FicWad

Chapter 9– Of Elves and Women
. . .

Harry rolled over and stared at the canopy above him. It wasn't even close to being morning yet but the young wizard found that sleep eluded him. It hadn't been a good night as the dreams which had plagued him for some time had been especially horrible. Harry dreamt of the war, of the final battle and he had once again been made to witness the deaths of many of those he had cared for who had not made it through the struggle against Voldemort. Sirius, Remus, Fred, Nymphadora, Albus and many others of the fallen had gathered afterwards. They never spoke, only stood there and regarded him as if judging the man he had become. Aside from feeling as though he had let them all down, he also felt inadequate beneath their gazes.

Harry flung an arm across his eyes as if in an attempt to block the images from his mind. "I promise you. I promise you all that I will lead a good life," he whispered aloud. They had sacrificed everything so that he could live and Harry felt he had a debt he must repay to them. I owe them a life worth living, he told himself, not being satisfied with anything less. His thoughts turned to his current life as he pondered if it was actually a life worth living or not.

Harry's goal was to live a long, prosperous and happy life. To have helped others who were in need and to have made a positive impact on the people around him. I want to look back in my final days and see that my life has meant something. That is was worth the sacrifices they made. That I have been a good person. The young wizard knew that the project at Black Manor was a step in that direction. He had a meeting later that morning to review the help Bob had found for him.

Laying there thinking about his plans and where his life was going, Harry couldn't help but reflect about the women in his life. He wasn't as clueless about the women around him as he appeared but was rather inept and woefully short of experience. This of course made him awkward and overly self-conscious of his actions. Like most young men he feared rejection but in Harry's case it wasn't nearly as much as he feared hurting the feelings of others.

He hadn't bought Westfield Manor with the intentions of having a group of witches living there with him, it had just worked out that way somehow. He had wanted someplace close to Black Manor and with room for friends when they came to visit. It may not have been planned, but he was exceptionally glad that there was as much room here as there was as he seemed to be well on the way to filling the manor house. Completely unintentional, of course.

It had been nearly two weeks since his date with Luna and nearly a week since he'd been able to get the grin off his face. It was, without a doubt, the best date he'd ever had. Harry's happiness had been so visible that Daphne and Andi both had questioned him about his good mood. Tracey had just given him her usual scowl. Some things never change, he thought, wishing that he could at least make friends with the girl. Tracey's demeanor didn't prevent Harry from eagerly looking forward to his next date with the bright Ravenclaw.

His thoughts shifted to Daphne, the first resident of Westfield Manor besides himself and the elves. He would have liked to say that she wasn't anything like he had expected, however he really hadn't known what to expect of the former Slytherin. More often than not Harry found himself laughing and joking in her presence, something his shy Gryffindor self normally wouldn't have been able to do. At least there was one good change the war brought about. He found Daphne's playful nature and the flirtatious banter they exchanged to be exciting and rather enjoyable, if he was being completely honest with himself.

Harry knew he had always been rather shy and awkward around girls. Not having the best of childhoods and with limited contact with his peers while growing up, thanks to Dudley, he really didn't know how to interact with girls. His friendship with Hermione had gone a long ways towards introducing him to the opposite sex but it was perhaps Daphne, with her playfulness and Luna with her quirky yet blunt observations, which helped bolster Harry confidence, surprisingly enough.

It's not like I haven't dated, he told himself. There was the Yule Ball and his terrible treatment of Parvati Patil. The date with Cho Chang, whom he left to run off with Hermione. Then there was Slughorn's Christmas party where he abandoned Luna to chase after Malfoy. He didn't even want to think about his relationship with Ginny and how that had gone.

Why is it that all my relationships are disastrous? he pondered, worrying if perhaps there was something wrong with himself. If the power he knew not is love, Harry wondered, recalling the prophecy and what had beaten Voldemort, why is it that I can't seem to find any love for myself? The young man sighed heavily, beginning to wonder if he'd ever find someone who would love him enough to want to get married and have a family.

"At least things with Andi are going well enough," Harry voiced aloud as a small smile appeared upon his weary features. The older witch had only been living at Westfield Manor for a bit over a month and yet the two of them had grown close rather quickly. As time passed Harry was able to see the differences between Andromeda and her maniac sister Bellatrix.

The deceased Death Eater sister had been as beautiful as Andi was however there had been a deranged gleam to her eyes and a fanatical expression on her face that had eclipsed whatever beauty might have been there. Andi had no such thing and Harry thought she was a very striking witch. If not for the fact that they were related and he felt he had absolutely no chance at all, he may have fallen for her. It had been nearly two years since Andi's husband Ted had passed away after all.

Andi is still in her forties, which is young in our world, he had caught himself thinking more than once. The truth of the matter was that the mature witch was very kind and exceptionally sweet, two things from an older witch that had been severely missing in Harry's life up to that point. Molly Weasley certainly had tried but could be rather smothering as well as a bit controlling at times. Harry very much enjoyed the closeness that was blossoming between Andi and himself.

Then there was Tracey whom he had as yet been able to figure out. The auburn-haired witch seemed to be attached to Daphne's hip at times. Harry was glad that the two were such close friends. If I could just figure out what's Davis' issue with me, Harry thought to himself. From what little he had gleaned from conversations with Daphne something had happened with Tracey and someone from their own house. Harry got the impression it was something rather distasteful which made it all the more difficult to ask about. I don't like it when people pry into my past so I doubt if Tracey would either, he reasoned, which had stopped him from asking further question of Daphne concerning the matter.

Finally there was Hermione of course. Harry's lips curved up into a smile just due to thinking about his friend. In Harry's eyes there was no one better than Hermione. If he had his druthers, he would gladly marry the smart witch who had saved his life more times than he could count. There's just one problem, Hermione fancies Ron, Harry woefully recalled as the all too familiar ache throbbed in his chest for a moment before subsiding once again.

Harry had known rather early on that he had feelings for his only female friend at the time. The problem was, being unfamiliar with such emotions he hadn't known what they were or what to do about them. It wasn't till during the end of the second task of the Tri-Wizard Tournament that Harry made a startling discovery. He had been sitting wrapped in a blanket, trying to get warmed up while Hermione was drying his hair with a towel. The young witch had stopped and leaned down, planting a kiss upon the top of his head. It was as if the sun had come out as he suddenly felt warm all over.

Harry grinned lying in bed as he remembered wondering at the time what it would feel like if Hermione had kissed him on the lips. It was at that moment that he started to have an inkling of a notion that what he was feeling just might be the stirrings of love for his best female friend. Then Cedric had been killed and he had learned of the prophecy. There was every chance that he himself would die in the war against Voldemort. Their fifth year he had spent so angry at everything and everyone that he had pushed both Ron and Hermione away. Then Sirius had died during the fiasco at the Department of Mysteries. In their sixth year it became rather obvious from Hermione's reaction to Ron and Lavender's relationship that she fancied the lanky redhead.

It had hurt far more than he thought it would when he realized that fact though he did his best to hide it and be there for Hermione. There were times, when Ron and Lavender were snogging in the common room and Harry saw Hermione flee to the safety of her room or the library that he had just wanted to punch Ron for hurting Hermione that way. Looking back now, being a bit older and perhaps a bit wiser, Harry knew it really wasn't Ron's fault at the time. It was just how things had worked out is all. Thankfully the big lout had apparently come around by the end of the war judging from the kiss he and Hermione had shared that Ron had told him about.

I hope they finally get it right, Harry thought as he propped himself up on his pillows, realizing that he wouldn't be going back to sleep. Despite everything, he wanted his friends to be happy. The girl I love, loves another. Daphne, who Harry could possibly see himself with, also loves someone else. Tracey wants as little to do with me as possible, he believed, admitting that if Daphne wasn't there Tracey wouldn't be either. Andi certainly must want someone more mature and closer to her own age, he supposed. If she wants anyone at all, a fact he wasn't certain of. This of course brought him back to the last remaining girl in his life currently, Luna.

Upon first meeting the petite blonde witch Harry had thought her rather odd. Most people did as that was the first impression she presented to the world. Rather than put him off though, Harry had rather liked that fact as he himself was rather odd. How many other people have survived the killing curse? If that doesn't make one odd then nothing will! Now, after the war, they were both a bit different than they were when they first met, however they were also a great deal closer to one another. Over time their friendship grew as they realized that they had many things in common.

Harry had been bullied while growing up, a fact that he had discovered about Luna and her Housemates. Harry had asked Dobby to see about gathering Luna's missing items and returning them though he had made certain to do so when the younger witch was not there to hear his request. Luna had lost her mum at an early age and hence understood somewhat how Harry felt, having lost both his parents to Voldemort. They could both see the Thestrals which pulled the carriages to and from Hogwarts and Hogsmeade. Much like Harry himself, Luna didn't really care what others thought of her. Both had a very small number of actual friends.

There was a connection with Luna which Harry felt. It was on a different level than what he felt for Hermione or Daphne or even Andi. If he had to put a name to it he might have said that it was on a spiritual level. The younger girl often seemed to have an uncanny insight into his emotional turmoil and was able to help him through hard times with candid advice and rather shrewd questions. Where Hermione was rather bossy at times to drive home her point and save time, Luna would rather lead him to the correct answer so that he saw it for himself.

Thinking back to their date, Harry recalled the feel of Luna's lips on his cheek, just to the side of his own mouth. A bit more and it would have been a proper kiss, he mused as the smile that had slipped from his face returned in full force. He was rather surprised to realize that he really wanted to kiss Luna, and not as a friend. As far as he knew, Luna wasn't seeing anyone and didn't fancy some other bloke. Granted he had never asked but then again he couldn't see Luna going on a date with him if there was someone else in her life. This realization made him happy as well as a bit concerned.

But I love Hermione, don't I? But she fancies Ron, he argued with himself, justifying his sudden desire to kiss Luna and perhaps pursue a relationship. That doesn't mean that I have to stop loving her does it? He had no answer to that question. What should I do about Daphne?he asked, admitting that he had stirrings of feelings for the beautiful witch that had nothing to do with her looks. Okay, maybe it has a little to do with her looks, he admitted to himself.

He wouldn't call it love as yet but there was certainly something there between them and he was fairly certain that she felt it to. She loves another as well, his inner voice answered. Whom she said that she could never be with, Harry was quick to point out. What of my feelings for her? Do I just forget them as well? Once again he had not answer to his question.

How is it that I can care for all these women at the same time? Harry asked himself, once more feeling as if he was far different than others. Certainly no one else had this level of confusion in their lives! Aren't we supposed to love just one person for the rest of our lives? He was certain, from all that he had heard that his father had loved only his mum. The stories that Sirius and Remus had told him about his parents had certainly indicated that at least. Granted his father had been a bit of a playboy while at Hogwarts. Is that what I am? A playboy?

The thought that he might be playing with their emotions and leading them on didn't sit well with Harry. The last thing he wanted to do was hurt any of them. The more he thought about it the more it looked like he would have to choose just one of them. Right now that would have to be Luna, he thought only to realize that he didn't really want to choose one, or two or any of them as it would mean relegating the others to just friends and hurting their feelings. There was a part of Harry that liked having the women in his life and he wasn't really ready to give that up just yet. "Does that make me a bad person?" Harry asked aloud thinking of his desire to lead a good life.

"Master Harry is not a bad person," Winky answered just before she pulled open the drapes and allowed the morning's sunlight to stream in. It was only a little after sunrise so it wasn't overly bright but it did serve to brighten the room enough to be able to see clearly. "Master Harry is a very good wizard."

Harry had been so fixated upon his thoughts that he hadn't noticed the arrival of the house elf. "It's not about being a good wizard, but about being a good person. Doing the right thing," he replied only to see the small elf staring at him, waiting for him to continue. "I have to choose one of the women in my life and I'd really rather not," he confessed. "I think that somehow makes me a rather bad person. It's just so bloody hard to choose!" Harry confessed in a frustrated tone of voice.

"Then don't choose," said Winky in a tone that clearly indicated the answer should have been obvious, even to her slow witted Master.

Harry's lips bent up into a grin. "That's not how it is done I'm afraid, Winky," he told her. "We only get to choose one woman to spend the rest of our lives with."

"Why?" Winky asked.

"Because that's the way it is done," Harry answered, not certain just how to explain it to the diminutive creature. It's not like he was an expert on love, relationship and marriage after all. Where's Hermione when I need her?/ /he thought, certain she would have known just the right thing to say to explain it to the curious elf.

"Why?" Winky pressed, still not satisfied with her Master's answer. It amazed her just how complicated humans always made everything.

Harry opened his mouth to respond only to realize that he really didn't have an answer for her other than repeating what he had the last time. A sudden thought occurred to Harry and before he could stop himself he asked, "How do house elves mate?" Winky actually blushed which in turn caused Harry to blush for having asked such a personal question, of a girl nonetheless.

"Winky mates the same as witches and wizard," the blushing elf replied after a few seconds of awkward silence.

"No, I mean do you marry? You know, find a good male elf and settle down to raise a family together," Harry quickly clarified looking anywhere but at the blushing elf. "How do you choose who to join with?" he asked, feeling a great deal uncomfortable as the conversation was not going how he planned, not that he had actually planned for it to happen in the first place!

"Winky mates to whomever Master Harry says," Winky informed him.

"What?" Harry asked in disbelief. "Don't you get to choose?"

"Elves only mate when Masters say so. Winky will mate when Master Harry gives Winky his permission and has selected a suitable partner for Winky," she told him.

"Me?I can't even decide who I should mate with!" he told her unabashedly. "You should decide who you will mate with as well as when you will mate," Harry stated, aghast at the revelation that the owners of house elves made such decisions in regards to their happiness.

"If that is Master Harry's wish?" Winky asked.

"Yes, it is! That goes for all my house elves!" Harry declared. "Marry whomever you wish so long as they are willing."

Winky giggled, not at Harry's decision to allow his elves to choose for themselves, that didn't surprise her as she already knew Harry was a kind and wonderful master. No it was his final comment that had her giggling. Seeing Harry puzzled expression she explained. "Master Harry, house elves do not marry."

"You don't?" Harry asked, more than a little surprised by the fact.

"Elves do not limit themselves to one partner," Winky explained. "It would be sad to not know the joy and pleasure of being with others," she told him rather bluntly. "There are many good partners out there to be had. Why should we force ourselves to just one?"

Harry thought about that for a moment as the small elf waited. "How…how do you decide whom to mate with then?" Harry stammered, his cheeks blushing a bit due to asking yet another personal question, but that seemed to be his modus operandi at the moment.

Winky climbed up on the foot of the bed and seated herself before she explained."When a she-elf is ready, she will know. She will select a he-elf and they will share themselves with each other, magic, body and heart. If they are fortunate then a baby will be created. It is a joyous occasion when such an event occurs," she explained, "it seldom does as Masters do not often allow elves to mate."

"When it does happen though it is a wonderful thing and there is much rejoicing among our kind. The father of the baby will stay in the baby's life and help raise it however he will never sire another baby upon the same she-elf again. The next time the she-elf is ready to mate she will select a different he-elf to partner with. That was how it was done in ancient times before we were bonded to wizards and witches."

"Why won't the first two ever mate again?" Harry asked, intrigued by what he was learning. He was fairly certain that Hermione would love to know all this and he made a mental note to be certain to write to her concerning it. Realizing that the information would probably set her off once again on a crusade to save the elves he'd have to figure out just how to word it. Maybe after she's finished her NEWTs?

"It is not by choice," Winky told him, sensing that was what her Master wanted to know. It was rare for any Master to ask about such things and Winky wanted to make certain she explained it correctly. "To make a baby there is a sharing of magic between the two which connects them forever," she explained. "Once connected they cannot ever become unconnected and so cannot make more babies. This is why she will select a different partner to make another baby with. It is very seldom though that an elf has a second baby," Winky added a sadly.

Most families that owned elves had one or two elves at best. They would be required to contract with a different family to allow their own elf to mate a second time of even a first time if both their elves were male or females in the first place. This had led to arguments over who then had ownership of the baby that was born. It had in the past seen babies taken from their mothers right after birth. Wealthy Wizarding families that owned several elves didn't often want additional mouths to feed and hence didn't allow their elves to mate at all.

Harry wasn't exactly certain just what Winky meant by 'connected' but he assumed it was a sort of bond that existed thereafter between the two elves. It didn't take long for him to realize that the more mates an elf had the more connected they would be with other elves. Harry had another disturbing thought, one he truly didn't like. "Winky, is that how Wizards have controlled the elves all this time?"

It would make sense, Harry thought. There was very little information on how exactly the house elves came to be bonded to the Wizarding world. Hermione had done research into the matter for S.P.E.W. and hadn't been able to uncover very much. It was as if all information pertaining to the house elves had disappeared over the ages. Selective breeding as well as isolation were proven tactics used to control others. He himself had been isolated as a boy and could well understand how that made a person feel.

Winky looked at Harry with fear in her eyes as she realized that she had said too much. Elves were not permitted to discuss how they had been brought into the wizarding world to serve the witches and wizards. It was a sad story every elf knew but was not allowed to talk about. If the wizards so chose they could order all elves to never mate again and it would be the end of their entire race.

Harry leaned forward and patted the shaking elf reassuringly on the shoulder."That's alright. Forget I asked," Harry told Winky only to visibly see the elf relax a bit. He had seen the fear in her eyes and didn't want to push her too far. "Winky I want you to do me a favor. I want you to let it be known that any elf who works for me is free to mate with whomever they wish and as often as they wish. I want them to decide, not me," he told her."Any babies born shall remain with our family. Can you make certain all the Potter and Black elves know that?"

"Winky will tell them Master Harry's words," she said as she got up and jumped down from the bed to finish her work. Her master's words filled her with excitement as no wizard had ever told their elves to procreate at will before. The small elf paused and turned back slightly to regard Harry. "Master Harry should be an elf so that he can make lots of babies with his misses for Winky to look after," she said. "Master is not limited by his magic and can make many babies with each one."

"T…thanks," Harry stammered as he blushed at the implications of what Winky was suggesting. The thought of a large family with lots of babies had a certain appeal to him, however it was the thought of actually making those babies that had him blushing. He was still a virgin after all and woefully lacking in the knowledge of the fairer sex. "I think I'll remain being just a man for the time being."

Winky gave small nod, certain that her Master would make a great elf, and not really certain why he wouldn't want to be one. Dismissing it for now she turned and started to select clothes for her Master as the wizard in question disappeared into the bathroom to get ready for the day.

-oOo-

"Edward Remus Lupin you turn back right this instant, young man!" greeted Harry as he stepped from the floo as Andi's stern voice echoed through the living room. The young wizard was just returning from his meeting at Gringotts with his account manager, Bob. Andi was standing over Teddy as she addressed the boy, one finger wagging in the air before the child to accent each of her words.

"Arry!" Teddy called out upon seeing his favorite wizard. The rambunctious toddler ran to Harry with his arms outstretched, fleeing his rather irate grandmother for the certain safety of Harry's arms. "Up!" he demanded as upon reaching his godfather.

Harry barely managed to keep from laughing as he scooped the boy up, Teddy's small arms encircling his neck almost instantly. Teddy's normal eyes were a great deal rounder and twice their usual size. The boy's ears had grown considerably disproportionately to his head and flapped wildly as he ran across the room. All in all his godson now resembled a house elf except that his nose was still very small and very much his own. "Hey little man! Are you giving your grandmother a difficult time?" Harry asked.

"Uh-uh," Teddy denied as he shook his head vigorously causing his large ears to flap back and forth, smacking himself in the face each time. Rather than being bothered by this the toddler must have liked it because he kept doing it, finding it rather fascinating to see his own ears just before they would smack him once again. Harry couldn't help but grin at Teddy's antics.

"Fine then! You can deal with him!" Andi huffed upon seeing Harry's grin and realizing she wasn't going to get any help from the wizard. "I have to go to class and then tonight is my first evening at my internship," she informed Harry. "Be a dear and see if you can't get him back to looking like his usual cute self, Harry."

"Certainly," Harry replied even as Teddy's hair turned black and his large bulbous eyes took on an emerald shade. "Good luck with your classes and work tonight, Andi," Harry offered as the witch gathered her school bag before coming over to give Teddy a kiss goodbye.

"Thank you, Harry," Andi offered as she leaned in and the two exchanged peeks."You be a good boy and don't give your godfather a hard time," she told Teddy, who's eyes and ears were already shrinking to match Harry's."He's such a handful these days," Andi added in an affectionate note before kissing the toddler's forehead and then disappearing into the floo with a whoosh of green flames.

"What say we go and get something to drink?" Harry suggested to the small boy who was nearly an identical copy of Harry himself now, though quite a bit younger. At Teddy's enthusiastic nod of agreement, the boy had a fixation on chocolate milk currently, Harry set off towards the kitchen. As they approached the door to the kitchen Harry heard raised voices and paused to give a listen.

"Unhand me!" Kreacher's voice said with what sounded like a mixture of annoyance and what sound to Harry like fear. Whatever could be going on, Harry wondered.

"Master has given his permission," Winky's insistent tone replied.

"Kreacher is too old for such foolishness," the Black family elf was quick to reply with. "Winky should be wanting a younger elf."

"Winky knows what Winky wants," the smaller elf replied, dismissing Kreacher's objections. "Kreacher is not so old that he cannot share his magic. Will Kreacher not share with Winky?" the female asked in a rather low and seductive voice.

Harry could feel his cheeks heating up as he suddenly realized what they were discussing. The young man felt rather embarrassed to be listening in on such a private topic. Even more so it was rather disturbing to hear Winky use such atone of voice as it clashed with the rather meddlesome mother figure image he had of her in his mind.

"Winky would be better served with someone else," Kreacher answered somewhat stubbornly.

"Winky will be having Kreacher! Winky has decided!" she told him in such a manner that it was clear that she would not be swayed from her course.

There was the soft pop of an elf departure but Harry couldn't tell if Winky had left or if Kreacher had fled in terror. He hoped it was Winky that had left as it would be a great deal more embarrassing to enter the room with the female elf still there than if it was just Kreacher. "Winky deserves better," Harry heard Kreacher mumble as Teddy began to squirm in his arms. The young wizard pushed open the door only to hear Kreacher pop away as well.

Harry sat Teddy upon the counter, affixing the boy in place with a sticky charm, before turning away and preparing a cup of chocolate milk for the toddler and setting water to boil for himself. Teddy, once he had his sippy cup in hand, was content to sit on the counter, swinging his legs back and forth while drinking his chocolate milk as Harry went about making himself a cup of tea.

Harry couldn't help but grin at the thought of Winky telling Kreacher that she would have him regardless of his protests to the contrary. It was abundantly clear to Harry that Winky was not going to give up. I wonder how long he'll last before giving in? Harry mused with a grin. The young wizard was glad to see that he was not the only one that had issues with the opposite gender. He, himself, was still no closer to deciding what he was going to do with all the witches in his life.

The fact that he had just added three more to that group earlier that morning did not escape his notice either. He had told Bob to find help that he could trust after all. Harry had to admit that the goblin had done just that. The one saving grace was that at least the new witches weren't living with him, but rather over at Black Manor. Of course that meant that he would see them several times during the week as well as on weekends but that couldn't be helped.

Teddy, apparently finished with his chocolate milk, held out the empty sippy cup for more. Harry, being the proper godfather that he was, dutifully went and refilled the cup for the boy. Upon turning back there was a small pop and Winky was standing there with a disapproving look upon her face as she eyed the refilled cup in his hand. "What? It's for me," Harry lied, taking a quick sip of the sweet liquid as her insinuating gaze made him feel a bit guilty as he stood there with sippy cup in hand.

"It is time for young Master Teddy's nap," Winky stated, not buying Harry's words for a moment. It didn't help that the wizard's cup of tea was sitting right there on the counter either. The house elf removed the boy from the counter before disappearing with him.

-oOo-

Harry made his way down to the dining room the next morning in a rather foul mood. It had not been a good night, not in the least and he had managed to hardly get any sleep at all. The sleep deprived wizard growled out a 'good morning' without even pausing to give Andi and Teddy their usual morning kisses before he went to the sideboard to fill his plate sparingly with food.

"Rough night?" Daphne asked with some concern, noting the dark circles around Harry's eyes and his rather sullen behavior since his arrival in the room. Judging from the small amount of the food on the man's plate, he did have much of an appetite either.

Harry grunted as he served himself some tea and took a rather long pull from his cup only to refill it as it was nearly empty afterwards. "I've had better," he admitted, not really wishing to talk about it.

"Are you going to be able to make your Quidditch game today?" Daphne asked conversationally as she ate her own breakfast.

The tired wizard groaned as he realized that he would need a Pick-Me-Up potion or two if he was going to make the game. He wasn't about to cancel on the guys and let a little thing like missing sleep keep him from being there. "I'll manage," he grumbled.

The appearance of Winky carrying Andi's book bag forestalled further conversation."It is time Missy Andi," the small elf announced as she passed the bag over to the witch once Andi had stood.

"Thank you, Winky," the eldest witch replied, accepting the bag just before she leaned down and gave Teddy a kiss goodbye. "Today should be busy so I doubt I will be home early," she said, addressing Harry as she walked over to him and gave him a peek on the cheek. "All Hollow's Eve always seems to bring out the nutters is what they told me yesterday. I'm sure St. Mungo's will be extremely busy. I might not be home till morning even."

"Today is the 31st?" Harry asked, his face darkening at the realization. No wonder I couldn't sleep last night, he concluded. The last day of October had never been a particularly good day for Harry. This being the first one since the demise of Voldemort he could only hope it would be different from previous years. He couldn't help but feel as though it wouldn't be.

"All day, sadly," Andi assured him before hurrying off to use the floo to make her class before going to work.

"It's not a good day for you is it, Harry?" Daphne asked, noting the look upon the man's face beside her.

"Aside from the occasional troll, petrified cat, my name coming out of a goblet and the fact of my parents dying, no it's a rather smashing day," Harry told her, doing little to hide the sharp bitter edge to his words. No sooner had he finished than he felt bad as it wasn't Daphne's fault that his life had been so messed up. He had no reason to take it out on her. "I'm sorry, Daphne," he apologized. "All Hollow's Eve has always been a rather bad day for me since coming to the Wizarding world. It's as if some cosmic power has declared it 'Mess with Harry Potter Day'," he added more than a little frustration sounding in his tone.

"That's alright," Daphne told him with a forgiving smile. She felt that the man had earned a bit of anger at all that had happened to him over the years."Why don't we go out to lunch or perhaps have a nice quite day at home," she suggested in an effort to alleviate his concerns for what the day would hold.

As tempting as her offer was, Harry knew he couldn't let the guys down and not be there for their game. "Make it diner and a quiet evening at home and you have yourself a date," Harry replied while forcing a smile onto his face."I promise not to snap at either of you," he added, including Tracey in their date, much to the witch's surprise.

Tracey eyed Harry for a long moment, their eyes locking in what almost appeared to be a starring contest of sorts. "I'll hold you to that, Potter," she finally relented and told him as she looked away.

"I don't doubt you will," said Harry as his smile slipped into a grin, having noted a faint blush to the woman's cheeks. Maybe I just imagined it?

It was some time in the late afternoon when Harry returned to Westfield Manor, far dirtier as well as much happier, than when he had left. A quick trip to his room for a shower and a change of clothes found him returning to the dining room in time for dinner. "Good evening, ladies," he addressed Tracey and Daphne with as he strode into the room to join the two already seated witches. "I trust you both have had a good day?"

"You seem to be in far better spirits," Tracey commented as Harry seated himself at the head of the table.

"Yes, well it's rather amazing what an afternoon of Quidditch can do to take your mind off of things," Harry replied with, his smile never leaving his features. "So what would you like to do this evening?" His afternoon had been so great that he was all set to tease them a bit about their date."As I recall we have a date," he reminded them. "I must admit that I'm a bit nervous, never having been out with two beautiful witches at once before."

Daphne offered a playful smirk. "Too much for you to handle?"

"Probably," Harry replied, not ashamed to admit it. "If it were just you, Daphne, I think I could manage, however with Davis` along, I'm not all that certain that I'm not in a bit over my head here."

Tracey couldn't hide the blush that slipped across her cheeks at his words. Looking down at her plate she told him, "We're living together now. You may as well call me Tracey, Potter."

Harry sat back in his seat, a large grin spreading across his face as he recalled asimilar conversation he'd had with Daphne. Rather than repeat it, Harry decide to have a bit of fun with the rather standoffish witch instead. "Why, is that a proposal Miss Davis?" he teased only to see the woman's face turn a bright red as she began to splutter, unable to articulate any coherent words.

"I do believe it was, Mister Potter," Daphne played along, not wishing to miss an opportunity to tease Tracey, especially now that she knew the witch at one time had a crush on Harry. "It certainly sounded like she was requesting to be the next Mrs. Potter to me!" Daphne's words only gained her a look of utter disbelief from Tracey who was finding it hard to breath at the moment.

Harry found it all rather amusing as Tracey's mouth opened and closed like a fish out of water at Daphne's suggestion. Harry almost lost it when Daphne glanced in his direction and winked at him. Their fun at Tracey's expense came to a halt when Kreacher appeared with a piece of parchment. Harry took the message without a thought and read it over, his smile slipping quickly from his feature. "You'll have to excuse me," he told both witches as he dropped the paper to the table. "Something has come up."

Daphne and Tracey both stared in disbelief as Harry raced to the floo and tossed in some powder before calling out his destination. They both watched rather dismayed as their date for the evening vanished without further word. "Did he say St. Mungo's?" Tracey asked in confusion still staring at the now empty fireplace where the wizard had disappeared from just a moment before.

Daphne reached over and took the discarded bit of parchment. The witch read it aloud for Tracey's sake.

Dear Mr. Potter.
You presence is required at St. Mongo's. Please come quickly as the matter is rather urgent.
Healer Roberts.

"Isn't Andi working at St. Mungo's tonight?" Tracey asked, suddenly very worried about the older witch.

Daphne could do little but nod as she realized that Harry would have to wait another year to have a quiet Halloween.