FicWad

A/N: I do not own Harry Potter. But you knew that.

Harry Potter and The Acts of Betrayal

Chapter Thirteen - Family

The September air was made for running this morning. Harry had not managed to work up a sweat until the second lap around the lake. Returning to their apartments he luxuriated in the hot shower and was pleasantly surprised when Hermione had joined him, then he was startled by her ravenous need for him. They made love in the shower, Hermione guiding the driving needful coupling until she came hard, then clinging to him until he finished.

"I'm not complaining." Harry rubbed her briskly with a large towel, "What brought that on?"

"Ron."

"What did he do?"

"He accosted me in the Library last night."

"Did he hurt you?"

"No, he grabbed me, and I kicked him where it hurt. He won't do that again."

"Hermione, that's how it started last time." He wrapped her in the towel and pulled her to him. "If he hurts you in any way, I'll kill him Hermione, I swear I will."

"I know. I love you too. Dumbledore and Andromeda Tonks came by after you went to bed last night. She requested a family meeting with you to discuss Tonks. I scheduled it for 7pm tonight at the Three Broomsticks."

"I wondered if anything would come from them."

"Daphne needs to be there. I can be if you want me."

"Hermione, I always want you. You'd best get dressed slowpoke, got to get breakfast before class."

"I'm sorry about in the shower, after Ron and Dumbledore last night I just..."

"Hermione, the day you have to apologize to me for wanting to make love will be the day you need to do me a favor and kill me. I'll be so far gone it would be a mercy killing."

...---===ooo000ooo===---...

To his endless amusement, Daphne WAS bright-eyed at breakfast on the day classes started. He started wondering just how different his ladies really were.

Evidently, Ron's encounter with Hermione was not as covert as they had both assumed. Whispers skittered between the tables as the assembled students waited to see what Harry would do. They were disappointed when Hermione, Daphne, and Harry simply sat at the Gryffindor table and sat eating and speaking quietly with Neville Longbottom. The crowd disappointedly took to ignoring them and eating their own breakfasts.

By the time Professor McGonagall was coming over with the class schedules most people had finished eating and were sipping tea. Ron, of course, continued to shovel food down his throat like a starving man. Harry levitated a banana and two plums over in front of the red head.

"Oh Ron?" He arranged the fruit into a somewhat vulgar anatomical configuration. "Remind you of anything?"

Ron ignored the hovering fruit. "Is that pitiful display supposed to impress me Potter?"

"Actually no." the fruit suddenly blurred and a slick paste slowly oozed onto Weasley's plate. "It's supposed to worry you. Consider that for a moment. 15 feet away, and no wand. Just imagine what I could do..." Harry smile at his first friend. "My best advice would be to stay away from my wife Ronald. Concentrate on a woman who wants something to do with you, if you can find one."

...---===ooo000ooo===---...

With no class until the second period of the day Harry walked his ladies to their Arithmancy class, silently chiding himself for not applying himself in his studies earlier in his life and being it this class. Somehow the things that had been important had paled into insignificance over the last few years. After seeing Daphne and Hermione into their classroom he made his way to the library to prep for the double DADA class that followed this first period of the day.

Once he got to the Library he found that he really couldn't concentrate on the text. Thoughts of Ron and his encounter with Hermione refused to leave him alone. Professor McGonagall had told him to leave her alone, Hermione had made the point painfully last night, and Harry had threatened the man this morning, but the look in Ron's eyes told Harry that it was far from over.

Harry pulled a fresh sheet of parchment from his bag and began a most painful letter.

/Mr. Weasley:/

I hope this letter finds you in good health.

I am sorry to bother you with this sir, but I do not believe I have any choice in the matter. It might be best if I begin this with a short recap of recent history, at least from my point of view.

At the beginning of our 6thyear, Hermione Granger and I started to date. At the beginning of this relationship, Headmaster Dumbledore approached me and suggested that even the prospect of my bringing Miss Granger into the Potter line would upset some of the 'old families' of the Light. He suggested that Miss Granger might be better suited for life with Ron, and that I should seek out a 'Pureblood' girlfriend, suggesting Ginny specifically. I am afraid that I did not react favorably to these suggestions and rather pointedly suggested that the Headmaster stay out of my personal life.

On Halloween of last year, Hermione suddenly dropped me for Ron, and they dated exclusively until late July of this year. A week later I suddenly found myself deeply involved with Ginny, and we dated exclusively until, again late July of this year. During this year, Ron and Hermione began an intimate relationship, one that involved at least three intimate encounters a week. At the same time, my fantasy life began a particularly vivid period, where I dreamed of making love with Ginny at least three times a week.

/ Why am I telling you this sir?/

In Late July, Hermione discovered this enclosed Diary. Yes, it is Ginny's, and yes Hermione reading it was a betrayal of trust. Please note the marked pages.

In summary of what Hermione learned from the diary: Headmaster Dumbledore supplied to Ron and Ginny a binary love potion. The first part places the drinker into a state of total devotion, the second, allows the drinker to control the first. And by control, I mean total, do absolutely anything with no thought of refusal for the controller.

My own enthrallment by Ginny is beside the point. It is over and I do not care about it at all. Ginny and I had no intimate contact sir, the sexual activity used to maintain the potions effectiveness was supplied by Auror Nymphadora Tonks, morphed into Ginny, coming to my bed at night. I honestly believed it to be a wet dream. Ron's enslavement of Hermione on the other hand is something I cannot and will not forgive. He has done horrible things to her, and though she agreed, and indeed even begged him to do those things to her while under the potion's influence she now thinks of it as rape and it weighs upon her terribly.

Upon reading Ginny's diary, Hermione left the Burrow and made her way to her parents, when she got home she found them under the Imperus Curse. An unforgivable curse not cast by a death eater, but by a member of the Order of the /Phoenix/, the aforementioned Auror Nymphadora Tonks. There was an altercation between Tonks and Hermione and Hermione escaped. She made her way to me, and we went to ground for the rest of the summer as muggles. The one place we knew that neither the Order nor the Death Eaters would stand much of a chance of finding us.

During this time over the summer Hermione and I rediscovered our feelings for each other. In a combination of Love and a desire to protect her we married. I then activated the Line Protection Privileges. Over the summer I also discovered that there was an active Marriage Contract on the House of Black, said contract was executed linking me to Daphne Greengrass.

Again, why am I telling you this? In short since our return to Hogwarts Ron has been a problem. After the first day Ginny has stayed away from me, but despite being asked by Hermione to leave her alone, and told by Professor McGonagall to leave us both alone, last night he accosted Hermione in the Library and laid hands on her. She hurt him to get him to leave her alone, and this morning to my shame I threatened him.

Mr. Weasley, the time I have spent with your family are the best times of my life. The greatest honor I have ever been given were the times that the Twins called me an honorary Weasley. But sir, I have to say this. If Ron touches Hermione again, I don't know what I will do. I am honestly afraid that I will hurt him badly. Mr. Weasley, Ron is the brother I never had, but always wanted, just as Mrs. Weasley and yourself are the parents I always dreamed of. Please sir, please, get through to Ron, please make him stay away from Hermione.

Please sir, I don't want to hurt my brother. I am terrified that I might kill him.

/ Harry./

...---===ooo000ooo===---...

"Molly, I don't know what you were thinking."

"Arthur, He needs to be with her. They were meant to be together."

"If they were meant to be together, then they would have been together. Your using potions on them, that's tantamount to rape."

This argument had been going on for hours. In his life he had never seen his twin sons so serious, so angry. When they told him what was being said about his youngest son and only daughter he couldn't believe it. Molly's denials the previous evening seemed sincere. Then at lunch he received the letter from Harry.

Molly was in this up to her eyebrows. This weekend there would be a family conference at Hogsmeade. All of his children would be there, or there would be hell to pay. Arthur Weasley was going to have his answers.

...---===ooo000ooo===---...

"Welcome to the Three Broomsticks Mrs. Tonks, Miss Tonks. Please have a seat."

"Thank you Lady Black." Andromeda took the offered chair, Nymphadora, silent for once, did the same.

"You wanted to speak with me Mrs. Tonks."

"Yes Lord Black. I would like to discuss my daughter's offenses against you."

Harry nodded. "Go on."

"My daughter was influenced by Albus Dumbledore. I'm not excusing her behavior, simply explaining it."

"Miss Tonks." Daphne interjected. "When you were taken into the Black Family you took an oath. Do you recall what it was?"

Nymphadora Tonks stood, her eyes down cast. "I swore my Honor, my Life, and my Magic in service to Lord Black."

"Since my marriage to Lord Black I have researched our family traditions. Lord Black did not require that oath did he?"

"No my Lady. He said that he thought it was silly, that we shouldn't have to swear an oath to have what were ours by birth."

"Yet you and your mother both insisted in swearing the Black family traditional oath of fealty did you not."

"I did my Lady."

"So, you knowingly violated the Oath you insisted on."

"I... Yes Lady Black. I did."

"When you placed the Grangers under the Imperius curse, were you under Dumbledore's orders?"

"No Lord Black. It seemed the best way to complete my mission."

"That best way should have gotten you a one way trip to Azkaban." Harry looked annoyed. "What part of completing your mission was covered when you assaulted Hermione Granger?"

"I... I was angry."

"I bet. You were late for a night with me as I recall. You took from me something I wanted to give the woman I loved. I could say I didn't like what we did, but obviously I did. Truly Nymphadora," he smiled when she tensed at the use of her given name. "If that was all you had done, we wouldn't be having this conversation, I never would have spoken with Madam Bones, and you would still be an Auror. But you hit a defenseless girl. Well, you assumed she was defenseless; she cleaned your clock pretty well, magically and physically. To my mind, that is your crime."

Daphne decided to end this before Harry got angry. "What do you think your punishment should be Miss Tonks?"

Nymphadora hung her head. "I should be ejected from the family, Lady Black."

"In as much as my husband wouldn't let me take your life, I would have to agree Miss Tonks. Our Lord however has other ideas."

"You are not to be ejected from the Family Miss Tonks, nor will you lose your life or magic."

"Thank you my Lord."

"Don't thank me yet. Your penance will be this. You will introduce yourself as, and answer cheerfully to your given name. You will no longer identify yourself by your surname." Harry smiled. "Your parents gave you the name for a reason, learn to love it."

"I believe that concludes our business for the evening. Good Night."

Andromeda stood, relieved beyond all belief. "We thank you for your mercy Lord Black. Thank you for your time and counsel Lady Black. Our apologies for how you were treated Lady Potter." Nymphadora stood next to her and together they left the Three Broomsticks. Once out in the street Nymphadora broke the silence.

"He did that to humiliate me."

"Of course he did 'Dora. You assaulted a woman he loves and attempted to return her to slavery. He resented what you did to him, but that isn't what made him angry. Rather it was what you have done to his wife. He could have killed you, or taken your magic, which is what Sirius's father would have done. You got off easy. Learn to live with it."

...---===ooo000ooo===---...

Walking back to the castle, Harry marveled at how much his life had changed in the last few months, to the point where he was now walking hand in hand with not one, but two beautiful women.

"I can't believe you let her off so easily."

"Daphne, given my options I did what I had to do. I wasn't going to kill her for what she did, that would be barbaric. Yes she hurt Hermione, but Hermione is a big girl, she cleaned Nymphadora's clock for her. She was following Dumbledore. Until this summer I was following Dumbledore. Besides," he gave her an evil grin. "You have no idea just how much Nymphadora hates her name."

"Harry's right. She probably would have preferred to have had her magic taken." Hermione giggled.

"All right, fine." Daphne frowned. "What are we going to do about Ron Weasley?"

"I dealt with him Daphne."

"I know you think you did Hermione. I heard at least four variations of your encounter last night. None from you, which I find a little disappointing."

"I wasn't hiding it from you, I just didn't want you rampaging off and killing him." She thought for a second. "Ok, maybe I was hiding it from you."

"Hermione, don't hide things from me. I can help. I won't hurt him. If he touches you again, he will never know what hit him." Daphne smiled. "It will be slow and painful, I can promise that."

The rest of the pleasant walk back to the castle was spent in quiet conversation. Harry made note that he should probably never annoy his second wife.

...---===ooo000ooo===---...

"You wanted to see me Professor?"

"Yes Miss Brocklehurst. I was hoping that you could help me."

Mandy Brocklehurst was taken aback. Then Professor Flitwick had told her that the Headmaster wanted to speak with her, she immediately started running through her actions since school had started to determine what, if anything, she might have done to merit being sent to the Headmaster. His asking for her help was not expected.

"If I can help in any way Professor, I would be honored to."

Dumbledore smiled. This might just work out.

"Tell me Miss Brocklehurst, how well do you know Neville Longbottom?"

"I know him well enough to say hello. My grandmother and his are friends, I've been to his home once or twice, and he to mine."

"I have recently discovered a prophecy that tells me that young Neville is the one to confront and defeat Voldemort."

The girl paled. "But I thought that was Harry Potter."

"As did I, his unfortunate changes in attitude this year caused me to research the subject in more depth. I have found that the prophecy actually points to Mr. Longbottom as the Chosen One."

"How can I help Professor?"

"Unfortunately Mr. Longbottom has fallen in with Mr. Potter. I'm afraid that Mr. Potter's relationship with Daphne Black has exposed him to Dark aspects of magic."

That rocked Mandy back. Harry Potter was dark? Sure he married a Slytherin, but Harry Potter dark?

"It is my belief that Mr. Longbottom needs to be led back to the light so that he will be capable of standing up to Voldemort. This is where I thought that you might come in."

"How can I help Professor?"

"Mr. Longbottom is currently dating Miss Abbott. She is a wonderful young woman, but the Light families are unlikely to accept the mingling of an ancient bloodline like the Longbottoms and a Muggle born. I am suggesting that a young woman of impeccable breeding such as your own would be a much better match, especially since Mr. Longbottom has taken his hereditary seat on the Wizengamot. He needs the quiet guidance of a young woman of quality."

"But if he is already dating Hannah Abbott, how am I supposed to break them up?"

"I can arrange for Mr. Longbottom to start receiving a potion in his meals that will allow you to exert some influence over him."

"A potion?"

"You would of course need to take the keying agent to allow you to exert said influence."

"I'm not sure that I would be the right person for this Professor. I mean, I'm a pureblood, but my family isn't famous or powerful. We've always just been merchants."

"Indeed Miss Brocklehurst. This is exactly why I thought you might be perfect for bringing Mr. Longbottom back to the light. You are grounded and focused, without the airs of many of your peers." He paused, his eyes twinkling. "Imagine what an alliance with the Longbottom house could mean for your family."

Mandy knew what that alliance could mean for her family. Oddly she could no longer recall the reasons she had been against the idea only a few moments before. She weighed the benefits to herself and her family over the costs of a relationship with a man she didn't know.

"Your guidance of Mr. Longbottom could possibly make the difference between whether or not the Light prevails in the war with Voldemort."

"I guess I can try Professor. I will try, for the Light."

"Excellent Miss Brocklehurst. You will make the difference in how this war turns out. In order to maintain the effectiveness of the potion, you will need to engage in sexual activity with Mr. Longbottom at least every third day."

Mandy had lost her virginity at the age of 14 to an upperclassman, discovering that she enjoyed the act quite a bit, and since then she had found a series of willing partners. Bedding a rich boy who could quite likely become her husband would not be a problem at all.

"I don't think I will have a problem with that, Professor."

"Excellent." Dumbledore handed the girl a small vial. "This is the first dose of your control potion. Mr. Longbottom will receive his first dose with his breakfast tomorrow. It is important for you to establish your first contact with him, preferably touching him anywhere on his bare skin, just a brush is sufficient contact. On the fifth day he will be sufficiently conditioned that he will respond violently if he sees you with another man. Select a house mate, when Mr. Longbottom reacts, simply kiss him. It is important that you exchange bodily fluids, so an open mouth kiss is what you want. He will then be yours."

The girl unstoppered the vial and downed the potion. Dumbledore smiled. It had taken a fair amount of compulsion to get the girl to agree, but now she believed it to be her idea. He had begun to suspect that he would have to go outside the school for someone to control Longbottom, having interviewed and obliviated five girls before Mandy. Tomorrow Neville Longbottom would be taking his first steps toward becoming the Chosen one.

...---===ooo000ooo===---...

Hermione was in full research mode. Harry and Daphne were working on assignments, but the Charms essay (not due for three weeks) Hermione was started on required books from the library. She had gathered the books she needed. After checking them out from a grudging Librarian she was returning to their apartments.

Walking along, one of the four books open in her free hand and already reading, she never heard the whispered "Stupefy!" that caused her to slump to the ground like a puppet with it's strings cut.

...---===ooo000ooo===---...