Love and Monster Ch. 4 (Patreon)

Rosie gripped his hand tightly as they stood amongst the crowd that had gathered at the edge of Hogsmeade. It was the biggest group of witches and wizards Harry had ever seen, only trumped by the massive crowds he'd seen on his few trips to muggle London.

“Momentous occasion, isn't it.” Mr. Stevens’ voice bore a hint of nervous energy. “Never thought I'd see the day.”

“The forest will do wonders for the air quality.” Aberforth mumbled. “Improve the dreary view as well.”

“We'll all have to update our security wards, that's for sure.” Madame Puddifoot said. “Lord Malfoy is offering loans at a very reasonable rate, I'd suggest you lot take advantage before the others come in and jack them up.”

Rosie sighed, choosing not to get involved in the conversation.

Harry squeezed her hand and she smiled down at him. Harry had spent so much time in the other world these past three years, it was jarring to remember exactly what his neighbors thought of his friends.

He wondered what they'd think of him, once they discovered Harry was friends with the ‘enemy’.

The residents and proprietors of Hogsmeade were all in a group together. A bit apart from them were all the lords and ladies, the upper crust of society. The teenagers and children were in another group altogether. Harry could see Draco, Neville and Blaise whispering amongst each other in the crowd. He caught Flint's eye and the teenager shot him a hateful glare, which Harry just shrugged off.

A horn sounded and all the murmuring ceased. Up on an impromptu platform were Minister Fudge and Headmaster Dumbledore.

“I'd like to thank all of you gathered here today for this momentous occasion.” Fudge began his speech.

“Told ya.” Mr. Stevens whispered.

“Today, the town of Hogsmeade and the wizarding world at large will become whole again. After centuries of separation, my administration has successfully negotiated with the other side and agreed to tear down the walls that keep us apart. From this day forth, we will enter a new age!”

There was scattered applause at Fudge's words. It was a weird speech, since so many of the people in attendance were members of the Wizengamot, who were completely aware that the minister's words were nothing but lies and half-truths.

“If I may say a few words as well.” It was Dumbledore's turn to speak now. Harry had only ever seen the most famous man in wizarding Britain from afar, and never heard him talk. He had a commanding presence, an aura that made others stand at attention almost at an instinctive level.

“I'm sure many of you are concerned, many of you are even afraid. I am here to tell you that your fear is a natural response.”

Fudge was openly frowning on stage, and many of the people in the crowd were shifting uncomfortably at Dumbledore's words. Lucius Malfoy in particular was looking at the headmaster oddly.

“It is the greatest and most common of our human fears. It is a fear of uncertainty, of the unknown. I am here to tell you that while you may be afraid, we must not let that stop us from wading into this great unknown, from overcoming our fears and helping build a better future together with our new neighbors. I implore all of you to keep an open mind and an open heart through the next few years. There are sure to be misunderstandings and hiccups throughout, but we must all remember that we are all children of mother magic.”

The applause to the Headmaster's speech was equally lukewarm, though there were a lot of very strong emotions on the faces of those present.

“That man always has his head in the clouds.” murmured old man Yaxley.

“That's my brother for you.” Aberforth responded.

Dumbledore cleared his throat. “Now, without further delay, I believe the time has arrived.” Dumbledore pulled his wand out from his midnight blue robes.

“Expecto Patronum!”

Harry looked on in awe as an ethereal, silvery owl emerged from the tip of Dumbledore's wand.

“Long time since I've seen one of those.” Yaxley said. “Bloody useful against those damned dementors back in the day.”

Harry frowned, now looking at the owl that was circling about the amused headmaster in a more negative light. Could that thing hurt Daphne?

“Fawkes, everything is ready on our end.” Albus said to the owl which had perched on his shoulder.

The owl fluttered its wings and flew right at where the wardline ended. In front of the hundred or so people in the crowd, the owl flew right at the wardline and disappeared into nothing.

About twenty seconds passed before there was a small puff of smoke in front of Dumbledore's face. The smoke quickly cleared to reveal a tiny hourglass floating in front of the Headmaster.

Dumbledore smiled as he lifted his hands up in the air in a grand sweeping gesture.

The seconds ticked by as the hourglass drained. Dumbledore waited for the exact moment when the last bit of sand touched the pile in the bottom before he began to chant loudly.

He was chanting in a language that Harry didn't understand, and he was waving his arms about, swishing his wand like the maestro of a concerto.

The earth began to rumble lightly. Rosmerta's grip on him tightened even more as the people around him stumbled slightly.

Dumbledore continued his chanting as Fudge tripped over himself and decided to hop off the stage instead of falling on his ass in front of his constituents. The wardline began to glow, cycling through green, red, yellow and white, each cycle faster than the other, until the colors became such a blur that Harry couldn't hope to tell them apart.

Before their eyes, a dome around Hogwarts began to flicker into view, followed moments later by another, much larger dome, which covered the empty fields of Hogsmeade.

The two domes flickered in alternating waves, buzzing loudly enough to begin hurting the ears of many of those present. Dumbledore was waving his wand back and forth, faster and faster, until the dome stopped flickering and turned solid. Translucent, but solid.

Then Dumbledore made a sharp, downward motion with his wand, as if he were swinging down the executioner's axe to cleave a condemned man's head clean off.

There was a loud, ear-splitting sound as simultaneously, the two domes cracked, a fault line racing down the middle on each side, followed closely by the loudest sound of shattering glass any of them had ever heard.

The two domes collapse, their bits and pieces dissipating into the air as they fell.

It was as if an illusion was being lifted. It was the most awe inspiring sight any of them had ever seen. As the glass shattered and fell, the vast, impenetrable reaches of the forest emerged amongst the fading glimmers of the plains.

The wards had been felled.

It was a very jarring experience for Harry. He'd lived in Hogsmeade his entire life, he'd visited the forest almost every single day for the past three years. Both places were etched in the deepest recesses of his psyche, and they were always distinctly separate.

Now, the two met, and they somehow fit together like a glove, like perfect pieces to a puzzle.

The Black Lake was right there, only a few hundred meters from the front gates of the castle. The treeline of the forest was also much closer than he had expected. It almost looked as if the forest was surrounding the castle from three sides, ready to swallow it whole.

Harry could see Fawkes, Narcissa, Amelia, Apolline and Daphne's mother all standing together as a group, with the girls right behind them. He wished he could run over there and say hi, to give them all hugs, but he had to stand here amongst the crowd as Dumbledore and the minister walked over to greet them.

The crowd was mostly quiet, but Harry could hear the grumblings. He could see the glares directed at Delphi, who he knew must be terrified as she stood between Susan and Amelia, trying her best to just shrink away and not be seen.

The hellos were short, and soon the girls turned back, returning to the forest while Fudge said some words and the crowd began to disperse.

The last thing Harry saw before leaving was a team of aurors moving into the forest's edge, not exactly an image that promised good tidings for relations in the future.

…

Over the next two days, Harry was unable to visit the girls at all. With Fawkes’ feather now functioning as his wand core, he couldn't use it to travel into the ‘Forbidden Forest’, as it was now being named by the residents of Hogsmeade. And he definitely couldn't just walk over there.

About a dozen or so wizards had worked hard over a day to create perimeter wards around most of the forest. While not as powerful as the previous ones, they would deter most creatures from leaving its limits and most wizards from attempting to enter. There was a single entry point, the part of the forest that abutted Hogwarts itself. An ‘official’ checkpoint had been set up near the Groundskeeper's hut, under constant guard by aurors on one side, and dementors (plus Aurora and Shui) rotating shifts on the other side.

It meant that Harry's only way of communicating with his friends was via owl. It would have been a frustrating experience, if they hadn't been so close to September first.

“I just don't get it.” Harry grumbled as Rosmerta fussed over him. He was wearing a pair of plain white trainers along with some jeans and a cream colored shirt. It was his requisite muggle world attire, though it was so comfortable that Harry basically used it all the time anyways.

“It's tradition, Harry!” Rosmerta insisted as she tried and failed to tame the rat's nest atop his head down into something manageable.

Harry pouted, and Rosmerta let out a sigh. “I won't force you to go after this year, Harry, but could you go just this once, for me?”

Harry frowned as Rosie gave him her best puppy dog look. “This is emotional blackmail, you know?”

“Is it working?”

Harry sighed. “Fine. But just this year.”

Rosmerta squealed, “Brilliant! I borrowed a camera from Gertrude so I can take pictures!”

Harry blanched. “A camera?”

Rosie grinned as she produced the thick hunk of metal from her bag. “First, lets take one before we head out.”

Harry grumbled as Rosmerta tapped her wand on the camera, but when she sidled over to him and put her arm around him, he couldn't help but smile for the picture as he hugged her tightly.

“Alright! Now come on, let's head onto the station!”

Harry grabbed his trunk as Rosmerta grabbed onto his hand and turned in place, popping them away to King's Cross station.

It made no sense to Harry. He lived in Hogsmeade already. He could just walk over to the damn school, or meet the other children at the station when it pulled up later that night. But he'd humor Rosie, if only just for this year.

King's Cross was bustling with muggles, and Rosmerta and Harry definitely blended in much better than all the other wizarding families, who he could pick out from a mile away. Like the Bells, who seemed to think that being decked out head to toe in chrome was the height of everyday muggle fashion.

There was also someone wearing an eyepatch and carrying a parrot on their shoulders. It really was a miracle that the Statute of Secrecy didn't collapse after September first every year.

They passed trough the barrier at platform Nine-and-Three-Quarters. Rosmerta took another picture with him in front of the red steam engine, and after a tearful goodbye, she kissed him on the cheek, making him promise to write to her.

She was delusional if she thought he wouldn't find time to sneak out and visit her.

Harry found an empty compartment and settled in. If he was saddled with an eight hour train ride, he'd make the most of it. He pulled out his potions textbook, deciding it would do him well to revise a topic that he had little to almost no knowledge of.

Considering how big the train was, he expected to have the compartment all to himself, so he was surprised when the train had barely pulled away from the station and his door slid open.

Two kids, a boy and a girl, walked in. They were clearly first years just like him. The girl had a thick head of bushy brown hair, while the darker skinned boy had a low fade.

“I'm sorry, have you seen a boy named Draco Malfoy around here?” The girl asked inquisitively.

Harry looked at them for a long moment before shaking his head. “No, sorry.”

“Thanks anyways, mate.” The boy said, ready to leave the compartment, but the girl was looking at his potions book.

“Are you reading ahead?”

Harry shrugged. “Yeah, figured it'd help pass the time.”

The girl's eyes lit up. “I read all my school books already. Mr. Malfoy said that if I do well in classes this year, I'll get extra tutoring in the summer!”

Something clicked in Harry's mind. “Mr. Malfoy is sponsoring you two?”

The two children nodded along, with the girl being much more enthusiastic. “We are! It's all very exciting. Finding out about magic, I wanted to gather as much information as I could! Having an adult like Mr. Malfoy taking us under his wing will be very helpful!”

Harry gave the girl a forced smile. “Well, I hope it goes well for you guys. I'm sure Draco is somewhere nearby.”

“Right. See you around! My name's Hermione Granger, by the way, and this is Dean Thomas.”

“Harry Potter.” Harry said politely at the two as Dean just gave him a nod before he was pulled away by the very energetic girl.

Hoping for no further interruptions, Harry immersed himself in his potions book.

He found it very interesting, but after about an hour of reading, he also found his eyes were just drifting over the words without taking anything in. He snapped the book shut and decided to take a nap.

The rest of the train ride passed by torturously slow. No one else tried to enter his compartment, and Harry alternated between reading, napping and staring out the window as they finally drew close to Hogsmeade Station.

He wondered when exactly he'd see the girls. Vulpie hadn't mentioned anything in her letters about how they would be arriving at the castle. He doubted they'd just be at the station waiting for him.

And indeed, when they exited the train, it was still all witches and wizards as the Groundskeeper called for the first years to follow behind him. The Groundskeeper was a surly man named Walden McNair. He would show up to the Broomsticks multiple times a week and get plastered while not speaking a word to anyone. Harry never liked the man, especially since he'd seen him leer at Rosie more than once.

Well, most of the male patrons were taken in by Rosmerta, but the way the man looked at her was always unsettling.

“No more than four to a boat, understood?” He growled as they reached the boathouse.

The warning wasn't really needed. There were more than enough boats for the amount of first years. Harry ended up on a boat with Vincent Crabbe and a brunette who must have been a muggle born, since Harry didn't recognize her from day school.

The moment when the castle came into view as the boats emerged from under the harbor was absolutely breathtaking. For a second, Harry thought that not being able to visit the castle before had in fact been worth this moment.

They got off the boats and McNair led them up a winding stone path until they reached the heavy double doors, where they were greeted by Professor McGonagall, the Deputy Headmistress and someone who Harry had also served many times at the pub. He had a much higher opinion of her than of McNair.

“Thank you, Walden. I'll take it from here.”

Finally, they were in the castle, with its ancient stone walls and the ghosts that burst through the walls, startling them all as they drifted by overhead.

Everyone gasped when they reached the Great Hall, with its high ceilings charmed to look like the night's sky and the hundreds of floating candles that lit it. Harry was certainly impressed, but once he got over it, his eyes instantly searched the room.

There was a high table on an elevated platform, and right there, next to Dumbledore, was Fawkes. She caught his eye and winked at him, and Harry smiled at the kindly old phoenix. Then his eyes swept over the other tables. Crimson and gold, yellow and black, blue and bronze…

And there it was. It was a noticeable distance from the other three tables, and it was shorter than the others. But there, at the table clad in silver and green with a banner of a snake hanging over it, were the girls.

They looked as comfortable one could expect considering the circumstances. Vulpie and Fleur looked annoyed more than anything. Lavender was actually excited, Susan's eye was twitching and Delphi was keeping her eyes down. Daphne's expression was, as always, neutral. He also noticed that the girls were wearing the same black robes as everyone else. Well, Daphne was likely wearing one of her usual robes. But the other had received Hogwarts robes with some modifications made for tails and wings.

The sorting hat was rolled out, and Harry waited for his turn. He knew there was only one house for him.

Hannah went to Hufflepuff. Hermione Granger went to Gryffindor, along with Draco. Neville's sorting took quite some time, but in the end he went to Gryffindor as well.

The other students were a blur to Harry, who was only waiting for that one moment when his name would be called.

“Potter, Harry!”

And there it was. Harry walked up to the stool with confidence, smiling at Professor McGonagall before the witch dropped the hat on his head.

In his mind, Harry was chanting one word over and over.

‘Slytherin! Slytherin! Slytherin! Slytherin!’

The hat chuckled inside his mind, startling him a little bit.

‘I was told not to put anyone in that house, even though it's been reinstated.’

Harry frowned. ‘I don't care. I don't belong anywhere else. Put me in Slytherin’

The hat laughed again. ‘My my, definitely one worthy of Salazar's house. Though, considering you're doing this out of loyalty to your friends, perhaps Hufflepuff is the answer…’

Harry grit his teeth, wondering if the hat was just playing with him. ‘Stop messing around! I want to be in Slytherin. Just put me in there’

‘Are you sure? You're going to be putting quite the target on your back. You know, part of my enchantment is take the child's safety into consideration’

‘How about you consider your own safety? Put me in Slytherin or I'll burn you to cinders!’

‘Alright, alright! Sheesh, not much of a joker, are you? I guess it can only be…

“SLYTHERIN!”

even as Fawkes and the girls clapped for him, one could still hear a pin drop as the rest of the Great Hall was deathly silent. Harry ignored the tense atmosphere, hopping off the bench and handing the sorting hat over to McGonagall.

He was being stared at now. He saw Blaise, still in line, looking at him as if he had just confirmed a long held theory of his. Harry passed by all the other house tables, making his way over to the small green table, where a hole opened up for him between Vulpie and Delphi.

“Had me sweating for a moment there.” Vulpie whispered as Harry sat down. Instantly, her tail wrapped around his waist, and Harry couldn't help but smile at the feeling.

“The hat was being stubborn. I had to Susan my way through it.”

Susan snorted from across the table. “I would have convinced it much sooner, still have a lot of toughening up to do, Harry.”

“It seems we have stopped the proceedings.” Fleur commented as she looked around.

Indeed, the sorting still hadn't resumed, with everyone still staring at Harry amongst the girls as if he were seconds away from being torn apart and devoured piecemeal.

“There is a lot of fear, especially among those still to be sorted.” Daphne commented drily. “It is actually quite delicious.”

The Headmaster was forced to stand and clear his throat, “Minerva, if you would.”

The Deputy Headmistress snapped out of her trance, looking back down at her sorting list for the next name, calling on Zacharias Smith.

The young boy was visibly terrified as he walked up to the stool.

“Oh my!” Lavender whispered. “You think they're scared of getting sorted into our house?”

“Table's full anyways.” Vulpie said.

Indeed, it seemed that the children now thought there was a chance they could end up in the monster house. And so, even after Smith was quickly sorted into Hufflepuff, the rest of the sortees looked as if they were walking up to the gallows whenever their name was called.

Finally, Blaise was sorted into Ravenclaw after a short pause, and the sorting was over.

Dumbledore stood up and gave a speech. He welcomed them all to the school and tried dancing around the elephant in the room. He also mentioned that entry into the forest was forbidden.

“We can't even go in. Not even on weekends.” Fleur complained.

“We'll only be allowed to return during the holidays.” Delphi confirmed from Harry's other side. She'd been quiet, even quieter than usual, and it was clear that the glares she was constantly receiving were getting to her.

“I would also like to welcome our newest professor, Ms. Fawkes, who will be teaching our first ever Creature History course!”

Fawkes stood up and took a quick bow. Harry and the girls burst into enthusiastic applause, doing their best to make up for the non-reaction from the other houses.

Fawkes didn't seem bothered at all as she retook her seat.

“If you're interested in signing up for her course, which is open to all years, you still have until the end of next week to sign up.”

Harry doubted anyone would. That was fine with him, it would be another space for him and the girls to hang out.

His speech finished, Dumbledore urged everyone to dig in, and the tables were suddenly filled with heaps of delicious looking food.

Harry hadn't eaten all day, and so he immediately began piling food up on his plate. As everyone around them did the same, it was the first respite the girls had had from all the leers and stares.

“Lavender!” Vulpie hissed. “That's for everyone!”

Lavender's hand had deformed into a mass of tendrils, which had attached themselves to the plate full of lamb chops and were rapidly absorbing all of the nutrients from the meat.

Lavender had the sense to at least blush in embarrassment. “Oh, sorry. I thought, since they put it right in front of me.” She pulled her tendrils back and turned them back into a hand, grabbing the basket and offering it to Vulpie. “You want some?”

Vulpie grimaced at the lamb chops, which all looked grey and flaccid now. “No, it's fine, you can finish them off.”

Lavender shrugged and attached her tendrils once more. She scooped up a bit of salad as well, extracting the nutrients from the greens which began to turn into mulch.

Fleur's table manners were impeccable, eating with a knife and fork as she meticulously sliced her steak into bite sized pieces.

Daphne was not touching the food at all.

Harry knew she could eat. He'd seen her eat before.

“Not gonna have anything, Daph?”

Daphne shook her head. “I am still full from the fear from earlier.”

“Sucks to be you.” Susan said, bits of food flying from her mouth as she continued to stuff food down her gullet while talking. “This is all delicious.”

“It's a bit overcooked,” Vulpie commented as she looked at her steak, which was a perfect medium rare.

Delphi was picking at her food. Harry frowned as he saw his amber-eyed friend frown into her place.

“Delphi,”

The girl startled, “Y-Yes?”

“Remember, we've got your back. We've all got each other's backs. We're not gonna let anything happen.”

The girl blinked a few times before flushing. “T-Thanks, Harry.”

“Delph, you gotta have fun with it!” Lavender urged. “Just think of this as our first grand adventure! Besides you're a damn lamia, girl! Those scales of your can take anything these stupid berks throw at you!”

Lavender's cheerleading helped improve Delphi's mood, and she actually began to dig into her meal.

Once dinner ended, all of the first years lined up behind their prefects. For the Slytherins, Fawkes had left the head table and made her way over to them, though Professor McGonagall was also following behind her.

“Alright, girls, let's go down to the common room.”

Harry stood up along with the girls, but Professor McGonagall put a hand up to stop him. “Mr. Potter, if you would come with me. Please?”

Harry looked between Fawkes and her in confusion.

“Did something happen?”

McGonagall bit her lip. “The Headmaster just needs to have a talk with you in his office.”

Harry's eyes widened. He looked to Fawkes, who just smiled at him. “It's alright, Harry. We'll see you down there.”

Harry sighed. “Alright. Lead the way, Professor.”

While Fawkes led the girls through a door near the back of the Great Hall, Harry followed behind McGonagall as they walked with the Gryffindor students. He glimpsed Draco looking at him as if he'd gone insane. Hermione, who was next to him, was looking at him with a worried look on her face.

Harry was relieved when they diverged. McGonagall stopped at a gargoyle statue, which leapt apart and revealed a spiral staircase when she whispered ‘Spicy Nougat’ at it.

Up the spiral staircase they went, and right before McGonagall went to knock on the door, an aged voice spoke.

“Enter.”

McGonagall sighed as she pushed the door open.

The Headmaster's office was a mess. It was full of spinning trinkets and whirling objects and other such oddities, as well as piles upon piles of paperwork.

The Headmaster sat behind his desk, his eyes twinkling as he looked at Harry, and next to him, looking very concerned indeed, was Minister Fudge.

The moment Fudge saw Harry, he walked around the headmaster's desk and marched right on up to Harry.

“Mr. Potter, are you alright?”

“I'm fine.” Harry said, his brow furrowing.

Fudge nodded. “Quite a strong boy. Do not fret, we're getting this all sorted out. We'll find you another house to be sorted into.”

Dumbledore's easy smile faded slightly. “As I said, Cornelius, the hat's decision is final, we have never reversed a sorting in our entire history.”

“Well, we've been breaking from a lot of long-held traditions recently, haven't we?” Fudge spat more than a bit heatedly.

“Sir.” Harry interjected. “That won't be necessary, I'm happy where I'm at.”

“You… you… I'm sorry, what did you just say, young man?”

“I said I'm happy in Slytherin. There's no need to find me another house.”

Fudge now looked between Harry, Dumbledore and McGonagall, as if expecting one of them to reveal this was all a bad joke.

Fudge leaned into the headmaster, though Harry still heard him quite clearly. “Dumbledore, the boy is clearly not right. Would you mind checking him for any potions? Maybe he was hypnotized, I believe that is one of the snake's abilities, is it not?”

Harry bristled, “Sir, I chose my house out of my own free will.” He glared at the Minister before looking over at Dumbledore. “Can I go back to my common room now, Headmaster?”

Dumbledore seemed be amused by the whole ordeal, and he smiled softly at Harry. “Of course, Mr. Potter. Though there will be some… arrangements for particular times of the month that will need to be discussed. But that can be left for later on. Minerva you may take Mr. Potter to his common room.”

Harry left the Headmaster's office as Fudge continued to splutter and rave at an eternally patient Dumbledore.

“Are you sure you'll be fine, Mr. Potter?”

Harry glared up at Professor McGonagall, “I'll be ok, professor. I'm not going to be in any danger.”

He thought about just coming out and saying that these girls were his friends, that he'd been seeing them almost every day for the past three years, but decided there was no reason for him to just go around revealing that information. For all he knew, if the ministry found out, they'd try to get him to divulge information about the forest.

McGonagall was quiet the rest of the way down, until she stopped at a bare stretch of wall down in the dungeons. Harry noted that there were no identifying marks to differentiate this passage from any of the others, and he hoped it wouldn't take long for them to commit the entrance to memory.

“Union.”

At her words, the wall split apart, bathing them in light that was tinted a dark green.

“Professor Fawkes will be down tomorrow morning to collect you for breakfast. Good night, Mr. Potter.” McGonagall said tightly before taking her leave.

Harry stepped into the common room, where the source of the greenish glow that covered the entire room became apparent. There were floor to ceiling windows all around this cavernous, dungeon-like room, and the view from all of them was of the depths of the black lake.

The room was very well decorated, with many plush couches and carved chairs, as well as an elaborately carved mantelpiece, under which there was a hearty fire crackling away. From the ceiling hung dozens of greenish lamps, adding to the room's aesthetic.

It might have looked sinister to some, but to Harry. It looked rather cool.

“Harry! You're back! What did they want?” Susan asked.

The girls were all huddled up in front of the fireplace, except for Delphi, who was up against one of the windows. He couldn't really see her well from his vantage point, but he could hear her whispering.

Harry shrugged. “The minister seemed to think Delphi had placed me under and enchantment and you girls were going to take turns devouring me whole.”

He didn't get the laughter he expected. The girls seemed to all blush at his words, looking away from him.

“This place is way too dark and dreary for my liking.” Lavender said, and Harry decided not to note the sudden change in topic. “Thankfully, we each get our own rooms! I'm gonna make sure mine has lots of light, and not this green kind.”

“I, for one, enjoy the ambiance.” Daphne said.

“Of course you do.” Lavender rolled her eyes.

Harry plopped down on a two-seater next to Fleur, leaning back onto what he at first thought was the cushion, but were actually her angel wings, which he thought were definitely softer against the back of his neck.

He didn't notice Vulpie's eye twitch. She'd chosen to sit on the floor in front of the fireplace, but now, she thought that might have been a mistake.

“What were you guys drawing lots for?” Harry asked, noticing the pile of crumpled up bits parchment on the floor that told him they'd been drawing numbers.

“Oh, nothing, we were just bored while you were out.” Vulpie said, using her tail to sweep the parchment directly into the fireplace.

Harry rolled his eyes as he saw Delphi slither back from the window with a slight smile on her face.

“Well, that was nice.”

“What were you doing?” Harry asked curiously.

Delphi's yellow eyes shone brightly through her thick glasses, “I was talking to one of the mermaids. I always see them but I've never been able to talk to one of them.”

“You can speak mermish?”

Delphi shook her head. “Parseltongue and Mermish are… well, they're close enough. Its rough, but we can understand each other. She was nice.”

“Not to me she wasn't.” Susan grumbled.

“That's probably because you kept tapping on the glass, Susan.” Vulpie pointed out.

“I believe it is best if we go to bed. Tomorrow will be a very early morning, and we will likely need all of our energy.” Daphne said as she stood from her seat.

They all made their way over to a long hallway with dozens of rooms, reminding Harry of the pub. Though the The Three Broomsticks had nowhere near this amount of rooms. At the end of the hallway there were stairs going both up and down, to what Harry assumed were more rooms.

“Might as well stay on this floor, right?”

The girls nodded in agreement. Harry made his way over to the door nearest the hallways but Susan grabbed onto his arm.

The dragon girl was biting her lip as she looked down at him, “We kind of, err… figured out the room order already.”

Harry blinked. There were more than enough rooms for all of them, but he didn't really care either way, he would play along.

Susan pushed him over to a particular door. He then saw as the girls awkwardly shuffled around the room, and it quickly became evident just what the girls had been drawing lots for.

Harry ended up with Vulpie to his left and Daphne to his right. Across from him was Fleur, with Delphi to her right and Susan to her left. Lavender ended up on Susan's left, with her room closest to the hallway.

Harry rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. “Well, I guess its good night then.”

“Yeah.” Lavender's eyes flickered between the other girl before she rushed forward, wrapping Harry up in a very tight hug.

Harry blushed, returning the hug before Lavender pulled back. Just as she did, Susan took her place, pulling him into a bone-crushing hug.

The girls continued on like that, taking turns hugging him and saying good night before disappearing into their rooms.

Fleur's hug was tender, and Harry swore he saw her halo flare up when his arms wrapped around her tight waist. Delphi apologized when her glasses dug into the side of his face, to which Harry just chuckled and recklessly pecked her neck, loving goosebumps he felt on her skin. Daphne's hug was surprisingly warm, and with the hood of her robe pulled back, he found that her hair smelled of sandalwood.

When only Vulpie was left, Harry was dizzy. He had inhaled five very different, but equally intoxicating scents, as well as having five bodies pressed up against him. And good lord, had the girls grown over the years.

“Night, Harry.” Vulpie said softly.

Harry looked down at her Violet eyes.

His breath hitched.

They wrapped their arms around each other. She felt perfect. Made for him. Her tail wrapped around them, and Harry, being decently taller, pressed his nose against her tufted ears.

They were alone, and they held their hug for Merlin knew how long before Vulpie finally pulled back.

They said their goodbyes and went into their own rooms. Harry lay in his bed that night, trying to dedicate all of the scents to memory, and wishing he had a fluffy tail wrapped around him as he slept.

…

“It's madness, Lucius! What if something were to happen to the boy?”

Lucius had been quite irritated when Cornelius had called his floo at this hour. He'd been deep into his evening routine, and a talk with a bumbling fool like Fudge was never going to compete with a deep soak in the bath.

But, he would admit, the news Cornelius had brought were definitely worth having his night ruined

“what do you think, Lucius? Perhaps you could get the Board of Governors together, make Dumbledore see reason.” Cornelius urged.

Lucius shook his head lightly. “Cornelius, I believe you must calm down. We must trust the Headmaster and his decision.”

Fudge blustered. “B-But… what? You've been the biggest opponent of this, Lucius. Why the sudden change of course?”

Lucius shrugged. “I have my reservations, and I've made them very clear. But our course has been set, and wavering now would be even more catastrophic.” Lucius’ grey eyes glimmered as he looked down at Fudge.

The man was so very easy to manipulate.

“The Headmaster's made his decision, and I believe we should support it. It helps in our ultimate goal, doesn't it? Of brokering peace and understanding between the races?”

“But what if the boy is hurt, or worse? This is Mr. Potter, on top of that. The son of two martyrs, the public would be apoplectic.”

Lucius smiled tightly, trying to contain his glee. “Let us hope it doesn't come to that.”