Categories > Books > Harry Potter > Harry Potter and the Dark Lady
Chapter 3
Sequel to Harry Potter and the Witches' Secret (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Rotaryfile). Harry thought it was all over. His desire to settle in with his wives will not get fulfilled.
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Harry Potter and the Dark Lady
Chapter 3
International Dragon Preserve
Chief Keeper’s Lodge
Thursday
12 Sept 1996
09:45
“Your Grace, Dana Weasley has informed us you might stop by. I am Constantine Herch, Chief Keeper.”
“Chief Herch, my Alpha, Her Grace Nymphadora.”
Nym shot Harry an eyebrow. “Nym is fine, Chief Herch.”
“I believe I will go with Your Grace, Your Grace. We so seldom have visitors of your status. What can I do for you?”
“The Duke needs to touch a very powerful Dragon, Chief Herch. It seems there is a Dark Lady in the Far East who might be planning to use them against us.”
“Forgive me, Duchess, but I don’t understand how touching one of our Dragons would help.”
“Not to be rude, Chief, but until you see it you won’t understand it—and you might not then.”
The Chief nodded and escorted Harry and Nym to the preserve proper.
Inside the preserve Dana and Charlie met them and after some polite conversation and warm greetings they led Harry and Nym to a pen.
“Harry, you know Frieda.” Charlie nodded at the immense Hungarian Horntail.
“I do?”
“Yeah, you met her in the Triwizard tournament.”
Harry swallowed nervously. “Uh, Charlie, this might not be a good idea. We—errrh—didn’t exactly hit it off.”
Charlie laughed. “She knew it wasn’t her egg, Harry. She was just testing you.”
Harry blinked at him stupidly as Dana nodded encouragingly and pushed him into the pen with the immense Alpha female Dragon; Dana chuckled as she slammed the gate behind him.
Harry approached Frieda, holding his hands out in front of him. “Hello, Frieda, remember me?”
Frieda looked at him and hissed; she didn’t sound happy.
“I just need to touch you for a minute or two, Frieda.”
Hisssss…ssss…ssss....
Harry stopped and looked in the Dragon’s eyes. He suddenly knew she was laughing at him. He walked straight up to her and laid a hand on each side of her huge head.
Nym was near panic, despite Harry’s sudden calm in the bond. Then she heard Frieda in the bond, laughing.
“Harry, why is Frieda laughing?”
“’Cause she’s a big joker. She just scares people for fun, Nym.”
“Yep, I learned a couple of thousand summers ago that the little bit of meat on you isn’t worth the trouble. Kill one and more just keep coming.”
“Frieda, why can we hear you?”
“Magic? I’m not really sure, Nymphadora. We—that is, Dragons—communicate in this manner but we don’t have to touch to do it.”
Harry had worked his fingers up under Frieda’s cheek scales and was softly scratching her warm hide.
“Mmmmmm...I may keep you, though, Harry. That’s the perfect spot.”
Nym turned her head to hide her smile. How did he do it?
“Before you get too distracted with my mate, Frieda, we need your help.”
“Just let me borrow him for a while, Nym. I haven’t been able to scratch there for a thousand summers. Mmmmmmhhhhhhhmmm... a little lower, Harry...uuuuhhhhuuuhhh.”
Harry followed Frieda’s head to the ground, still scratching gently.
Dana was stunned and then she, Charlie, and Chief Herch blushed ferociously at the noises the dragon was making.
When Frieda rolled over on her side they turned their backs.
“Frieda, what the hell is so funny?”
“Your kind, Nym. I make a few grateful noises and they get all embarrassed. Nym, you really have to loan me Harry, though. I have some other places that need a good scratch, hehehe.”
“Ladies, I’m right here.”
“Yes, you so are! Work on my neck behind my head, Harry.”
Harry straddled Frieda’s neck and worked his hands under the heavy scales.
“Hey, wait a minute.”
Nym and Frieda chuckled.
“You’ve done very well, Nym, so young and so powerful. So very well trained, too.”
“Well, I can’t take the credit. He was this way when I got him.”
“Don’t be so modest, Nym. You and your mates balance him; you make all of this possible.”
Suddenly Frieda shuddered as Harry turned his thanks and a mental caress on her. She gave a tearing groan reminiscent of Melinda.
Harry looked up at Nym, wide-eyed, and Nym giggled.
Smoke wafted from Frieda’s nose.
The shocked bonded, who had been listening and feeling, froze for a moment.
“You all right, Frieda?”
“Mmmmhhhhmmm.”
Harry looked at Nym and chuckled.
Nym shot him an eyebrow. “How do you do it, Harry?”
“I don’t know, Nym. It just felt like Frieda needed a rub.”
“So do you think you can change, Harry?”
Harry thought for a moment and suddenly, with a whoosh of displaced air, there was a huge black Dragon with green eyes.
“HISSSS…SSSS…SSSS....”
Another whoosh and a red-faced Harry stood there; a third whoosh and an even bigger black Dragon with green eyes stretched his wings and looked over his shoulder at them.
“Nym, he changed to a female Dragon first.”
“He does it all the time, Frieda.”
Nym touched Frieda’s neck as Harry had, under the scales, and Frieda read the memories of the bonded.
Dana, Charlie, and Chief Herch looked back at the hissing Frieda from their study of the enormous new male Dragon charging around the preserve.
“Do you think he’ll try to—oh, never mind. Ouch.”
Frieda winced as Harry built up speed and leapt into the air, spreading his wings, and then piled into the ground.
Harry righted himself and shook his head.
“I’d better go catch him, Nym. He has to use magic; our wings alone can’t support us. Hop on.”
Frieda lowered her neck and Nym straddled it. Charlie and Dana yelled something but Frieda had already leapt away, chasing Harry.
“Harry, stop—let Frieda teach you.”
“I can get it Nym.”
Harry tried again and almost made it, flapping furiously, then he augured in from about twenty feet. The ground shook. He lay panting.
Nym and Frieda landed, laughing, and Nym leapt off Frieda and hugged Harry’s huge head.
“It’s not funny, Nym. That hurt.”
“I know, baby, I felt it. Let Frieda teach you.”
Nym backed up and Frieda began working with Harry as Dana and Charlie Apparated next to Nym.
“Nym, that’s Harry, right?”
“Yes, Dana.”
“What did he do to Frieda? We normally only hear those noises at night.”
Nym blushed.
Charlie chuckled. “Hey, Nym, you’d better tell him to stay on the ground, if—ah, too late.”
As they watched, Harry and Frieda took to the air. And from all over the preserve, Dragons rose with them.
A complicated aerial ballet ensued and then suddenly a large Dragon flamed Harry. Harry dove on him, grabbed him in his talons, and drove him into the ground. The observers felt the ground shake from where they were. Harry roared his triumph and shot a gout of blue-green flame in a hundred-foot arch. The ground shook again.
Harry leapt into the air and he and Frieda circled higher and higher.
“Uh-oh.”
“What’s ‘uh-oh’, Dana?”
“That’s mating behavior, Nym. Dragons breed in the air.”
Nym shook her head while she laughed. “Frieda, you said borrow, not breed. There is a difference.”
“Oops?”
“We’re going to have a long conversation when you bring Harry back, Frieda.”
“Yes, Mistress. Now if you’ll excuse me?”
“Errrh...Nym, I don’t see what’s so funny.”
Nym eyed Charlie. “I know, Charlie, I already felt her. And she already asked, kind of.”
Nym suddenly sat down. “They’re on the way down.”
She lay back on the ground and closed her eyes. She spread her arms and gripped the ground. The fall was dizzying until Harry completely oriented on Frieda. The mating was quick, but the dominance fight was foreplay and the flight up was all the prep they needed.
The mated pair’s shattering roars reached the ground a moment before Harry lowered the panting Frieda to the ground and a moment after the brilliant flash. He landed beside her and rubbed his head along her body. Frieda purred.
All the humans except Nym stood frozen, blushing. Nym ran to Frieda and hugged her huge head.
Explaining Frieda’s move to Godric’s Hollow almost exhausted Harry’s patience. He finally pulled the ‘I’m the Duke and what I say goes’ card and changed. Nym mounted his neck and she, Harry, and Frieda simply left.
Chief Herch stood flabbergasted for a moment. “I’ll report him for stealing a Dragon.”
Charlie scratched his head as Dana looked up from checking the Welsh Green Harry had dominated. “Uhhh, Chief, who exactly are you going to report him to?”
“Why, the Ministry, of course.”
Charlie just nodded. “Whatever you think is right, Chief, but—uh—he kind of is the Ministry.”
Dana was hiding her smile behind her hand.
“How’s Clyde, Dana?”
“Fine, Chief—unconscious, nothing broken, his pride a little dented maybe, but he’ll be okay.”
“Hmph.”
“What kind of Dragon was Harry, Charlie?”
“I don’t know. Let’s go do the taxonomy, Dana.”
They walked back toward the Keeper’s lodge in animated conversation, with the Chief trailing them grumbling.
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Godric’s Hollow
Thursday
12 Sept 1996
11:45
Harry swept down from the rarefied atmosphere at what for a military aircraft would be considered super-cruise, supersonic cruising speed. He and Frieda had gone hypersonic over Lake Balaton and accelerated all the way to the North Sea.
There had been a couple of dicey moments until Harry cast a windshield in front of Nym and she cast Bubble-Head, sticking, and warming charms on herself. They had all enjoyed the flight immensely, but Harry was tiring. He was, after all, huge, and it was his first Dragon flight.
The pair of Dragons had been gliding since they crossed the North Sea coast and now circled high above the Hollow, killing their velocity and observing.
It was amazing what the Dragon senses were bringing to Harry. The visual acuity was better than any raptors. From what Harry thought was 45,000 feet he could see sentients moving about the Royal Academy commons and small wedges through the glass roofs. They lazily circled downward while losing speed and landed on the Quidditch pitch.
Harry lowered his neck, allowing Nym to dismount, while the students who had been outside for flying lessons or COMC came running with their professors pelting after them, and Veela and Goblin formations came pouring out of the Royal Academy.
Harry changed and hugged Frieda’s head, only to find himself with his arms full of a dusky-skinned, black-haired, black-eyed beauty.
“So that’s how you did that, Harry. What you see in these bodies I don’t know, though. Amarydian, it’s freezing!”
Nym flicked her wrist and Frieda’s spectacularly well muscled and beautifully cushioned form was covered in a very nice pair of woolly socks, hip-hugger pants and boots, jeans and jumper under a Regimental tartan robe. The support charm gripped her firmly but gently.
“Thanks, Nym, that’s much better. What is this cloth on my...errrh...bottom? And whatever that thing holding my…breast—yes, breast...is very nice.”
Nym was saved from answering as the crowd arrived, children first.
Harry looked them over. “Don’t you kids know not to run to danger?”
Rose Zeller, Hogwarts Hufflepuff second form, looked at Harry. “We thought Duchess Nym was in trouble, Harry.”
Harry rolled his eyes. “And what would you do against two Dragons, Rose?”
Rose, looking every inch the determined Hufflepuff, returned, “Something, Harry.”
Harry gave up and hugged her. “Listen, folks, sometimes the best thing you can do is withdraw and figure out a plan. I appreciate your thoughts and actions, though, and a point for each of you. Next time, if your actions are more organized and effective it will be five points. Now back to classes, if you please, and maybe there will be a surprise in COMC in the next few weeks.”
“Good with hatchlings too, Nym. You have done very well.”
“Thank you, Frieda. How did you manage that change to human?”
“I felt the way Harry did it, Nym, so I did it the same way.”
“That’s how he does magic, too.”
“Maybe he was a Dragon that was changed to a human for this turn of the skies.”
Nym blinked as Frieda chuckled.
Emmeline, Hermione, and the ’Claws launched into a frenzy of speculation, plundering Frieda’s vast, ancient mind.
Nym chuckled as Frieda spluttered, “Hey, that’s my mind.”
“Ours now, Frieda, you brilliant lovely.”
Harry laughed as Frieda grumbled but preened at Hermione’s possessive appreciation and mental petting. He offered his arm. “Lunch, ladies?”
“Erm, Harry, get someone to take care of Rose.”
“I have her Nym. We were finishing class anyway.”
“Thank you, Iona.”
Harry led the alternately preening and grumbling Frieda into the fifth year common on his left arm and Nym on his right.
The story had already made the rounds of the school and the room was buzzing, as were all the commons and the Great Hall. The mates were coming to grips with the shape-changing Dragon they had mated as she came to terms with them.
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The Royal Academy
Sixth Year Common
Thursday
12 Sept 1996
12:10
POP!
“Bloody he—”
POP!
“Ronald Bilius Weasley, you will keep a civil tongue in your head and your mind out of the gutter or you’ll regret it.”
The entire common had stopped and turned toward the most fractious bonded couple in Christendom, Ron and Lavender Weasley.
“Blo—imey!” Ron had just barely saved himself from another smack in the back of the head. “Lav, please don’t hit so hard.”
“I can’t believe you, Ron. You’re still jealous of him over everything.”
A low growl began in the students near the couple, and a couple of Warg girls stared at Ron with blood in their eye.
You could call the Ducal House girls Warg bitches and they would smile, bare their teeth at you, and fervently say, “Morgana, I hope so!” Even the Centaurs could. But threaten a bond and let them hear of it and you stood a good chance of a beating in some secluded stairwell. Threaten the Duke and his bonded and you just might disappear. It hadn’t happened yet, but there was talk.
“I can’t help it, Lav. I am getting better, though.”
“You’d better do it faster, Ronald.” Lavender deliberately redid her top buttons and Ron winced. It was a kind of code between them. The happier Lavender was with Ron, the more of her robe’s buttons were undone starting with the top ones. It was fodder for a running pool supervised by the Goblin students, and the official check time was at dinner.
Jimmy Riley groaned. He had been doing well; he’d bet on five today and Lav had been at three. She normally relaxed in the afternoon and just gave away two buttons by dinner as long as Ron wasn’t being a complete prat, and this year he had been way better up until now.
“Ron, I love you like a brother, but you’re killing me, mate. Ever since last year you’ve been better and better about the Duke, but now—what the hell is it?”
Jimmy and Ron had met last year. Ron had been sent over to the Royal Academy and Jimmy had just missed Hogwarts. Lavender had made Hogwarts and so Ron was staying in bonded’s quarters in Gryffindor tower, with Lavender pounding him through his assignments every night. Being bonded actually very much agreed with them both and they wanted to be secure in their futures so they could get on with their lives together.
They worked hard at their studies and Lavender was rising in class rank. Ron was near the top of his year at the Royal Academy.
Ron had matured a lot over the summer and hardly ever fought Lavender’s efforts more than the pro forma objection easily overcome with a loosened blouse button. They spent a lot of time with Ron’s Royal Academy group as Lavender’s friends and roommates from Hogwarts had mostly been bonded to Harry or were pursuing their own intent or full bonds.
Away from Harry, under Lavender’s sometimes gentle but always firm care and into the more practical track of magic, Ron had bloomed. His soaring confidence was leading him rapidly into both a shot at the Royal Academy Gryffindor Quidditch Captaincy, perhaps a professional tryout, and the Auror Academy section of the Royal Academy University. He was a dab hand at Defense and his ability to think strategically served him well, as did his new need to please Lavender.
Unfortunately for all he was still Ron and still the youngest of six brothers from what had been a poor family. It got the best of him sometimes around Harry.
“If I knew, Jimmy, I wouldn’t be sleeping on the couch so much.”
Lavender nodded firmly as Jimmy winced. The Wargs grinned at Ron.
Makhaira laughed and Ron looked at the female Gryffindor Goblin. “What, Makhaira?”
“I was just thinking if you want to try your luck I’m sure the Dragon Duchess has some friends.”
Ron blanched a bright white and the table broke up laughing.
Kathleen Conrad, one of the group’s Warg pair, looked at her group. “Class in fifteen minutes. Eat up and let’s go.”
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Flashback
Spring Semester
Royal Academy of Magic
1996
It had been a trying second semester at the start of last term. Old friends were left behind and new people had been introduced to the cliques from Hogwarts and all the other supposedly top schools. The students from the “hedge academies” had suffered through the same thing. The groups had reformed quickly, though, and it was interesting to see how they contained members from all five Houses generally.
The Ducal House students, always in pairs, were generally the nuclei and leaders of the groups. The Ravenclaws were as always the brains of the groups, Slytherins the planners, Hufflepuffs the muscle, and Gryffindors the exuberant shock troops.
The students had discovered they could travel between the Royal Academy and Hogwarts when they were handed schedules with classes in both places and instructions on using the transport Arms, and they did—so much so that a system of tracking based on Harry’s map but color- (House) and letter-coded (Royal Academy or Hogwarts) had to be arranged.
The Hat had hated it as Hestia, Hermione, Emmeline, and the ’Claws had tied him to it too. The ladies had laughed as they got theirs back for the lecherous thing’s peeking; he acquiesced when Amelia Fastida bared her fangs at him.
A rule forbidding pranks within a hundred meters of the transport Arms had become necessary.
Chu and Minerva had watched the grouping happening and they were slightly concerned that the student groups now seemed oriented on level of ability instead of social or House considerations. They were afraid the students would lack the expertise to pull them to the next higher level in their own groups.
Hermione had introduced the solution: peer counselors from among the top hundred in every year sought out the groups as they were identified and helped them.
The real cure had been the group studying, though. The rooms were conducive to studying, but group studying in the commons, Great Hall, and Hogwarts Library after dinner was both allowed and encouraged. The teachers all made themselves available in the commons up until the 10 p.m. curfew to help students, and it was not unusual to see parents in the commons and strolling the halls.
The campus was a very orderly place, with the students’ days so full of classes and organized activities they actually had to work at being alone or inactive. They also had to work hard to stay awake after 10 p.m.; they were exhausted.
The common course load after primary school through the College of Hogwarts or the Royal Academy College were a math, a science, a language, history, English, an art or music class and PT or Sport, Ancient Runes, Arithmancy, Astronomy, Care of Magical Creatures, Charms, Defense Against the Dark Arts, Divination, Magical Transportation, Herbology, History of Magic, Muggle Studies/Magical World Studies, Potions, and Transfiguration with physical training or sport every day.
This massive nineteen class or activity load was generally spread over three days in one’ hour periods with ten minutes between classes and one and a half hours for PT or sports every day and a short day (one period less) every third day (Wednesday and Saturday); but it still made for almost twelve hours of class or activity from 05:30 to 16:20 and dinner at 18:00. Classes were held six days a week.
The students really didn’t mind as the Professors worked very hard to make the subject matter engaging and entertaining. Syllabuses were top-down driven from the University with chairs of departments approving them and the bonded insuring integration at grade level and between departments before they went to the department heads for approval.
Homework was still assigned but was monitored very closely and more to cause study than rote memorization.
Sports teams were hugely popular as the students saw them as an escape from PT. If you were on a team you could practice under your captain and faculty sponsor’s supervision instead of participating in PT. The teams were so competitive with each other, though, that the practices were harder than the school PT. Games were scheduled on the Wednesday and Saturday short days. On Sundays the Varsity and Uni level sporting events were held.
PT covered the same sports as the teams and gave basic grounding and technique.
The pubescent and older female students learned very early not to attempt the monthly escape as it led to the most embarrassing lecture and class on menstrual relief and personal hygiene charms in the recorded history of the universe. What made it worse was that it was normally conducted by a Duchess of their species, who was close to their age, in perfect shape, and completely unsympathetic.
Boys with problems doing PT got a class from the Duke, who explained that they were simply making themselves easy targets and asked, how would they protect their wives and children? He normally then demonstrated what he meant by easy target, fighting them without magic while he let them use magic.
None ever touched him. Harry would then explain that the females were seeking the most powerful male with whom their magic was compatible by instinct, and gave them his broken smile. Those that didn’t get it right away did after he left and their friends explained to them that Harry would be taking their potential mates if they didn’t. They also received a personal hygiene lecture on general principles and due to Harry’s sense of fair play.
Remus, DADA department sixth through twelfth form instructor, or Sirius, Magical World Studies instructor sixth through twelfth forms, two of the few males on staff, usually gave the personal hygiene portion of the lecture. Their goal was to impart the information in the most embarrassing manner possible. After all, all of this was covered in primary school.
The Royal Academy had learned after last term that they needed some males. A few of the vassals and unemployed werewolves had been drafted.
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Hogwarts
Thursday
12 Sept 1996
17:58
Harry and Nym faded into the entry hall and made their way to the Great Hall. They walked in and turned to the head table where two seats were waiting for them. Harry escorted Nym to the head table amidst applause and seated her smiling form. He took his seat and looked out over the hall and the back wall, which was a now a charmed to be a giant monitor screen split to show the other eighteen commons.
Minerva smiled and started to wave but Demelza cleared her throat. “Of course—sorry, students. Question time, Your Grace.”
Harry grimaced theatrically. “Well we’ll start with the Badgers then.”
Zacharias Smith stood. “Your Grace, what is your Dragon’s species?”
Frieda suddenly appeared. “You challenge the Great One, hatchling?”
“Errrh, no, ma’am.”
“Then you cannot know, hatchling. To know is death or victory—perhaps both.”
“Frieda!”
“They cannot know the Master is a Hell Dragon, my Mistress—Draconis Rex Draconi, Dragon King of Dragons. His kind have been gone since before I hatched. They are the purest of the pure, all power and purpose.”
“We should have known.”
“Shh, Su. So what do we tell him? We’ve never lied to them.”
“We tell the truth or say nothing, Nym. I suspect they’re researching it now. They’ll find out, won’t they, Hermione?”
“Probably. There’s a description of a legendary king of Dragons in the old Creature text. You match it in every detail except for the eyes, Harry. They’re supposed to be burning red, not burning green.”
“Hell Dragon, Mr Smith, Draconis Rex Draconi.”
“Your Grace.”
“Gryffindor?”
Angelina stood in her common and the screens oriented on her. “Duchess Nym, bother all that—how are the babies and when do we get to see them?”
Nym smiled. “Fine, Angelina.” The entire female population of the Academy sighed in relief. “And we’ll figure out something soon. Also we’ll figure out something so we don’t have to use Question Time for this.”
The questions continued through the other three Houses and then Minerva waved her hand.
Dinner was excellent. Frieda had moved to Nym and the Professors made space for her at the table. Hagrid was hypnotized.
“Harry, the tiny giant is staring at me.”
“He’s just like that, Frieda. He loves Dragons.”
“Not this one he doesn’t, Megan.”
“No, not like that. Here, just look in our memories.”
Frieda looked and saw Hagrid’s love of dangerous creatures and especially Dragons. She settled; she had seen his type before, her humans Charlie and Dana for example.
“Your humans, Frieda?”
“Of course, Ginny. What else could they be?”
The bond dissolved into a discussion on the nature of perspective.
After dinner the students headed for their study period.
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Potter Castle
Master’s Study
Thursday
12 Sept 1996
21:04
Harry and the Command trainers were sitting in the Master’s Study—Harry had taken Ted Tonks’ advice and this single room in the whole huge castle was his alone—with a finger of single malt when Flopsy and Mopsy faded into view.
“Flopsy, Mopsy, how may I help you?”
“You must hold Court, Your Grace. The dungeons are full and we are using the deep holds.”
Harry frowned. “Oops, I knew there was something I forgot after Riddle this summer. What’s a deep Hold? Oh, okay, I got it. Wow. Hey, Frieda, you could use these if you want.”
The Command trainers followed Harry as he stood, threw back his scotch, and headed for the private sitting room where the mates were gathered with the Queen and a few of their mothers, having just finished putting the children to bed. They didn’t find it odd that Harry spoke to beings not present.
“I could, Harry, but I like this form. But yes, for nesting we could use them. Can we look at them tomorrow?”
“I have to get these prisoners out of them but then we can look at them Frieda.”
The room had paused at “nesting” and Phillip, Andrew, and Dan did a sort of skip as they all missed a step.
“Frieda, all ready?”
“The urge is coming, Majesty. I think it will be soon.”
Frieda cringed as her mates all dove into her mind at once looking at what they needed and what nesting, laying, and sitting would mean for their sister mate.
“But Frieda, it’s such a dark place—we can nest in the Ducal Apartment.”
Frieda smiled at Beatrice. She really liked that “we”. “I like close, dark places for nesting, Beatrice; they’re more secure.”
“Frieda, nothing will touch you or the eggs wherever you are. As soon as you start laying Harry will go spare and build you a nest like Hedwig’s.”
At Eugenie’s comment they all looked to where Hedwig floated regally in her—as far as they could tell—completely impervious nest.
“He’s a good nest builder, Frieda.”
Frieda walked over and dove into a conversation with Hedwig about her laying and sitting in the bond. Harry tried desperately to ignore the snickering and sidelong glances.
“Errrh, back on point. We’ll have to hold Court. Flopsy and Mopsy say the dungeons are full.”
Nym nodded. “We might as well start now, Harry. Let’s get the Wizengamot here and start clearing the cases. Then we’ll have a regular court session every Sunday afternoon until we clear them all.”
“Sunday, Nym?”
“Suzanne, it’s the only day we have left. Until we hire more instructors we’re all tied up with classes.”
“We’re working on that, Nym, and word of mouth is helping. We’re constantly receiving and evaluating CVs. The Professors are apparently prolific letter writers and they have lots of friends. We do need to put some advertisements in the South American wizarding press, though. I think we’re underrepresented in Professors from that area.”
“Minerva is right, Nym. We could probably hire three hundred more based on what we have.”
“Nym, we can afford it. With the estimated tax revenue we’ll have a serious surplus even after the Ministry is fully funded.”
“Thank you, Narcissa. Let’s go ahead, Chu. With this Dark Lady sticking her oar in we may need the Regiment free to maneuver.”
“Yes, Nym.”
The Wizengamot and vassals started appearing with Potter elves.
“Sorry, Harry, in all the excitement we forgot to talk to you about taking this over.”
“No worries, Griselda. I forgot too.”
“Shall we, then?”
“Certainly, Augusta. Geoffrey, if you would lead the way, please?”
Harry raised Nym and followed Geoffrey with his mates, the Royals, Wizengamot, and vassals behind. By the time they arrived at the hall and the visitors filed into the gallery the elves had set up the hall and 122 pairs of mates began the interrogations, starting with the prisoners who had been held longest.
Harry and Nym dropped into the trance, letting the information the mates were gathering flow across them.
Elizabeth turned to Molly and Emma. “We should withhold execution of sentence until we can determine how many of-age female chattel we can expect. I wonder how many prisoners these dungeons hold?”
Pop!
“We currently have 1780 male and 220 female prisoners, Your Majesty.”
“Good Lord! Thank you, Mopsy. I wonder how they ended up here?”
Pop!
Emma nodded. “I think we’ll find out, ma’am. The girls are using magic to translate for many of them. And it looks like Amelia Bones is helping to redesign the questioning as they go along.”
Harry and Nym processed as the interrogations continued; while they processed the incoming data they talked in the bond. “Harry, these are from all over Europe and Asia. Mostly just evil gits, a few marked Death Eaters and some with this Xi Shi’s mark. I wonder how that happened.”
“I see, Nym. We’ll have to get Hestia and the ’Claws to check on the mark, but I think the intent and functions of the marks are close enough that the Runes picked them up that way. As for where they were from, it looks as if it doesn’t matter. Apparently we have transport stones at all access points to Britain and they’re getting picked off as they get here.”
“Hehehe! I love it when a plan comes together.”
“Wow—that one is a vampire hunter, but he kills for fun. Oh, hell no, he tortures and rapes the females first.”
Harry stood up in a towering rage and Brother Ignatius, High Inquisitor, found himself hurled into a cleared area.
Harry appeared in front of him. “You have been found to be a supporter of the Dark and a rapist. Defend yourself.”
“You cannot judge me. I am the High Inquisitor; I answer only to the Pope and God.”
“Oh, really?”
Harry disappeared and reappeared with an old man. He flung the old man toward Brother Ignatius. “Pope John Paul the Second, you are accused of being a supporter of the Dark. Prepare to be judged.”
There was a massive gasp from the assembled. “Harry, you can’t!”
Amanda knew she had made a mistake and flew to Harry, landing on her knees with her head on his feet. “Your Grace, forgive me. I fear for our safety should you judge him. There are millions of Catholics in the world.”
“Get up, Amanda—and I care about his sycophants why?”
As Harry paced, thinking, and Amanda refused to rise, Elizabeth entered the dueling area.
“Your Holiness.”
“Your Majesty? Elizabeth, what is going on? I was peacefully sleeping and this avenging angel appears and drags me here, accusing me of supporting the Dark?”
Elizabeth smiled ruefully and looked at the still pacing Harry. “May I present His Grace the Duke of Magic of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Defender of Magic and Magical Champion of the Crown and Realm, Harry James Potter, Your Holiness?”
“Duke Potter? Ah so, so nice to—”
“Your Holiness, I have been detained here agaiaaaaaaiiiiiiiiiiieeeeeeeeee!”
“Shut up, rapist. I’ll tell you when to speak.”
Harry had looked at the Inquisitor and the man had fallen down arched in pain, clawing at himself and foaming at the mouth. Harry was reverting to his vampire, obviously losing control.
Elizabeth took steps. “Your Grace, please?”
The Inquisitor fell unconscious as Harry released him from the thought of pain he had pushed at him.
“Thank you, Harry. Your Holiness, perhaps you would care to see the results of this thing’s interrogation under Veritaserum.”
“Perhaps a seat, Elizabeth, and then let us pursue this. I am not as young as I once was.”
An ornate table and four chairs appeared. Nym moved up with the transcript of Ignatius’s interrogation and Harry seated her, then Elizabeth. He had regained enough control to introduce Nym. John Paul beamed at her, and for some reason she felt herself blush prettily.
John Paul held the transcript far out in front of him and Harry gave a little wave; suddenly John Paul’s eyes were like a twenty-year-old’s.
“Thank you, Your Grace. None of my wizards have been able to achieve that.”
The room started and John Paul chuckled. “Surely you remember the Abbot, Harry? One of the descendants of Nicholas Breakspear, a predecessor of mine. The Church is aware of Magic—well, at least some parts of it are. We have had a troubled relationship with the magical world, but I had thought we had developed a understanding.”
John Paul read the transcript of the interrogation that Harry had interrupted and his face clouded with both sadness and anger.
“Amelia Fastida, you have my apologies and that of the Church. Harry, if you do not wish to soil your hands with this thing, I will take it. I would appreciate your assistance in finishing his questioning; I need to know how far this evil goes.”
Harry nodded and the Evas, Eva Dobos and Eva Angelina, sat up, Ennervated Ignatius, and continued his questioning, taking direction from the Pope.
The gallery sagged in relief. And Amanda finally rose.
“I am sorry, Your Holiness, but I was infuriated by what I suspected was institutionalized evil.”
“Harry, do not be sorry. But as a favor, please make sure of your facts before you act. And don’t be afraid to let your fellow leaders know what you’re doing. In the day time would be good.”
Harry blushed and the Pope chuckled. “Quite the handful you have, Duchess.”
“But you can’t fault his motives, Your Holiness.”
John Paul looked around. “No, they are all quite beautiful.”
Nym gaped and blushed. “Thank you, Your Holiness.”
John Paul chuckled again. He refocused on what Ignatius was saying and at Nym’s signal the other interrogations proceeded.
Afterward, John Paul shook his head. “I will cure the affliction in the Church, Harry. You may deal with any Churchmen caught by your stones and send copies of the interrogations to me.”
“Your Holiness.”
“Harry, I would speak to you more; may I possibly stay here for a few days soon?”
“Any time, Your Holiness. Simply call for Geoffrey. And now I would transport you back to your apartments.”
“Thank you, Your Grace, Your Majesty, Ladies. May the Lord bless you and keep you.”
Amelia Fastida, of all the mates, replied, “And also you, Your Holiness.”
The Pope beamed at her as Harry faded them away and then reappeared.
Ignatius was Ennervated, immolated, and Harry cast the Praedia Bellica on him out of habit. They were not surprised when he was stripped of something as the light flared. Narcissa would find a sizable increase in money on the books in the morning.
None of the other prisoners provoked Harry’s wrath as he sat in contemplation while the mates processed more of them.
They stopped at five hundred, deciding they would keep on through the week and be ready for sentencing after a session on Sunday.
Elizabeth, meanwhile, wrote the brothers Hamlish asking for an accounting of all of-age female chattel belonging to the prisoners. She provided the list from Flopsy.
The bonded had decided the female prisoners would be forced into Warg form, dominated, and bound to the Duke and Pack.
Harry and the bonded finally managed to get back to the Ducal suite at midnight. Amanda found herself dragged down like a gazelle and loved very thoroughly. She was ecstatic; she had been so afraid she had hurt her relationship with Harry that even his constant reassurance in the bond had not helped her much.
Chapter 3
International Dragon Preserve
Chief Keeper’s Lodge
Thursday
12 Sept 1996
09:45
“Your Grace, Dana Weasley has informed us you might stop by. I am Constantine Herch, Chief Keeper.”
“Chief Herch, my Alpha, Her Grace Nymphadora.”
Nym shot Harry an eyebrow. “Nym is fine, Chief Herch.”
“I believe I will go with Your Grace, Your Grace. We so seldom have visitors of your status. What can I do for you?”
“The Duke needs to touch a very powerful Dragon, Chief Herch. It seems there is a Dark Lady in the Far East who might be planning to use them against us.”
“Forgive me, Duchess, but I don’t understand how touching one of our Dragons would help.”
“Not to be rude, Chief, but until you see it you won’t understand it—and you might not then.”
The Chief nodded and escorted Harry and Nym to the preserve proper.
Inside the preserve Dana and Charlie met them and after some polite conversation and warm greetings they led Harry and Nym to a pen.
“Harry, you know Frieda.” Charlie nodded at the immense Hungarian Horntail.
“I do?”
“Yeah, you met her in the Triwizard tournament.”
Harry swallowed nervously. “Uh, Charlie, this might not be a good idea. We—errrh—didn’t exactly hit it off.”
Charlie laughed. “She knew it wasn’t her egg, Harry. She was just testing you.”
Harry blinked at him stupidly as Dana nodded encouragingly and pushed him into the pen with the immense Alpha female Dragon; Dana chuckled as she slammed the gate behind him.
Harry approached Frieda, holding his hands out in front of him. “Hello, Frieda, remember me?”
Frieda looked at him and hissed; she didn’t sound happy.
“I just need to touch you for a minute or two, Frieda.”
Hisssss…ssss…ssss....
Harry stopped and looked in the Dragon’s eyes. He suddenly knew she was laughing at him. He walked straight up to her and laid a hand on each side of her huge head.
Nym was near panic, despite Harry’s sudden calm in the bond. Then she heard Frieda in the bond, laughing.
“Harry, why is Frieda laughing?”
“’Cause she’s a big joker. She just scares people for fun, Nym.”
“Yep, I learned a couple of thousand summers ago that the little bit of meat on you isn’t worth the trouble. Kill one and more just keep coming.”
“Frieda, why can we hear you?”
“Magic? I’m not really sure, Nymphadora. We—that is, Dragons—communicate in this manner but we don’t have to touch to do it.”
Harry had worked his fingers up under Frieda’s cheek scales and was softly scratching her warm hide.
“Mmmmmm...I may keep you, though, Harry. That’s the perfect spot.”
Nym turned her head to hide her smile. How did he do it?
“Before you get too distracted with my mate, Frieda, we need your help.”
“Just let me borrow him for a while, Nym. I haven’t been able to scratch there for a thousand summers. Mmmmmmhhhhhhhmmm... a little lower, Harry...uuuuhhhhuuuhhh.”
Harry followed Frieda’s head to the ground, still scratching gently.
Dana was stunned and then she, Charlie, and Chief Herch blushed ferociously at the noises the dragon was making.
When Frieda rolled over on her side they turned their backs.
“Frieda, what the hell is so funny?”
“Your kind, Nym. I make a few grateful noises and they get all embarrassed. Nym, you really have to loan me Harry, though. I have some other places that need a good scratch, hehehe.”
“Ladies, I’m right here.”
“Yes, you so are! Work on my neck behind my head, Harry.”
Harry straddled Frieda’s neck and worked his hands under the heavy scales.
“Hey, wait a minute.”
Nym and Frieda chuckled.
“You’ve done very well, Nym, so young and so powerful. So very well trained, too.”
“Well, I can’t take the credit. He was this way when I got him.”
“Don’t be so modest, Nym. You and your mates balance him; you make all of this possible.”
Suddenly Frieda shuddered as Harry turned his thanks and a mental caress on her. She gave a tearing groan reminiscent of Melinda.
Harry looked up at Nym, wide-eyed, and Nym giggled.
Smoke wafted from Frieda’s nose.
The shocked bonded, who had been listening and feeling, froze for a moment.
“You all right, Frieda?”
“Mmmmhhhhmmm.”
Harry looked at Nym and chuckled.
Nym shot him an eyebrow. “How do you do it, Harry?”
“I don’t know, Nym. It just felt like Frieda needed a rub.”
“So do you think you can change, Harry?”
Harry thought for a moment and suddenly, with a whoosh of displaced air, there was a huge black Dragon with green eyes.
“HISSSS…SSSS…SSSS....”
Another whoosh and a red-faced Harry stood there; a third whoosh and an even bigger black Dragon with green eyes stretched his wings and looked over his shoulder at them.
“Nym, he changed to a female Dragon first.”
“He does it all the time, Frieda.”
Nym touched Frieda’s neck as Harry had, under the scales, and Frieda read the memories of the bonded.
Dana, Charlie, and Chief Herch looked back at the hissing Frieda from their study of the enormous new male Dragon charging around the preserve.
“Do you think he’ll try to—oh, never mind. Ouch.”
Frieda winced as Harry built up speed and leapt into the air, spreading his wings, and then piled into the ground.
Harry righted himself and shook his head.
“I’d better go catch him, Nym. He has to use magic; our wings alone can’t support us. Hop on.”
Frieda lowered her neck and Nym straddled it. Charlie and Dana yelled something but Frieda had already leapt away, chasing Harry.
“Harry, stop—let Frieda teach you.”
“I can get it Nym.”
Harry tried again and almost made it, flapping furiously, then he augured in from about twenty feet. The ground shook. He lay panting.
Nym and Frieda landed, laughing, and Nym leapt off Frieda and hugged Harry’s huge head.
“It’s not funny, Nym. That hurt.”
“I know, baby, I felt it. Let Frieda teach you.”
Nym backed up and Frieda began working with Harry as Dana and Charlie Apparated next to Nym.
“Nym, that’s Harry, right?”
“Yes, Dana.”
“What did he do to Frieda? We normally only hear those noises at night.”
Nym blushed.
Charlie chuckled. “Hey, Nym, you’d better tell him to stay on the ground, if—ah, too late.”
As they watched, Harry and Frieda took to the air. And from all over the preserve, Dragons rose with them.
A complicated aerial ballet ensued and then suddenly a large Dragon flamed Harry. Harry dove on him, grabbed him in his talons, and drove him into the ground. The observers felt the ground shake from where they were. Harry roared his triumph and shot a gout of blue-green flame in a hundred-foot arch. The ground shook again.
Harry leapt into the air and he and Frieda circled higher and higher.
“Uh-oh.”
“What’s ‘uh-oh’, Dana?”
“That’s mating behavior, Nym. Dragons breed in the air.”
Nym shook her head while she laughed. “Frieda, you said borrow, not breed. There is a difference.”
“Oops?”
“We’re going to have a long conversation when you bring Harry back, Frieda.”
“Yes, Mistress. Now if you’ll excuse me?”
“Errrh...Nym, I don’t see what’s so funny.”
Nym eyed Charlie. “I know, Charlie, I already felt her. And she already asked, kind of.”
Nym suddenly sat down. “They’re on the way down.”
She lay back on the ground and closed her eyes. She spread her arms and gripped the ground. The fall was dizzying until Harry completely oriented on Frieda. The mating was quick, but the dominance fight was foreplay and the flight up was all the prep they needed.
The mated pair’s shattering roars reached the ground a moment before Harry lowered the panting Frieda to the ground and a moment after the brilliant flash. He landed beside her and rubbed his head along her body. Frieda purred.
All the humans except Nym stood frozen, blushing. Nym ran to Frieda and hugged her huge head.
Explaining Frieda’s move to Godric’s Hollow almost exhausted Harry’s patience. He finally pulled the ‘I’m the Duke and what I say goes’ card and changed. Nym mounted his neck and she, Harry, and Frieda simply left.
Chief Herch stood flabbergasted for a moment. “I’ll report him for stealing a Dragon.”
Charlie scratched his head as Dana looked up from checking the Welsh Green Harry had dominated. “Uhhh, Chief, who exactly are you going to report him to?”
“Why, the Ministry, of course.”
Charlie just nodded. “Whatever you think is right, Chief, but—uh—he kind of is the Ministry.”
Dana was hiding her smile behind her hand.
“How’s Clyde, Dana?”
“Fine, Chief—unconscious, nothing broken, his pride a little dented maybe, but he’ll be okay.”
“Hmph.”
“What kind of Dragon was Harry, Charlie?”
“I don’t know. Let’s go do the taxonomy, Dana.”
They walked back toward the Keeper’s lodge in animated conversation, with the Chief trailing them grumbling.
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Godric’s Hollow
Thursday
12 Sept 1996
11:45
Harry swept down from the rarefied atmosphere at what for a military aircraft would be considered super-cruise, supersonic cruising speed. He and Frieda had gone hypersonic over Lake Balaton and accelerated all the way to the North Sea.
There had been a couple of dicey moments until Harry cast a windshield in front of Nym and she cast Bubble-Head, sticking, and warming charms on herself. They had all enjoyed the flight immensely, but Harry was tiring. He was, after all, huge, and it was his first Dragon flight.
The pair of Dragons had been gliding since they crossed the North Sea coast and now circled high above the Hollow, killing their velocity and observing.
It was amazing what the Dragon senses were bringing to Harry. The visual acuity was better than any raptors. From what Harry thought was 45,000 feet he could see sentients moving about the Royal Academy commons and small wedges through the glass roofs. They lazily circled downward while losing speed and landed on the Quidditch pitch.
Harry lowered his neck, allowing Nym to dismount, while the students who had been outside for flying lessons or COMC came running with their professors pelting after them, and Veela and Goblin formations came pouring out of the Royal Academy.
Harry changed and hugged Frieda’s head, only to find himself with his arms full of a dusky-skinned, black-haired, black-eyed beauty.
“So that’s how you did that, Harry. What you see in these bodies I don’t know, though. Amarydian, it’s freezing!”
Nym flicked her wrist and Frieda’s spectacularly well muscled and beautifully cushioned form was covered in a very nice pair of woolly socks, hip-hugger pants and boots, jeans and jumper under a Regimental tartan robe. The support charm gripped her firmly but gently.
“Thanks, Nym, that’s much better. What is this cloth on my...errrh...bottom? And whatever that thing holding my…breast—yes, breast...is very nice.”
Nym was saved from answering as the crowd arrived, children first.
Harry looked them over. “Don’t you kids know not to run to danger?”
Rose Zeller, Hogwarts Hufflepuff second form, looked at Harry. “We thought Duchess Nym was in trouble, Harry.”
Harry rolled his eyes. “And what would you do against two Dragons, Rose?”
Rose, looking every inch the determined Hufflepuff, returned, “Something, Harry.”
Harry gave up and hugged her. “Listen, folks, sometimes the best thing you can do is withdraw and figure out a plan. I appreciate your thoughts and actions, though, and a point for each of you. Next time, if your actions are more organized and effective it will be five points. Now back to classes, if you please, and maybe there will be a surprise in COMC in the next few weeks.”
“Good with hatchlings too, Nym. You have done very well.”
“Thank you, Frieda. How did you manage that change to human?”
“I felt the way Harry did it, Nym, so I did it the same way.”
“That’s how he does magic, too.”
“Maybe he was a Dragon that was changed to a human for this turn of the skies.”
Nym blinked as Frieda chuckled.
Emmeline, Hermione, and the ’Claws launched into a frenzy of speculation, plundering Frieda’s vast, ancient mind.
Nym chuckled as Frieda spluttered, “Hey, that’s my mind.”
“Ours now, Frieda, you brilliant lovely.”
Harry laughed as Frieda grumbled but preened at Hermione’s possessive appreciation and mental petting. He offered his arm. “Lunch, ladies?”
“Erm, Harry, get someone to take care of Rose.”
“I have her Nym. We were finishing class anyway.”
“Thank you, Iona.”
Harry led the alternately preening and grumbling Frieda into the fifth year common on his left arm and Nym on his right.
The story had already made the rounds of the school and the room was buzzing, as were all the commons and the Great Hall. The mates were coming to grips with the shape-changing Dragon they had mated as she came to terms with them.
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The Royal Academy
Sixth Year Common
Thursday
12 Sept 1996
12:10
POP!
“Bloody he—”
POP!
“Ronald Bilius Weasley, you will keep a civil tongue in your head and your mind out of the gutter or you’ll regret it.”
The entire common had stopped and turned toward the most fractious bonded couple in Christendom, Ron and Lavender Weasley.
“Blo—imey!” Ron had just barely saved himself from another smack in the back of the head. “Lav, please don’t hit so hard.”
“I can’t believe you, Ron. You’re still jealous of him over everything.”
A low growl began in the students near the couple, and a couple of Warg girls stared at Ron with blood in their eye.
You could call the Ducal House girls Warg bitches and they would smile, bare their teeth at you, and fervently say, “Morgana, I hope so!” Even the Centaurs could. But threaten a bond and let them hear of it and you stood a good chance of a beating in some secluded stairwell. Threaten the Duke and his bonded and you just might disappear. It hadn’t happened yet, but there was talk.
“I can’t help it, Lav. I am getting better, though.”
“You’d better do it faster, Ronald.” Lavender deliberately redid her top buttons and Ron winced. It was a kind of code between them. The happier Lavender was with Ron, the more of her robe’s buttons were undone starting with the top ones. It was fodder for a running pool supervised by the Goblin students, and the official check time was at dinner.
Jimmy Riley groaned. He had been doing well; he’d bet on five today and Lav had been at three. She normally relaxed in the afternoon and just gave away two buttons by dinner as long as Ron wasn’t being a complete prat, and this year he had been way better up until now.
“Ron, I love you like a brother, but you’re killing me, mate. Ever since last year you’ve been better and better about the Duke, but now—what the hell is it?”
Jimmy and Ron had met last year. Ron had been sent over to the Royal Academy and Jimmy had just missed Hogwarts. Lavender had made Hogwarts and so Ron was staying in bonded’s quarters in Gryffindor tower, with Lavender pounding him through his assignments every night. Being bonded actually very much agreed with them both and they wanted to be secure in their futures so they could get on with their lives together.
They worked hard at their studies and Lavender was rising in class rank. Ron was near the top of his year at the Royal Academy.
Ron had matured a lot over the summer and hardly ever fought Lavender’s efforts more than the pro forma objection easily overcome with a loosened blouse button. They spent a lot of time with Ron’s Royal Academy group as Lavender’s friends and roommates from Hogwarts had mostly been bonded to Harry or were pursuing their own intent or full bonds.
Away from Harry, under Lavender’s sometimes gentle but always firm care and into the more practical track of magic, Ron had bloomed. His soaring confidence was leading him rapidly into both a shot at the Royal Academy Gryffindor Quidditch Captaincy, perhaps a professional tryout, and the Auror Academy section of the Royal Academy University. He was a dab hand at Defense and his ability to think strategically served him well, as did his new need to please Lavender.
Unfortunately for all he was still Ron and still the youngest of six brothers from what had been a poor family. It got the best of him sometimes around Harry.
“If I knew, Jimmy, I wouldn’t be sleeping on the couch so much.”
Lavender nodded firmly as Jimmy winced. The Wargs grinned at Ron.
Makhaira laughed and Ron looked at the female Gryffindor Goblin. “What, Makhaira?”
“I was just thinking if you want to try your luck I’m sure the Dragon Duchess has some friends.”
Ron blanched a bright white and the table broke up laughing.
Kathleen Conrad, one of the group’s Warg pair, looked at her group. “Class in fifteen minutes. Eat up and let’s go.”
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Flashback
Spring Semester
Royal Academy of Magic
1996
It had been a trying second semester at the start of last term. Old friends were left behind and new people had been introduced to the cliques from Hogwarts and all the other supposedly top schools. The students from the “hedge academies” had suffered through the same thing. The groups had reformed quickly, though, and it was interesting to see how they contained members from all five Houses generally.
The Ducal House students, always in pairs, were generally the nuclei and leaders of the groups. The Ravenclaws were as always the brains of the groups, Slytherins the planners, Hufflepuffs the muscle, and Gryffindors the exuberant shock troops.
The students had discovered they could travel between the Royal Academy and Hogwarts when they were handed schedules with classes in both places and instructions on using the transport Arms, and they did—so much so that a system of tracking based on Harry’s map but color- (House) and letter-coded (Royal Academy or Hogwarts) had to be arranged.
The Hat had hated it as Hestia, Hermione, Emmeline, and the ’Claws had tied him to it too. The ladies had laughed as they got theirs back for the lecherous thing’s peeking; he acquiesced when Amelia Fastida bared her fangs at him.
A rule forbidding pranks within a hundred meters of the transport Arms had become necessary.
Chu and Minerva had watched the grouping happening and they were slightly concerned that the student groups now seemed oriented on level of ability instead of social or House considerations. They were afraid the students would lack the expertise to pull them to the next higher level in their own groups.
Hermione had introduced the solution: peer counselors from among the top hundred in every year sought out the groups as they were identified and helped them.
The real cure had been the group studying, though. The rooms were conducive to studying, but group studying in the commons, Great Hall, and Hogwarts Library after dinner was both allowed and encouraged. The teachers all made themselves available in the commons up until the 10 p.m. curfew to help students, and it was not unusual to see parents in the commons and strolling the halls.
The campus was a very orderly place, with the students’ days so full of classes and organized activities they actually had to work at being alone or inactive. They also had to work hard to stay awake after 10 p.m.; they were exhausted.
The common course load after primary school through the College of Hogwarts or the Royal Academy College were a math, a science, a language, history, English, an art or music class and PT or Sport, Ancient Runes, Arithmancy, Astronomy, Care of Magical Creatures, Charms, Defense Against the Dark Arts, Divination, Magical Transportation, Herbology, History of Magic, Muggle Studies/Magical World Studies, Potions, and Transfiguration with physical training or sport every day.
This massive nineteen class or activity load was generally spread over three days in one’ hour periods with ten minutes between classes and one and a half hours for PT or sports every day and a short day (one period less) every third day (Wednesday and Saturday); but it still made for almost twelve hours of class or activity from 05:30 to 16:20 and dinner at 18:00. Classes were held six days a week.
The students really didn’t mind as the Professors worked very hard to make the subject matter engaging and entertaining. Syllabuses were top-down driven from the University with chairs of departments approving them and the bonded insuring integration at grade level and between departments before they went to the department heads for approval.
Homework was still assigned but was monitored very closely and more to cause study than rote memorization.
Sports teams were hugely popular as the students saw them as an escape from PT. If you were on a team you could practice under your captain and faculty sponsor’s supervision instead of participating in PT. The teams were so competitive with each other, though, that the practices were harder than the school PT. Games were scheduled on the Wednesday and Saturday short days. On Sundays the Varsity and Uni level sporting events were held.
PT covered the same sports as the teams and gave basic grounding and technique.
The pubescent and older female students learned very early not to attempt the monthly escape as it led to the most embarrassing lecture and class on menstrual relief and personal hygiene charms in the recorded history of the universe. What made it worse was that it was normally conducted by a Duchess of their species, who was close to their age, in perfect shape, and completely unsympathetic.
Boys with problems doing PT got a class from the Duke, who explained that they were simply making themselves easy targets and asked, how would they protect their wives and children? He normally then demonstrated what he meant by easy target, fighting them without magic while he let them use magic.
None ever touched him. Harry would then explain that the females were seeking the most powerful male with whom their magic was compatible by instinct, and gave them his broken smile. Those that didn’t get it right away did after he left and their friends explained to them that Harry would be taking their potential mates if they didn’t. They also received a personal hygiene lecture on general principles and due to Harry’s sense of fair play.
Remus, DADA department sixth through twelfth form instructor, or Sirius, Magical World Studies instructor sixth through twelfth forms, two of the few males on staff, usually gave the personal hygiene portion of the lecture. Their goal was to impart the information in the most embarrassing manner possible. After all, all of this was covered in primary school.
The Royal Academy had learned after last term that they needed some males. A few of the vassals and unemployed werewolves had been drafted.
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Hogwarts
Thursday
12 Sept 1996
17:58
Harry and Nym faded into the entry hall and made their way to the Great Hall. They walked in and turned to the head table where two seats were waiting for them. Harry escorted Nym to the head table amidst applause and seated her smiling form. He took his seat and looked out over the hall and the back wall, which was a now a charmed to be a giant monitor screen split to show the other eighteen commons.
Minerva smiled and started to wave but Demelza cleared her throat. “Of course—sorry, students. Question time, Your Grace.”
Harry grimaced theatrically. “Well we’ll start with the Badgers then.”
Zacharias Smith stood. “Your Grace, what is your Dragon’s species?”
Frieda suddenly appeared. “You challenge the Great One, hatchling?”
“Errrh, no, ma’am.”
“Then you cannot know, hatchling. To know is death or victory—perhaps both.”
“Frieda!”
“They cannot know the Master is a Hell Dragon, my Mistress—Draconis Rex Draconi, Dragon King of Dragons. His kind have been gone since before I hatched. They are the purest of the pure, all power and purpose.”
“We should have known.”
“Shh, Su. So what do we tell him? We’ve never lied to them.”
“We tell the truth or say nothing, Nym. I suspect they’re researching it now. They’ll find out, won’t they, Hermione?”
“Probably. There’s a description of a legendary king of Dragons in the old Creature text. You match it in every detail except for the eyes, Harry. They’re supposed to be burning red, not burning green.”
“Hell Dragon, Mr Smith, Draconis Rex Draconi.”
“Your Grace.”
“Gryffindor?”
Angelina stood in her common and the screens oriented on her. “Duchess Nym, bother all that—how are the babies and when do we get to see them?”
Nym smiled. “Fine, Angelina.” The entire female population of the Academy sighed in relief. “And we’ll figure out something soon. Also we’ll figure out something so we don’t have to use Question Time for this.”
The questions continued through the other three Houses and then Minerva waved her hand.
Dinner was excellent. Frieda had moved to Nym and the Professors made space for her at the table. Hagrid was hypnotized.
“Harry, the tiny giant is staring at me.”
“He’s just like that, Frieda. He loves Dragons.”
“Not this one he doesn’t, Megan.”
“No, not like that. Here, just look in our memories.”
Frieda looked and saw Hagrid’s love of dangerous creatures and especially Dragons. She settled; she had seen his type before, her humans Charlie and Dana for example.
“Your humans, Frieda?”
“Of course, Ginny. What else could they be?”
The bond dissolved into a discussion on the nature of perspective.
After dinner the students headed for their study period.
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Potter Castle
Master’s Study
Thursday
12 Sept 1996
21:04
Harry and the Command trainers were sitting in the Master’s Study—Harry had taken Ted Tonks’ advice and this single room in the whole huge castle was his alone—with a finger of single malt when Flopsy and Mopsy faded into view.
“Flopsy, Mopsy, how may I help you?”
“You must hold Court, Your Grace. The dungeons are full and we are using the deep holds.”
Harry frowned. “Oops, I knew there was something I forgot after Riddle this summer. What’s a deep Hold? Oh, okay, I got it. Wow. Hey, Frieda, you could use these if you want.”
The Command trainers followed Harry as he stood, threw back his scotch, and headed for the private sitting room where the mates were gathered with the Queen and a few of their mothers, having just finished putting the children to bed. They didn’t find it odd that Harry spoke to beings not present.
“I could, Harry, but I like this form. But yes, for nesting we could use them. Can we look at them tomorrow?”
“I have to get these prisoners out of them but then we can look at them Frieda.”
The room had paused at “nesting” and Phillip, Andrew, and Dan did a sort of skip as they all missed a step.
“Frieda, all ready?”
“The urge is coming, Majesty. I think it will be soon.”
Frieda cringed as her mates all dove into her mind at once looking at what they needed and what nesting, laying, and sitting would mean for their sister mate.
“But Frieda, it’s such a dark place—we can nest in the Ducal Apartment.”
Frieda smiled at Beatrice. She really liked that “we”. “I like close, dark places for nesting, Beatrice; they’re more secure.”
“Frieda, nothing will touch you or the eggs wherever you are. As soon as you start laying Harry will go spare and build you a nest like Hedwig’s.”
At Eugenie’s comment they all looked to where Hedwig floated regally in her—as far as they could tell—completely impervious nest.
“He’s a good nest builder, Frieda.”
Frieda walked over and dove into a conversation with Hedwig about her laying and sitting in the bond. Harry tried desperately to ignore the snickering and sidelong glances.
“Errrh, back on point. We’ll have to hold Court. Flopsy and Mopsy say the dungeons are full.”
Nym nodded. “We might as well start now, Harry. Let’s get the Wizengamot here and start clearing the cases. Then we’ll have a regular court session every Sunday afternoon until we clear them all.”
“Sunday, Nym?”
“Suzanne, it’s the only day we have left. Until we hire more instructors we’re all tied up with classes.”
“We’re working on that, Nym, and word of mouth is helping. We’re constantly receiving and evaluating CVs. The Professors are apparently prolific letter writers and they have lots of friends. We do need to put some advertisements in the South American wizarding press, though. I think we’re underrepresented in Professors from that area.”
“Minerva is right, Nym. We could probably hire three hundred more based on what we have.”
“Nym, we can afford it. With the estimated tax revenue we’ll have a serious surplus even after the Ministry is fully funded.”
“Thank you, Narcissa. Let’s go ahead, Chu. With this Dark Lady sticking her oar in we may need the Regiment free to maneuver.”
“Yes, Nym.”
The Wizengamot and vassals started appearing with Potter elves.
“Sorry, Harry, in all the excitement we forgot to talk to you about taking this over.”
“No worries, Griselda. I forgot too.”
“Shall we, then?”
“Certainly, Augusta. Geoffrey, if you would lead the way, please?”
Harry raised Nym and followed Geoffrey with his mates, the Royals, Wizengamot, and vassals behind. By the time they arrived at the hall and the visitors filed into the gallery the elves had set up the hall and 122 pairs of mates began the interrogations, starting with the prisoners who had been held longest.
Harry and Nym dropped into the trance, letting the information the mates were gathering flow across them.
Elizabeth turned to Molly and Emma. “We should withhold execution of sentence until we can determine how many of-age female chattel we can expect. I wonder how many prisoners these dungeons hold?”
Pop!
“We currently have 1780 male and 220 female prisoners, Your Majesty.”
“Good Lord! Thank you, Mopsy. I wonder how they ended up here?”
Pop!
Emma nodded. “I think we’ll find out, ma’am. The girls are using magic to translate for many of them. And it looks like Amelia Bones is helping to redesign the questioning as they go along.”
Harry and Nym processed as the interrogations continued; while they processed the incoming data they talked in the bond. “Harry, these are from all over Europe and Asia. Mostly just evil gits, a few marked Death Eaters and some with this Xi Shi’s mark. I wonder how that happened.”
“I see, Nym. We’ll have to get Hestia and the ’Claws to check on the mark, but I think the intent and functions of the marks are close enough that the Runes picked them up that way. As for where they were from, it looks as if it doesn’t matter. Apparently we have transport stones at all access points to Britain and they’re getting picked off as they get here.”
“Hehehe! I love it when a plan comes together.”
“Wow—that one is a vampire hunter, but he kills for fun. Oh, hell no, he tortures and rapes the females first.”
Harry stood up in a towering rage and Brother Ignatius, High Inquisitor, found himself hurled into a cleared area.
Harry appeared in front of him. “You have been found to be a supporter of the Dark and a rapist. Defend yourself.”
“You cannot judge me. I am the High Inquisitor; I answer only to the Pope and God.”
“Oh, really?”
Harry disappeared and reappeared with an old man. He flung the old man toward Brother Ignatius. “Pope John Paul the Second, you are accused of being a supporter of the Dark. Prepare to be judged.”
There was a massive gasp from the assembled. “Harry, you can’t!”
Amanda knew she had made a mistake and flew to Harry, landing on her knees with her head on his feet. “Your Grace, forgive me. I fear for our safety should you judge him. There are millions of Catholics in the world.”
“Get up, Amanda—and I care about his sycophants why?”
As Harry paced, thinking, and Amanda refused to rise, Elizabeth entered the dueling area.
“Your Holiness.”
“Your Majesty? Elizabeth, what is going on? I was peacefully sleeping and this avenging angel appears and drags me here, accusing me of supporting the Dark?”
Elizabeth smiled ruefully and looked at the still pacing Harry. “May I present His Grace the Duke of Magic of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Defender of Magic and Magical Champion of the Crown and Realm, Harry James Potter, Your Holiness?”
“Duke Potter? Ah so, so nice to—”
“Your Holiness, I have been detained here agaiaaaaaaiiiiiiiiiiieeeeeeeeee!”
“Shut up, rapist. I’ll tell you when to speak.”
Harry had looked at the Inquisitor and the man had fallen down arched in pain, clawing at himself and foaming at the mouth. Harry was reverting to his vampire, obviously losing control.
Elizabeth took steps. “Your Grace, please?”
The Inquisitor fell unconscious as Harry released him from the thought of pain he had pushed at him.
“Thank you, Harry. Your Holiness, perhaps you would care to see the results of this thing’s interrogation under Veritaserum.”
“Perhaps a seat, Elizabeth, and then let us pursue this. I am not as young as I once was.”
An ornate table and four chairs appeared. Nym moved up with the transcript of Ignatius’s interrogation and Harry seated her, then Elizabeth. He had regained enough control to introduce Nym. John Paul beamed at her, and for some reason she felt herself blush prettily.
John Paul held the transcript far out in front of him and Harry gave a little wave; suddenly John Paul’s eyes were like a twenty-year-old’s.
“Thank you, Your Grace. None of my wizards have been able to achieve that.”
The room started and John Paul chuckled. “Surely you remember the Abbot, Harry? One of the descendants of Nicholas Breakspear, a predecessor of mine. The Church is aware of Magic—well, at least some parts of it are. We have had a troubled relationship with the magical world, but I had thought we had developed a understanding.”
John Paul read the transcript of the interrogation that Harry had interrupted and his face clouded with both sadness and anger.
“Amelia Fastida, you have my apologies and that of the Church. Harry, if you do not wish to soil your hands with this thing, I will take it. I would appreciate your assistance in finishing his questioning; I need to know how far this evil goes.”
Harry nodded and the Evas, Eva Dobos and Eva Angelina, sat up, Ennervated Ignatius, and continued his questioning, taking direction from the Pope.
The gallery sagged in relief. And Amanda finally rose.
“I am sorry, Your Holiness, but I was infuriated by what I suspected was institutionalized evil.”
“Harry, do not be sorry. But as a favor, please make sure of your facts before you act. And don’t be afraid to let your fellow leaders know what you’re doing. In the day time would be good.”
Harry blushed and the Pope chuckled. “Quite the handful you have, Duchess.”
“But you can’t fault his motives, Your Holiness.”
John Paul looked around. “No, they are all quite beautiful.”
Nym gaped and blushed. “Thank you, Your Holiness.”
John Paul chuckled again. He refocused on what Ignatius was saying and at Nym’s signal the other interrogations proceeded.
Afterward, John Paul shook his head. “I will cure the affliction in the Church, Harry. You may deal with any Churchmen caught by your stones and send copies of the interrogations to me.”
“Your Holiness.”
“Harry, I would speak to you more; may I possibly stay here for a few days soon?”
“Any time, Your Holiness. Simply call for Geoffrey. And now I would transport you back to your apartments.”
“Thank you, Your Grace, Your Majesty, Ladies. May the Lord bless you and keep you.”
Amelia Fastida, of all the mates, replied, “And also you, Your Holiness.”
The Pope beamed at her as Harry faded them away and then reappeared.
Ignatius was Ennervated, immolated, and Harry cast the Praedia Bellica on him out of habit. They were not surprised when he was stripped of something as the light flared. Narcissa would find a sizable increase in money on the books in the morning.
None of the other prisoners provoked Harry’s wrath as he sat in contemplation while the mates processed more of them.
They stopped at five hundred, deciding they would keep on through the week and be ready for sentencing after a session on Sunday.
Elizabeth, meanwhile, wrote the brothers Hamlish asking for an accounting of all of-age female chattel belonging to the prisoners. She provided the list from Flopsy.
The bonded had decided the female prisoners would be forced into Warg form, dominated, and bound to the Duke and Pack.
Harry and the bonded finally managed to get back to the Ducal suite at midnight. Amanda found herself dragged down like a gazelle and loved very thoroughly. She was ecstatic; she had been so afraid she had hurt her relationship with Harry that even his constant reassurance in the bond had not helped her much.
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