cunning
and beneficial plan by the House of Longbottom. Very
well done, you three."
Neville almost preened he was so pleased.
"What's even better," added Daphne, "Is no one would
ever suspect Neville Longbottom or two 'Puffs would
engineer something so devious. Even if told outright
what they'd planned and had done, no one would
believe them."
Again, Neville was right pleased.
Turning her attention to Harry, she said, "Your
cunning and deviousness has already been, as you
would say, 'outed'. But, Neville's, Susan's and
Hannah's has not. I recommend we keep that as quiet
as possible, for as long as possible."
"You're thinking of using them to spread information
and or disinformation in future," said Hermione.
"Clever."
"Yes," she freely admitted.
"We can do that," nodded Neville, as both girls also
nodded.
_‗_
―==(oIo)==―
ˇ
After the other four had left for the evening, Harry
called on Dobby, whispered some instructions into his
ear and sent him on his way. But, Hermione had seen
him do it.
"Harry, if I may know, what was that about?"
Looking a little shamefaced he replied, "I sent Dobby
to tail Tracey back to the Slytherin dorms while
invisible. If she faces any trouble, he's to deal with it
from cover or while being disillusioned or remaining
invisible."
Clearly pleased, Daphne said, "Thank you, Harry."
Harry just gave a lopsided shrug and said, "If anyone
does try to take advantage of the fact she's alone,
they won't know what'll hit them. If they don't know it's
a house elf giving them a magical spanking, they
won't be able to protect themselves from it if they try
again later."
"Are you going to have Dobby follow her
everywhere?" asked Hermione.
"No," he replied. "Only when I know she's going to be
alone. When she's moving about with other Slytherins
of her year - such as, going from class to class, class
to Great Hall, dorms to Great Hall, etcetera - then
she's protected by numbers.
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Chapter 395
"Someone, sooner or later, is going to blatantly prove
themselves to be a daft moron and attack one of us. I
suspect it is likely to be either of you two or Tracey
who becomes their target. As soon as they do, I want
it nipped in the bud. Then, I'm going to turn into Lord
Potter, one of the Seven, power personified, and go all
feral on 'em.
"I'm going to come down upon them so hard it will be
talked about, right across the wizarding world, as the
day Lord Harrison Potter laid down the law."
While Daphne stared at him wide-eyed, her cheeks
visibly pinked. Hermione, without her slowly building
Occlumency helping, flushed a little and slightly
moaned. When she realised she'd done it she
snapped her mouth shut and her flush became a
blush where she couldn't look at anyone.
Harry, ever so clueless, had no idea. But, it seems
Daphne did. She just turned to look at the other witch
and also blushed.
_‗_
―==(oIo)==―
ˇ
During the very early hours of the next morning,
Hermione and Harry joined Neville, Susan and Hannah
for the trip to the Astronomy tower for their single
Astronomy lesson before returning back to the Lords'
Quarters. They left Daphne to sleep, undisturbed.
Harry had ensured, though, both Betsy and Dobby
knew to come and get him if she had any problems.
After the hour on the tower, the five trudged their way
back to their apartments and quietly wished either
other a good night before entering their own.
Once inside and closing the door, Harry was about to
head for bed when Hermione approached, slowly
wrapped her arms about his middle and snuggled in
before lifting her head for a kiss. A kiss that turned
into a long snog on their feet.
Pulling back when he needed air, he asked, "Not that
I'm complaining, mind. But, what brought that on?"
"Just keeping you interested," she replied with a
smirk.
"You never need to do that," he said. "I've been
interested in getting closer to you since I started...
well... that was the point where girls went from being
funny looking boys to 'Cor-blimey, I wonder what she
looks like under her clothes?'"
She gave a little giggle and replied, "You know that
now."
With a half-shrug he said, "I'd still like to learn more of
what's under there, though."
"You will," she replied with a smile. "Just, not
tonight."
Then she gave him a last quick kiss, pulled out of his
arms, turned and walked away with her hips
sashaying back and forth.
Staring at her bum as she walked away, he sighed.
_‗_
―==(oIo)==―
ˇ
Early to rise again the next morning, hump day, Harry
and Hermione were first to put in an appearance.
When Harry kept looking towards Daphne's door,
Hermione saw it and said, "I made sure she knows
when we're likely to leave to head to the Great Hall,
Harry. She should―"
And her door opened.
Harry was relieved as she stepped out, saw them both
and smiled.
"We'd not have left without her, Harry," said Hermione.
"I'd have gone in and woken her, if necessary."
Daphne had overheard, smiled again and said, "No
need. Betsy did that, even though I was starting to get
up, anyway. Besides, this is the normal time I rise,
because there's always such a fight for the showers in
the Slytherin dorms."
Hermione asked, "Nice to have your own ensuite,
though; right?"
Again Daphne smiled, "Right."
So, as the Longbottoms were also early to rise and
ready, they knocked on their door.
When Harry let them in he said, "Good morning, I
thought you lot might be sleeping in.
"And miss seeing the reaction of you walking in with
Daphne on your arm?" asked Susan. "Not likely."
_‗_
―==(oIo)==―
ˇ
They again walked with the Longbottoms down to the
Great Hall for breakfast - six, this time, instead of five.
Walking into the Great Hall, now that Daphne was
'known' to be with Harry, it allowed both her and
Tracey to join them on the Gryffindor table. Tracey
joined them when she walked in five minutes later.
They sat with Hermione, Harry, Daphne and Tracey on
one side with Susan, Neville and Hannah on the other,
their backs to the Hall.
Once the other Gryffindors finished giving them
suspicious or filthy looks, which both girls ignored,
they were well into their breakfasts when there was a
sudden shout down near the main doors and Ron
Weasley came storming up the aisle with fury on his
face. He was looking at Harry and the two Slytherin
girls.
― ― ―
Over at the Burrow, Molly was at the sink while Arthur
was finishing his breakfast before heading for the
Ministry, talking about the article in the Daily Prophet.
It reported Heiress Daphne Greengrass and Lord
Harrison Potter were now involved in a written formal
relationship agreement or contract.
Then the family clock suddenly went 'Dong! DONG!'
As Arthur spat out his mouthful of tea and whirled
toward the clock in shock, Molly whirled in terror to
also stare at the same clock. Ron's hand was now
pointing at 'Mortal Peril'.
"Arthur!" she screamed in fear.
― ― ―
Harry gave a sigh and almost-whined, "Am I going to
have to deal with this idiot, right now?"
When he was about ten feet away Ron jabbed his
finger towards the two Slytherins and snarled, "Potter!
What are those two slimy―"
"Mister Weasley!" barked Professor Babbling,
storming down from the head table.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
---------------
Chapter 396
Arthur was up and running for the floo.
Molly yelled, "They'll all be in the Great Hall for
breakfast."
"Right!" Arthur barked back.
He stopped for a moment, thought, and ran to grab the
only remaining broom in the house. It always sat next
to the back door.
Snatching it up, he ran back to the fireplace, grabbed
a pinch of floo powder and tossed it in the grate.
"The Three Broomsticks!" he barked.
As soon as the flames turned green he stepped in and
was gone.
Molly hurried back to the kitchen to stare at the clock -
and prayed her husband would be in time.
― ― ―
Harry was so focussed on Ron he didn't even realise
the little Runes Professor had also seen the idiot boy
and was already moving to counter him.
Ron's eyes immediately snapped to see the clearly
angry professor, his new Head of House with
McGonagall gone, charging down towards him from
the dais and paled only slightly.
"Professor," he snapped. "There are two slimy―"
"Weasley, be silent!" she barked.
― ― ―
Arthur came out of the fireplace in the Three
Broomsticks and didn't even slow down in his run for
the door.
As soon as he had the door open, he ran through -
diving off the top step, mounting the broom as he
went - and urged it as fast as he could for the gates.
Diving through them, he urged the broom as fast as it
could go for the main doors of the castle in the
distance.
― ― ―
When she was only four feet away from Ron, just past
Harry and the others, Babbling stopped and said,
"You will keep your mouth shut, you will not say a
word, you will not make a single utterance, you will
listen with your mouth firmly closed."
When she saw the boy was doing exactly what she'd
told him to, she said, "I do not know why it is that your
ears suddenly snap close when food appears before
your eyes, but you should know that if you had
finished saying what I highly suspect you were about
to say, there is no doubt in my mind it would have
ended badly for you!
"Last night it was leaked by a pair of stupid girls that
Miss Daphne Greengrass, one of those two witches
wearing the green trim you were being scathing
towards, has entered into a written formal relationship
agreement or contract with your ex-friend, Lord Potter.
If I had allowed you to continue to say what you were
clearly wanting to say, I have no doubt Lord Potter
would have dealt with you."
"Yes, Professor; I would have," said Harry, quite
firmly. "I personally warned Mister Weasley... to his
face... only a couple of weeks ago of the
consequences of verbally attacking me or mine. It
appears he is Hell-bent on committing suicide."
When Ron flicked his eyes to Harry's all he could see
looking back was coldness that spoke of death.
"Pay attention, Mister Weasley," barked Professor
Babbling.
That had Ron snap his eyes back to the professor's.
She was about to open her mouth again when Arthur
Weasley came running in through the doors of the
Great Hall, which had everyone turn their eyes to him.
He was carrying a broom in his offhand with his drawn
wand in the other.
― ― ―
As soon as he saw his youngest son, still alive, Arthur
slowed down and visibly sagged in relief for a
moment. Then fortified himself and strode forward.
The Headmistress called out, "Arthur? I take it you are
here because of something changing on that famous
family clock of yours?"
"Yes, Gr- Headmistress Lady Marchbanks," he clearly
replied, still walking forward. "My youngest son's
hand suddenly moved from 'At School' to 'Mortal
Peril'."
By then he had reached about five steps from Ron and
glared at the boy.
Ron turned ghostly white and began visibly shaking in
fear, before he spun to again stare at Harry. Harry was
grinning at him with a cold grin that still promised
death.
'How could I have been so stupid!' he thought.
Forcibly pulling his gaze away from Harry, he was just
in time to hear the new Headmistress ask, "And your
intent, Arthur?"
Arthur's gaze flicked from Ron to Harry and then to
Marchbanks. He replied, "It is my intent to
immediately withdraw my youngest son, Ronald, from
Hogwarts and enter him into a home-schooling
environment in order to save him from his own fool
mouth."
Ron closed his eyes and mentally groaned. He knew
what that now meant.
"Granted, Arthur," said Marchbanks. "I believe it will
be saving your son's life, withdrawing him from
Hogwarts. I shall forward on the required
parchmentwork as soon as I am able.
"I trust you to return it via floo with all due haste."
"Thank you, Headmistress," he nodded back, barely
taking his eyes from Ron to look at the Headmistress.
"Professor Babbling," called Marchbanks.
Babbling spun on the spot to look at the
Headmistress.
"Please escort both Misters Weasley to the Gryffindor
tower, so Mister Ronald Weasley may pack," she said.
"Then, see him on his way via the nearest floo, if you
don't mind."
"Yes, Headmistress," replied Babbling, before she
spun back to Ron and indicated the door. She simply
but firmly said, "Go."
As Ron quickly hurried from the Hall, his father and
Professor Babbling followed a little slower.
― ― ―
At the Burrow, Molly slumped into tears of relief when
Ron's hand moved from 'Mortal Peril' back to 'At
School' with a 'Dong! Ding!'.
Twenty minutes later it moved briefly to 'Travelling'
before moving to 'At Home'.
Her youngest son was now a Hogwarts student only in
name. When his father received, signed and sent back
the relevant parchmentwork, he wasn't even that.
― ― ―
When Mister Weasley the eldest and Professor
Babbling walked out the door after Ron, Harry had to
yet again endure the stares of his fellow students.
That remark about some special family clock that
showed Ron Weasley's hand at 'Mortal Peril', after
getting upset about two Slytherins sitting at the
Gryffindor table, was not lost on them. They might not
know what magic was involved, but they knew magic
did not lie. If the magic of this clock said Ron Weasley
was in mortal peril, then Ron Weasley's life was in
imminent danger.
Based on what they had been witnessing of the boy
until then, that mortal peril had to be as a result of
berating the Lord Potter about the two Slytherins
sitting at the Gryffindor table. That meant Lord Potter
considered both, one or the other to be under the
protection of the Noble and Most Ancient House of
Potter.
For those who hadn't realised until then that Lord
Potter and 'his' were definitely hands-off, they did
now.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
---------------
Chapter 397
Harry ignored it all and returned to his breakfast.
Neville quietly said, "The whole school is terrified of
you again, Harry."
"Meh!" he blandly returned. "Been there, done that.
Second year, remember?"
"I'm happy they are," said Daphne.
When Hermione gave her a funny look around Harry,
she explained, "The more people are scared of him,
the more you and I are protected, Hermione. And that
fear to have Harry turn his attention upon them also
means Astoria and Tracey are safer right along with
us."
After thinking about that for long few seconds,
Hermione gave a single firm nod, looked to Harry and
said, "In that case... You go right along continuing to
be scary, Harry."
Harry just smirked at her for a moment before
returning to his breakfast.
Susan said, "I'm glad I was proven correct to come to
breakfast, this morning. That certainly was
entertaining."
_‗_
―==(oIo)==―
ˇ
When the owls came in, with Hedwig as usual carrying
Harry's copy of the Daily Prophet, Harry was quick to
free her of her load and offered her the choicest bacon
rashers. She took two, as her due, and flew up to
perch on his shoulder as she ate them.
As soon as Hedwig had chosen her bacon, Harry was
quick to open the paper to find the relevant article. It
was on the second page. Harry thought it was only on
the second page and not the front because of some
massive riot at a Quidditch game in Ireland that said
there were a few witches and wizards dead.
~ # ~
LORD POTTER ENTERS ANOTHER FORMAL
AGREEMENT
Through official notification delivered to our offices
yesterday, your preferred and trusted daily
newspaper, the Daily Prophet, has the news that Lord
Harry Potter (14) has entered into a second formal
relationship contract, reports investigative journalist
Kate Erister.
This time the lucky girl is the gorgeous Heiress
Primary of the Noble and Ancient House of
Greengrass, Miss Daphne Greengrass (14).
Speaking with Lord Greengrass, the father of Miss
Greengrass, he tells us, "I am very happy to confirm
my daughter is now in an ironclad relationship
agreement with Lord Potter. I know Lord Potter to be
both a trustworthy and honourable young man and
know he will provide and care for her as well as my
wife and I would."
When he asked if he had been approached by others
for such an agreement, he replied, "Of course.
However, Lord Potter's offer was far above and
beyond the offers of all others. As such, I simply
could not turn it down. It would have been an insult to
Lord Potter to have done otherwise."
Lord Potter had a pre-prepared statement where he
had this to say, "I am very happy to have successfully
earned the hand of Miss Greengrass from fellow
Potter-Longbottom Alliance member, Lord Samuel
Greengrass. She will make a wonderful addition to my
household and I am grateful to her she is as accepting
of me as I am of her. I would not have gone ahead with
this formalised relationship if she wasn't as agreeable
to it as I am."
Though neither stated, nor appeared willing to state,
the nature of the agreement, we here at the Daily
Prophet believe it to be a Concubine Bond Agreement
or contract. We remind you, the Daily Prophet was the
first to bring you the news of Lord Potter's Betrothal
Agreement with the muggleborn witch, Hermonie
Ginger (15), a few weeks ago.
Law-wizard Ted Tonks, Law-wizard of the Noble and
Most Ancient House of Potter, also stated it is a
serious offence to defame or otherwise attack a Lord
of such a House. And warns he will seek to prosecute
all those who attempt to do so.
{The Daily Prophet was required to include that last
paragraph to absolve ourselves of guilt of fomenting
such an attack if any of our readers attempt to do so.}
~ # ~
After reading the article he went to pass it to Daphne,
so she could read it, and realised she was already
reading her own copy. So, he passed it to Hermione.
"Alright, folks," he sighed. "This means, from this
point on for at least the next week or so, we are going
to be careful what we handle of mail."
"Oh, yeah," said Neville. "I remember what happened
the day after the article about Harry's first task came
out. All those owls with Howlers, tainted mail, death
threats―"
"And you, with one massive overcharged Stunner,
knocking them all out," said Hermione.
Harry snickered and said, "Think you can do it again
tomorrow, Nev? It'd save us having to stun each one,
separately."
Neville blushed a little and replied, "Sure, Harry. I can
do that."
Tracey leaned forward and asked, "So the rumour you
stunned all those owls with one charm was correct?
Wow. And there was Malfoy, accusing you of being a
squib."
Hannah, who was pointing to the article in Susan's
copy of the Daily Prophet asked, "Shouldn't this last
paragraph mean you won't get any of those sort of
letter's Harry?"
"If everyday wizards and witches had a lick of sense,
yes," he replied. "But, there'll be a lot because there's
more than you could image who think they'd either
never get caught, or the paragraph didn't mean them
because they consider themselves a light witch or
wizard or whatever. You'll see."
_‗_
―==(oIo)==―
ˇ
With no classes for the Gryffindor and Hufflepuff
members of their little group until after morning tea,
they bid the two Slytherins a happy class in Herbology
and Transfiguration and would meet up with them at
the first break. Then left when the time for the first
class approached.
Returning to their room, Hermione pulled out a sheet
of parchment from her inner robe pocket and dropped
it onto the coffee table. When she saw Harry glance
curiously at it, she said, "Tracey's notes from the
Potions class we missed yesterday afternoon,
together with the assignment."
"Ah!" he said. "I guess I'll need my stuff, then." And
headed for his room just as Hermione had already
headed for hers.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
---------------
Chapter 398
The rest of the day was uneventful. Harry kept
expecting trouble from the other students because of
Daphne, or to Daphne. It never happened.
He had no idea that, any trouble that had almost
instantly begun to develop, was immediately snuffed
out again by Ron's actions and the result of that.
A lot of the students had either forgotten that Harry
had warned them he was not the meek and mild child
they thought him to be and would, therefore, be a
push over; or thought him lying. That incident brought
it all home again and proved he wasn't.
When the Weasley boy found out he was supposedly
in mortal peril at that point, one look at Harry's face
confirmed for them the truth of that belief. No one
doubted he was prepared to kill even his supposed
ex-friend in protecting those he thought were his.
After the last class for the day, DADA for Harry and
Hermione and Charms for Daphne, the three returned
to their apartment to drop off school bags and
satchels and prepare for assignments.
As they re-congregated in the living room, Harry
asked Daphne, "Come sit on the sofa for a minute,
please."
When her expression suddenly snapped closed with
Occlumency shields going up, Harry chose to ignore
it. He knew he had her trust, but also knew that trust
wasn't unlimited yet. She still had her moments and
wished he could have saved her from those that
caused her to react like this.
Sitting at one end he sat half-twisted so Daphne could
sit counter to him at the other end, looking back. She
did.
After she sat and made herself comfortable, he said,
"Thank you. Now, I want you to know... in your heart...
that you are not a prisoner here. I want you to know
you can come and go as you please. All I ask is that,
since I'm now responsible for your care and safety,
you let either Hermione or myself know where you're
supposed to be going and when you're supposed to
be back.
"So, if you... for instance... decide right now you want
to go and visit Tracey down in the Slytherin dorms?
You just need to say something along the lines of,
'Harry, I'm going down to Slytherin to talk to Tracey. I
should be back by dinner.' Alright?"
As Harry explained Daphne's eyes widened a little at a
time until it was clear she was quite surprised. Instead
of replying she simply nodded. He didn't know, but
suspected, it was because she was trying to hold back
breaking down again.
"Good," he firmly said. "I just needed to know you
knew that. Thank you for hearing me out.
"Now," he said, rising, "I've got assignments to do."
As he rose, so did Daphne. He was about to turn away
to go make a start on his assignments when Daphne
took the two steps to him, grabbed him and kissed
him. "Thank you," she quietly said.
Then she quickly hurried away.
Surprised at what just happened, he turned to
Hermione to see her smiling back at him.
"Don't seem so surprised, Harry," she said. "Daphne
has... had... all these ideas of how she'd be treated
under a CBA and it was far, far worse than how you're
treating her."
With a slight scowl he said, "That would be wrong."
"Yes, it would," she agreed. "However, I'm led to
believe her belief is often not far from the reality."
_‗_
―==(oIo)==―
ˇ
Daphne didn't choose to go to the Slytherin dorms,
after all. Instead, she told both, "I need to give it at
least a few days for all the idiots to figure out my
concubinage is not a joke or a scam. It's real.
"I think I should give it until the weekend. And Tracey
agrees."
"In that case, you should think about inviting her up
here," said Hermione.
Harry nodded and said, "Concubinage with me does
not mean you have to say goodbye to your friends or
family."
"That's a good point," said Hermione. "You should
also think of inviting Astoria up here, so she can see
for herself you're alright."
"You're... alright with that?" Daphne softly asked
Harry.
"Of course," he said. "I'm sorry I didn't think to
mention it to you before. I just thought it was a 'given'.
Seeing her surprise he added, "I'll say it again,
Daphne; you are not a slave. You are a witch, free to
do what she wants. I just need to be informed, for
safety issues, not asked permission of.
"Read the agreement again, if you need. There is
nothing in it that requires you to obey me or be
subservient to me. Even me saying I need to be
informed of your movements is only a firm request."
As they were sitting around the coffee table doing
assignments, Daphne had set her quill down to stare
back for a few moments before she said, "Again,
thank you. It never occurred to me about Stori. You're
right that I should talk to her. She'll be worried."
"Then talk to her, dear girl," he firmly said.
She firmed up and replied, "I will. I'll invite her for after
dinner."
"Good," he returned.
_‗_
―==(oIo)==―
ˇ
Daphne had sent her sister a note via Betsy. And, as
expected, the younger girl joined them as they headed
back to the apartment from dinner.
Harry was amused that she kept looking at him with
expression changing between, awe, fear, anger and a
few others. He knew why. He just smiled back.
In reverse order, he thought Astoria to be angry with
him he had 'taken' her sister from her, afraid he'd do
her harm and probably surprised he wasn't doing it
already.
When they entered the apartment, Daphne
immediately dragged her into her room for about
twenty minutes before they both returned to the living
room.
Astoria then marched up to Harry, dragged him to his
feet and hugged him. "Thank you for looking after my
sister," she firmly said.
"You're welcome," he smiled back.
When she pulled away and joined her sister on one of
the other sofas he told her about what he promised
her father concerning her.
"I know," she replied. "Father told me."
"You're not upset with that?" he asked.
"No," she smiled. "I was worried that, with Daphne no
longer in the dorms, I might have been at greater risk.
I made sure the word has now been spread I'm under
your personal protection. That should keep me safe."
He firmly told her, "If anyone bothers you... that way...
you are to immediately let me know, alright?"
"I will," she smiled.
_‗_
―==(oIo)==―
ˇ
Astoria returned to the Slytherin dorms in plenty of
time to make sure she wasn't caught out after curfew.
He even again had Dobby tail her while invisible, just
to make sure she didn't come to harm.
When Daphne had overheard part of the orders
whispered to Dobby, she smiled at him in gratitude.
When Hermione went to bed early, he caught the end
of a quick silent conversation between her and
Daphne. Hermione seemed to be firm about
something and gave Daphne a single nod before she
walked to her room, walked in and closed the door.
Harry just took his time packing things away.
Once done, he set it aside, turned to Daphne, smiled
and said, "Well, I'm for bed."
She hesitated only a moment before she quietly
asked, "Can we talk for a bit, please?"
As he was starting to stand up, he immediately
aborted that and sat back down, turning his whole
attention to her. "Of course," he said, as if it was
obvious. Then waited for her to get her thoughts
together.
It was a few moments before she began. She was also
looking down when she did.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
---------------
Chapter 399
"All my life, since I've been old enough to understand,
I've known I would be the subject of a Line
Continuation Clause in a Betrothal Contract, or
concubinage.
"I didn't even know what concubinage was for the
next couple of years, until Mum explained it to me. I
already knew, by then, what was meant by a Line
Continuation Clause."
Harry sat quietly as she explained her history relating
to such agreements until less than a year earlier.
"That's when things really changed," she said. "Daddy
was getting really worried and kept giving me looks of
pain. It wasn't hard to figure out he was really worried
about me.
"Last summer I finally managed to get him to come
clean with what was going on. I learned of how much
pressure was being brought to bear on him from...
certain families... about, effectively, handing me and
the Greengrass Estate over in what I saw as nothing
less than a... than a... sex slave contract. One where I
would be bound by magic to... service my 'master' any
way and whenever he wanted.
"I've known of those from others. There are others
who have been subjected to those in the recent past
alone. They get... they have to... provide those same
services to whomever and whenever they are ordered
to by their master. They have... I would have... no
choice in the matter.
"Dad had been able to fend them all off by making
outrageous demands back. He'd instantly dismiss
anyone who stated he was to also hand over control
of the Greengrass estates and demand back the same.
He'd claim me to be highly sought after and others
were making similar demands for me. He'd claim he
was the one with the... commodity, and he, therefore,
would set the price.
"He'd been able to do that by practically setting three
others to have to attempt to outbid one another. It
created a sort of détente... a situation where no one
would move and everyone was waiting for the others
to make a mistake.
"Then came you suddenly stepping up and
reactivating the Alliance. In doing that you also saw
Malfoy suddenly on the outs, which put Parkinson and
Nott making moves to take the leadership of the dark.
From what I understand, a deal was made between
them.
"And then the combined pressure against my Dad
increased from now only two working together, with
the third also increasing their own pressure. A schism
in their ranks had occurred and I seemed to be the...
prize; or, one of them, at least.
"Dad went to Lord Longbottom and Lord Longbottom
immediately pointed to you. According to Dad, Lord
Longbottom told him young Lord Potter will not be as
against this as he may have believed. That he was to
talk to the boy; you.
"He checked with others in the Alliance and they all
said the same. That led to him telling me, as a peer of
you, to talk to you about it. He thought you would be
more willing to listen if it was me asking, rather than
him."
"He's right," he replied. "I was. But, that does not
mean I would not have talked to him. It just coming
from you meant you were more invested. I needed to
know this is something you wanted. As I've explained
before, I would not accept you if you were being
forced into it. To me, that's slavery. That's something I
would not have put up with."
She then looked at him with a curious expression.
"I'd been approached by members, who urged me to
act," he continued. "As soon as I learned of the
pressure and hearing direct from you, that's exactly
what I did. If I'd known of the pressure before then, I
would have acted sooner.
"By me taking you under concubinage, you are
lawfully unapproachable. That is, your father is
lawfully unapproachable about you.
"Secondly, it now means your sister will not require a
Line Continuation Clause in any Betrothal Agreement
she's entered into. That should make it a great deal
easier for your father to organise a much better deal
for your sister. And faster."
She seemed to think about that for a while before she
again looked him in the eye. "You're right," she said.
"That's exactly what it means for Astoria."
"And, our agreement," he said. "Has sufficient escape
clauses for you that, if you meet someone you want to
be with instead of me, you can withdraw from it and
enter a new one.
"Once things settle down and we know the pressure
on your father has eased, even if you don't meet
anyone else you can still withdraw from ours.
"I want you to know this well, know this in your heart,
I will not be offended."
"I know," she softly said and smiled. "Hermione made
me very aware of that. Hearing it direct from you,
though, is still a relief."
"Good," he said and smiled.
"There's just one problem," she smiled in return, but
Harry could also see she was a little afraid of saying it.
"I do not think I'll ever want to withdraw."
He thought about that for a few moments before he
said, "I'm... you need to know this... umm... I...
Hermione and I haven't... you know."
As he felt his face heat, he thought, 'Damned blush!'
Trying to continue, he said, "I don't... ummm... You
also need to know I solemnly promise I will never
require you to... ummm... as you put it, provide
service. Understand?
"That, too, is not in the agreement or the contract part.
The only part in there about... that... is what happens if
we do... that... and you fall pregnant from it. Not that
we have to do that."
"You mean have sex," she replied with a smile.
"Errr... yeah," he blushed even harder.
"And what if I want to?" she blatantly asked.
"Ummm... I'm not ready?"
"That's alright," she returned. "Neither am I."
"When I am ready, though," he said. "I want my first
time to be with Hermione. Therefore, she has to be
ready, too. And, she then also has to be fully
accepting of me... doing that with you."
"You don't need to worry about that, Harry," she said.
"That's something between Hermione and me to sort
out."
He nodded, trying to get his blush back under control.
As he sat there, she rose, made her way across to
him, bent forward and kissed him on the cheek. "Good
night, Harry," she said. Then turned and headed for
her room.
Harry made his way to his own room a few minutes
later. He soooo wanted to stare at her bum as she
walked away. But, thought that would be cheating on
Hermione.
_‗_
―==(oIo)==―
ˇ
The next morning no mention was made of the
previous night's chat. He knew Hermione knew they
had it. He'd not missed her pointed looks at Daphne to
stay behind while she went to bed. Nor did he miss
similar pointed looks, with a following smile between
them, the next morning.
This time they crossed the Lords' Quarters hallway
and knocked on the door of the Longbottoms.
And, only five minutes later, were heading down to the
Great Hall.
Susan explained the reason for the delay was due to
Hannah misplacing her watch. That led to a ten minute
search, which only culminated seconds before Harry
knocked on their door when it was found tucked down
between the cushions of one of the sofas.
Again, all six walked in together into the Great Hall
and Tracey, who had until then been sitting at the
Slytherin table, immediately rose and walk over to join
them.
This time the Longbottoms sat with their backs to the
wall, while the Potters and Tracey sat facing it. When
Neville had offered to always sit the other way, Harry
immediately countered with the constant switching
about.
"Sitting at the same place every time opens you up to
a pre-prepared attack," he said. "Some, knowing
where we'd each be sitting later, could slip something
onto our 'place' at the table before anyone else
arrived. Then have it trigger when they knew that
person would be there."
There were no interruptions for breakfast; not even a
pointed sneer in their direction from other Gryffindors.
If anything, the other Gryffindors were very
purposefully avoiding even looking in their direction.
When the mail arrived with a flurry of many mail owl
wings, Harry looked up in time to see Hedwig stoop
down on to the table before him.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
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Chapter 400
Moments later, other owls began to descend onto the
table, all trying to land in front of Daphne and have
their loads freed.
Daphne, already warned the previous morning, did not
move to touch any of them except those she knew.
Neville immediately stood, drew his wand, glared
furiously at all the owls and stunned the lot. Yet again
he did it with one massive cast.
Those owls still trying to find a spare spot on the table
among the earliest owls, cutlery, crockery, serving
platters, condiments and the like dropped onto the
table as if they were marionettes whose strings had
just been cut.
"Mister Longbottom," called Professor Babbling.
"Yes, Professor?" he called back, staring at
everything before him for an owl to suddenly start
moving again.
"Why did you just stun all those owls?" she called.
"Because the last time this happened, Professor," he
replied. "Lord Potter was attacked by booby-trapped
mail!"
Before she could say another word, there was a
sudden rustling of material from behind and just off to
one side of Neville, an auror removing an invisibility
cloak. A catch of movement in the corner of his eye
saw another auror, further down the table, also
remove such a cloak.
The first one firmly declared, "Aurors! We'll take it
from here."
That had many of the students gasp in shock. They
had no idea aurors were within the school and
invisible until that moment.
Headmistress Lady Marchbanks, not missing a beat,
firmly called, "Aurors, the crime scene, if it is a crime
scene, is yours."
The auror didn't say a word back and, as his partner -
at least, the second auror Harry had spotted - walked
up to join him, he said, "Lord Potter, Heir Longbottom
and friends, please stand up and step away from the
table."
The seven were happy to comply, as were the next
four along, where owls had also dropped onto the
table after being stunned.
The first auror was already casting detection charms
over the whole table before they'd all finished getting
to their feet, stepping back over the benches and
moving out of the way.
"Yep!" he declared, as even Harry saw at least three of
the loads on owls glow for a moment. "Definitely
tainted mail."
Looking to the Headmistress he said, "It's now official,
Ma'am. Under my authority as senior auror on site, I
now deem this part of this table... and ten feet of it
either side of me... to be a crime scene.
He then turned to the students and said, "Go find
somewhere else to sit and finish your breakfasts."
Susan immediately said, "The Hufflepuff table will
welcome us." And led the way.
The four non-group Gryffindors that sat nearby all
moved further down the table and found gaps to sit
there.
As Susan and Hannah, leading the other five,
approached the Hufflepuff table, the 'Puffs all slid
down to give them enough room at the end.
While he'd followed, Harry was ropeable. Someone
had dared to attack one of his. Some ones had dared
to attack one of his.
He was just in the process of sitting down between
Hermione and Daphne when he stopped. "No!" he
snarled.
Stepping back over the bench he spun and stormed
back to the Gryffindor table.
One of the aurors, seeing him approach, said, "Lord
Potter, this is a crime scene. Please go and sit down."
"No!" he barked back, coming closer. "Not just no;
but, Hell No!
"This," he snapped, jabbing a finger at all the still
stunned owls, "Was an attack upon the Noble and
Most Ancient House of Potter. By my authority as One
of the Seven, I demand to be informed of the identity
of all those who dared... DARED!... to send one of
mine tainted mail."
"Errr..." stuttered the auror. "Madam Bones has been
contacted and I expect her presence, shortly."
"Right," he snarled. "No moves are to be made to free
or awaken any of the owls until each and every sender
of such mail is identified. Understand me, Senior
Auror?"
"Y-yes, sir!" he snapped back.
There were very few times anyone outside of the auror
chain of command could give an order to an auror.
One of the Seven, doing so to protect their House,
was one such. The auror knew that. All aurors knew
that. It was one of the first things they learned at the
Auror Academy.
They also learned it was a very bad thing for them and
theirs if they did not immediately obey.
Harry was standing still in his rage, staring at the still
stunned owls. Everyone was silent. And it was
because the young man standing in front of the aisle
not far from the head of the Gryffindor table, almost in
front of the head of the Ravenclaw table next to it, was
radiating magic in a near palpable aura.
"Lord Potter?" called Headmistress Lady Marchbanks.
Harry appeared not to have heard her for a moment
before he turned his cold expression upon her.
"Your intent?" she asked. She need not ask more and
she knew it.
"To deal with the perpetrators... personally," he quietly
replied. However, with the power of magic he was
effusing, his words were heard clear down to the
bottom of the Hall.
She hesitated a moment before she asked, "Do you
not feel that might be a little... extreme?"
"If one of those items was designed to cause harm?"
he asked. "No."
Just then Madam Bones rushed in with a half dozen
aurors hurrying to keep up with her.
Seeing Harry standing there and effusing magic, she
hesitated a moment before she hurried over to the
head end of the Gryffindor table. "Johnson," she
snapped. "Report."
With a glance to Harry, who was now coldly staring
back, the auror, Senior Auror Johnson apparently,
immediately and quickly gave his report, indicating
the three Harry had seen glow green earlier.
"And, Ma'am," he added, "Lord Potter wants the
identity of those who sent the tainted mail."
Bones spun around to stare at Harry. "Why?" she
demanded.
Harry just stared back for a moment before he firmly
replied, "You're not a daft moron, Madam Bones.
Please don't pretend to be one."
She stared back for a long moment before she said,
"My aurors can handle this, Lord Potter."
"Really?" he sneered. "How many of those who sent
tainted mail to me after the first task did you
discover?"
When she didn't answer he said, "Someone with a lick
of sense will apply tracking charms to each and every
bloody owl to find out who naffing sent them!"
Bones winced as if in pain. They'd not thought to do
that. And it was patently obvious.
She turned to quickly look at the ankles of all the owls
she could quickly see, to see if any of them had the
blue ankle band that showed them to have come from
the Owl Post Office; none of them did. That meant
they were all personal owls; or, at least, family owls.
Turning back, she said, "Then trust me when I tell you
we will be doing precisely that."
"And, when you discover the identity of the senders?"
he demanded.