Harry and the girls had no trouble pulling up a memory as they were used to doing so with Occlumency. Ron had a little more trouble but eventually got it. "All Ready?" Tonks asked and they nodded and closed their eyes. The six of them felt the magic swirl slowly around them and then suddenly they were squeezed through a tube. Harry thought it was much more uncomfortable than doing it with Dumbledore had been. Within a heartbeat they were standing in Diagon Alley.
"Way to go kids, I don't think I ever felt this good after Apparating." Remus said. Both girls looked relieved. Meanwhile Tonks collapsed into Harry's arms. "Speak for yourself Wolfy, that takes a lot out of a girl!" Tonks said. Harry knew it must have been because Ron had not helped much. The girls must have done it perfectly meaning they actually added enough magic to transport themselves.
The first stop as usual was Gringotts. Harry remembered that Griphook has requested a meeting next time he was at the bank, and let the others know. They agreed to do their business while he conducted his, seeing as they all had to wait in line for a teller. Harry looked to the end of the room where the same goblin sat hunched over a book in front of the double doors. He walked up.
"Excuse me, would you be the Keeper?" Harry asked. The creature looked up at him with contempt before noticing his scar. Comprehension dawned in his eyes as he nodded.
"Yes Mr. Potter I am the Keeper, did you wish to speak to your account manager?" he asked with a smile, which showed way too many teeth.
"Yes thank you, Griphook asked that I meet with him at my next convenience." Harry said feeling less nervous now that he knew he was in the right place. The keeper nodded and beckoned him to follow. They walked through the doors and down the hall past the conference room where they had heard Sirius Will. The turned left at an intersection and stopped in front of a gilded door three in from the turn.
"This is Griphook's Office, if you need assistance when you leave Griphook will contact me." And with that he turned and left Harry in the middle of the hallway. Feeling a bit of fear but summoning his Gryffindor courage he knocked. "Enter!" A voice shouted.
Harry opened the door and stepped inside, the office was small but large enough for the ornate desk and two comfortable looking chairs. There were books in shelves along one wall and what looked like Skulls hung as trophies on the other wall. Harry decided not to think to hard about the one that looked like a goblin and one that was distinctly Troll shaped. "Ah Lord Potter-Black, How may I help you today?" Griphook greeted him.
"You mentioned I should stop by for a chat, my friends are currently waiting in line for the teller so I thought I would stop by." Harry said, trying to act as if everything were normal. Which it was, even if it wasn't normal for him as of a week ago.
"Yes, the lines can get long before school begins. We make a good deal of money exchanging Muggle for Magical. But that is neither here nor there. Milord.." Harry cut him off. "Griphook please, in private you may call me Harry." The goblin looked surprised but continued. "Harry I just wanted to meet with you again. You are very unusual for a wizard, you see us as equals rather than servants. It is rather refreshing after so long with wrong minded humans around."
Harry answered the unspoken question. "I just feel like all sentient creatures should be treated as equals. I use the term people to include anyone I can communicate with as an equal." Harry said. Wondering where this was going.
"Well Harry, I just wanted to say so in person, I look forward to working with you in the future. Now, is there anything I can do for you today?" He asked.
Harry nodded. "I will be shopping today in the Alley as well as in Muggle London, I really don't want to carry around a huge amount of money if it can be helped." He said.
"Ah yes, we have a bank front in the Muggle world as well, you may know it as Barclays. We can set up a debiting account and get you a card for the Muggle world. For you Mr. Potter I can wave the fees and exchange rates." Harry nodded but wondered. "Griphook, do you think you could do the same with my friends. I do not want to impinge on your generosity, but these people have the same views as I, they simply are not so well known as to be noticed by you." He finished.
Griphook was silent for a moment but nodded slowly. "We can do that for you Harry, I assume Ms. Granger is one of them?" he asked and Harry nodded in response. "We will also have all of your accounts set up so that you may deposit Muggle currency if you wish, and access your account at Gringotts, without exchange rates as well." He finished with a grin. "We really do hope to continue our business with you Harry. And if the prophecy is to be believed you can rely on the Goblin Nation to back you up if needed. We may be mild mannered bankers by day." Harry snorted in derision, what a ludicrous statement to call any Goblin mild. Griphook motioned to the wall of skulls. "But we have kept up the old traditions and every Goblin male is still a blooded warrior first."
Harry nodded his thanks and Griphook wrote something on a piece of parchment. He held it in the air by a corner and it folded itself into the shape of a small bird, which flew out of the room. "I requested your cards and account setup for Remus Lupin, Nymphadora Tonks, Ronald and Ginevra Weasley, Hermione Granger, and yourself." Harry tried not to react at how well informed they were. He reached into a drawer and withdrew a pad of paper the size of a Muggle checkbook. "These are drafts that are linked to your accounts here. The magic recognizes you as you sign your name to prevent fraud. The signature itself is just for show. You can use these at most establishments here in the Alley, however if you are going into Knockturn you may want to take some coin with you." He finished, smiling at Harry.
"Thank you for everything Griphook. Can I go to my vault and pick up some coin?" He asked. The Goblin smiled once again. "This is a good time to test your bank drafts." He said motioning to the book he had handed over previously. "As a side note, you can also fill one out and take it to a teller, only going to the vault if you have need of something inside besides money."
Harry picked up a quill from the desk and wrote out 200G on the slip, and then signed his name. He saw a vault number appear at the bottom that did not match his key. As he handed over the slip he asked. "That is not my vault number, what is it?" Griphook placed the paper in a tray where it promptly disappeared. "That was the number of the Black family vault. When you turn 17 you will also gain access to the Potter Vaults. The one you referred to earlier is your Trust vault, it works much the same way as the one I set up for your elves to use." He said.
"You mean that vault fills back up at the end of every month!" Harry exclaimed. "How much money do I have exactly?" he asked.
Griphook did not look happy. "Your magical guardian should have been giving you statements from us ever since you turned 12. That is the traditional time when one is trained in finance."
Harry looked livid. "I understand, my Guardian has not seen fit to share any of this with me. Do you think you could owl the statement directly to me, at least as far as the vaults I currently have access to?" He asked. Nodding Griphook made a note, there was a flash of light and a bag of coins appeared in the box beside him. "Ah, here you are Harry, 200 Galleons, please keep the bag, the magic will deteriorate after it is empty and it will dissolve back into the magic it was made from. Until then only you will be able to open it." Harry nodded and took the bag noticing it must have expansion and weight reduction charms on it. "I did not know you could place charms on conjured items." Harry said idly.
"Oh, you can't. But Goblins can." He said mysteriously. Harry decided to ponder that another time. A much larger paper bird flapped its way back into the office and unfolded as it landed on Griphook's desk. Inside were 6 shiny black debit cards with the Barclays logo on the front. "Ah here you are Mr. Potter. Once you sign your name on the back of the card it will recognize only your magic, much like the draftbook, it will show as deactivated for anyone else attempting to use it. I trust you will deliver these to your friends safely?" He asked.
Harry nodded as he stood. "Thank you for everything Griphook." At a sudden loss for words he thought back to the letter he got from the goblin. "May your gold always flow and your enemies drip rubies." He said formally and as almost an after though he dipped his head slightly toward the Goblin. Griphook's eyes widened and he stood walking around the desk. He bowed deeply, his head almost touching the floor. "May your gold multiply and your enemies be barren." He said formally. Before standing back up. "Have a good day Lord Potter-Black, you have honored me with your presence."
A confused Harry waved and turned around. He walked out the door and turned left, at the intersection he turned left again. He was thanking his Occlumency once again for the ability to build mental maps at an almost real-time speed. Exiting through the double doors he walked up and joined Hermione and Ginny in line. Ginny leapt upon him and kissed him passionately, eliciting hisses from some of the older wizards and witches in the crowd. "I missed you." She said sincerely.
"Amazing how attached you can get to someone after a week isn't it?" Ron looked on disgusted as he wrapped his arms around her waist. He noted that they were still several places back in line. "Hermione do you have any gold on you?" She shook her head. "Oi! Remus, Tonks!" They looked at him from the next queue. "Do you two have any gold on you?" They both nodded but looked confused. He stepped out of the queue in between the teens on one side and the adults on the other. He pulled the cards out of his pocket and began passing them out.
"Harry what are these? I don't have an account at Barclay's?" Hermione asked.
"You do now, Barclay's is the front for Gringotts in the Muggle world. I was able to get a great deal from my account manager." He whispered to them not wanting to incite a riot. "These are exchange free and link to your Gringotts vaults. You can also deposit Muggle money at Barclay's and they will add it to your Gringotts vault also exchange fee free." He finished.
They all looked at the shiny black cards in wonder. "Harry that's brilliant, but why would the Goblins be so nice to you?" Ron asked. He smiled at his mate and said. "Respect I suppose. Most witches and wizards look down on the goblins as something slightly above a house elf. Where as I see House elves and other magical creatures as equals. They don't want to make an enemy of me." Harry finished.
Hermione couldn't help herself; she threw her arms around his neck and kissed him firmly on the lips before realizing what she had done, and in front of her boyfriend no less. "Uh, sorry. That was brilliant Harry, I told you that you were a great wizard." She said, and quickly returned to Ron's arms. Harry looked up at Ron but he had more of a surprised face than angry or jealous, though both were present. "Sorry Ron, I am not actively trying to steal your girlfriend, this one is a handful as it is." As he said this his hand and drifted behind Ginny and he grabbed her bum to demonstrate his point. She squeaked and slapped his shoulder. "Prat! Honestly!" but she kissed his cheek just the same.
Ron looked about to be sick, but he sucked it up and thought of a response. "It's alright mate, we all know how close you two are, and you had to go and one up her. Just don't get me dragged into S.P.E.W. and I can forgive anything." Ron said playfully. Ginny and Hermione shared a look and burst out laughing. Harry consciously chose not to sink to their level and Ron just looked confused before grinning at his apparent wittiness. This caused the girls to laugh even harder.
"Tell you guys what, I know you are all good for it and I have a draft book and 200 Galleons. You can pay me back later, and now you can all access your money when we go into London proper later." He said jingling his moneybag for effect. They all quickly agreed after looking at the lines one more time.
They walked out of the bank and quickly began discussing plans for the day. While the others were talking Harry happened to look across the street and saw the large storefront with a large banner hanging over the windows. "Future Home of Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes" He quickly attracted his girlfriend's attention and pointed, she in turn did the same to her brother. Ron ignored Hermione as he stared at the banner. "Bloody Hell! They actually did it!" Ron exclaimed.
Turning from her conversation with Tonks at his exclamation Hermione quickly chastised him. "Language Ronald!" But as she saw where they were looking she felt like cursing herself. "Wow, they actually did it!" She said.
"Well they have not actually done anything yet, we're still working on a few products before…" Remus trailed off his eyes going wide.
"Moony! You old marauder you, you've lumped yourself in with that lot have you?" Harry exclaimed happily.
"Yes, well. I thought Sirius would enjoy it," Everyone but Ginny missed Harry sucking in a breath at the mention of his Godfather. She took his hand and squeezed, he smiled in appreciation. Meanwhile the wolf was still going on about his new business venture. "Plus it will give me a steady job doing research for them. We have quite a few products already. Did you know they have a confection that turns you into a bird for a few seconds?"
"Canary Creams!" The teen said in unison, startling their ex-professor.
"Yes, well I suppose you all would know as much about the current line as I do, considering you've probably been product testers willingly or unwillingly in the past." He finished with a smile.
"I am so happy for you Moony, really that bloody brilliant. Sirius always did like those two, of course that might have been because they worshiped him." Harry said.
Remus looked put out as he said. "Yes, they gave me no end of trouble when I approached them about investing. Going on about 'caving into the Man' and other nonsense." The teens burst out laughing, even Tonks understood that joke, and unfortunately Moony was still clueless.
"In any case," Tonks said, "I guess me and the girls are going to go clothes shopping, and apparently we are going to look at books." She said the last as if she were asked to clean Flobberworm poo with her tongue. Then we can meet you gents at the cauldron for lunch at say… eleven-ish?" Tonks asked.
The men quickly agreed. Harry pulled out his moneybag and gave each of them 50 Galleons, figuring he could always use his draft book if he needed to make a purchase. "Ron I can spot you for your broom as well, The Firebolt is only 50K after all." Ron's eyes glazed over and Ginny laughed. Hermione however was not about to let him spend that kind of money. "Ronald Weasley you promised your mum you wouldn't spend all your money, and you only have a fifth of that amount anyway." She turned to Harry.
"And you will not allow him to borrow the difference. Honestly Ron a Keeper doesn't need a racing broom. You would be better off with the new Comet 500K series. Its acceleration is actually faster than the Firebolt over a 5 foot distance and the charms were tweaked to allow lateral maneuverability, so you can change positions without looking away from the field of play." She said. All five of them looked at her like she had grown a second head. "What?" she asked defensively. "I figured if I was dating a Quidditch fanatic the least I could do was study up on his position." She neglected to mention that her previous studies were all seeker related.
"Hermione I think I love you!" Ron said, startling everyone out of their shock.
Hermione's face went white as a ghost, which is an achievement with the tan she was sporting. "Don't say something like that Ron, we've barely been dating a week."
Ron looked a bit crushed for a moment, but quickly recovered. "I didn't mean it like that, we've been mates for years now, I was just saying. Um, thank you for taking an interest in my position. How much did the 500K cost?" He asked to change the subject.
"That's the best part, because its such a specialized broom and can't really be used for anything else like say, the Firebolt which can be flown over long distances, They are producing it for about 3,000 galleons." Hermione said, silently thanking him for finding a way not to have a row about this in the middle of the street.
"Mum won't be too pleased." Ginny said. "But it's your money, and you're a damn good keeper. If you go Pro because someone watched you play on that broom it will be worth it." She finished.
Harry nodded in agreement with his girlfriend. "But to be safe maybe you should pick up some books on household charms and interior design. If they don't have something like that at Flourish 'n Blotts I'm sure they will in London later." Ron looked thoughtful before nodding.
That decided the girls quickly kissed the boys goodbye. Harry received three kisses and didn't stop grinning till they made it to Quality Quidditch Supplies. Inside they made their way over to the Racing brooms, just to have a look. The Firebolt was still the best broom on the market, but the salesman was telling them the rumor was that there was a Firebolt II heading for market next year. Harry drooled at the thought, and decided he would need a new broom soon. His Firebolt was a gift from Sirius and he wanted to put it on the wall in his room to remember the man by, rather than risk getting it smashed to pieces like his Nimbus had in Third year.
The salesman turned around and finally noticed who he was talking to. Suddenly he seemed very nervous and began stammering, he finally gave up and excused himself to get the manager. Harry looked to Remus and Ron in confusion. The wolf had a knowing look on his face that was irritating Harry to no end.
"Just what are you smiling at Wolfy?" Harry asked adopting Tonks' apparent pet name.
"Oh just remembering something Sirius told me once." He said mysteriously.
Finally the manager returned with a wide smile on his face. "Ah Lord Black, how wonderful of you to grace this establishment!"
"Why does everyone insist on calling me that, its just Harry. Mister?" Harry said.
"Brumming sir. Silas Brumming." The man was entirely to excited just to be meeting the Boy-Who-Lived.
"Well Silas, may I call you Silas?" he asked the man.
"Of course Harry." He said with a large smile.
"Can I ask you why you are so excited to meet me?" Harry said honestly lost.
The man looked confused for a moment. "Sir, the Black family is a 90% shareholder in this chain of stores." The man said, happy to let his boss know.
"Oh!" Was all Harry could say, he was definitely looking forward to that letter from Griphook.
"Between the Potters and the Blacks I would say you probably own half of Diagon Alley sir." The man said happily.
Harry was staring off into space, he said dreamily, "Thank you, can we look at the 500K now?"
The man did not question he just led them over to the display on the far wall. "Of course as majority owner you can request one gratis." The man said. "But unless I am mistaken you are the Gryffindor Seeker correct?"
"Youngest seeker in a century." Harry responded blankly.
The man was getting worried. Remus smiled at him and spoke softly. "He was not made aware of just how much money he will receive on his 17th birthday. He did not know until the Will reading that the Black's held the title of Lord. I think he may be broken."
The man looked even more worried, but Harry had apparently heard what Remus said because he responded. "Wait, What? I thought everybody was calling me Lord because I was head of the Family or something?" Harry said.
Remus smiled. "No Harry, the Black Patriarch is also the Lord of Kent, at least for Magical folk. It is an ancient title that really has no meaning anymore after the Ministry of Magic was created and the Minister appointed the Queens Wizard. But the crown still acknowledges the Noble and Most ancient houses."
Harry stared at the older man for a moment. "The Queen knows about magic?"
"Yes Harry, we are all still subjects of the crown, and if needed, she could technically call on you to provide manpower or monetary support for a war effort. In any case, what do you want to do about the broom?"
That brought him back to reality. "Um, not gratis please, but my friend here could use an employee discount. What is that normally?" Harry asked.
"The employee discount is 15% Harry. Would you like that wrapped?" He said taking one of the brooms down off the wall.
Harry looked over at Ron whose eyes were bugging out. "Uh yes please?" Harry said.
The man took the broom to the register and began wrapping it in brown paper just like his Firebolt came in. "Sir? Did you ever meet Sirius Black?" The man stopped what he was doing and looked up at him.
He licked his lips and his eyes darted nervously around. The effect was enough like watching Wormtail fidget that Harry was getting nauseated. "Yes sir, He ordered a Firebolt broom about 3 years ago. He only took a 50% discount, said it was a gift." He looked up at Harry with dawning realization. "He was a wonderful man, I never believed he was guilty."
Harry nodded and waited out the pain that seemed to race across his chest, before lightening to a dull ache. "He was innocent, I am glad you got to meet him. How much does this come to?" Harry asked pulling off a draft.
"The broom was 3,000 Galleons on sale, less 15% comes to 2,550." The man said eyeing the draft. It recognized Harry's magic and placed the correct number at the bottom.
"Thank you sir! It was a pleasure to have you in here today." The man smiled cheerily and walked off to find another customer.
Ron finally came to as Harry handed him his new broom. Remus waved his wand and quickly shrank it to manageable size. "Bloody Hell mate, is there anything you don't have?" he said a bit bitterly.
"Yeah, my family." Harry said back. Ron looked ashamed but still a bit annoyed. "Or Hermione." Harry added as an afterthought, which seemed to cheer Ron up a little. Harry felt a little guilty, but pushed it aside to deal with later.
Remus coughed politely. "So then, where to next?"
With the jovial mood somewhat restored the three headed back into the alley and spent some time just browsing. All of the shopkeepers were happy to see them, as business had been unusually slow before the school letters had arrived.
*************************SFTP************************
Meanwhile the girls were trying on clothes at Madame Malkin's and gossiping about the boys in their life. They somehow wandered into a lingerie section neither of the schoolgirls had seen before. And as the conversation got more intimate so did the apparel. Tonks came out of the changing room and stood before the mirror. She called out to the others.
"So Ginny, you finally snagged Harry did ya?" She looked in the mirror and didn't like the way the knickers were sitting on her hips, so she closed her eyes and concentrated. When she opened them her hips had widened slightly and the material was now stretched perfectly taught across her bottom.
"Yeah," Ginny replied from her room. "It has been one hell of a week, our um, Occlumency lessons, are pretty intense. We have sort of been edging toward one another." He said, she stepped out of the room and looked in the mirror at Tonks. "Very nice, but you can do better, hell I guess if you wanted you could find the cutest piece they have and make it fit." She said. Tonks looked at her in the mirror and growled. "Do you know how tired I get of hearing that?" She stepped back into her changing room and pulled the curtain closed a little too quickly.
Ginny called to her through the curtain. "Sorry, but remember its just us girls here, we aren't some bloke trying to get into your knickers." She heard a grunt, which she took as understanding and looked into the mirror. She was wearing a thong in emerald green that matched Harry's eyes. Her top was a see through number with a very thin ribbon of silk that was barely wide enough for her small nipples.
"Is that what you call what happened this morning?" Hermione asked loud enough for Tonks to hear as she came out of her dressing room. She noted the piece that Ginny was wearing. "You know that top is almost made for you, or Tonks. If I put that on mine would be hanging out around the silk!"
Tonks came out in a cute baby doll dress, which surprisingly fit her without alteration. "There is a spell woven into the silk, it resizes itself to be just big enough to cover the naughty bits. What happened this morning?" She asked curiously. Hermione realized what she had revealed and looked quickly at Ginny in the mirror. Ginny sighed and turned.
"Tonks what we are about to tell you can never be spoken of outside of the three of us am I clear?" Tonks looked bewildered but nodded. "Oh this has to be juicy, do you want an oath or is my word enough?" She said excitedly.
The other girls shared a look and Hermione shook her head slightly. "No Tonks we trust you," Ginny said. "You know Harry has been teaching us his version of Occlumency right?" Tonks nodded. "Well I was having trouble concentrating and slipping into a trance, Hermione here mentioned that even clothing was enough of a distraction to keep her from getting it." Tonks' eyes widened.
"You mean you have to be in the buff in order to find your center?" Tonks asked. Both girls looked at her curiously. "Aurors are required to have at least minimal shielding. Come on you can't leave me hangin now!"
Hermione picked up the story. "No not any more, but when I was first learning I found it helped me a lot. So when Harry left us on that first day I had her strip down to bare essentials, a little less than she has on right now." She said looking at the girl in the mirror. "So anyway she finally is able to get some sort of trance going. So I settle down to concentrate as well. Not nude, but just bra and knickers." Tonks nodded with rapt attention.
Ginny picked up the story. "Well Harry walked in on us because someone forgot to lock the door. He was mortified!" She said giggling a little at the memory. "We finally convinced him it was okay to look. Before he fled the room with his tail between his legs." She let out a full laugh at this which Tonks and Hermione joined in.
"Well we have a little conversation after the door closed. I really didn't mean for it to happen, but Ginny did want to make him notice her, and it definitely worked." Hermione said. "Unfortunately he noticed me too." She finished sadly.
Ginny jumped in, "That is not a bad thing Mione so stop right now, you know I don't care." Hermione nodded, so Ginny continued. "Anyway so since the cat was sort of out of the bag she convinced me to push his limits, that she got to do so as well was just a bonus." Ginny said tossing a grin at the girl in question.
"So?!?" Tonks asked firmly.
"So our plan backfired a little bit," Hermione said. "Now all three of us run around starkers in our rooms all day, and rather than getting used to it like I thought, we all got rather randy instead. It really isn't so bad for us since its not as noticeable." She started to say but Ginny cut in.
"No he has one hell of a sense of smell." She looked over at Tonks. "If you know what I mean." Tonks just looked back stunned. This was the most excitement she had had barring her first night with Remus, since kissing Harry in the Hallway.
"Anyway," Hermione said, clearly miffed at being interrupted. "This morning we went to wake Harry up and this one was so excited she sat in his lap. Problem is he was sleeping on top of the sheets, as I said before, we were all starkers." Tonks gasped, she could see where this was going and could hardly believe these words were coming from bookworm Hermione.
"Ginny blushed a bright red. Yeah, so he got a little excited when he woke up to find to naked witches in his bed, and he was um, rubbing, against, uh, me." She took a shaky breath reliving the moment. "He came in between us, I was covered nearly from carpet to curtains." Tonks breathed sharply.
"Oh my god, you three are naughty!" She exclaimed.
"Oh that wasn't the best part," She said, getting back at her roommate for starting this conversation. "See what happened could be called an accident until Hermione couldn't keep her hands to herself. Or rather, she did keep her hands to herself, if you know what I mean." Tonks looked at Hermione in amazement.
"It was so bloody hot, I was about blow anyway so I decided to enjoy it." Hermione said blushing furiously.
"Language Hermione." Both Tonks and Ginny said in unison, causing her to blush even harder.
Ginny laughed, "That wasn't the best part," She gave Hermione a significant look and licked her lips. "Though it was thoroughly enjoyed by all of us. No the best part was she collapsed after she came, right onto Harry's face."
Hermione tried to divert the attention back to the redhead. "At least I wasn't the one he came on three times!" She said.
Ginny raised an eyebrow. "I am not the one he French kissed without coming anywhere near her mouth." Ginny said and Tonks promptly sat down hard barely managing to avoid fainting.
"Holy freaking cow, what have you three been up to? And where was Ron during all of this?" Tonks asked Hermione.
Hermione started to sniffle and Ginny pulled her into a hug. "Ron and Hermione are not doing so well, and she feels very guilty about what happened. She is working on it, but if Ron doesn't meet her halfway I don't know how they are going to stay together." Ginny said, it was the first time she had said it out loud and Hermione wailed.
"I really want it to work, but he just isn't trying. All he wants to do is snog. But Harry and I already had this conversation and decided we were remaining friends." She sniffed as the sobs subsided. "Besides, I don't fail. I will make this relationship work if I bloody well have to tie him down and make him talk to me."
Tonks began laughing at the mental picture she got. Ginny and Hermione both looked at her with suspicion. "Sorry, I just had a mental flash." She giggled again. "Yes, Mistress Hermione, whatever you say Mistress Hermione, may I lick you boots Mistress Hermione." Ginny began laughing too leaving Hermione looking bewildered. "They do say it's always the quiet ones. Who would have suspected kink out of our bookworm?" Tonks asked.
Ginny shot Hermione a look. "I did."
Tonks looked between them and slowly stopped her laughing fit, though she still giggled every now and then. "So, how does all of this lead to Harry and Ginny finally getting together?" She asked.
Hermione took a deep breath and ignored the last two minutes of her life. "They had a conversation this morning, after our shower." Tonks looked at her again, and a giggle escaped. "What! It was just bathing, it's not like anything happened!" Hermione said.
"Speak for yourself Hermione, to make room for you I reached behind me and tucked him between my buttocks. He whispered something about Cumming all over my back. And feeling bold and rather randy I told him I wouldn't mind, said I would consider it a very happy accident." She said, her breathing coming in short spurts as she remembered. "So he took himself in hand and shot his load all over my back. Later he said he had sorted some of his feeling out and decided he was repressing his guilt about our three-way relationship. Then somehow he asked me out!" She finished the story. Hermione was looking at her with a bit of jealousy and a bit of outrage.
"He was supposed to be washing your hair!" She whispered with force. Ginny just shook her head and smiled.
"Rinse!" She said the one word and the event clicked into Hermione's mind.
Tonks watched them bicker like a tennis match, but noticed there was no real anger in their words, more playful and daring. "So?" she asked.
"So nothing, then I kissed him. God can he kiss!" Ginny exclaimed quietly.
"Hell yeah he can." Tonks said before she could catch herself. Both girls looked at her strangely so she decided to confess.
"He got rid of that thrice-damned troll leg in the hallway, I was thanking him." She said with a shrug. "It was the first day before you guys started any of this as far as I can tell so get your knickers in a twist." She paused in thought. "Unless you want Harry to untwist them."
Both girls groaned at the mental image. "Sorry, anyway it was a weak moment, he is actually the one who told me how to turn Wolfy around to my way of thinking."
They looked at her questioningly, waiting for her to continue. "It was Sirius actually. Harry reminded me to tell Remus Love has no age."
Both of the girls nodded in agreement and by unspoken command headed into their own changing rooms to get ready to leave.
"Um, not to put a downer on the mood, but you girls know about magical contraceptives right?" Tonks asked stepping out of her room.
Ginny stepped out of hers. "Uh, yeah. Mum found out me and Harry are dating and pulled both of us aside. She gave us each a few Galleons to go to the apothecary." She said blushing. "Which is really weird for my mum, but I think Sirius mention of Harry being an adult made her look at all of us differently and she just wants us to be safe."
The last girl stepped out. "So, Tonks." Hermione asked in a clinical tone. "How is it, I mean werewolf genes and all that?"
Tonks laughed as she called out. "One word, Stamina!" she giggled along with the other two. They all exited at about the same time and left to finish their other shopping before heading to the Leaky Cauldron to meet up with the girls.
*************************SFTP************************
The fellas arrived at the Leaky Cauldron about 30 minutes early and got a corner table to wait for the girls. Remus said something to Ron who nodded and went up to the bar and sat down. Ordering a Butterbeer and drinking it their. Harry looked at his quasi-uncle curiously. "What's up Moony?"
Now that the time was actually here Remus was completely unprepared. He wondered if Sirius had done it but guessed probably not so it was left to either him or Arthur and that would be wrong on so many levels. "Harry what do you know about Sex?" he asked, nearly causing Harry to do a spit-take.
No way would Moony do this to him! It was bad enough when Sirius sat him down and started the awkward conversation, eventually Harry had learned things about pleasing a witch he never could have imagined, but that was after sever glasses of Firewhisky. Deciding it was a perfect chance for a prank, Harry quickly locked his embarrassment away using Occlumency but put his best horror face on. "Uh, well slot A tab B and all that.." he stuttered convincingly.
Remus mentally cursed his best friend for leaving him to do this. "There is a bit more to it than that Harry, Um, there are certain contraceptive spells you should know. And there are potions for the girls but you should always be doubly certain just in case." Remus said, his face slowly beginning to glow from the fierce blush. Harry looked up at Tom and motioned a shot with his hand and then the number two, while Remus had his eyes closed trying to come with his next sentence. Tom seeing the look on Remus' face nodded and began pouring.
"What brought this on?" Harry asked, he was actually curious but it was part of the act as well.
Remus tapped his nose without looking at Harry. "Werewolf senses you know. I can smell both girls on you in a very intimate way. The funny thing is there was almost no trace of Hermione on Ron. Care to explain?" He asked without looking at him.
Deciding to end the charade but have a bit of fun first Harry asked. "Well, I do have some questions, There is this one position where one girl is laying with her legs toward you, and the other girls is straddling the first girl but facing you, And then.." He trailed off as Remus looked like he was going to pop a vein."
Tom took that moment to deliver two shots of Firewhisky; Harry expressed his thanks and pushed one toward the older man. "Moony, drink up. Sirius went over this with me at Christmas last year. Of course he though Hermione and I were already together. Which we aren't by the way. Our Occlumency means we are in very close contact for a lot of the time, and that is as much as I will go into out of respect for the girls. But Hermione is dating Ron and I am dating Ginny, that's that. Now drink up!" he said taking his glass and raising it.
The older man growled menacingly before picking up his glass and beginning to laugh. "Thank heavens, I thought I was going to die. To Sirius and to the best prank I have had pulled on me in a long time!" He said.
Harry repeated, "To Sirius." And they both drank up. Coughing and emitting steam from there ears they grinned at each other. Harry called out to the other boy.
"Um Moony." Harry said quietly suddenly needing to ask a very awkward question.
The man sighed, "Yes Cub?"
Look, nothing is going to happen any time soon. But I can't do magic for another three days. Just to be safe, could you uh…"
"Which spell were you thinking of Harry?" Remus asked kindly.
"The Subsisto Sperma . Harry was thankful he was repressing his emotions for now or he would have been Scarlet.
"Normally Cub I would tell someone not to use that one as its irreversible for 21 lunar cycles. But seeing as your only 16 it probably is your safest bet. You know it stops the sperm not the semen production correct?" Harry nodded as Ginny might hurt him otherwise judging from her reactions.
"I know all about it, will you please just cast it so we can move on?" He asked quickly.
Remus nodded and cast the spell. Harry felt the slightly uncomfortable shock to his balls but is soon disappeared as the charm took effect. He looked up at the counter.
"Oi Ron! You gonna take all day or you gonna bring us back some Butterbeer?"
Ron stood and made his way back to the table after asking tom for three more bottles. All better mate? I have to say you look a might bit better than I did when Dad gave me the talk. I liked to have beaten the Twins Muggle style after all the rubbish they had filled my head with." He said as he sat down. "Actually Wolfy here looks more worse for-wear than you do. What did you do to him?"
"He pranked me rather roundly," Moony said taking a sip from his bottle. "Apparently Sirius gave him the talk at Christmas, you are a very convincing actor by the way." He complimented Harry.
"Being a Natural and a Master Occlumens helps. I can almost see why Dumbledore finds Snape useful if he is half as good as I am." He said snidely.
Knowing it was a losing battle to convince Harry that Snape wasn't all that bad, and not really believing it himself Remus tried to change the subject. "Ron, how did you know I was giving him the talk anyway?"
"Oh, well you were really nervous, you asked me to give you two fifteen or so alone, and I noticed the look on your face in the kitchen this morning when you saw him wrapped around my sister." He said looking a little sick. "So it was either that or you were making a move on him. I decided to go with the first one. Glad to know I was right." Ron said and saluted with his bottle before downing half of it noisily.
Remus nodded. "You two really are a pair. Add in Ms. Grangers brains and Ms. Weasleys temper and I shudder to be the person who wrongs you." Remus said saluting back in the same manner. Harry just shrugged between them and downed a good amount of his own bottle. Soon the girls walked in and Harry asked Remus to excuse him. Remus let Harry out and he went to greet Ginny properly and led her to a table for two in a far corner but still in sight of Remus as per the agreement they reached earlier.
Ron on the other hand simply waved to Hermione. She gave Tonks a long glance before grabbing his hand and dragging him to a table halfway to the Alley entrance. Tonks sat down at Remus' table and they all enjoyed a light lunch. The date went much better for Tonks and Ginny who actually got conversation. Hermione got to watch as Ron ate his third order of chips. "Alright Ronald, do you think we can talk?" She got fed up and confronted him.
"We talk all the time Hermione, why ruin a perfectly good meal?" He asked much to her annoyance.
"Because you git, this is supposed to be our first date. Would you please quit eating for a few moments and have an actual conversation with me? Our relationship can't be based completely on snogging." She said with a glare.
"Fine," Ron said pushing his plate away. "So what do you want to talk about?"
She thought for a moment about ending it right there but decided for the umpteenth time that for some reason he was worth the trouble. "I need to talk to you about what goes on during our Occlumency sessions." She said. Already feeling lighter.
"What about it?" Ron said with a confused look. "You said it was too private or something and you didn't want to talk about it."
"Look Ron, it was all my fault really. I need you to listen before you react alright?" he nodded. She took a deep breath and soldiered on. "Ron in order for Ginny and I to meditate properly we have to be.. um, nude." She said looking at him for a reaction. The first emotion she thought she saw was excitement, the second was jealousy, and the third was disgust, she was rather worried about what he was going to say next.
"May I speak now?" He asked her, she nodded. "So you are saying that you and Ginny sit around most of the day naked? Where is Harry during this, I thought he was teaching you." Ron asked.
"He is, Harry is there, and Harry is nude as well." She said. His ear tips burned a bit but he tried to be calm rather than going with the first emotion like normal, that always ended badly, Fourth year being a prime example. He took a deep breath and began speaking again.
"Alright, So you, and Harry, and my sister, who is now dating Harry. Sit around naked all day meditating and doing whatever it is that gives you Occlumency shields?" he asked calmly much to Hermione's surprise.
"Pretty much." She said, waiting for him to end it, or explode or something.
"May I assume that with all the nudity going on, that things are getting a bit.. um. Sexual?" He asked. She was surprised but nodded without looking him in the eye. The jealousy started to come through in his tone. "Are you having sex with Harry?" He asked point Blank, though quietly enough that people at the next table couldn't hear him."
"NO!" She tried not to shout.
He calmed considerably. "Are my sister and he having sex?" He asked, not really wanting to know the answer.
"No, they have not had sex." Hermione chose her words carefully.
He went over everything again in his head. Occasionally taking a deep breath as though to begin talking, and then letting it out slowly as his mind wandered again. Eventually he sighed in defeat.
"Look, I can't say I like it at all. My best mate and my Girlfriend naked in the same room, especially when I haven't gotten to see her naked yet." He sent her a look and for once she looked contrite rather than upset at his remark. "And I cannot say that I like the idea of my best mate and my baby sister, who are now dating, being naked in the same room." He looked at her again, but she could not read his emotions this time. "I don't think I want to know what kind of kinky rituals you might be doing, but as long as you aren't having sex with him I guess I can deal." He took a breath and the look on his face said that it hurt him to tell her that. "But since you're all three together, and you are convinced that you are helping Harry. I can't say I am disappointed." He finished.
She stared at him for a full minute before speaking. "Honestly?" She asked quietly. He only nodded and continued to look her in the eye. "Oh Ron I have been trying to tell you for days now, but you kept putting off the talking in favor of Snogging and I was feeling so guilty for hiding it from you, and angry with you for not talking to me!" She said almost coherently. She then dove around the table and straddled his lap, she wrapped her hands around his faced and kissed him, he as usual tentatively licked her lips and to his surprise she opened her mouth and began dueling with his tongue. The kiss was cut off short as people began clapping and cat calling.
Hermione blushed and quickly sat back down avoiding eye contact with anyone in the room. "Ron you don't know how much that means to me. I trust Harry with my life, I'm sorry you and I don't have that yet but you have to admit that all the bickering probably got in the way." She said. He just grinned stupidly in the afterglow of that kiss and nodded. "So you really aren't angry?" She asked him.
"Only if you ask me to join you ever again, As much as I want to hang out with you naked all day, I do not want to be in the same room as those two in the same state. She's my sister for godsakes!" Ron said and Hermione actually laughed at one of his jokes.
With so much of her guilt absolved she shunted the rest of it aside for now. For now all was right in her relationship with Ron. For now she could forget all about getting herself off in full view of her two study buddies. For now she could just be normal.