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“Hey Harry!”

“Hi Neville. Good to see you!” Harry grinned when he spied the slightly pudgy boy entering the Quidditch stands where Harry and Hermione were lazily taking their time eating lunch.

“How was your holiday Neville?” asked Hermione.

“Smashing!” Neville’s face lit up, “Gran and I went all over Europe--visited some really cool ancient magical sites. But I think my favourite were in Greece and Cyprus. Greece was amazing, you should have seen...”

There was a whoosh and Neville looked up, startled by a rush of wind, and saw two girls he didn’t really know swooping by just a few metres away on brooms.

“Er... isn’t the girl with blue hair an Auror? I remember her from the Triwiz. What’s she still doing here?” Neville asked in bewilderment. “And who’s the new girl? I’ve never seen her at Hogwarts before...”

“Oh... er...” Harry gulped, “Erm... Dora was just in training to be an Auror--but she quit. And she’s going back to school--she’s... er... she’s an Unaffiliated now, like Hermione and me...”

“And the other girl is a new witch--a late bloomer...” Hermione interjected, jumping in to try and and save Harry from further distress, as he appeared to be having trouble dissembling to someone he considered a friend, “We’ll introduce you in a bit.”

Harry peered gratefully at Hermione and she squeezed his hand.

~o0o~

“Are you sure about this Molly?” Albus asked Mrs Weasley once again. “I cannot give you all the details, but I am certain that Voldemort’s next major attack will be upon Hogwarts itself...”

“But you’ve got the Potters and all of their little friends here... for their safety you said at the Order meeting... And I know the Longbottom boy arrived today,” Molly glowered, “You promised that you would take Ginny and keep her safe too,”

“I’m worried that You-Know-Who’s minions might attack the Burrow. They know we’re members of the Order. If they should break the Protection Charms--Well, I don’t even like to think... What’s really going on Albus?”

Albus Dumbledore sighed. Getting anything by Molly Weasley was always a dicey proposition--she was a sharp and formidable woman. He'd had no luck attempting to dissuade Augusta Longbottom from leaving Neville at Hogwarts either.

“I promised to accept Ginevra at Hogwarts for the summer Molly, and I shall abide by that promise. I just need you to be clearly aware that there are risks here too. The Potters are here not only due to being under threat by Voldemort, but because they are also being directly threatened by the Minister herself,”

“And the rest of the Unaffiliated are simply here because of their strong bonds of friendship with the Potters and thus their parents have allowed them to remain to keep them company, even though I cannot guarantee their absolute safety should Voldemort attack here...”

“I know there’s something you’re still not telling me Albus,” Molly snapped. Then she sighed, “Regardless, the Protection Charms are far stronger here than at the Burrow, and then there’s you and the professors--you’re all here. If You-Know-Who does attack Hogwarts, I feel more confident of Ginny’s safety with you lot than I do at home.”

“Very well then, you may bring Ginevra at your earliest convenience,” the Headmaster concluded.

Molly’s features softened and she smiled sadly at Dumbledore, “Thank you Albus. I really do appreciate it... I’m sorry for being pushy. I just want my Ginny to be as safe as possible. We’ll be picking up her school supplies tomorrow in Diagon Alley, and then I’ll floo her here.”

~o0o~

The glowing girls flicked their windswept hair from their faces and giddily clambered off their brand new Firebolts, both flinging their arms around Harry, giving him little kisses on each cheek while Neville looked on with bemusement and Hermione purred.

“Thanks for the broom Harry!” gushed Jennifer tearily. “I’ll pay you back when I get a chance to transfer some of my inheritance to Gringotts...”

“No, please,” interjected Harry, blushing and staggering under the dual hug attack. “They're both presents...”

“Cheers Harry!” said Dora, looking more than a bit teary herself. “Really, you shouldn’t ‘ave... these must ‘ave cost a fortune.”

“And we’re supposed to give you presents for your birthday, not the other way around,” Jennifer responded. “You should have told me...”

“Look, I’ve got way more than I need already,” retorted Harry, his blush deepening. “Sirius’s family was filthy rich, and he just up and gave me nearly all of it. I just want to share what I have with people I care about.” Harry gave Jennifer a kiss on the cheek to prove it.

Not being one to pass up the opportunity for a hug, Hermione embraced Jennifer too and gave her a kiss on her cheek as Dora giggled. Neville flushed awkwardly, and slipped out of the Quidditch stands unnoticed, deciding that he could meet the new girl later.

“He really means it Jennifer,” said Hermione, curling her fluffy ginger tail around Jennifer and giving her another little kiss, this time briefly on the lips.

Jennifer was flabbergasted, and her heart began to race. She still couldn’t quite fathom how she had garnered the affections of a boy and his wife--and their girlfriends--whom she had only known for a few weeks.

And Jennifer didn’t really comprehend the swell of emotion she felt in response, she just knew that they made her feel loved in a way which was different from the way that she felt towards Hestia Jones.

When Hestia cuddled her, Jennifer felt like she was in the arms of her mum, which sometimes made Jennifer feel a bit guilty--like she shouldn’t love someone as much as her dead parents whom she still missed very much.

But the Potters and the rest of the girls in the Coven stirred something much more than that in Jennifer, something romantic and erotic. She loved them and she would be lying to say that it didn’t scare her. Though she no longer felt the presence of Ratface in her mind, Jennifer was still frightened by the idea of being with anyone in that way.

Jennifer returned Hermione’s kiss then pulled back, anxiously biting her lip.

“It’s alright Jennifer,” Hermione said quietly, twitching her furry ears in understanding, “You don’t have to do anything you don’t want to do. I know how you feel about us. I just want you to know that you’re loved no matter what.”

“Thanks Hermione,” Jennifer blushed and flickered her eyelashes, casting them down as tears rolled down her cheeks. Dora gave Jennifer a hug and a kiss too, and the four of them returned to the castle.

That afternoon and evening, if Jennifer still harboured any doubts, they were put to rest for a while at least. Luna and Parvati helped her study for a Charms exam. Then Jennifer spent some time perusing magazines and catalogues with Fleur, Parvati, and Daphne while Luna read another book on mind-healing.

“I can’t believe it. Do wizards really dress like this every day?” Jennifer giggled when Daphne showed her a British wizard-wear catalogue.

“Mostly only older wizards and witches,” snorted Daphne. “Younger wizards, except for a lot of so-called Purebloods, tend to follow modern muggle fashion trends. I'm lucky; my parents always wanted Astoria and me to be knowledgeable of the wider world...”

“And as you can see, ze Continental wizard world ees much more wiz ze times,” tittered Fleur, passing Jennifer a French magazine.

Hermione was sitting on Harry’s lap with her tail curled around him as they read Lord of the Rings together which she had bought for Harry by owl-post for his birthday.

“Thanks loads for this Hermione,” Harry said, giving her a kiss, “and for the Oz books too.”

They both looked up at the other girls when they heard them all giggling.

“That was really kind of you to order those brooms for Dora and Jennifer Harry,” Hermione sighed and gazed at him adoringly.

“Jennifer’s great at flying!” Harry grinned. “She took to it jolly quick after she got used to it riding with Luna...”

~o0o~

Minister Dolores Umbridge would have rubbed her hands together and cackled with glee, but she didn’t want to give Head Auror Rufus Scrimgeour the wrong impression. A squad of Aurors had managed to run down a small group of Voldemort’s Snatchers and Nott Sr as they had attempted to burn down a Liverpool homeless shelter near St Luke's Church Gardens and make off with its residents.

Despite being interrogated by the Aurors under the influence of Veritaserum, the Snatchers and Nott Sr had been unable to provide details of the current whereabouts of Voldemort. But that wasn’t particularly important for the moment.

The important thing was that Dolores now had a sizable number of hooligans to punish--including those which Mr Fortescue had captured during the Diagon Alley attack--and someone of note that she could haul before the Wizengamot. And Scrimgeour had turned Nott and the Snatchers over to the Unspeakable Office for further interrogation as promised. This was the opportunity she had been looking for to solidify a majority on the Wizengamot.

“Thank you very much Rufus,” the Minister cooed in her most girlish voice, “Splendid--another job well done. I am quite pleased.”

“Thank you, Madam Minister,” Rufus Scrimgeour raised his eyebrows, “I shall pass your praises along to the Aurors who brought them in... However, I must say that I regret that we were unable to obtain any further details which could lead us to the Dark Lord.”

“Never mind that Rufus,” Dolores responded, smiling brightly, “I have faith that the methods of the Unspeakable Office will yield some actionable information, and if we do indeed obtain anything of use, I shall inform you immediately so that we can bring the rest of these criminals to justice. In the meantime, again--Good Work!”

Head Auror Scrimgeour’s forehead creased in consternation as he watched the Minister depart his office through narrowed eyes, a sense of unease settling over him. He couldn’t put his finger on any one thing in particular, but doubts continued to niggle at the back of his mind.