"You can do this." She told herself silently. "It's just the prettiest, second-smartest girl in the whole of Britain who was also incidentally after your husband. Just relax and be casual." She sighed, and massaged shampoo into her hair. The Sleekeasy mixed into it meant it didn't foam as much, but she knew it would cover all her hair regardless. She owed it to Luna, the stuff worked. It might have even worked on her hair pre-change.
She'd already gone through Daphne's plusses and minuses before she told Harry she could deal with having Daphne in the house, and logically that was still valid. Now that Daphne was there though, she felt surly and snarly about the whole thing. She knew Daphne must be feeling the same sort of way, as she'd already looked at it from her perspective. Being with Neville opened doors Daphne would never have been in front of before. Harry was easily the most popular boy in school, the most powerful boy in school, and he was tight with Neville. On the other hand, she was in an unknown place with people she hardly knew and might have even denigrated not long ago. That part was unknown to Hermione, but she and Luna were the least popular girls in school, so it was a safe bet.
How did Daphne feel about Luna and her? No clue. She would just proceed as though Daphne were a normal girl and nervous about being in a new place with new people, and she would be as welcoming and nice as possible. That was what she would want if she were in Daphne's shoes.
Logically, it made sense. Unfortunately she still had flashbacks of standing in front of an unused classroom door, on fire with jealousy that Duncan might be snogging Daphne behind it.
She shook her head as she rinsed the potioned shampoo out of her hair. "Get a grip, Hermione." She whispered. "Duncan is your husband. He acts like you make him happy. You certainly made him happy this morning."
She used her favourite scented soap to clean herself while she rambled. "If she still has designs on him, you can breathe on her later. For now, act like she's a potential friend and be as nice as you can. You know what catty backbiting feels like, just wait until she does it or doesn't. You're nobody's whipping girl anymore. You have the knowledge and the strength to be whoever you want to be. Besides, in six months you won't be going to Hogwarts anymore anyway."
She rinsed herself thoroughly and turned the water off, then wrapped her hair up in one towel and used a drying charm while Resonating to dry her body.
Then she turned her eyes to The Underwear.
"How did I let Luna talk me into you?" She asked it quietly. There was almost enough material there to fill a thimble.
The lace was very soft and silky, with embroidered appliques in strategic places, but there was very little to it. The knickers had required her to remove almost all of her hair in order to look good, and that had been painful and time consuming. She sighed and picked up the almost non-existent knickers and turned them this way and that before she worked out which was the back and which the front.
They felt weird. She'd had her underwear bunch up between her cheeks before of course, everyone had, but you discreetly pulled it out again. These were supposed to be between your cheeks, and it felt... weird.
After what Harry had done to her last night it wasn't entirely unpleasant, but it would definitely take some getting used to. Besides, they were mostly for his benefit anyway. She focused on the face he would make when she revealed it to him, and it took her mind off feeling like she needed to adjust.
The bra actually fit, and was similarly soft and silky, but again she wasn't used to wearing underwear you could mostly see through.
"Better appreciate this..." She growled. "Doing stupid things for a boy..."
She exited the bathroom and rejoined Luna and Daphne in the powder room, both dressed in fluffy white bathrobes while they dried.
She'd forgotten to put the bathrobe on.
Luna's eyes flitted over her body and her cheeks turned pink. Daphne looked her up and down, then stared intently at her chest. She felt like she needed to cover herself, but she consciously made her arms stay at her sides. If they had something embarrassing to say, then so be it.
"That's not fair." Daphne said finally, and looked at Luna. "Did you know about this?"
"The underwear or what's in it?" Luna countered.
"Both." Daphne huffed. "Not bad enough there's no discernible bilateral difference, but you look like that, fresh out of the shower with no makeup, in Rigby and Peller, no less. Completely unfair. I suppose it's a good thing I'm not after Duncan anymore, I'd have no chance."
"Nobody has a chance, they're married. I agree about being jealous though." Luna smiled at Hermione.
"I... but you... me? Really?" Hermione struggled to process what was going on.
Luna giggled at her.
"What do you mean married?" Daphne asked Luna.
"She's Missus Duncan MacFusty. They're married." Luna replied.
"How? That isn't possible while they're minors." Daphne frowned.
"It's true." Hermione said, "The explanation involves family secrets that I don't know you well enough to share yet. No offence intended."
"Oh. None taken." Daphne nodded. "While I can understand and respect family secrets... I hate not knowing."
"You'll have to hang around with us more then, and get to know us. I'd have no problem telling someone I trust." Hermione flashed a timid smile.
"You... want me to hang out with you?" Daphne raised her eyebrows.
"I might have changed my appearance some, but I can still count my friends on one hand, Daphne - and that includes a House Elf and a bird. Duncan and Luna are wonderful -" She smiled warmly at Luna, "But they're only two people. I don't really know Neville very well yet either, even if Duncan does trust him."
"I..." Daphne tried to say something, but it stuck in her throat. Her face went slack as her icy mask fell into place, and then evaporated again. She oscillated between stone and speaking several times before she seemed able to banish her mask. Her fist clenched and she breathed deeply. "I know how you feel." She whispered. "I'm sorry, I'm trying not to slip into trance, but..."
Luna got up from her seat in front of one of the vanity mirrors, crossed the few steps to where Daphne stood, and slowly enfolded her in a hug.
"It's okay." Luna said softly. "We don't expect anything from you. We're just happy you're here. You can relax if you want to."
Hermione took a few steps closer as well and gently touched her shoulder. "If you can't tell us yet, that's okay. There's no pressure here. It's just Luna and me, and I'm standing in front of a stranger in brand new expensive underwear that goes right up my bum. I feel so uncomfortable it's ridiculous."
Daphne's face contorted as she tried not to laugh, but a giggle escaped.
Luna leaned away from Daphne and looked at Hermione's behind. "It does, too. I'm jealous of both your bums." She reached out and squeezed Hermione's left cheek.
Hermione levelled a flat-browed gaze at her. "Was that really necessary?"
Luna just grinned at her. "Feels like Duncan's, but girlier."
"Excuse me? When were you feeling my Duncan's behind?!" Hermione turned on Luna, instincts flared.
"When we were hiding behind the door in the dark, waiting to shout 'happy birthday'."
Hermione's rising rage stopped cold and sank back down to where it slept. "Oh. I'd forgotten. That's another first you beat me to, dammit." She pursed her lips and frowned.
"You know what it feels like now though." Luna never stopped grinning.
Hermione started to blush. "Of course."
"Aha! Now tell me what that blush downstairs was about! It was about naked things, wasn't it? I'd bet my Dark Witchyness it's naked things."
Hermione turned bright pink and strode to one of the vanity mirrors and sat down.
"I knew it!" Luna pointed a finger at her triumphantly. "Tell us everything!"
"What?" Hermione looked shocked. "No!"
"Aww, come on. You and Daphne are gorgeous, you can have naked things anytime you want. It'll be years for me yet. Did he get naked first or did you?"
Hermione discovered a tiny part of her was dying to talk about it, to crow her experience from the highest tower. That tiny part was far outweighed by the voice of reason and experience. It told her that telling private, intimate details was a surefire way to go straight to ridicule, do not pass go, do not collect two hundred dollars.
Daphne sat down at the vanity next to her. "Naked things?" She asked in a small voice. Hermione turned to look, and Daphne's eyes were wide - not with disbelief or shock, but curiosity. "What are naked things?" She asked.
"Like when you close your curtains and pretend your hand is a boy." Luna said blithely.
Daphne leaned forward, her eyes huge as she went scarlet from her chin to her hair, and she looked alternately between Luna and Hermione. "You do that too?" She whispered in a shocked tone, "I thought I was the only... I thought I'm... defective."
Hermione thought there was no way that a pureblood princess as obviously intelligent as Daphne could possibly have so little information, but apparently sexual education simply wasn't a thing in the Wizarding world.
"No, you're perfectly normal!" She asserted. "Everyone does it. I've heard Parkinson tell Bulstrode she - and I quote - 'damn near pulled my pussy off I was going so hard'."
Daphne's nose wrinkled as the thought of Parkinson masturbating entered her mind. "Ew." She said.
"Yes it's not a happy image, but it proves the point that you're not alone or defective. Every girl does it. Every boy does it. It's part of your body becoming adult and getting you ready to have children."
Still scarlet and breathing heavily, Daphne frowned at her. "Where do you get your information? I hate that you know so much more than I do. About everything, apparently."
"I'll be visiting my parents tomorrow, I could bring you the books I read if you like." Hermione offered.
"And you can come talk to me or Hermione anytime you want," Luna added, "I don't have any experience with boys yet, but I'll share what I know as long as it doesn't end up all over school."
"I would never." Daphne said defensively. "I don't even talk to people at school if it isn't absolutely necessary. I don't -" She stopped.
Hermione noticed something about Daphne then as she ran through all the times she'd ever seen Daphne at school. "You don't have any real friends, do you?" She asked softly.
"What about Davis?" Luna asked, "She's always next to you."
Daphne looked Hermione in the eyes and shook her head slightly while she pursed her lips. "Tracey is my cousin. She's more like family watchdog than friend. I'm... a family asset."
"A family asset?" Hermione asked sharply.
"I'm the best chance father has to improve the standing of the family because of my face." Daphne said plainly. She didn't inject any happiness or bitterness to her voice, it was simply a fact. It was her reality. "Neville is an unexpectedly advantageous match, that's why father agreed to let him court me."
"How do you feel about it? About Neville?" Hermione asked as she ground her teeth and chewed back the urge to curse her father for treating her like chattel.
"I'm... surprised by him. He's soft and comforting obviously, but he's smart too. Cunning and savvy. Add into that he knows he will be a leader, and his naturally commanding presence..." She paused and shivered slightly. "He's not Duncan, but I think I'm pretty lucky. Now that I know you and Duncan are married, I think he's definitely the best choice."
"How do you feel about him though?" Luna asked, her head cocked to one side.
"I -" Daphne stopped as the answer on her lips died. "He makes me... Sometimes when he looks at me, I feel it in my stomach, here." She put her hand over her stomach below her navel.
"Sort of quivery, tingly, hollow sensation?" Hermione asked.
"Yes!" She sat forward on her chair. "You know what it is."
"You get sort of excited after that for no real reason? Like you really want to do something and you don't know what it is?"
"Yes! How do you know all this?" Daphne frowned. Hermione could tell she was upset by someone else knowing her body better than she did. Hermione would have been as well, in her shoes.
"That's arousal. It means you're sexually excited. I usually have to change knickers after that."
Daphne nodded. "Yes! Me too. That makes sense. I hadn't made the connection, but now that you've said it, that manic energy does go away after..." She trailed off and blushed again.
"Which conveniently leads us back to naked activities." Luna looked pointedly at Hermione. "Naaaayyyked things." She waggled her eyebrows and grinned.
"At least tell... Did you... I call it getting the quivers, I don't know if there's a word?"
"Orgasm. You could also call it a climax." Hermione said with a sigh as she rolled her eyes at Luna. "Yes, five of them one after another. I've never... It was very satisfying."
"FIVE?!" Daphne exclaimed. "I had no idea we could keep going..."
"Most I ever did was two, because both my arms were tired." Luna said, amazed. "How did you manage it?"
"I didn't..." Hermione had to look away as heat rushed up her cheeks. "Duncan did."
"He has thick, strong fingers." Luna said softly as she breathed more heavily.
Hermione shook her head. "He does, but he did it... with his mouth."
Daphne and Luna both just sat quietly as those words played images in their heads.
"That's so..." Daphne whispered as her thighs rubbed against each other. "How did you get him to...?"
"I didn't. He's... passionate." Hermione breathed heavily and clenched her cheeks together as the memory of it flooded her mind. The underwear pressed against her sensitive skin didn't help while she remembered his tongue.
"I've spent my whole life being jealous of other girls because they were free." Daphne whispered as she blushed and looked at the floor. "This is the first time I've been jealous of a girl over a boy."
"I've been jealous of you since I got to Hogwarts because you're beautiful and everyone wants you." Hermione replied. "I always thought you were just waiting for a boy to be good enough to deserve you, and that made me even more jealous. There was a time before Duncan and I really met that I thought you and he were secretly snogging."
Daphne looked up at her, and for the first time Hermione could see a Daphne inside Daphne. Her eyes shone with pain and longing and a hint of mirth. "Really?" She asked.
Hermione nodded. "I remember being very conflicted about it. I hated the thought of him snogging anyone else, but at the same time if it was you at least I could respect that choice. You're beautiful, intelligent, and capable. I hated the thought of it being anyone else more."
"Hey!" Luna frowned. "What am I, chopped nargle?"
Hermione smiled and hugged Luna. "No, of course not. If it had been you at all, he wouldn't have hidden it. He was acting furtive, like he didn't want anyone to find out what he was up to. I knew it couldn't have been you because everyone would have known already. He would have been proud of it."
"Oh. That's fair, I suppose." Luna hugged her back. "You know I like you, Hermione, and I love how you and Duncan are together, but that doesn't mean I'm not a little jealous too."
"Well we're even then, because I'll always be a little jealous of you. You went to sit with him first, you were the first club member, his first non-family hug, and you touched his bum first. You'll always be his First Friend. You're my first girl friend as well though, so I can't exactly complain."
Luna smiled happily to herself at the memories.
"Club? Is that the poetry club?" Daphne asked.
"Yes, it wasn't really a club until Hermione joined though." Luna said.
"What... If it isn't too personal... what was your poetry?" Daphne asked. "Luna showed us her patch in the library last month, I'm just curious."
"I didn't know that." Hermione said as she looked at Luna. Luna shrugged in return. "I'll grab my bag and show you in a bit."
"It hadn't come up, that's all. It's not like I was hiding it. Fleur and Arielle and some of the other french girls were very upset at how you had been treated. I imagine they'll be happy to know you're considering their school for next year."
"You're what?" Daphne asked, suddenly tense.
"Hogwarts is a shit show." Hermione said, "Duncan and I are going to finish our schooling abroad. Haven't you thought about it? I can't imagine you're having fun in Slytherin."
Daphne's eyes filled with pain. "I can't... My family would never..." She shook her head. "I won't be free until I'm married, and even then that's only if I marry Neville. I shudder to think what kind of chains Father would have married me into if not for him."
Hermione felt a stab of recognition at that. They were flip sides of the same coin. Hermione had been utterly undervalued, and had the freedom to learn because of it. Because she was ugly, nobody cared what she did or who she talked to or what she learned. Daphne had been excessively valued and trapped like a bird in a cage because of it, fed scraps of information meant to improve her worth to a buyer. Groomed and presented and jealously hoarded. All she wanted was to be who she was, and it was the one thing they would never allow.
"We're opposites, you and I," She told Daphne, "But the same. Your family traps you and keeps you - mine abandoned and ignored me. Neither of us deserved it. All we really want is to learn what we want to learn, be who we want to be. To be free. You can't be free because your family won't let you, because they taught you that you belong to them. I couldn't before Duncan because everyone hated me."
Daphne's mouth frowned as her chin scrunched up and her eyes began to water, and like a switch being flipped, her mask dropped into place and all traces of the burgeoning tears were erased.
"Sorry." Daphne said coldly. "I'm not allowed to cry. Crying is unattractive."
You poor thing, Hermione thought, they've taken yourself away from you. That was unacceptable, she decided then. Daphne's freedom to cry and love and be loved took up an official slot on her internal To Do list.
She got up from where she sat and pulled Daphne off her chair into a hug.
"Whatever they've done to you to make you incapable of crying is wrong, Daphne. It's horrible and evil and you didn't deserve it. You belong to Daphne and no-one else." She whispered into her ear. "I know what kind of pain you live in. Duncan gave me my first hug this year. Before that I was where you are. Crying is not unattractive, it's necessary. I will be your friend if you let me, Daphne. You can always cry here. Luna and I will only ever care for Daphne, not your sale value."
Hermione turned slightly and held an arm out to Luna, who smiled and joined the hug. They could feel Daphne start to shake and she breathed deeply. Her mask never faltered, but tears streamed down her cheeks regardless.
"I don't -" Daphne spat words as though she sobbed and her diaphragm flip-flopped. "I don't - understand how - you can both - be so - kind to me." She sniffed and breathed deeply in and out, "I've done - nothing to - earn this ki - earn this kind of - I don't - I don't deserve -"
"This is just who we are. You're free to think what you like of course, but I know what it's like to have no-one to talk to, Daphne. I won't pretend to know you or your family or what you've endured, but I do know what it's like to be friendless." Hermione smiled at her. "Duncan and Luna saved me from that, even when I tried to push them away. It would feel like I was betraying them if I didn't pass on what they gave me."
"I didn't have any friends before Hogwarts either. Making friends is the best." Luna grinned at Daphne.
Daphne hugged them both tightly and then let them go so she could dry her face on the collar of the bathrobe. Her mask slipped away as she did, as though she physically rubbed it off her face with the terrycloth.
"I was so nervous when Neville said we were coming here." She admitted. "I half expected to hide behind my mask and say as little as possible, like with everywhere else. Thank you both for being yourselves. I'll try to be a good friend, but I really don't know how. One more thing I'll have to learn from you."
"Well then lesson number one - there's no etiquette to follow. I've read as many books on being a friend as I could find over holidays so far, but they all say the same thing in the end. It's about genuinely caring for the other person. It was very unhelpful."
"Just be yourself." Luna smiled and hugged Daphne again before she sat at one of the vanity mirrors and pulled out her wand.
"I honestly don't know how to be a good friend either, Daphne. Luna says she doesn't know either, but I've learned mostly from Duncan and her, and only in the last couple of months." Hermione dropped into her chair and then shot up again. "Stupid underwear." She sat back down again more gently. "I'm pretty sure I still don't know, so I guess we can learn together."
Luna smiled at them both and waved her wand at Daphne. The towel unwrapped from her hair and floated to a hook on the wall. "We can start with doing each other's hair. I miss my mum doing my hair every morning, I used to love that."
"Me too." Daphne smiled back.
Hermione just tried to smile supportively. Her mother had never done her hair, but her husband had. It didn't stop the flare of jealousy from stinging her eyes.
Without Neville and Sirius's help, Harry would have been lost. They had taken two hours while they'd been shopping to stop and show him how to wear the ascott with the high-collared shirt and vest. It was one thing to buy the clothes and know they were stylish, it was quite another to know how to put them on. Even with their help and a mirror, it took him nearly half an hour to review his memories and get the thing to look good.
Hard part complete, he bound his hair loosely at the back with the silver clip Darcy had given him for his thirteenth birthday. He checked the mirror to see it was centered, then gave a satisfied nod. He finished his suit with the fancy dress robes, but he still thought they looked more like a short suit jacket with long tails in the back rather than robes.
All in all, he felt somewhat spiffy as he examined the finished result. He wouldn't have cared really, but he made a promise, and had done his best to keep it. Really though, Hermione liked his suit and that's what mattered most.
He joined Neville at the bottom of the stairs to wait patiently for the women. It was no surprise Neville had finished first as he had years more experience in dressing snazzily for classy events, even if he'd hated them previously.
"Looking good, little brother." Neville raised his glass to Harry when he arrived.
"Thanks, Nev." Harry replied as he picked up a glass of juice himself. "I'd be sunk without you and Sirius, thanks again for your help."
"Anything anytime, mate." Neville smiled back.
"Looking pretty dapper yourself." Harry raised his glass back at Nev.
"Thanks." Nev grinned. "I just hope Daphne thinks so."
"Nervous?"
"Terrified." Neville sipped his juice and took a deep breath.
Harry chuckled. "It doesn't show, so whatever you're doing, keep it up."
Neville flashed a grin. "Hooray for Occlumency. Thank you for getting me into it. How about you?"
"Same. Somehow dressing up for it makes it a much bigger deal than it was in my head."
Neville laughed. "Yeah, that's it exactly."
Lammy appeared next to Harry then, without even a hint of sound. She was dressed in all black, in a form-fitting outfit with cloth wrapped around her head so that it only showed her eyes. A camera hung from her neck.
"Phase one complete, Sir." She gave a smart salute. "Proceeding to Phase two."
Harry saluted her back. "Excellent work. How are your troops?"
"Fully briefed and awaiting deployment, Sir."
Harry grinned at Lammy. "Brilliant. Carry on, Ninja Mistress. Thanks for doing this, Lammy."
"Very good, Sir. You're welcome, I can't wait to see them later either." Her eyes squinted a little, and Harry realized she was smiling under the mask as she faded from sight.
"What's that about?" Neville looked at him with raised eyebrows.
"Lammy, Brolly, Zolly, Wolly, Krolly, and Nolly are being stealth photographers tonight. If Hermione doesn't know her picture is being taken, she won't get self-conscious. One of them will focus on us tonight, and the rest will just be out in the crowd because we won't be able to see everything that goes on as it happens."
"Oh. That is actually brilliant. I'm sad I didn't think of it. I'd like copies of any Daphne is in, if you don't mind."
"Already planned, big brother." Harry grinned at him. "This is the only Yule Ball any of us will get while we're at school. Might be the only one Hermione and I get ever."
"Still planning on leaving at the end of term?" Neville asked sadly.
"Yep. You and Daphne are both welcome to come, too. Only reason I haven't gone and paid tuition already is Hermione hasn't decided which place she wants to go yet. I said we should take a day each weekend and go visit each prospective school, see what the environment is like with students actually in it. Hermione liked that, so that will probably be this month's Saturdays. You're both welcome to come for that too."
"I'd love to honestly, but my Gran -" Neville started to demure.
"Would go mental if she knew what was really going on at Hogwarts, and you know it." Harry said flatly. "The only reason you haven't told her is because you know she'd jerk you out of there."
Neville sighed. "Stop being so bloody smart."
"What's the real reason you want to stay at Hogwarts?"
Neville got a far-away, sad look in his eyes but as he opened his mouth to answer, the door to the upstairs powder room opened. Luna stepped out and closed the door behind her, and carefully lifted the front of her dress to walk down the stairs without tripping.
"Luna! You look fantastic!" Harry said with a bright grin. He couldn't tell if it was the sparkly silver-sequined dress or her hair in a crown of braids with a cascade of ringlets at the back, but the overall effect was outstanding.
Luna's face split into a huge smile and she beamed at the two of them. Harry thought whoever captured her heart would be one lucky man. She was radiant.
"Thank you, first friend." She reached the bottom of the stairs and hugged Harry, careful to keep her face away from him. "You both look rather smashing as well."
"You outshine your namesake, Luna. Positively stellar." Neville said when he'd recovered.
She hugged him too then, and hooked one arm through Neville's and Harry's, and stood with a happy smile next to them to wait for Daphne and Hermione. "Daphne will be next, Hermione was helping her with last-minute touch-ups when I came down." She told them.
"Thanks Luna. Excited?" Harry asked. He didn't know how he knew, but he had figured Hermione would be last to be ready.
"I am, actually." Luna answered. "I think it's going to be a fun night."
"I hope so. I'm half-afraid of more Hogwarts nonsense, like there's going to be a pack of Cerberi or a herd of Erumpents or something." Harry admitted.
Luna giggled a tinkling, silver little laugh. "That would be even more fun."
The door opened again and Daphne appeared.
"Merlin's Mercy." Neville whispered as his eyes widened.
Daphne, like Luna, carefully lifted the front of her dress to not trip. She glided down the stairs, and even Harry had to admit she was stunning. Her hair was wavy instead of it's usual straight, and flowed backward from her hairline like a turbulent stream of honey gold that crashed over her bare shoulders. The sapphire teardrop hung perfectly between her clavicle and her neckline, a deep royal blue to contrast the light ice blue of her dress.
"For freedom she flies, swifter than the lightfoot wind, yet her loveliness thwarts her desire." Harry remarked quietly.
"Excuse me?" Daphne smiled confusedly at him when she reached the bottom of the stairs. That snapped him out of his thoughts.
"Ah, sorry. It's from mythology. There was a nymph named Daphne who just wanted to be free to do as she liked, but one of the Greek gods, I don't remember which one, lusted after her and chased her relentlessly until one of the other gods took pity on her and turned her into a tree." Harry grinned to cover how foolish he felt.
"I know exactly how he felt." Neville whispered. "You look amazing, Daphne." Neville blushed and took deep breaths. He'd never seen her so relaxed, so utterly resplendent, or so happy. She looked happy. Neville could not recall that look on her face. Not ever.
She blushed and took his other arm in hers. "Thank you, Neville." She said aloud, and then whispered into his ear so only he could hear. "The way you look right now makes me purr."
He leaned over and kissed her lightly where her neck met her shoulder, and that caused her to shiver all over. "I can't believe this is really happening." He whispered back to her. "I love my life."
Daphne blushed a light pink over her cheekbones and held his arm tighter.
Hermione closed the powder room door behind her as she exited. Harry heard the door close and looked up at her as she descended the stairs.
She saw his smile drop from his face as his eyes locked on her. His jaw went slack and his eyes grew large as he leaned forward slightly. The arm that Luna hung onto went limp, and he stayed like that as she reached the bottom of the stairs.
"You look amazing too, Hermione. Three gorgeous witches, I don't think my heart can take the strain." Neville smiled at her.
"Thanks, Nev, that's very gracious of you." She smiled back at him.
Luna poked Harry's shoulder, and he snapped out of his stupor.
"I- Uh! You... Hermione..." He tried to swallow, but his mouth was suddenly a desert. "You... just... There are no words. So beautiful..." He whispered the last two words, filled with awe.
Hermione smiled at him, and everything he'd been taught about how to behave in polite company vanished from his head. All Maisie's lessons on poise, self-confidence, and etiquette all evaporated like water on a griddle.
She took his other arm and kissed his cheek. "That made it worthwhile, thank you Duncan." She said softly.
He smiled at her and nodded dumbly, then he noticed everyone was staring at him.
"Ahem." He cleared his throat and took a deep breath and came back to himself enough to blush with embarrassment. "Sorry. You look magnificent." He kissed Hermione's cheek.
"Shall we go then?" Neville asked. "I imagine poor Wayne Hopkins is going mad with anticipation about now." He grinned at Luna.
"He'd better be." Luna grinned back, then turned on her heel and stalked toward the front door.
"All three of you look better than our poor mortal minds can comprehend. Poor Wayne won't know up from down in ten minutes." Harry said with a sigh.
Hermione held Luna's shoulder while she Resonated, and they both Disapparated with a soft sucking sound. Harry offered a hand to Daphne and Neville as he began to Resonate. Neville grabbed his hand immediately, and Daphne with more deliberation. The inexplicable pressure of Apparation followed, and they stood next to Luna and Hermione at the Hogwarts front gates.
Harry's fingers interlaced with Hermione's as they all walked toward the castle. Professor McGonagall waited for them as they walked into the Entrance Hall.
"Mister MacFusty, finally. This way please, the other Champions are waiting." She set off at a brisk pace. Harry and Hermione were both taller than she was, so they had little trouble keeping up. She led them around the Great Hall to a side chamber off the Great hall that they'd never been in before. Already inside and waiting on them were Fleur, Cedric, Viktor, and a fifth-year Gryffindor girl named Katie Bell, who was obviously Viktor's date.
"Duncan! 'Ermione!" Fleur smiled and greeted them when they entered.
"Five minutes, you'll be able to hear yourselves being announced, just enter the Great Hall in order, if you please." McGonagall said crisply, before she turned and closed the door behind her.
Fleur held Hermione at arms' length and looked her over, then hugged her again. "Ca te va incroyable! Je suis tellement jaloux!"
"Ha!" Hermione smiled back, "Dit la plus belle sorciere! Je suis tellement jaloux!"
Fleur laughed. "Merci pour ca, but I sink Duncan would agree wees me, non?"
"Absolutement." Duncan said immediately.
"Biased." Hermione accused him, but smiled at him as she did.
"Happily." He agreed, then turned to Cedric and Viktor. "Evening, Cedric. Evening, Viktor." He bowed to Katie. "Evening, Miss Bell."
Cedric and Viktor both shook his hand, and Katie smiled at him. "I'm surprised you know my name, honestly." She said.
"I would be remiss if I didn't know the names of all my House members." Harry replied.
Fleur and Hermione whispered together in French in the background, just low enough he couldn't hear. He was tempted to boost his hearing, but decided against it since if Hermione was whispering so that he couldn't hear in the first place then the conversation wasn't meant for him. She'd tell him later, or not.
"I just found it impressive because I've never seen you in the common room at all." Katie stared into his eyes.
"That's a good thing. I don't mix well with certain people." Harry smiled politely, but it wasn't a warm smile.
"I've noticed." Katie smiled back, and it was a warm smile. Harry took note of the fact that she wasn't put off by his actions against Weasley. Maybe she'd been fed up with him too.
The Headmaster's voice - magically loud - came through the closed door then. "Witches and Wizards of Hogwarts, Durmstrang, and Beauxbatons, as well as our honoured visitors, it is my pleasure to announce your Champions! In first place, Viktor Krum!"
Viktor held his elbow out for Katie to take, and she did just as the door opened to admit them to the Great Hall.
"In second and third place, Cedric Diggory and Fleur Delacour!" Fleur rushed to grab Cedric's arm as Hermione hooked her arm through his, and Cedric and Fleur walked out in the Great Hall as they smiled and waved to the crowd.
"And finally, in last place, Duncan MacFusty." The Headmaster's voice lost a lot of its exuberance, as though he had added 'oh, yes and I have a hangnail on my big toe'.
"Headbastard." Hermione whispered as they walked out of the side room and into the Great Hall. The Great Hall was decorated and spelled to resemble a winter wonderland, with snowy pine trees, park benches, white tables, and snow that fell from the magical ceiling.
"At least the Great Hall has never looked better. This is beautiful." Hermione whispered to him when the cheering had died down.
"Makes me want to stoke the fire and snuggle up to you on the sofa." He whispered back.
They took their places at the Champion's table, and Harry sat on the end so Hermione could sit next to Fleur and continue their conversation. Harry spotted Neville and Daphne at a nearby table and waved to them. He had to admit they looked fantastic together.
He spotted Luna and Wayne not long after, sitting toward the front of the Great Hall next to one of the snowy pine trees. They were busy talking though and didn't see him wave.
The menus appeared in front of them then, and Harry decided on the Lamb with vegetables. He'd never had lamb before.
Even the setting was perfect, Pansy decided. Not only was the decor cold, so was the dish full of revenge on her menu. She fingered the stoppered vial in her waistpouch and stole another glance at Lovegood and her soppy, hapless date. She had to admit, Lovegood had cleaned up a lot better than she'd expected. She had to give her a modicum of respect for that, but her choice of dates left her sanity in question regardless. Not that her own was any better, but that was honestly her own fault, even if she did blame Draco for it. When he had found out she had been sniffing after MacFusty, he'd turned his back on her immediately. She'd known he would, of course, which was why she had kept it from him as long as possible. Then he'd gone and asked Greengrass's little sister to the ball just to spite her, the prick.
She looked over at her own date and suppressed a grimace. It had seemed like a good idea at the time.
Now he just looked so... excited. Like a puppy finally allowed to play in the yard with other dogs. She supposed he was attractive enough - thin and blonde, real blonde, but without the nasty grease Draco always used in his hair. It didn't matter though, she still hated him. She hated him for being poor and she hated him for being a mudblood, but most of all she hated him for being the only one who'd asked her.
They ordered meals and ate. They made small talk as they did, - though it was a chore to get him to shut up as often as not - and all the while she watched Lovegood and her date surreptitiously as she waited for her opportunity. It was annoyingly tricky to levitate an object while keeping it invisible, but she'd practiced it for weeks. It was still difficult, but she could do it.
A click-whirr sound came from her right side, and she looked back at her date.
"Sorry," He apologized, "You just looked so beautiful lost in thought like that, I couldn't help it." He smiled tenuously and hid the camera below the table again. "Everyone says it's annoying to take pictures all the - Sorry." He bit his lip and gave her puppydog eyes.
He thought she was beautiful?
She saw movement out of the corner of her eye, and turned her head in time to see Lovegood leave her date at the table. Go time.
"You really think I'm beautiful, Connor?" She asked him.
"Colin. Yeah, I do." He smiled.
She reached out and grabbed a fistful of his robes and pulled him into her waiting lips. Surprisingly, his fingers found the nape of her neck and his lips responded eagerly. He wasn't a half-bad kisser, either. Maybe she'd give him half a chance before casting him aside. She pulled back then and smiled daintily at him.
"Be a darling and go ask McGonagall what's on the dessert menu?" She fluttered her eyes at him.
"O - okay." He swallowed and cleared his throat before he rose from his seat and headed down the Great Hall. He was even cuter when he blushed, and had a decent arse too. Maybe more than half a chance.
She pulled the vial from her pouch and her wand from it's holster, and carefully, quietly cast Disillusionment on the vial. When that was done, she unstoppered it and carefully cast Levitation on it.
Most everyone was eating, so there were thankfully few people walking around, and no-one between her table and Lovegood's. She floated the vial along the floor and up the near side of their table while Lovegood's date stuffed his face. She waited until he'd taken a sip of his drink and put it down again before she very carefully upended the vial into it. She brought the vial back to her and Vanished it along with its stopper just as Cormac sat back down.
"Chocolate souffle, treacle tart, trifle, ice cream, and back lava." He said. "Dunno what back lava is, but it doesn't sound great."
"Thanks, sweetbuns. Are you as good a dancer as you are a kisser?"
"Uh... hopefully? I've been practicing a bunch. Dancing I mean, not kissing. I don't get to..." He trailed off as his face went red.
She laughed and tossed back the rest of her drink. It was a pity there wasn't any alcohol allowed, she really could have done with a glass of wine. A revenge complete, a decently cute date who thought she was beautiful, and even a chance of getting his mouth on her bits in a broom closet later. Definitely one of the best Christmases in recent memory.
Apart from a slight commotion at one of the tables due to an overly-amorous couple, dinner had gone smoothly, and Harry had stored the memory of Hermione eating chocolate mousse for later. He had no idea why, but he'd found the sight incredibly sexy. Thankfully dessert hadn't lasted long and there had been sufficient time between the end of dessert and Dumbledore's announcement for his anatomy to return to normal.
He stood and took her hand as she stood, and they moved toward the dance floor. McGonagall had told them it was tradition for the Champions to open the dancing. He was both looking forward to dancing with Hermione and afraid of mucking it up.
The music rose then, a waltz, played by the small orchestra on the dais.
"May I have this dance?" Harry asked as he bowed to her.
"And every other." She smiled back at him. He placed his hand on her waist, and they spun into the dance floor. Cedric and Fleur were next, followed shortly by Viktor and Katie.
Thankfully he'd practiced enough that his feet knew what to do and he could just focus on the smile in Hermione's eyes. Several people tapped both of them on the shoulder, but it wasn't until Finnegan asked if he could cut in did Harry realize what it meant.
"Not ever." He replied with a smile, and they kept on dancing. After a while everyone seemed to get the hint, and the attempts to break them up stopped. It was about ten-thirty when the orchestra slowed the tempo down, and Hermione stepped into him. He wrapped his arm around her, and they danced on.
"About earlier..." Harry started. "What I was trying to say..."
Hermione lifted her chin from his shoulder and looked into his eyes. "Before Luna arrived."
He nodded. "I was going to say that... I'm over the moon that you're my Mate, just understand that first and foremost - but, if you weren't... If I wasn't a dragon and you weren't a dragon... If Magic hadn't decided we were married... If we were both just normal humans... I would still choose you, Hermione... I love you." He pressed a soft kiss to her cheek.
Hermione's eyes began to fill, and she bit both of her lips. She breathed deeply through her nose as she staved off the tears.
"You love me." She whispered.
He nodded as he looked into her eyes. "I do. There isn't any one thing I can put my finger on, no single thing or time that made it happen. I just realized it this afternoon while we sat on the couch. You know me, Hermione. Even more than knowing everything about me - including the embarrassing things - you know me. My thoughts, my dreams, my fears, my weird desires... It struck me that I felt so very home with you on the couch, but it wasn't the place. It wasn't the tree or the sofa or the fire or anything, it was you, Hermione. I feel that way right now. I'm home. More at home than I've ever been in my life, and it's just you. You're my home. I don't ever want to be away from you. I might not have ever been in love before, but I can't think of any other way to say how I feel other than I love you. As well, I'm not sure if this is part of it, but I also..." He trailed off.
"You also?" She asked, her voice a soft purr.
"I also really want to take your clothes off." He whispered. "Watching you eat that dessert gave me such a -"
"Stop. Stop right there." She cut him off with a harsh whisper. "If you make me aroused, you're going to have an episode right here in the middle of the Great Hall. Is that what you want?"
"Ah... no. Really no. Thank you for that." He kissed her forehead.
"I've been managing to keep my raging desire to get you naked on a slow simmer this whole time, but if you start putting thoughts in my head..." She shook her head as though to clear it, and Harry could almost see her put Occlumency to work.
"Raging desire to get me naked?" He asked when she had settled into an Occlumentic trance.
"You are so hot tonight. I think every girl in here tapped me on the shoulder."
"Good thing for me I didn't come here to dance with any of them. Have you had a nice night?"
She smiled, despite her trance. "Yes, I have." She kissed his cheek. "Thank you."
He smiled in return. "Good, I'm glad. That's what matters."
"What about you?' She asked.
"I am having a wonderful night, Hermione. Not quite as wonderful as last night, but a close second." He grinned, and she bit her lip.
"Right, that's it. We're done. What time is it?"
"Uh..." He Resonated for a moment. "Quarter to eleven."
"Lammy!" She whispered.
"What can I do for you?" Came the reply from thin air.
"Would you please have whoever is assigned to Neville, Luna, and Daphne let them know they're available to take them home whenever they wish? Duncan and I are heading home now."
"Right away." Lammy's whisper said.
"Thank you, Stealth Commander." Harry whispered with a grin.
"Thank you, Lammy." Hermione whispered.
She let him go and stepped away from him, careful not to back into any of the other dancers, and took his hand. They threaded their way off the dance floor, and paused to look back at the Great Hall from the doors. Harry leaned over and whispered in her ear.
"Thank you for making my Yule Ball a brilliant evening." He kissed her just under her ear. She shivered, and pulled him by the hand out of the Great Hall, out of the castle entirely, and all the way down to the front gates. She didn't even pause as they passed through the gates, she simply Resonated and Apparated them home. They appeared in the Apparition point below the gardens, and she didn't wait a single second after they arrived. She gripped his lapels and pulled him into a heated snog.
After a long minute, she pulled away and slapped his chest. "Prat!" She accused breathlessly.
"What'd I do?" Harry asked amusedly.
"When I tell you I'm barely holding it together, don't then go and kiss my neck like that!"
"Why not?"
"It makes -" She broke off and blushed. "I really like it, okay?"
"So I should do it more then." Harry looked at her through lowered brows over a hungry grin.
Her breath came faster and her pupils dilated and she shook her head. "No! I am NOT getting naked in the garden." She turned immediately and strode quickly toward the house.
Harry growled in his chest and loped quietly after her, on the hunt. She glanced back and saw him about to overtake her. She screeched a short, truncated yelp, and dashed inside as quickly as her heels would allow. All through the house he stalked her, slowly but steadily gaining on her. She managed to get the bedroom door almost closed before he put his weight and strength against it, and forced it open.
She backed away from the door. Her chest heaved, her mouth smiled, and her eyes reflected his own desire. He covered the distance to her in a single pounce.
She flinched when he landed, unsure what to expect, but he was careful and didn't knock her to the floor. Instead, his hand cupped the back of her head, fingers in her hair, and gripped a fistful of it. Her breath caught in her throat as he pulled her head slowly back to expose her throat, and his teeth flashed down toward her exposed neck. He nipped at her skin, then licked where his teeth had been. He did that down her throat to her clavicle, then wrapped his whole mouth around the place her shoulder met her neck while his tongue danced over her skin.
"You look incredible." He purred in a low voice.
The fingers of his free hand found the zipper of her dress and pulled it down slowly. Too slowly. A pained whine escaped her as his mouth continued its way along her collarbone toward her shoulder as she waited for her dress to get out of the way.
Finally the zipper reached its terminus, and he slid the shoulders of the dress slowly over hers and slowly down her arms.
"Mine." He kissed the top of her breastbone as it was revealed.
"Mine." He kissed the bottom of her breastbone, between her breasts.
"Mine." He kissed her stomach between her ribs.
"Mine." He kissed her navel.
The dress dropped to the floor, and his hand relinquished its hold on her hair as he dropped to his knees in front of her. His hands gripped her hips and he kissed the soft mesh underwear that covered her hot, aching need. "Mine."
He stood again, and backed away from her. "Turn around." He ordered.
Her cheeks flushed even more, but she obeyed him and turned to show him her behind.
"All the way around." He demanded.
She turned around again to face him.
"You wore that underwear for me, didn't you?" His voice was gravelly, thick with lust.
"Yes." She breathed.
"Job done." He smiled, with a hint of predator. "You are the sexiest thing I have ever seen, Hermione, and that's including my own fantasies. Turn around and put your hands on the wall. I'm going to take it off you now."
Hermione gave an involuntary shudder and stepped up to the wall to place her hands on it.
"No. Take a step backward. Then put your hands on the wall. A BIG step."
She did, and had to bend forward at the waist in order to reach the wall.
"That's more like it." He said, and trailed his fingers up her pert behind as it thrust out toward him. He stepped into her and placed his hardness between her cheeks so she could feel what she did to him. A moan escaped her, full of need as she panted and tried to see him.
His fingers trailed fire up her spine as she struggled to push herself further against him, to grind herself onto him, but he denied her. She gasped as her bra came undone and her breasts fell free to hang in open air. He raked his nails lightly down her sides and caused another moan, and more shudders as he dripped burning kisses back down her spine. She expected him to stop and take her underwear off, but he slid it downward over her taut cheeks and dropped hot kisses there as well. She could feel his fingers slide her underwear slowly down her legs, and all at once she couldn't feel anything but his mouth between her legs.
Her limbs went weak. She had to concentrate to stay upright and had no strength to force herself into him. Her whole world shrunk into the feeling of his mouth on her, his tongue inside her most intimate spaces. Her panting became a litany of moans as his attention built the pressure wave inside her, stoked her pleasure higher and higher. Just as her moans became whines and her whines became ragged as she became desperate for release, he plunged his tongue deep inside her and pinched her most sensitive skin between his fingers. A howl of ecstasy, hoarse and involuntary tore its way from her throat as her mind was consumed by nothingness.
She came back to reality on the bed. Her stomach still twitched and she could feel the air around her like a thick, tingly blanket. Harry stood on the far side of the room. He had removed his dress robes and hung them on a hanger and was in the process of removing his vest.
She growled and crawled off the bed after him to slap his hands away from the buttons, then pushed him up against the wall.
"Mine." She stated in no uncertain tone, and kissed his mouth greedily. She undid his vest, peeled it from him, and dropped it to the floor. The ascott was next, though she was careful to not lose the pin in it. She got frustrated with his shirt as it took too long, so she undid his cufflinks and pulled the shirt off over his head.
"Miiiine." She growled and bit his neck. "Mine." She raked her nails down his chest at the same time, and gloried in the feel of his solid meat under soft skin. She kissed her way from his neck to his navel as she undid his belt and dropped his trousers to the floor.
She yanked his boxers down and wrapped her hand around his stiffness. She didn't bother with anything else, she just used it like a handle and pulled him to the bed. He nearly tripped on his boxers, but managed to get them to the floor before he did. She stood him in front of the bed and pushed him backward onto it, then pounced on his legs.
"Mine." She purred as she kissed his stomach and ran her hands up and down his torso. She smiled up at him as she did, then decided playtime was over.
She crawled up his body, kissed random places on the way up to claim his lips with hers. His hands were on her skin as well, he caressed her shoulders, her back, her neck, her breasts. She sat up and looked down at him with his hot length trapped between his body and her wet folds.
"I love you, Harry. I love you, Hidden Colours. I love you, Duncan. I love all of you and I can't deny that truth anymore. I love you and I want you. Are you... Do you think you're ready for..."
"I think so." He panted. "I'm not thinking very well right now, you drive me absolutely wild, but... yes. I want all of you."
She smiled and kissed him as she slid her slick heat up and down his length for a moment, satisfied with the way he ground his teeth and moaned. She sat up then, and his hands went to her breasts. She bit her lip at the shocks of pleasure every fondle and pinch gave her. She reached behind her to lever his manhood toward her entrance, and gasped at the sheer pleasure that accompanied the barest portion of him inside her.
She knew what came next. The books had been very detailed. Little by little, she eased downward onto him. She felt the resistance, felt the pressure increase until it bordered on pain. She looked into his eyes, and dropped her full weight on him.
His breath sucked through his teeth and he groaned it out again. A sharp, tiny cry escaped her as she tore, and she panted as she shuddered. Her eyes closed involuntarily. The books had never mentioned that anything could hurt so good. She could feel his rigid thickness all the way up into her stomach, and it seemed to radiate pleasure throughout her entire body. She could feel it in her fingertips, in her toes. She stayed there motionless, impaled upon him as she brought her breath under control.
"That hurt." She whispered. "But it feels so good too."
She took a deep breath and Resonated. She pushed her magic into her sex, and in the space of three breaths the pain had gone. She smiled and opened her eyes again.
Harry's eyes were closed, his arms were splayed out to his sides, and his fists clenched and unclenched. A long, protracted groan escaped him, followed by heavy panting.
"That felt unbelieveable. " He panted. "Don't do it again, or I'm done right now."
His hips twitched, and drove him further into her. Her insides stretched, and electric pleasure raced up her spine. She arched her back and groaned. Even that small movement shifted him inside her and caused more. His hands were on her waist then, between her ribs and her hips, and he raised her off him, only to slam her down onto him again. The sudden, disappointing hollowness was erased by the explosion of hot, jangly satisfactionhe thrust into her.
She swivelled her hips forward and then back, and discovered even more pleasure as her most sensitive skin scraped through his coarse hair and pressed against his taut abdomen. Over and over, she thrust herself onto him, he thrust himself into her. The hot, jagged pressure built inside her like nothing she had ever felt, and just when she thought she could adjust to it, that she could keep it contained, it exploded and turned the world white.
She became aware of her own voice, deep in her chest like panted grunts. Her every muscle locked and shuddered as wave after wave of pure rapture radiated through her from her stomach, only to deplete after a moment.
"Are you okay?" Harry asked her, concerned.
"Mmmng." She replied with her lips on his. She had fallen off him as she locked up, and lay beside him. As an answer, she pulled him on top of her as she panted, and smiled up at him. She wrapped her legs around his waist and pulled him to her.
"More?" He asked with a grin.
"More." She growled.
He entered her again and filled her with bliss. The feeling of having her legs spread by him was another unexpected turn-on, and the pressure inside her built even faster as Harry rammed himself into her over and over. His face contorted with pleasure as he continued his efforts, and he began to hiss.
"Oh Hermione! Oh fuck! Oh Fuck! Oh Hermione!" She could feel his whole body gradually tense up, and she realized he was going to explode as well. That put a smile in her chest and on her face, and she pulled his hips into her harder with her heels.
"Ahhhhh!" He groaned, followed by shorter grunts. His face twisted into a grimace of pleasure, and she liked it. She felt his hot climax splash against her insides as he did, and it caused her own pleasure to explode again.
He lay down on top of her and panted like he'd run a marathon.
"Oh Hermione." He breathed, as he swept the hair back from her face.
She turned to him and kissed him with purpose, kissed him with all her love and intent. She claimed him, told him that his place was with her and her place was with him, and nothing would come between them, not ever.
They arrived out of thin air in front of Gringott's at precisely 12:50 pm.
Sirius immediately put his hand to his stomach, but a slow smile spread across his face, rather than the nauseous grimace he'd expected.
"That was... almost pleasant." He said incredulously.
"We're going to have to research the why later, but we've noticed that Apparating via Resonance is easier on the internal organs, especially for side-alongs." Hermione said matter-of-factly.
"And anyone can learn." He said. Harry had told him as much at dinner the previous evening, but Sirius was still quite skeptical.
"Well, it took me months of daily training. So a regular wizard, maybe as much as a year. You? Five to ten." Harry grinned at him and strode toward the open doors to the bank.
"Just like your father, cheeky little bastard." Sirius muttered behind a proud smile. He started after Harry, and Hermione followed behind.
A smartly-suited goblin met them just inside the doors. "Right this way, Mister and Missus MacFusty." He said, and shuffled into one of the conference rooms off to the side of the main lobby. It was yet empty.
"I'll need your wands, please. All of them." The goblin held out his hand.
Harry handed his wand to the goblin. Sirius did too, but only one. Harry raised an eyebrow at him, but Sirius raised both his hands, palms out.
"I knew this was going to happen, so I only brought the one."
Harry quirked one corner of his mouth and went to sit down.
"Might I ask your name, sir goblin?" Hermione bowed to him.
"Gripspike, Missus MacFusty."
"Thank you, Gripspike." She handed her wand over with pressed lips. She had tried for hours to move her ears, but hadn't managed. Harry couldn't do it either, but that hadn't made her any less disappointed.
"Please be comfortable. I will show the other party in when they arrive." The goblin announced, and promptly left to go about his duties.
Harry took a seat at one end of the table, and Hermione next to him on his right. Sirius sat on Harry's left and leaned back in the chair.
Hermione Resonated and swept the room for magic.
"Any idea where you're going to take this?" Sirius asked.
"I'm guessing since the letter emphasized peace that they'll essentially ask us not to kill Ronald."
"Do you want to?" Sirius asked softly, his eyebrows raised.
"Yes." Harry replied without a hint of hesitation.
"Why?"
Harry just looked to Hermione.
"Because he bullied me for three years. Specifically, last year he stole my book bag and used it as a urinal. We're understandably pissed about that."
Harry grinned at her.
Sirius looked from Hermione to Harry and back again. "I want to laugh, but I'm not sure it's funny. Were you being serious there or making a joke?"
"You're Sirius. I'm a complicated, intelligent woman. I can do both at once."
He barked a laugh then, and smiled at the two of them. They both had depth he hadn't expected.
"Lily would have adored you." He smiled at her.
"Well then I guess I know where I get it from." He winked at Hermione and interlaced his fingers with hers.
Sirius smiled as he watched them make loveyfaces at each other. It warmed his old bones and juxtaposed them with James and Lily. Despite the obvious differences, Harry made the same face James had. Neither could stop their feelings from completely taking over their faces. Even Hermione made the same embarrassed, suffering, but secretly thrilled face Lily used to.
Gripspike opened the door then, four wands clutched in his other hand. Fred and George entered the room first, and came right over to them, hands out.
"Fred, George. Nice to see you. Good holidays so far?" Harry shook their hands.
"Can't complain." Fred said.
"Managed a thing or two." George smiled.
Hermione nodded to the twins politely, and they bowed in return.
"Allow me to introduce Sirius Black, also known as Padfoot. Sirius, Fred and George Weasley, your spiritual inheritors."
"Lads." Sirius nodded to the twins and shook their hands. "Duncan tells me you've had a few successes at school."
"Middling trifles, comparatively." Fred grinned.
"Nothing that compared to your masterful confections." George grinned as well.
The older redheaded man put a hand on each of their shoulders, and they took seats across from Harry and Hermione. He turned to Sirius then.
"Sirius. Good to see you again." He offered his hand, which Sirius shook.
"Arthur. Lovely to be seen again." He grinned. "Keeping well?"
Arthur flashed a smile. "Well enough, considering." He stood a little straighter then, and it shed some of the tired look about him.
"And you must be Mister and Missus MacFusty." Arthur smiled and held out a hand, so they both shook it. "A great pleasure to meet you both. You're even taller than your father was."
"Since you know who my father was, I'll thank you for keeping it to yourself." Harry bowed slightly.
Arthur waved his hand. "Nonsense. Good people. Sorely missed. Thank you for coming. This," He waved his hand behind him to indicate the young man who looked a lot like Fred and George, "Is Bill, my eldest and Heir."
Bill stepped forward and shook hands with the three of them.
"Bill, pleasure to meet you." Harry said with a smile.
"Likewise. Mister MacFusty."
"Duncan, if you please. All the Mister makes me feel like I'm at school."
Bill smiled and nodded and took a seat next to Fred. Arthur sat the other side of George, opposite Sirius.
"So... I'm guessing this is something to do with Ronald?" Harry asked.
"On the nose, Mister MacFusty."
"Duncan, please. You're concerned for his safety."
"Frankly, yes. And not just his." Arthur's brows furrowed.
Harry nodded. "I'm sorry someone tangled Jenny up in a plot to hurt me. How is she doing?"
"She's fine, thank you for asking, but I was talking about all of us."
"Ah." Harry smiled slightly at that. What they'd discussed was in fact the case. George and Fred must have told him about his angry declaration to them in the Great Hall. He turned to them.
"You told him about what I said, but did you tell him why?" He asked them.
"Not really room in the letter..." George mumbled.
Arthur pinched the bridge of his nose and closed his eyes. "Really? Am I going to be embarrassed now? Not even the whole story?"
"Sorry dad." Fred mumbled.
"Well, don't despair quite yet, Arthur." Sirius smiled. "Gripspike!"
The door opened and Gripspike entered. "Yes?"
"Might we borrow a memory viewer?" Sirius asked.
"A goblin will have to be present." Gripspike answered.
"I'm alright with that." Arthur said.
"Gringott's has my trust." Harry nodded.
Gripspike closed the door again as he left. The twins were uncharacteristically quiet as they waited.
"No doubt Ronald told you how I broke every bone in his body as well?" Harry asked.
Arthur nodded. "Gave his mother conniptions that did."
"Did he tell you how Madam Pomfrey mended all his bones as well?"
"No, but it's a reasonable assumption, she is the school -"
"I mended his bones. Did he tell you how our duel wouldn't have happened at all if he hadn't insulted Hermione?"
"No. He neglected to mention that." Arthur said quietly. Harry could see the man becoming angry, but he could tell it wasn't anger directed at him or Hermione.
Gripspike returned then, along with another goblin who carried a large, flat piece of clear crystal the size of a tea saucer. The new goblin climbed into a chair next to Hermione and placed the crystal on the table in front of him. He detached a small piece from the side of the crystal and held it up.
"Whose is the first memory?" He asked.
"I guess that would be me." Harry said. "I'm Duncan MacFusty, sir goblin. May I have your name?"
"All Gringott's knows who you are, Mister MacFusty. Brainspray, at your service. Hold this to your forehead as you concentrate on the memory, the crystal will do the work." He handed Harry the piece of the main crystal he held in his hand.
Harry took a moment to gather his thoughts and order them chronologically before he pressed the crystal to his forehead and relived the memories in question. The piece of crystal on his head glowed softly when he finished.
Brainspray held his hand out for the crystal piece, and slotted it into its parent crystal when Harry handed it to him. Above the flat crystal, full-colour three-dimensional images played with sound, seen through Harry's eyes.
"This is just after I've been sorted." Harry said. "First night at Hogwarts."
Arthur and Bill visibly winced at Ronald's shout to Hermione, and both grew red in the face while Ronald explained his shouted comment. That memory ended as Harry handed Ron his wand and walked back into the Great Hall.
The next memory showed the castle courtyard as Harry walked into it.
It played out Ginny's arrival and Hermione's discovery of what had happened to her. When Ronald's voice cut through the moment they had together, all four redheads gasped and turned white.
"I never knew what he said..." Fred whispered.
"Disgusting." Bill whispered.
They watched as the rest of the memory played out, and it ended as Ronald ran off to see to Ginny.
"Any questions?" Harry asked.
"I can show you the memory of my bookbag and cleaning all the library books that were in it if you like." Hermione said coldly.
Arthur flinched at her icy tone and seemed to shrink in on himself, and looked more tired than he had when he arrived.
"I don't think that's necessary, Lady MacFusty." Bill said. "The message is quite clear already."
"I have one memory I'd like you to see." Hermione said. "It's one that Duncan can't give you and wouldn't if he could. To him it doesn't mean anything."
Brainspray took the small crystal out of its slot and tapped it on the opposite side of the large flat crystal. The glow from Harry's memory faded, and he handed it to Hermione. She placed it on her forehead and concentrated, then handed it back to Brainspray with a new glow.
The memory that played was in the Great Hall, the crowd of girls who stood behind Duncan, who he then protected as Duncan was sprayed with greenish-yellow muck. It continued, and showed George and Fred's quiet conversation regarding the prank, then sped to the infirmary where a grotesque parody of Duncan rested on the bed and was treated by Madam Pomfrey, including the nasty-tasting potion he'd had to suck through a straw. The memory ended after Hermione whispered her message to Duncan and left the infirmary.
Again, all four redheads winced.
"Duncan doesn't think much of things that happen to him, but things happening to me makes him angry. I've hated Ronald since first year, but nothing he did to me makes me as angry as this does." Hermione said with a glower.
"Thank you for not killing my boy." Arthur said then. "Merlin knows others would have, and he might even deserve it, but he's still my boy." His tone of voice sounded defeated.
"Well, now that you have all the information, was there anything you wanted to ask? I'm guessing you had a point to this meeting besides getting to the bottom of what happened between Ronald and us." Harry said calmly. He could see Arthur wasn't a bad person, nor did Bill seem to be. He already knew the twins weren't as such, despite initial impressions.
Arthur nodded. "I did, but... I came with half the information and a skewed understanding. I had some hope my family wasn't completely in the wrong, but that isn't the case." He sat up straight, and Harry could see a hint of steel in his eyes. He stood up, and bowed at the waist. "I offer you my deepest apologies, Lord and Lady MacFusty, I shall do everything I can to make amends."
"Arthur - May I call you Arthur?"
"Yes, please." He replied.
"Please, sit down Arthur. I can see that Ronald is the exception in your family rather than the norm. I must apologize for what I said to the twins in the Great Hall that first night as well, I've no intention of blood feuding anyone. I was a trifle cross at the time."
Arthur took his seat again, relieved. "I still must take responsibility for his actions. At the end of the day he's my son. I'm his Head of House. How can I keep my family safe and work toward an alliance with your House?"
"We don't need allies, but friends are welcome." Hermione replied.
"Your family is in no danger from us. Ronald, on the other hand... well, you heard what I told him. You know I'm a man of my word. Honestly though, I don't think even Ronald is pig headed enough to insult her again. Not after that."
"You won't have to worry about Ronald. He's going to be home schooled from now on." Arthur said through clenched teeth.
Harry shook his head. "Not because of this, I hope. If you want to pull him out of Hogwarts because of his grades, that's one thing, but don't do it on our account. In six months it will be a non-issue as we will be leaving Hogwarts permanently to finish school abroad."
"You're not leaving Britain permanently I hope?" Arthur seemed suddenly anxious at the news.
"Not permanently, no." Harry admitted.
"Thank Merlin." Arthur muttered.
"Why's that?" Harry asked with a frown. "Why would it matter if we were in Britain or not?"
Arthur shot a glance at Sirius, but Sirius only raised his eyebrows in return.
"Do you know... how your parents died?" Arthur asked gently.
"Voldemort killed them." Harry replied. "Sirius told me that story."
"He tried to kill you as well. His killing curse gave you that scar. Instead, something else happened. There are those who say his curse rebounded and he was destroyed. That's why Harry Potter was hailed as the saviour of our world."
"But?" Harry asked.
"But... There are also those who say Voldemort isn't truly dead. That he'll come back. That Harry Potter was to be our best hope against him."
"I suppose those who say that are in a position to know how to come back from the dead?" Harry asked, his voice dripped disbelief. "What do you believe?"
"I fought them once. I'd rather not do it again. My reflexes aren't what they were. I can only hope the world never sees evil like that again." Arthur replied.
"Moldywarts was the darkest of the dark, Duncan. There are some dark rituals that could accomplish that." Sirius said quietly. "I've been looking into things that happened while I was... away."
Harry looked at Sirius then, eyebrows flat. "For real." His voice was sharp.
Sirius pressed his lips together and nodded. "Yeah. For real."
Harry's jaw worked and made the muscles ripple. "And you didn't think to tell me before now?" he asked quietly.
"Nobody knows for sure if he can come back. Just because there are dark rituals that could allow it doesn't mean he knew them or performed them. The few things I've run across are genuinely sickening."
"I'm assuming 'darkest of the dark' also means not squeamish." Harry countered.
"I didn't want to burden you with it until I knew something concrete, Duncan. We're still getting to know each other, and I didn't want to seem like a loon."
Harry stared into Sirius's eyes. "Alright." He sighed finally, "That's fair. I suppose I can't really blame you for that." He turned to look at Hermione. "One more thing we'll have to research in our spare time."
"That we have none of." She frowned.
Harry nodded to her, just as annoyed.
"I'll help, of course." Sirius said. "I've nothing but free time. You two go about your schooling and do what you're already doing. I'll work on coming up with information."
"If you need help, let us know. We could ask Fawkes or any of the elves to help you."
"Fawkes?" Arthur frowned. "Isn't that Dumbledore's bird?"
"Formerly." Hermione said. "A Hogwarts elf found his frozen body in the trash and brought him to us. We managed to help him, and now he's quite happy to live with us."
"In the trash?" Arthur frowned and looked at Sirius.
"I don't know anything for certain yet." Sirius said quietly.
"Would you let me know what you find? If he's..."
Sirius nodded. "I will. I've had the same thoughts myself."
"Thank you Sirius." Arthur stood then and offered his hand to Harry. Harry also stood and shook it. "Thank you, my Lord. For being a good man. We will see to Ron, and hope to Merlin we never have to look to you to save us all again. My apologies for interrupting your holidays, Happy New Year." He flashed a smile that was overshadowed by the obviously weighty things on his mind.
"Happy New year." Harry replied. "Owls addressed to Duncan or Hermione MacFusty will reach us, if you should need to."
Arthur smiled genuinely then. "Likewise - addressed to me, of course. No sense sending yourself mail."
The twins waved as they followed their father and brother out. "See you in school." Fred said.
"Send me an owl anytime you like, lads." Sirius grinned.
"Thanks, we will!" They gushed in stereo.
Harry sat back down again and let out a long breath. Hermione's hand slipped into his.
"Make sure you keep in touch, please? This is going to worry us until we know something." He said to Sirius.
"I'm sure you'll find ways to make each other relax." He grinned.