FicWad

Disclaimer: This story is based on characters, ideas, and situations created by JK Rowling and owned by her and her publishers. I own the original elements & characters. No money is being made by me, and no trademark or copyright infringement is intended.



Chapter XV

"No need to have the aurors with you, Fudge," Harry said loudly. "I know I am not allowed to kill you while you are still in office." He strode forward. "What do you want?"

"You killed three men, one of them on the Wizengamot, and you ask what I want?" Fudge demanded. "Even if they were Death Eaters, you still have to answer some questions, Potter."

"I might," Harry agreed, "but why to you in person? Was this DeVere's idea? He is the one other member of the Wizengamot I know for certain is a Marked Death Eater."

That was exactly whose idea it had been, and that accusation made Fudge stop and blink. Harry stalked closer. "Did he also suggest which aurors to take? I wonder, are any of you Marked Death Eaters, too? Let's see. . . ." Harry's wand flashed, and three of the ten screamed, and grasped their left forearms in agony. "Well?" Harry demanded. "Are you going to arrest them, or do I execute them, too?"

The other seven aurors sprang into action, and soon three more Death Eaters had been exposed and arrested. "I see Voldemort went recruiting this summer," Harry said, his voice deadly cold. "None of you three were at the ceremony last June. In fact, I doubt any of you were even old enough to join last time." None said anything, although two did manage a credible sneer.

Harry turned to Fudge. "If you continue to keep the company of Death Eaters, Minister, you will understand why some will start to wonder about your own loyalties."

"I can see why you would say that, boy, but I still resent it," Fudge tried to growl. He blinked as a growling murmur went through the hall. "What?" he demanded of the students.

Neville stood. "We said, 'that's Lord Potter' to you!" Neville gestured, and at least a fifth of the students stood, certainly a majority of the older students. "We are the sworn followers of Lord Harry Potter, heir of Merlin and the Four Founders of Hogwarts, Triwizard co-champion, and the Chosen One."

Fudge's jaw hung open, and so, when the challenge came, it was not from Fudge. "Is he really all those things?"

En masse, everyone not tied up looked to the entrance way, where a group of sixty figures in rich blue hooded robes stood. They started to come in. "Who are you?" Dumbledore demanded.

The Grey Lady, Ravenclaw's ghost, glided forward, and for the first time in living memory spoke. "Mistress Ravenclaw decreed that each year at least one First year Ravenclaw girl would be chosen to join the Select, now commonly called the Ravenclaw Coven. Behold the ten current members at Hogwarts and the leaders of the coven outside of the school." She bowed, and then led the figures until they made a chanting circle around Harry and his three women.

After nearly five minutes, they stopped circling, but kept chanting. A break opened in the circle. "Stand just outside the circle," Harry said to his lovers. "And don't worry, I'm perfectly safe." The three teens unhappily did as Harry had instructed them, and the circle now broke into two circles, moving in opposite directions.

The ceiling again faded out, replaced by the four house symbols, and then the Potter coat of arms appeared in the center. Then, next to it, appeared the red dragon.

"He is what he says," the spokes witch said. She dropped her robe, showing that she was nude except for her sandals. All the others did as well, showing that the current Ravenclaws were Cho and her 'Clique'.

The inhalation of (mostly male) breath was clearly audible, as all of the Ravenclaw witches had clearly kept their figures, no matter what their age, and they were aged from 12 to 150. The Coven dropped to their knees atop their robes. "We swear our fealty to the Heir of Merlin," the woman intoned, and the entire Coven repeated the oath. In a more normal voice, the witch then added, "While we are sorry you did not choose one of our sisters as a consort, we are proud that you have chosen two Ravenclaws, and one whose mind could have easily placed her in our House. Su!"

"My Lady?" Su Li, one of the two Fifth year members (the other being Marietta Edgecombe), replied.

"You are the liaison between Lord Potter and our Coven. Lord Potter, our apologies that one of our number dared strike out against you and yours." The woman, who looked rather like Marilyn Monroe toward the end of her life, stood, and the others followed. She waved her wand, although not even Harry had seen it before it appeared and chanted something, then adding, "None shall remember our names or faces, save Lord Potter and his consorts." The group then moved out of the hall, hungry eyes following many of them, for if their faces and identities would be forgotten, their bodies would not be.

Padma moved to Harry's side. "Two of those witches are general members of the Wizengamot," she hissed, "and at least seven are consorts to wizards who are on it."

Harry nodded. He turned back to Fudge. "I think you should take your Death Eating body guards and leave. You may send auror Shacklebolt or Tonks with any questions you still need answered." The dumbfounded Fudge merely nodded. Harry turned to Dumbledore. "If you'll also excuse us, I think we've lost our appetite for company."

"Of course," Dumbledore managed to say.



Hermione sat in a soft arm chair and pouted.

"What?" Harry asked.

"I never heard of the Ravenclaw Coven," Hermione said angrily. "I've never seen so much as a hint of their existence."

"If it makes you feel any better, I never heard of them either," Padma said. "I mean, we obviously knew the Clique existed, but not that the Coven was this powerful."

"I had, but I didn't believe they actually existed," Luna put in.

"Did you recognize their speaker?" Harry asked. The three witches shook their heads. "She's the number two person in the Magical Exchequer." This oversaw the collecting of magical taxes, such as they were. "Hermione, draft a letter to her, the Wizengamot members, and the spouses of Wizengamot members. Outline our desires for civil rights, especially for elves, werewolves, and the Muggle-born."

"Not a problem," Hermione answered.

"Padma, talk with Li and see what protocol we should follow in getting the letters out. Luna, ask the Grey Lady why they showed up and what they might want."

The two nodded.

"And what else should I do?" Hermione asked.

"I think you should take off all your clothes, so the three of us can make passionate love to you," Harry said in such a straight tone that it made all three teens blink. Then they saw that Harry had already had the Room of Requirement change the study into a bedroom, and they all took the hint.



Saturday, October 21, 1995

While the letters to the Coven had been dispatched, there had yet been no replied. Su Li had assured them that the letters had been appreciated, and had asked if Harry had any further plans for the wizarding world when he defeated the Dark Lord.

It turned out that Harry and Hermione indeed had plans, and the quartet had spent a week refining them and improving them. Their breadth had swept Padma's breath away when she had first heard them. She had known Hermione was something of a radical, but it turned out that Harry was an egalitarian revolutionary as well. The civil rights for werewolves and the freeing of house elves from formal slavery had been expected, although the many practical suggestions would make both pills far less bitter to all but the most entrenched hard-liners. The proposals for restoring the education fund, which would have the effect of allowing dozens of impoverished Pure-bloods to attend Hogwarts would help those pills go down as well. The proposal to increase the Wizengamot by ten seats, selected by popular vote, was even more radical than the various sentients' rights proposals -- as was the idea that they have five year terms rather than life-time appointments (with two elected every year and, even more radically, that no one could be elected to consecutive terms). The other proposals were less radical, but together, they covered a wide swath.

Harry made certain to tell the Coven that he did not expect their oath to him to carry over to politics, other than hoping that they would take his proposals seriously. Hermione and Luna had spent the last week taking soundings on some of the proposals in their respective common rooms, while Hermione and Padma had sounded out some friends in Hufflepuff. There were lots of discussions on these ideas all around Hogwarts.

On this late Saturday morning, however, Harry was seeking out his loves, having spent the last two hours at Quidditch practice. Who he found, however, was Millicent Bulstrode. "Potter," she said with a nod as she blocked his way.

"Can I help you?"

"Yes," she said, "although you won't think so, and if all the rumors I've heard this week are true, I'm not really so sure we should be looking to you for help."

"Afraid you don't have the talent for a level playing field, Bulstrode?" Harry taunted.

"Is that what you're really aiming for, Potter?" she demanded.

"Actually, yes," Harry answered. "I know, better than you, that we wouldn't survive being exposed to the greater Muggle world. And I really don't want to 'Mugglize' us. Believing we should be is as stupid as Voldemort's Pure-blood agenda."

"We'll see," Millicent retorted. "Now, do you want to see what we've arranged?"

"Not really," Harry retorted.

"Pull that wand and follow me," Millicent growled. "I'm taking you to meet three Death Eaters who want to speak with you."

That made Harry blink, and he certainly pulled his wand.

"Much better," Millicent stated with a sneer. "Come along, then." Her lip curled. "Unless you want three Death Eaters walking about Hogwarts." She turned and left. Harry sighed and followed.



Millicent led Harry to a room not too far from the ground floor stairs which led down to the dungeon entrance of the Slytherin common room. Harry was not terribly surprised to see three sets of fathers and sons -- Crabbe, Goyle, and Nott. Millicent went over to the right wall, and Crabbe, Nott, and Goyle Junior reluctantly went over to join her.

"Who's going to explain this," Harry asked forcefully.

"Crabbe and me," Goyle Senior started off, "we been friends all our lives, and our fathers and grandfathers trained us to follow Lucius Malfoy. We made two mistakes. Training our boys to do the same. . . ."

"And letting Lucius Malfoy talk us into taking the Mark," Crabbe added. He winced in pain, as the slight verbal betrayal caused the Mark to react against that thought.

"I can only blame myself," Nott grumbled. "Now Draco is trying to get our sons to swear allegiance to him. He thinks he can build up a Pure-Blood faction which will either rival our Lord's and replace it if you fail, or which will take you out, should you somehow succeed."

"Either way, our boys end up dead," Crabbe said. "Draco isn't a patch on his father, and Lucius could never have stood up to the Master. Draco certainly couldn't."

"But they can't swear allegiance to Malfoy, since you are sworn to another," Harry said.

"There you are wrong," Goyle said.

"Draco hasn't come right out and said that he will oppose the Master," Nott said.

"But he will if he thinks he can get away with it, and when he learns he can't, either he and his sworn followers will die, or he'll sacrifice them to save himself," Goyle said.

"So, we'll fight you for our sons, Potter," Crabbe stated.

"If we win, we take you to our Master to dispose of, and our sons enter his service," Nott went on. "If you win, they swear allegiance to you."

Harry blinked at that.

"If you lose to our Lord, they die," Goyle acknowledged. "If they go with Draco, they die."

Harry understood, somewhat. This was the only way to get their sons on what the three men realized would be the winning side, even if Harry didn't really want them. "What do you three say about that?" Harry asked.

"We don't have any options we really like, Potter," Ted Nott answered, his voice tight from emotion. "We certainly don't want to watch you try and do to our fathers what you did to Smythe, Macnair, and Malfoy. Still, this seems like the least worst option." Young Crabbe and Goyle nodded.

"Fine," Harry answered. "If any of the four of you make a move towards your wands, I'll kill you, too." From the tone of his voice, no one in the room doubted him.

The 'fight' was over quickly. Nott pulled his wand first, but Harry was able to conjure a shield wandlessly with his left hand while shooting cutting hexes from his wand. These blasted through their shields, especially as none of the three men were really trying to attack or defend. They had come to die, to free themselves of Voldemort's service, and to get their sons on the winning side.

They laid dead on the floor in less than one minute of the 'fight' starting.

Harry looked at the three grieving teens. "I didn't like having to do that," he said.

"We know," Millicent said.

"Their service to their lord gave them no other option, under the circumstances, once Draco pushed the issue," Nott said, tears running down his face.

"We do blame you, Potter," Crabbe said.

"But we blame Draco and the Dark Lord more," Goyle concluded.

Harry walked over to them. "Do you still want to do it?" Harry demanded.

"Do we have any choice?" Nott asked.

"Of course you do," Harry retorted. "Whose side do you want to be on? Voldemort's, mine, or Draco's? Somehow, I don't think you have the option of being neutral."

"You're right about that," Nott agreed, wiping his face with a handkerchief. "I wish you weren't."

"You're going to do things we don't like," Bulstrode said. "Take positions we don't agree with."

"Almost certainly," Harry agreed. "With any luck, however, this will all be over by the time you turn seventeen."

"No," Nott said thoughtfully, "you wouldn't want us sworn to you then if we really opposed you."

The four Slytherins looked at each other and seemed to come to a decision. Nott slid to his knees. Then Bulstrode, Goyle, and finally Crabbe followed. Harry accepted all four into his service.

"My lord," Nott then said, "a warning. If Draco comes to you, I don't recommend you accept his vow."

"Malfoys seem to have ways around oaths and vows," Millicent stated.

"I can believe that," Harry said. "Millicent, please work with Padma and Tracey, and go see Professor Slughorn."

"Doing what?" she asked, confused.

"Three of my liegemen have lost their fathers. Even if those three men followed my sworn enemy, I owe them proper wizarding funerals."

"As you command, my lord," Millicent said, impressed.

"Do you three prefer Theodore, Vincent, and Gregory, or Ted, Vin, and Greg?"

"Ted, or Theo," Nott said.

"Actually, I like Vincent," Crabbe admitted.

"Greg," Goyle said.

"Then come with me to see the Headmaster. Millicent, guard the outside of the room. I'll send someone along to relieve you, and then you can start work on the funerals."

"Lord Potter?" Harry swung around, and saw he was being addressed by the Bloody Baron. With him were the Fat Friar and Sir Nicholas. "With your permission, my colleague and I can guard the door, allowing none to enter."

"While I shall say the Office for the Dead, and keep watch in here," the Friar added.

"Thank you, my lord," Harry said with a bow. "Thank you, Sir Nicholas. Thank you, Brother."

And with that, the five living persons left the room.



After speaking with the Headmaster, Harry gathered his 'associates' as he had come to call them, for a working lunch: Tracey and Daphne from Slytherin; Ron and Neville from Gryffindor; Su and Tony from Ravenclaw; and Ernie and Hannah from Hufflepuff -- all Fifth years sworn to him, other than Su, who was his link to the Coven. And, of course, Hermione, Luna, and Padma were there as well.

Harry explained what had happened, and saw that their looks were more of surprise at the actions of the Death Eaters and their sons than revulsion of what he had done to them.

Finally, Ron spoke. "It's too bad you took them in, Harry . . . I mean, Lord Potter." The group tried to be formal in this setting. "Still, I really don't think you had much choice, unless you think they would foreswear your service."

"Actually, I don't," Harry answered. "I don't think they'll ever like it, although I suppose I could get lucky and they might accept our agenda. Still, I really don't think any of them would easily try foreswear that kind of oath."

"And taking them in does take them away from Draco," Ernie pointed out, which made Ron and Neville grin.

"What do you two think?" Harry asked Tracey and Daphne. Tracey and Padma, of course, had already spoken with Millicent and knew what had happened.

"I agree that they would be no more likely to foreswear the oath than anyone else who has taken it," Tracey said. "Crabbe and Goyle have been trained to serve, and they will serve you. Greg Goyle is the only person I know of who finds Millie at all attractive. She's the brains and balls of the four, although Ted isn't stupid by any means. Still, she'll stick with Greg and measure her chances. If she can live with the changes you've proposed, they will likely stick with you after all this is over."

"I agree," Daphne said. The group had been surprised to learn that her interests did indeed extend to more than gossip and fashion. She was interested in being a force behind the scenes in politics, and perhaps being married to a future Minister of Magic. She had therefore dismissed Harry from her calculations and had been eyeing Neville in a way which was making Neville very nervous and Ginny (to her surprise) slightly jealous. "Equally interesting is what this says about Draco. Since he can't get the two boys who have been his bookends to swear allegiance to him, he should have little chance of convincing many others, although Pansy might. The oath has to be freely given and freely accepted to be binding. I predict Ted was right . . . the Ferret will be approaching you to suck up after he gets over whatever tantrum he has when he learns what happened, unless he's stupid enough to confront you about it directly."

"Warn everyone to be careful around him," Harry said.

"And around Pansy," Daphne added. "She's bound her fate to Draco's, and she might not be quite as smart as he is, but she does have more guts and gall."