Jean-Aimé and Apolline both chuckled. "Not unless you are a true wine connoisseur or magical. The best ten percent of our wine is sold around non-magical Europe; the rest makes up wine that is sold to the Wizarding world."
"I enjoy wine, but I'm afraid I'm not a wine expert nor do I buy anything costing more than forty Pounds a bottle." And usually less, Emma thought, but did not want to say.
Jean-Aimé nodded very matter-of-factly. "There is nothing to be embarrassed about, you are very average in your tastes. We have found a niche market, or really two, and cater to them."
As they turned to go back inside, Ginny whispered, "Bloody hell!"
Harry nodded his agreement. Now that they were outside, they were looking at a large manor house and it would obviously not create problems with them all staying here.
"Ah yes," their host said agreeably. "The house has been added onto several times by some of my ancestors who seemed think that bigger is better. We rarely use more than a quarter of the space, although, perhaps Apolline will help us to use another room or two soon." He gave his wife a pleased look, who looked down demurely.
"That makes sense, the children will need a room or two for their schooling before next September," Dan said blithely.
"That is true," Jean-Aimé agreed with a slight nod, "however, I was referring to the fact that Apolline has finally agreed to a third child, and hopefully a son."
"By the way you say that, it sounds as if you can pick the gender," Emma blurted out, before reddening slightly. "Oh, I'm sorry, that's really none of my business."
"It's all right," Apolline told her with an understanding smile. "There are potions to help influence the gender, but my Veela nature makes them less likely to work correctly, just like my nature tends to only allow females. However," now her eyes sparkled with delight, "this is also a magical way for the man to help ensure a male is born, if my husband wants a son badly enough."
Jean-Aimé now looked out over his fields with a slightly redder complexion.
Harry's eyes went wide and he paled as he looked at Hermione, who shook her head slightly, looking just as uncomfortable as she turned to look at Ginny, who also looked puzzled and like she really did not want to know more details. Gabrielle looked the most lost among them all.
A laugh from Sirius caused everyone to look at him. When he got his breath back, he pointed at the kids and said, "Their expression at that conversation was priceless, thank you." As the other adults all chuckled, Sirius slapped Harry on the back. "Don't worry, kiddo, with three wives, I doubt you'll have to worry about that. I suspect one of them will give you a son." All four teens became red from embarrassment as Jean-Aimé led them back inside for the rest of the tour.
In the family area, Hermione, Ginny, and Harry were each assigned a bedroom, all near Gabrielle's. In another wing of the house, they were shown a couple of rooms that Apolline said had been used historically for teaching at home.
All in all, everyone was happy with the arrangement, including Dan and Emma.
The next morning, Harry slowly woke feeling very comfortable, like he was in the perfect place, where he was accepted and always belonged. Opening his eyes, realized there was a lot of silvery-blonde hair in front of him. That made him realize that someone was snuggled up in front of him again. Checking his hands, he found they were in safe places, but then he realized he was having a "morning reaction" and Gabi was far too young to learn about this. He slowly tried to move backwards, only to find he could not. That was when he realized someone else was pressed against him from behind.
"Lay still, Harry, it's still too early to get up," someone else whispered in his ear. He knew that voice, but turned his head to make sure. Without a doubt, there was a lot of red hair back there. Lovely, he thought sarcastically.
"Harry, would you care to explain this?" came another voice, and this one sounded peeved.
He reached up with the arm that was not under Gabi's head and grabbed his glasses. Now that he could see clearly, Hermione was obviously staring at him as she stood at the end of the bed, still in her nightgown, and she did not look happy.
"I didn't do anything," he said in what he realized immediately afterward sounded a lot like a whine. "I went to bed like normal and woke up a couple of minutes ago to find this. I'm still trying to figure out what happened." He had to admit, though, that Hermione's displeasure had cured his "problem".
"Ginny?" Hermione called impatiently.
The redhead yawned and rolled away from Harry slightly. "I got up to go to the bathroom last night and saw Gabrielle heading in here. I was too tired to take her back, so I thought the next best thing was to come in here too and play chaperone."
Hermione shook her head. «Gabrielle, what do you have to say? You know you should not be in here.»
«Harry is comfortable and warm,» the blonde said sleepily.
«I agree,» Ginny said lazily with satisfaction in her voice.
«Up, quickly, before someone comes,» Hermione urged them.
«Yes, hurry,» Harry agreed, pushing Gabrielle a little.
Ginny crawled out of Harry's bed, as did Gabrielle. But when Gabrielle got out, she looked back and saw Harry in his T-shirt and boxers.
"Good," she said teasingly.
Harry grabbed the sheet and whipped it around him. "Go," he hissed. His two sleeping partners left the room and Hermione stared at him. "What? I said it wasn't my fault. Maybe you need to have a talk with them, you know, lay down some ground rules."
She let out a deep breath as she looked at him. "This is your bedroom, so I suppose you're right. I'll take care of it."
"Thanks, Hermione. Apolline might not care … well, Sirius might not either … but I bet everyone else does, and I don't want to get into trouble even if we are a family," he told her honestly.
"I know, Harry. I'll take care of it. You should get dressed."
"Thanks. And Hermione?" She stopped as she was about to walk out and looked at him. "You look nice this morning."
She looked embarrassed. "In this old thing? My hair is all crazy, too, and…"
"Hermione?" She looked at him and started blushing more as he got out of bed and walked over to her. "I like it when you're made up all fancy, like for the Yule Ball, but I like the normal Hermione more. This is the one I want to live with." He kissed her on the cheek, causing her to step back into the hallway in surprise. With a smirk, he quietly closed the door, very pleased with himself. Successful teases should always be enjoyed, he thought. It was even better when they were true.
At breakfast, Hermione could barely look at him without blushing.
"Is everything all right, you two?" Emma asked. "Please tell me you didn't prank each other in the bathroom again."
Hermione would not look at her mother, but Harry did and smiled. "No, Mum, no pranks. Everything is how it should be." A discreet glance around showed Ginny to be the only person giving him anything more than a normal understanding look, and she looked pleased. Well, Sirius was giving him a slightly disappointed look as if he wanted more details, but Harry ignored it.
Soon, Dan and Emma gave their children, including Ginny, a hug and farewell. Emma also went over to Gabrielle and gave her a hug. "Welcome to the family," she said softly and slowly. The little girl hugged her back tightly.
Sirius also gave each of the children a hug and wished them well. When he got to Harry, who was last, he also whispered to his godson, "Would you like to have a little fun with Dumbledore for not preventing you from being in the Triwizard Tournament?"
Harry nodded enthusiastically.
"Consider it done. And Harry? Take good care of the girls, that's your most important duty now." He rubbed Harry's head and gave him a caring smile.
Harry tried to shrug away from him, but he was enjoying it anyway. "Thanks, Sirius. I'll miss you."
"We'll all be back from time to time, kiddo."
A moment later, the Grangers and Sirius left.
Apolline took charge. «Your tutors come tomorrow and your school work begins. Today will be a free day and Gabrielle can show you around. All of you, except Gabrielle, speak French from now on. We will have an hour of French lessons every day, starting tomorrow. Go, have fun.» She waved them away and they took off running.
Gabrielle showed them a few more parts of the house, including where she liked to hide when she wanted to be alone. She also showed them the grounds outside, including the vineyards. She explained that all the workers were Squibs and so if they saw magic, it was all right. Her father had a business office on the other side of the property where Muggles came from time to time, so that was the only place they had to stay away from. Flying was accepted, as long as it was near the big manor house. Harry, Hermione, and Ginny all agreed it was a great place to stay.
During the afternoon, Harry whispered to Ginny, "Please stay with Gabrielle for a while. I need to talk with Hermione."
Ginny raised an eyebrow and gave him a smirk, but she agreed with a nod.
When Hermione gave him a questioning look, he leaned over and whispered in ear. "I need to give you something. Please come with me." He grabbed her hand and led her towards another part of the house.
She studied him as they walked, wondering what he was doing. Then he winked at her and she almost stumbled. Harry never winked at her. He also gave her a bit of a goofy grin. Deciding there was only one way to know if her guess about his present behaviour was correct, she tried to be patient.
"What are we doing in here? Do you need to research something?" she asked as he pulled her into their classroom.
He put up a privacy charm on the door. "No, not exactly."
"I don't understand," she said slowly as he put his arms around her.
"I promised you some time with just me as soon as we could arrange it. I gave you a little yesterday, but I thought you deserved more. I know it hasn't been easy on you to deal with yet another girl in our bond, and it will affect you the most because she's younger and you're the oldest." He stopped talking and kissed her. It took a few seconds but she started to respond and wrapped her arms around him.
After a nearly a full minute of kissing, he pulled back. "We can spend the next hour just like that, or we can sit, snuggle, and talk. We can do anything you want, Hermione. This time is yours and yours alone."
She smiled at him gratefully. "Thank you, Harry. You really are considerate and I love that about you."
He kissed her again before he remembered he had something else he had to do. "I'm not sure I've ever told you, Hermione, but you should know that I love you. You're mine and you always will be mine; you have my heart."
"Oh, Harry!" She pulled him into a hug so tight, he thought she might bruise a rib, but he loved it. When she let him go, she kissed him passionately for a few minutes before asking him little questions about how he felt about her and their new "family." Kissing came between every question and they both enjoyed the time.
When their time was up, they strolled back to find the others. Leaving Hermione to have a discussion about appropriate behaviour with Gabrielle, Harry led a smiling Ginny to another room in the large house. He cast a privacy spell on the door after they had entered and gave her a big grin.
Ginny looked at him expectantly.
Since his line worked so well last time, he decided to use it again. "I promised you some time with just me as soon as I could. I gave you a little time yesterday, but I thought you deserved some more. I know it hasn't been easy on you to deal with another girl in our bond, and I know you'll have extra work because she's younger." He stopped talking and he kissed her. Ginny immediately started to respond and wrapped her arms around him.
"Wonderful," she said dreamily, sounding just like Luna.
"We can spend our time like that," he said, breathing a little harder after the kiss, "or we can snuggle and talk, or whatever you want for the next hour."
Ginny's grin soon matched the size of his for a brief moment, before doubt started to plague her. "Harry, do you still love me? I know you managed to fit me in after Hermione, but with three of us and now that I'm part of your family anyway… Are you going to give me up as a wife?"
He pulled her tightly to him and rubbed her back. "I'll never give you up," he told her softly, speaking into her hair. "You're mine, Ginny, and you will be my wife one day. You'd better get used to that idea. We'll find some way to work this out with the four of us, but never doubt my feelings for you."
Her arms tightened around him as well.
"I know I've never really told you, Ginny, but I do love you."
Ginny pulled back for only a second so she could move her arms. Her hands moved up and her fingers threaded through his hair so she could pull his head down to hers and give him a searing kiss. They kept that up with only a little talking until Harry's hour and a little more was gone.
Once he realized the time, he told her, "I think it's your turn to spend some time with Hermione. Only, please don't talk about me too much."
She chuckled. "I don't think you have any say in the matter," she told him saucily and then stole a quick kiss before they left.
They found Hermione and Gabi talking and laughing in Hermione's room. Harry let go of Ginny's hand and held out his hands for the last girl. "Gabi?"
A smile lit her face and Harry could feel a little bit of pressure on his mind. He suspected she was so happy she did not even know she was letting her Veela allure out. He took her hand and led her to the back balcony. He decided he wanted a more "public" place this time.
He found a comfortable chair and pulled her sideways into his lap and held her close. She snuggled in and seemed to enjoy just being close. He was glad she was satisfied with that and kissed the top of her head. This was really all he could give her right now.
«Did you like talking to Hermione and Ginny?»
She nodded. "She … they … are nice."
«Yes, they are. I hope you really get to know them. We'll talk and get to know each other, too.»
"Harry is … very nice."
He chuckled. «I am glad you think so. I think we will become good friends too.»
"Hermione said …" she paused after a short frustrated sound. «She said I must protect you. No more girls. She likes me, but no more.»
He understood, really he did, but he also knew he could not control his magic. «I think that is a good idea. Three girls are plenty for me.»
"Fleur is …" she paused again, «jealous.»
«I know, but she will have to find her own boy.» Gabi giggled. He squeezed her waist a little. «We will have to work hard so the four of us can live together. Can you do that?»
"Yes," she said as she nodded. "For you."
«I will make it work for you, Gabi.» She seemed to almost purr in satisfaction, making Harry wonder what she would be like when she transformed. He knew so little about Veela. There was nothing to do but to learn to love her.
He held her closely and they talked until Apolline came out. The woman had a sad smile on her face.
«I wished it had not happened,» she told him, answering the unasked question, «but if it must, I think you are an excellent choice, Harry. Dinner will be ready in a few minutes.»
Harry led Gabi back into the house only to find Hermione and Ginny giving him knowing smiles. He was very certain he did not know want to know what they had planned.
The next day, Harry awoke alone again. Part of him wished it was not so, but he knew it was for the best at this time. He quickly showered, got dressed, and went down for breakfast. Hermione was already there.
"Where are Ginny and Gabrielle?"
"They'll be here soon," she replied.
«Good morning, Harry, Hermione,» Jean-Aimé greeted them as he settled into his chair, a newspaper in his hand. «I sent an elf to Paris this morning to find one of these. I found it amusing and thought you might, too,» he said with a grin as he handed the newspaper to Harry.
Hermione leaned over to look at it with him, right as Ginny came into the room. Hermione's gasp got Ginny's attention so she joined them to read over Harry's shoulder.
Harry Potter Leaves Hogwarts
Last evening it was announced that Harry Potter, The-Boy-Who-Lived, has left Hogwarts to attend school elsewhere. The announcement was made by his godfather, Wizengamot member Sirius Black.
"Yesterday, Harry Potter and two of his closest friends left Hogwarts to attend a different school. I won't say where at this time, but I will say that the lack of safety at Hogwarts was Harry's primary concern, and I have to agree.
"During his three and half years at Hogwarts, he's had to fight a troll, a basilisk, and a Dementor - all by himself - and this year he was forced to compete in the Triwizard Tournament at age fourteen … a tournament which was supposed to be restricted to those aged seventeen and above because of its history of killing participants.
"Mr Potter and his friends that left with him were saddened to leave behind their other good friends, but all of them felt it was necessary as they didn't know what else might happen after Harry had to risk himself yet again to rescue a drowning person from the lake a few days ago.
"I call upon the Hogwarts Board of Governors to investigate the safety of our children at Hogwarts and why the Headmaster is unable to protect our children from unusual attacks.
"I ask everyone to leave Mr Potter and his friends alone so they can have a normal life. For his friends still at Hogwarts, you can write to Mr Potter by sending your letters to me and I'll see that he receives them. Also, you may want to consider other schools yourself, if needed changes are not implemented during this academic year."
Naturally, we at the Daily Prophet were shocked to hear this, as was everyone else in the atrium of the Ministry of Magic where Mr Black made the announcement. It appears that closer attention will be paid to Hogwarts and to Headmaster Albus Dumbledore. As you may remember, he was removed from his positions as Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot and as Supreme Mugwump of the ICW last year.
When we asked about Mr Potter's requirement as a champion in the Triwizard Tournament, and if he had been excused from it, Mr Black responded, "Mr Potter will return for the third task, as required."
More news of Mr Potter and Hogwarts as we receive it.
"Uh, wow," Harry said in surprise when he finished reading the story.
"You knew that your leaving was going to be news," Hermione reminded him as Ginny rubbed his shoulder for a moment to give him comfort before she took her chair.
"Well, yeah," he agreed, "but the front page?"
Jean-Aimé chuckled. «You are popular news, Harry. And,» he cleared his throat, «aren't you supposed to be using French?» he asked with a wry smile.
Harry sheepishly nodded and Hermione looked a little embarrassed for forgetting.
Gabrielle walked in and took her seat, as did Apolline. Harry passed the paper to his "mother" who found it amusing. They spent the rest of the meal talking about Sirius's fun back in England.
Neville Longbottom looked at a Daily Prophet that he had borrowed from a friend. While he found what Sirius Black had done amusing, it could not be fully appreciated without glancing at the head table and seeing the truly sour look on the Headmaster's face. Knowing Harry's desire for privacy, he was sure this was all Black's doing, but he would have to write Harry to find out, as well as to say hello.
He felt privileged to know Harry's secret … or rather, the many secrets about Harry and the girls, he amended. He looked down a few seats to where Ron was sitting and saw Ginny's brother looking down at his plate with an unhappy look. That did not keep Ron from eating more than Neville ever could at a single meal, but he could tell that Ron was not pleased with the way things were. The redhead had been quiet and spending time alone ever since the evening his sister had left school with Harry. He would give Ron space to work it out on his own.
As breakfast ended, Apolline looked at the three teens. «Please get your Charms and Transfiguration books and go to the classroom. I'll bring your tutor shortly and introduce him to you. Gabrielle, you may go with them. You and I will work next door while they are busy.»
A few minutes later, Harry, Hermione, and Ginny had their books and wands out, eagerly awaiting their tutor. Quills, ink, and parchment were already in the room, along with desks for everyone. Gabrielle was standing next to Harry, holding and playing with his hand.
Apolline walked in with a very tall man in Wizard robes with a bag hanging from his shoulder. He was older with greying hair, but had a kind face. «This is Professor Legrand. He will tutor you in Charms and Transfiguration until lunch time. He will be here once a week. Professor, I would like to introduce you to Mr Harry Potter, Miss Hermione Granger, Miss Ginny Potter, and my youngest daughter, Gabrielle, who will not be in your classes.»
«Mr Potter,» began their new teacher in a deep voice, «it is a pleasure to meet and work with you. Congratulations on your strategies and fine wand work in the Triwizard Tournament. If you do that well in class, you'll have no problems.»
«Thank you, Professor.»
«Miss Granger, I've seen your records from Hogwarts and I have no doubt you'll do well if you continue your fine work.»
«Thank you, Professor; I look forward to learning from you.»
He nodded to her and turned to Ginny. «Miss Weasley, your records also show good marks and leave me with the question of which year of material I should be teaching you. Several of your teachers indicated that you could probably handle fourth year too, if you had the opportunity. May I assume you study with your friends?»
«Thank you, Professor, and yes, I do study with them. I would like to be in class with them next year.»
«Very well, we shall see if that can be accomplished.» He turned to his host. «The next four hours are mine, Mme Delacour?»
«Yes. I shall be next door if you need me. Come, Gabrielle.» With reluctance, Gabrielle dropped Harry's hand and followed her mother out.
«Let us have a review,» Legrand said in a neutral tone as he dug into his bag and started pulling objects out. «I shall give a spell and ask each of you to do it. After that, we shall try transfigurations on these objects.» The three teens each pulled their wands out and got ready.
Apolline sat her daughter down and pulled out a small box. Gabrielle recognized it as the box that held the Capture Stone for her training.
«Before we work on your Veela training, I want to work on another skill first. It is called meditation. Meditation requires you to think carefully about something and to try to understand it fully. For now, I want you to think about yourself. You must try to know yourself, try to understand yourself, even feel inside yourself to find your magic. Think of what makes you … you,» she said with a knowing smile. «You will need to ignore Harry for this.» Gabrielle frowned at that, making her mother chuckle silently. «You may think of your bond-mate later, my daughter. For now, think of yourself. As you do, you will start to feel what makes you special; you will feel your magic. Once you do, you will be able to control it better. You will be able to control your Veela powers better too. Do you understand?»
"I think."
«Let's try. Sit comfortably and think 'into yourself'; search for your magic inside you. I will sit here and meditate too to give you some time.» Apolline made herself comfortable and closed her eyes as an example.
"Yes, mother." Gabrielle made herself comfortable and tried to think about herself, but it was hard. Deciding to follow her mother's example, she closed her eyes and let her mind wander. After a few minutes, she realized that was no good, as her thoughts drifted to Harry. She sighed in her comfort of him.
"Not Harry!"
Her mother's sudden voice startled her, causing her eyes to fly open.
"I can tell by that look you're thinking of Harry. No. Think of you and your magic."
"Yes, mother." Gabrielle reapplied herself to her task. After a moment, she considered that Veela were creatures of fire, so maybe she should look for fire. A few minutes later, she thought she felt something fiery and started trying to follow the elusive feeling. It took a while, but eventually she thought she had trapped "her fire" so it could not run away. She looked at it and tried to become familiar with it. Before she realized what was happening, a voice pulled her back to reality again.
"Gabrielle, my daughter, come back to me."
Shaking her head to clear her other thoughts, Gabrielle opened her eyes and saw a look of concern on her mother.
"You have done nothing but take shallow breaths for the last two hours. Are you all right?"
"Two hours?"
"Yes. Are you all right?"
Gabrielle smiled. «I think I did it. I found my fire. It lead me on a chase, but I found it,» she said excitedly.
Her mother pulled her into a hug. "I am happy for you. Stand and stretch." She helped her daughter up. "Do something for a few minutes while I go to the bathroom and then we will work on controlling your allure. Do you need to go too?"
Gabrielle shook her head, so her mother left. The young Veela walked over to the window and looked out across the vineyard. Seeing a large vine at the front, she closed her eyes and imagined a vine connecting her and Harry. Searching deeply within herself, she thought she found one. Following it, she felt a presence, a presence that gave her comfort: her Harry. She revelled in the feeling, enjoying this newfound ability.
Suddenly, something felt wrong. She almost panicked and came back to herself, but managed to maintain her contact with her mate. She felt around some more and again "touched" something wrong.
"Gabrielle!"
Her eyes jumped open and she lost her contact with Harry. Turning, she saw an alarmed look on her mother. «Mother! There is something wrong with Harry. He's, he's…» her hands practically flailing as she tried to find the words to explain it.
"Shush, little one. He is safe. I just saw him…"
«I know he safe, but there's something wrong with him. I felt it.»
"Come here, my little angel," Apolline beckoned with open arms. She also ignored her daughter's use of French, understanding that at this moment, the girl was too excited to use English.
Gabrielle rushed over and threw her arms around her mother.
"Now," her mother said as she rubbed her back during the hug, "tell me what happened."
«I, I imaged a vine connecting Harry and me. I searched within and found the vine and followed it. Oh, it was so wonderful, mother. It was like being hugged by him.» She almost purred in her satisfied sigh.
"And then what happened?"
«It was terrible. I touched something within him that was wrong; it was … just wrong.»
Apolline continued to rub her daughter's back. "Stop and think about it and then try to tell me. If you can't find the words, tell me something that reminds you of it."
Gabrielle nodded. «It was … like our grapes.»
"Our grapes? How?"
«Harry is a white grape. He would make a smooth and clear wine. But this, this feeling was a red grape and bitter. It does not belong with the white grapes,» Gabrielle explained.
Her mother chuckled. "You have been spending too much time with your father."
Gabrielle giggled, enjoying the lightened mood. «Father is fun. You are fun too, mother, but he's a different kind of fun.»
Apolline walked her daughter over to a chair and sat, pulling her daughter into her lap. "You're almost too big for this."
She shook her head. «Harry does it and he's not as tall as you.»
"No, he's not, but he's almost as tall as me." Apolline squeezed Gabrielle in a hug. "Let's try this again. Look into yourself for Harry. That magical connection should be your bond. Try to find it and tell me what you find. I'll be quiet and wait."
«Yes, mother,» she said dutifully as she closed her eyes and delved into her what she was starting to think of as "her Veela". Down and down she searched. It took a moment, but she finally found the connection once more. Carefully, she moved along it until she came to Harry. Again, she felt the powerful yet comforting feeling. Then she felt the wrongness again, like she was being shocked. She did her best to not move away, but she could not help it; the wrongness was far too wrong. How could her mate stand it? She pulled back and opened her eyes.
«It is terrible. Something is wrong in him. He must know.»
"Shush, my angel. You are in a difficult place; a place we do not know much about. Maybe you are feeling your bond-mates: Hermione and Ginny."
«No,» Gabrielle said adamantly. «I have never felt them. I only feel Harry. This is not Harry, but it's in him.»
Apolline's expression turned into a deep frown as she considered this. "Gabrielle, promise me you will not tell Harry or Hermione or Ginny of this until I have had time to think on this."
«No, mother. I do not keep secrets from my Harry,» she said fiercely.
"You misunderstand me, my daughter," Apolline said carefully. "I only ask it for the day. We will all talk of this after dinner tonight. I need some time to consider why you might feel this way about Harry, about something that may be there. Do you understand?"
Gabrielle looked at her. «Promise?»
"I promise to tell him tonight of what you feel." Gabrielle nodded her acquiesce. "Then go work on your English by reading a story book. We will work on controlling your allure tomorrow. I must go research this feeling you have." She gave her daughter a kiss on the cheek and sent her over to the bookshelf for a young child's picture book in English.
Rising, Apolline headed for the house library. She wondered if she would have to go and visit the Veela colony this afternoon to search the large library there.
During lunch, the three older ones were vigorously discussing their lessons from the morning. Apolline was pleased they had all enjoyed it. She hoped the other tutors would be as well received.
«If I may have your attention?» All the children looked at her. «Jean-Aimé is away taking care of business. Please have a quiet afternoon inside, doing homework and whatever you like after that. I must run an errand, but I shall return before dinner.» While all looked like they wanted to know where she was going, none of them asked. Gabrielle probably would have normally, but she already knew.
Excusing herself, Apolline left them at the house, not worried about them because of the wards, elves, and other protections the children did not know about, and used the Floo network to visit her mother's house at the Veela colony. From there, she could easily walk to the colony's library. She might need to bring her mother into this, as her mother was considered an expert in magical theory. Apolline also hoped she could talk Harry and the girls into working with her mother, if that was needed.
Apolline returned to her home shortly before dinner. Jean-Aimé was already home and was talking quietly with Harry on the back balcony. She smiled as she watched the two talk for a moment. She assumed her husband was taking the time to get to know Harry better. Adopting her most normal expression, or so she hoped, she went to find the three girls to call them to dinner. Thank goodness for house-elves who can cook, she thought.
During dinner, Jean-Aimé asked, «How was your day? Did you like Monsieur Legrand?»
«He was very thorough and he struck me as being …» Hermione looked lost before she finally said, "competent" in English.
«The word you are looking for is … 'compétent',» he said with a smile.
She looked a little embarrassed. «Thank you. I did not realize it was one of those words that is the same, except for how you say it.»
«Think nothing of it,» he told her graciously. «Learning the language better is one reason you are here. Tomorrow, I believe you'll meet Monsieur Dubois, who will tutor you in Arithmancy and Ancient Runes.» He looked at his wife and received a confirming nod.
Her husband must have noticed she was not quite her normal self, as his curious gaze now turned to her. «How was your day, dear? I understand you went to see your mother.»
Apolline would have preferred to have waited until after dinner for this conversation, but perhaps it was better to get it over with and they were almost finished eating. «It was an interesting day. There was much magic in the house.»
Her husband nodded. «Yes, I can understand. We have never had four children before,» he commented lightly, still watching her.
«I started Gabrielle on meditation today and something interesting came up, so I went to the Veela colony to do a little research.» A glance around the table showed she had everyone's attention, but especially Hermione's. «It seems that Gabrielle had something of a break-through and was able to sense her connection to Harry.»
That produced several gasps. Before Harry could say anything, her husband prompted her, «I assume that is important, but why?»
Apolline took a deep breath as she looked at her new son-in-law. «Harry, I need to know. Am I correct that your scar is a curse scar from when you were a baby? Also, have you ever had any trouble with it, like pain in it?»
All four of the children looked like they did not like that question, and Harry paled significantly.
«Did you find something wrong with him, Mother?» Gabrielle demanded.
«Hush, dear, I need Harry's answer first.» She looked at the boy, as did everyone else.
Harry thoughts were so jumbled, he fell back into English. "I, uh, I'm told I got it when Voldemort tried to kill me when I was little." No one flinched when he said the "evil name". His voice became very quiet. "I have had a little trouble with it, a few aches and pains from it in the last few years."
Apolline nodded, expecting an answer like that. She decided to use English to make sure he fully understood, knowing she would have to tell Gabrielle in French as well. "Harry, when Gabrielle pushed her senses to you and followed the connection between you, she said she felt like there was something there that was not part of you, and she did not think it was Hermione or Ginny. I was not sure whether she was imagining things or honestly feeling something wrong, as today is the first day she has ever tried to feel her own magic - let alone something as rare as your bond. I went to look for information that might tell me whether she was feeling something, well, real or not. With what little information I have, I think that she sensed your curse scar and that there is something unusual about it."
He nodded slowly, with several expressions going across his face. Ginny immediately reached out and grabbed his hand, and he looked grateful for her support. Finally, he asked, "Is there a way to know more?"
"There is one spell I would like to do to see if it tells us more, and I believe I would like for you to talk with my mother about this." At his look of alarm, Apolline gave him a comforting look. "You'll need to meet her one day as she is family, but I think the sooner the better. Besides being family, she has a mastery in Arithmancy and is considered an expert in parts of Magical Theory. I think you should share all of your secrets with her and see if she can help. If anyone can help us understand what Gabrielle is feeling through her magic, I think it is her."
She watched him look to Hermione first, who was looking very excited. «I'm willing and I think you should,» the brunette told him, obviously wanting to meet the woman.
Ginny had a very thoughtful look when he turned to her. «I would like to see if Apolline's spell gives us any more information first, before we tell more people our secrets, but I'm willing if you are.»
Lastly, Harry turned to Gabrielle and raised an eyebrow at her. «I trust Grand-ma-ma and Grand-pa-pa.»
Harry turned back to Apolline. «I think I am willing to let her help, but I would like to know what your spell might show first.»
Apolline nodded and smiled. «Since we seem to be done eating, let's go into the other room.» She led them into the main family room, where the family usually relaxed together.
«Harry, please stand over on that side of the room. Girls, please stand over here opposite him, an arm's length apart. I am going to cast a Bond Detection charm and it will form a beam of light between you and everyone you have a bond with, Harry.»
Hermione was still excited. «Is this the same charm they would use at the Ministry to know we are really bonded?»
«Do you mean if you had to register with the British Ministry?» Jean-Aimé asked.
«Yes.»
«Yes, it is,» Apolline answered. «Now, everyone try to hold very still.» She cast the charm at Harry. Immediately, three thick, light blue beams formed, one between each of the girls and him, centred on their bodies. A very thin black beam slowly formed out of Harry's head and headed out to the right. «Jean-Aimé, a compass charm, quickly.»
He quickly pulled out his wand and did the charm. When his wand finished moving in the palm of his hand, it was obvious for everyone to see that the black beam was pointing only slightly west of north.
Apolline ended her charm and put her wand away. «I believe that is pointing towards England, and the fact that it came from your head instead of your body…»
Hermione was the first to react and ran across the room to engulf Harry in a hug. Ginny was only a step behind and Gabrielle quickly followed.
«He has a connection to the Dark Wizard,» Jean-Aimé stated the obvious softly as he moved over to his wife and pulled her into a loose hug.
It took several minutes before the girls loosened their grip on Harry. When they did, Apolline walked over and gave him a hug too.
«Harry, I would definitely advise you to talk to my mother now. If anyone can help you, it's her,» Apolline said confidently as she stroked his head a few times.
He slowly nodded. «If I could have a few days?»
«I will invite her for the weekend. That will give you two full days. Why don't you all head to Harry's room. I'm sure you want to talk about this.» She received nods from all four of them as she looked at each. «I want a promise, pyjamas on everyone and they stay on all night. Agreed?» A firm look ensured she received four more nods. «Good-night.» She gave each of the children a kiss on the forehead and sent them off.
Her husband gave her a questioning look like she had lost her mind.
«They'll need each other for comfort after that revelation,» she whispered.
«But…»
«Hermione is very responsible, and I firmly do not believe anything will happen with all of them there. Let us retire to our room. You can hold me while I consider this problem,» she told him with a coy look.
Jean-Aimé did not look completely mollified, but he did not argue as he put his arm around his wife and escorted her to their bedroom.
Each of the girls held Harry's hand or touched him in some way as they walked with him. When they arrived upstairs near Harry's bedroom, Gabrielle said, «Everyone change and meet in Harry's room.» Giving Harry an impish look, she also said, «Maybe if I hurry you won't have finished changing yet.» She ran for her room with a giggle.
Ginny's face lit up. "Great idea!" She ran off towards her bedroom too.
Hermione smirked at him. "Maybe I should hold you here until they get back and then help you change." However, she let go of his hand and walked quickly to her room.
Harry finally figured out what was going on and ran for his room, slamming his door behind him. Figuring he needed to do the most important part first, he kicked off his shoes and pulled off his pants, quickly followed by pulling on his pyjama bottoms. He had barely finished unbuttoning his shirt when Gabrielle burst into his room in her lavender silk pyjamas.
Her happy face turned a little disappointed. «I was too slow to see it all, but at least I get to see you without your shirt.» She looked at him in anticipation.
He sighed as he finished changing, Ginny hurrying in as he buttoned up his top.
«You just missed him without a shirt on,» Gabrielle said.
«I am sure I will catch him that way later.» Ginny looked at Gabrielle thoughtfully. «You've been speaking French a lot today. Use more English.» She reached out and poked Gabrielle in the ribs, causing her to shriek and try and tickle Ginny back.
In the midst of their tickle fight, Harry was pulled into it as was Hermione. When they all gave up, they were breathing heavily and resting in a "pile" on Harry's bed. Gabrielle rolled over and looked at them all carefully, puzzling something out.
«What's wrong?» Hermione asked.
"How we sleep?" the little blonde said slowly. "You there," she pointed Hermione to Harry's left. "You there," she pointed at Ginny and at Harry's right. "Where I sleep?"
"Wait a minute…" Harry started to protest.
"Honestly, Harry," Hermione said as she shook her head. "Why do you think Apolline told us what she did? She knows we need to talk about your extra connection and that we'll all feel better if we stay together."
As he looked at her as if she was crazy, Ginny pulled the covers back. When Harry was slow to move, she pushed him over so he was in the middle and then she laid down on his right.
Hermione laid down on his left and then pulled Gabrielle over and put the girl between her and Harry before pulling the sheet up to their waists. "There," she said happily.
Harry just gave in; he knew he was not going to get his way on this. Of course, he did not have to search his feelings very far to know that he liked this, especially at this moment with all of his turbulent feelings. "Thank you," he quietly said and then kissed each girl on the forehead.
"Are you OK?" Ginny asked just as quietly before she turned off the light with her wand, leaving them in darkness, except for the pale moonlight coming in the window.
Harry thought about the question as he felt the warm bodies snuggle against him. "I don't completely know, but with you three, I'm sure you'll help me until it gets better."
«Grand-ma-ma will fix it,» Gabrielle said confidently. «She can fix anything.»
«English,» Hermione said and everyone heard a soft slap.
"Oww…shoulder."
Ginny giggled and even Harry snorted. "Careful, Gabi, she can be vicious," he said teasingly.
"Hush, you."
"Hmm, I wonder…"
"What, Harry?" Ginny asked.
"Well, I call Gabrielle 'Gabi' when it's just us," Harry explained, "and I can call you 'Gin'."
"I think I'd like that," Gin said and stretched up and kissed him on the cheek.
"But what do I call Hermione?" he wondered out loud. "'Hermy' doesn't work and neither does 'Herms'."
"Only if you have a death wish," Hermione fiercely told him, causing the other two girls to giggle quietly. "And don't even think about 'Mione'."
"You're making this hard," he complained.
"I like my name as it is," she retorted.
"I need something shorter…" he insisted. "How about your middle name then?"
"Jean? I suppose it could be worse, but I'd rather you didn't."
"How about Mia?" Ginny asked. "It's not really a part of her name, but it's close."
"Mia," Harry said as if he were tasting it. "Mia, I think I like that. Thanks, Gin."
"My pleasure," the redhead purred as she snuggled into him a little more.
"All right," Hermione agreed. "It is better than Jean, but only when it's just us."
"Thank you - Mia," Harry said gently and rubbed her back for a moment since his arm was around her. "Thank you to each of you. We'll get through this together." He planted another kiss on the top of each of their heads before he relaxed. They each tried to get a little closer to him and he enjoyed their closeness all the more, letting his problem from earlier leave his thoughts for the night in their comfort.