Categories > Books > Harry Potter > Harry Potter and the Corvinus Strain
Chapter 3
The last of the Witches' Secret Trilogy. Life was good until an old world reality intervened.
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Harry Potter and the Corvinus Strain
Chapter 3
Potter Castle
Master Suite
Thursday
10 July 03
0500
Harry’s eyes opened and he smiled and then sat up. He loved this time of day, everyone sleeping and the castle just on the verge of waking and beginning what would turn into a very full day.
Harry rose and padded silently to the bath. He lowered himself in and installed his Bubble-Head charm. The charm was the only thing keeping him floating as he had very little body fat and very dense bones. He lay thinking his way through the upcoming day and skimming his mates’ surface thoughts. He wasn’t one to invade their privacy but these moments afforded him a chance to check on their mental state just to be sure there was nothing he could do for them.
After he checked the mates he cast his net wider and skimmed the thoughts of the children and vassals.
Nym awoke at Harry’s deft light mental touch and walked to the bath. She walked straight to Harry and stuck her face in his Bubble-Head charm, giving him a morning buss. Then she walked out of the bath and into the shower. If she stayed with Harry in that warm water she would fall back asleep and she hated having to rush to get ready for anything, even PT.
Harry smiled and shifted his concentration to today. Exercise preparations for August, done and awaiting review. European Wizengamot, out of session and on their vacation. Basic training cycle needed to be looked at but that wouldn’t take long. Hmmm. A day at the beach seemed to be in order.
“Harry, we have work to do on the plans for Amelia’s conference of covens.”
“Anything we can’t do at the beach, Hermione? No? Good. It is our Royal wish to work at the beach. Mostly on our tans.”
The mates smiled. The children would be thrilled, of course. A day at the beach with Harry guaranteed another beachball massacre, and the youngest kids loved watching him incinerate the things as fast as their mothers could conjure them.
Hermione huffed in frustration and got a slap on the rump and a kiss from Susan for her trouble. “Loosen up, Mi. You could use some sun.”
Hermione looked down at her body and saw a taut, firm, but pale very nice body. She could, actually. Besides, she could take her new tablet PC, the one Teanni and Ann Sothern had worked over for her. It had everything she and Hestia needed on it anyway.
The bond suddenly chorused with “Oh, that’s a good idea, Hermione.” And Harry huffed in frustration. Obviously it would be him and the kids today as the mates all faked relaxing while they worked. Well, fine.
Margaret Miller Potter took the opportunity to pull Harry to the steps and get a little pre-PT warmup. “I’ll help, Da.”
Harry cringed. “Margaret, don’t say things like that when you’re doing that.”
Margaret arched a brow and clamped down on him. “Things like what, Da?”
“Margaret!”
She laughed and acquiesced. “Yes, Harry.”
“Better.”
Margaret’s fully and intent-bonded sisters joined her in the tub. Harry looked around a moment and then laughed. “Okay, but after the beach. Then we’ll have the little Potter daughter orgy you’re all planning.
Helen Tobin Potter, fourteen and intent-bonded, clapped her hands. “Good, but I’m next this morning. Cherwyn said she would help.”
Harry shook his head, bemused, and got down to business.
They made PT exactly at 06:00.
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Godric’s Hollow
The Duke’s Beach
Thursday
10 July 03
10:12
Major Beverly Hentil strode across the sand and stopped in front of Harry and rendered the hand salute. “Your Highness, the battle captains would like your guidance.”
Harry rolled over and looked at Beverly with a wicked gleam in his eye. He eyed her up and down and then focused on the flimsy she was holding out to him. “Would they really, Major? Well, let’s not disappoint them, then. While we’re waiting for my little tiny brain to process, though, why don’t we let you take a break?”
Beverly opened her mouth to protest and then sighed. She never even saw him move but she was suddenly in a tiny little BDU (Battle Dress Uniform) summer-weight material bikini. “Sir, I must protest. That’s the third uniform this week!”
Beverly was Aide De Camp to the CINC of the Magical Corps. As such her duties kept her in close proximity. Harry knew she was found and was having a grand time playing with her. Beverly knew he knew but she wasn’t about to quit her tour as Aide De Camp. It was just too much fun. Besides, she gave as good as she got most of the time.
Harry just smiled at her. “But it looks so much better now. I tell you what: I’ll come by your room and Transfigure the others back into BDUs later.” He waggled his eyebrows at her.
“Sir, you’re married, I’m relatively sure you remember.”
“Oh, they won’t mind, will you, ladies?”
Lilith answered for them all. “Oh no, we wouldn’t if it would stop you two driving each other crazy. Hey, wait a minute—on second thought that’s been fun, Beverly, you’re for—”
“Well yes, see, Beverly? Perfectly fine. Now let’s see what the battle captains want, shall we?” Harry cut Lilith off and she smirked at him as he took Beverly by the elbow and steered her away.
“Lilith, that wasn’t very fair.”
“No it wasn’t, Nym, but they’re enjoying torturing each other way too much.”
The mates’ eyes tracked to Harry and Beverly and they chuckled as Beverly stood way too close to Harry. Not in contact, but they could feel her body heat through Harry. Several giggles broke out as there was obviously going to be some Bubble-Head-charm-assisted privacy very soon—well, if Harry’s reaction to all that heat was any indicator.
Harry tried to read the flimsy as he fought the urge to do something about all that heat. Beverly smiled as sweat broke out on Harry’s forehead.
Harry read the flimsy and was suddenly all business. So Kraven had made contact with Lucian in person last night. The Mage squad following Kraven had split up and now they were following both Lucian and Kraven. Yes, this was very good. Now that they had them they could stay with them, hopefully. “Beverly, have them reinforce those elements in contact; give them a scout platoon apiece. Observe and report only. They are, however, to maintain contact with the subjects at all costs.”
Beverly nodded and tuned to stride away. Harry pulled her back and gave her a very nice snog. She was beaming now; this morning’s round of flirting had clearly gone to her. The mates gave her opera claps as she strode across the beach to the transport slab.
Harry returned to his seat amongst the kids and resumed his interrupted game of burn-the-beachball.
Hermione turned to Hestia. Before she could open her mouth Hestia said, “Yes, Hermione, we’ll do a pattern analysis of their movements after we build some data.”
Her mates chuckled as Hermione’s jaw snapped shut.
She squawked as Harry tackled her and rolled her in the sand, ending up giving her a huge raspberry on a taut belly. “But what we really need to do first, Hermione, is have a briefing and give everyone a chance to see where we think we are and where we think we’re going. So let’s relax today and then tomorrow we’ll work on that.” He gave her another raspberry and her twins Liam and Marylyn joined their father. Hermione could only laugh as they hit all her ticklish spots.
Na Wen looked over at Chu and Minerva, who had smiled briefly but didn’t really get into the spirit of the thing and had not really been in the spirit of the day. “Okay, you two, out with it.”
Minerva and Chu looked at each other as the bond drifted to a halt. Finally Minerva spoke. “Lyudmila and George have asked to undertake what would have amounted to a Dark Arts Mastery under the old school’s regime.”
Harry smiled and the mates looked at each other, confused. Harry waved and Lyudmila and George walked over, smiling. They had turned out to be two of the happiest, most well adjusted teens anyone had ever seen. Harry had not adopted them but made them vassals and they had thrived under the umbrella of the Duke’s protection. They were also a brilliant, good-looking, well-matched pair—eighteen, already in Uni, ahead of their age group, and already parents.
“Lyudmila, George, why do you want to learn the—” Here Harry made an over-the-top deep, scary voice— “Dark Arts whhhooooo oooooohhh?”
Lyudmila frowned at him. “You should not tease your mates, Harry, their concerns are very valid. I have an aptitude for those arts only exceeded by Lilith and Na Wen, and George has power exceeded only by yours. To answer the question, though, we want to study those arts as they were originally planned to be used or to attempt to make them usable. Harry knows there is no right or wrong magic; it is the intent of the user that is right or wrong. There are many, many magics that could have applications other than the obscene uses they are put to.”
Nym looked at Minerva and Chu, who had settled remarkably. “That’s all that took? You two have been running around here as if the sky was falling.”
Minerva smiled. “We like that word obscene, Nym. We’ve both felt the same way for some time.”
Nym arched a brow. “But George never said anything?”
George looked at Harry and smiled. “Whatever Lyudmila wants is good enough for me. As long as she’s happy.”
Nym threw her hands up as Reggie and Henri nodded along with Harry at George’s comment. Harry left his cushion of Hermione’s thigh and Nym leapt to her feet and raced away, screaming, “Nooooooo, Harry, no!”
Harry didn’t listen and soon enough had her in his arms and ran straight into the water and disappeared. Lyudmila looked at George and raised a brow. “Unless you want to spend the week as a Pygmy Puff, George, you would do well not to follow that particular example.”
George actually appeared to consider it for a moment before he jumped up, grabbed Lyudmila, and ran straight into the lake, doing that magic absorbing and stripping thing that only Harry could do better than him. That they were completely silent while this was going on was the funny part.
Minerva shook her head and chuckled. Chu just sighed. “Poor George; will he ever talk?”
“Apparently if Lyudmila decides he should, Chu.”
“George talks all the time, Mum. Just not where you can hear him.”
Minerva looked at her Cameron and saw his sister Carmen sitting beside him nodding. “What do you mean, Cameron?”
“He talks in her head all the time like you and the other mums and Da.”
Minerva frowned a little. “You can hear us?”
Carmen took over. “Sure, Mum, can’t you?”
“I can only hear your other mums and your father, Carmen. Both of you listen, now: don’t tell people you can hear their thoughts or they’ll get upset.”
The twins nodded and Minerva smiled at them and shooed them back into the giant roiling scrum that was the heirs and wards.
Chu looked at her. “Yes, Minerva, I’ll talk with them.”
Meanwhile Harry and Nym had run into Muriel and were playing with her and her handmaids. They were chasing grindylows through the shallows and having a grand time. Lyudmila and George joined them. The grindylows were having a very bad day.
That the mermaids ate them when they caught them never bothered the couples with them. After all, mermaids were the top-level predator under water just as humans were above water. They did pass on the offer of the apparently succulent grindylows from the mermaids, though.
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Godric’s Hollow
The Duke’s Beach
Friday
11 July 03
14:12
“Wake up, Da, and come play.”
Harry opened an eye and looked at his daughter Lily. “Okay, Princess, what do we want to play then?”
Lily led her father over to the sandy five-acre section of beach where the sandcastles were going up at an astounding pace with older siblings helping the younger. It was turning into an armed camp, with little animated sand armies skirmishing between the castles and some of the castles under siege by their neighbors. Harry’s entrance onto the field changed the timbre of the sibling war out of all recognition; alliances became the order of the day as he staked out an area and his impervious castle began rising. Little sand cavalry regiments began issuing forth and sand Dragons began flying from it.
The mates and vassal women watched the shenanigans, smiling as their mates joined alliances and Harry and Lily were harder and harder pressed.
Emma Granger smiled. “He still refuses to stay in the Castle?”
Hermione looked up from her touchpad, wiped a hand between her breasts, and nodded. “Yes, he seems to be of the opinion that if he soaks up enough heat during the summer then he won’t be cold in the winter.”
Emma smiled. “Are you too warm, Hermione? I’m sure he would be happy to adjust the temperature in here. Or you could just dispense with those four threads you’re wearing and go naked. By the way, how does he do this?”
“This” was a one-way obscuration dome that was somehow temperature and UV regulated but still let in the breeze, if there was any, and enough UV-A to promote vitamin D production and very nice tans and exclude UV-B totally.
Hermione shrugged. “He wants to protect the kids and us. The ward he creates somehow incorporates all of the knowledge he has of things that are harmful. What you don’t notice is the filtering of the air the ward is doing. The oxygen content is higher in here than out there and the harmful gases, CO and others, are eliminated almost immediately. Particulate filtering down to virus level is also a component of the ward.”
Emma frowned. “That might not be a good idea. If it’s carried too far you’ll end up with immune systems that are unprepared for exposure to the real world.”
Hermione nodded. “Marcia, Melissa, and Jennifer are working on him and the children all have to get their shots before school anyway.”
Emma smiled. “I like the tans, though. You’ve never looked so good, I think. Tell me, how does Harry feel about tan lines?”
Hermione’s blush said it all. She and the other mates weren’t trying to be radical with their bikinis, but Harry loved tan lines. He liked to trace them with fingers or tongue. Emma laughed at her blushing daughter.
The mates and mothers-in-law whipped their heads around at the shrieks coming from Sandlandia, the five acres of sand, and watched as a comparatively enormous sand Dragon roared a squeaky little roar and melted row after row of Lily’s besiegers into perfect little glass figurines with an odd blue-green flame.
The howls of protest from the older siblings and younger mates started immediately as the babies clapped and squeaked in glee. Soon enough the sand Dragon had melted all of the figures into little glass figurines and itself exploded in a shower of dust. Harry waved, cooling and annealing the figurines into tempered glass that was all but unbreakable. The kids dove on them and the war started anew without the aid of magic but with the inclusion of sandbombs decimating ranks of figurines at a time.
Harry was mobbed under a pile of sweaty mates, sons, and daughters and transported the whole pile, himself included, into the lake.
Elizabeth and Phillip chose that moment to appear on the transport slab. Phillip was crushed. “See, Elizabeth? I told you the war would be over by now.”
Elizabeth rolled her eyes. “You can play later, Phillip. I’m sure they’re just taking a break.”
“Hmmph.”
Elizabeth gave him a long stare after he seated her under the sun awning and ran off to Sandlandia to “supervise”.
“That man! I swear he gets more fun out of playing in that sandbox than the grandchildren do.”
The mates and vassal women laughed knowingly. The daily combat-by-proxy was something their mates were loathe to miss. Amelia Bones Potter nodded. “I know; might as well close the Ministry after lunch. They all come in at six a.m. and work like demons until noon and then they run to the lobby and disappear.”
August Longbottom nodded. “Not that they ever win. Whichever of the girls they’re ganging up on always come get Harry and soon enough that Dragon thing is flying around melting things. How does Harry do that?”
Alice Longbottom shook her head. “No one has been able to figure it out. He Transfigures that Dragon from sand and then just sort of puts himself in it.”
Romilda Longbottom responded for all of them. “Morgana, no wonder they never win! Nym, what do you do with all those figurines?”
Narcissa, Alicia, and Angelina blushed and Nym laughed. “Well, we have collections of the best of them all over the Castle and then the Weasleys sell the rest of them in their stores, apparently at a tidy profit for us as we seem to be spending an awful lot on sand without much of a dent in the household funds.”
“It’s the cartage, Nym. Those truck drivers gouge us horribly. I mean, I know they have to get the stuff in Ireland, but really! I have a line on a haulage concern, though, and we’ll be rid of them soon.”
All the mates looked at Narcissa and after a moment they broke up laughing. Grindaknívur was looking at Narcissa aghast. “Narcissa, why didn’t you say? We can get quartz sand easily enough just crushing up quartz deposits. There are some under the lake—we’ll just mine them out. Muriel likes caves anyway.”
Narcissa huffed, “Fine, but I’m still buying up all the cartage companies I can find. They made me mad. Wolf whistling at Tracey and me—how dare they! And thinking they can overcharge because I’m a woman! I’ll fix their little red wagons.”
Narcissa finally found herself in a wet Harry-lap with water soaking through her beach wrap. “Harry! What are you doing!”
“Loving you, and don’t think we don’t remember that little thrill you got out of being whistled at.”
“Well yes, the first time, but it got old after that idiot backed that truck into the lake looking at us instead of watching what he was doing.”
Andromeda laughed. “Narcissa Black Potter, you bad girl you. Teasing those poor Mundane.”
“I most certainly was not, but I scheduled the deliveries when we’d be here anyway. The kids love those big trucks.”
“Love getting them stuck, you mean. All they have to do is stand near one and those wardstones of theirs suck all the energy out of them if they move over five feet per second.” Carolyn Jessup Wesson Potter added, “I wonder where they learned that little truck-driver-infuriating trick?”
Harry was looking at the shade awning as if it was a new thing with his “innocent dad” face on.
“Any ideas, Harry?”
“Eh? What’s that, Carolyn?”
“I was wondering where the kids learned they could stop the trucks and how they got the idea for that ‘lean against the truck with one hand’ while yelling ‘stronger than a locomotive’ routine?”
“Sirius and Remus, I’m sure.”
“Oy, that’s not cricket, Harry!”
“Remus, Sirius—we were just talking about you!”
“Yes, we noticed, Harry. Hope you don’t talk about us like that often.”
Harry looked sheepishly at Remus and Sirius’s stormy faces. “Sorry!”
Carolyn, who was not in contact with Harry and was therefore less likely to be distracted, started on Harry again and he faded himself, Narcissa, and Carolyn away.
“Well, while Duke Liar, Liar, Pants On Fire is off making up, we have some information.”
Remus snorted. “Might as well save it, Sirius. We’d just have to tell them again in a few minutes.” All of the bonded appeared to be alert, but really the only things they were paying attention to were the kids and Harry, Narcissa, and Carolyn.
Sirius nodded and looked toward Sandlandia. He wandered off that way and Remus followed. “What the hell is it with males and that sandbox?” Rose Lupin asked as she sank into a chair. The ladies all chuckled.
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Potter Castle
Ducal Apartment
Monday
14 July 03
05:00
Harry opened his eyes and lifted his head. The sun was shedding light but that was all. It was so overcast you could hardly see the floor of the Hollow out of the Illusioned window. Harry almost growled. There was no way he could go to the beach today.
Sarah smiled and dragged her disgruntled mate to her. She was intent on re-gruntling him before PT and there was one way that always worked rather well.
They did make PT, barely, and Harry was a very happy young man. He was all the way on and every female there got a little boost from him. The males just groaned; they hated Monday mornings like this. And after the weekend of battle drills it just wasn’t fair for Himself to be so happy.
Hermione was a very happy girl too. Harry had spent last night exploring her tan lines in the Dragon’s Den after he had gotten her out of the red leather bikini and he had been very appreciative. And now the weather had closed in so they would have his undivided attention in the Operations Theater as they prepared the briefing.
“Like you haven’t had it ready for three days, Hermione!”
“Not completely, Pansy. We still need to look it over one last time. It’s likely we won’t get to brief again so this has to be as good a foundation as we can make it.”
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Potter Castle
Briefing Theater
Monday
14 July 03
08:30
After the working breakfast rehearsal and the Theater filled Hestia stepped to the podium. “All right everyone, if we could have your attention?” “Everyone” was the commanders of the Magical Corps and their staffs down to Platoon Leader and Platoon Sergeant in this theater and with a VTC (Video TeleConference) link to the Briefing Theater of the Imperial Palace in Chita and the Imperial Palace in the rebuilt complex at Kunming.
“Thank you. This is the initial briefing on our projected operations vis-à-vis the vampire covens of Marcus Corvinus and Viktor and the Lycan packs of Lucian. Duchess Susan will start with personnel.”
Susan stood and moved to the Podium. “Good morning.” She smiled and a chart displayed on the main screen.
Unit Assigned Available Remarks
Guards Magical Corps
Duke’s Own 5500 5500 211
Goblin 5500 5500 115
Veela 5500 5500 412
1st Mage (US) 5500 5500 237
Tsarinas Guards Tank Army
1 MRD TGTA 19000 19000 1200
2 MRD TGTA 19000 19000 1130
3 MRD TGTA 19000 19000 1456
4 MRD TGTA 19000 19000 1378
5 MRD TGTA 19000 19000 1898
1 TK TGTA 19000 19000 1345
2 TK TGTA 19000 19000 1211
3 TK TGTA 19000 19000 1459
4 TK TGTA 19000 19000 1678
5 TK TGTA 19000 19000 1009
6 TK TGTA 19000 19000 1345
1 Artillery TGTA 20000 20000 2998
European Magical Corps
Polish Lithuanian 5500 5500 117
French 5500 5500 112
German 5500 5500 231
Dutch 5500 5500 214
Spanish 5500 5500 132
Finn 5500 5500 199
Norwegian 5500 5500 167
Swedish 5500 5500 93
Balkan 5500 5500 107
Italian 5500 5500 186
Free African 5500 5500 121
Empress of China’s Own Magical Corps
Empress’s Own 250000 250000 53547
Total Active 556000 556000 73208
Available Reserves Trained and Assigned Trained Unassigned In Training
750000 184000 10000
“As you can see from the chart, the units are at full strength; however, there are very many pregnant mate-bound and bonded witches. There are also too many unassigned reservist. G1s, In the G1 packets you will find last known addresses and the reservist names. Let’s get our troopers policed up. Also activate enough reservists to replace your pregnant witches past the first trimester for the duration of their pregnancies plus six months. Direct skills swaps are recommended to hold down on training requirements; as you can see, the schools are full. Alternatively, rotate your pregnant troopers into positions that are not direct combat. If you have problems let me or the Corps G1 staff know and we’ll help you sort it. You have until the fifteenth of August.” Gasps rolled around the theaters from the G1s; this was going to be tough. “Subject to your questions, Highness, I will be followed by Duchess Daphne with the Intel summary.”
“Susan, why are so many unassigned?”
“It’s not unusual, Harry. People move this time of year to be set when the school year begins. They’re still citizens, though, and over eighteen, so they have their service obligations. They will report to units when they get to their new homes as the oaths force them to, but we need to be ready for a come-as-you-are fight so I want to get ahead of this.”
Harry nodded and Susan smiled on her way to her seat. Harry was at it again.
Daphne stepped to the podium. “Good morning—or evening, as the case may be. The terrain we will be discussing is included in the G2 section of your briefing book. The dates are best guesses but we believe very accurate.
“In 350 A.D. Alexander of the Corvinii, a roman Plebeian Clan, was born. He took service with the legions serving in what is now Hungary/Romania and by the age of twenty-four was a powerful figure in charge of a duchy.
“Sometime between 350 and 374 A.D. his people were nearly wiped out by a virus. Something about Alexander made him able to adapt to the virus, or it adapted to him, and made him an immortal. He remarried and had three sons—Marcus the oldest, William the middle son, and a youngest son, name unknown.
“Around 386 William, then twelve years old, was bitten by a wolf and Marcus, fourteen, was bitten by a bat; both animals were probably rabid. This combined with the virus from their father created Lycans through William and Vampires through Marcus.
“The Lycans of that time were not like the Lycans we know now. They were unable to change back to human and they were mad.
“Around 390 A.D. William escaped from his confinement and Marcus pursued him. William indiscriminately created Lycans by attacking every human he ran across and Marcus created vampires to combat these. One of the vampires Marcus created was the Princess Amelia Fastida.
“From 390-1040, first together and then separately Marcus and Amelia fought William and the Lycans. William gained the upper hand over Marcus but before he could finish him Marcus turned the Hungarian warlord Viktor. Viktor turned his captains and took up the fight with Marcus. Amelia continued building her coven and mostly defending her territory.
“Sometime around 1060 A.D. Viktor commissioned Selene’s father to design and construct a prison and fortress capable of holding William; once it was done he killed Selene’s family and turned her. Apparently she is the very image of a daughter of his who he had killed when she was found to be involved with a modern-type Lycan named Lucian.
“The Lycan/Vampire war continued to rage until 1202. During this time Viktor captured and imprisoned William but Lucian proved a capable and vicious leader and kept the fight going. In 1202 Lucian was supposedly killed and the Lycan clans scattered.
“Perhaps predictably, the Vampire covens fell to fighting amongst themselves. Viktor engineered a chain of leadership and very originally called it the Chain. In accordance with this Chain one vampire Elder is awake and the other two asleep at all times to prevent the dominance struggles which the two males could not win against Amelia anyway. Apparently because they couldn’t decide between themselves, Viktor and his girly-man Marcus went into the long sleep first in 1305.”
Daphne paused to let the chuckles die down.
“From 1305 through to 1405 Amelia consolidated the coven’s enforced rules about turning mortals so the communities they were in could tolerate the vampires, and domesticated the local Lycans. She established a fairly benevolent rule with her companions Selene and Erika.
“Marcus was awakened in accordance with the Chain in 1405 and immediately tried to dominate Selene and got nutted for his trouble. Selene took more than half of the vampires of Marcus and Viktor’s covens and went to Amelia’s coven in Castle Gorog. The next hundred years saw the coven wars resumed at a low level and the Lycans rebelled, escaped, and built their numbers.
“Selene forced the awakening of her sire Viktor by force of arms in 1505; saying he was upset is like saying Harry applies a little heat of a Sunday.”
“Oy, you!”
Daphne waited for the laughter to die down at Harry’s comment. “As I was saying, Viktor chastised Marcus, beat on his sycophant Kraven, and enslaved the Lycans after recalling Selene and her loyal vampires.
“The Chain continued in this way through another turn with Marcus being even worse and Viktor chastising him accordingly and torturing Kraven for good measure. During Viktor’s awake period in the eighteen hundreds he created the Death Dealers, a vampire militant order under Selene’s command with her second being a male named Kahn, and charged them to keep the Lycans suppressed. Kraven, feeling he was owed something, was not amused.
“Unfortunately Amelia was not either when she was awoken in 1905 and she had Kraven tortured for the next twenty-five years. Amelia has continued to suppress the Lycans, as with Lucian really alive and fomenting trouble there’s not much she can do. Lucian’s hatred of Marcus, Viktor, and consequently all vampires knows no bounds.
“Lucian has hatched a plot with Kraven to kill Amelia. Kraven thinks this will finally allow his master Marcus to establish dominance, so he participates willingly.
“Lucian really wants Amelia’s blood to fulfill a prophecy and create the first hybrid by turning Michael Corvin, the last descent of the normal youngest son of Alexander Corvinus, first into a Lycan and then into a hybrid. This plan will go wrong and Michael will end up a Lycan and be turned to a full hybrid by Selene as she saves him by biting and turning him.
“Selene and Michael will fight and destroy the hybrid Marcus, hybridized in the destruction of the Ördögház near Budapest, and his true old Lycan brother William in a ruined castle on an island in an alpine lake near Temne Smerciny in Slovakia. Marcus must have Selene to find his brother. She holds Viktor’s memories through a phenomenon of sharing memories while you share blood. She has suppressed these memories due to her turning being so traumatic and involving the loss of her entire extended family. Viktor has also used his compulsion to keep them suppressed as she would turn on him otherwise.
“Alexander Corvinus has been alive all this time and built an organization of highly trained Mundane and Squibs that he calls Cleaners; they clean up the messes his errant sons leave. He will unfortunately be severely wounded by his insane son Marcus and Selene will take his strength and memories as well as his blood, turning her hybrid and killing him.
“We believe this activity will come to a head and happen very fast around this coming fall and winter.
“After these actions Selene and Michael will be forced to defend themselves against the vampires and Lycans of the Balkans not already allied to us, or we will have to step in and either dominate them or kill them.
“Subject to your questions, I will be followed by Duchess Hestia.” Daphne looked out at a rapt audience. This was the first time the non-mates had heard this. Seeing no questions she turned, and after checking the screens behind her, sat just before she shuddered under Harry’s thanks.
Hestia rose and walked to the podium.
“The Magical Corps will seal the area of operations.”
A map with an outlined AOR going from Rovinj Croatia to Temne Smreciny, Slovakia, and covering most of the Balkans, Hungary, Romania, and southern Poland, appeared on the center screen of all the theaters.
“Conduct reconnisance to gain contact with the major players in this little drama and then identify and watch the possible players.
“On order the Corps elements in contact will move to destroy enemy forces vampire or Lycan.
“The Guards Magical Division will stand by to act as shock troops and establish immediate control of any situation that arises.
“Subject to your questions, I will be followed by Duchess Ginevra.”
Hestia moved to sit, knowing there could be no questions yet as they had not had time to digest their orders. The howling would begin in twenty-four to thirty-six hours. She shuddered and beamed at Harry.
A smiling Ginny stepped to the podium and the map faded away. “All units are currently reporting that they are adequately provisioned. I want you G4s to start contemplating a winter campaign in the Balkans with your units broken down into squad-sized elements and order the appropriate supplies. As always, you will be accountable through your commanders.
“The Empress Na Wen’s Magical Corps will be receiving vehicles and modern equipment as fast as we can manufacture them. Until then all the Imperial units will continue to function as infantry.”
Ginny paused and smiled at the groans. “Subject to your questions, I will be followed by His Highness.”
The room suddenly sat up straight at this change in the routine. Harry gave Ginny a mental caress as he took the stage. He eschewed the podium and stopped in the middle of the stage. “I didn’t want anyone getting in trouble for cursing at Nym, so I’ll be the target for this. All units will continue to conduct support operations for the Aurors and any ongoing security operations while this operation in the Balkans is ongoing.”
Not a murmur was heard as the impact of this hit them. Harry smiled and continued, “Commanders are authorized to call up their full complement of reserves if necessary but will clear it through Duchess Hestia first. The whole of the Realm cannot stop while we do this. Last but not least, the armed forces of the magical Realm will be task-organized as we go through this and we will conduct the August exercises in our task-organized format.”
A great groan went up at this and Harry smiled. “I wondered how much I could pile on.”
This drew a rueful chuckle and Harry continued. “My goal, as always, is to come out the other side of this without losing a single troop. Along the way we’ll integrate the new hybrids, the remaining vampires, and the last of the Lycans into the Realm where they belong or eliminate them. We will not, however, eliminate any without cause. Okay, ladies and gentlemen, we’ll let you digest. As always, we’re here to help and to learn, so ask us if you have questions.”
The rooms sprang to rigid attention and Harry led the bonded away.
In the Imperial Palace briefing theater with the VTC still live, Sergei turned to Pitior. “Well, a fun winter then.”
Pitior raised a brow. “You great patriotic war veterans have a strange idea of fun.”
Sergei shrugged. “Beats eating your buddies in Stalingrad.”
“Maybe you should consider retiring, Sergei.”
“Why, Pitior? This is so much fun! Come on, let’s get a drink before we look at the plans.”
The other officers and senior NCOs watched and shook their heads. Russians were crazy. Then they turned to their briefing books and got busy.
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Godric’s Hollow
The Vale of the Guard
Monday
14 July 03
10:03
Harry sat on the marble bench in front of the seven graves, alone and thinking. This was his favorite place for deep thought. It was beautiful and so quiet. Bill, Tim, Bhupta, Jason, Kyle, Marilyn, and Charlie always seemed to be here with him. Watching and encouraging.
It was a good plan, with one exception. They didn’t know what the full capabilities of a hybrid were.
Harry sat turning the issue over and over in his mind. Since no hybrids existed yet, how could they know? If they did experiment with one of the vampire girls, as they kept suggesting, then they would get an idea of Selene’s capabilities but not Michael’s. Should he let Amelia turn him and then Lauren could bite him and he could be that hybrid?
“No, Harry.”
“Marilyn?”
“Who else would it be? The boys are all off playing somewhere.”
“I’m sorry, Marilyn.”
“You aren’t going to start that again, are you, Harry? It’s been three years, love.”
“Hey, how can you tell how long it’s been?”
“The Duchesses keep us up to date when they bring the new babies by, Harry.”
“I’m still sorry.”
“If it makes you feel better. Now back on topic. You can’t turn—you will need to be you. Those Chinese vampires, though, could easily be turned. Just have Melissa take some blood from the werewolf mates and you can test it in controlled conditions. Harrrrrry! How did you do that?”
“Magic, Marilyn. You’re brilliant and I love you.”
“Warn a girl, love. Glad the boys weren’t here to see that. Anything I don’t need, it’s an eternity of ribbing for boffing the boss. Haaaaarrrryyyy!”
“Hey, this is fun.”
“Harry James Potter, you stop that right nooooowwww!”
“Hehehe.”
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Potter Castle
Private Sitting Room
Monday
14 July 03
10:34
“What the hell was that, Nym?” Sarah asked, sitting up with her lap full of babies.
Nym shrugged and Lilith laughed throatily. “Harry just learned that it doesn’t matter where a woman’s spirit is, she’s still a woman.”
Raised brows greeted this wisdom as the bonded puzzled their way through it and then blushed followed by an amazed gasp. Harry was busily driving Marilyn the former—errr, present? Whatever—Corporal of the Guard killed in the Ugandan conquest out of her mind—errr, spirit? Whatever—he was being very nicely persistent.
Finally Nym intervened. “Harry, let Marilyn alone before the others come back.”
“Noooooo, not now, Morgana! Uhhhhhnnnnnn.”
“Harry!”
“Hehehe.”
“Lilith, do something!”
“Oh, I don’t think he needs any help, Nym.”
“Lilith!”
“Oh Nym, relax, let the girl have some fun. I’ll hold the boys off.”
This comment started one of those growing speculation and theorizing explosions in the bond. Harry took advantage.
Later a smiling Harry faded into the sitting room and escorted Nym and Lilith to lunch with Sarah and Na Wen following closely. The bonded shook their heads and drifted along behind their Alphas.
“So, Master, Xhang Li Meng or one of his vampire battalion?” Paula McQuone Potter, now twenty-one and a powerful vampire witch, asked her mate.
Harry smiled. “We’ll ask for volunteers, Paula. Li Meng undoubtedly will want to try it himself.”
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Potter Castle
Master’s Study
Monday
14 July 03
14:07
“No, Master, not first. I believe we should start with the weakest of the Potter coven.”
Harry puzzled over Li Meng’s answer for a moment and then gave up. “Why?”
Li Meng smiled. “Because I am ‘no slouch’, as Sergeant Major Jones says, Master. If the hybridization confers some massive new power on me, I would rather survive as a vampire than have you light me on fire because I decided it was time to try dominating you.”
Harry sensed a dissimulation. “And?”
Xhang Li Meng sighed; it was useless to try to fool the Master. “Master, we—or rather the bonded—are close to a cure for the virus. Even without a cure the symptoms have been reduced to almost nothing. Being a vampire or Lycan is no longer a cursed half-life. With the stones we can go in the sun; and the Lycans, while still forced to change, can now do it any time and control it. Hybridization could set us back to the beginning.”
“So I shouldn’t ask for volunteers?”
“Quite the contrary, Master. Hybridization may give the weaker vampires a better chance. I believe it will give them a Lycan’s abilities in addition to a vampire’s. As for me, well, there are few vampires on the planet who can win against me and no werewolves. I don’t need to take the risk.”
Harry nodded. “Please pass the word to your selected subordinates.”
Li Meng nodded, stood, and bowed himself from the room. Tashiro Yoko Potter faded into view. The now eighteen-year-old vampire mate threw herself into Harry’s lap. “My turn!”
She laughed as Harry’s desk chair went over backwards and she rode him to the ground.
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Godric’s Hollow
Duke’s Beach
Tuesday
15 July 03
09:00
Harry and the younger mates and Potter kids set up the beach in their usual ten minutes and then the kids lined up and Harry as usual counted off the list. “Sun potion?”
“On, Dad.”
“Chairs for mums?”
“Out, Dad.”
“Sunshade for mums?”
“Up, Dad.”
“Runestones?”
“On, Dad.”
“Right then, hasty attack on the evil-looking lake, charge!” And Harry led the charge into the pure, clear blue waters of the lake.
Muriel, as always, awaited him and dragged him under almost before he changed.
The kids, youngest mates, and Harry loved these early swims before anyone else got to the lake. Harry still allowed public access and the lake was a favorite spot, with its resident merperson population always watching for trouble and helping those who needed it. Clan Potter didn’t really need help, as the worst that could happen to them was getting lost. The runestones included a set of runes that caused a Bubble-Head and warming charm when the wearer was submerged.
In the years since they had moved in, the merpeople had turned the lake into a fair-sized town, more a village actually with fish farms, different plant crops, and all. With the Goblins’ help they had sloped the banks back from the sheer cliffs that had originally existed to a much much gentler angle, expanding the lake some but giving both more room for crops and a better swimming lake. Now you didn’t walk off the edge of a hundred and fifty-foot cliff thirty yards from the water’s edge.
The Goblins, ever seeking ores and raw materials, had driven shafts laterally out from the bottom of the lake and there were now miles of passages connecting all the lakes in the area. Harry had installed warded transport slabs to different seas and lakes and the merpeople lived a very happy existence, providing the school and Realm with a huge assortment of freshwater fish and seafood. They had made the shift from hunter-gatherers to aquaculturists with amazing alacrity, and they were true stewards of the environment, comprising many of the students working on pollution control and improving their techniques of aquaculture.
Of course, them finding all that gold and other sunken resources enamored the Goblins of them immediately and Griphook could often be found in the watery realm with a Bubble-Head charm making some deal or other with the Mer-king. He understood almost immediately that the Mer-king was a true vassal and he was again dealing with Narcissa and her crew by proxy, but all parties seemed to be enjoying themselves so Harry left it alone.
The Potter kids were soon off playing with the mer-kids and the mates all went and found or were found by their mermaid counterparts and were soon engaged in earthy little high-pitched conversations filled with giggling as they watched the children.
Muriel, of course, had a lineup waiting for her Harry, as she was still on her quest to populate the seven seas with Potters.
Chapter 3
Potter Castle
Master Suite
Thursday
10 July 03
0500
Harry’s eyes opened and he smiled and then sat up. He loved this time of day, everyone sleeping and the castle just on the verge of waking and beginning what would turn into a very full day.
Harry rose and padded silently to the bath. He lowered himself in and installed his Bubble-Head charm. The charm was the only thing keeping him floating as he had very little body fat and very dense bones. He lay thinking his way through the upcoming day and skimming his mates’ surface thoughts. He wasn’t one to invade their privacy but these moments afforded him a chance to check on their mental state just to be sure there was nothing he could do for them.
After he checked the mates he cast his net wider and skimmed the thoughts of the children and vassals.
Nym awoke at Harry’s deft light mental touch and walked to the bath. She walked straight to Harry and stuck her face in his Bubble-Head charm, giving him a morning buss. Then she walked out of the bath and into the shower. If she stayed with Harry in that warm water she would fall back asleep and she hated having to rush to get ready for anything, even PT.
Harry smiled and shifted his concentration to today. Exercise preparations for August, done and awaiting review. European Wizengamot, out of session and on their vacation. Basic training cycle needed to be looked at but that wouldn’t take long. Hmmm. A day at the beach seemed to be in order.
“Harry, we have work to do on the plans for Amelia’s conference of covens.”
“Anything we can’t do at the beach, Hermione? No? Good. It is our Royal wish to work at the beach. Mostly on our tans.”
The mates smiled. The children would be thrilled, of course. A day at the beach with Harry guaranteed another beachball massacre, and the youngest kids loved watching him incinerate the things as fast as their mothers could conjure them.
Hermione huffed in frustration and got a slap on the rump and a kiss from Susan for her trouble. “Loosen up, Mi. You could use some sun.”
Hermione looked down at her body and saw a taut, firm, but pale very nice body. She could, actually. Besides, she could take her new tablet PC, the one Teanni and Ann Sothern had worked over for her. It had everything she and Hestia needed on it anyway.
The bond suddenly chorused with “Oh, that’s a good idea, Hermione.” And Harry huffed in frustration. Obviously it would be him and the kids today as the mates all faked relaxing while they worked. Well, fine.
Margaret Miller Potter took the opportunity to pull Harry to the steps and get a little pre-PT warmup. “I’ll help, Da.”
Harry cringed. “Margaret, don’t say things like that when you’re doing that.”
Margaret arched a brow and clamped down on him. “Things like what, Da?”
“Margaret!”
She laughed and acquiesced. “Yes, Harry.”
“Better.”
Margaret’s fully and intent-bonded sisters joined her in the tub. Harry looked around a moment and then laughed. “Okay, but after the beach. Then we’ll have the little Potter daughter orgy you’re all planning.
Helen Tobin Potter, fourteen and intent-bonded, clapped her hands. “Good, but I’m next this morning. Cherwyn said she would help.”
Harry shook his head, bemused, and got down to business.
They made PT exactly at 06:00.
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Godric’s Hollow
The Duke’s Beach
Thursday
10 July 03
10:12
Major Beverly Hentil strode across the sand and stopped in front of Harry and rendered the hand salute. “Your Highness, the battle captains would like your guidance.”
Harry rolled over and looked at Beverly with a wicked gleam in his eye. He eyed her up and down and then focused on the flimsy she was holding out to him. “Would they really, Major? Well, let’s not disappoint them, then. While we’re waiting for my little tiny brain to process, though, why don’t we let you take a break?”
Beverly opened her mouth to protest and then sighed. She never even saw him move but she was suddenly in a tiny little BDU (Battle Dress Uniform) summer-weight material bikini. “Sir, I must protest. That’s the third uniform this week!”
Beverly was Aide De Camp to the CINC of the Magical Corps. As such her duties kept her in close proximity. Harry knew she was found and was having a grand time playing with her. Beverly knew he knew but she wasn’t about to quit her tour as Aide De Camp. It was just too much fun. Besides, she gave as good as she got most of the time.
Harry just smiled at her. “But it looks so much better now. I tell you what: I’ll come by your room and Transfigure the others back into BDUs later.” He waggled his eyebrows at her.
“Sir, you’re married, I’m relatively sure you remember.”
“Oh, they won’t mind, will you, ladies?”
Lilith answered for them all. “Oh no, we wouldn’t if it would stop you two driving each other crazy. Hey, wait a minute—on second thought that’s been fun, Beverly, you’re for—”
“Well yes, see, Beverly? Perfectly fine. Now let’s see what the battle captains want, shall we?” Harry cut Lilith off and she smirked at him as he took Beverly by the elbow and steered her away.
“Lilith, that wasn’t very fair.”
“No it wasn’t, Nym, but they’re enjoying torturing each other way too much.”
The mates’ eyes tracked to Harry and Beverly and they chuckled as Beverly stood way too close to Harry. Not in contact, but they could feel her body heat through Harry. Several giggles broke out as there was obviously going to be some Bubble-Head-charm-assisted privacy very soon—well, if Harry’s reaction to all that heat was any indicator.
Harry tried to read the flimsy as he fought the urge to do something about all that heat. Beverly smiled as sweat broke out on Harry’s forehead.
Harry read the flimsy and was suddenly all business. So Kraven had made contact with Lucian in person last night. The Mage squad following Kraven had split up and now they were following both Lucian and Kraven. Yes, this was very good. Now that they had them they could stay with them, hopefully. “Beverly, have them reinforce those elements in contact; give them a scout platoon apiece. Observe and report only. They are, however, to maintain contact with the subjects at all costs.”
Beverly nodded and tuned to stride away. Harry pulled her back and gave her a very nice snog. She was beaming now; this morning’s round of flirting had clearly gone to her. The mates gave her opera claps as she strode across the beach to the transport slab.
Harry returned to his seat amongst the kids and resumed his interrupted game of burn-the-beachball.
Hermione turned to Hestia. Before she could open her mouth Hestia said, “Yes, Hermione, we’ll do a pattern analysis of their movements after we build some data.”
Her mates chuckled as Hermione’s jaw snapped shut.
She squawked as Harry tackled her and rolled her in the sand, ending up giving her a huge raspberry on a taut belly. “But what we really need to do first, Hermione, is have a briefing and give everyone a chance to see where we think we are and where we think we’re going. So let’s relax today and then tomorrow we’ll work on that.” He gave her another raspberry and her twins Liam and Marylyn joined their father. Hermione could only laugh as they hit all her ticklish spots.
Na Wen looked over at Chu and Minerva, who had smiled briefly but didn’t really get into the spirit of the thing and had not really been in the spirit of the day. “Okay, you two, out with it.”
Minerva and Chu looked at each other as the bond drifted to a halt. Finally Minerva spoke. “Lyudmila and George have asked to undertake what would have amounted to a Dark Arts Mastery under the old school’s regime.”
Harry smiled and the mates looked at each other, confused. Harry waved and Lyudmila and George walked over, smiling. They had turned out to be two of the happiest, most well adjusted teens anyone had ever seen. Harry had not adopted them but made them vassals and they had thrived under the umbrella of the Duke’s protection. They were also a brilliant, good-looking, well-matched pair—eighteen, already in Uni, ahead of their age group, and already parents.
“Lyudmila, George, why do you want to learn the—” Here Harry made an over-the-top deep, scary voice— “Dark Arts whhhooooo oooooohhh?”
Lyudmila frowned at him. “You should not tease your mates, Harry, their concerns are very valid. I have an aptitude for those arts only exceeded by Lilith and Na Wen, and George has power exceeded only by yours. To answer the question, though, we want to study those arts as they were originally planned to be used or to attempt to make them usable. Harry knows there is no right or wrong magic; it is the intent of the user that is right or wrong. There are many, many magics that could have applications other than the obscene uses they are put to.”
Nym looked at Minerva and Chu, who had settled remarkably. “That’s all that took? You two have been running around here as if the sky was falling.”
Minerva smiled. “We like that word obscene, Nym. We’ve both felt the same way for some time.”
Nym arched a brow. “But George never said anything?”
George looked at Harry and smiled. “Whatever Lyudmila wants is good enough for me. As long as she’s happy.”
Nym threw her hands up as Reggie and Henri nodded along with Harry at George’s comment. Harry left his cushion of Hermione’s thigh and Nym leapt to her feet and raced away, screaming, “Nooooooo, Harry, no!”
Harry didn’t listen and soon enough had her in his arms and ran straight into the water and disappeared. Lyudmila looked at George and raised a brow. “Unless you want to spend the week as a Pygmy Puff, George, you would do well not to follow that particular example.”
George actually appeared to consider it for a moment before he jumped up, grabbed Lyudmila, and ran straight into the lake, doing that magic absorbing and stripping thing that only Harry could do better than him. That they were completely silent while this was going on was the funny part.
Minerva shook her head and chuckled. Chu just sighed. “Poor George; will he ever talk?”
“Apparently if Lyudmila decides he should, Chu.”
“George talks all the time, Mum. Just not where you can hear him.”
Minerva looked at her Cameron and saw his sister Carmen sitting beside him nodding. “What do you mean, Cameron?”
“He talks in her head all the time like you and the other mums and Da.”
Minerva frowned a little. “You can hear us?”
Carmen took over. “Sure, Mum, can’t you?”
“I can only hear your other mums and your father, Carmen. Both of you listen, now: don’t tell people you can hear their thoughts or they’ll get upset.”
The twins nodded and Minerva smiled at them and shooed them back into the giant roiling scrum that was the heirs and wards.
Chu looked at her. “Yes, Minerva, I’ll talk with them.”
Meanwhile Harry and Nym had run into Muriel and were playing with her and her handmaids. They were chasing grindylows through the shallows and having a grand time. Lyudmila and George joined them. The grindylows were having a very bad day.
That the mermaids ate them when they caught them never bothered the couples with them. After all, mermaids were the top-level predator under water just as humans were above water. They did pass on the offer of the apparently succulent grindylows from the mermaids, though.
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Godric’s Hollow
The Duke’s Beach
Friday
11 July 03
14:12
“Wake up, Da, and come play.”
Harry opened an eye and looked at his daughter Lily. “Okay, Princess, what do we want to play then?”
Lily led her father over to the sandy five-acre section of beach where the sandcastles were going up at an astounding pace with older siblings helping the younger. It was turning into an armed camp, with little animated sand armies skirmishing between the castles and some of the castles under siege by their neighbors. Harry’s entrance onto the field changed the timbre of the sibling war out of all recognition; alliances became the order of the day as he staked out an area and his impervious castle began rising. Little sand cavalry regiments began issuing forth and sand Dragons began flying from it.
The mates and vassal women watched the shenanigans, smiling as their mates joined alliances and Harry and Lily were harder and harder pressed.
Emma Granger smiled. “He still refuses to stay in the Castle?”
Hermione looked up from her touchpad, wiped a hand between her breasts, and nodded. “Yes, he seems to be of the opinion that if he soaks up enough heat during the summer then he won’t be cold in the winter.”
Emma smiled. “Are you too warm, Hermione? I’m sure he would be happy to adjust the temperature in here. Or you could just dispense with those four threads you’re wearing and go naked. By the way, how does he do this?”
“This” was a one-way obscuration dome that was somehow temperature and UV regulated but still let in the breeze, if there was any, and enough UV-A to promote vitamin D production and very nice tans and exclude UV-B totally.
Hermione shrugged. “He wants to protect the kids and us. The ward he creates somehow incorporates all of the knowledge he has of things that are harmful. What you don’t notice is the filtering of the air the ward is doing. The oxygen content is higher in here than out there and the harmful gases, CO and others, are eliminated almost immediately. Particulate filtering down to virus level is also a component of the ward.”
Emma frowned. “That might not be a good idea. If it’s carried too far you’ll end up with immune systems that are unprepared for exposure to the real world.”
Hermione nodded. “Marcia, Melissa, and Jennifer are working on him and the children all have to get their shots before school anyway.”
Emma smiled. “I like the tans, though. You’ve never looked so good, I think. Tell me, how does Harry feel about tan lines?”
Hermione’s blush said it all. She and the other mates weren’t trying to be radical with their bikinis, but Harry loved tan lines. He liked to trace them with fingers or tongue. Emma laughed at her blushing daughter.
The mates and mothers-in-law whipped their heads around at the shrieks coming from Sandlandia, the five acres of sand, and watched as a comparatively enormous sand Dragon roared a squeaky little roar and melted row after row of Lily’s besiegers into perfect little glass figurines with an odd blue-green flame.
The howls of protest from the older siblings and younger mates started immediately as the babies clapped and squeaked in glee. Soon enough the sand Dragon had melted all of the figures into little glass figurines and itself exploded in a shower of dust. Harry waved, cooling and annealing the figurines into tempered glass that was all but unbreakable. The kids dove on them and the war started anew without the aid of magic but with the inclusion of sandbombs decimating ranks of figurines at a time.
Harry was mobbed under a pile of sweaty mates, sons, and daughters and transported the whole pile, himself included, into the lake.
Elizabeth and Phillip chose that moment to appear on the transport slab. Phillip was crushed. “See, Elizabeth? I told you the war would be over by now.”
Elizabeth rolled her eyes. “You can play later, Phillip. I’m sure they’re just taking a break.”
“Hmmph.”
Elizabeth gave him a long stare after he seated her under the sun awning and ran off to Sandlandia to “supervise”.
“That man! I swear he gets more fun out of playing in that sandbox than the grandchildren do.”
The mates and vassal women laughed knowingly. The daily combat-by-proxy was something their mates were loathe to miss. Amelia Bones Potter nodded. “I know; might as well close the Ministry after lunch. They all come in at six a.m. and work like demons until noon and then they run to the lobby and disappear.”
August Longbottom nodded. “Not that they ever win. Whichever of the girls they’re ganging up on always come get Harry and soon enough that Dragon thing is flying around melting things. How does Harry do that?”
Alice Longbottom shook her head. “No one has been able to figure it out. He Transfigures that Dragon from sand and then just sort of puts himself in it.”
Romilda Longbottom responded for all of them. “Morgana, no wonder they never win! Nym, what do you do with all those figurines?”
Narcissa, Alicia, and Angelina blushed and Nym laughed. “Well, we have collections of the best of them all over the Castle and then the Weasleys sell the rest of them in their stores, apparently at a tidy profit for us as we seem to be spending an awful lot on sand without much of a dent in the household funds.”
“It’s the cartage, Nym. Those truck drivers gouge us horribly. I mean, I know they have to get the stuff in Ireland, but really! I have a line on a haulage concern, though, and we’ll be rid of them soon.”
All the mates looked at Narcissa and after a moment they broke up laughing. Grindaknívur was looking at Narcissa aghast. “Narcissa, why didn’t you say? We can get quartz sand easily enough just crushing up quartz deposits. There are some under the lake—we’ll just mine them out. Muriel likes caves anyway.”
Narcissa huffed, “Fine, but I’m still buying up all the cartage companies I can find. They made me mad. Wolf whistling at Tracey and me—how dare they! And thinking they can overcharge because I’m a woman! I’ll fix their little red wagons.”
Narcissa finally found herself in a wet Harry-lap with water soaking through her beach wrap. “Harry! What are you doing!”
“Loving you, and don’t think we don’t remember that little thrill you got out of being whistled at.”
“Well yes, the first time, but it got old after that idiot backed that truck into the lake looking at us instead of watching what he was doing.”
Andromeda laughed. “Narcissa Black Potter, you bad girl you. Teasing those poor Mundane.”
“I most certainly was not, but I scheduled the deliveries when we’d be here anyway. The kids love those big trucks.”
“Love getting them stuck, you mean. All they have to do is stand near one and those wardstones of theirs suck all the energy out of them if they move over five feet per second.” Carolyn Jessup Wesson Potter added, “I wonder where they learned that little truck-driver-infuriating trick?”
Harry was looking at the shade awning as if it was a new thing with his “innocent dad” face on.
“Any ideas, Harry?”
“Eh? What’s that, Carolyn?”
“I was wondering where the kids learned they could stop the trucks and how they got the idea for that ‘lean against the truck with one hand’ while yelling ‘stronger than a locomotive’ routine?”
“Sirius and Remus, I’m sure.”
“Oy, that’s not cricket, Harry!”
“Remus, Sirius—we were just talking about you!”
“Yes, we noticed, Harry. Hope you don’t talk about us like that often.”
Harry looked sheepishly at Remus and Sirius’s stormy faces. “Sorry!”
Carolyn, who was not in contact with Harry and was therefore less likely to be distracted, started on Harry again and he faded himself, Narcissa, and Carolyn away.
“Well, while Duke Liar, Liar, Pants On Fire is off making up, we have some information.”
Remus snorted. “Might as well save it, Sirius. We’d just have to tell them again in a few minutes.” All of the bonded appeared to be alert, but really the only things they were paying attention to were the kids and Harry, Narcissa, and Carolyn.
Sirius nodded and looked toward Sandlandia. He wandered off that way and Remus followed. “What the hell is it with males and that sandbox?” Rose Lupin asked as she sank into a chair. The ladies all chuckled.
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Potter Castle
Ducal Apartment
Monday
14 July 03
05:00
Harry opened his eyes and lifted his head. The sun was shedding light but that was all. It was so overcast you could hardly see the floor of the Hollow out of the Illusioned window. Harry almost growled. There was no way he could go to the beach today.
Sarah smiled and dragged her disgruntled mate to her. She was intent on re-gruntling him before PT and there was one way that always worked rather well.
They did make PT, barely, and Harry was a very happy young man. He was all the way on and every female there got a little boost from him. The males just groaned; they hated Monday mornings like this. And after the weekend of battle drills it just wasn’t fair for Himself to be so happy.
Hermione was a very happy girl too. Harry had spent last night exploring her tan lines in the Dragon’s Den after he had gotten her out of the red leather bikini and he had been very appreciative. And now the weather had closed in so they would have his undivided attention in the Operations Theater as they prepared the briefing.
“Like you haven’t had it ready for three days, Hermione!”
“Not completely, Pansy. We still need to look it over one last time. It’s likely we won’t get to brief again so this has to be as good a foundation as we can make it.”
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Potter Castle
Briefing Theater
Monday
14 July 03
08:30
After the working breakfast rehearsal and the Theater filled Hestia stepped to the podium. “All right everyone, if we could have your attention?” “Everyone” was the commanders of the Magical Corps and their staffs down to Platoon Leader and Platoon Sergeant in this theater and with a VTC (Video TeleConference) link to the Briefing Theater of the Imperial Palace in Chita and the Imperial Palace in the rebuilt complex at Kunming.
“Thank you. This is the initial briefing on our projected operations vis-à-vis the vampire covens of Marcus Corvinus and Viktor and the Lycan packs of Lucian. Duchess Susan will start with personnel.”
Susan stood and moved to the Podium. “Good morning.” She smiled and a chart displayed on the main screen.
Unit Assigned Available Remarks
Guards Magical Corps
Duke’s Own 5500 5500 211
Goblin 5500 5500 115
Veela 5500 5500 412
1st Mage (US) 5500 5500 237
Tsarinas Guards Tank Army
1 MRD TGTA 19000 19000 1200
2 MRD TGTA 19000 19000 1130
3 MRD TGTA 19000 19000 1456
4 MRD TGTA 19000 19000 1378
5 MRD TGTA 19000 19000 1898
1 TK TGTA 19000 19000 1345
2 TK TGTA 19000 19000 1211
3 TK TGTA 19000 19000 1459
4 TK TGTA 19000 19000 1678
5 TK TGTA 19000 19000 1009
6 TK TGTA 19000 19000 1345
1 Artillery TGTA 20000 20000 2998
European Magical Corps
Polish Lithuanian 5500 5500 117
French 5500 5500 112
German 5500 5500 231
Dutch 5500 5500 214
Spanish 5500 5500 132
Finn 5500 5500 199
Norwegian 5500 5500 167
Swedish 5500 5500 93
Balkan 5500 5500 107
Italian 5500 5500 186
Free African 5500 5500 121
Empress of China’s Own Magical Corps
Empress’s Own 250000 250000 53547
Total Active 556000 556000 73208
Available Reserves Trained and Assigned Trained Unassigned In Training
750000 184000 10000
“As you can see from the chart, the units are at full strength; however, there are very many pregnant mate-bound and bonded witches. There are also too many unassigned reservist. G1s, In the G1 packets you will find last known addresses and the reservist names. Let’s get our troopers policed up. Also activate enough reservists to replace your pregnant witches past the first trimester for the duration of their pregnancies plus six months. Direct skills swaps are recommended to hold down on training requirements; as you can see, the schools are full. Alternatively, rotate your pregnant troopers into positions that are not direct combat. If you have problems let me or the Corps G1 staff know and we’ll help you sort it. You have until the fifteenth of August.” Gasps rolled around the theaters from the G1s; this was going to be tough. “Subject to your questions, Highness, I will be followed by Duchess Daphne with the Intel summary.”
“Susan, why are so many unassigned?”
“It’s not unusual, Harry. People move this time of year to be set when the school year begins. They’re still citizens, though, and over eighteen, so they have their service obligations. They will report to units when they get to their new homes as the oaths force them to, but we need to be ready for a come-as-you-are fight so I want to get ahead of this.”
Harry nodded and Susan smiled on her way to her seat. Harry was at it again.
Daphne stepped to the podium. “Good morning—or evening, as the case may be. The terrain we will be discussing is included in the G2 section of your briefing book. The dates are best guesses but we believe very accurate.
“In 350 A.D. Alexander of the Corvinii, a roman Plebeian Clan, was born. He took service with the legions serving in what is now Hungary/Romania and by the age of twenty-four was a powerful figure in charge of a duchy.
“Sometime between 350 and 374 A.D. his people were nearly wiped out by a virus. Something about Alexander made him able to adapt to the virus, or it adapted to him, and made him an immortal. He remarried and had three sons—Marcus the oldest, William the middle son, and a youngest son, name unknown.
“Around 386 William, then twelve years old, was bitten by a wolf and Marcus, fourteen, was bitten by a bat; both animals were probably rabid. This combined with the virus from their father created Lycans through William and Vampires through Marcus.
“The Lycans of that time were not like the Lycans we know now. They were unable to change back to human and they were mad.
“Around 390 A.D. William escaped from his confinement and Marcus pursued him. William indiscriminately created Lycans by attacking every human he ran across and Marcus created vampires to combat these. One of the vampires Marcus created was the Princess Amelia Fastida.
“From 390-1040, first together and then separately Marcus and Amelia fought William and the Lycans. William gained the upper hand over Marcus but before he could finish him Marcus turned the Hungarian warlord Viktor. Viktor turned his captains and took up the fight with Marcus. Amelia continued building her coven and mostly defending her territory.
“Sometime around 1060 A.D. Viktor commissioned Selene’s father to design and construct a prison and fortress capable of holding William; once it was done he killed Selene’s family and turned her. Apparently she is the very image of a daughter of his who he had killed when she was found to be involved with a modern-type Lycan named Lucian.
“The Lycan/Vampire war continued to rage until 1202. During this time Viktor captured and imprisoned William but Lucian proved a capable and vicious leader and kept the fight going. In 1202 Lucian was supposedly killed and the Lycan clans scattered.
“Perhaps predictably, the Vampire covens fell to fighting amongst themselves. Viktor engineered a chain of leadership and very originally called it the Chain. In accordance with this Chain one vampire Elder is awake and the other two asleep at all times to prevent the dominance struggles which the two males could not win against Amelia anyway. Apparently because they couldn’t decide between themselves, Viktor and his girly-man Marcus went into the long sleep first in 1305.”
Daphne paused to let the chuckles die down.
“From 1305 through to 1405 Amelia consolidated the coven’s enforced rules about turning mortals so the communities they were in could tolerate the vampires, and domesticated the local Lycans. She established a fairly benevolent rule with her companions Selene and Erika.
“Marcus was awakened in accordance with the Chain in 1405 and immediately tried to dominate Selene and got nutted for his trouble. Selene took more than half of the vampires of Marcus and Viktor’s covens and went to Amelia’s coven in Castle Gorog. The next hundred years saw the coven wars resumed at a low level and the Lycans rebelled, escaped, and built their numbers.
“Selene forced the awakening of her sire Viktor by force of arms in 1505; saying he was upset is like saying Harry applies a little heat of a Sunday.”
“Oy, you!”
Daphne waited for the laughter to die down at Harry’s comment. “As I was saying, Viktor chastised Marcus, beat on his sycophant Kraven, and enslaved the Lycans after recalling Selene and her loyal vampires.
“The Chain continued in this way through another turn with Marcus being even worse and Viktor chastising him accordingly and torturing Kraven for good measure. During Viktor’s awake period in the eighteen hundreds he created the Death Dealers, a vampire militant order under Selene’s command with her second being a male named Kahn, and charged them to keep the Lycans suppressed. Kraven, feeling he was owed something, was not amused.
“Unfortunately Amelia was not either when she was awoken in 1905 and she had Kraven tortured for the next twenty-five years. Amelia has continued to suppress the Lycans, as with Lucian really alive and fomenting trouble there’s not much she can do. Lucian’s hatred of Marcus, Viktor, and consequently all vampires knows no bounds.
“Lucian has hatched a plot with Kraven to kill Amelia. Kraven thinks this will finally allow his master Marcus to establish dominance, so he participates willingly.
“Lucian really wants Amelia’s blood to fulfill a prophecy and create the first hybrid by turning Michael Corvin, the last descent of the normal youngest son of Alexander Corvinus, first into a Lycan and then into a hybrid. This plan will go wrong and Michael will end up a Lycan and be turned to a full hybrid by Selene as she saves him by biting and turning him.
“Selene and Michael will fight and destroy the hybrid Marcus, hybridized in the destruction of the Ördögház near Budapest, and his true old Lycan brother William in a ruined castle on an island in an alpine lake near Temne Smerciny in Slovakia. Marcus must have Selene to find his brother. She holds Viktor’s memories through a phenomenon of sharing memories while you share blood. She has suppressed these memories due to her turning being so traumatic and involving the loss of her entire extended family. Viktor has also used his compulsion to keep them suppressed as she would turn on him otherwise.
“Alexander Corvinus has been alive all this time and built an organization of highly trained Mundane and Squibs that he calls Cleaners; they clean up the messes his errant sons leave. He will unfortunately be severely wounded by his insane son Marcus and Selene will take his strength and memories as well as his blood, turning her hybrid and killing him.
“We believe this activity will come to a head and happen very fast around this coming fall and winter.
“After these actions Selene and Michael will be forced to defend themselves against the vampires and Lycans of the Balkans not already allied to us, or we will have to step in and either dominate them or kill them.
“Subject to your questions, I will be followed by Duchess Hestia.” Daphne looked out at a rapt audience. This was the first time the non-mates had heard this. Seeing no questions she turned, and after checking the screens behind her, sat just before she shuddered under Harry’s thanks.
Hestia rose and walked to the podium.
“The Magical Corps will seal the area of operations.”
A map with an outlined AOR going from Rovinj Croatia to Temne Smreciny, Slovakia, and covering most of the Balkans, Hungary, Romania, and southern Poland, appeared on the center screen of all the theaters.
“Conduct reconnisance to gain contact with the major players in this little drama and then identify and watch the possible players.
“On order the Corps elements in contact will move to destroy enemy forces vampire or Lycan.
“The Guards Magical Division will stand by to act as shock troops and establish immediate control of any situation that arises.
“Subject to your questions, I will be followed by Duchess Ginevra.”
Hestia moved to sit, knowing there could be no questions yet as they had not had time to digest their orders. The howling would begin in twenty-four to thirty-six hours. She shuddered and beamed at Harry.
A smiling Ginny stepped to the podium and the map faded away. “All units are currently reporting that they are adequately provisioned. I want you G4s to start contemplating a winter campaign in the Balkans with your units broken down into squad-sized elements and order the appropriate supplies. As always, you will be accountable through your commanders.
“The Empress Na Wen’s Magical Corps will be receiving vehicles and modern equipment as fast as we can manufacture them. Until then all the Imperial units will continue to function as infantry.”
Ginny paused and smiled at the groans. “Subject to your questions, I will be followed by His Highness.”
The room suddenly sat up straight at this change in the routine. Harry gave Ginny a mental caress as he took the stage. He eschewed the podium and stopped in the middle of the stage. “I didn’t want anyone getting in trouble for cursing at Nym, so I’ll be the target for this. All units will continue to conduct support operations for the Aurors and any ongoing security operations while this operation in the Balkans is ongoing.”
Not a murmur was heard as the impact of this hit them. Harry smiled and continued, “Commanders are authorized to call up their full complement of reserves if necessary but will clear it through Duchess Hestia first. The whole of the Realm cannot stop while we do this. Last but not least, the armed forces of the magical Realm will be task-organized as we go through this and we will conduct the August exercises in our task-organized format.”
A great groan went up at this and Harry smiled. “I wondered how much I could pile on.”
This drew a rueful chuckle and Harry continued. “My goal, as always, is to come out the other side of this without losing a single troop. Along the way we’ll integrate the new hybrids, the remaining vampires, and the last of the Lycans into the Realm where they belong or eliminate them. We will not, however, eliminate any without cause. Okay, ladies and gentlemen, we’ll let you digest. As always, we’re here to help and to learn, so ask us if you have questions.”
The rooms sprang to rigid attention and Harry led the bonded away.
In the Imperial Palace briefing theater with the VTC still live, Sergei turned to Pitior. “Well, a fun winter then.”
Pitior raised a brow. “You great patriotic war veterans have a strange idea of fun.”
Sergei shrugged. “Beats eating your buddies in Stalingrad.”
“Maybe you should consider retiring, Sergei.”
“Why, Pitior? This is so much fun! Come on, let’s get a drink before we look at the plans.”
The other officers and senior NCOs watched and shook their heads. Russians were crazy. Then they turned to their briefing books and got busy.
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Godric’s Hollow
The Vale of the Guard
Monday
14 July 03
10:03
Harry sat on the marble bench in front of the seven graves, alone and thinking. This was his favorite place for deep thought. It was beautiful and so quiet. Bill, Tim, Bhupta, Jason, Kyle, Marilyn, and Charlie always seemed to be here with him. Watching and encouraging.
It was a good plan, with one exception. They didn’t know what the full capabilities of a hybrid were.
Harry sat turning the issue over and over in his mind. Since no hybrids existed yet, how could they know? If they did experiment with one of the vampire girls, as they kept suggesting, then they would get an idea of Selene’s capabilities but not Michael’s. Should he let Amelia turn him and then Lauren could bite him and he could be that hybrid?
“No, Harry.”
“Marilyn?”
“Who else would it be? The boys are all off playing somewhere.”
“I’m sorry, Marilyn.”
“You aren’t going to start that again, are you, Harry? It’s been three years, love.”
“Hey, how can you tell how long it’s been?”
“The Duchesses keep us up to date when they bring the new babies by, Harry.”
“I’m still sorry.”
“If it makes you feel better. Now back on topic. You can’t turn—you will need to be you. Those Chinese vampires, though, could easily be turned. Just have Melissa take some blood from the werewolf mates and you can test it in controlled conditions. Harrrrrry! How did you do that?”
“Magic, Marilyn. You’re brilliant and I love you.”
“Warn a girl, love. Glad the boys weren’t here to see that. Anything I don’t need, it’s an eternity of ribbing for boffing the boss. Haaaaarrrryyyy!”
“Hey, this is fun.”
“Harry James Potter, you stop that right nooooowwww!”
“Hehehe.”
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Potter Castle
Private Sitting Room
Monday
14 July 03
10:34
“What the hell was that, Nym?” Sarah asked, sitting up with her lap full of babies.
Nym shrugged and Lilith laughed throatily. “Harry just learned that it doesn’t matter where a woman’s spirit is, she’s still a woman.”
Raised brows greeted this wisdom as the bonded puzzled their way through it and then blushed followed by an amazed gasp. Harry was busily driving Marilyn the former—errr, present? Whatever—Corporal of the Guard killed in the Ugandan conquest out of her mind—errr, spirit? Whatever—he was being very nicely persistent.
Finally Nym intervened. “Harry, let Marilyn alone before the others come back.”
“Noooooo, not now, Morgana! Uhhhhhnnnnnn.”
“Harry!”
“Hehehe.”
“Lilith, do something!”
“Oh, I don’t think he needs any help, Nym.”
“Lilith!”
“Oh Nym, relax, let the girl have some fun. I’ll hold the boys off.”
This comment started one of those growing speculation and theorizing explosions in the bond. Harry took advantage.
Later a smiling Harry faded into the sitting room and escorted Nym and Lilith to lunch with Sarah and Na Wen following closely. The bonded shook their heads and drifted along behind their Alphas.
“So, Master, Xhang Li Meng or one of his vampire battalion?” Paula McQuone Potter, now twenty-one and a powerful vampire witch, asked her mate.
Harry smiled. “We’ll ask for volunteers, Paula. Li Meng undoubtedly will want to try it himself.”
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Potter Castle
Master’s Study
Monday
14 July 03
14:07
“No, Master, not first. I believe we should start with the weakest of the Potter coven.”
Harry puzzled over Li Meng’s answer for a moment and then gave up. “Why?”
Li Meng smiled. “Because I am ‘no slouch’, as Sergeant Major Jones says, Master. If the hybridization confers some massive new power on me, I would rather survive as a vampire than have you light me on fire because I decided it was time to try dominating you.”
Harry sensed a dissimulation. “And?”
Xhang Li Meng sighed; it was useless to try to fool the Master. “Master, we—or rather the bonded—are close to a cure for the virus. Even without a cure the symptoms have been reduced to almost nothing. Being a vampire or Lycan is no longer a cursed half-life. With the stones we can go in the sun; and the Lycans, while still forced to change, can now do it any time and control it. Hybridization could set us back to the beginning.”
“So I shouldn’t ask for volunteers?”
“Quite the contrary, Master. Hybridization may give the weaker vampires a better chance. I believe it will give them a Lycan’s abilities in addition to a vampire’s. As for me, well, there are few vampires on the planet who can win against me and no werewolves. I don’t need to take the risk.”
Harry nodded. “Please pass the word to your selected subordinates.”
Li Meng nodded, stood, and bowed himself from the room. Tashiro Yoko Potter faded into view. The now eighteen-year-old vampire mate threw herself into Harry’s lap. “My turn!”
She laughed as Harry’s desk chair went over backwards and she rode him to the ground.
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Godric’s Hollow
Duke’s Beach
Tuesday
15 July 03
09:00
Harry and the younger mates and Potter kids set up the beach in their usual ten minutes and then the kids lined up and Harry as usual counted off the list. “Sun potion?”
“On, Dad.”
“Chairs for mums?”
“Out, Dad.”
“Sunshade for mums?”
“Up, Dad.”
“Runestones?”
“On, Dad.”
“Right then, hasty attack on the evil-looking lake, charge!” And Harry led the charge into the pure, clear blue waters of the lake.
Muriel, as always, awaited him and dragged him under almost before he changed.
The kids, youngest mates, and Harry loved these early swims before anyone else got to the lake. Harry still allowed public access and the lake was a favorite spot, with its resident merperson population always watching for trouble and helping those who needed it. Clan Potter didn’t really need help, as the worst that could happen to them was getting lost. The runestones included a set of runes that caused a Bubble-Head and warming charm when the wearer was submerged.
In the years since they had moved in, the merpeople had turned the lake into a fair-sized town, more a village actually with fish farms, different plant crops, and all. With the Goblins’ help they had sloped the banks back from the sheer cliffs that had originally existed to a much much gentler angle, expanding the lake some but giving both more room for crops and a better swimming lake. Now you didn’t walk off the edge of a hundred and fifty-foot cliff thirty yards from the water’s edge.
The Goblins, ever seeking ores and raw materials, had driven shafts laterally out from the bottom of the lake and there were now miles of passages connecting all the lakes in the area. Harry had installed warded transport slabs to different seas and lakes and the merpeople lived a very happy existence, providing the school and Realm with a huge assortment of freshwater fish and seafood. They had made the shift from hunter-gatherers to aquaculturists with amazing alacrity, and they were true stewards of the environment, comprising many of the students working on pollution control and improving their techniques of aquaculture.
Of course, them finding all that gold and other sunken resources enamored the Goblins of them immediately and Griphook could often be found in the watery realm with a Bubble-Head charm making some deal or other with the Mer-king. He understood almost immediately that the Mer-king was a true vassal and he was again dealing with Narcissa and her crew by proxy, but all parties seemed to be enjoying themselves so Harry left it alone.
The Potter kids were soon off playing with the mer-kids and the mates all went and found or were found by their mermaid counterparts and were soon engaged in earthy little high-pitched conversations filled with giggling as they watched the children.
Muriel, of course, had a lineup waiting for her Harry, as she was still on her quest to populate the seven seas with Potters.
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