From then onwards, the weeks began to flow by.
Ackerman had been to visit the Headmaster and given him a bollicking. It was immediately followed by a formal 'cease and desist' order delivered by hand from Madam Bones; with further threats of arrest should he even consider breaching the order.
However, a criminal trial against Dumbledore had, as predicted, stalled. Nothing further occurred.
To try and get things moving again, the bondmates then caused for the whole story of the Philosopher's Stone to be released to the Prophet. This time there were many angry questions over how Dumbledore could place the students of Hogwarts lives' at risk by having such an artefact stored at the school.
However, though it caused even more angry letters from concerned parents to be sent to the Editor of the Prophet, it was still not enough to see Dumbledore brought in for trial. It was merely seen as a separate incident, unrelated to his initial problems.
For strengthening their bonds the three bondmates, by unspoken agreement, decided not to progress matters beyond what they were already doing. All three decided they had no reason to rush anything, with Luna easily able to see the bond and ensure no harm occurred.
However, during their latest visit to Madam Pomfrey for an 'official' bond health check, the medi-witch gave them a 'what for' lecture. Sitting them all on one bed, she stood before them and demanded, "Why am I not seeing any progression in the bonds? Everything appears to have stalled!"
"Because there truly is no need to rush, Madam Pomfrey," Harry calmly replied. "And, with Luna's assistance, we know we're not causing any harm to it."
"And, how snapped.
would
you know that?"
she
"How would anyone know either way?" he countered. With a sigh, he said, "Madam Pomfrey, please consider our ages. Please consider the way we were each raised!"
Pomfrey appeared to visibly sag at Harry's words. And appeared to have recognised the verbal slap for what it was. "I understand, Mister Potter," she softly replied. "However, we do not know if there is a finite time period we need... you need... to consider here."
"But, the books we've read have already provided prior evidence it can take a lot longer than we're currently giving it," replied Hermione. "Harry's right; there's no rush."
Daphne, who'd been sitting with her head bowed, softly said, "It's my fault."
"What? No!" exclaimed Harry, barely beating Hermione to the same response.
"And, just why do you believe it's your fault, Miss Greengrass?" asked Madam Pomfrey. "If anything, it's the fault of the three of you, equally combined."
"There is no fault!" exclaimed Hermione, a little shrill for being affronted. "Alright, we're not puritans," sighed Harry. "We aren't too held back by the mores of society, either magical or muggle. But none of the three of us see a need to rush anything, here. We've read the available literature and there were no specifics as to how long this is supposed to take. Merlin, madam! Even then, none of them cover three-way bonds.
"The bond could be stronger if we take our time, or dissolve. If we rush it, we could do more harm than good. There's no way to know. All we can do is go with our gut feelings, supported by what you and Luna are telling us. Neither of you have steered us wrong, yet. Yet!"
"All three of us are agreed we see no need to push things, Madam," tried Hermione. "You cannot state... without doubt... that the bond won't be harmed by us pushing things too fast, or will be harmed by us taking it slow."
With a sigh of near surrender, Madam Pomfrey replied, "No, I cannot. However, the literature does go into detail concerning two-way bonds, and that the bonds need to be constantly improved until they reach finalisation."
"And those mentioned in the literature did not also include someone with mage sight or Ravenclaw's Gift being able to constantly monitor the bond on behalf of the bondmates," Hermione shot right back.
"Hermione, stop it," said Daphne firmly but quietly. Looking at the medi-witch, she sighed with an almost pained look and said, "There's another factor of which you're unaware." "Daphne," both Harry and Hermione warned. "You don't need to tell her."
With a look of apology at her bondmates, Daphne looked back towards Madam Pomfrey with her eyes downcast, and quietly said, "What you don't know is that, before the bonds were established, I was... sexually molested."
"What?" gasped you poor dear!"
Pomfrey.
"Oh,
As the medi-witch stepped forward to cast more scans, Daphne held up her hand and firmly said, "You won't find any evidence of it. The... physical... side of things has been rectified."
"But, you still have the psychological trauma associated with it," finished the medi-witch, understanding as she lowered her wand again.
As Harry was the only one sitting next to her - Hermione was on his other side - he twisted on the bed and wrapped the girl in his arms, not saying a word.
"And, that's why things are being taken slow," explained Hermione in a furious mutter to the medi-witch while Harry just glared.
"Yes, yes," said Madam Pomfrey, almost distractedly. "It all makes perfect sense, now."
Thinking furiously for a few moments, she turned once more to Daphne and said, "If you ever need to talk of it, my door is always open to you. You need to know that. And, never fear; this will not go into my medical files on you. I trust my security to hold up to the best, but... I'll not risk it."
"Thank you," Daphne quietly said in a small voice.
"I think that's enough for today," Harry firmly declared, hopping off the bed and helping Daphne off. Hermione followed.
The three then made their way back out of the infirmary without a backward glance. They immediately headed directly to their apartment whereupon Daphne broke down, sobbing. Her bondmates put her to bed with a calming draught and lay cuddling into her as she fell asleep.
Both Harry and Hermione realised it was something Daphne needed to do as part of recovering from that awful experience. The girls, who had firmly taken control of the project of getting Harry's back-mail sorted, had organised students who were eager for the added pocket money to start sorting through everything.
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