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Harry Potter and the Corvinus Strain
Chapter 1

Potter Castle
Private Study
Tuesday
1 July 2003
19:53

Harry leaned forward and put his head in his hands. Hermione, Min, Erika, and Daphne’s little pre-mission review and, errrh, cover routine was seriously exciting and daunting at the same time.

Nym chuckled; it never failed to amuse her when the mates’ little mental reviews made him get all groany. He didn’t agonize any more but the totality of it all was, erm, a little daunting perhaps.

“Harry, what are we going to do about Selene and Michael? I mean Hermione, Daphne, Minerva, and Erika watching over Selene and Susan, Ginny, Hestia, and Laura watching over Michael isn’t unusual and we can keep doing shifts like this forever, but what if they don’t meet or don’t hit it off or something?”

Luna appeared in Nym’s reclining lap. “Oooof, Luna!”

“Hush, doubting Thomasina!”

Nym sat up and wrestled Luna into a better position while Harry smiled. “Luna, are you gaining weight?”

“No, mean cow, you’re getting old,” Nym started then chuckled. As they wrestled gently in the overstuffed chair Harry went back to studying, thinking actually.

Europe, Asian Russia, and Magical China were safely hidden now from Mundane eyes, and the new Fidelius constructed by Lilith, Grindaknívur, Rowena and Roxanne was apparently inviolable. At least to the brightest curse breakers the Royal Academies of Europe, Asia, and China could produce. It had become a hobby for their guild.

You had to attend the Royal Academy until your majority and then swear a vassal oath so your world would not vanish, a little secret twist the bonded women smiled over and kept closely guarded. Those who refused to swear universally came back and petitioned for entrance after their second maturity hit and the magical world they had known vanished. Harry let Lilith judge them and swore them if she passed them.

Harry chuckled. The guilds; what a bunch of (“Harry!”), errrh, walking anachronisms. They had thought to keep secrets but the universal, mandatory, Veritaserum-enabled semi-annual questioning had scotched that.

The protest from the Lower House of the Magical Realms Parliament had been nothing compared to the explosion from the Upper House. Harry had quashed it all by writing a form letter of exile and sending it to the Houses as an informational item. Suddenly life in an ordered society had seemed a lot better when faced with the possibility of being cast from the Realm naked and penniless. Elizabeth’s little countersignature and pen-and-ink addition of the word “forfeit” had shaved a little time off the acceptance. Well hers, Anastasia’s, Nym’s and Na Wen’s countersignatures.

That had not been the only protest. When he “invaded” what they considered their privacy, the “plebs”, as Phillip liked to call them, rose howling and were met by the same form letter. After all, couldn’t take away their freedom of choice, now, could we?

To bad they couldn’t do anything about it really, but they were free to leave any time.

One armed uprising by the Irish had been savagely and swiftly suppressed after the Queen and the Pope disavowed the Churches of England and Rome of any support for either side, resulting in forty-four redheaded, green-eyed mates creating a redhead mates’ caucus with Sarah, Ginny, Susan, and Beatrice firmly in charge and Amanda as the political advisor. They played well against the rest of the Realm with their Slytherin sister wives.

The “Irish Problem” ceased to exist in the Magical Realm. Harry didn’t care who you worshipped as long as you paid your ten percent tax and remembered that your rights ended where the other fellow’s nose began.

Infractions were met with a swiftness and ferocity that left the spectators gasping for breath and the culprits generally having an opportunity to speak to their god or gods of choice in person. Errrh, males anyway; females got a chance to experience a whole new lifestyle, one that involved wearing a Warg’s head Mark and serving their new Master as completely as they wished. Harry still didn’t “get” the slavery thing. The slaves did, however, and after a little heart to heart with Amelia Fastida, Bellatrix, and Allison they busily worked on Harry getting it as often as they could.

The wardstones keyed to intent were as common as creek pebbles now and were still being manufactured and sown worldwide by mates of all species. Fathers gave them to their daughters and sons at birth on little necklaces.

That had been a bit of a problem when enterprising youths had started digging them up and selling them on the open market. However, Narcissa had solved the problem by offering them for sale on the WWWW and in the Weasley twins’ shops and catalogs at prices below the cheapest young entrepreneur’s best price. In addition, the authentic Daddies’ Security Stones were emergency Portkeys that activated if a child was seriously ill or injured, taking them to the Magical Corps Hospital. A Galleon was a small price to pay to have Duke Firestarter and his Guards Magical Corps as your child’s watchdog, physician, and chaperone.

Hannah invested the money and used the profits that Narcissa and her team generated to run His Highness’s hospitals and orphanages over the entire Realm.

That was another thing: the hospitals were hospitals in the ancient sense. They cared for the ill, housed the indigent and travelers, and provided education and work. The staffs’ goals seemed to be to put themselves out of business. They were located worldwide by now and every one of them had a full set of wardstones. The orphanages were tied to the schools.

That the Royal Academy now spanned the continents from the Atlantic east to the Pacific with at least one per time zone for a total of twenty-five schools (thirteen, one per time zone, Hogwarts, Beauxbatons, Durmstrang, two pentaflakes in Australia, two on the subcontinent, one in Uganda, and four in Canada on the US border, US residents paid tuition).

That the hospitals and schools had turned into little cities and magical manufacturing centers was an odd but welcome development.

They were nearly inviolable sanctuaries, as the Ugandan wizarding tribe had found out when the stones held them off long enough for the Corps to descend on them. Unfortunately for them, their chief shaman had gotten in a lucky shot and Harry thought he had killed Tanya Mercado Potter. Harry had run amuck for a month as the magical forces of the Realm rampaged behind him.

There were no longer Ugandan wizards that were not related to Harry by blood and more than two years old. Tanya had recovered after Lilith had taken her into her Heart, but it had been a long and painful process. Harry still hadn’t recovered, and the African wizard population lived in peril. He was completely without patience or mercy when dealing with them. Four dead troopers ensured he would forever be without mercy for Africans.

Harry was not ashamed in the least, even though hundreds of protests had been filed with the ICW. His response had been to offer a challenge to any and all comers. No one had taken the offer.

Marietta was off on some crazed (“Harry!”), errrh, esoteric (“Thank you, dear”) quest to save the world from Mundane society by inventing little magical devices that sucked in air, stripped it of carbon, and concentrated that carbon into nanocircles—

“Tubes, Harry, nano-tubes.”

“Thank you, baby.”

—nano-tubes that then made things wizard strong. Hehehe...wizard strong...hehe.

“Harry!”

“All right, Bea.”

“HARRY!”

“All right, Beatrice then.”

The Magical Corps was fully manned at 1,500,000 troops who functioned as police, teachers, administrators, or wherever they were needed and were in fact bound men and women. When needed for military operations, which to Harry’s mind were all too frequent still, they downed tools or pens and took up their armor and filled in the Cadre units of the magical Corps.

These Russians and Chinese never seemed to learn and would start their little empires, forcing Harry to crush them. That Luna and Li foresaw them at the very beginning helped loads, though. That last one had only just gathered a couple of followers. Harry had taken Donalda’s company of the Magical Guards Regiment and crushed the purported rising Dark Lord and his minions. Despite his being the magical heir of Rasputin. He did burn for an unusually long time, though.

Chang Li, the former Black Dragon seer, had foreseen some of these also but her visions were a little cloudier than Luna’s. Between the two of them, the Clan had probably two weeks foreknowledge of whatever was happening in the world that impacted the Clan.

They’d just have to remember that they couldn’t be in the same trimester. That had been ghastly. Informative, though, as they recorded the dual visions and then compared them, the seers’ flaring magic and raging hormones having pushed their visions out to hundreds, perhaps thousands of years.

These visions were in a book, guarded like the Potter family book, and the Clan used them to point their research, political, and economic efforts.

The mates of all descriptions were massively satisfied with their lives. They had all gravitated to some field or other and were fully immersed in productive work, study, and childrearing. That Harry was apparently insatiable and one of their sister wives or a breeding candidate was always ready to use that readiness was a little benefit that could keep a girl smiling for days. Well, once she learned to suppress the visible indications while in public.

Harry smiled at the thought of Cho having to flee several meetings when he was with Victoria and vice versa. Apparently there was no suppressing for those two. Naturally they had become partners and would readily take on Harry, Nym, Hermione, Minerva, and any number of mates who could manage a Harry in the Dragon’s Den on Saturday evenings when the mood struck them, usually resulting in them having a lie-in on Sunday.

Harry was also very happy with the way things had turned out so far. Sure, people were still a little sheepy, but they were better. The mates were happy and the kids were a constant source of joy and amusement. Well, except when they were fighting. But those times were few, thankfully. Amazingly, they all got on fairly well.

Now just this vampire Elder problem and we’re into a routine.

“You called, Harry?”

Harry smiled at Amelia Fastida, obviously naked under her Regimental robe, after she faded into his lap and settled with her breasts shifting interestingly in that old gold bustier. “Well, no, Amelia, but since you’re here….”

“Mmmm, such a good Master.”

Nym raised her head from Luna’s chest. “Damn, Luna—Amelia has him now.”

Luna pulled Nym’s head back down. “But I’m right here, o greedy one. Finish what you started.”

Nym looked puzzled and Luna rolled her eyes. “Me, Nym, me—vroom vroom.” Nym smiled and pressed into Luna’s hip thrust, inducing a very interesting little groan.

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12 Grimmauld Place
Library
Tuesday
1 July 2003
20:12

“Rose, not here!”

Rose Lupin pouted. “And why not, Lord Lupin?”

“Someone could see!”

Rose rolled her eyes. “Remus, your partner in crime is currently upstairs tied to his bed with his bonded, Melinda and Vicky, debating which whip to use this evening. You can hear as well as me. Now stop worrying about him and start worrying about me.”

Remus swallowed at the dangerous glint in his mate’s eye and nodded.

Later, lying in the afterglow on the sofa, Remus squirmed under Rose. She felt something poking him in the shoulder through their very tight bond and reached under his shoulder. Her hand came back up with a pair of handcuffs and they both laughed. Apparently, Lord Black played in many of the rooms.

Downstairs in the study Alastor shouted, “Halloo the House, just me, Alastor Moody.” He knew better than to go looking. The last time had almost burnt out his magical eye. Not that seeing Sirius strapped to that rack wasn’t entertaining, but his bonded in those miniscule black leather outfits were definitely not something Alastor should be seeing—although if they made one of those a little bigger he might be able to talk Bertha down at the Rusty Blade into an...hmmm-mmm. Well, never mind. Woolgathering later. “Halloo the House!”

Remus called from the top of the stairs, “We’re here, Alastor—well, Rose and I anyway.”

“Oh aye, I know Lord Black’s here, I just hesitate to look.”

Remus chuckled and Rose laughed. “Well, what did you come for, Alastor? Do we need to wait on Lord Black?”

“No, Remus, it’s not critical. I’m going to Budapest. There are some things the mates have told me about that I want to check on. When this starts happening it’s going to happen very very fast—days, weeks at the most. We have to be ready. This Andreas Tanis bears more watching, too.”

Remus nodded. “The Cleaners, too. I don’t like the idea of another armed faction even if they do help. Perhaps we should leave a note and go with you, Alastor. You can investigate Tanis and we can look into the Cleaners’ recent activities. I want to see what we can find out about them.”

“You’d be better with the Brothers Hamlish, Remus. They can connect to the other government intelligence services.”

Rose nodded. “I think so too, Remus. These ‘Cleaners’ are, after all, extremely well trained Mundane or Squibs.”

Remus looked at them and nodded. Alastor stood. “Well, I’m off then. Tell Lord Beat-me-like-a-bad-dog what we’re up to. He actually might be able to contribute.”

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Potter Castle
Private Study
Wednesday
2 July 2003
02:13

Harry faded into view with Amanda on one arm and Nym on the other. “Well, that was singularly unproductive.”

“As are most state dinners, Harry. But we planted a few seeds.”

Harry rolled his eyes. “Are you sure you’re all right, Amanda? I think close exposure to those idiots has damaged you.”

Amanda chuckled. “Not yet. Harry, are you ever going to deal with politicians well?”

“Errrh, no, I don’t believe so.”

Nym snorted. “Drink, anyone?” She moved to Harry’s wet bar behind the life-size painting of herself Jacquelyn had done and Harry had given pride of place in his study among the thousands of paintings and wizarding photographs of the bonded and heirs. “Amanda, why should Harry even attempt to get along with these American Mundane politicians? They’re all full of crap and they’re only around for what, eight years at the most? Clinton was a drug abusing, serial philanderer who expended all his political capitol fighting off the sex scandals he created. Bush is patently an idiot alcoholic and his advisors are complete rubbish.

“That megalomaniac they have as the Mundane Secretary of Defense is living in some kind of delusional state. And the rest of the government is divided along party lines and completely ineffectual at or above department level. The only reason the thing functions at all is because the long service military and civil servants keep plugging away.

“All we need from them is that they manage to keep their adventures clear of us, and the magical government is doing that.

“It is odd that the Mage Division gets left with us, though.”

Amanda sighed and took the highball of Highland Park Nym offered. “Yes, the Mundane are proving difficult in these last few years.”

Harry blinked. “Last few? I’d say the last good government America had was Truman’s. I’ll say it again, the American magical government needs to disassociate itself from the Mundane and do damage control. You can’t integrate at any higher level than you are now with Mundane politicians. I mean, you heard Bush, go magic away the Arabs indeed. Who made him emperor of the world? The British are barely better, and fully half of them are magical.

“And then the moron tries to impress me with his little nuclear—which he can’t even pronounce—weapons. He was too stupid to realize all those keys I summoned were the launch keys, much less that I could have just as easily summoned the weapons themselves or just their critical components.

“They’re idiots. Amanda, tell your government to cut its losses and withdraw from its Mundane opposite. The magical American government can easily protect them from any magical threats and we’ll continue to watch over the Caliphates to insure they don’t become involved in the religious idiocy going on in the Crescent, as we’re doing in the Balkans, but the Mundane will have their wars come hell or high water, it seems.”

Amanda nodded. “We’ve reached the same conclusion, Harry. The seeds I was speaking of were the ones we planted with you talking to Charlotte Dumfries, the head of the magical government.”

“That’s not all she wanted planted—plowed, either.”

“Nym!”

“Oh, don’t Nym me, Harry. You had her nearly in your lap all night.”

Nym and Amanda laughed at Harry’s blush. Amanda shifted over and put her legs in Harry’s lap. “Rub my feet and we’ll go get her for you.”

“Oh yes, mine too.” Nym’s legs joined Amanda’s.

“If you’d wear sensible shoes, Nym....”

“Just rub, Harry, we aren’t going to have this discussion again. Just because you don’t care if we wear sackcloth and Ho Chi Mins doesn’t mean we don’t have an image we need to project. Besides, the shoes fit—it’s just standing around on our toes that gets tiring.”

“That’s what I mean, Amanda. You could wear a two-inch heel instead of a three-inch. It would set your weight more on the heel and not hurt your poor toes so much.”

“Mmmmm, just rub, Harry, and stop trying to turn us into frumps.”

Harry sighed and kept rubbing. They sometimes took his advice and always wanted his opinion on their dress, but sometimes they just nodded and then ignored him; frustrating really, but from Dan, Phillip, and Andrew’s comments not at all unusual—perhaps even de rigueur.

“Hey, that reminds me: while I’m serving the mistresses, how is Charlotte Dumfries the President for Life?”

Amanda groaned. “Damn, Harry, don’t do that. I always want to jump you when you get all subservient and I’m too tired right now. Anyway we went over this—Charlotte is elected President but the magical government is slightly different. The President, like the Supreme Court Justices, serves for life or until they decide to retire, unless they’re impeached. That’s why there have only been eight of them. It would have been even fewer but some of them were very old when elected. Hmm, maybe I wasn’t as tired as I thought.”

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Potter Castle
Master Bath
Wednesday
2 July 2003
05:03

Harry floated in his Bubble-Head charm preparing for the final legislative session of the Realm’s Wizengamot for 2003.

He reviewed Bellatrix’s list in his head:

A bill to reduce the tax on businesses in the health care field approved by a simple majority. Denied they were in the business to make money. Hannah ran the Royal Hospitals for free.

Also denied would be the 147 other bills to reduce the tax.

By Royal decree, the tax would be increased one percent. Hehehe, take that, you parsimonious penny-pinching bastards. Tracey would put the additional money to work in a retirement fund for magical citizens of the Realm, profits to be shared equally amongst those unable to work. Of course he and thereby the mates would be the arbiters of whether or not someone was able to work. Narcissa and Susan were geniuses at finding useful employment for anyone.

A bill to begin exploration of linking the magical Realm with the fifty-three independent sovereign states of the Commonwealth of Nations at their request. Approved, as the stones already covered them; this was a formality, but the proprieties must be observed. Why it took five years was beyond him. Besides, Harry was already the undisputed magical ruler of them and their favorite stud.

“Harry!”

“Sorry, Angelic.” Angelic Van Der Meer Potter, the preeminent South African mate, gave Harry a raised brow from the steps of the bath and he summoned her gently to him and held her tightly.

She finally relented and giggled, “You are their favorite stud, you know. Oh, that reminds me. I have fourteen daughters of Goodwill Zwelithini kaBhekuzulu to put on the list, Hermione.”

“Just bring the blood by, Angelic. We’ll see what happens.”

Harry rolled his eyes and went back to the list of bills when Bellatrix gave him a mental prod.

Hmm, that one was interesting. Seems innocous enough. Why are we denying a bill to increase the availability of magical knowledge? Oh I see, it’s tied to these next eighty-six bills which would have the effect of opening the Potter Grimoire to the public along with all the books Harry held. Hmmm .“Bella, who designed this string of bills?”

“Lord William Rolstone, Harry.”

“Amelia, could the Aurors pick up Lord Rolstone and have him detained at my pleasure for sedition?”

Amelia Bones Potter smiled into the mirror in the dressing room. “Certainly, Your Grace.”

“Thank you, Your Grace, and my complements to Michelle.”

“Harry, it’s a really good attempt.”

“I know, Bella—masterful, in fact. Billy boy gets to live and can be on your staff because of it—well, after a beating and I strip him of everything but his magic and bind him to the House. Anyone know how many chattel he has?”

“Only the wife to worry about, Harry. You already have the daughters, and his son is separately vassal-sworn.”

“Thank you, Katherina.”

The mates smiled as Katherina/Zemfira shuddered and the Royal Academy at Chita glowed for a moment. Harry went back to his contemplation of Bella’s list. Was there a single good idea on here that the bonded hadn’t already had? Well, them or the Royal Academy students.

Hmmm, here we are: a bill mandating carbon-absorbing and energy-absorbing and -converting runesets on all chimneys, exhausts, and open flames. Oh, that was good; all that waste heat and the carbon too. Yes, definitely aproved. And this string of cogeneration requirements and green power requirements too. Who was Phillipe Contredeux? That name had to be made up—Marietta?

“Oh no, Harry he’s the MP for Caan in Normandy and is deadly serious about the environment. Yapped at me for hours. Something about apples. Don’t know why he was worried about apples when the sea level rise will put them under water, but there you are.”

Harry smiled and kept working throught the list as he rose from the bath, dressed, faded to the physical training field of the Magical Corps, embarrassed every male there, and did PT. He went through his high-octane panty dampening routine while deep in his own mind as always, never noticing the absolute horde of females who religiously exercised outside at the Corps training grounds in all weathers in and out of term just to get a glimpse. When he dove into the lake for a few laps and a mermaid or two as a merman, the normal great sigh went up and Rose Zeller, Hufflepuff, soon to be seventh form Hogwarts Head Girl, snickered; His Highness would never learn. It was going to be a great year this year. And then she could get her mating. The one she had been due since he hugged her at the start of second form, and Morgana, wouldn’t that be a relief!

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Chita
Parliament of the Magical Realm of Europe, Asia, and China
Joint Session
Wednesday
2 July 2003
18:00

Harry sat in the throne in the House of Lords nonplussed as the Speaker of the Commons, the elected body of the new form of government, and the Lord Speaker of the House of Lords, where only hereditary Lords sat, presented the bills that had originated in their House and been approved by the other House.

It had been a tough day for the lawmakers. The Commons had responded to the call of the Ivory Rod (Margaret, the Countess Mar, Potter) with polite acceptance; none of that door slamming nonsense here. Sure they were independent of the Lords, but not of their Monarch, and filed into the magically expanded Lords. The MPs and Peers were required to be present at this official audience. The sponsors of the bills were required to be present to answer Harry’s questions and then receive the note in Latin. They then read out the note: either positive, Dux ducis mos (the Duke wills it), or negative, Is mos non sto (it will not stand).

Bellatrix and her group had filled out the appropriate lines on the copies of the bills Harry had been sent as Harry and Bellatrix had discussed them in the bond. Harry simply had to sign the bills and hand them to the sponsors.

Soon enough the Lord Speaker, Jean Paul the Viscount Delacour, had called William Rolstone’s first bill. Harry waited a moment. “Lord William is being entertained at my pleasure in the dungeons of Potter Castle. The answer to all of the bills he sponsored is the same.”

Harry handed the bill down and Jean Paul read it out: Is mos non sto.

The joint session grumbled and the Master at Arms, Brigadier Daniel Granger, stood and looked around frowning. The bodies stilled. If you were perceptive you could just see the shimmering that indicated the presence of the Corps troops. The proprieties and normal civility would be observed.

Harry continued in a lighter vein. “Pray continue, Lord Speaker; we await the wisdom of the body politic still.”

Jean Paul smiled and called the next bill.

“Thank you, Mother!”

“For what, Eugenie?”

“Sending me to watch Michael. I would have fried one of these by now.”

“Eugenie, I told you about shooting that lightning out of your eyes!”

The bonded broke up at the mother-daughter act. Eugenie had only done the lightning thing once and it had blinded her for two days; it had fried to a smoking hulk the young Russian tough who had grabbed her. Harry had faded in and the hulk had turned to ash, along with several buildings and fifty meters of cobbled street in the middle of St Petersburg.

“All right, everyone, let’s pay attention to the plebs.”

“Nym!”

“Got your attention, didn’t I, Harry?”


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Potter Castle
Library
Wednesday
2 July 2003
14:07

Hermione heaved a sigh and closed the tome she was reading. Morgana, most of the bonded were still trapped in the Wizengamot session. It seemed it would never end. Hermione looked at one of her ever-present lists. Well, not too much longer—only fifteen bills left. Then Harry would read the decrees for this session and close Parliament until October. Of course campaigns and then elections would take place in the interim. So it really wasn’t hols for the poor politicians, poor babies—phhht, a pox on ’em all.

Susan faded in and sat in the huge chair beside her. She looked at Hermione and then leaned in and kissed her. “So bad, Hermione?”

Hermione put an arm around her partner wife Susan. “No, Love, not so bad—just frustrating.”

“What?”

“I read something that relates to theoretical hybrids and the origins of sentient humanoid magical creatures and I can’t find it now.”

“Where were you?”

“In the Library, obviously.”

“But which one, Hermione? I mean, you spend time in all of them. Plus that manky old Grimmauld Place one.”

Hermione responded absently. “Don’t let Melinda or Vicki Black hear that. Have you been there lately? You know, you’re actually quite brilliant. I was in the Black library. Come on then.” She stood and pulled Susan to her feet. Hermione faded them to the Grimmauld Place library and then just before they appeared she froze.

Susan giggled. “My, my—think Harry would go for that, Hermione?”

Hermione looked at Susan, completely scandalized and with her face blazing. Rowena chuckled. “Errrh. no; the rack maybe, but you know how he feels about whips.”

Hermione clapped her hands over her mouth to shut Rowena up while Susan and Roxanne laughed themselves hoarse. Hermione started to fade them away but Susan stopped her. “Hermione don’t be a prude. Let’s get your book before we go.” Susan had to laugh again, Hermione now had one hand over her mouth and one over her eyes. “Silly cow, come on—get the book before he starts moaning.” Susan could only chuckle at the brows that rose above the thumb and the one eye peeking through spread fingers. She led Hermione into the stacks while trying to pick the book title out of her mind.

Hermione finally relaxed a little. “You know, we might have to talk to Parvati. I liked that—erm—bustier-garter-belt thing Melinda had on, and if we do it in fireball hide it could be very interesting.”

Susan smirked. “That was a full corset, Hermione, and yes it could. But what did you think of Sirius’s attire?”

Hermione groaned. “Morgana, don’t remind me. I’ll be seeing that hairy butt in a tanga in my nightmares for the rest of my life.”

It was too much and Susan collapsed laughing. Fortunately, Hermione found the book and she transported them away to the library at Potter Castle, where they both collapsed in laughter.

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Potter Castle
Private Sitting Room
Wednesday
2 July 2003
17:22

Harry sat with Nym under one arm and Sarah under the other. Na Wen lay in Harry’s lap with her legs in Sarah’s lap and her chest in Nym’s. Lilith lay against her back but the opposite way. Harry’s head was tipped back comfortably, as were Sarah and Nym’s.

The Wizengamot session had indeed seemed interminable. And Harry had turned his displeasure on them at their howling over the tax increase. That was minor compared with Lilith loosing the Realm on them. They had finally understood that Harry was the Realm and she was him. The bonded had faded away in the shattered silence that followed.

They had arrived in the enormous private sitting room and the mates who had not been present and children flowed in, stopping by to kiss Harry and then finding seats or mums’ laps. They had some Clan Potter time to spend before dinner. Harry sat just soaking up the bonded and kids’ thoughts and smiling. He radiated contentment and it was very settling and healing.

Nym chuckled and then spoke without lifting her head. “I thought you had killed the Duke of Hamilton with that tax increase, Harry. I’ve never seen anyone that red before. More purple than red, actually.”

This started a general chuckle as those who had not been there reviewed the memory of those who had. “It’s not really funny, Nym. Well, not for him and me. It’s another million Galleons a month—more, even, at this point.”

Narcissa laughed outright. “You’ll always be that poor boy at heart, won’t you Harry? Think of it this way. You spend more than that now on supporting your pensioners. This way the money goes ino a fund and the pensioners share the profits. Tracey and her team will manage the fund with some of our Goblin mates, and they’re going to be very conservative.”

Harry reviewed Narcissa’s plan in her head again and nodded; but it was still a million Galleons he could be spending on the kids and soon the grandkids. Agnes should be ready to deliver any day now.

Cherwyn Savage Potter smiled. “Hey, what about our kids, Harry? If Agnes’s are grandkids, then mine are too.”

Harrys head swam as the mates laughed. Elizabeth chose that moment to appear with Phillip. She accessed the bond and followed that last train of thought. “Cherwyn, don’t torture your father.”

Harry snapped his head up and looked at her perfectly straight face, then worked on his fish impersonation some.

Phillip laughed, walked over, and kissed the mates. “Evening, daughters. Did we have fun torturing the politicians?”

Nym smirked and the bonded answered in unison, “Yes, Daddy.”

Phillip gave a barking laugh at their little smirks and Harry’s continuing fishy face. “Liz, your boy’s gone soft in the head.”

“Phillip! How did he get to be mine all of a sudden? This is all your fault, anyway. Your family has always had that hereditary daftness.”

“Oh, I say!” In a wildly overmodulated aside to Harry he added, “Can’t protest too much. It’s the Glucksburg blood. Mad as hatters, every one.” And gave him a huge wink.

Harry leaned his head back with a groan and chuckled. “Well, blood will out, as they say.”

“Especially around you, eh what, Harry?”

“That’s unfair, Da. I didn’t kill a single one today.”

“Not ’cause you didn’t want to, though, I’ll wager. Politicians make my teeth ache.”

“Phillip!”

Harry nodded at Phillip’s comment. “Harry!”

“What, Mum? ’S true.”

Elizabeth, completely disarmed, blushed a pleased little blush.

“Elizabeth, don’t let him disarm you.”

“Oh, it’s fine, Minerva, I want to stand them all up against a wall myself on occasion.”

The bonded giggled. “I actually came with news, however. Edward’s Sophie is pregnant.”

The bond exploded in variations on “I knew it!” and the mates immediately went into a discussion with the Queen, an intimate little discussion. Sophie and her carrying to term had been problematic, testing Harry and Lilith’s reserves on the last occasion with them attempting to save both her and the ectopic pregnancy. Only Sophie had finally been able to call them off. There had been serious discussion of mate-bonding Sophie to Harry. Harry had refused outright until they had tried everything else. It wasn’t that he wasn’t attracted to Sophie, who was a handsome, intelligent woman and a fair witch, but more that he was and he liked the independent, irreverent Edward too. Sophie was also a favorite of the mates.

Harry extricated himself gracefully and led Phillip off to the Master’s Study for a drink and a cigar.

Once they had settled in, Phillip got right to business. “How are we going, then, Harry?”

“Really good, actually; it’s a little scary.”

“Why scary?”

Harry stared at Phillip. “You all right, Da? Why scary? Because every time things are going OK something stupid happens and I have to go kill someone.”

“Feh, we’re bound to run out of those eventually. Either that or they’ll turn their attentions elsewhere. You’re on the right course, Harry. You can either be generous to a fault when dealing with people or completely merciless. You don’t really have the personality for that level of generosity, so you’ve given them a firm hand. The intelligent ones have adapted and the others—well, they never will.”

Harry digested this for a moment. “So I should stop waiting for them to not be idiots and just take them out first?”

Phillip laughed. “Don’t I wish we could. No, Harry, you have to wait for them to commit one way or the other, and for that we need some kind of act.”

Harry nodded. They, the command advisers, had been over and over this, as had the bonded. They could see no way past it. Even with the intent stones they occasionally had to let one go, because while they had bad intentions, they hadn’t yet committed a bad act. Invariably it wasn’t long before they did, though, and they ended up in the House’s service. So far they had been able to keep surveillance on these individuals and none of their acts had actually harmed anyone.

“So, any word on our Hungarian friends?”

“Plenty of words, but no action yet, Da. Lucian is working himself up to it slowly. Marcus Corvinus is in hibernation along with Viktor, and William Corvinus is still trapped in that device Selene’s father made. Michael is working in Budapest. Alexander Corvinus is wandering around the Adriatic on that boat of his with Rovinj, Croatia, as his base. Amelia Fastida’s coven is in Castle Gorog which now has a wardstone set and they’re watching both Lucian’s pack and Viktor’s coven. Remus told me Alastor is going to check on Tanis.”

Phillip nodded. “Harry, this Alexander Corvinus is almost certainly a Roman educated barbarian or a Corvinii of the plebeians. I mean, Amelia Fastida had to have been born around 350 A.D. The Romans had control of that region at the time and were fighting the Gepids to maintain control. Fastida was their first named king and his line was succeeded by the 400s A.D. Marcus—the name itself suggests Roman origins—turned her in her late teens when he was about the same age, and he was unable to dominate her. They then fought William Corvinus’s turned Lycans separately for six to eight hundred years or so before William gained the upper hand and Marcus in desperation turned Viktor, who then turned his captains and they in turn turned their men. Viktor was unable to overcome the Elder vampires and forged this alliance that has held until today after engineering the defeat and imprisonment of William in the twelfth or thirteenth century.”

“Okay, Phillip, we knew all that from Amelia Fastida. What’s your point?”

“I believe his third son went on to father the line that resulted in Matthias Corvinus of Hungary, making Michael Corvin, his last descendent, probably magical or at least a Squib. I also believe all of the people turned by either werewolf or vampire are from lines that were at some point magical.”

Harry’s head swam as the mates exploded in speculation. Harry groaned. “Of course, that’s why we haven’t been able to beat the virus; it’s a magical virus affecting magical people and hiding its true nature.”

Phillip grimaced. “Harry, you’re not getting it. This hybridization is going to have unknown effects on their magic and their descendants. You need to keep Selene and Michael and their progeny under control once they change. You have to ensure William and Marcus are killed—perhaps this Alexander, too.”

Harry’s mind skipped around for a minute. “I don’t think so, Phillip. Luna and Li haven’t seen any reason to confine them, and I won’t preemptively mess with their lives. Dumbledore I’m not. We’ll wait and see. If Luna or Li’s visions start changing, we’ll reevaluate.”

Phillip laughed grimly. “I wasn’t suggesting the prison at Privet Drive, Harry. I was thinking more along the lines of binding them to the House, by force if necessary.”

“NO! Errrh, sorry, Phillip, but without an act of evil that’s rape and I won’t do it, at least in Selene’s case. In Michael’s case we have no cause to enslave him.”

“Perhaps I misunderstood Amelia Fastida’s lectures, Harry, but her point seemed to be that a female vampire would be unable to stop herself if you released the control on your compulsion. You could easily take her.”

“And the difference between that and using sex potions, Phillip? She doesn’t want me and is not found. Sure, I could make her take me, you, Monty, or my Warg if I wanted to, but she doesn’t want it—ergo it’s rape, so no, hell no—not in this or any lifetime. Absolutely not.”

“And if they overcome you and attack the mates—or worse, the children?”

“Well, that won’t be a problem, Phillip, as there won’t be a planet left.”

Phillip started and Harry chuckled. “Trust me on this one, Da.”

They settled into a contemplative silence as Geoffrey appeared silently and topped up their glasses.

“Monty, Harry? But he’s such a queer little fellow.”

“PHILLIP! Really!”

Harry collapsed laughing at Phillip’s blushing, chagrined face. Monty was Elizabeth’s male Corgi.

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Hungary
Ördögház
Wednesday
2 July 2003
20:15

Selene ate in her room in silence. She couldn’t stand Kraven, and Erika was gone again. Probably with some of her fuck toys from Amelia’s. If she had those, then why did she keep following me? Oh yes, no question that was her last night. And her three friends had decimated that half of the den before she could blink. They were very fast even for vampires. What the hell was going on?

Pshht, no matter; a few months, well two years almost, and Marcus would be awake. That would be time for another hundred-year vacation in America. Unless of course you wanted to service the weakling; with Viktor a hundred years from waking, Marcus might try his luck again. Who knew, he might have even grown his balls back from the last time he had tried. Fuck, where was Erika?

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Budapest
Hungary
Wednesday
2 July 2003
20:15

Michael Corvin sat in the basement bar of his favorite rock and roll club. Sure, it had lots of Goths and played a lot of death metal, but techno was strictly verboten here. Michael would go a long way to avoid techno. All right, this one was very hot. God, that chest looked great, even through that shirt, and the ass on her was out fucking standing. Hmm, how old? Twenty maybe, but did it matter? She’d been watching him all night.

Jasmine leaned in and hissed to her partner at the bar, “Elizabeth Karl Potter, I told you to be more careful. Now he’ll be coming over here.”

Elizabeth rolled her eyes at Jasmine Miller Potter. “Relax, Jasmine. We’re supposed to watch him and it’ll be easy if he’s right here between us. Besides, I’m tired of breaking these idiot Hungarians’ arms for trying to pinch or grope me. He’s always nice to whichever one he of us he tries to pick up. Now hush, here he comes.”

“Yeah, if you can get past the nasty mind on him.”

“Hush, he’s a boy and not Harry. What can you expect? And smile!”

Jasmine rolled her eyes and then plastered her “meet the daughter’s beaus” smile across her face.


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Potter Castle
Current Operations Room
Wednesday
2 July 2003
21:43

Hestia sat with Emmeline on the leather sofa facing the screens. On the main screen the overhead view of Budapest was up with eight blue dots (the four mates watching Selene, Michael, and their owls) either stationary or moving slowly about the city. There were also the normal black dots of evil gits or Dark magical objects as the owls were all Harry and Hedwig’s.

Hestia had to smile. Hedwig had steadied in at ten eggs a year with Harry, and the owlets were all just like her. They picked a mate and then were insanely loyal. That they could do magic was not unexpected, but the magic was—errrh, different maybe.

Minerva and Chu worked with the owlets daily but they had a very different perspective on life and it colored their application of magic—arterial blood-flow colored. Harry shrugged and asked Minerva, “What can you expect? They’re predators.” Mary conjured another rock right over the head of the rabbit she’d missed with the first one. Minerva just gave him the raised brow.

“What is it, Tia?” Emmeline asked, snapping Hestia out of her reverie.

“I don’t know, Em. I get the feeling we’re missing something, though. We’ve been so lucky. I mean, we only lost those three troopers against Xi Shi and four since then in what would have killed hundreds without the stones and armor. We’ve practiced until we’re all sick of it, even Harry, but I just can’t believe we’re that good, or our technology is either. None of the reading supports it.”

Emmeline nodded. “I know, but look at the Mundane militaries. They’re having great success in what Dan Granger calls overmatch situations but then can’t control the populace. We’re an overmatch for anything on the planet and Harry gives us control of the populace—well, him and Lilith plus the intent stones—and we don’t hang about after. It’s in and out and then monitor and return if necessary.”

Hestia nodded. “I know, but it’s not like we planned it that way. It just evolved.”

Emmeline laughed. “You’re kidding, right? You’re upset because you and Hermione used what worked instead of planning and then acting? That’s it, you can’t shag Hermione any more, or she can’t shag you. Who knew you could get OCD by injection?”

Just as Hestia sucked in a breath to protest she found herself naked in the soft, dew-covered grass under a copse of trees with Emmeline and a very mischievous-looking naked Harry. She went with the naked Harry, forgetting all about her mad—well, mostly. Emmeline did get a huge love bite where her inner thigh met her body. Somehow, she didn’t even remember getting it.