Chapter 38

24th August,

Godric's Hollow

It happened on the fateful day of the funeral. Lily had been quiet and subdued the whole morning, busying herself in her lab and refusing to acknowledge what the day was about.

Even as they readied themselves for the farewell—his sisters grim faced and teary eyed—Bella silent and hesitant…he couldn't help but notice how hard Lily was trying not to focus upon anything related to James or Jacob.

The funeral for James' burial was held three days after his death. It was a quiet affair, with only the Potter family and Bella present. Harry had opted for a private funeral, for he did not wish to deal with his insanely bloated fame yet. People seemed even crazier about him here than back in his old world.

They were in the Godric's Hollow, gathered around the marble coffin holding the peaceful figure of James.

They'd just finished digging the hole—Harry had wanted to do it personally, without hiring any professionals—and were waiting for the chosen few close friends to arrive. He'd wanted a completely private funeral but Bella seemed to disagree. Keeping Remus—and James' other close friends away—would be too cruel, she believed.

Harry's eyes trailed along the covered body of his father—did he consider him his father in actuality? He did not know…but he was willing to pretend on this occasion.

Only the man's head was visible through the white cover, his body being too ruined to come in contact with naked air.

James looked peaceful in death—the grimaced pain no longer visible—holding the beginnings of a smile. Harry realized he'd died hearing his promise to keep Lily safe—in any way he can.

Suddenly Lily whirled around beside them.

"I...I just...can't..." she whispered, taking slow steps away. "I'm sorry."

Then she turned on the spot and disappeared within the splintered air.

Harry glanced at Bella, who nodded in understanding. "Go, I'll see to the burial."

With a thankful nod, he vanished after Lily.

He should've seen the signs when he arrived in the Manor. Should've known that a grieving Lily won't just throw her clothes away in the hallway carelessly.

And sure enough, as he entered the main Hall, his eyes fell upon Lily Potter at once.

She was facing away from him, bent over a large cushioned armchair, her naked body splayed apart for his viewing pleasure.

Shock quickly disappeared away in lust.

His eyes feasted upon her delicate shoulders, trailing down her gracefully arched back, before finally falling upon the two milky pale, full and round buns, curving out like bubbles.

She looked smooth and perfect as a sculpture, but warm and supple to the touch. He found his legs involuntarily closing in the distance, pure lust and need feeling his being.

"I knew you'd come, love" Her voice, sweet as honey, purred softly. "It was a long and torturous wait. Now come and claim what is yours."

He wanted to fall upon her like an animal, he wanted to cup her perfect body with his, he wanted to feel himself pressed against her...

Yet, he forced his lust down—not through Occlumency, but with sheer fucking will.

"Who are you?" He finally managed to get out, though not stopping his forward journey, eyes tracing the length of her silken smooth legs that moved back and forth in the air.

She glanced back at his question, a smile of extreme love and devotion upon her face. "I am Lily, silly. No need for such caution. You may call me…void Lily, if you wish to. I apologize for ignoring you the past few days, love. But my morals, the society's views ingrained upon my mind…they all come roaring back to me eventually. This…state of pure and deepest desire…it doesn't always stay."

She tsked, shaking her head as her face morphed with impatience. "I shall explain everything, I promise, but first..."

She let her legs fall upon the ground, before spreading them apart, giving him an erotic back view of the dripping cunt as she laid bent over the armchair. "Please, use me as you will. We don't have much time, and I wish to feel you inside me. Yes, even my foolish self, though she keeps denying it to herself."

"Claim me, beloved master. And I shall answer everything."

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26th August,

British Ministry Headquarters

"He is here, Minister."

The steaming cup of tea almost slipped out of her hands as her secretary made the announcement.

"Thank you." Amelia nodded with forced calm, waiting until the door had shut again.

Then, as if a switch was pressed, she scrambled around the room to make sure everything was as it should be.

The desk was cleared off of the usual crap and papers, now decorated with a vase of flowers—she had no idea if he would like them, though it didn't hurt in her opinion—and a pot of steaming hot Elaichi tea straight from India, adorned the tray that sat in the middle.

The only thing of note there was a blue file that contained the core of their today's subject. She'd prepared the file with all the appropriate documents a night before—as soon as Bella informed her of his willingness to meet, really.

Finally, she gave a thorough glance around the supremely neat and tidy room—for the first time in three years, she'd let the cleaner do her job—before slowly walking forth in front of a full-length mirror, her gaze turned critical.

The face that stared back was...decent.

'Not the time for false humility.' Her inner voice needled her, evoking a snort.

Indeed—she had to admit—she looked fantastic. Rarely did the Minister of Magical Britain get any chance of dressing up with the sole purpose to impress. And even in those rare occasions, never had she put this much effort into it.

This was simply too special an evening to not go all out however.

Her skin was silken smooth and crystal clear, cheeks rosy and high, and a jaw that has been often described as strong and paper sharp. Strawberry red lips glinted below a lean delicate nose that made up a face which has received its fair share of compliments, often compared with Bella herself—certainly a huge compliment for the Minister. Her raven black hairs were braided in the prettiest curls, without being overly girlish, hanging around her shoulders in freefall.

She looked stunning, and she could admit so without feeling the slightest of shame.

'But would he like it?'

Amelia Bones grimaced, tsking lightly. 'It's not like I'm here to seduce him. Just…'

Just what?

She couldn't decide.

Did she hope to pull him out of his comfort zone and manipulate the proceedings? Or perhaps dangle her beauty like a carrot and hope he'd be too infatuated to refuse?

Or maybe she was feeling slightly insecure…it would be all too normal, considering what her research had unearthed.

Her mind wandered to his closest companions—all females—that he'd been seen in the last few days. All extremely beautiful women, even including the presence of two supernatural Veela beauties amongst them.

What was she, compared to these goddesses? Could she ever hope to compete with them?

'Is that what I want?' Her mirror image winced. 'To impress the boy just to prove myself their equal?'

Or maybe to impress Harry Potter and get some special treatment.

Her mind flickered to the intense bout of pleasure she'd experienced inside Auror Tonks' mind, feeling her entire being lit up on fire…

'No!'

Occlumency came to the fore of her mind, banishing away the images as soon as they started appearing.

Amelia took a deep breath and gave a nod of false confidence. "C'mon Lia, don't be ridiculous. You aren't insecure enough to bone a fourteen year old. You've enjoyed almost as much attention as Bella and Lily!"

It was all in her mind. She wasn't an ugly hag, she knew. She didn't need to impress a boy to feel better about herself….surely not.

Though it was difficult to convince herself so. Her confidence when it came to anything social in nature was incredibly stunted. Even for international meetings, she preferred to send Bella in her stead. People thought their Minister preferred keeping her dating life away from public eyes, but they were wrong.

How could she hide something which was never there?

No, Amelia Bones had as much experience in dating and its finer points as a newly graduated Hogwarts student...even less so, considering it was well over two decades since that time.

For while people may whisper about her beauty behind her back, no one truly had the guts to come up to her face and announce it. No one dared to give her roses and lilies like they did to Bella and Lily. At least she never rejected people as brutally as those two always did. Yet, she may as well have been a specter for all the desirability people were willing to show in front of her.

Thus, for the past decade or so as her run as the Minister, her romantic life was as dried up as the Sahara desert.

'This is why.' She grimaced as the realization struck. 'This is why I'm acting like a teen on her first date.'

She looked herself in the mirror, eyes flickering down the slender neck to the open coat, with three top buttons having been undone—and considering there were only seven buttons in total, that was quite substantial—just enough to show the curves of her cleavage, tracing the lines of her plump breasts straining against her coat.

And taking in the fact that she wore nothing except a corset underneath, those were some very detailed lines.

Amelia Bones may not be Bella or Lily, but she would always catch the subtle looks at her chest when she roamed around the Ministry levels wearing anything even slightly tight.

That she got a lot of, more than she would've liked.

Still, she couldn't help but wonder if she was overdoing it.

'Do I have to show so much...flesh?' She cleared her throat, cheeks reddening. 'Those magazines said to show off a healthy amount of cleavage...what exactly is a healthy amount?'

She sure hoped the article '101 ways to wrap a man around your finger' wouldn't lead her astray. If she found out that her target hated these kinds of things, she would personally go and set fire to the set of Witches Weekly.

'I'm ready.' Amelia nodded seriously.

But the doubts wouldn't go away easily. 'Or am I?'

Absently, her hand went up and unbuttoned her coat further, now clearly showing the deep valley of her pale cleavage...

'...No, too much. Fuck those articles.'

But as she hands rose to button it again, three strong knocks rapped on her office door—sending pangs of icy cold panic spreading through her being like Fiendfyre

'How is he here already!?'

"I can't go like this." She whispered in horror, looking at the generous amount of cleavage that was being pushed out from her coat—free pickings for anyone with a pair of eyes.

Another three knocks thumped on her door—this time clearly louder and impatient. And as panic finally began setting, she gave an apology to her past self and let Occlumency dominate her mind.

Her fumbling hands stilled, the world growing sharp again. She turned around, quickly heading for the door even as her fingers re-buttoned the coat.

The door opened without her volition, revealing the tall figure of Harry Potter towering above her, a frown in his eyes as they stared down.

"Mr. Potter." The Minister nodded, extending a hand. Her tone came out much colder than she'd wished for, but she continued forward. "A pleasure to meet you."

'He did not stare anywhere lower than my eyes.' She absently noted. 'This will be hard.'

"Minister Bones." The young man nodded, emerald green eyes piercing her soul.

"Sit." Amelia waved him towards the desk, serving a cup of tea with a quick swish of her wand as she took a seat herself. "Did Bellatrix tell you the subject of my…invitation?"

She barely stopped herself from saying summons. A word she would never even think of for this meeting. This was the disadvantage that came with actively utilizing Occlumency. It simply wasn't made for socializing.

"No, she did not." The new Lord Potter replied, snorting. "Just that you had some kind of offer for me."

Amelia frowned, disgruntled. "She was not meant to say anything."

His head snapped up, eyes narrowing instantly.

'Fuck.'

There was something vaguely inhuman in the way those green orbs stared at her with a tilted head. A certain darkness that she would never expect in the eyes of someone so young. In the eyes of anyone, for that matter.

"Tell me minister," There was a noticeable sneer in his voice now, and Amelia knew this conversation was about to derail faster than a firebolt. "Do you see me as a threat to your authority?"

Amelia blinked. "No."

"A competition perhaps?" The young man pressed.

'Shit.' Amelia tried running damage control. "Of course not, Mr. Potter. And I must apology—"

"Will I find some articles slandering me tomorrow?" His voice rose now, a dark fury in his words. "About how arrogant and self-righteous I truly am? Will the headline of tomorrow's newspaper read 'Harry Potter; Plotter! Usurping the life of his twin! Confirmed by the Minister herself!'?"

Amelia dropped the Occlumency, knowing the damage was done, even though she did not understand how it happened so fast.

"Of course not!" The panic returned, though her passive shields helped enough to stop her from hyperventilating. But as she reviewed the words in her mind, she couldn't help but feel the young man was overreacting a little. "Mr. Potter, I may have come off as slightly unwelcoming, and I apologize for that, but I hardly think it fair to accuse me of these things."

The boy snorted, looking not guilty in the least. "Bella had only good things to say about you. But I will withhold my judgment until further."

Sighing, Amelia shook her head, realizing this may just be the boy's default personality with the strangers.

Then again, it could also be the massive responsibility hanging onto his shoulders right now.

Whatever the case, Amelia realized that there wasn't going to be anything remotely romantic about this meeting.

The sheer thought sent a spike of shame in her. 'What did you think this was, some kind of love story? You're the Minister of this country, you ditz!'

She took a deep breath, knowing his eyes were still on her—now feeling ridiculously stupid about her unbuttoned coat—and gave a tiny nod. "Very well, Mr. Potter. I won't waste your time any longer, but I urge you to consider my preposition at least once."

She pushed the blue file towards him, and sat back to sip her tea as he began prowling through the documents.

For a few seconds there was only the sound of turning papers in the office, followed by her whistling blows of air to cool the scalding tea.

Then the Potter Head glanced up, a deadpan look in his eyes. "You want me to become the Head of Aurors."

Amelia simply nodded.

"You want me, a fourteen year old, to lead a bunch of old wobbling war veterans."

A weirdly unsettling smile flashed on his face, an ironic glint to his demeanor.

"Not just them." Amelia replied, placing her cup down. "There are also dozens of new recruits to make up for the loss of the Red Hour. And frankly, Mr. Potter, I doubt your age would truly matter to the people. Just your sheer presence will be enough to calm the crowd. As long as they see us working together, I doubt anyone would raise any complaints."

"Ahh." The young man gave a slow nod. "Now I see. You want to tie me down to the ministry. Hoping for good PR?"

Amelia took a deep breath, controlling the growing frustration within her heart. She could see why he would be so skeptical, but being under such unfair judgment hurt nonetheless.

"Mr. Potter...Harry...we need to stabilize this country, or else we will lose the war through the actions of our own people, long before Voldemort could do anything!"

She didn't realize it, but her voice was getting louder and louder as her frustration and desperation came to the fore. "You are the only one that can save us. Your actions that day earned you the crowd's trust. They're calling for you to be the Minister, for Merlin's sake! And no matter how much I may want to, I can't just give up this burden and abandon the country. But with you at my side, my task will be infinitely easier. So please, consider the proposal at least once before you dismiss it."

For a few seconds the green orbs of doom simply stared at her, one finger clicking on the desk absently. Then, a small smile curved up his face.

"I believe you'll do excellently, dear Minister." The smile widened into a grin. "And I would do what I can to help you, as long as you don't shy away from what needs to be done."

Relief spread throughout her body as the dam of stress burst open. She gave a nod of thanks, staring at her lap—too overwhelmed to say anything as she took deep breaths.

Thus it was that she completely missed the appreciative glance the Potter Lord shot down her coat opening, pumping up and down with her deep breaths

"Though I must say," He started again, and she finally looked up. "I'm still surprised you are willing to give such an important position to the little old me. Good PR or no."

"And why shouldn't I?" Amelia snorted. "Let's not kid ourselves, Mr. Potter. From what little I saw, you are as good as Rufus, if not more. And you are definitely more powerful than any wizard in this country save for one. Or two now, I believe."

The young man nodded slowly, leaning back with his head absently tilting up—eyes closed. "Run me through what you've planned till now."

A little startled at his commanding tone, Amelia nonetheless acquiesced. "We've selected Frank Longbottom as the new Hit-wizards' head. The recruitment for both the forces has started aggressively, though quite a few Aurors have asked to be promoted to Hit-wizards' corps. And considering the loss last time, I've accepted a lot of them."

"What about Hogwarts?" He asked suddenly, eyes still closed but now a frown on his face.

"Hogwarts? Well, there have been…plans." She started slowly, her eyes watching him closely. "Plans to place a group of Dementors around the school for protection.

"No offense, Minister, but that's a terrible idea." He opened his eyes, straightening again to face her. "A very terrible idea."

Amelia kept her growing emotions under control, not giving away anything as she asked. "And may I know why?"

"Dementors cannot be trusted." The Potter Head stated bluntly. "They aren't loyal to the ministry and only care about sucking souls. And between the two, Voldemort definitely offers much better soul-sucking prospects. It is foolish to trust them."

Her breath left in a whoosh, her shoulders slumping in relief. "You have no idea how relieved that makes me. If I gave this reason to the public—or the Wizengamot—people would think me crazy. With your support however, that will change completely. You have no idea how glad I am of your presence currently, Mr. Potter."

"Harry, please." The young man waved her words away. "If we're going to work as closely as you're making it out, I'd like us to be frank with each other."

She nodded. "Call me Amelia then."

And thus started the discussion that would not conclude until the night had fallen completely. Even then, it showed no signs of stopping, and had it not been for the fateful interruption, there was no telling how long it may have proceeded…

"…On top of all that, Barty Crouch suddenly felt the need to push the proposal for the Triwizard cup to be made for all ages. Dumbledore was furious, but his argument revolved around you taking part in the tournament. Our recent failure in the World cup has ruined our reputation pretty badly. He thinks if we make this tournament as grand as the World Cup—using you as the bait for people, of course—it will present us with a chance to heal our tattered reputation and perhaps gain us some allies—most of whom had shied away from cooperation since the incident. Though it all hinges on you dominating the tournament."

Harry nodded, rubbing his chin. "It's an interesting plan…"

"Indeed, but deeply uncharacteristic of Barty. If I didn't know better, I'd say he was confunde—"

The door to her office suddenly banged open, and in walked her secretary. "Apologies, Minister Bones! Madam Black has an urgent message for Mr. Potter."

Sighing, Amelia waved her on, casting a quick tempus to check the time.

"She said to tell Mr. Potter that his 'Delacour friends' have arrived. And to come immediately."

Her desk partner grunted, standing up. "Would it be alright if we continue tomorrow?"

"Very well." Amelia nodded, stifling a yawn. "It is quite late. Thank you for your time, Harry. Truly, this meeting has taken away a large weight from my shoulders."

"The pleasure is all mine." He smirked, turning to face her a step away from the door. "And I must say…you look rather ravishing tonight, Amelia."

With a last cheeky grin, he disappeared away, leaving a red-faced Minister floundering behind.

But she couldn't suppress the smile struggling to spread upon her face either. 'Whatever happens now...I won't be alone."

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AN: 9.5k words, hehe. Hope you all liked it.

So, what do you think about the offer? I felt it'll be a great sub-plot and I do have some things planned. Secondly, I know it might feel like I've written off Stella...I haven't. You'll know about her soon enough.

This chapter was spent mostly on introducing Dumble's and Amelia's pov, but both are incredibly important for the plots ahead so hopefully you didn't feel bored. I've actually teased a lot of things that are soon going to be revealed, don't know if anyone clocked that yet. And you got some hints into Elemental magic and Lily's split personality (it isn't split personality tho).

You'll also notice not everything is alright in the Potter family; we'll deal with it in the next chapter as well. Along with the Delacours, and some final touches before Hogwarts appears.

Well, that was all for this chapter. Let me know what you thought, and I'll see you all in the next one!

The next chapter will definitely be the last one before Hogwarts.

Last thing, If you find yourself annoyed by Harry's lust, just look at the pics I've posted on discord and consider the situation again. You might find yourself...convinced. WARNING: NSFW! Proceed with caution!

My discord: discord .gg/9wpfysDGsz to discuss fics and chill (also posted many character images).

My Pat reon: www. Pat reon com/ Robs511 (No spaces and a dot before com) for anyone who wants to read upto the next three chaps of all my fics.

P.S: When is the next chapter for sow? Idk, between 12 to 20 days is my guess.