Chapter 8
Before you go any further, look up in the right hand corner.. there is a notation that says full, 3/4, 1/2. that little tool helps the viewer/readeer compress the width of the reading screen. it helps people with poor vision see the story better. I write in 1/2 screen mode. consider that fact before you complain about the formatting.
twilliams1797
In my version of the HP universe, there are two major types of magic, actually there are more, but two that are the main themes.
First there is the 'silly wand waving' that Snape speaks about, where you as a witch or wizard uses their wand to draw out their inner magic and form it into a spell or charm, and this kind of magic is determined by the strength and skill of the caster.
The second kind of magic is what I call 'Hard magic" this is based on runes and elemental connections to the Earth and nature.. that is to say, it draws magic from natural sources, not out of a person's magical core. The limitations on this kind of magic are similar to the limitations of electrical power and the gauge of wire it is passing through.. you cant push 50 amps through an 18 gauge wire without problems, it will melt or burn up.. but you can push 50 amps through a 6 or 4 gauge wire nicely, up to a certain distance, then you have to start dealing with resistance factors.
Magic is much like electricity in that sense.. you can do so much with certain runic combinations, or the proper elemental combinations, which, by the way is the root of many potions and potion combinations. If someone were to investigate the elemental reactions in potions, there is a possibility that they would be able to create elemental reactions..oh yes, and thus we have the root of Alchemy.
Harry has runic and elemental alchemy in his blood, both metaphorically and in reality. He has the family traditions and knowledge locked inside him from his mother and generations of Potters, then there is the chemical nightmare of Basilisk venom, phoenix tears, and the backlash from Tom's killing curse.
that said, chapter 8
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Sometime in 1996-
The third full moon since the takeover of Hogwarts, the deposing of the Government, the retirement of Dumbledore.
There was much experimentation going on, with potions,, stasis boxes, speedtime and slowtime charms.. there were volunteers from the Werewolf packs to try all of it in the name of scientific research.. some of the modified and enhanced Wolfsbane potions were better, some had side effects, some had long term effects that were being discussed as to viability. The most promising research was the time controlled stasis boxes.. The idea was to put a person inside the box and they would ride out the time without any time expended for them.. so when the moon was full, they were nit exposed to it, and thus not affected. This had been tried for three lunar cycles straight, and in a sense it worked, but the test subjects were finding that they had a need to run and howl, so the process was tentatively reserved for children and the injured. Every single Lycan, which was quickly becoming the proper term for one who had the curse, was given a talisman or tattoo that would portkey the individual to a designated safe zone if they were not there already, when the moon rose on it's designated day..a safety feature voted on by all the Lycans, because no one wanted to be responsible for accidental deaths at their teeth and claws.
On one end of the spectrum was the stasis box, inside which no time passed, as noted, a Lycan could only use it three months in a row without side effects. On the other end of that same spectrum, a team of three friends, who were inseparable, volunteered to spend a night under the moon on Gruinard Island, where the entire Island was under speedtime, thus spending the equivalent of thirty days as a wolf. The teams monitoring the trio insisted on some specifics, one member was to take no Wolfsbane, the second the new, modified Wolfsbane, and the third, the standard, known variety.
When the night had ended, the three returned to base. Two were human, one was still in Lycan form, but calm and in control. The sun was up, and they squinted in the brightness. The Potions master/Healer and Captain Lupin greeted the trio.
"Well, it seems there have been some changes?" The two human/Lycans nodded, the control, that is, without any Wolfsbane spoke first. "It was quite interesting to spend so much time in my form, I felt as if I were growing used to it.. in fact, I think that I might be able to transform at will, now." Lupin nodded, taking notes. "We'll try in a bit, Jeremy, now Richard, how did you do with the Modified potion?, symptoms, problems?" Richard shook his head no, he was rather smallish for a Lycan, but a good looking fellow, overall. "No I didn't have any problems, I know I can change now, and control it, the long term exposure has helped me calm the wolf, I think" he closed his eyes and concentrated, and his body flowed into it's wolf shape. The wolf looked up at Lupin and sat, awaiting orders. "Come back now?" The wolf stood up and braced itself, and reformed into his human form. "You maintained control the whole time?". Richard nodded. "Interesting, well lets see what happens at the next lunar cycle," They all turned to the still transformed third wolf.
"James, are you there, can you transform?" The third wolf whined and shook his head no.. He had taken the modified Wolfesbane, and thus, his symptoms were the most worrisome. the potions master knelt and discussed the options with the still stuck James/Wolf and they made plans. He led James away into a lab, leaving Jeremy, Richard and Lupin standing and talking. "I hope he's all right, be a shame to be stuck in his form forever, what kind of job could he get, seeing eye dog?..Radio Dee Jay?"Blogger?" they all snorted, laughing at their mate's dilemma as Remus led them away to debrief on the long night.
The potions master/healer led James/Wolf into the infirmary, and had James jump up onto the table. "Now , then, James, what's this about?" he looked the wolf in the eyes. "I have run the diagnostic charms, and according to what I see, there no reason for you to be stuck in wolf form.. is there?" The lupine James looked at his paws and back to the Healer, and shook his head 'no' and then looked mournfully at his friend. The man pondered for a bit, and did a few more diagnostics on the wolf, he then sat down on a stool and looked him in the eye. "You can change back, but you don't want to" It wasn't a question. James nodded yes. "Is there a reason you can share? The wolf looked thoughtful and then looked directly into his friends eyes.. and began to speak. The words were not a human language, but rather wolf sounds, grunts and yips, if you couldn't see the intelligence in the creature's eyes, you would wonder if he was sick or irritated. The Potions Master/Healer listened carefully, and between his interpretation of the creature's speaking, and the projected thoughts, he got a fairly good idea of what was up.
"I have an answer for you, gentlemen." The Healer entered the common room where Jeremy and Richard were speaking with the technical people about their experience. Everyone looked expectantly at the speaker. James clicked in, his claws ticking on the tiled floor, he lay down at the healer's feet and watched his coworkers. "James can indeed change back, at will, but he has decided that he doesn't want to anymore.. he is comfortable with his wolf form, and will stay that way for the foreseeable future."
The gathered friends all tried to speak at once, directing their words toward the healer and towards the wolf calmly lying at his feet.
After the questions and clamor wore down, the Wolf stood and faced his questioners and friends. His words, again, were not human, but they understood the depth of his commitment, and the more he spoke, the gathering understood, and accepted his decision. There was more discussion, and joking, someone suggested that he apply to become a movie actor, and the wolf looked thoughtful, and then nodded in agreement, so then, plans for getting an agent and appointment with various movie studios were put in play.
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October 30,1996
Harry appeared in place an hour before the wards changed and his confrontation with Dumbledore was scheduled. Right now he was in two places at once. Here at Hogwarts entering the front door, passing the perpetually angry Filch and his cat Mrs Norris. He paused , looking at the pair.
"Mr Filch?" the caretaker looked at the young man, and withheld his initial snarl, because he had seen the power this person had displayed. some fearsome power.. and that while still young he had forced most of the people in the school to start acting more responsibly.. his guards which patrolled the halls twenty four hours a day made sure of that.
"Yes...Lord Potter."
"If you could be anywhere in the world doing anything you wanted, what would it be, if I may ask.. you don't really seem to be too happy here at Hogwarts"
"Why do ya ask, it's not like you can do anything about it"
he looked more glum than usual.
"You might be surprised what I can do, Mr Filch, I am going up right now to inform Professor McGonnegal about her new job."
"What?" How?" he gathered in his cat, as if to protect her, for he was.
"Dumbledore is retiring today, and the new Headmistress will be making some changes.. it seems wise to have an idea of what you would like to do if you had the opportunity."
the old man grumbled and whispered to his cat.
"I'll wait over here while you discuss it with Mrs Norris"
Harry stepped a few paces down the hall and opened his M-phone to call Hermione.
"I'm back from uptime, I will meet you in the Headmistress' office in twenty"
"Very good, love, I'll meet you there"
she started to click off but Harry stopped her. He was watching Filch talk to Mrs Norris
"Love?"
"Yes?"
"Have you ever noticed how close Mr filch is with Mrs Norris?"
"Actually, I have.. I have seen them while on prefect patrols..why?"
"I think there's more to those two than we know"
"What do you mean?"
"I'm here in the entry hall waiting on Mr Filch to finish his conversation with her as to their future"
"You think there's more to her than we know?"
"I think she's an animagus, or something.."
"that would explain a lot..bring them with you to the office, maybe?"
"I'll ask..twenty, ok?"
"Ok"
she signed off and Harry put his full attention on Mr Filch who was now looking as if he had an answer.
"Yes sir?" Harry spoke to the caretaker.
"I want out, but with D...Ddu..the old man here I can't leave.. Mrs Norris, you see.." Harry didn't see, so he asked.."Is there something wrong with Mrs Norris, can we help her somehow?"
The old man looked as if he would cry, he was so frustrated and angry, he could not physically speak of it, there was something stopping him. realization dawned on Harry.. "I see, don't try to say anything, Mr Filch, We'll solve this problem, I promise.. May I do a small diagnostic spell on her, I promise It won't hurt her"
The old man nodded, still choked up. Harry cast an animagus revealio spell, and it came up negative, but not positive either.. He tried a basic magical medical diagnostic and it came up with mixed results, some of the readings were that of a 60 year old woman, some of a Felis Domesticus, and some of ..something else..
Harry put his wand away and turned up the hall toward the Great Hall, and whistled a two tone note. A sound of running footsteps and one of the patrolling staff ran up. a young Lycan woman with blond hair.
"Yessir?"
"Hello Miss Dohan, would you be so kind as to escort Mr Filch and Mrs Norris to Potter Tower, take them to Healer Cameron for a complete checkup, Both Mr Filch and Mrs Norris, Tell Healer Cameron I will explain when I arrive, ok?"
"Yessir, I will be glad to do that,"
" Mr Filch, would you please come with me, sir?"
The old man and his cat shuffled off, following the girl.
Harry ran up the steps, two at a time and didn't stop until he arrived at the Transfiguration Classroom door.
They met Professor McGonnegal and confronted her.
This part has been already published in Chapter 4
"Mr Potter, Miss Granger, what are you doing here, I was told you would be out of the building for the day?"
Harry smiled as he gently led his Head of house into a side room next to her classroom.
"We are out of the building, but part of us came back to take care of you.. to free you."
She found herself bound, not tightly, just slowed to the point where her reactions were about 80 percent too slow..
Hermione faced her favorite teacher and apologized. "I'm Sorry, Professor, but you will thank us when we are done.."
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The whole situation was laid out before her.. and while this was happening, the confrontation was played out on the road to Hogsmead, just outside the gates. Harry had adjusted the wards so that Dumbledore could not get in, and as a legal heir of the founders, he appointed Minerva McGonnegal to the post of Headmistress. At the same time he dismissed the Board of Governors and all the rules they had saddled the school with over the years, the pureblood interference, the traditionalists who hated any change, those who were afraid and thus against any Mundane thing. Their eyes were opened. Every portrait was commanded to swear fealty to Hogwarts and her new Headmistress, and to report all their previous commands of spying and reporting.
Healer Cameron called Harry and reported that Mr Filch was under multiple compulsion charms, and Mrs Norris was, as Harry suspected, really a human, transfigured and bound in feline form. Healer Cameron had scheduled time with the Healer/Potions Master on Gruinard Island to come and help her with Mrs Norris' restoration.
The time came and Headmistress McGonnegal made an announcement, calling everyone to the Great Hall for their observance of the fall and rise of the Wizarding Government. Harry's people kept to themselves in Potter Tower, his staff of guards patrolled all the halls, making sure there were no trolls being let into the castle, that there were no sneaking around by anyone under invisibility cloaks, that order was being kept.
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Ron was pissed that Harry had given up on the Quidditch team, and his claim that he was beyond the level of school play and thus was unfairly matched against any of the school players. After hearing Ron's protests, Harry told him to shut it. Ron was of course furious, demanding that Harry prove it. Harry then called the captains of the other three house teams and asked them to report to the pitch the next day, with their beaters and seekers. The next day, he explained the situation and set up a demonstration, with eight beaters trying to hit him with eight bludgers while he collected four snitches. The four seekers were to fly around the periphery and watch for snitches, and keep score. Ginny fulfilled the job for Gryffindor along with Cho from Ravenclaw, Perkins from Hufflepuff, and a new guy, Erskine from Slytherin, who had replaced the missing Draco. The bludgers were launched and the beaters were in place, learning how to work together without bashing each other by accident, and after an hour of their practice, a full dozen snitches were released, and Harry took off. A snitch was charmed to stay within the confines of the pitch, a area of ground defined by three posts with rings on either end, and about the same distance across the width. the height limit was about a thousand feet, enclosing a huge are of volume, all traversed by twelve broom riders, eight bludgers and twelve snitches, and Harry. Confusion.. the possibilities were endless. Harry took off, and swooped into a harsh curve, grabbing two snitches immediately, stuffing them in a bag at his side. He flew up and down, between the bludgers, missing every one, using beaters as turnpoints, making his way between the rings, around the poles, skimming the stands and flags, grabbing little flying balls at will.
It took twelve minutes total, twelve snitches, and not a mark on him. he landed as the beaters wrestled the assorted bludgers back into their retaining crates. "There you go, that's why I cannot play any more" he thrust the bag of golden balls into Ron's arms, who threw them to the side like a spoiled child.. "That's why you HAVE to play, mate, we need you to be seeker." The other seekers who had landed and stood by hearing the argument. "No, Ron, it's not fair to them, and I won't have cheating.. I have an unfair advantage, would you like me to be like Snape, and steal every game, what's fair is that I retire from playing and support those who want to play, and maybe get them onto a good professional team on their own efforts and skills." The other players and captains all agreed and were nodding, realizing that what Potter was saying was the right thing to do. "Ron, I will not be on the team this year or any year, I will not play professionally because I have an unfair advantage, and if I used it , then it would be cheating and that 's wrong, my answer is final" with that he turned and left to clean up, What Ron did not notice was the second Harry and his ladies were out of sight of anyone, they vanished.
A useful bit of fallout from this exercise was that the four house Quidditch teams scheduled all-house practices and workouts, thinking that in the future they would be potentially on the same professional teams.
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News bit from the M-BBC network
"There has been a spurt of muggle baiting going on this last month and the New Ministry is asking that the perpetrators cease their actions, since it is impolite to obliviate non magical people with no good reason. Head of Muggle relations department, Arthur Weasley has announced a contest to distract those involved in this activity.
(video insert, Arthur Weasley speaking)
"I would like to announce a contest to be held this next week, in designated areas , we have available to the artists twenty thousand acres of land for the creation and display of Crop Circles and the performance art that goes along with those circles. Those who are interested in participating in this contest, apply at the Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes shop in Diagon Alley, as they are providing the 500 Galleon Prize for best crop circle, with smaller prizes for second and third place.
A workshop will be held at the designated location Saturday, for more information, The WWW shop in Diagon Alley. You may also call the M-phone number listed here"
he indicated a number written out on a card behind him, along with several pictures of famous crop circles.
(newsreader)
"Minister Weasley also reminded our viewers that Muggle baiting is now going to be cause for arrest and magical suppression, and a hefty fine, so if you have ANY urges to create crop circles or any other anti-muggle behavior, you will be tracked and arrested, you have been warned."
"In other news, the surprise confession of former Minister Cornelius Fudge has had far-reaching effects.."
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October 1996
They had expected Tom Riddle to throw something up on Halloween, as was his normal thing every year, but by the time Halloween had come around, Tom was down to less than ten active DEs, and was struggling just to maintain basic security. The most important thing he was trying to do was survive.. He had not thought of checking his hiding places, assuming that his Horcrux' were still safe and sound.
Tom was trying to fabricate himself a new arm, and was having some trouble working with the existing magic, he didn't have available to him any of the ingredients to his original reconstructed body.. The graveyard where his father had been was completely churned up, Pettigrew was gone, kissed and when his body died, they burned it to nothing, and Potter, well Potter was somehow beyond his reach, both physically and mentally.
"Dammit, I want you to find him!" The Dark Lord ranted at his few remaining followers. "How is the training going for the new recruits?"
"Reasonably well, My Lord, the truth is, these kids don't have as much power as they should, it's like someone is stealing their magic." The evil being frowned, keeping his own counsel..he knew that in general the purebloods were not as powerful and talented as the average half-blood or muggleborn.
"Enhance them, then, do the power rituals, make them the cannon fodder we need, if there is any of them intelligent enough to rise up and assume a command position, they would have shown up by now.. this last batch you have are nothing but foot soldiers, run them through the ritual and make them useful to me"
"As you wish, My Lord" the trainer bowed and backed away.
Tom had a working relationship with his trainer. He never crucioed the man, and the man always did what was asked of him, even if he did know that his esteemed leader was a half-blood. The saying was known in the military, let the officers make the big decisions, let the sergeants run the Army, and this was exactly what Voldemort was doing, letting the Sergeant run the army.
Ron and his fellow recruits were only able to get out of Hogwarts on the weekends, and so, missed the enhancement ritual that Voldemort ordered for his foot soldiers. If he had been available, then that would have been the end of any public association with the 'light' Ron was furious and not getting along well with anyone, he was close to being removed from the team because of is aggressive behavior, and more importantly, because his grades were falling below any reasonable level.. The truth of the matter was that his association with Hermione and Harry had kept his head above water for the past five years, and now they were hidden away in Potter Tower, there was no homework to be stolen and copied, no one going over his homework to correct or advise, in short, he was on his own. He had tried to make friends with Neville and Luna, but they were in Potter Tower more often than not. Luna had turned weirder than usual, and this scared Ron, and quite a few others as well.
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November 1996
The meeting of the new representative council was at first confusing, but with the help of Percy Weasley the organizing came to some kind of plan soon enough. The different potential members of the representative council were each campaigning on their own particular agenda, some reaching their 1000 person limit quickly, some having a hard time reaching 100 people to represent. IT was announced that every magical person over the age of 17 must find someone to represent them by a certain date, November 30, the campaigning became more intense, and in some cases expensive. There were those who were actually offering to buy votes, but this soon fell by the wayside when it was realized that they would have to do it again in two years, and that this was a non-paying job.
Soon , networking of candidates came to pass, and those with a few constituents bonded together with others who had similar beliefs forming bigger groups, until they had their designated thousand people. Each representative was given the public representative charms which left messages for every one of his constituents, and the incoming comments and questions from each and every one of those same constituents. Some representatives soon found that they were no longer interested in the post, mostly due to those of their public who seemingly spent ALL their time ranting about something.. complaining or asking for help.
This caused many who thought they were going to get into office and have power to soon work at getting out of office and passing the chore onto another, more reasonable and understanding person, thus the rise of the public servant in the magical world. Voldemort tried to get a seat, by proxy, but found that he couldn't gather enough followers, even by ordering them to sign up behind his designee... even in spite of their support of his ideas and seeking for power, most realized that their association with a known Dark Lord was probably not a good idea. Harry and his friends thought this was hilarious, because for the most part, the magical society they lived in was almost totally free of common sense.
A fairly good indicator of this truth was the monthly reports from St Mungo's, where during a average month, there were at least three people who decided to test the statement 'never tickle a sleeping dragon' Healers sighed at the common problem and tried to educate the public, but, sadly, the public was usually, unhearing and uninterested.
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December 1996
Harry and Hermione had decided that they were being a bit naive, and possibly foolish to declare they were going to be celibate until marriage, and slowly worked their way toward coming together.. of course with all the work they were involved in, the Speedtime charms and projects by the thousands, they had to make time for themselves, and then figure out how to involve Pansy and Daphne, each woman getting fair amount of time in, with their mates. Pansy was wanting to be freed from her fear of Harry and men in general, so she dove into studying various texts from both the mundane and magical world. She assured Hermione that she had a plan, so the Gryff girl stepped back from those preparations, and concentrated on learning more about the Pureblood Magical culture and the whys and wherefores as to why they did what they did.
She also spent a large amount of time learning about the Potter and Black histories and genealogy and achievements. She was a bit shocked about some of the Black family achievements.. it was sort of like being related to the architect of the Reich's final solution.. sure, the doctors and scientists learned a lot of useful information about hypothermia and freezing people to death, which would help people in the future, but the cost was the deaths of the prisoners in the death camps during those dark days.. The Black family had made the advancement of magic possible in many ways, but their achievements were borne on the backs of defenseless muggles and squibs. Blood bought knowledge. Eventually Hermione would gather these books and papers into a library and labeled it as such, making sure it was known to the reader that this knowledge was bought with the blood of innocents.
She cried that day.
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Early in December the betrothed sorted it out. Hermione would be Lady Potter, Daphne would be Lady Black, and Pansy would be neither.
They discussed sharing. Harry offered to set up separate households, or at least wings of a Manor, one for the Lord Potter and his family, one for the Lord Black and his, but neither woman wanted to do without her lord for even one night, so they came to a conciliation. One bed, one family, paperwork and titles be damned, they were going to stick together.
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Hermione and Daphne worked out together and slept together, ate and studied together, became good friends, closer than most women ever come, and learned to share their man. They spent one night together with their man, and ritually set aside their virginity together, as both women were just that, virgin.
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The 21st of December was the shortest day of the year, and the Solstice, the day for many kinds of rituals Pansy wanted to be freed of the fear she had, and wanted Hermione's help. "I want to not be afraid any more, I want to be able to have a lover, no, strike that, I want Harry as a lover, I want his and your children."
The 21st of December was also the day of the Yule Ball.
There was a ritual that the lovers decided to do. It was scheduled for the shortest day of the year, as the sun set. Pansy was no dummy, she just played one as a good Slytherin to protect what small advantage she had. She had researched the rituals of the Sun, and brought it to the attention of Harry and Hermione, and asked them to help her. The couple readily agreed, and asked Daphne and her mother to contact the Coven of the Standing Stones to gain permission for a ritual at their chosen Megalith. The Standing Stones was a circle of shaped and annointed stones that had been there for close to five thousand years.. The difference between the Standing Stones and Stonehenge is that The former were still powered up and functioning, and Stonehenge was no longer powered, and collapsing due to a badly corrupted ritual done there some 2500 years before.
It was fairly easy to maintain a set of standing stones, with judicious use of muggle repelling charms and some hard magic at the borders of the lands. The Standing stones they were going to use was on property held in trust by the Potter Clans somewhere in Wales. The entire UK has so many different historical sites, it was easy to overlook one here and there.
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The day came for the ritual, . Harry escorted his ladies to the site, where there was a wizarding tent set up to keep the participants warm and fed, changing rooms for the ladies of the coven, and the like. Hermione and Daphne helped Pansy get dressed for the ritual, She was wrapped in pure white robes, wearing a skintight leotard underneath, with a warming charm built into it.. The time came and she was led out to a circle of thirteen stones. A formally clad witch was at each stone, with her own part of the ritual.
Pansy's mother was there, Daphne's mother, also.
A woman becoming close to their circle was there, Narcy Black, who had decried all the actions of her former husband and son.
Hermione's mother was there, representing the mundane magics, Daphne's friend, Tracy was there, as she knew Pansy and they had become fairly close friends. In all there were 16 women participating, all of which were close friends, mentors, teachers..people who were important in Pansy's life. The final two were the ladies of the stone circle, acting as guides and hostesses. The fourteen women were assembled in the host tent and each was assigned their own part in the process. The thirteen women of the circle's coven were to stand at arms around the perimeter of the Stone Circle.. along with the men who were supporting their female relatives. Philip Greengrass, Remus Lupin, Daniel Granger, Harry, Neville, The Brothers Red, Bill Weasley , Dobby Potter .
The men faced outwards, away from the circle, in a ring, the women of the coven faced inwards each behind her chosen stone.
The family and friends were inside the circle, awaiting Pansy who would lay on an altar stone at the center.
The ritual began. A prayer was spoken over the proceedings, and Hermione escorted Pansy into the circle and spoke.
"Today is the day of Deliverance for our sister, Pansy, Today she shall be set free from the trauma inflicted upon her."
the surrounding women spoke
"So mote it be"
Pansy spoke her part
"I seek deliverance, I seek peace, I seek truth"
"So Mote it Be"
Hermione spoke
"Let the touch of evil be bound"
"So Mote it Be"
The women spoke in unison
"Let our sister/daughter/friend be set free"
Hermione and Pansy spoke together
"So Mote it Be"
They stepped forward
The steps to the ritual were followed. Pansy was cleansed of evil, and set free from sin.
she was marked with the runes of peace and protection, , healing and deliverance.
The ritual was played out, each point was addressed, and at the end, Pansy was free of the fear and oppression on her soul and spirit..
13 women:
1 Jane Granger
2 Estelle Greengrass
3 Daphne Greengrass
4 Tracey Davis
5 Mrs Parkinson
6 Luna Lovegood
7 Minerva McGonnegal
8 Dora Tonks-Black
9 Andromeda Tonks-Black
10 Sgt Elana James
11 Narcy Black
12 Fluer DelaCouer-Weasley
13 Winky Black
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The Potter-Black clan returned home from the ritual site, Pansy was almost flying, because of the adrenalin rush and excitement..and a bit of arousal. By the time the solstice had come around, Harry and Hermione had decided that their relationship could stand them being together, and that waiting until Tom was dead was youthful idealism.. the truth was that they were both too horny to wait and wanted to go at it like bunnies..and so they did.. Their first time, however, they followed the ritual book and then they both had more protections on themselves they didn't have before.. Sex magic was a useful practice, and Hermione penned in a variety of rituals to be done at various phases of the moon and sun, at the solstices and holidays. There were parts of her planner book that had coded notations that no one but her could read, and when she did read these notations she could frequently be seen with a bit of a blush.
Needless to say, they brought home their lover from her own ritual and decided, that the day was young and not to waste any of it.
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Harry rolled on his back , exhausted and satiated, having taken care of the needs of three women, consecutively, and simultaneously, until he was raw and limp, in every sense of the word. Sure, he was a very strong wizard and a very healthy young man, with stamina like few others, but then, so were his women, boy were they ever.
He nodded off, and woke later to find himself floating in the great tub that was part of his private rooms, surrounded by much beautiful female flesh, his strength somewhat renewed, the hot water and jets massaging his muscles as two women were on either side of him, nuzzling and kissing him, hands wandering and caressing, and another woman behind him, massaging his neck and shoulders with strong fingers.
he sighed in gratitude.. "Ladies, I demand you stop this.. in about a hundred or so years.. really, I mean it..you're gonna spoil me or something.."
"Ok, we will, Hermione, write that down in your planner, stop spoiling Harry, December 2196, got it?" Pansy laughed at her joke, Daphne dug into his shoulder and put her lips to his trapezoid muscle, gently sucking on his neck, her arms and legs enveloping is body from behind.
Pansy floated around to face Harry.
"You made me feel good, Harry, thank you for being gentle with me, and showing me what a good lover is supposed to be." She leaned in to kiss him, her hands bracing her on his hip and shoulder. She floated up to his front and locked her legs into Daphne's legs and her arms around his body, pulled herself into full contact. Hermione's hand wandered down to their intersection and stroked him to hardness, and guided his member into her partner's waiting opening. Soon the water was sloshing up against the sides of the tub..pool and many hands were being used for a variety of purposes. Many nipples were tweaked and caressed, many fingers were inserted and many nerve endings were stimulated, no one was left out.
-===0|0===-
Severus Snape regretted his life, he hated every single second of it. He had been in this cell for months, every day his mind being assaulted and answers ripped from it, every day he knew less and less. He regretted having been a friend to the witch Lily Evans.. he regretted having gone to Hogwarts, he hated all his dealings with Potter and his friends, Black and Lupin.. they were responsible for his problems and it was all their fault he was trapped here.. if it were not for them he would have never joined the Dark Lord and taken his mark.. Using this logic, it was easy to blame them for the death of his lovely Lily.. He had the potion to control her, the potion to make her do his will. It was right, she was only a female after all.
The door to the cell opened and he sat, waiting for them to come for him.
He was stunned, not speaking a word. A potion was funneled into his mouth, forced down his throat. rendering him inert. Ironically it was the first question he asked of Potter those six years ago.. Draught of the living death.
The inert man was taken to an operating room and the specialists there did their magic, which was to engrave all 207 bones in his body with runes, a combination of which created a permanent block on his magic. At the same time he was sterilized, rendered unable to father a child of any sort from his own body. When all this was finished, every memory was removed. leaving him an inert hunk of flesh, without motivation.
The Soul of Severus Snape still, however resided inside the inert hulk of his body. That Soul raged against the dark, against fate, against magic, against Potter, against Dumbledore, against Voldemort, just against. The soul does not sleep, the soul does not have any reference point from which to gain traction.
The inert man lay waiting his fate, shelved and labeled for later retrieval. lying in the dark.
-===0|0===-
Spring, 1997. Potter tower, meeting room:
"Status"
"Four more active DE caught, in interrogation now, Tom is now down to less than ten active, marked, supporters"
"He's not gonna be happy, I'd say, I suspect that he will be soo unhappy, he will lash out his next appearance."
everyone nodded.
"How did the sting party come out?"
both twins were present this time
"Quite good"
"Jolly good, you mean"
"Yes, indeed"
"Jolly good"
"Guys!"
"Sorry"
"We were able to capture"
"Incarcerate"
"Incapacitate"
"Discombobulate"
"over 100"
"Fellow travelers'
"And dark side"
"Supporters."
"good, interrogate and obliviate as needed.. I think that some directed aversion charms would be in order also."
"That is sort of unethical, you know"
"I want to win this war without killing too many people, if it takes a bit of mental re-programming to make it happen, then so be it."
"Now then, status of Dumbledore "
Since his removal as Headmaster last Hallow's Eve, he has resigned the Mugwump , the ICW, he retains his membership in the Dark Force Defense League. There have been no meetings of The Order of the Phoenix since Fawkes disappeared."
"and his various plots?"
"all references in the Hall of Prophecies have been cataloged, and we are correlating them with the Ministry and Hogwarts records.."
the timeline for the last forty years has been collected and written down."
"All draws against your accounts have been cut off, the only income from known sources is a pension negotiated with his Order of Merlin. He has made no known expenditures or payments in the last month."
"He has not been seen in public since the day you..locked him out. He is known to be at Abeforth's home, we have pictures, from a distance."
"There has been no outgoing calls on his M-phone except for take away orders for curry and pizza. The only incoming calls he has accepted are from his brother Abeforth."
"investigate the take-away places, we can't be too careful"
-===0|0===-
Albus of the many names Dumbledore lay weakly on the bed in a room over the Hogshead Tavern.. Ironically, this was the same room that Trelawney had given the prophecy in all those years before.
He had tried to return to Hogwarts several times, but the wards had locked him out, and the only way that this could have been done was if the new Headmaster/Headmistress had altered the settings, and added either blood or hair, to a potion similar to polyjuice and inserted it into the Ward Schema. this did not bode well for he old man.. he was now not doing anything as the Head of the ICW, not doing anything as the Grand Mugwump.. his major action these days was basically trying to stay alive.. It seemed that without the continual boost of energy and life from Hogwarts herself, he was fading.. He now no longer owned the Elder Wand, so that tool was also lost to him.
-===0|0===-
His total actions for the last weeks had been to lie in bed and watch the newscasts on his M-network video screen, attempting to monitor the changes that were happening, trying to keep track of what laws had been changed, who held power and who did not. He had not been a teacher in many years, and was astounded at the educational channels and what was being taught on a daily basis over the magical airwaves.. between the History Channel and the Practical Magic Channel, he came to the conclusion that a witch or wizard could almost be homeschooled via their screen. This, somehow upset him, but he could no longer remember why. Abeforth , his brother had finally had to call the Healers from St Mungo's.. at first he called Poppy Pomfrey to come and look at his brother.. The school Healer did her best, but in the end threw up her hands and recommended that Abeforth call in a specialist. She went back to Hogwarts and reported her findings to Minerva, who then called Harry to her office.
-===0|0===-
"Dumbledore is dying.. he doesn't have much more than a month left, where are your plans for ending the war at?" The Scottish woman snapped at her student. She was a bit irritable about it, since she had spent close to forty years working with the man, and still felt a bit betrayed at his actions against her and others.. she felt close to making a visit to him.. except her current search for replacement teachers for several courses was taking a fair amount of time.
"We have a plan scheduled to draw Tom out of hiding, along with his few remaining supporters, and once that is done, we will be capturing and executing him."
She looked at him sharply, as if to question his sanity. "Capture?"
Harry sat back, at ease.
"Yes , capture.. he is a high maintenance despot, you know, we have cut him off from almost all sources of support, money from Malfoy, we have captured and stored almost all his followers, he has no one to cook for him, stand guard on his hideout, he's hardly surviving on his own, as I said, High Maintenance".. he snorted
"I know where he is, I know who is working for him, I have a pretty good idea of when, if not where he will attack next, the only thing stopping me is I have to gather up one more artifact and destroy it before I can take him out permanently.. "
"Well, how long before you can collect this object?"
"He has it with him at all times, and it will potentially cost someone their life to capture it, so we have to plan accordingly.."
-===0|0===-
The school year went on from there, the Potter and Black clans tested out of every class, but did, at times sit in, They wanted to keep in touch with their friends. Harry and Hermione were hurt when Ron rebuffed their friendship, it was like fourth year all over again..Harry didn't say anything to his fiancé but he could sense something, nothing specific, but Something around Ron.
It was a known quantity that Harry was betrothed to two women, and there were those who were angry that one of them was ..'one of them' meaning, the opposite of whatever personal agenda they believed in.. For the Purebloods, well, those that were left, it was Hermione, a first Gen witch. Of course they used the word 'Mudblood' to describe her.. for others it was Daphne, the 'ice queen of Slytherin' she must have used her tricky wiles or potions to snag him, that's all it could have been, she was a Slytherin, after all.
-===0|0===-
Early June 1997
It was coming together.. The Government was falling to pieces and reorganized itself with a leaner, sleeker structure. The trio in that position had become adamant about making the laws correct and proper, they had to finally throw out everything but the secrecy act and start fresh. They looked at the American bill of rights and wrote their own, based on that document. It came down to, follow the Mundane laws in their intent, and the laws concerning magic should follow. There were , however specifics, that dealt with magical things, but if you looked there were Mundane laws that had a similar intent.
Some specifics they came up with were the laws concerning various influences by and with potions, charms and curses. It became law that no one was to use love or lust potions for any reason. If you were caught using those potions on an unsuspecting person, you were charged with the equivalent of Rape charges.
The next law was that there were to be no laws made up on the spot, every law had to be voted on by the representative council, and have a vote of 67 percent to pass, and THEN passed on to the executive branch to be signed into law.
The new government was set up in three branches, following the lead of the democratic countries of the world, an Executive branch with a term limit of 8 years, a representative branch, 1 representative per 1000 magical people. Since the magical populace was spread out unevenly across the nation, it was decided that anyone who wanted to be a representative could be, as long as they could summon up 1000 supporters. The laws were set in place that each of those supporters had one vote each, and the leader had to listen and vote on laws according to his followers wishes. It seemed complex, but really it wasn't. The third branch of government was to be the judicial branch. These were in charge of watching over he process, passing judgment on criminal and civil trials, voting tie breakers in the representative branch. All in all, it was totally contrary to the standard Wizarding world's illogical methods.
They worked out a plan and submitted it to the council which consisted of Harry, Hermione, Philip Greengrass, Remus Lupin, Minerva McGonnegal, Amelia Bones, and Augusta Longbottom.
Arthur had asked to drop back for a while at his wife's behest. He did however spend time reworking the rules and regulations concerning use of Mundane artifacts and technology. The decision was made to put forth a flat tax per item on every converted mundane object and technological item. this tax was to be used for
the cost of managing controls and protections by the new government. There were those who protested that they should be exempt from those taxes, but were summarily shut down by the sellers of the technological bits, because they were the ones paying the taxes, not the end user..
-===0|0===-
The council pondered the basic layout of the new government,, and with few changes , approved it. A major change which was pushed through by Harry and Hermione, a law which prohibits publishing stories about a person without verifiable facts, that is too say, anything that the Prophet had ever printed about Harry and his friends.
-===0|0===-
Luna was becoming more determined, more certain, ...more violent. She was seeing things that the normals did not, and dealt with them the best way she knew how, sometimes this entailed untoward behavior. She regretted having to stick the fourth year girl to the wall, but felt she had to act in order to protect her Neville.
Hermione and Daphne and Pansy.
The triad of women in Harry's life, had taken Luna under their protection, they knew, rather, they sensed the younger girl's growing fears and determination. They did not understand her ferocity to protect Neville, but worked to help the Ravenclaw girl achieve her goals. Part of this was because they knew the potential for Neville to have been the Chosen One. Luna knew something she wasn't speaking about, and that led to her odd behavior. At Daphne's suggestion, Harry had extended an open invitation to Neville and Luna to move into Potter Tower.
The day came when they moved their goods from their house dorms and into a pair of rooms in the dorm section of Potter Tower. They had decided to not share a room just yet, but they were adjacent, with a door between them .
-===0|0===-
Luna was becoming a genuine Seer, of sorts.. she could see branches, possibilities, she could see the possible outcomes of decisions and situations. The reason she was being so aggressive and protective around Neville is that too many of the branches surrounding her boyfriend were cut short by the Dark Lord.. in too many branches, Neville was being taken over, his mind ripped from him, and his body taken over by Tom Riddle, a permanent possession.
This was one of the alternatives that Tom had researched when he was in school, the forceful takeover of a new body whenever his current one was dying or no longer useful. He had experimented with the process when he was driven out of Quirrel in the first year, he had visited Azkaban as a wraith and watched as one of his followers had been kissed by a dementor. The standard procedure when a prisoner was kissed was to put the soulless body in a cell and ignore it until it died. The body of is follower was dumped as per usual procedure and he took a chance and inhabited that body for almost a day, trying to make it obey his control. The truth of the matter was that he couldn't control a soulless body, he needed one with the official resident still home. The sanity of the body's owner was not particularly important, so he had a pretty good idea of what he needed to do to acquire a new body. The irony of the plan was that he could have entered Frank Longbottom's body two days after he was cast out of his own, back there in 1981.
-===0|0===-
Voldemort had been certain that this last-ditch method would not be needed, since he had his Horcrux hidden so well, except, the fact that Useless Lucius had lost his diary, his family home was nothing but a churned up pit, Bella's vault had been confiscated.. there were only two options.. the locket, hidden by the seaside, and the tiara hidden at Hogwarts. It was impossible for him to enter Hogwarts at this point, so he set out for a trip to the seaside.
The entrance to the cave at the seaside was collapsed. The smell of something still reeked in the outer cavern. He recognized the smell, from long, long ago, when he was a young man.. the smell of high explosives.. the bombing raids early in the war. He extended his mind and some of what was left of his soul, to sense if the horcrux was till there..nothing. He apparated away, abandoning the location, and the muggle he had kidnapped to drink the potion.
-===0|0===-
The man woke up to find himself standing on a rock, half a klick offshore, and wondered what he had drunk in the pub the night before. He stood for a bit, shivering, and slipped, falling down into the sea. He swam hard for the shore, and after a bit, was rewarded with the feeling of sand and rock under his feet. The next day, after spending a night in the local clinic for exposure, he went and drew out all his savings, sold his car and bought a ticket to Oz. Eventually he ended up deep into the outback, as far from the sea as he could get, and lived happily as a sheep shearer.
-===0|0===-
Daphne had set things in motion. She suggested to Harry that he offer sanctuary to Neville and Luna. He did so, and assigned them bodyguards at all times. the rotation was headed up by Greg Goyle, who after months of training and tutoring under Speedtime, had become quite professional in his task. He took a turn of duty every few days, and he managed the guards for several clients of the Potter-Black House. Neville and his Gran, Augusta had renewed the family affiliation with the Noble House of Potter, and as such were encouraged to strengthen the wards and protections around Longbottom Manor, around Frank and Alice at St Mungo's since the threat that was against Neville, all Potentials and possibilities were checked.
-===0|0===-
An investigator was brought in from the Continent, an acolyte from the Oracle of Delphi. The Acolyte came and interviewed Luna and her friends, hearing the anecdotes and stories of the girls' previous behavior and visions. Once having heard, asked that Luna make some time to come to Delphi to speak with Pythia at the Temple. The clans agreed, and Luna and Neville made a trip of it, taking a bodyguard team with them. Luna and Neville wore their armor at all times, and Dobby assigned a squad to go with them. The group was probably the best protected tourists in all of the Continent.
-===0|0===-
While at the Oracle, Luna spoke with Pythia, who helped her control her visions of the branching realities, and some techniques to find the proper paths to follow. The enhanced techniques allowed her to go farther up the potential reality branches than she had in her natural state. The hard part of this task was that she had to sit in a cauldron of potion to be able to do this. The Oracle herself also complained of the problems associated with the method. "It gives me a bruise on my bum, you know.. and then constant contact with the potion gives my skin a permanent stain, I'm close to retiring, dear, would you consider coming to be Pythia for a year or so?" Luna considered the possibilities, "I do have to finish school first, and Neville and I want to start a family, can I do it after I have had children?" The Oracle thought about it a minute, "I don't see why not, the rules say the Oracle is to be an elder woman, and not a virgin, even though we wear the symbolic attire of a virgin.. goes back to the attack on the first Pythia, you know."
Luna considered the process. "I will come for training after the end of the current crisis in England, I can spend up to a month a year here, but I will be putting my family first"
Pythia nodded and called a servant "Luna will be scheduling time to study with us, please give her the complete training curriculum to take back with her, please." The acolyte bowed to the Oracle and slipped away to fulfill her orders. "I will have a sample of the potions made up for your study back in your home, along with all the traditional scrolls and texts." Luna thanked her as another acolyte brought in a cloak that was fastened around Luna's shoulders. The cloak bore the shield and insignia of the Oracle, designating her as protected and exempt from certain laws and rules. The cloak basically designated her as diplomatically untouchable.
-===0|0===-
Greg Goyle was heading up personal security for not only magical persons, but was expanding into the mundane realm.
6th year, May 1997
Goyle came to Harry one day in May, with a problem.
"Tell me about it, maybe we can come up with an answer.."
"Well, the short version is this: in the mundane world, a VIP has contacted our agent and is looking for an extraction for her and her boyfriend."
"Yes?, and this is a problem , how?"
"She is known by sight to virtually everyone in the world"
"So, it will be very public and messy., what does your client want to do, to get away?"
"She wants to cut ties with her ex husband and his family, her boyfriend wants to escape his family business and interference in his life.. "
Harry turned to his women and raised an eyebrow, knowing they would have a good answer.
Hermione spoke first.. "well, put a polyjuiced impostor in their place, kill the impostor off in a messy accidental death, all very public. transfigure the client to the new face and identity, everyone lives happily ever after."
Harry turned to Goyle. "That work for you?"
Greg turned to Vincent who was his partner in business. "What do you think?" Vincent looked pensive for a moment, and nodded, "It will work, I think.. I know Lady Potter would be the best choice to ask for help with the transfiguration.. " he grinned at Hermione, being a bit cheeky, since she had been their tutor over the past few years in Speedtime.
"Lord Potter, can we 'borrow' a few of your prisoners for a project this summer? we need a polyjuice impostor for a VIP client"
Harry smirked. "I just happen to have a surplus of bodies at this time..what timeframe do you need to set up your extraction?"
"We think near the end of summer, August, in order to set up the new identity for both clients, and give them a clean escape."
The head of the most powerful houses in the magical world pondered for a few minutes.
He stood.
"Call a meeting, noon tomorrow, all branches, all divisions, all our affiliates. Its time we make a plan to take Tom down permanently."
He looked at his triad of women, then to Greg and Vincent. "We can use this as a cover to remove Tom."
He looked to each. "I think we can do it, we have two months realtime to set it up."
-===0|0===-
"Through clever and constant application of propaganda, people can be made to see paradise as hell, and also the other way round, to consider the most wretched sort of life as paradise."
- Adolf Hitler
And that's chapter 8 It looks confusing, and it is, but then, it is about incidents over a year's time.
It won't be long, it will be over soon.
and then we begin again.