FicWad

Harry Potter and the Witches' Secret
Chapter 12
15-31 August 1995 (Sidereal)
13-31 August 1995 (Off Sidereal)

The next seventeen days in the regular world and fifty-one days in the Time-Turned world were spent in studious, active bliss for Harry. While they did not successfully avoid Molly for the entire time, they did manage to skive off quite a bit. Dobby and Winky were very helpful.

At the Ossuary the first fortnight flew by. Their classes settled down, and while the mates' sex drives did not let up, Harry became much more comfortably able to satisfy them and keep up with his studies.

Fifty-one sets of runestones were completed as well as a supply of personal stones for the mates and for their friends. Now all of the mates' homes were warded, and amazingly the wards were tied together. They seemed to draw power from and give power to each other.

Just in time, actually, as the bond with Sarah and the Princesses grew stronger and stronger and Sarah was starting to see things. They knew because they were feeling her in the bond more and more clearly.

Alastor had found out the hard way that the wardstones worked when testing a set they had installed on an empty property of Harry's. He and two Curse-Breakers attacked the wards and were very nearly killed. All of the mates felt the wards respond to the attack and the other sets of wardstones respond to assist the ones under attack. Alastor gave his approval to the ward set.

A surprise did occur when Anna Abbot, Hannah's mother, came back to the Ossuary with Hannah on the seventeenth. She had originally been there to begin teaching healing charms, but as soon as she looked into Harry's eyes she dropped into compulsion. She spent the entire day trying to deny it. Her daughter shocked her by waking her the next morning and dragging her into the master suite.

Harry was on his back, buried in Katie, at the time and he continued to thrust up into her; Katie was growling low in her throat and attempting to rub Harry across her cervix. She squealed in frustration and slapped his side. "Harry, don't move. Let me do this."

Harry froze and she hit the perfect spot, massaging her cervix with the head of Harry's cock until she got herself very relaxed. Then she angled herself forward and just as he was about to come from her constant milking of him, she pushed back so that he was centered on her cervix and sealed against it. She actually felt some of Harry's come pass her cervix and it brought her to a screaming, gut-twisting climax.

Hannah pushed her mother forward, stripping her. Anna balked at the edge of the bed, but Hannah just kept pushing. She reached forward with the hand that wasn't in the center of her mother's back and pushed Katie off of Harry. As soon as her mother relaxed a little, Hannah gave her a shove and Anna fell forward slightly, putting her hands out to catch herself. Her hands contacted Harry's naked chest and thigh, and Anna suddenly had no more inhibitions. She mounted Harry and, looking into his eyes, sank onto his shaft that her daughter was holding upright for her.

It had been so long. Jonathan, Hannah's father, had been killed late in the first war and Anna had felt no compulsion to be with anyone until now. And the idea of Hannah helping her mate to take her mother was so very naughty. Anna completely let go, and Harry took everything she had. She started coming when he flipped them over; she wrapped her legs around his waist and tried her best to make him fill her belly with come.

Just as she reached her limit, Harry arched his back and drove his full length into her, gritting his teeth and shuddering in his own release. She screamed as a massive orgasm took her when he bathed her insides in his come and the light flared as the walls rang.

Harry rolled off of her and tried to sit up, but Anna tackled him and they ended up on the floor. Classes were delayed that morning as Anna worked off fifteen years of pent-up sexual frustration. On the floor, on a couch, in a wingback-and then she discovered the bath.

Midway through, Sarah finally reminded Nym, "Nym, as pleasant as this has been, I can't keep the shield up much longer, and the girls are awake."

"Oh, Morgana, Sarah, I am sorry! I forgot she doesn't know Occlumency."

"Obviously, Nym. Energetic, though, isn't she? How does she thrust that hard in that position?"

"I don't know, Sarah, but what is Andrew going to say about you having sex in your head with Harry and Anna?"

"...errrh...I believe I won't tell him."

The mates laughter permeated the bond.
'
"I'll put a wardstone on her. Give me a minute. Okay there, let your shield down."

"Thank you, Nym."

"Any time, Sarah."

Anna finally had another huge gut-twisting, vagina-clenching orgasm before she hit muscle failure. Harry floated her securely in the giant bath, kissing her gently.

Marie stopped by and brought Harry a minor healing and Pepperup potion and Anna a series of potions to prevent honeymooner's syndrome and to give her enough energy to make it through the day.

During this Turning they also had a visit from Mr. Tim Spicer. He was sent by Field Marshall Inge after Harry had approved his visit. Mr. Spicer worked for a company known as Sandline. He had been a Lieutenant Colonel in the Scots Guards in Northern Ireland. Now he was the representative of what was euphemistically known as a "private military company". Really these retired or cashiered military men and women sold their services for direct combat or training. Mr. Spicer had been contacted by the British government to render whatever assistance he and Sandline could to ensure the success of the Duke.

Mr. Spicer had been skeptical of the claims of the Ministry of Defense (MoD). He watched a day's training of the Duke and Duchesses and left, no longer a skeptic. He knew that he needed more information. He left the oddly named estate and headed back to the MoD. Somehow he had to get intelligence on the enemy that the Duke was going to fight

After an extremely thorough debriefing the MoD put him in touch with a man named Henri Patil, an aide to the Prime Minister. They also gave him very strict instructions to reveal nothing about the Duke or Duchesses; indeed, he was informed that violation of these instructions would result in the termination of his company with, as Field Marshal Inge said, "extreme prejudice". Spicer noticed that the Field Marshall did not say his company's contracts but his company. He began paying close attention, and soon he identified the tail they had put on him.

Well, it's a high-risk business, he thought to himself.

Also during this time an American showed up at the Ossuary. He was vetted by Amanda and then he, too, observed a day of training. He spoke to Amanda briefly and left.

"Harry, in a few weeks we'll have three battle mages here to train us."

"We'll need to think of a way to get out of Hogwarts or train there, Harry."

"I know, Nym."

Harry wrestled with the problem for several Turned days. The solution had appeared to him in the first moments, but it was something he did not want to do. The place was bound to upset Ginny; after all, the last time she'd been there it had almost cost her her life. He himself was not exactly thrilled at the thought of returning.

Finally Ginny solved the problem one evening after a very satisfying romp with Harry.

"Harry, the Chamber didn't try to kill me, Vulturesnot did." He hugged her to him.

That night there were no others; in the morning Harry and Ginny woke in the huge bed alone. Ginny took full advantage again after thanking her mates.

Hermione finally gave up on SPEW after Winky explained to her, in no uncertain terms, that freeing an elf was the most grievous insult possible and ended in the elf's death. Geoffrey brought her a book on the subject from the Potter library. Hermione was shattered after reading it and asked Winky to apologize to the Hogwarts elves for the danger she had put them in.

She got an uninterrupted evening with Harry from her mates. Harry finally brought her spirits back up and in the morning he very slowly and sweetly made love to her. It didn't change the way she felt about the elves, but Harry's earnest pledge that elves were included in his count of sentient magical creatures and that he intended to secure rights and protections for them lifted her past her need to free them.

Fortunately or unfortunately, it launched her on a campaign to understand all sentient magical creatures. She would never turn loose of this particular bone. It became her hobby and passion all rolled into one. She still maintained SPEW outside the bond, though, at least for now. Luna, Cho, and Daphne had explained that they all must stay in character at Hogwarts, and part of Hermione's character was tilting with the elf windmill. They decided it would be better to keep this particular windmill than to introduce any of their real plans for magical creature rights.

HPATWSHPATWSHPATWSHPATWSHPATWSHPATWSHPATWSHPATWSPATWSHPATWSHPATWSHPATWSHPATWSHPATWS

On 30 August Amelia was very put out when the group arrived. Harry knew she had had a hard day. He hugged her. Amelia went on a rant.

"Fudgepacker and Bad Faith strike again. Bloody Educational Decree 22! 'In the event of the current Headmaster being unable to provide a candidate for a teaching post, the Ministry should select an appropriate person.' How he thinks Dolores Umbridge is an 'appropriate person' I will never know."

Harry and the mates perused her memories of Umbridge, an evil, toad-like blood purist with almost no magical talent.

"We'll be fine, Amelia. We just have to keep up the illusion. Meanwhile, who wants to go explore the Chamber of Secrets?"

"Harry, how?"

"Magic, Hermione. We'll all go tomorrow."

For some reason, that night Harry was feeling particularly energetic and kept Nym, all five Primary wives, Padma, and Ann up deep into the night.

Parvati's ambush of him in the shower that morning was foiled when he backed her up to the wall and had a grand time driving her to the edge and then backing off until she finally begged, sobbing, for release. He entered her, pushed her over the edge, and released in her; then he took Chu, who had come in with Parvati, while she recovered. Parvati spent breakfast that morning kneeling at Harry's feet while he hand-fed her.

The other mates were in awe. Parvati's mind was completely focused on Harry and only Harry. Harry sat with his hand on her head, gently stroking her hair. She gradually recovered, but she would never be quite the same. All the mates were devoted, but Parvati developed a slightly maniacal devotion to both him and them that could be scary and quite dangerous.

They delayed their trip to the Chamber for a day.

Harry and the bonded spent some time planning acquisitions that would start to gain them control of the wizarding world's economy. While Harry did not yet have access to the Potter vaults and fortune, Sirius had given them a substantial amount of cash and a list of the shares that he owned in various companies. Amelia contributed cash and what shares she owned, and Narcissa contributed the cash and shares she owned, as did all of the of age-bonded. It was not a vast fortune, but neither was it a paltry sum. Narcissa commented that with care it could be parlayed into enough to support them for life.

The bonded all put their heads together and began researching companies, both magical and Muggle, that contributed to the magical economy. They then began acquiring controlling interests where they could, and lists of shareholders where they couldn't. They moved those shareholders who appeared to be Death Eaters onto a separate list.

They knew it would be a long process, but it looked as if they could eventually end up buying up or acquiring by conquest most of what they needed. Narcissa took over the day-to-day management of the portfolio. Hestia supervised the group, running what they began calling the economic section. Luna turned out to be invaluable as she could predict events far enough in the future for them to move out of positions at their peaks and into other positions at their low points.

HPATWSHPATWSHPATWSHPATWSHPATWSHPATWSHPATWSHPATWSPATWSHPATWSHPATWSHPATWSHPATWSHPATWS

On the second day of the Turn that began on the thirtieth, Harry gathered the mates and popped them all to the Chamber of Secrets.

As soon as they arrived they all put Bubble-Head Charms on themselves. The odor of decaying flesh was almost overwhelming.

"Morgana, look at that thing."

Harry turned to where Nym was pointing. There, in all its decaying glory, lay sixty feet of dead Basilisk.

Chu, stunned, looked at the Basilisk and then at her mates. They all caught her thought and Harry chuckled. "Nope, it wasn't my imagination that it was that big."

"Harry, I'm so sorry! But you were so young. We can mine this thing for its hide and potion ingredients before we dispose of it."

"No problem, Chu, I didn't really believe it myself. What do we do with the hide, Chu?"

"It's spell-resistant, Harry. It can be tanned and we can make it into body armor for the mates."

"Okay, Nym. Let's get going, then. Who would we take it to?"

Pop!

"I will take care of it sir, as well as cleaning up the Chamber."

"Thank you, Geoffrey."

Suddenly an army of Potter elves appeared and the carcass seemed to melt under their ministrations. The water pool drained and the chamber brightened.

"Harry, I want you to cast the Praedia Bellica here!"

"Why, Amelia?"

"You defeated a version of Tom Riddle here, Harry. He claims to be the Heir of Slytherin. I wonder if casting it here would give you control of this chamber and Slytherin's assets?"

"Amelia, what if someone else has already cast it?"

"Then we should have had company by now. The Hogwarts wards are tied to the Headmaster. He would know if the wards on the Chamber had been taken over by a hostile entity, and if he controlled them he would be here already. He would have felt our presence unless this place is outside the wards and not in his control, Hermione."

Harry thought about it and then raised his right hand and pointed it at the place where he had last seen Riddle. As he did this he happened to glance at Ginny; the hurt, empty look on her face as she stared at the same spot ignited a white-hot rage in him.

"PRAEDIA BELLICA!"

The very stones of the Chamber shrieked in pain as the broad, bright beam of Harry's magic attacked them and forced them into submission. The partially destroyed statue of Slytherin creaked and popped and then came to life. It oriented on Harry and began to move.

This proved to be a mistake. Harry now had a focus for his anger. "This is your fault, you sniveling, elitist pile of excrement. You had to go off and father children so that we would be stuck with your heir; more than that, you've provided a haven for the weak and weak-minded."

The statue stopped. It seemed to focus on Harry and then it started to raise its right hand.

"INCENDIO!" Harry screamed, and a brilliant, white-hot stream of magic left his raised right hand and connected with the statue. From Harry's left hand came another stream, but this one created a shimmering, translucent shield around the statue. It screamed as it capered about the chamber, burning away to nothing.

As the statue disappeared the walls rang and Harry felt the wards connect to him. He also knew the full layout of the chamber now.

"Morgana, Harry, not a nice way to treat the spirit of a founder."

"Bugger him, Nym. He's the root of the whole problem and therefore the cause of every death attributed to the Dark since he existed. Magic is magic, but he forced the division into Light and Dark. His friends were unwilling to give up on him, so instead of fixing the blame on him, where it should have been, they gave us these platitudes about magic doing it to the individual.

"It's not the magic; It's the intention of the person using the magic. Magic is a tool. The mundane have a saying: "Power corrupts, absolute power corrupts absolutely." Magic is power. Weak-minded people with much magical ability are corrupted by the power, not by the magic.

"Salazar was magically strong and, tragically, morally weak. His friends Godric, Rowena, and Helga were too weak to eliminate the problem and expunge the memory of this twisted individual from the planet, so we were left with a thousand years of people idolizing a weak fool."

"Harry, how could you?"

"How could I what, Narcissa? Tell the truth? What is evil?"

"Well...ahhhh...."

"I'm a simple creature, Narcissa. A simple definition of evil is 'causing or tending to cause harm'. Taking the least of these, what part of Slytherin's philosophy does not tend to cause harm? None. He intended to advance at the expense of others. Not by his inventiveness, like Ravenclaw, not by his courage as Gryffindor did, and not by perseverance and hard work as Hufflepuff did, but by deceit and guile.

"Now name a charm, a supposedly harmless charm."

Narcissa knew exactly where he was going and tried to fight him. "A hair charm, Harry."

Harry looked through his mates' minds for a moment and suddenly Narcissa's hair was around her neck snugly.

"I know, Harry."

"I know you do, Narcissa. I'm not attempting to denigrate ambition. Without it we would all be my cousin Dudley. However, when carried to an extreme at the expense of others, even good things can be turned evil. One of the things I'm counting on is that if I ever turn that way, you'll stop me."

"Now on that morose note, let's explore this place."

They spent most of that day exploring the Chamber. As they explored, the elves cleaned. They found huge halls and an enormous library. They also found a potions lab stocked with ingredients. Some had gone bad, but others were good. Some were almost priceless; these had largely been replaced by other, less expensive ingredients in modern potion making, but Chu was anxious to explore new uses for some of them.

They also discovered multiple entrances and exits, some to the school and some to the grounds, and one to the village of Hogsmeade that came up in the basement of a small, unoccupied stone house. And one exited into the Forbidden Forest.

Oddly, or maybe not, there were passages to all four female dormitories.

"Harry, do you have the map?"

Harry handed the map to Hermione and she spread it on the floor of one of the halls.

"Harry, we could duplicate this map and the charms that are on it. Or we could add the Chamber to this one."

"Let's see if we can create new ones, Hermione. I'd like everyone to have a copy. And this is one of the few things I have...."

The Mates put their heads together and soon cracked the charms on the map.

"I've never seen some of these charms cast together before. It's a wonder this thing didn't explode on them."

"I think this was the end result of a lot of attempts, Emmeline. Is there any way to make it display all of Hogwarts? I know for a fact that it doesn't display all of the dungeons and passageways."

"I think it's tied to a really weak ward that the Marauders put up around the castle. Since you cast the Praedia Bellica, can you feel the Hogwarts wards, Harry?"

Harry looked at Emmeline and concentrated. He felt the wards of the Chamber and then, feeling along them, he felt the wards of Hogwarts. They welcomed him.

"I can feel them, Emmeline."

"Good. On the first day we're here we'll bring parchment and duplicate the charms for the map. There are some others I want to add."

They told Geoffrey how they wanted three of the huge halls divided up into quarters, training rooms, libraries, and kitchens, and how they wanted them furnished.

"Can you do all that, Geoffrey?"

"Yes, milord."

"Thank you."

HPATWSHPATWSHPATWSHPATWSHPATWSHPATWSHPATWSHPATWSPATWSHPATWSHPATWSHPATWSHPATWSHPATWS

On the Turn beginning the thirty-first of August the group got to sleep after another very energetic night with Harry.

In the morning of that first Turned day Anastasia and Tracey took Harry on. They were defeated in detail and loved every delicious moment of it.

Breakfast was going along fine and then Hermione exploded, "Harry, you have got to say something!"

The entire bond felt Harry's confusion. "Errrh-good morning, Hermione?"

Hermione put her face in her hands. "About Ron being made a Prefect, Harry!"

"Errrh, good on him. Hope he enjoys it." Harry smiled brightly at her.

"Harry! You were jealous when that pin came out. I felt it."

"Oh, that. Good, I thought you were on about something important."

The Bond froze.

Harry flinched.

Hermione exploded. "HARRY JAMES POTTER! HOW CAN YOU EVEN INTIMATE THAT IT'S NOT IMPORTANT?"

They could all feel her in the bond leaping to Ron's defense.

Harry looked at her very calmly. "My goodness! That's been coming for four years now-glad it finally got here. Do you feel better? Who do you love, Hermione, me or Ron?"

The mates flew to the support of Hermione; she felt them all lining up behind her except for Nym, the other Primary wives, and Luna. They were coolly supporting Harry.

"I was jealous of Ron. I knew he'd done nothing to deserve Prefect. Then I was mad at him. He's spent four years doing the minimum and fighting you every step of the way when you tried to get him to improve. He didn't have the excuse of having Riddle pursuing him, nor did he have the Headmaster breathing down his neck. If Ron had been left to his own devices, the troll would have killed you in first year. His actions put you in that bathroom and he would have left you there.

"Ron didn't make Prefect, Hermione, you made it twice with a little help from me using Ron as a puppet. You know Minerva didn't recommend him for Prefect. You've seen her memory of her recommending me and you.

"I got over it, Hermione. Ron is Ron. He won't change. He's insanely loyal until you hit his Gryffindor button, and then he acts. He acts without thought, as he has been programmed to act. When he discovers how many Slytherin women are here and how beautiful they are, he's going to go straight out of his mind and there's the possibility that he'll never speak to me again, vassal or not. He'll never think to get to know them; he'll simply act. He'll attempt something stupid, and whichever mate he tries it on will slap him down. If we're fortunate he'll quit there, if not, I'll have to take action. Failing that, he'll abandon me when the going gets tough and someone points out some stereotypical nonsense to him. He's not capable of bucking his chosen herd's opinion. I recognize his limitations and accept them.

"At some point, Hermione, you won't be able to have us both. I'm not going to force the issue.

"Dumbledore is using Ron to get to me. Either he intends to please me,or he hopes to watch me more closely, or he intends to make me jealous so I'll come to him. He wouldn't look me in the eyes in the courtroom but he wouldn't tell me why. Hell, Hermione, he wouldn't even talk to me. He's isolating me. First he isolated me at Privet Drive and now he's going to isolate me at school. I thought you understood this, Hermione. We're in a war. If I lose this war, it's literally the end of the world as we know it, and probably the end of Magical Britain. Not if Dumbledore loses, not if Ron loses-if I lose.

"The Americans will evacuate the country and destroy it. I'll be dead, Nym will die, and some of your mates will die.

"If you desire Ron so much that you'd take me to task over a brief flash of jealousy that I then controlled, Hermione, you don't belong here. We've accomplished what your magic required of you. If you still believe in Dumbledore, I can't have you here. He'll eventually use you against me. Goodbye, Hermione. I'll always love you."

Harry slowly faded from view, and to Hermione's horror, he faded from the bond. She lost consciousness.

Nym stood and shook her head. She levitated Hermione to the master suite and into the bed.

"Nym, what's wrong with her?"

"Harry has withdrawn his presence in the bond from her."

The bonded gasped.

"She may recover without him; if she does, her bond is lost."

HPATWSHPATWSHPATWSHPATWSHPATWSHPATWSHPATWSHPATWSPATWSHPATWSHPATWSHPATWSHPATWSHPATWS

Harry faded into view in the library of the Chamber; he curled into a ball and sobbed like the brokenhearted child that he was.

HPATWSHPATWSHPATWSHPATWSHPATWSHPATWSHPATWSHPATWSPATWSHPATWSHPATWSHPATWSHPATWSHPATWS

Nym went into the library of the Ossuary. She sat in one of the oversized chairs with tears streaming down her face. She could feel Harry and Hermione's hearts breaking but nothing she did got through to Harry. Without him Hermione was unreachable, shrunken into herself.

Hestia entered and took Nym in her arms. She sat holding her Alpha and offering her support.

HPATWSHPATWSHPATWSHPATWSHPATWSHPATWSHPATWSHPATWSPATWSHPATWSHPATWSHPATWSHPATWSHPATWS

In the master suite next to the unconscious Hermione, a conference among the remaining Primaries was taking place as soon as they could stand to talk. They were suffering severely as both Hermione and Harry bombarded them with heartbreak. The mates tried to comfort them.

"Ginny, what could she have been thinking?"

"How am I to know, Daphne?"

"She was thinking that she loved both of them, but she doesn't love them in the same way. She doesn't love Ron like a husband and potential father, much less a mate. She loves Ron like the second boy who ever paid attention to a desperately lonely girl despite her need to be the best and have the best around her.

"Unfortunately for Hermione, Ron was or is as infatuated with Harry as she was. Harry talked to them. His thirst for contact drove him to tell them things none of us would ever tell anyone. But Ron turned on Harry every time it got really tough."

"Okay, Susan, all that may be true, but why did she hold on to Ron so hard?"

"Haven't you ever been scared, Daphne? Put yourself in Hermione's place. You're in love with what is very obviously the most powerful wizard of the age. You've been ridiculed your whole life because of your above-average intellect and your supposed below-average looks, to the point that you retreat into books. You know how cruel females can be. Another boy pays attention to you, and for the first time in your life you have choices. So you have two options-the boy every girl wants or the safe boy, his friend. Where do you go? Do you head toward possible failure and ridicule again, or do you take the safe bet?"

"But Ginny, she was bonded. She could see he loved her."

"And fifteen years of behavior is thrown away overnight, Daphne?"

"No, Ginny, but you could feel how hurt he was when she first questioned him."

"Be that as it may, Daphne, what do we do now?" Susan asked.

Rosmerta came up with the answer. "We find her in the bond and get her back. Then we ask her what she wants."

They all dropped into the bond and sought out Nym.

"Nym?"

"Yes, Rosmerta?"

"How long are you going to let them keep hurting themselves?"

"What can I do, Rosmerta?"

"Get Harry back here. She loves him and will die without him. You can feel it, too."

"He won't answer me, Rosmerta."

"They're all little boys deep down, Nym. He's hurt; go to him."

HPATWSHPATWSHPATWSHPATWSHPATWSHPATWSHPATWSHPATWSPATWSHPATWSHPATWSHPATWSHPATWSHPATWS

Nym concentrated on how it felt when Harry popped them around, then she concentrated on Harry and she appeared in the library of the Chamber. She brought Hestia with her.

"Wow, Nym, that was strange."

They heard Harry crying behind them and turned and went to him. When they reached him, Nym went to her knees and pulled Harry to her.

Neither of them would ever forget the look on Harry's face. He was obviously in agony.

"Harry, find Hermione in the bond. She wasn't choosing Ron over you, she just loves him too."

"Then she needs to go to him. I can't play these games, Nym. I love her with all my heart, just like I love you."

"Harry, she loves you the same way. She also loves Ron. You can't ask her to give him up."

"I'm not, Nym. Don't you understand? He'll force the issue. Or Dumbledore will. Dumbledore is playing him like a fiddle. The next thing that gets taken away from me will be Quidditch. Dumbledore can't have outside influences on me. He's attempted to balance Sirius with Mrs. Weasley, and if he finds out about you or the other bonded he'll move to isolate me from you and them, too."

"If she has to go, she needs to go now."

"Harry, she can't go. She's dying."

Suddenly Hermione was back in the bond and she was by Harry's side.

He lunged for her and hugged her to him, and they both sobbed brokenheartedly.

The bonded appeared one by one and settled around Hermione, Harry, Nym, and Hestia. They poured their love and support into the bond for Hermione and Harry.

That afternoon Hermione finally spoke. "Please, Harry, don't do that again. I'm sorry, I do love Ron, but not like I love you. I just don't want to lose him."

"Hermione, we won't lose him-he'll lose us. Hopefully he'll come back someday, but we'll lose him at least for a while, sooner or later."

"It will be later. He's going to pressure you, though, Hermione. He wants to take you from Harry, Hermione. Not because he loves you that way, but because he's going to fall for Dumbledore's manipulations or because he is a jealous git, maybe some of both. Maybe two years from now or a little less, he'll ask you to choose between him and Harry. There is another path, but I can't tell which way we go yet," Luna said, her eyes white.

"But he knows I'm with Harry!"

"Yes, but he will have been changed. He'll think he is due or owed; it's hard to explain."

"When you decide for Harry, Ron will leave. He'll have a hard life, but eventually he'll be happy with who he is and then he'll come back. I'm sorry, but happy too. In the end he's a better man without you carrying him. On the other path something else changes him. He becomes stable without you two. You'll remain friends, but either way it will never be the same."

"Can we go back to the Ossuary now? I'm tired and hungry."

As Luna finished speaking they materialized on the floor of the gym at the Ossuary.

Sarah, Beatrice, Eugenie, and Andrew were waiting for them. Harry rose to his feet carrying Hermione and headed for the master suite. Both Alphas and the Primaries followed.

They crawled into the bed and Andrew sat in a wingback by the fire. After settling Beatrice and Eugenie in the bed, Sarah came and crawled into the chair with Andrew.

After an hour or so, when everyone was asleep, Geoffrey popped into the master suite and snapped his fingers. A bed appeared and Geoffrey levitated Sarah and Andrew into it. He silently disappeared.

HPATWSHPATWSHPATWSHPATWSHPATWSHPATWSHPATWSHPATWSPATWSHPATWSHPATWSHPATWSHPATWSHPATWS

The next morning Harry woke up with Eugenie sleeping on his chest and Beatrice tucked under his left arm, Hermione up against her. His right arm was around Nym. His other Primary wives were scattered over the bed in contact with him. He drifted back to sleep.

Sarah continued what she had been doing. While Minerva, Amanda, Chu, and Narcissa blocked the Primaries and other mates in the bond, she went through the mates' minds one by one. She was not going to have a repeat of yesterday. She had already done the Primaries.

She saved Hermione for last. While in Hermione's mind she asked for no quarter and gave none. She had told Hermione in no uncertain terms to choose, and that her choice was irrevocable. If she chose to leave a second time, Harry would not be permitted to bring her back into the bond and she would die.

Hermione had tried to say that she had not chosen Ron.

"That is a complete load of crap Hermione. You, Harry, Nym, and I all know what happened. While you did not choose Ron outright, your thoughts went to him. Yes, you could mold him into someone you could dominate and control, unlike Harry, but you can't have your cake and eat it, too. I can't believe you really want that, anyway. It would at most be a diversion for a while. He could never keep up with you mentally and at this point he wouldn't even be able to satisfy you sexually. You desperately need to grow up. You are not in charge here. You never will be. You're smart and through hard work you've made yourself good. Harry is innately smarter, stronger, and faster than you. He always will be. Fortunately for you, he loves you with all of his being and will support you in anything you do, bar that one thing. If you ever choose another over him after Nym and I let you back in, I'll kill you myself. So decide: will you put away the thoughts of the girl Hermione Granger and become the woman Hermione Potter?"

"Sarah, you're asking me to decide under duress. How can I decide, when my magic will kill me if I leave?"

"She's not suitable, Nym. She's not ready for the commitment. She could do the work, but she's too immature."

"I'm not sure, Sarah. Her upbringing hasn't prepared her for this. She may simply not understand-she may not be able to give herself fully to him yet."

"You would endanger my daughters, Nym?"

By now Hermione truly didn't understand. Sarah had been insulting to her and accused her of being a child. And now she accused Nym of endangering her children?

Nym turned her mind to Hermione in the bond and forced her way into the deepest levels. Once there in the part of Hermione's mind where the real Hermione resided, past the defenses and the memories, she examined the core of the being Hermione.

"So much potential, Sarah."

"But so many layers of self-doubt and insecurity, Nym. Can we take the chance?"

"Yes, you can. I understand now. I'm ready to move past the child Hermione."

Hermione was not sure where it had come from, but she had seen her life in review, the need to be in control driven by her insecurities. She had for the first time seen herself through Harry's eyes, a capable, intelligent witch who had stood by him through thick and thin, also a witch who exasperated him with her reliance on books and rules, her belief in things and people that were purported to be great holding her back from achieving her true place. She put those childish things behind her and prepared to give herself totally to Harry.

Nym and Sarah retreated from her mind.

Sarah sat up and shook Andrew. With Beatrice and Eugenie, they left.

The mates awoke, and Nym and the Primaries eased out of bed. Hermione awoke and moved to Harry. She suckled him hard, and then when he was fully awake she stopped.

"Harry, fuck me."

Harry rolled onto her and began to gently make love to her. She was having none of it.

"If you want me, Harry, you'd better take me."

She projected an image of Ron licking her breast into the bond and Harry exploded into action.

He scooped her legs up with his arms and brought them up to his shoulders. Then, holding her pinned to the mattress with her back bent, completely exposing her sex, he rammed his cock into her.

Hermione let herself go and began fighting Harry, biting and scratching at him. He fucked her savagely. She continued to fight. He came in her and then jerked out of her; using her hair for handholds, he rammed himself into her mouth and down her throat. She continued to fight and tried to bite him, so he reached down and grabbed her sex and squeezed as hard as she was biting. She stopped abruptly, and he continued to fuck her throat until he came again. Hermione was building to a giant orgasm as Harry overcame every attempt she made to regain control. Him having control of her was what she was seeking; not her giving control, but him taking it.

He never hesitated after coming down her throat. He jerked his cock out of her mouth and picked her up, flung her across the back of a sofa and then, holding her struggling form down, he savagely fucked her again.

By now Harry had built to a punishing pace, and just before Hermione came, he stopped.

She screamed. Harry leaned down and told her, "You'll come when I'm ready for you to."

He jerked her off the sofa and threw her on the rug. He held her down on the rug with one hand and fucked her mouth again. Hermione tried to rub her thighs together, seeking relief, and suddenly found her feet tied to the ends of a pole about three feet long that held her legs apart so she couldn't rub her thighs together.

Harry finished in her mouth again and threw her back over the sofa. He fucked her again until she was on the verge of coming and weeping with frustration. Back on the floor she went, and Harry sprayed his come down her throat.

Suddenly she found herself almost weightless as Harry picked her up and sat in a chair he conjured. He rammed her down onto his iron-hard shaft and used her like a piece of meat, ramming her up and down on his cock, once again stopping just before she came. Then he tied her to the bedposts and called in Rosmerta.

With Hermione tied spreadeagled between the bedposts and her eyes charmed to stay open, he delicately made love to Rosmerta until she couldn't stand it any longer and passed out.

While Rosmerta was passed out, Harry walked up behind Hermione and savagely fucked her to the verge of orgasm.

"Do you want to come, Hermione?"

"Yes, please, Harry," she gasped.

"You aren't ready yet, pet."

"Oh God, please, Harry."

Harry called in Daphne and made love to her. After she passed out he entered Hermione and and slowly brought her to the edge.

He repeated this through all of the Primaries and Nym. By the time he was finished he could only get a stroke or two in Hermione before he had to make love to the next mate, because she was so close to orgasm.

And she was begging to be allowed to come.

Finally, in the afternoon, Harry Parseltongued Minerva into unconsciousness and Hermione figured it out.

"Master, please can your ignorant slut be allowed to come?"

She almost orgasmed as the words left her mouth.

Harry took her down, and very slowly and gently brought her again to the very edge of orgasm and held her there.

"Who do you want, Hermione?" Harry asked as he slid home in her and ground his pubis against her sex.

"You, Harry, my master now and forever."

Harry ground on her some more and then gave two quick thrusts. On the second he partially penetrated her cervix and as he came he said, "Come, Hermione."

Hermione screamed and released; as she did, her cervix spasmed and Harry slipped inside her womb about an inch. Her cervix clamped down on the invader and as Harry continued to thrust Hermione continued to come, screaming. Harry filled Hermione's womb with six or seven ropes of semen and the pressure and pain forced her to continue to come; the seat of the orgasm moved from her clitoris to her womb. Harry continued gently thrusting, and finally Hermione passed out. Her cervix relaxed and Harry withdrew from her and called for Marie.

Marie checked Hermione and called for Nym. After a whispered conference they left and came back with a Healer.

The young woman looked at Harry first and smirked, and then her smirk faded and she reached out to him. Nym redirected her to Hermione. The Healer ran her wand over Hermione and gasped. Then she ran it over her again. She spun and told Nym, "You need to call the Aurors."

"Why, Healer Braithwaite?"

"He may have raped this young woman to death."

She spun back to Hermione and began working on her with Marie's help. Finally, an hour later, she looked up at Nym again.

"She'll live. Now-what happened?"

"She partially broke her bond. They rebonded, but she had to be dominated to do it. She fought him all day."

"I've only ever seen injuries like this in a gang rape. Are you telling me that Harry Potter, the Boy-Who-Lived, did this to that girl by himself?"

By now she was running her wand over Harry and unconsciously holding her hand against his chest. She was pale and panting when she finished.

Hestia looked at her for a moment and sighed.

"Healer Braithwaite, are you perchance unbonded?"

"Yes."

"You won't be for long."

Marcia Braithwaite blushed to her roots. She had felt it as soon as she touched him, and it was bad. Oh, God, twenty-eight years old, still in Mundane medical residency, and now she would be bound to the Boy-Who-Lived, who had just forced one of his bonded into complete submission. How was she going to explain this to her father the vicar?

Nym said, "It won't be as bad as you think. Will Harry and Hermione be okay?"

"Yes, they should be fine with some rest."

Nym levitated them into the bed side by side and pulled the sheet up over them. "Good. Come and meet some of your potential mates."

She turned, and taking Marcia's arm she headed for the door.

"You mean you condone that?"

"Errrh...well, no, Marcia, but what were we supposed to do about it? She wanted to fully bond and she had to give herself utterly to him. She either would not or could not; she forced him to make her submit. He had to take complete control of her. Believe me, he didn't want to hurt her."

They entered the dining room.

"Nym, the schedule is destroyed. What do we do now?"

"I think we relax a little, Minerva, and vet Marcia here. Where is Chu?"

"Here, Nym." Chu walked up and sat beside Marcia. "Marcia, since we've had the difficulties that led to us having to call you, we've decided to be a little more careful with bondings. You will have to let me view your mind. I'm a Master Legilimens."

"What if I don't want to bond with Harry?"

"Marcia, that's what the Legilimency probe is about. Nym has touched you and we know you're a potential mate."

"In compulsion, Chu, light but in compulsion."

"Thank you, Nym. We know you are in compulsion, we just want to determine whether you're ready or you need to wait. We really can't deal with another problem like you just helped us fix. Well, we could, but Harry can't. He's had a tough life and is emotionally fragile. Physically, of course, he could probably Side-Along Apparate the planet if he wanted to."

"So let me get this straight: Harry Potter is bonded to...."

"All of the women you see here, and has potential mates across the wizarding planet."

"My gods, how did this happen?"

Nym looked Marcia in the eye. "If you're bonded you'll find out; otherwise it's in the purview of the secret."

Marcia sat back and Chu looked in her eyes....

The bonded found themselves in Marcia's mind. They saw her amazement at her compulsion for a fifteen-year-old boy. They also saw something else: she was eagerly awaiting her bonding. She wanted the support of a bond and she wanted to offer her support to her bonded. She would do.

Marcia came back to herself. "Nym, why did Hermione try to break the bond?"

Nym had thought long and hard about this. "I believe it's a combination of things. She's a Muggleborn, so she's still learning about magic. She's an only child who was ostracized by children her own age. She submerged herself in her studies and became very knowledgeable, but not very experienced. Then into her life explodes a young wizard who has been raised by Muggles who hate magic, and his friend the underachieving glory seeker. She became afraid of overreaching and getting hurt."

They all digested this while Dobby served a light lunch and then showed Marcia around.

The bonded were marking time while they waited on Harry and Hermione.

Marcia finally looked at Nym and asked, "So you don't have a Healer in the bond?"

"Yes, we have Anna Abbot, but she's been doing more research and running the family business. Marie has been functioning in the capacity of Healer, but she's more of an advanced emergency medical technician."

"So if I join the bond I'll still attend classes and work on my Mundane medical degree?"

"Marcia, if Harry accepts you as a mate you can do whatever you want and he'll be cheering you on and trying to help you. We'll take your oath and you can stay here with us. You'll learn Harry's travel methods if you bond, and then you can train with us, too."

They spent the rest of the day refining plans.

And discussing what happened to Sturgis Podmore.