HPF231-240

Chapter 231

For the first time in both timelines, Harry

headed back to London on the Express on

Sunday, eleventh of April, for the two week

Easter break. Of course, he was accompanied

by his wives. The three of them shared a

compartment and were soon joined by

Horace, Blaise, Tracey, and Neville. It was a

full compartment of seven.

They were happily chatting away when

Malfoy, minus his bookends, turned up. The

blonde-haired boy opened the door, took

one look at whom else was in the

compartment, and left again. He never

uttered a word.

"Well, that's a first," said Harry.

"What; Malfoy coming to pay you a visit?"

asked Urquhart.

"No," replied Harry. "That he came to pay me

a visit, without his bookends in tow, and then

didn't even utter a single word, let alone a

scathing insult."

"You sound disappointed," smirked Blaise.

"Well, yeah; I was," he replied. "I was even

going to call him 'Teddybear' and everything.

I even had a bit of a mental list of snide

remarks concerning male homosexuals I

wanted to use."

"Harry, you're not homophobic, are you?"

asked Hermione.

"No, of course not," he scoffed. "I just

wanted to rile him up."

"Well it would be tacky," she grumped.

"Anyway," he said looking at Blaise and

wanting to change the subject. "How goes

life in the Snake Pit?"

"Well, as you probably gathered, Malfoy's no

longer the self-anointed Prince of Slytherin

he believes he is," said Tracey.

Blaise, as with Horace, seemed reluctant to

comment, but eventually said, "Outside of

the Pit we have to present a united front. I'm

sure Daphne's told you that."

Harry nodded back.

"However, inside the Pit, life's become

pretty... difficult... for the little ponce," he

said. "Even his supposed girlfriend is wary of

being seen with him."

"I noticed his bookends are no longer seen

shadowing him," said Harry. "I had no idea

Pansy's also shying away from his company."

"Yeah, Malfoy's on the outs within

Slytherin," said Tracey. "If it wasn't for

Professor Snape stepping in pretty quickly, I

daresay he'd have spent a great deal of time,

these past couple of weeks, within the

infirmary."

When the train arrived at Kings Cross the

three, as expected and planned, were

greeted by the Greengrasses.

They, with Astoria joining them, were quickly

led down to the portkey point and portkeyed

direct into the entrance foyer of the main

house of Greengrass Farm; whereupon Harry

immediately fell forward onto his face on the

polished floor.

With the light laughter of both his wives and

Astoria ringing in his ears, he climbed to his

feet. "That's it," he muttered. "As soon as I

find out who invented the portkey I'm going

to challenge him to a duel."

"That's going to be a little difficult, Harry,"

grinned Matthias, who had helped him to his

feet. "He died over one hundred years ago."

"Who died?" asked Sirius, as he walked in

from the informal part of the house.

"Rupert Portman," replied Matthias. "The

wizard who invented the portkey. Harry

wanted to challenge him to a duel for not

making the portkey better."

"Well, your great-something-aunt Mabel

would've been unhappy to hear you wanted

to challenge him to a duel, Harry," said Sirius.

"He was her brother."

"Your problem, Harry, is you've got to

remember to hit the ground as if you're

running forward," said Matthias.

"What you're doing is akin to running

forward, and then suddenly jamming your

feet together and jabbing straight down with

them. Of course you're going to sprawl

forward."

Muttering under his breath about wizard

travel hating him, Harry just nodded back. At

least he was now able to travel via Floo

without being sent skidding across the floor

once he reached his destination - mostly.

"Could it be something like the effect you

have on the Floo system, Harry?" asked

Hermione. "You spin faster than everyone

else?"

With the help of the Floos in both Professor

Flitwick's and Professor McGonagall's offices,

and practicing going from one to the other,

Harry had finally learned the 'knack' before

he had to turn up in the atrium the day of

the presentation. Part of the problem was

Harry had timing difficulties when it came to

sticking his foot out forward and off to the

side a little. However, with Professor Flitwick

joining him in the Floo, the Professor

immediately said that Harry actually spun

quite a bit faster than normal as he travelled

through it. And, secondly, he didn't seem to

slow down all that much as he hit the grate

of the arrival point. So, according to the little

Charms Master, it was no wonder Harry

tended to shoot out on his side and skid

across the floor. Harry's timing had to be that

much sharper than everyone else's, to pull it

off. And he had to practically stick his foot

right out to arrest his forward momentum he

carried through from the Floo.

"No," said Daphne. "When we travel by

portkey we all spin and travel the same.

Harry just needs to get used to it."

"Can we help him out by setting up

something similar to the constant jumps

between Professors Flitwick's and

McGonagall's offices?"

"Like what?" asked Matthias.

Hermione and Daphne, between them,

explained the concept of repeatedly

travelling from one Floo to the other and

back again to give Harry time to work out his

timing in reaching a destination and stepping

out to counteract both the speed and spin of

the Floo system.

"It could work," mused Matthias. "But, we'll

need two multiple use short hop portkeys..."

"... Going from one point to another and

back again; over and over," continued Sirius.

"I'm going to end up getting sick again,"

moaned Harry.

"Something to worry about later," said Deece.

"For now, you three know where your rooms

are."

After going to their rooms, and already

finding everything unpacked and ready for

them, the three quickly cleaned up from the

train journey and portkey before returning

downstairs. The others, as expected, were all

in the parlour.

"Good," said Deece, taking a long look over

the three of them - Astoria returned before

them. "Much better."

"So, what're the plans for the break?" asked

Daphne.

"The three of you are taking a look at the

new emergency escape system here, in the

Granger house, and at the Black House,"

replied Deece. "To facilitate that, you're

spending a couple of days here, a couple of

days at the Black House, Easter at the

Granger's house... apparently muggles make

that a four day long weekend break... then

the last four days you can be wherever you

want to be."

"Sounds good," said Harry.

"For right now, though, it's time for dinner,"

said Deece, rising.

Chapter 232

After a very nice dinner laid out by the

Greengrass house elves, Matthias took them

and Astoria down to the basement of the

main house.

"What we've done is taken your idea and

expanded on it, Harry," he explained, leading

them over to the wall at one end of the

basement.

He reached out and tapped three bricks at

about hip height, only for all the bricks in the

shape of an archway to quickly fade out as if

they weren't there. Behind it was a long,

straight tunnel, wide enough for two people

to pass one another. If Harry had his bearings

right, it headed directly under the outlier

house at that end of the main house.

"This is similar to the magic the goblins use

for some of the lower-risk vaults," explained

Matthias. He then pointed through the arch

to where a brick jutted out a little. It was also

about hip height off the ground. "From

within the tunnel, you just need to lightly

press on that brick to open it from that side.

"Here's where we expanded on your idea,

Harry. This tunnel runs from this basement,

to the basement of the east house. In case of

attack, we can travel from one house to the

other without going above ground."

He then pressed a brick jutting out slightly at

hip height on the inner wall of the basement

and waited until the bricks faded back into

existence, again. He then pointed to the

bricks he pressed to open it. "To open it, you

press this one... then, this one... and back to

the first one; once each. The first one always

has this little engraving on it; and the second

one is always two to the right."

The four nodded back so Matthias knew they

understood.

"Alright. Let's go see the tunnel to the west

house..."

After showing them the same idea was used

to get through to the basement of the west

house, he then moved to the back wall of the

basement where stood a large set of stacks

of storage boxes.

"This one's a little different as it should

only ever be used when all is lost for

Greengrass Farms and we need to evacuate,"

he said firmly, looking at each of them. Once

he was satisfied they all understood, he

continued by pulling a small slip of

parchment out of his pocket. Handing it to

each of them in turn, Harry saw it had

written on it, 'The escape tunnel entrances

are on the south wall of the basement of the

main house and the back wall of the

storeroom in the stables'.

Harry felt the knowledge slip into his

consciousness. Looking up he saw a blank

section of wall suddenly appear between

two sets of stacks of boxes against the wall

where, before, he only saw one set of stacks.

Once Hermione, who was the last to read the

note and look up, was ready Matthias moved

forward and pressed on a single brick at hip

height between the stacks. Again, bricks

faded away to leave an archway.

Turning back to them, he said, "This is quite a

hike. Follow me."

He then turned back and walked through the

arch, and kept walking.

Astoria and Daphne were quick to follow,

and Harry and Hermione brought up the rear.

As they walked in a set of magical candles

affixed to the wall in sconces began to burn.

The passageway went in about five feet

before it 'jinked' to the right and continued in

a straight line. Harry did some calculations

and determined they were heading direct for

the stables.

After about five minutes of walking they

came to a ladder affixed to the left hand wall

going up. Matthias turned to them and said,

"This is the ladder leading down from the

storeroom in the stables. Directly above us is

a trapdoor you're now able to see when you

go into the stables. You are not to use this

tunnel as a way to get from the stables to the

house or vice versa."

"Linked Fidelius charms?" asked Hermione.

"Yes," he replied. "Don't ask me how they

did it because I have no idea."

With a nod back from Hermione, Matthias

again turned and headed deeper into the

tunnel, which again took a kink to the right

before continuing on in a straight line. This

time they went for quite a distance; almost

double the distance it was to the stables.

Eventually they came to a dead end.

Matthias then backed up the passageway

about twenty feet and looked at the wall.

Eventually, he spotted what he was looking

for, and pressed three bricks in sequence -

centre, left and right. And, this time, a heavy

door appeared.

He pulled it open and held it open for

everyone to enter.

Inside, it was a reasonably large room. On

one wall appeared four large mirrors with

the smokiness Harry related to his

communications mirror. At the end of the

room was a shelf with about a dozen

children's rope quoits; each with a little tag

hanging from it. And, opposite the mirrors

was a long bench.

"Alright," said Matthias, making sure he had

the attention of the four. "Right here we're

somewhere under the wooded area out the

other side of the stables. Even I don't know

the exact location. However, it is outside our

house wards but inside our Muggle Repelling

wards.

"Anyone know why this room is not at the

end of the outside tunnel?" he suddenly

asked.

Hermione was the first to respond. "It's so, if

someone out to do harm managed to get

past the Fidelius and run down the tunnel,

they'd end up looking at the end of the

tunnel for where everyone went."

"Precisely," said Matthias. He then turned

and indicated the quoits. "Those are

emergency portkeys. I will not tell you where

they take you, but it is to a secure location.

Your not knowing where they go is part of

the security. They are voice activated and the

activation phrase is written on each of the

tags you see attached to them."

He then turned to the mirrors and firmly said,

"Activate mirrors."

All four mirrors appeared to come online like

a CCTV system. One was showing the front of

the house from a distance, but not too far

away you couldn't see anything. The second

showed a similar view of the back of the

house. The third showed the stables and the

area around it. And the fourth showed the

area outside the entrance to the tunnel in

the basement.

"This is an idea I got from Hermione's father,

Ant, and Harry's godfather, Sirius," explained

Matthias. "He called it... See See Teevy..."

'Close enough,' thought Harry.

"As you can see on the mirrors it shows

what's going on around the outside of the

house and stables. It is not here for you to

use it to spy on our guests. It is here to

monitor enemy movements if or when we're

attacked. If you ever have to come to this

room, I expect you to immediately portkey

out of here. Understood?"

Once he received agreements from the four,

he continued, "This room also has other

features related to the security of the Farm.

There are specialised war wards you do not

need to know about. If necessary Jelly can

tell you, but he's been instructed not to tell

you unless you are in this room and the Farm

is under attack; so, please, do not ask.

Chapter 233

"Now, any questions?" he finally asked.

Surprisingly, Hermione asked only one

question. "How will we know to head for the

basement?"

"There's a clear klaxon sound alarm that the

whole Farm will hear if the wards are being

attacked," replied Matthias. "If you hear that,

head for the basement. If, after no more than

three minutes, someone doesn't come down

to tell you it's a false alarm, immediately

head for here. Do not wait for anyone to join

you at the entrance."

Hermione nodded back, as did the other

three.

Once he was sure everyone was 'briefed' on

what to do and when, Matthias deactivated

the mirrors and led them back into the house,

then up to the parlour.

"How'd it go?" asked Deece.

"It went well," he replied. "They all now

know what's expected of them."

"Good," said Sirius, quite firmly.

"Oh!" said Deece to Harry. "Hedwig arrived a

few minutes ago."

Harry smiled back and asked, "She in the

owlery?"

"Yes," replied Deece. "I sent her there just

before you returned from exploring."

After a few days of enjoying the relaxation of

Greengrass Farm, the three packed... or,

rather, the elves did... and they readied for

their few days with the Grangers.

One of the few excursions they had away

from the Farm while they stayed was for

Matthias to take the family to Diagon Alley.

Harry had to go to Twillfit and Tattings to be

fitted for Wizengamot robes and hat, while

the ladies used the opportunity to see the

recently released summer fashions. And, of

course, purchase them.

When the robes were brought out and he

was wearing them before a mirror, while

minor resizing was occurring, he snorted and

said, "If it wasn't for the stylised 'W' on the

breast I'd look like a bloody choirboy."

"You wouldn't be the first to express that

sentiment, Mister Potter," said Mr Tattings

from where he was kneeling and working on

the bottom hem of the robe.

With an almost plaintive look at Matthias, he

asked, "Is it really necessary for me to get

bored out of my skull listening to some

stuffed shirt prattle on about the thickness of

cauldron bottoms?"

Matthias snorted and said, "Yes, Harry. You

managed to avoid the first Wizengamot

sitting after your award, by claiming you

didn't know you were required to attend,

and that you had end-of-term exams. You

won't be able to escape the next one at the

beginning of May. You must attend and be

seated. It would be rude of you not to."

Harry just turned back to the mirror and

sighed.

Another trip was Harry side-along apparating

Matthias to the graveyard in Little Hangleton.

There, they quickly located the grave of Tom

Riddle Senior. And Matthias quickly switched

out the bones within for a stranger's set.

Riddle Senior's bones were immediately

vanished so they couldn't be found and used.

Looking around, Harry said, "I'm an idiot."

"Why's that?" asked his father-in-law.

"If we'd thought about it, Hermione, Daphne

and I could have come here and set up an

anti-curse and hex ward."

"Bad idea," Matthias disagreed. "It could

have easily been discovered, in advance. And

changed where the ritual would take place.

Switching out the bones should be more than

enough for what you need.

"Besides, you want to be able to portkey out

of here with the Cup. The field might make

that impossible."

"Nodding, Harry sighed and said, "You're

right. I'm just looking for every advantage."

"Understood," said Matthias.

Hermione was, at first, disappointed her

parents weren't able to spend time with

them at Greengrass Farm. She expected it

had to do with her parents currently being

quite busy with their dental practice.

However, her assumption was wrong.

When Sirius, Matthias and Deece side-along

apparated the three directly into the garage

of the Granger house, Hermione was

surprised. "I thought my parent's house was

now warded," she said.

"It is," smirked Deece, who was her

apparition partner. "But, we're keyed-in to

the wards; as are you three."

"Oh," said Hermione, a little embarrassed

she hadn't thought of that.

She immediately turned to the internal door

of the garage that led into the house and

opened it. "Mum! Dad!" she called. "We're

here!"

"Are you really, sweetheart?" called back her

father from somewhere within. "I'm not

imagining it, am I?"

Hermione rolled her eyes and tried to get her

bearings from the sound of her father's voice

where they might be. From the similar

wording as the last time they'd been in the

house, this appeared to be some sort of

ritual between father and daughter. A

moment later she said, "Kitchen."

She then led all six of them through the door,

and a short trip down the back half of the

downstairs hallway, before turning and

entering through another door.

Harry and Daphne both recognised it as the

door Hermione had entered when Madam

Pomfrey brought them soon after their bond

was initialised.

Walking in, Harry watched as Hermione

practically threw herself into her father's

arms while her mother sat at the table

drinking tea and performing the same eye

roll Hermione did while watching the two.

"Room for five more, Cele?" asked Matthias

as the rest of them trooped in.

"Of course," she replied. "You'll have to

conjure up a few more chairs, though."

That was something Matthias was quick to

do, as Sirius lengthened the kitchen table a

little to fit four extra chairs.

As soon as Hermione finished her hug with

her father, she quickly hopped across to her

mother, wrapping her in a hug around the

woman's shoulders.

"Go easy on your mother, Hermione," her

father cautioned.

"What?" she asked almost tripping over

herself releasing her mother. "Why?"

Without a word, her mother just smiled a

little before placing her cup back down on its

saucer. Then she slowly stood up while

placing the palm of one hand on her lower

abdomen.

Hermione, Harry and - somewhat - Daphne

all goggled at the woman. Hermione

especially. There, for all to see was a little

'baby bump'. However, all the adults just

grinned at their expressions.

Chapter 234

"Y-you're pregnant!" gasped Hermione,

completely stunned and staring at her

mother's lower belly. "What?... How?... I

thought..."

Ant stepped forward and took Hermione by

the shoulders from behind. "Sit, love! Before

you faint." And guided her into the nearest

chair next to her mother.

"I'm sure you know, since you three have

finalised the bonds, how babies are made,

love," her mother said gently. "As for how..."

Ant went to the refrigerator and lifted down

off the top of it a greeting card, before

handing it to Hermione.

It was a simple style of bi-fold card similar to

a cheap birthday card. However, it was of

high quality stock. The image on the front

was of a watercolour of three angels with

wings and haloes. Inside, in perfect

calligraphy, was a short message: 'As we

promised, you have been rewarded.

Congratulations Anthony Michael and

Celeste Marie.'

Indicating the card, Ant said, "That was

sitting on the kitchen table when we

returned from visiting the doctor to find out

why your mother was, apparently, suffering

from morning sickness. The doctor confirmed

your mother was pregnant."

"Wh-when's it due?" asked Hermione, still a

little shaken.

"Late October," said Cele. "And, no, we do

not know the sex yet."

"I'm going to have a little brother or sister,"

Hermione softly said.

Harry and Daphne both rose from their own

chairs and, walking a little around the table,

both wrapped Hermione in a hug.

Pulling back and looking around at the adults,

Harry said to Matthias, Deece and Sirius,

"You knew." He wasn't being accusatory, just

stating a simple fact.

"Yes," said Matthias, grinning, as the other

two just grinned back.

"It wasn't our news to tell," said Deece.

"You could have written!" Hermione said to

her parents, clearly a little hurt.

"Yes," confirmed Cele, with a little nod of her

head back. "However, there was always a risk

with the first trimester. Once that was past, it

was only a couple of weeks before you'd be

on your Easter break. And we decided it was

something we wanted to tell you in person."

Hermione looked a little conflicted by that.

Quickly, though, she settled on acceptance

and recognition of the validity of their

argument. She gave a little nod back.

That made both Granger adults visibly sag in

relief.

"So; accommodations," said Harry. He looked

to both Grangers and said, "I hope you both

now accept we sleep together?"

"Yes," sighed Ant. "I would have preferred

you waited a lot longer... a lot longer... but I

now know magic pushed you to finalise the

bond earlier than even you anticipated."

"Please tell me we won't be going through

pregnancy together," begged Cele.

"We won't," smiled Hermione. "Unless, of

course, you plan on giving me

a second sibling. Then, no promises."

That had the adults grinning and Sirius

snorting in amusement.

"Come on," said Cele, putting her tea cup

down and rising. "Let's get your sleeping

arrangements sorted."

"Oh... ummm... Dad can do that..." started

Hermione.

Her mother rode over her and almost

snapped, "Don't you start. I've only just

broken your father of, again, attempting to

wrap me in cotton wool to protect me.

I'm pregnant; not dying of brittle bone

disease."

"Errr... sorry," said Hermione, a little meekly.

Her mother just patted her on the cheek and

said, "I appreciate the concern. However,

being pregnant is a natural state for women;

as I hope you will experience, one day. We do

not suddenly become fragile when we

conceive."

Again, Hermione gave a sheepish nod back.

Following Cele, the three headed up the

stairs to the guest room. Inside, they found a

queen-sized bed, built-in wardrobe and small

dresser all crammed into the room.

"Sorry about the cramped conditions," said

Cele. "But, it's the best we could do."

Hermione just smiled and said, "You forgot

about magic, Mum."

She turned slightly and called, "Dobby."

With a muted crack the little elf appeared.

"Yes Mistress Hermy-knee?"

Hermione looked back for a few moments as

Harry and Daphne snickered a little.

"Close enough," she huffed. "Can you, please,

throw up a semi-permanent space expansion

charm in here, and make it so the only

muggles who see it are my parents?"

"Yes, Ma'am!" said Dobby. He quickly spun

on the spot and caused the room to stretch

in both lateral directions until the room was

about twice as large as it was.

"Thank you, Dobby." she said.

The little elf grinned and popped away again.

"Harry, you take the bed while I work on the

wardrobe," she said as she stepped further

into the room and raised her wand to the

wardrobe.

Harry chuckled as he widened the bed to the

same width and length as the one they had

in their apartment.

"That's... amazing," said Cele, looking around

in awe. "It's a pity we can't keep it."

Hermione giggled and said, "It would confuse

the Hell out of future muggle guests if they

were to experience it. They can't see it; but,

if they were to enter, they'd get confused

about how long it took them to move about

the room. That's why it's only temporary.

Dobby'll have to return it to its normal

dimensions after the weekend."

"So, if they were to walk past the door and

look in?" asked Cele.

"They'd see the room, as it was, before we

made the magical changes to it," said

Hermione. "It's only entering and walking

across it they'd get confused."

Cele gave her head a bit of shake and said,

"As long as you're not going to get into

trouble with that secrecy law thing."

"We won't," smiled Hermione. "Nor for

underaged magic. Finalising the bond saw

both Daphne and I recognised as

emancipated minors in the magical world."

"It would have to, seeing as magic now

considers you married," said Cele.

Chapter 235

"Are you two ladies just going to stand in the

doorway?" asked Harry with a grin plastered

across his face looking back at them.

Hermione rolled her eyes and asked, "You

done?"

"Some time ago," he replied.

"Oh," she said. "Back to the kitchen, then?"

"That'd be nice," he said.

Back in the kitchen they were just in time to

say good bye to Sirius, Matthias and Deece.

Sirius was heading back to the Black House

and resuming an argument with Remus

about renaming the place, while Deece and

Matthias were heading back to Greengrass

Farm

"If we're lucky, Astoria wouldn't have

managed to set fire to the place yet," said

Deece, just before she apparated away.

Hermione turned to Daphne and asked, "Was

she serious?"

"No," laughed Daphne. "She always says

something like that when leaving from

visiting friends; and either I or Astoria was

home."

"Now," said Ant. "It was suggested to me to

show the three of you our new escape tunnel

as a matter of priority."

They were shown to a section of wall behind

the stairs. Letting them in they found a

trapdoor with a narrow set of stairs going

back and under the main stairs of the house,

and towards the front of the property. It

went quite deep.

That led down to a u-bend that had them

walking down a slight slope towards the back

of the house.

"It was explained to me that we can't have a

lot of the wards that wizarding homes have,"

said Ant. "However, we can still have the

tunnel with a hidden entrance. The only way

you three saw it was because you're keyed - I

think is the term - into what wards

we do have."

As Hermione began to ask her father what

sort of wards they had, and he explained the

goblins had left detailed information on

them because he knew she'd ask, Harry

noticed they were heading almost directly

back and away from the house.

Eventually, by Harry's calculation, they came

to the area beyond the back fence of the

house and quite well within the woods

located there.

In a similar layout to the Greengrass Farm

tunnel, Ant led them into a hidden room well

before the end of the tunnel. And, inside,

was an actual CCTV system. Ant turned the

television monitors on and showed views of

the front of the house and down one side;

the back of the house and down the other;

and the hallways of both ground and first

floors.

As you can see, from here we can monitor

what's going on all around outside the house,

plus watch those moving through the

downstairs and upstairs hallways. Of course,

the one for the downstairs hallway also

shows us if they're trying to chase us down

through the tunnel.

He quickly turned those off and pointed to a

small telephone. "That's hooked up to the

house and will work right through to them

cutting the line for it. That is, of course, if

they even know what a telephone is and

what the line for it looks like. We doubt they

do.

"If necessary, we can use that to contact the

MPS, muggle aurors, letting them know our

house is being attacked, and give them

approximate numbers. We're still trying to

work out a way to let them know that the

'sticks' the bad guys carry will actually be

deadly weapons."

He indicated a half-dozen children's quoits

sitting on a shelf and said, "Those are

portkeys. They will not work with either Cele

or myself, as we have no inherent magic.

However, testing has shown that they'll work

if we grip them while a wizard or witch grabs

on as well."

In the back of a room he indicated a ladder

bolted to the wall. "That goes up and comes

out inside a fake tree. The entrance to the

ladder from outside is hidden, somehow.

We've noticed that, once we go up and exit

the tree, we can't get back in that way."

Looking back to the three he asked, "Any

questions?"

"How much..."" asked Hermione.

"No idea," Ant replied with a smile.

"Apparently it was all taken care of by

Matthias and Sirius. Those two claimed

they'd carry the cost to ensure the safety of

their daughter, daughter-in-law and

son-in-law slash godson. Once I found out

your mother was pregnant, I was grateful."

"One of Daphne's letters from home told us

it was the... dwarves?... who were contracted

to excavate it and build it," said Hermione. "I

didn't know they knew anything about

muggle electronics."

"Surprised us, too," said Ant. "Even Matthias

didn't know when he sent them to see me

that they understood muggle technology."

"So, I take it this place will act as a... what do

they call it?... Safe room?... until the DEs are

gone or someone can come get you?" asked

Harry.

"Yes," replied Ant. "However, if something

bad happens... such as the house gets

burned down, or they find the hidden

entrance in the house... we can still get out

of here by way of the ladder up through the

tree."

When it appeared no one else had any

questions, he said, "Anyway. Let's get back to

the house."

The four of them trooped back to the house.

However, just before they arrived, Harry

noticed what appeared to be a groove with a

sliding door flush with one wall off to one

side.

"Ant?" he asked, indicating the door.

"A blast door," said Ant. "Once we know

everyone from the good guy's side we know

is going to come past here, we can slam the

door shut. It'll also protect us from the fire if

they set fire to the house. It's another safety

feature."

Harry nodded and said, "Good to know."

The next morning saw Harry downstairs early

and cooking in the kitchen. He and Winky

had started with a bit of a minor argument

about who was going to be doing the cooking.

However, voices were not raised out of

respect for those still sleeping and they

quickly agreed to work together.

Harry was even explaining to the little elf

what he was doing and why. He even

explained the operation of muggle kitchen

appliances such as the coffee percolator, the

gas cooker, the toaster, the refrigerator, the

hand-cranked egg-beater, and the

microwave.

He went on to explain and demonstrate the

operation of the washing machine and dryer

- though the dryer was way out of reach

being mounted on the wall above the

washing machine. He showed them the

vacuum but Dobby explained back it was far

easier to clean the carpet using elf magic

than the vacuum, and the carpet was far

cleaner after they'd finished.

Chapter 236

During the night, both elves had been

outside and magically mowed the lawns

front and back, trimmed and weeded the

gardens, cleaned the paths and did little odd

jobs about the place to make sure they were

helpful.

When Dobby alerted them that the family

was in the process of waking up, Harry and

Winky began to finalise what they cooked.

They had no idea if Cele was still feeling the

effects of morning sickness, as Harry felt it

was too rude to ask, and the elves never

would; so Harry prepared to supply a boiled

egg and dried toast, if she'd rather that.

Cele was the first down, closely followed by

Ant. Harry and Winky already had the coffee

ready to be served and were ready to plate

as the warm plates, which were in the low

heat oven, were ready to come out.

"What's this?" asked Cele.

"I didn't know if you were still feeling the

effects of morning sickness or not... or

whether or not Ant cooks... so I decided to

make myself useful by cooking breakfast,"

replied Harry to which Winky immediately

gave her little throat a little clear.

"Sorry," he corrected himself. "I

meant we decided to make ourselves useful

by cooking breakfast."

"You didn't have to do this," said Cele.

"I know," he shrugged, as he began to gently

stir the scrambled eggs. "But it's not often I

get the chance to cook. It was the one chore I

had at the Dursleys that I actually liked."

Meanwhile, Winky was both monitoring the

toaster and one of the two frying pans, which

was frying up the tomatoes. Harry was

keeping an eye on the one frying the

handmade hash browns and bacon.

"So, what are your plans for today," asked

Ant, after he'd grabbed a cup of fresh coffee

and sat down at the now six-seater kitchen

table.

"We're in your hands," replied Harry before

he turned to Cele. "Are you up for a big

breakfast?"

"I am now," she replied, just as Hedwig

landed on the window ledge, outside.

Letting her in, Ant asked, "Any ideas on what

you want to do?" He was just about to close

the window when two delivery owls from

the Daily Prophet flew in, each carrying a

copy.

"I believe Hermione will say, spend time with

you two," replied Harry as Cele removed

the Daily Prophet from each owl's leg.

"Where we do that is up to you."

The two delivery owls flew back out the

window before Harry could even offer them

a rasher of bacon each.

With the smell and sound of sizzling bacon

starting to permeate the house, Hermione

and Daphne soon joined them.

"Where we do what?" asked Hermione,

catching the end of the conversation.

"Spend our day, today," said Ant, beginning

to read one of the Prophets.

"Take Harry down to the range, Daddy,"

suggested Hermione. "We girls want to

spend time with Mum."

Ant cocked his eyebrow and looked back at

Hermione. "Do mine ears deceive me? Dost

mine fair maiden suggest we two knights

depart her presence hence to do battle with

the pigeons clay?"

"Daddy, stop butchering Shakespeare,"

Hermione lightly scolded back. "I daresay

you've not been far from Mum's side since

you both found out she's pregnant. Daphne

and I will be here, and this gives you some

father-son bonding time with Harry."

"And you, Daphne and your mother some

mother-daughter bonding time," Ant shot

back. "Which, I've no doubt, is

the real reason you wish to banish us mere

males from the house."

The three ladies just grinned back.

He turned to Harry and said, "Well, son; feel

like getting a better understanding of the

noble sport of clay pigeon shooting?"

Grinning at the byplay, Harry looked at Ant

and said, "Yeah, Dad; I'd like that."

The other four all looked back at Harry in

shock for a moment, at Harry calling Ant

'Dad'. But, Ant's face suddenly broke out in a

huge grin. "Then we shall do so! And leave

the fairer folk to... spinning wool,

needlepoint and... whatnot."

Hermione and Cele both rolled their eyes

while Daphne smiled. She turned to

Hermione and asked, "Is your father truly

this old-fashioned?"

"No," replied Hermione. "However, there's

a reason I'm named after a Shakespearean

character. Daddy's a fanatic."

Ant just unrepentantly grinned back at the

pair of them.

Later that afternoon, the menfolk returned.

Harry was sporting both a wide grin and a

large bruise in the hollow of his right

shoulder.

Hermione took one look at it, sighed at Harry,

and said, "I've got some bruise paste in my

trunk. Hang on while I get it out."

"How was it?" asked Daphne, as Hermione

rose to go to her trunk upstairs.

"Loud!" grinned Harry. "But, loads of fun!"

"The first time I shot the shotgun I ended up

falling on my ar...err... bum," he said, as

Hermione walked back in.

"So did I!" said Hermione, as she sat down in

front of Harry as he eased the collar of his

shirt down. "It was also the last time I shot

the gun. I've never wanted to do it since."

After a very enjoyable Easter weekend with

the Grangers, on the Monday afternoon the

three were readying to travel to the Black

House. Unusually, this travel was taking place

in the cars of the two Grangers; matching

white third generation 5-Series BMWs they

leased as part of their dental practice.

They were waiting on Sirius to arrive to guide

them to Grimmauld Place in the inner

suburbs of Northern London. The area was

considered lower class and Sirius would be

putting both cars under a Muggle

Notice-me-Not field for the duration of the

adult Grangers' few hours stay, as he didn't

trust the locals not to cause damage to the

two near-new cars.

"Everything packed?" asked Cele, not

noticing any luggage when she walked in to

join them in the kitchen.

"Packed and ready to be taken to Black

House when we arrive," said Hermione.

"Dobby will bring them when we call for

him."

"Now, you're sure about Winky staying

here?" asked Cele, a little worried.

"Yeah, Mum," said Hermione. "We don't

have enough work for her at Hogwarts. We

really don't have enough work for Dobby,

either. But, there's no way we could convince

him to do anything but help Harry and his

ladies. Winky, however, just wants a family

to work for. She'll come to Hogwarts to be

with us at times to recharge her magic, but

be continually available to help you;

especially as your pregnancy progresses."

Chapter 237

"We gave her the option, Mum Granger,"

said Daphne. "It was her choice."

"And people won't see her?" asked a worried

muggle mother.

"Not if she doesn't want them to," said

Hermione. "And she's very aware of the

Statute of Secrecy, and knows to remain

invisible to muggles not in the know."

"But, I still don't know if we have enough

work for her," she tried.

"Have you seen your gardens, lately?"

grinned Harry. "Winky and Dobby did that

in one night. I really doubt any one upper

middle income muggle family home has

'enough' work for a house elf. However, the

elves have this... sort of... network among

themselves. They help each other out, as and

when necessary.

"Winky's now tapped in to the local house elf

network. She'll be fine, work wise. And she

now knows how to use all the appliances, as

well as not to use too powerful magic around

any electronic device that is active; whether

'on' or on 'standby'."

"I'm still amazed at how easily you repaired

the television," she said, referring to how

Winky had accidentally blown it up when she

tried to clean the dust out of its vents.

"So am I," he replied. "I had no idea magic

could fix electronic devices so long as the

device was unplugged. Nice to know."

"It means, if Winky does accidentally cause

something electrical to go on the fritz, it can

be magically repaired by unplugging it, first;

and probably letting any internal capacitors

drain off excess power," added Hermione.

"We ready?" asked Ant, walking in to the

kitchen.

"Yes," all three of them replied.

"Hello!" called Sirius, walking in from the

garage. "We ready?"

"Yes," all five replied.

"In the kitchen, Sirius!" called Ant.

Hermione and Daphne rode with Cele in her

car, while Sirius and Harry rode with Ant in

his.

"I could have magically expanded the interior

of one of the cars and we could have all

ridden in that," said Sirius.

"Thank you, but its fine," said Ant. "Due to

the lease agreements, both cars need to

maintain a certain number of miles per year.

We're a little low on both for this time of

year, so the drive is both necessary and no

bother."

Just over an hour later Sirius pointed them to

park just inside the inner park on the lawn of

Grimmauld Place. When Dan asked why, he

explained it was easier on the Notice-me-not

field to have pedestrians avoid the area,

rather than motorists.

A quick walk across the road and Sirius was

leading them up a path to a very well

presented 'townhouse' home. Harry had to

look to either side to recognise that 12

Grimmauld now looked nothing like it used

to in the previous timeline.

Of course, neither Hermione nor he could say

anything about the appearance as, in this

timeline, they'd not been to the house

before. However, a quick glance to Hermione

and Harry could tell she was thinking exactly

the same thing. The change was amazing.

Of course, the drastic changes for the better

on the outside were also now reflected on

the inside. Gone was the Slytherin snake

motif throughout, the faded and peeling

wallpaper, the threadbare carpets, the

no-longer polished teak floors, the cobwebs,

the magical pest infestations, the dark

artefacts, and - most noticeably - the elf

heads.

That was all replaced with walls painted in

bright and cheery colours, deep rich carpets,

polished to a high shine teak flooring, rich

drapes, and larger windows allowing in far

more light. A very large skylight now

occupied the ceiling in the stairwell. The

kitchen had been 'wizard' modernised, and

quality furniture that had remained and was

in reasonable condition had been given a

rejuvenating makeover and returned to

service. That included furniture like the

formal dining table and hard wooden chairs -

though the cushions had been replaced.

After a tour of the 'public' areas of the house,

Sirius led them up to the bedrooms. Of

course, he led them directly to their room on

the floor immediately below his own. With a

grin and a flourish, he opened the door and

gestured everyone inside.

Inside was a large four-poster bed, doors

leading off to a private ensuite bathroom and

a walk-in robe, a bureau and a small desk.

"I hope this meets your approval?" he asked.

"Oh, yes," said Daphne.

Hermione nodded and said, "It's perfect."

"Dobby! We're here!" called Harry.

Dobby almost immediately popped in with

their three trunks. "Yes, Master Harry. Dobby

is ready for work."

"Hey, Chuckles!" called Sirius.

A second, apparently much calmer, elf

popped in and asked, "Yes, Master Padfoot?"

"Chuckles, this is Dobby. Dobby? Chuckles.

Dobby is Master Harry's, Mistress

Hermione's and Mistress Daphne's personal

elf. He'll be here, helping out, while Harry,

Hermione and Daphne are here; alright?"

"Yes, Master Padfoot; of course," said the

calm little elf.

"Thank you, Chuckles," said Sirius, and the

elf popped away again.

"You named your elf 'Chuckles'?" asked

Hermione.

"I think it fits," replied Sirius with a grin.

Hermione just rolled her eyes at him and said,

"I'm sure that's not his real name."

"No," agreed Sirius. "But, it's the only one I

call him."

While they left Dobby to unpack for the

three bondmates, they all trooped down to

the kitchen with its large, informal dining

table.

"I... thought Madam Black owned a house elf

named Kreacher," said Daphne. Harry and

Hermione were also wondering what

happened to the despicable little fellow.

"He asked I... release him from his torment,"

replied Sirius. Sirius 'ceremonially' killed him

by beheading.

Apparently, Ant and Cele knew of it because

they didn't push for further information. And

the three bondmates knew not to ask, but

Harry and Hermione both knew how.

Once in the kitchen, Chuckles served them all

an afternoon tea as they talked.

"Where's Moony?" asked Harry.

"Apparently, his boss is a bit of a hard-arse,"

grinned Sirius. "He's at work."

Chapter 238

"Sirius! Language!" scolded Hermione.

"I am not a... well, you know!" retorted Harry,

as Hermione gave him a hard look. "I didn't

even know he was at work."

Sirius laughed a little and said, "Don't worry

about it, Pup. Moony loves his job and is

hard at work with the staff and board

determining who is to be offered the first

scholarships. Other than at your parents'

wedding, I've never seen him happier.

"They needed Filius present and he could

only add his expertise during the Easter

break. He'll be here in a little while. And he's

looking forward to seeing you, again."

After their afternoon tea, the adult Grangers

exchanged hugs with the teens and bid the

three bondmates a good stay at the Black

House before they followed Sirius back out

to their cars. So was the nature of the

Notice-me-not charms on the cars that

even they couldn't see them.

However, as soon as Sirius dispelled the

charms, the Grangers hopped in, pulled them

back onto the road and drove away.

When Sirius came back inside he was madly

grinning and rubbing his hands together.

"Alright, Potters!" he said. "Any plans for

during your time here I need to be aware

of?"

"Now that we're out from under the roofs of

my in-laws..." said Harry, with a leer at his

wives.

"Harry!" both girls exclaimed, scandalised,

before both also blushed.

Sirius just barked with laughter.

By the time Sirius, accompanied by the

Greengrasses and with Astoria, escorted the

three back to Kings Cross, Harry was happy

he'd been able to spend so much time with

him. This timeline, at least, whenever they

started to talk it wasn't soon thereafter

interrupted by one of the Weasleys; who

were pretty much hell-bent on keeping them

apart.

The four spent evening hours sitting in the

revived parlour of the Black House talking

about the Marauders and, specifically,

Harry's parents.

After one of their talks focussing on Lily,

Hermione asked, "I really am a lot like her,

aren't I?"

"Yes, dear; you are," smiled Sirius.

Before they left Black House Sirius gave them

a small book to read called, 'Your Inner

Animal'.

"It's a book about animaguses, together with

the known risks and benefits," he said. "I

know it's not something you've decided

you'd like to try; however, I'd like you to read

that before you reach a decision one way or

the other."

"Thank you," said Harry.

"Just remember; if you have any questions, I

can probably provide the answers," he said.

"Just don't approach Minnie about this. She's

still very much annoyed with your father and

me about doing it while we were still

students. She'd demand you not try it while

at school."

"We won't," said Hermione; which showed

how little faith she still held in Professor

McGonagall.

While they were waiting on the platform and

talking to the adults, the three were

approached by Arthur Weasley. They could

see the four Weasley school-aged children all

standing back and watching. Fred and George

were grinning, Ron was angry and Ginny was

staring at Harry with longing.

"May I have a word with you and your wives,

Mister Potter?" he asked.

After a visual check with his wives, Harry

replied, "Certainly, Mister Weasley."

The three pulled apart from Sirius and the

other Greengrasses just enough that their

discussion would not be overheard.

The three waited for Mister Weasley to then

gather his thoughts and say his piece.

Eventually, he said, "Mister Potter... Harry... I

hope you understand I had no idea what

Molly was up to or planning. Since I have

become... freed... of the effects of the potion

she was slipping me, I've come to realise I do

not love her. If anything, I now find myself

despising her. I have filed for an in

absentia divorce based on the use of those

love potions."

"I thought she'd be released by now," said

Hermione. "After all, the six months should

have expired, by now."

"It has," he replied. "However, I will not have

her back at The Burrow. I think she's staying

with her Aunt Muriel."

He gave himself a bit of a shake and said,

"But, that's not your concern. I just wanted

to assure you that the Weasleys, as a family,

despise what Molly attempted to do. And,

now that I'm free of potions myself, I find

myself utterly appalled at what she was

planning on accomplishing."

"Mister Weasley," said Harry. "While I know

it was fundamentally Molly's plan to potion

me and have me marry Ginevra, it was not

difficult for me to come to the logical

conclusion that Ronald and Ginevra were

willing... I daresay eager... co-conspirators.

And, from the expressions on both their

faces as you were asking us for a word, it was

not difficult to tell they'd go right back to

being co-conspirators if they thought they

could get away with it."

When Arthur seemed about to object, Harry

continued, "I know that the only reason both

were not more harshly punished as a result

of that trial is because of backroom

shenanigans by Dumbledore, calling in

favours or promising others. It was not

difficult to hear Molly's whole testimony and

determine it was carefully prepared to

ensure your two youngest were able to slip

out of receiving suitable and well-deserved

punishment.

"Hells bells, neither of them, even now,

believe they've done anything wrong! Ronald

is still operating under an overblown sense of

personal entitlement about being born a

pureblood and believes only he can be the

friend of Harry Potter, and that he's been

wronged by being caught; hence the

expression of hate on his face even now. And,

Ginevra was brain-washed by Molly into

believing it was her destiny to marry the

mythical Boy-Who-Lived;

hence her expression of pained longing for

me."

Arthur seemed to think about that for a

moment before he quickly spun around, and

saw those exact expressions. He glared at

them both, for a moment forcing both to

look away, before he turned back to Harry

with a look of sadness. "I'm sorry," he quietly

said.

"Look, Mister Weasley," said Harry, a little

softer. "I'm very grateful to you, the twins...

even Percy... for being there for me in my

first, second and third year summers. You

even invited Hermione and me to join your

family to attend the Quidditch World Cup.

And I know you did that for no more reason

than you're really good people. But, what

those three did? That's unforgivable. They

used me, manipulated me and... as I see

it... poisoned me and Hermione. And they

planned on continuing to do that until they

got what they wanted."

"I know, Harry," sighed Arthur. "However,

that did not absolve me of apologising to you

as Head of House Weasley."

Chapter 239

"Accepted, Arthur," said Harry. "Just... keep

those two away from me."

"They have been ordered to," he said. "I just

hope they recognise the consequences of not

obeying that order."

"As do we, Mister Weasley," said Hermione.

"If they, ever again, act against us..."

"Understood," he sighed.

After wishing them the best... and his

belated congratulations... he took his

reduced brood off so they could board the

train, sending the twins on board as he took

the youngest two aside for another talk

about their behaviour.

When they boarded the train and found a

compartment, Daphne said, "I thought the

Weasleys stayed at the castle for Easter."

"As did I," said Harry. "I don't remember

them being on the train back to London two

weeks ago."

"They weren't," said Hermione. "I was

watching for them."

"Then they must have been either sent home

or Mister Weasley picked them up, after the

train left," said Daphne. "It could have been

just for that meeting, on the platform."

"Yeah, but I doubt it. Mister Weasley doesn't

have a Slytherin bone in his body," sighed

Harry. "I can see him wanting to spend time

with his kids, though; now that The Burrow is

empty of everyone but himself while school

is in session. He could have even wanted to

check up on his two youngest to see how

they're faring. We just don't know."

"Father informs me that Percy has returned

to The Burrow," said Daphne. "Apparently, it

was more Molly's nagging that drove him

away. And he also now has a house elf to

take care of the place. It was something the

oldest two bought for their father to make

sure he was looked after soon after Molly

was incarcerated."

"As long as 'Ronnikins' doesn't abuse it, I

have no problem with that," said Harry.

"Arthur's nice. He'd treat him, or her, well."

They were just talking when the door opened

and Malfoy stuck his head in. Again, there

was nary a human bookend in sight.

"Potter," he sniffed.

"Malfoy," Harry sniffed back in an almost

perfect mimic of the blonde boy.

Malfoy stood there for a moment before he

obviously reached a decision. He quickly

looked both directions down the corridor

and stepped fully within the compartment

before closing the door shut behind him.

Then he just stood there for a few moments.

Finally, Harry asked, "Something on your

mind, Malfoy?"

Again, Malfoy just seemed to stand there for

a few moments; neither looking at Harry and

not. Clearly, something was whirring about in

his mind. Eventually, he reached another

decision and said, "You need to watch your

arse, Potter. There's something in the wind."

'Curious,' thought Harry. When he glanced at

his wives he could see they thought the same

thing.

"Care to elaborate?" he asked.

"I'm... unable to," the blond boy admitted.

"Fair enough," replied Harry. "Then, perhaps

you could tell me what's led you to this

conclusion?"

"A few things," replied Malfoy. "During the

break, father was acting quite... I must ask

that what I am about to tell you is not

spoken about with other ears. I understand

that your... wives... will be privy. However,

your word on your and their behalf shall

suffice."

Harry thought about that for a few moments.

This was something that did not happen in

the previous timeline. It was something that

had a clear profound effect on the boy who

thought himself his arch-nemesis.

He quickly glanced to his two wives, who

were also showing confusion but acceptance.

He turned back and said, "As long as what

you tell me does not cause harm to me or

mine, including my friends, then I will keep

your confidence. However, if it does warn of

possible harm to me or mine or my friends, I

will do my best to ensure your identity is

kept out of it if I feel the need to warn or

protect them."

Malfoy gave a little snort and said, "You

really should have gone into Slytherin." He

paused for a moment and then said, "During

the break, father was acting quite perturbed

and showing not a little anxiety. It is not like

him to display emotion; especially emotion

that could be deemed a weakness. For father,

this is quite out of the ordinary. It means he

was very worried. I saw as he often rubbed

the Dark Mark on his arm; almost

unconsciously. He would also meet with

some of his... colleagues from those days.

They, too, displayed anxiety.

"And father has also been meeting with the

goblins. From the snippets of information I

garnered, I suspect it was to move funds out

of wizarding Britain. Not a lot, but significant

amounts.

"From this, I have reached the conclusion

that father and his colleagues believe the

Dark Lord will soon return. Hence, my

warning."

Malfoy paused again for a few moments

before his voice, still soft, firmed. He said,

"Now that I know the truth about the

identity of the Dark Lord... Riddle... I have no

wish to be forced to take his Mark. I was

taught that 'A Malfoy bows to no one'.

However, my father abases himself by kissing

the robes of a... bastard half-blood.

"It was not difficult to determine Riddle is

only caring of his own self interests. To align

oneself with him is foolishness in the

extreme. I do not consider myself a fool." He

then held himself up straight and his tone

and manner took on a more formal air. "As it

is apparent you are the Heir of Black, I ask

you to act as intermediary between myself

and The Black, to see if he'd be willing to

offer myself... and, hopefully, my mother...

sanctuary in House Black."

Daphne gasped a little as Harry just stared

back, stupefied. It took him a moment to get

his mind going again.

"Bloody Hell, Malfoy!" he near gasped.

"Of all the things I could have guessed you

might want to say to me, that was not even

on my 'highly unlikely' mental list."

Malfoy clearly thought that through for a

moment before he clearly and honestly said,

"I admit, until this break, it would not have

been something I could ever envision asking

of you; let alone, asking of you anything."

Harry sighed and looked at his wives. Both

nodded back.

Turning back he said, "Alright, Malfoy. I will

ask Sirius... The Black... as soon as I am able

to. I may not like you; but, you are family;

even if it is as distant cousins, once removed.

And I understand my responsibilities as the

Heir of Black to a son of Black."

"Then you have my thanks, Heir of Black,"

replied Malfoy. "However, until this matter

is... resolved. I'm afraid I must keep up

appearances. Forgive me, but I must still

comport myself as if I consider you my

personal enemy."

Chapter 240

Harry gave a little snort and said,

"Understood. However, no hexes or similar;

words only. Agreed?"

"Agreed," he replied. "Thank you for your

time... Potter." He then turned to both

Daphne and Hermione, finally acknowledging

their presences, and gave a short bow to

each. "Missus Greengrass-Potter. Missus

Granger-Potter."

Without waiting for a response, he spun

about and, after checking both ways down

the outside passage, made his escape,

quietly shutting the door behind him as he

left.

"Bloody Hell," breathed Harry after Malfoy

disappeared.

"Do you have your mirror on you, Harry?"

asked Daphne.

"Umm... yeah," he replied, distractedly

pulling it out of the pocket of his inside

robes.

Without even asking, she almost snatched it

out of his hand before opening it and

whispering 'Padfoot' across the glass.

Both Harry and Hermione were surprised.

This was not normal 'Daphne' behaviour.

"Why, hello, Pup..." came the voice of Sirius

from the mirror. "Hang on, you're not Harry.

What is it, Daphne? Did something happen to

Harry on the train?"

"No, Sirius. I need to speak to you as 'The

Black'," she said.

"Ohhh-kay!" he said, before his voice took on

quite a different tone and inflection. "Then,

this is a pleasure, Missus Greengrass-Potter.

How may I or House Black assist you?"

"My husband, your Heir, has just been

approached by your cousin, once removed,

the Heir of Malfoy and son of House Black,"

she replied. "He came asking for my husband

to act as his intermediary in approaching you

with a most special request."

"Young Draco?" asked Sirius, to which

Daphne nodded. "I see... and what is Mister

Malfoy's request?"

Daphne quickly outlined the discussion they

just had, and promised to also send along a

memory of the event as soon as they were

able, that night.

"I see," said Sirius. "Is it your belief his

request is sincere?"

"It is," she replied. "As it is for my husband

and sister-wife."

Sirius seemed to think hard about that for a

few moments before he asked, "Are you

aware of whether or not his mother, Cousin

Narcissa, has taken the Mark?"

"We are not," she replied.

Sirius seemed to think a bit more before he

said, "Very well. Send that memory strand to

me tonight. I shall review it and make my

decision on how I will proceed, accordingly."

"Thank you, Mister Black. You have our

gratitude," she replied.

"Thank you for bringing this matter to my

attention, Missus Greengrass-Potter," said

Sirius.

Daphne suddenly grinned and said, "Now

that the formalities are out of the way, sorry

for shocking you with that, Padfoot."

"That's alright," he replied, his voice losing

its formally stilted form. "It was your duty; or,

rather, Harry's."

"Harry isn't up on the formal language

required yet," she replied with a little blush.

"I know," he replied. "Your father and I will

be coaching him on that over the summer.

Hermione, too."

"And I'll now be playing my part on helping

with that before then," she said.

"Good," he replied. "I had expected as

much."

When the train arrived at Hogsmeade the

three immediately headed to the carriages

and were joined, again, by Horace, Blaise and

Tracey.

"We missed you on the train," said Tracey.

"Yeah, sorry," said Daphne. "I don't know

what happened there."

"I heard you went to Twillfit and Tattings for

your Wizengamot robes," Blaise said to

Harry.

"Yeah," replied Harry. "I just wish I could get

out of having to attend for now. There's

already too much on my plate, you know?"

Blaise nodded back and said, "Hopefully, for

you, it'll only be a few hours out of every

month. As a new member you won't have to

attend any committee hearings, judicial

sittings or the like. However, you'll probably

find yourself on the roster for those next

sitting year."

"When is that, by the way?" asked Harry.

"June to July? September to August?"

"March to February," replied the other boy.

"It has something to do with the ancient

Roman calendar of only ten months, of which

March was the first."

"So, that means I'm excused from other than

the actual Wizengamot sittings until the first

sitting in March?" he asked.

"Unless something happens that requires

you to sit earlier, yes," replied Blaise.

"However, you'll be approached sometime in

January, at the latest, concerning what

Committees and the like of which you will or

should become a member."

"Like what?" he asked.

"Sitting members dying or retiring," replied

Blaise. "Or, they're sent to prison, or undergo

a long-term stay in Saint Mungo's, or... they

become too ill due to age to attend but won't

retire..." he suddenly added.

With a sigh, Harry said, "Well, hopefully,

none of that will happen. And, hopefully, I'll

only lose a few hours one day a month."

"Knowing your luck, Harry..." said Hermione.

Harry winced and softly said, "Yeah..." Then

he moaned and said, "I'm going to be

studying my arse off over the summer!"

"Harry James, you mind your language!"

scolded Hermione, as the three Slytherins

grinned back.

"Hermione," Daphne softly but firmly said.

Daphne had no qualms with Hermione

berating Harry for his language and scolding

him as much as she wished when in private

or with family. However, there was still a

level of... passive deference... to Harry she

demanded of the other girl when in public.

And that included not scolding him for his

language.

Daphne required of Hermione, in such

instances, to note his language and berate

him in private later about it, if she felt the

need to. It was still something Hermione was

learning to control. However, her reaction

was often of the 'knee jerk' variety, as it had

developed in her younger years. Her father

had been amused by it, so hadn't called her

up short on it. Daphne, however, was now

working on it with the other girl as Harry was

still quite often cowed by his muggleborn

wife when she went on a tear. Something she

was also working with Harry on improving.