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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 XVII Saturday, November 18, 1995

Harry sat in the bed, arms folded over his chest, scowling.

"It's no use making that face at me, Harry Potter," Madam Pomfrey scolded. "You're the one who plowed into the ground."

"At least you made Malfoy crash three times before you crashed, and you did catch the Snitch," Ron pointed out.

"I suppose," Harry allowed.

"Mister Weasley and you other Quidditch rats? Out! You three ladies may remain for a short time if you behave and don't say a word."

The Quidditch team left, Madam Pomfrey pulled the privacy curtain, and Hermione, Luna, and Padma were totally silent.

"I have mended your broken leg, your broken ankles, your broken knee, both your broken and your sprained wrist, and your cracked collar bone," she stated. "With all that, you need a bone strengthening potion. Take this."

She handed Harry a double shot of a dark violet potion. Harry sighed and tossed it back. "H'mm," he said.

"What?" Hermione asked. Luna and Padma had never visited Harry in the Infirmary before, and weren't quite certain how to act.

"It actually tastes rather fruity," Harry said. "Most potions taste awful."

"It actually tastes so awful that no one can stomach it," Madam Pomfrey admitted. "They had to come up with a favored version. Now, I know what you and Miss Granger are up to, and I wouldn't be surprised if you two were as well. I know you'll hate to hear this, but no touching for thirty-six hours. Certainly no fellatio."

"Aaaawww," all three witches said, which made them giggle and Harry blush.

"I mean it," Madam Pomfrey said. "That potion can not be taken by fertile women. It would immediately upset your hormones, and you'd have about a two week period." At that, the three teens shivered. "Also, it would make any magical anti-pregnancy potion inactive for about three months, and the same with the so-called Muggle 'pill'. To be on the safe side, nothing until Wednesday morning. Don't even get any skin contact before that. No, not even a kiss."

She turned to Harry. "As for you, I suggest you 'clean out your pipes' Wednesday night and start with a fresh batch." Harry turned scarlet. "To be totally safe, I recommend you all wait until next Saturday for that. As for tonight, remember, don't even touch him for thirty-six hours. Now, say goodnight, ladies."

Dejected, the three witches left. Madam Pomfrey left Harry alone, muttering, "I have to say the damnedist things to that boy. . . ."



For Harry, the only good thing that happened over the next week was the return of Hagrid. Since Hermione was keeping some distance between them, Harry visited Hagrid by himself.

Harry got the tale of Hagrid's journey to the giants while he was casting healing charms on his friend. Hagrid was only slightly surprised that the charms actually worked on him, as few had the power to affect him. Still, Hagrid thought Harry could walk on water if he wanted to.

Harry also wormed the story of Grawp out of Hagrid.



Saturday, November 25, 1995

"Has anyone seen Miss Granger?" McGonagall asked at lunch.

"I don't think you'll be seeing much of her, Mister Potter, Miss Lovegood, or Miss Patil this weekend," Pomfrey admitted.

"Why is that?"

"Well, the potion I had to give Potter last week would have some nasty side-affects on the young women if they came into contact with him while it was still in his system. Today was the first day I told them it would be, well, totally smooth sailing," Pomfrey said.

"Ah," McGonagall said. "I believe I shall wait until Monday to discuss some ideas she had on alternate transfiguration theory."



Three satiated witches managed to rouse themselves by late afternoon. Their (literally) drained lover lay snoring peacefully in the huge bed the Room of Requirement had provided, so they stealthily moved into the bathroom, where they lay in a magical hot tub.

"This is nice," Luna told Hermione. "Lots of swirling bubbles." Luna slid down so the surface swept past her nipples. "I can't decide which position I like best," Luna admitted, with a slight shudder.

"Stop that," Hermione scolded. "We have to decide something important."

"I doubt it," Luna said.

"Why?" Hermione demanded.

"We have entered into an old, very traditional relationship with our lord," Luna pointed out.

"True. And the point is?"

"The point is, he is not just Harry, our friend and now lover and future husband. He is our lord. We are not his slaves, but neither are we his equals. We are his advisors, but in private. All three of need to get used to addressing Harry properly, although Padma already is doing a much better job than we are." Padma smiled.

Hermione frowned.

"Luna and I are more secure than you seem to feel," Padma said. "Harry must be the center of this relationship if it is to work. I feel secure, because I know the bonds will bring us together, and because Harry is too honorable, too noble, and just plain too nice to ever do anything so horrendous that he would drive me from his side. Yet while I am the least relevant member of our group, I also feel the most at home in this relationship, for I am the product of exactly this type of relationship. Each of you has to give up something for the relationship to work. If neither of you is willing to face that now, you had best decide that now, because it's almost too late."

"What are you giving up?" Hermione asked Luna.

Luna said simply, "I am giving up my final year at Hogwarts, remember. I was not as attached to that as you, but it would have been nice to finish. This relationship is more important."

"And Harry?"

"Harry has given up his dream of ever being 'just Harry'," Padma said. "He would have been quite happy if he had by some miracle destroyed He-Who -- I mean Voldemort -- that night of the Third Task without anyone but Dumbledore knowing and if Cedric had not died. In fact, he would have been ecstatic. Had he been told then that you and he would get married, have three children, and live a mixed magical-and-Muggle lifestyle, with him as the house-husband and you as the famous spell-weaver, he would have been happy and happy for you."

"Of course, he would have been happy to just have known that such a life was possible," Luna mused. "He does know that it no longer is."

"And you have to give up the air of superiority coupled with the need to show that you are superior to everyone else," Padma said.

Hermione crossed her arms over her chest. "I thought I had."

"You're getting better," Padma agreed. "No one can do everything," she went on. "Which fights are the most important to you? Sentients' rights? Bringing a bit of fairness to the Ministry and Wizengamot? Those are the fights Harry has been committed to, in part because of you. However, we can't have Harry as the leader of the movement and you being the leader's boss."

"You tried to overrule Harry several times in the DA and in our discussions with Su," Luna said. "We're not saying not to argue your point."

"We certainly will keep arguing ours," Padma agreed. "However, there cannot be true collective leadership. In the end, one person has to make the decisions, and that is Harry."

"No one is your sworn follower," Luna pointed out.

Hermione merely scowled.

Padma started to say something, but stopped herself.

"What?" Hermione demanded.

"There's a betting pool going," Padma said apologetically.

"And?"

"The betting is that since they believe that you are, well. . . ."

"A know-it-all?" Hermione suggested.

"'An insufferable stuck-up prig of a know-it-all' is the exact phrasing I believe," Luna supplied. Padma and Hermione both gave her dirty looks.

"Any way, the pool is for when Harry dumps you," Padma concluded.

"He won't, of course, because Harry loves you," Luna said. "Other than defeating Voldemort so that he can then get on with his life, nothing means more to Harry than you."

"But you need to tone down your opinions a bit when people other than the four of us are together," Padma said.

"I'll try," Hermione said with a pout.

"That's our adorable know-it-all," Luna said, leaning over and kissing Hermione's cheek.

As Luna leaned back, Luna and Hermione suddenly smiled contentedly. "You two look happy," Padma said.

"Our love is dreaming, and it seems to be a pleasant dream," Luna said.

"You know," Hermione said, "my link seems to be nearly as strong as it was last week. Maybe even as strong."

"So does mine," Luna agreed.

"I thought, since we shared him all three times today, it would take a while to really reestablish itself," Hermione said thoughtfully.

"Well, Harry always cums a lot, and that was with ejaculating at least twice a day," Luna pointed out. "We got that gusher this morning because he had held back since Thursday night."

"True," Hermione agreed. "If we can get back to the schedule of at least twice a day for him and if our links are as strong as they were, I was thinking. . . ."



"Yes?" Luna and Padma asked.

"I was thinking you and I should only do him three times a week," Hermione told Luna. "All three of us would still do him Saturday mornings." She turned to Padma. "Then you could swallow his potion six or seven times a week between now and the start of the holidays. That way, you can really strengthen your bonds."

"You would . . . for me?" Padma tried to ask, tears of happiness in her eyes.

"Yes," Hermione said, kissing away a tear.

"Yes," Luna agreed, kissing another.

Padma made a little sound which the other two recognized as signaling she was getting aroused.

"Before we start something fun," Hermione said, "there's something important we have to discuss."

"The Yule holidays?" Luna guessed. Hermione nodded.

"Yes, we don't want Harry to be alone, and we of course want to be with him and our families," Padma said thoughtfully.

"Harry always stayed here, of course," Hermione reminded them. "His relatives are perfectly horrid people. Harry has already made the Headmaster agree that he need never go back to stay. He, or someone, does need to go back once over the holidays to warn them that since we won't be back, their protection will ebb away by the end of next summer. They will likely want to move, unless they're too stubborn and stupid to leave."

"From what he's said, they aren't terribly bright, and very stubborn," Luna pointed out.

"Would Harry be very hurt if . . . Voldemort hurt them?" Padma asked.

"Not terribly, but likely more than he suspects," Luna said.

"If you're still having trouble calling him 'Voldemort', call him 'Riddle' or one of the silly names Harry calls him," Hermione suggested.

"You can be blase, because you have not seen him," Luna told Hermione darkly. "I thought nothing of saying 'Voldemort' until I saw him. Now, it is only my love for Harry that allows me to say it without external hesitation."

"You're both right," Padma told them.

"Ignoring his possible-if-unlikely day-trip to his relatives, Harry will spend most of his time with Sirius, and after the full moon, Remus. The Headmaster has agreed that the two of you may know the location of Headquarters, if you intend to spend time with Harry. So, the question is, what do we do over the holidays?"

"Saturday, December Twenty-third through Wednesday, January Third," Luna reminded them.

"I would like to spend a day or two with my parents," Padma said simply. "It doesn't have to be any particular day, as we are not Christian. The solstice means more, and that's the day before we leave anyway."

Hermione and Luna looked at each other, thinking hard. Finally, Luna gestured for Hermione to speak first.

"Why don't we suggest this to Harry," Hermione said. "We all leave on the Saturday and visit our parents. Harry spends the time with Sirius and Professor Lupin, and then Harry collects us Christmas Day."

"May I ask that he collect me Christmas Eve?" Padma asked. "He should have one of us to unwrap Christmas morning."

"We should put it to him so that he has a real choice," Luna said. "I suspect Harry is going to be lavish in his presents, and might want us to show off to our families a bit."

"Again, we don't exchange many presents, so I could unwrap mine Christmas Eve," Padma said hesitantly.

"Then we'll tell Harry that," Hermione said.

"Someone just woke Harry up," Luna said sharply. She was always much better at interpreting what Harry was feeling than either Hermione or Padma.

Luna stood. "We need to get dressed. Now." She stepped out of the hot tub.

"I don't feel anything in particular," Hermione protested, but standing up anyway.

"Harry is suppressing his feelings," Luna told them. "Something bad must be happening."



The three witches dried themselves magically and wore their towels back into the main room, just in case it wasn't Dobby who had brought the message and was still there.

Harry was alone, and was getting dressed.

"What's happened?" Hermione asked.

"I tried to warn them," Harry said. "Voldemort has broken his followers from Azkaban. The dementors may have left as well, which I didn't expect to happen for a while, if at all."

The four dressed. Just before they went off to find the Headmaster, Harry held up a small leather sack, saying, "If you ever see me without this, other than in bed or in the shower, remind me." The three teens merely nodded.

As they hurried through the corridors, Hermione said, "Is this why you've had everyone start trying to do the Patronius Charm?"

"Exactly, along with some of the other spells."



"It's bad, but it could have been far worse," Dumbledore said.

"How?" Harry asked.

"When the Minister didn't take my warnings to heart, I went to Madam Bones," Dumbledore said. "She couldn't do much, as Azkaban is directly under the Minister's authority, but she was able to station more guards and even an auror at the landing where you have to leave to get to Azkaban. Not even Voldemort can apparate or portkey directly onto the island. She also made certain that all the people stationed there could cast the Patronius." He looked at the quartet.

"And she and the aurors know that the dementors are sensitive to ultraviolet light," Harry said. "You can't imagine how angry I was when I learned that had been kept a secret."

"It was part of the treaty with the dementors. . . ."

"In the old time line, the dementors left at the end of spring, and no one, not you, not anyone in the Ministry who knew, ever made the information known," Harry snapped.

"Yes, well, when the dementors massed at the landing, the guards withdrew to a defensive position. When the Death Eaters appeared, the aurors and a third of the guards attacked, while the other two-thirds hit the dementors with ultraviolet lights, which drove many of them back."

"A strong enough burst will destroy them," Harry pointed out.

"We don't have any devices strong enough to do that," Dumbledore retorted.

"The Muggles do," Harry said severely. "So, how many prisoners escaped?"

"Just four, although I grant you, they are the four we would least like to see free," Dumbledore admitted.

"The three Lestranges and Dolohov?"

"Exactly."

"Has Fudge taken his head out of his arse and decided to destroy the dementors?"

"Did he last time?" Dumbledore retorted.

"No, but then he was still under the influence of Malfoy, so I ask you again, what is Fudge going to do?"

"He claims that it was a rogue faction of the dementors who did it, and that the majority of the dementors now have them under control," Dumbledore said.

"And do you believe that?" Harry asked.

"No," Dumbledore said.

"Neither do I," Harry answered. "So, Fudge has got to go."

"How do we do it?" Dumbledore asked. "Remember, I am now simply a common member of the Wizengamot."

"We probably can't get the Wizengamot to sack Fudge," Harry agreed. "Still, you four should work out a letter to the Head of the Ravenclaw Coven. They will likely be happy to sack Fudge, and that will give us some more pressure, plus some influence on who to replace him with. My first instinct is Madam Bones."

"I would concur that she is a possible choice," Dumbledore said.

"Remember, neither the Coven nor I would really like an Order member there," Harry said. "If you want to control the Ministry, take the job yourself."

"Very well, we will suggest Madam Bones," Dumbledore said after making a face. "And what are you going to do while we write the letter?"

"I have not been passively training, Headmaster," Harry said. "I have been in contact with a few people I met during the aftermath of Voldemort's second rise, and during the civil war."

"And?"

"And they form part of the magical court of Her Majesty," Harry answered. "She was not happy that the Ministry largely kept her in the dark back in the Seventies. She is not happy that Fudge is doing it again. I believe she might be inclined to take action. If not, she will at least know what questions she should be asking."

"You. . . ." Dumbledore was inarticulate.

"Me," Harry said. And with that, he shrank back into his chair, and then disappeared with a slight 'pop'.

Dumbledore turned to the three witches. "Don't look at us," Hermione said. "The difference between Harry's action and yours are he just doesn't mention things, while you actively hide the information."

"I did wonder why he said we might have tea at Windsor Castle some day, though," Luna said thoughtfully.



Few people knew of Her Majesty's Magical Advisors besides the Queen, other than HRH the Prince of Wales, the Minister of Magic, and the Supreme Mugwump. They never told anyone, because it was embarrassing to admit that the Muggle Queen had a great deal of potential power over Magical Britain, and because she appointed her own magical advisors. Unlike most of the regular court, neither the Prime Minister (had he known) nor the Minister of Magic could influence her choices.

Charles II, the last magical monarch in Britain, had decreed that there would be eight such advisors, plus the Minister of Magic. He had further written, in a testament magically passed on to each new monarch, that the more embedded a wizard or witch was in magical culture, the less trustworthy they were to give good advice. Three of the current eight came from Muggle Noble families (although one had faked his death back in 1918 and currently lived mostly in the magical world). Three came from the gentry, and all three of them, plus the oldest of the nobles, had been serving as royal advisors since before 1940.

These advisors (five wizards and a witch) were always on the look-out for future replacements. He wouldn't know it, of course, but Justin Finch-Fletchley was already marked down for possible future consideration.

The other two were the descendants of that magical son of Queen Victoria. Victoria Drake was thirty, had attended Hogwarts (Ravenclaw), and had married a Half-Blood Hufflepuff who inherited his father's chain of forty Muggle pawn shops, and who now operated one in Diagon Alley and one in Hogsmeade as well. Her husband still did not know exactly what his wife's ancestry was. As they had three magical children and a fourth on the way, she planned on telling him as soon as Voldemort was defeated.

HRH Victoria Alice of Saxe-Gotha-Coburg (she had only used Windsor back in the days when she enjoyed motoring about Britain, a habit she had discontinued during Voldemort's first rise in the 1970s and never resumed) was 102, and looked like a well-preserved 50. She had married a cousin (a magical grandson of an illegitimate son of William IV, making them fourth cousins). She had lost her husband to the fight against Grindelwald in 1916, her son to the same fight in 1941, and her father in the final assault against Grindelwald in 1945. Her younger daughter and her entire family was wiped out by Voldemort in 1980, and that had finally allowed the royal advisors to realize that the Magical government had been lying to them about the fight against the would-be Dark Lord all along.

Now all she had was her duty to her royal cousin, her older daughter's only granddaughter (Victoria Drake) and her family, and the only living descendent of her younger sister, whom she had never met. She rather suspected she would meet Luna some day soon, however.

It was Princess Victoria Alice whom Harry had contacted in September. He had known her very well in the other time line, and had known her secret relationship to Luna. He had told her nearly everything, and the royal witch had more than enough of the Sight to See that as strange as his story was, Harry was telling the truth.

She had asked Harry to tell his story to her great granddaughter and two of the other advisors, and they had started collecting information for the Queen. Her Majesty had to move cautiously, as the last Minister of Magic to be removed by Royal fiat had been removed back in 1820.

As Harry Potter kissed the old witch's hand in greeting, she knew from his demeanor that the time had come for the Queen to act.