AU, OOC, no one of the Main cast of the "good guys" are dead, reason explained in the story.
My first try for a oneshot, tell me if it's good enough or what I have to do to make it better, Thank you.
"This is a spell" – spells/Parseltongue
"This is a dialogue" - dialogue
"This is a monster talking" - during flashback/ Creatures
"This is during thoughts" - thoughts/Legilimency
Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or any other part/character of the franchise and I don't get money for my stories, everything belongs to the respective owners/societies.
Oneshot: Choices and repercussions, it's never late to reconsider.
Hogwarts – Great Hall – Opening Fest of the Seventh Year ('second try' of the seventh year for most) -
After what the Prophet dubbed "The Great War of Hogwarts" where the Dark Lord Voldemort was finally vanquished for good, the school was hosting the Seventh Year of Harry's year-group since the one "directed" by Voldemort was deemed invalid due to him having Forced his position as ruler of the school.
It was the opening dinner of the year, and the four tables (enlarged to accommodate the extra students from the 'repetition') were happily chatting and eating, talking about how close they had been at being conquered by the Dark Lord.
At the teachers table the professors were trying to decide how to actually teach to TWO seventh Year groups at the same time.
The Headmaster, Albus Dumbledore, was trying to convince McGonagall the transfiguration professor to let another expert in that field to assist her in the lessons.
"I can't see why you have to be this stubborn, Minerva, I am not trying to sack you, only to help the students to actually get a perfectly fine education after what happened last year" Albus said moving his only arm towards the four tables.
The other one was lost after a curse in the Ring Horcrux started spreading, when Severus Snape, Potion Master, declared the condition incurable and lethal the two decided to let young Draco Malfoy kill the Headmaster as a proof of his loyalty to Voldemort to try and save the blond boy from the Dark Wizard ire he was having for the whole Malfoy family.
What both did not expect was the Killing Curse and the Flesh-Rotting one on the Ring eliminate each-other but leaving behind the blackened arm and forcing Madame Pomfrey to amputate, the fear of the Curse spreading again stopping the medi-witch from re-grow the lost appendage.
"And I am telling you that I am perfectly capable of teaching both! Just give me a bigger classroom and I'll show you!" McGonagall answered fiercely.
"I think that you are overreacting" Remus Lupin said with Tonks near him nodding, both were the Defence Against the Dark Arts professors, barely surviving the Hogwarts War with the werewolf ending with few new scars on his face and body, if not for his "furry little problem" he would have been dead, or that was what the medics at St. Mungo told him.
"Harry and the others seems kinda nervous" Tonks said curious watching the discussion of the "Golden Trio" that was arguing rather fiercely
"I wonder why" Snape said smirking darkly.
He was asked to convince Harry to let Voldemort hit him with the Killing Curse so to destroy the Last Horcrux in the boy's forehead, he had planned it in the minimal details, but he still had to thank his good luck if he actually managed to pull it off.
After the blasted snake Nagini had bit him he knew he had only few seconds to actually deliver his message to the boy, convince the snake to leave him alone and actually cure himself.
It was a gamble he too would have never took under normal circumstances, but it was his only ticket to freedom from the 'Dork Lord' and the 'Lemon-drop fetishist' as he called the two Leaders of Light and Dark.
After the Potter brat left, taking his sweet time for a 'brooding goodbye' that alone almost cost the man his life, he had to keep his breath and have his magic Slow down his heart-beat enough to convince Nagini he was actually dead, and he had to actually be grateful that the hair of his head were so damn drenched from the potion's fumes to gross the reptile out, he just hoped no-one ever found out that tidbit of information or he would never hear the end of it.
After that, a vial of phoenix tears and a bezoar helped the Potion Master to overcome the magical venom of the snake before going into hiding until the end of the war.
And now that the war was over he could finally take a little 'revenge' on the Son of James, namely making sure that Potter, Granger and Weasley had few drops of Veritaserum find their way in the trio's drinks, a little compulsion on the cup themselves to make them talk and he was sure that the dinner entertainment would have been of his liking.
"Privacy Spell, Granger? Not this time...let me have a laugh too, what ever have you to hide?" Snape muttered launching a counter towards the trio, surprised by the sheer volume of Potter's voice as he was yelling.
Other than the eyes he apparently had his mother's lungs as well since the Hall was almost shaking under the vocal assault that could make Howlers and Sonorus Charms green with envy.
"PRETTY? PRETTY!?" Harry yelled, the three unaware that the spell fell and that every noise in the Hall died to listen to them.
"Well...you have to admit he has wonderful eyes..." Hermione answered, surprised by his outburst.
"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT!? You mean to tell me that you, Hermione Jane Granger, 'Brightest Witch of Hogwarts' someone people was even ready to define The next Rowena Ravenclaw choose a boyfriend only because he is pretty!?" Harry asked again, his green eyes ablaze with uncontrolled magic and rage, actually stopping even Draco from commenting.
Everyone knew Harry's Explosive temper, and he had never been this angry before so NO ONE wanted to see how far he would have gone this time if the wrong button went pushed.
"You asked me why I choose Ron instead of you..." the girl answered uncertain
"Well, for once I was..." Ron started saying
"SHUT UP WEASLEY!" Harry said silencing the boy with the Elder Wand, object that somehow appeared in his hands directly from Albus' pocket, surprising the Headmaster.
"Do you know why I managed to put up with you all those years? Because I loved, hear the past tense here, LOVED Hermione, I thought that you came like a 'package deal' with her so I did not curse you to bits after the Troll incident, and I managed that BARELY, at every act of treason from you I was actually happy to see you gone but NOO! Hermione had to play the sad puppy forcing me to actually welcome you back in the group with a smile on my face, no matter how actually useless you were back there" Harry said sneering
"The final straw was during the Horcrux hunt when you left us in the tent...it could have been MY chance to stay with her, but she made awfully clear that she wanted you by being miserable...never saw such a waste in all my life, and living with the Dursleys helped me understand what a "waste of space/potential" truly is...then you saved me, really? I was drowning in a pond and you took away a locket from my neck, what a great hero" the boy said mockingly
"Now Harry..." Hermione tried saying in anger before both the boy's wands were pointed at her face
"You may have book-smart knowledge, I'll give you that much, but I have better reflexes and speed...don't challenge me, Granger..." Harry said with narrowed eyes
"O-Okay..." the girl said shaking
"Pretty...you DO know that I used the Love I had for you to defeat Voldemort, right? I was so much an idiot to waste my opportunity with both Cho and Padma in the hope to stay with you...I only wish they would forgive me if I acted like a jerk" he said sighing
"That's okay, Harry...you could have told me though, it would have been better" Padma said smiling tenderly at him, Cho too nodding from near Cedric, the boy survived the Killing Curse thanks to Harry pushing him away from the Curse trail the last moment.
"Ah...thank you then...is it too much to ask for a 'second chance'? We can even have a dance too, I'll heal every damage I will do to your feet since I can't dance" Harry said, not caring that she and probably the others as well had heard him.
"Uhm...only because you were a little idiot back there, maybe you can still be saved from being a lost cause" the girl answered smirking
"Better than anything...because he is prettier...I should have known when you accepted Krum's invitation at the Yule Ball, for once that I didn't act courageous it actually came back to bite me in the ass. But I have to admit that you were and ARE still a young girl and a Teen no matter your grades...hormones are able to have your Bright mind too to 'shut down' apparently, a wink and few muscles and you turn into goo and act like that, stupid from me to actually believe I had a chance" he said sighing, his hand passing tiredly through his hair
"Well...I was sincere at least..." Hermione said calmly
"Tch! Thank you, Granger, that makes me feel wonderful!" the boy said sarcastically
"Fred, George...you two, your father, Bill and Charlie are the only Weasley I am comfortable with, I have to admit that I started dating Ginny in hope to forget Hermione here, but it didn't work" Harry said sighing
"We know that" Fred said, both he and is twin back at Hogwarts because talked (threatened) into concluding their time at school before re-opening their shop.
"Gi-Ginny to-told us" George said, still stuttering from the Cruciatus Curse Bellatrix used on him, the twins considered it Luck that she used that instead of the Killing Curse, having drank the Felix Felicis potion saved him.
"Yeah...I never thought she would have ended up with Lavander Brown after we broke up" Harry admitted, making the one listening gasp in surprise
"Ronniekins was bad enough to have her renounce to boys apparently" Fred said nodding
"G-G-Ginny was j-j-just curious an-and she liked i-it" George added
"You know what? Your mother too is not so bad in the end, a little overbearing for my tastes, but without 'another mother' to have a comparison with I can't actually judge" Harry said
"What will you do now?" Neville asked
"I will finish this year, have some extra-course and then move to France, I bet that The-boy-who-lived won't have problems in getting a job as a DADA professor there at Beauxbatons" Harry said shrugging, ignoring the new round of gasps.
"Why not doing it here?" Albus asked worried
"Why? And you ask me? I don't want to have the probable spawn of those two" he answered pointing at Hermione and Ron "in front of me for seven years" he then said looking at Snape
"Professor Snape? Can I ask you something?" Harry said, shocking everyone with actually calling him professor without someone forcing him.
"What do you want, Potter?" Severus said, for the first time finding difficult to actually convey his displeasure for the boy in his voice.
"How did you manage? because I finally understand what you feel every time you look at me, watching the son of the woman you love that she had with another man must be terrible, I can only say that it's not my fault and to please stand my presence here a last year, then I will just disappear and not bother you ever again" Harry said with a bow of his head.
"Potter...no...Harry" Snape said shocking once again the other listening
"The difference between your parents and those two" the man said pointing at Ron and Hermione with a sneer
"Was the fact that your father actually had some talent in magic, even if I hate to admit that, he was a wonderful wizard himself so it was not only a matter of beauty that drew the two together, and I am also at fault in driving the two closer, I know that I will probably never forgive myself for my involvement with them" he said referring to his being part of the cause of both Potter's death, thing known only by himself, Albus and Harry
"Yeah, arguing every time they talk to each-other is not what makes a good couple" Harry said looking at the girl he used to love
"Tell me just ONE thing you two have in common...nothing? I am not surprised, he knows nothing of the Muggle World, and the few things he knows he see as stupid, he is lazy, loud-mouthed and can't understand people's feelings to save his life...the worst thing is that you even help him trying to have him to look good" he said
"What do you mean?" she asked glancing around the Hall worriedly
Ron was still unconcerned, other than hating being silenced he was actually finding the boy's rambling amusing, too caught in his personal victory for the girl's affection to actually pay attention at what was being said.
"Really? Do I have to say this in front of everyone? You REALLY think that I believed even for a second that he managed to imitate the Parseltongue? You really think I am that stupid? I know you just took some old fangs outside the Chamber and then created that pretty Lie to have Ron appear 'useful' for the war's results " Harry said sneering
"Miss Granger...one can't just imitate that gift, it's a magical Language, rare for a reason, otherwise one could just have Courses of Parseltongue to use that branch of magic, it's because one needs to have Parsel Magic inside them that that Language can be used at all, and that it's also the reason why wizards are afraid of that gift since it requires and extra source of magic to use it" Albus explained making every eye turn on the girl to watch her grow red in the face .
"Exactly, I can actually show to Dean how to say 'Open' in Parseltongue until he can imitate it perfectly, but if he has not Parsel Magic in him he will just make sounds without purpose, and by the way, refrain from actually try to do that with a living snake, they take that as an insult and attack viciously, Ginny was an exception because Possessed by an entity capable of use that Language " Harry said
"But...but..." Hermione said spluttering.
"Will you really leave Britain, Harry?" McGonagall asked concerned
"Hogwarts already has a Cruel professor with our Potion Master, two of them and people will start complaining"
"As if you can imitate that, Potter" Snape said half-heartedly, the similarity between the two were piling-up way too fast for the man, making his 'natural' dislike of the boy sport the first of a long series of cracks that he didn't like.
"Can you teach me that then? If I don't go teaching to Beauxbatons or Durmstrang I will probably have Hermione's children here, nothing personal, but I don't think that I will ever see the Weasley family in the same light after this betrayal no matter how much I try, I think I can safely renounce to every possibility of Love after...well...This" Harry said pointing at the other two in disgust.
"Sigh! Harry this won't help you getting over with it" Snape said sighing
"It's the only solution I can think of...the worst thing is that Draco was right in the end, I should have paid attention with who I was spending my time" he said sighing himself
"I was talking about Ron, not the whole family, Potter. I like the Twins myself, it's the prat I find myself unable to stand" Draco said nodding, he too finding difficult to actually form a snide comment and/or insult as the situation kept evolving and after what happened during the war.
"Yeah...at least you have Pansy, she has a great ass" Harry admitted making the girl blush
"Yes, quite true that" the Malfoy boy answered stealing a glance at said backside, enticing few laughs from the Slytherin table.
"HEY!" Hermione said
"Ah, Shut up!" Harry said waving her off
"NOW, HARRY!" she answered getting up with a furious expression on her face.
"Sit down, Granger, we never commented on the fact that you made Weasley's homework for him, be grateful we did not bury Gryffindor with a negative count of points" Snape said with venom-coated voice
"WHAT!?" she shrieked
"The dunderhead didn't even care enough to actually copy them in his hand-writing, he just add his name at the top of the page, as if we were not smart enough to see the similarities between your work and his" Severus answered with a dark smirk, the other Professors nodding at his words
"RONALD!" the girl bellowed looking at the boy that was now trying to merge with the table and disappear.
"Funny that! Me instead, I had to underplay when taking the tests, God forbid I take higher grades than Hermione Granger, genius witch" Harry said sneering
"WHAT!? What do you mean?" Hermione demanded
"After the first year he accosted us and asked the strangest thing I ever heard" Flitwick admitted
"He asked us to take the various tests TWO times, a public one where he would play the 'average' wizard and one private where he would do his best" McGonagall said nodding
"We were against it at the beginning, then we saw your reaction when you saw that in one of my tests Harry had an higher grade than you" the Charm professor said
"I wasn't exactly happy, that's true, but this is too much!" the girl said
"Not exactly happy? You stopped talking to me for a month! And since I was still pretty in love with you I was kinda miserable, and did I really have to remember you what happened with the potion book?" Harry answered
"After that we accepted the thing since it was apparent that he was ready to ruin his future chances just to make you happy, and we couldn't permit that, no matter how many times we talked he was adamant in perform poorly on purpose" Albus said sadly, remembering how distraught the young boy was in that period.
"But..." the girl said with wide eyes
"I only was truly bad at Potion, but both me and Professor Snape hated each-other so it was a given" Harry said
"Hated?" Severus asked curious
"I don't know you, but after being subjected to the same refusal you had with my mother I can understand why you are so nasty, so I can't exactly blame you for 'taking revenge' on me since my father is dead" he answered
"Sigh! Well then, Harry...come with me" Snape said getting up
"Why?" the boy asked
"Since apparently you decided to throw away your future I want to step in and stop you, I may let the son of James Potter destroy himself, but the Son of Lily Evans shouldn't be condemned to that" the man answered nearing him.
"So what?" Harry asked curious
"First order of things we will update your grades using the real tests you make, together with the various End of the year Exams should help you find a respectable job" Severus said
"And then?"
"A REAL potion course to adjust the damages I purposely help you make to yourself and some true Occlumency Lessons, If I can stop you from taking the same path I took we'll show to Granger that she managed to bet on the wrong horse as I wished to do with your mother years ago" Snape said guiding the boy out.
"I KNEW IT! You were a bastard on purpose! Sirius almost died because of that!" Harry said angrily
"I wasn't expecting that idiot to rush to the ministry like that, but do not expect me to say sorry to him" the man admitted
"He missed the Veil of Death by a mere inch, arsehole" the boy said glaring at him
"He unleashed Lupin in his werewolf form on me when we were students, I think we are even now" the other countered.
"Anything else I need to do?" Harry asked
"I'll tell you once we'll have some privacy" Snape answered
"I'll help with some pureblood customs" Neville said following them
"Hey, talk to Luna, she has the hots for you" Harry said, still under the effects of the Veritaserum
"Uuh...okay, I guess" the boy answered blushing
"You know what's worst, professor?" the still angry boy said
"What, Mister Potter?" Snape asked
"When I told Sirius that I was watching the girl I loved going with another boy he told me to fight back, when I answered that it was a losing battle he brought me to a Muggle night-club to 'have some fun'...and I still was so stupid to think about Hermione..." Harry answered
"Love can be damaging as any curse..." Severus said, trying to ignore the stares the two were getting at that revelation
"Yeah...and after that...no matter how many girls I slept with...I spent every single second of those six hours shagging every one of them with my mind superimposing her face to theirs" he said sighing
"Okay...too much information now..." the professor said trying to stop him, cursing his use of a timed compulsion charm, making him unable to counter it until expired by itself.
"I mean...I could have understood if she had preferred a Genius, or a body-builder or even one as famous as me, like Victor Krum, shite! Even losing to one with a monster between his legs would have been fine, but to lose to Ron Weasley the 'Two-inch-wonder' no...I can't accept that" Harry said making every eye turn to Ronald that was now swelling in pride.
"Mister Weasley, I have you know that having those measures is not something to be proud of" a disgusted Snape felt the need to explain, using all his Occlumancy training to stop the image from forming in his head.
"That's right, the prat thinks that we refuse to shower with him because jealous, we actually refrain to watch him so to not laugh...the first time he entered with a smug smile and his morning wood we had not the strength to tell him the truth" Harry said sighing as the red-head lowered his head as laughs erupted in the Hall.
"Let's go now, I think you said enough, Harry. Mister Longbottom, accompany us to the infirmary" Snape said finally pushing the boy out.
"I am coming, professor" Neville said hurrying out.
"Well...that was particularly interesting..." Albus commented as Minerva rushed out to follow her cub.
"There is something wrong, Harry would never have said those things in the middle of the Hall" Lupin said as he too left the room with Tonks behind him.
"Two inches...oh boy! And he thinks that he is hung like an horse!" the giggling Metamorphmagus muttered louder than what she thought, giving start at a new round of laughs in the Great Hall and forever destroying Ron's image for years to come.
Later that night and after curfew – Hogwarts – infirmary -
The four Head of House, Remus and Tonks, Sirius, The Headmaster and Harry were having an 'informal meeting' in the Infirmary, reign of Madame Pomfrey, the air was tense after the medi-witch explained Why the boy started talking like that, the reactions of everyone reaching the breaking point after she sent an house-elf with the counter for the Truth Potion and after-effects of Compulsion Charms to Hermione and Ron in their dormitory to have the two take those without noticing, confirming the terrible truth about the whole thing.
"A TRUTH POTION AND A COMPULSION, SEVERUS!? WHAT'S WRONG WITH YOU!?" Minerva roared like a true lioness as Madame Pomfrey was still checking Harry for remnants of the Veritaserum in case he was subjected to a 'bigger dose' than necessary.
"I admit it was a bad idea, but I never thought that those details would have come out" Snape said nursing his swelling eye, thing courtesy of Albus' punch that was what he got in answer from the old man once he confirmed to the others the truth behind the boy's outburst.
"I never was so ashamed of you and I saw you commit several disputable errors since your childhood, Severus" Albus said with his eyes lacking the infamous twinkle those were famous for.
"Can I punch the git too?" Lupin asked as Tonks was trying and failing to stop him and Sirius from pouncing on him.
"Just a kick to the bollocks! Just one!" Sirius asked glaring at the man
"No, I am actually glad he did that" Harry said shocking the others "At least I know why she choose him, I won't press charges against Professor Snape" he then said
"What will you do now?" Sirius asked
"I'll adjust my health, my eyes, my grades and once finished my year here I'll move away, as I said, I'll look for a job at Beauxbatons or other schools, staying here or becoming an Auror will only give me chances of meeting those two, is either this or staying here and becoming the nasty DADA professor, and Hogwarts already has one" he answered
"I can always teach you how to be Properly nasty so to get away with it, chances are that if you go to France you will meet Bill's children, no matter how much you deny it you WILL treat them differently" Snape said as Pomfrey FINALLY deemed okay to cure his black eye.
"Can you teach me how to make my robes billow too? It always was one of the few things that I actually 'liked' of you, it's really impressive" Harry asked
As few snickers escaped the presents' mouths Snape used his worst sneer to glare at the boy
"You are not good enough for that" he answered
"Try me" the boy said challengingly
"We'll see..." the Potion Master said with a sharp nod.
"The fact remains that we'll have to correct your grades, Harry" Flitwick said
"Let's do it, I see no reason in hiding it anymore, I am not smarter that Hermione, but my grades were second only to hers here, I can stop hiding now that she admitted the whole thing..." Harry answered sighing
"I can't believe that it was your Love for her to destroy the Dark Lord" Professor Sprout said sighing
"Even if she doesn't love him back, his feelings were honest, strong enough to overcome the Darkness in Tom's heart" Albus said sadly, taking Harry's hand in his
"Headmaster?" the boy asked curious
"For years...ever since that night I left you on that doorstep, I kept repeating myself that I was making the right thing, I was so convinced that everything would have turned out well, but I admit that maybe deep inside my heart I had always knew that it would have not been the case, that's why I was actually afraid of ringing the doorbell to personally give you to Petunia Dursley" the old man said sighing, appearing even older than what he was
"There is no need for that Professor, I won't become the next Voldemort" Harry tried saying
"There is instead need for me to apologies...in my foolishness I convinced myself that hiding you with the Muggles would have been enough, the bloodwards would have added further protection, I thought that hiding you with Remus or any other magical family would have been too easy, making the discovery of your whereabouts only a matter of minutes, if that would have not been the case I would have raised you myself, I really hoped that your Aunt would have raised you with love" The Headmaster admitted
"And what about me?" Sirius asked with narrowed eyes
"Another of my many regrets, I needed you in prison in hope to have Peter to make a mistake and show himself alive since people believed you to be the 'real' traitor of the Potter family, if you won't ever forgive me I understand, I too would have hated someone for that" Albus admitted looking down
"When the Goblet of Fire spat out your name I was practically in denial, I refused to believe that someone managed to have a fourth name appear in a Tournament requiring THREE contestants, my maniacal research of a way for you to not compete had me ignore your need of further help, but I am still human no matter the power people attribute to me, my duty as Headmaster stopped me from openly help you without showing favoritism, ironically it was the Fake-Moody to provide you with the help necessary to survive the Tasks if only to have Tom regain a physical body. I was so blinded by my fear, regret and duties to not even notice that someone was posing as a dear friend of mine, I am amazed that people like Lucius never used that to have me abandon the school, if you look behind, every time I could have helped you directly I found myself stopped, only able to send you tiny helps to give you an edge in whatever plot you found yourself in that current year" he then said sighing
"I actually helped Cedric to train, Headmaster, more than just 'a little bit' actually, I wanted my Puff to not only survive but also Win the Tournament" Pomona admitted looking down
"So did Karkarof and Maxine apparently, I guess I was the only one to stick to the rules then, unfortunately the Task had to be identical for every contestant, otherwise I would have just had you do simple, menial things and call the thing done...and you, Minerva? What about you?" Albus said
"I admit that I was between the ones that thought that Mister Potter had somehow managed to add his name by cheating so I couldn't find in me the strength to openly help him" the stern woman admitted ashamed
"No wonder he doesn't trust the two of you or anyone else of us and the Order then, seeing how much you betrayed him it was a given" Snape said sneering
"SEVERUS!" McGonagall said scandalized
"Professor! I..." Harry tried saying
"Don't deny it, Harry. I may have blasted down your mental defences during my so called 'Lessons of Occlumency' bringing more troubles than solutions as result, but I could see what you thought about any of us, your hate for me was not a surprise, the 'displeasure' towards the rest of the Professors and the school as a whole was instead unexpected, especially since I had always envisioned you as a forgiving fool" the Potion Master answered
"I guess that turning down your warnings about the Philosopher Stone or the Basilisk didn't help rising your lacking trust towards adults...nor my not helping you with Madame Umbridge" McGonagall said
"About that, professor, you were at risk of losing your job...you had other things to worry about, and you actually defended me when that Toad-shaped woman tried discouraging me from becoming an Auror" Harry said
"Telling you to just 'Keep your head down' was hardly what one can consider an help, and I admit that I lashed at her like that more for myself than for you since I had reached the limit of my tolerance for that woman"
"It seems that one way or another we all failed you, Mister Potter, either by action or inaction" Filius admitted sadly
"No need to worry about that now, what's important is that I am finally free of Tom and will now be able to have a 'normal' life" Harry answered waving him off
"I hoped for you to have one since the beginning instead of risking your life from Day One, but I fear that the prophecy had some 'loophole' preventing you from achieving even that simple goal" Albus said
"It just means that I can actually do that now since that I completed my mission" the boy answered
"One year may not be enough to repair the damages that you sustained, Harry" Sirius said sighing
"I fear Sirius is right, there is only so much you can do in that time" Lupin added nodding
"Even by using a Time-turner?" Harry asked looking down
"Sorry, my boy...what do you mean?" Albus asked amused, his eyes once again twinkling fiercely
"Well...after the events in the Department of Mysteries I found one of them in my pocket, I guess the Auror couldn't trace it since that room was almost completely destroyed, I never got to use it since I knew you all would have noticed if I was in two places at the same time" the boy answered
"And during the Horcrux hunt?" Snape asked
"Too angry, too tired and too damn busy to even remember I had one, it was a rather hectic year that so I did not consider actually using it to make things easier, I don't even have the slightest idea of how to properly use that in the first place, I fear to turn it one time too many and find myself all the way back with the cavemen" Harry answered blushing
"Well, that actually would make things easier" Lupin said smirking
"Please explain, Remus, tell us what you think" the Headmaster asked eagerly
"Since You all are feeling 'Oh so sorry' for how Harry had to grow up" the Professor said grinning at how everyone had a synchronized 'turning of eyes' at that statement
"What about having him live a 'normal year' of school, then two weeks before the final exams use the Time-Turner from Dumbledore's office to return to the beginning so to spend again the year doing 'extra' lessons and then return once again to the beginning so to undergo the 'heavy' healing regimen to adjust his body and even make it better" the werewolf said
"It may be disastrous if one of those 'copies' meet each other" Albus answered
"What if we have the second trip start a week AFTER the first one? If we have Harry use a different 'path' towards the classes in each replay the copies should not meet each other, with Hermione it worked" Tonks suggested
"That could be a good idea, but I think that having Harry spend the SECOND trip studying in the Chamber of Secrets and pass the Third in the infirmary would be better, we'll ask the house elves to bring him food so to not have him wander around to meet the Original Harry then we'll escort him where we will held the exams paying attention at not being seen" Minerva said
"We still risk someone seeing more than one Harry going around" the Headmaster said
"How many times one can go back?" Harry asked
"Some people say three, others say that one can push themselves up to four, more and it becomes dangerous for the user" Dumbledore answered
"If we decide to actually do this, can we do it in two times OUTSIDE Hogwarts?" Harry then asked
"What do you mean, pup?" Sirius asked
"Let me have the extra lessons now in the Chamber of Secrets then let me go back to the beginning inside the Headmaster's office before moving a transfigured me in a part of the infirmary under Fidelius with Madame Pomfrey as secret keeper for the whole year, then have me come back again so to have a normal year with the changes already in place, I'll use my free periods to review what I learned in the first trip and spend some time like a normal boy" the boy answered
"That would leave us with a very strict regimen, Mister Potter, will you be capable of that?" Snape asked with a dark smirk
"Are you challenging me, Professor?" Harry countered
"I am just aware that you are a dunderhead, I am not expecting you to actually pull this off" he answered
"Then I will just prove you wrong" the boy said narrowing his eyes
"I guess we have a plan then, now Harry, go to your dorm as if nothing happened, tomorrow before dawn you and Professor Snape will go to the chamber without passing from the Hall and clear the area making it livable and good enough for your lessons, remember to NEVER leave that place until the end before entering my office to go back, me and Professor McGonagall will instead go now to my office to wait your future version so to move him into the infirmary, once Madame Pomfrey will have finished her modifications she will give you the Invisibility Cloak of your father, use that to return to your dorm, go back and wait for the yourself moving towards the Chamber to leave before taking his place in bed, like that to everyone else it will appear like you changed overnight" Albus said with a rare mischievous smile.
"Will you really do this for me?" Harry asked
"If we don't help you, you will just do it for yourself and destroy Time itself, pretentious prat" Snape said sneering
"I know you like me now, there is no need to act like that" the boy said
"I have a reputation to defend, Potter" the professor simply said, pointedly ignoring the snickering of his colleagues.
"Sush you two and just go now" Albus said with a little smile
"Yes, Headmaster" both boy and Potion Master said at the same time, hastily leaving the Infirmary after applying a Disillusionment to Harry.
"Can't believe we are actually doing this" Tonks said
"Well, he killed the Dark Lord, whatever he knows that or not, the whole magical community of Britain DOES own him a Life Dept since whoever was not of Tom's group would have been a possible victim, we can AT LEAST help him becoming what he should have been before that damned night of Halloween" Lupin explained
"And the Headmaster kinda helped messing-up his life so this is the least he can do to ease the guilt" Sirius added
"Thank you for remembering me, I was actually afraid of forgetting, my boy" the old man said grumbling a little
"That's the same for you Minerva, you were there too when Harry was delivered to the Muggles, you told us that" Lupin said
"Can't help taking this out don't you? At least I tried persuading Albus not to do that." the Headmistress said glaring at him
"Poor boy, I never though that such a brilliant girl would have chosen a partner only by the looks" Professor Sprout said sighing
"She is still a young girl, Pomona, independently from how smart she is, it doesn't mean she is not an eighteen years old, bound to act following her developing instincts" Minerva answered while the group moved to leave
"We were lucky that Harry's love didn't crumble before the final fight nor that he had just left himself dying at her refusal" Albus added
"He is my godson, and like me he won't let a girl ruin his life, not if I can help it" Sirius said
With that the two groups separated with each member going in his/her direction.
Hogwarts – Headmaster's Office – sometime later -
"When do you think he will arrive?" Minerva asked as she and Albus sat in the man's office
"If I will do things properly, more or less...now" Dumbledore answered as the form of Harry slowly faded into existence in the empty seat of the room
"Happy to see you, my boy, how's the future?" the old man asked
"Monkeys conquered everything, the Leader took Professor Snape as his slave-bride but he was actually cute in a dress, Lemon Drops instead are illegal there" F-Harry answered seriously (F-Harry as in Future-Harry)
"Quite good then" Albus said nodding, momentarily frowning at the jab at his favourite sweets.
"Let's cut the jokes short, Mister Potter, ready to go?" McGonagall asked
"Never going to stop after an year with two Marauders teaching me, but yes, whenever you want" the boy answered smirking
"Stay still, I'll need to Stun you" the stern woman said
"Okay" F-Harry answered closing his eyes
"Stupefy!" Minerva said shooting a red light from her wand towards the boy
"I'll transfigure him and then take him to the Infirmary, you sure a Fidelius won't be too much, Albus?" she asked after turning the boy into a coin and pocketing him
"Why risking getting discovered? You go, I'll put the bed under the spell tomorrow morning while our Real Harry move towards the Chamber, I just hope both he and Severus will remember to leave the entrance open for Remus and Sirius, we'll charm the bathroom entrance so to stop others from getting closer" Dumbledore answered as the woman left the office, Fawkes the Phoenix trilling happily from his perch
"Yeah, he is a good lad, too bad he had to endure a lot of problems growing up" the repaired Sorting Hat said nodding
"Glad to see that you took the cloth transfusion well, my friend" Albus said happily
"I still feel a little worn out, Albus" the Hat answered laughing
Hogwarts – Infirmary –
F-Harry woke up groaning thanks to Madame Pomfrey's ennervate, looking around he could see that he was in one of the beds, even if he somehow couldn't define WHICH ONE he was using, as if his brain could not comprehend anymore how to determine his location.
"By your look I can say that you don't understand which bed you are occupying" the woman said with an amused tone
"Yeah, it's from the Fidelius?" the boy asked
"Exactly, with the HQ of the Order the problem was not there since you already knew where it was located before entering, now instead you are inside the protected area without being told the secret as the Headmaster used the spell while you were already on the bed, meaning that you can't actually comprehend where the bed is, for all you know we may actually be in the middle of the Great Hall, you will still be unable to understand it" Madame Pomfrey answered
"I take you are the Secret Keeper?" F-Harry asked
"Exactly, you actually are on the last bed in the right corner of the Infirmary, remember that but please NEVER leave the bed or the two-meter-area around it" she answered.
As he was told the secret something inside the boy's head lifted, making his brain finally register where he was
"I am here to Heal completely, so? What have you planned, Madame?" the boy asked
"Other than getting rid of that scrawny look thanks to some 'stronger than normal' Nutritional Potions we will also correct as much as possible your sight"
"Stronger than normal? And why not COMPLETELY cure my sight?" F-Harry asked curious
"The Headmaster is of the advice of doing things calmly, I instead prefer taking a more brutal approach this time since I think is finally time someone take charge of your health, in all your years here and before you accumulated an outstanding number of wounds both magical and not, those had their toil on you that we will finally remove and about your eyes, your problem is mostly genetic, coming from your family, the treatment to completely heal it is not something I would advise" she said
"Why?"
"I would be forced to gouge your eyes out before vanishing them, then have you drink the eyes equivalent of the Skele-grow potion and have you withstand the similar pain of having a white-hot metal rod being shoved in your brain for three days straight as the new and healthy eyes grow back, and both the gouging and the growth can't be helped by pain-medicament, it's the reason why even Mad-eye Moody preferred a magical eye at having his regrowth, even if he won't ever admit that" Madame Pomfrey said watching the boy go green in the face.
"Why not vanishing the eyes without the gouging? Lockart did pretty well the vanishing of my arm" F-Harry asked with a suppressed whimper
"There is the slight risk I may vanish your brain too, as you said that joke of a wizard removed the bones of the WHOLE arm, not only the broken parts" she answered
"Let's just heal the most of the damages then" the boy said nodding frantically
"If you want, Mister Potter, I can call a good friend of mine, he liked the Muggle idea of 'Contact Lenses' so he became pretty famous by creating a magical variety of them, after we finished the treatment you can order a pair or two if you want, those will automatically adjust at every change in your sight and won't bother you nor require the normal attention the non-magical ones require"
"Why then no-one use them?"
"You may not have noticed, but other than a general dislike of anything too close to the Muggle territory, the Wizarding world is still fascinated by the air of 'knowledge' and/or 'importance' a good pair of glasses can produce on the right person, even Fudge tried that tactic, failing spectacularly by the way"
"Then I guess I'll also order a new pair of glasses...something more Stylish maybe" Harry said nodding
"That may be good too, I guess that taming those hair will be the next thing you'll ask?" the medi-witch said
"It's so evident? Yeah, some kind of Calming Draught for hair may be good too" F-Harry admitted
"Sigh! Your father used to like that type of hair instead, when I asked he answered that it gave him the same look of someone 'that had just dismounted the broom'"
"Even if I do look like him a lot, I would like being actually able to comb them the way I want"
"I am not an expert in that department, maybe your dear godfather would be more versed in that thanks to all the time he spent preening when he was still a student"
"Really?" F-Harry asked amused
"Don't tell him I said that, but the only other wizard spending all that time in the bathroom curing his image was Lucius Malfoy"
"Can't imagine that"
"Enough chit-chat! We will start by regrowing several bones that were weakened by healing improperly, then we will use the strong nutritional potions and some extra food to stabilize your metabolism and some Liqui-Muscle to adjust the rest"
"Liqui-Muscle?"
"It will find the damaged and/or underdeveloped muscles, liquefy them and then have them grow back healthier, I will then move to adjust the bones then liver and kidneys and just in case we will also purify stomach, lungs, heart and intestines, good nights of sleep without visions or nightmares will also help a lot and finally we will take care of your eyes...all in all I think that out of the whole year, nine or ten months will be passed with you feeling some atrocious pain in different parts of your body while you heal, I'll add some additional Silencing Wards around the bed for good measure" Madame Pomfrey said
"Yay..." F-Harry said with fake enthusiasm followed by a pitiful whine
"Glad to see you so eager to start" she answered smirking at his defeated sigh
Hogwarts - Corridors – the next day -
After waking up at dawn the REAL Harry moved outside of the Gryffindor Tower paying attention to not alert the others, wondering if the other him was there already he moved through the portrait and outside where Snape was already waiting for him.
"By now Madame Pomfrey should have already started" Severus said as both walked towards the bathroom of Moaning Myrtle
"I guess" Harry answered as the two entered the bathroom, after the boy ordered the sink to move away the Potion Master added few spells to prevent the entrance from closing, he would just do the same thing to the main door of the Chamber.
Some time later – Main Room of the Chamber of Secrets -
"Scourgify" Harry said cleaning the last speck of dirt from the floor, the main room where the boy had fought against the Basilisk was now slowly getting cleaner while Snape was focusing his cleaning charms on the walls, a loud gasp coming from the two Marauders alerting them of the new arrival.
"You fought that!?" Sirius asked pointing at the massive thing
"At twelve, yes. But I had the Gryffindor Sword with me though" the boy answered shrugging
"It normally takes five or six battle-mages with full-armour to take one this big down, Potter, stop acting superior" Severus said with a tiny, unnoticeable snort
"Sorry Professor" Harry said in fake politeness
"Dunderhead..." the man muttered, moving to cast several Air-refreshing charms to try removing the smell of rotting flesh from the room.
"While Snivellus teaches you some remedial potion classes and Occlumency in his free time, me and Sirius will help you in advanced Defence Against the Dark Arts and overall knowledge, won't hurt having an heads-up for when you will take the Extra-courses at the Ministry for your Mastery" Lupin said smirking at the fuming Snape
"Throw in some pureblood etiquette as well, at least the boy won't make a fool of himself whenever he open his mouth" Severus added
"Thank you, Uncle Sevvy" Harry said grinning and barely dodging the blasting hex the man threw at him
"Insufferable Potter Spawn" Snape grumbled in annoyance.
"Come on! I will even give you a third of whatever money we will get from selling this monster!" the boy said playfully
"Half or nothing" the Potion Master said
"Only if you give half of that to the school to help getting new brooms and better equipment"
"Deal, but I won't stop calling you names if I see you earning them" Snape answered
"Won't that mean that Snivellus will only get a quart of the money?" Sirius asked
"...Shite..." Snape cursed looking down, of all the thinks he had to fail at simple Math.
"You'll still get your Half, something tells me that a private donation from me will be better received since I am not a FORMER deatheater, it's not like this carcass won't fruit a lot of money after all" Harry said sighing, damn his Golden Heart, damn it to Hell!
"I will donate something too, heaven knows my classes need some extra cauldrons from when a student blow theirs up or cleaner books in case something happen to the ones owned by those dunderheads or even better ingredient that won't get rotten half-way through the year" Snape said
"Let's get to work then, we'll bring here everything you may need to live and study here" Lupin said nodding
"Can't understand how you will pull it off, this place is depressing" Sirius admitted
"Not so different from Grimmauld Place during the war" Harry answered
"That is also true"
Hogwarts – back to the same morning (after Harry came back for the last time) – Great Hall –
Breakfast in the Great Hall was always a rather silent moment due to the fact that students were mostly still asleep so still not ready to cause confusion and/or mayhem in general, and it was in that almost-complete silence that a certain Gryffindor girl was brain-storming by herself about what had happened with her best friend the previous day.
Apparently something had her and her friends' secrets being splattered in front of the Great Hall, she did have some suspect, mostly centered on the Malfoy Heir, but she wouldn't put it past some other student to try that, that a professor (first of all Snape) could have done that wasn't even an option even after everything she had seen and done since receiving her acceptance letter for Hogwarts.
She was now worried that her friendship with Harry will end up in tatters after all those years going through a danger after another, she really hoped he could look over her choice and respect that, even if just out of the respect she knew he had for her.
"He will understand, he always do" Hermione said to herself with still an hint of worry colouring her whisper.
She loved the raven-haired boy, like a friend, and had even looked at him like a brother figure, always there to console her in the times of need and she was sorry he was so distraught at her choice of boyfriend, but even if someone could argue that she and Harry had more similarities and could work well as a couple, she had to admit that Ronald had those wonderful eyes and laugh...
Sure he was still a little rough around the edges, but she was sure to be able to adjust him as time went on, even if said edges (if she had to listen to the others) were not present in her other friend at all, but still, she was certain that being easy on the eyes was a fair base from which starting looking for a suitable partner, even if it could sound a little shallow she knew that...
Any other thought about that died a most painful death as the most gorgeous, pretty boy she had ever seen entered the Great Hall, walking with confidence towards the Gryffindor table to sit near Padma and giving to the bewildered Indian girl what one can only describe as a 'Knickers-drenching smile'
"Do you like what you see?" the mysterious boy asked with a flirtatious tone and the sexiest laugh the Granger girl had ever heard as Padma nodded dumbfounded.
While Hermione was turning her brain to maximum speed to try and remember where she had already seen that boy, Padma resolved her doubt by giving out the LAST name the female member of the Golden Trio would have thought at the moment.
"Harry!?" she asked
"After what happened yesterday I decided to clean up a little, did I manage?" Harry asked
"And the glasses?" the girl asked
"Waiting for a new pair and some Contact Lenses, by now I just had transfigured the old ones to make them less Bookwormish" he answered toying with the now red coloured arms of his glasses with slightly smaller lenses, no risk showing the new ones he took back with him right away.
"H-Harry?" Hermione asked uncertain
"Yes? What can I do for you?" the boy asked turning towards her and finding the girl's wand at an inch of his nose
"Finite maxima!" she said hoping to undo what she believed was a Glamouring Charm, but just obtaining the reverting of the glasses on Harry's face.
"Is there a reason for you to do that?" he asked annoyed, re-applying the changes
"I...I...you" the bushy-haired girl said with wide eyes
"I guess she is finding your changing a rather big surprise, Harry" Neville said from his seat, he too had his eyes glued on him
"It happens when one 'bets on the wrong horse' as American says, I decided to finally pay some attention to my image and this is the result, even just your expression makes everything worthy it, Hermi" Harry said getting up with a dark smirk.
"Wanna go for a little walk, Padma? I would like to amend for the terrible date I offered you back at the Yule Ball, is it acceptable?" he asked presenting his hand to the girl
"I don't know..." the girl said looking at her twin for help and getting a mouthed 'Just go already!' in answer
"Well...why not" Padma answered taking his hand and letting the charming boy lead her out.
"What happened?" the shaken Hermione asked aloud, falling down seating to watch the two leave with a wide smile on their faces, briefly saluting a still sleeping Ron as he entered the room, the boy too engrossed into picking up his nose to notice who talked
"In short, I think you made the wrong choice" Neville said getting up to greet Luna as she entered
"Impossible...I considered everything, Ronald is the best choice, I know it is" she answered in denial
"If you say so" the Longbottom Heir said shrugging.
The next day was no better as apparently Snape had changed abruptly the target of his sharp comments from Harry to the girl.
The fact that the man insisted into pairing the two together for the lesson should have had few alarms in her head light-up, but sadly the sudden changing of the boy and his blatant ignoring her had overruled her danger instinct.
"GRANGER! Instead of ogling the students pay attention, you are not here to build an Harem!" the Professor said glaring at her, few snickers of both Gryffindor and Slytherin resounding in answer
"Potter, a little slower when moving anti-clockwise or it will overheat" he then said calmly while passing closer to the boy
"Sorry, professor" Harry answered
"Just pay attention" the man answered looking at him for an instant before moving to verbally maul someone in the far side of the class.
The truth about the Sorting Hat trying to put the boy in Slytherin was a major shock to Severus, but once the Hat admitted it to be true, helped by the threat about being burned if found out lying, the Potion Master finally decided to truly help HIS student that was mis-sorted and contaminated by the Lion's House dunderheadness (No matter what McGonagall said about him being in Gryffindor for seven years and so her student).
"Did I become his new target?" the bushy-haired girl asked looking down
"Don't ask me, I can't and don't want to see what he is thinking" Harry answered
"He looks at me and see once again your mother choosing your father, but this time he berates the girl"she answered
"If it is of any consolation, I have said nothing to have him do this, it's all him" the boy answered as the lesson ended
"Thank you" Hermione answered
"You brought this to yourself, I am just glad we sorted things out, we can still be friends but now I am free to see other girls to find the perfect one, want to help me?" he answered
"Why are you saying this?" she asked with watering eyes
"I am not trying to win your affection, I have accepted your choice and I am happy with that" Harry said taking her hand
"Really?" Hermione asked in surprise
"Uh-hu! It's your life, you can live it like you want, I may not be happy because I wanted you to choose me, but I won't hold it against you, not anymore at least"
"What made you change idea? How did you became like this in a night?" Hermione asked
"It's a secret, Hermi, don't spoil it" Harry answered winking
"Do you really want to still be friends with me and Ron? Even after what happened in the Great Hall?" she asked, a little peeved by the secret thing
"Yours? Yes...friend of Ron? Did I really have to?" he asked groaning
"Please?"
"FINE! But don't expect me to still be buddy-buddy with him, I am doing this only because I think my friendship with you is important" Harry said scoffing
"It's important for me too, Harry...thank you" the girl answered giving him a fierce hug before hurrying out
"Still friends? Really, Potter? I thought I taught you better than being a forgiving saint" Snape said as the two remained alone in the class
"It's exactly because you taught me well that I do this, professor" Harry said moving with ample steps towards the door, stopping to look at him from over his shoulder with a cold smile
"What a better way to have her understand her mistake if not by continuously remembering her what she threw away in order to stay with Ronald?" the boy then said smirking evilly
"That's better, Harry...I can say that you will take my lessons to heart, I hope you won't mind if I consider this a little victory of mine over your father" Severus said with a pleasured tone
"Whatever floats your boat, Professor" Harry said walking out, making sure to have his robe billow in the same dramatic fashion of the Potion Master
"So I taught that too to him? He must have impressed me enough then...insufferable prat, now I will be forced to do that so to not create a paradox...I bet he did it on purpose" Snape muttered with narrowed eyes.
School time for the Bushy-haired girl was turning plain bad as not only every other girl from first year up was openly ogling Harry, but even if elected Head Girl and so entrusted with the 'sacred duty' of helping students and Prefect in dealing with each other and the professors and work as an intermediary between the three group, she was fairly certain the others did not trust her judgment anymore.
Professor Lupin and Tonks were maybe the more obvious as the coldness Remus used when talking to her was only a step away from freezing the room, even his wife's usual cheerfulness seemed to falter sometimes, but they reassured that it was just because the Full Moon was close.
Hermione instead had the nagging feeling that it was because she betrayed Lupin's pup, to use a wolf/pack similitude, even if she usually squashed it as an impossible reason whenever her mind proposed it.
Other than those two and Snape, however, the rest of the Professors were still professional and had not showed reactions at what transpired after The Incident.
Another thing that was slowly churning her insides was the fact that Harry DID held back the previous years, Flitwick had showed the two versions of the tests the boy had made since back when they were kids, a magical oath later and everyone could see that he was telling the truth, she couldn't stop thinking how a simple oath could have helped back in the Fourth Year when no-one believed he had not cheated his way in the Tournament.
"Congratulations, Mister Potter! An E, could have been an O if not for some minor details" the minute professor said happily while redistributing the corrected tests with a flick of his wand
"Thank you, professor, I'll pay more attention next time" the boy answered nodding
"An O, Miss Granger" Filius then said giving her the paper
"Anything else, professor?" she asked hopefully
"No...Mister Weasley? It would be a T" the little man answered
"Again? Why?" Ron asked surprised
"You wrote your name with a V, and that was the smallest error I found on the test" Flitwick answered sighing
"We better study more, Ron, like this you risk not passing the year" Hermione said in dismay
"Good Luck with that" the Charm professor muttered shaking his head
"Ah! By the way, Mister Potter, with this you are Ranked Second in the school for grades, Congratulations" the man said as the lesson ended
"Not bad! I will just need to start going around with my wand always at ready, Greengrass won't be happy to hear that" Harry answered sarcastically
"What about the glasses, mate? Can you see without them?" Ron asked as the three moved towards Transfiguration
"Those are contact lenses, they have the same functions of glasses but you can wear them directly on your eyes" Harry answered
"On your wonderful green eyes" the girl of the three thought in dismay while looking at him
"POTTER!" a female voice bellowed, Daphne Greengrass had apparently found out the change in the Grades Board
"Here we go, you two go on, I'll try to talk to her" the boy said
"Just pay attention" Hermione pleaded
"I can take care of myself" he answered as the Slytherin Prefect reached him
"I just was told that my name fell to the third place, do you know anything about it?" the girl asked glaring at him
"I am sorry? Come on, Greengrass, let's talk about this in a civilized manner" Harry pleaded
"Like what? In front of a cup of tea?" Daphne said challengingly
"After Transfiguration we will settle this down, okay?" the boy answered
"So be it! I am already finding my being under Miss perfection here insulting, but having one that used to grade bad on purpose no, I cannot accept that! I have an image to maintain" she said
"Miss Perfection?!" Hermione said in rage
"Shut it! I was not talking to you" Daphne answered roaring
"We need to go now, we'll see later after classes and before lunch, remember" Harry said pushing the other two away to stop his friend from pouncing on the Slytherin girl.
Later that day – Great Hall – Hermione's POV -
I can't believe that slimy bitch, me? Miss Perfection?! I have always paid attention to my grades, that's all! But of course to a pureblood like her to have a muggleborn like me beating her with grades must be an insult bordering the blasphemy.
And Ron...oh Merlin since when he stopped using fork and knife to eat? I love him a lot, but every plea I make to have him study fall on deaf ears, the kissing is quite nice, especially when he remembers to brush his teeth, but is normal that his hands wander so much? Maybe is normal, it's my first boyfriend so I have not exactly some former material to make comparisons with.
Oh! Harry is back with Greengrass, he must have talked to her...why so long though? Lunch is almost finished and between the end of McGonagall's lesson and the start there was an hour, that and lunch makes a two-hour-long talk, he really needed all that time to resolve the situation?
And why Greengrass has that goofy smile on her face? And the glazed eyes? And why she looks so tired? She is clutching to Harry's arm so possessively...something is wrong here, she doesn't seem willing to let go either!
"Daphne? Come on, let's eat something" I hear Harry pleading while trying to free his arm
"Noo! Just one more time! Come on, we have not finished yet" the wench says while rubbing his arm between her breast...what a...a...a scarlet woman!
"Tonight, okay? You have your rounds as a prefect, right? They gave you Pansy's place so you can stay out after curfew" I can hear his whisper since both are now pretty close to me
"Astronomy Tower...I'll just Stun Bushy if she tries to stop you" she answer back as she discreetly glares at me, kissing Harry's cheek she then FINALLY walk back to her table.
Why is she limping though? Is she hurt? The rest of the girls of the Hall seems to know why since they are either exchanging knowing smiles or glaring at her in...jealousy? Why?
It's so confusing...
Great Hall – Professors Table – Normal POV -
"He is nailing every girl from from sixth year and up...James would be so proud" Lupin said taking away some tears from his eyes with an handkerchief
"Take your head off the gutter, he is not an animal like you and Black and he doesn't chase every tail like you two would, I taught him restrain, thing that apparently his so called Godfather forgot to do, not that I think he is capable of that himself" Snape said sneering
"Calm down you two" Tonks said
"I see that the idea of a Gryffindor dating a Slytherin does not disturb you, Severus" McGonagall said curious
"It would if said Gryffindor was not a mis-sorted student, it's a pity that he had to be ruined by your house, but as I teach to the former version I can say that I am adjusting the damages you all did, the final product here in the Hall is a clear demonstration" Snape answered
"My House did not damage him!" Minerva answered
"She is right, Severus, you have no proofs of that" Albus added
"You two can say all you want, but if not for Potter both House Cup and Quidditch Cup would still be in my office" the Potion Master answered
"Again with this story? My Team is wonderful, you can't deny it!" McGonagall said with narrowed eyes
"And it took a first year student to finally win the Cup and have a decent match against the other houses" Snape answered smirking
"You..." the stern woman started as Dumbledore hastily erected a Silencing Charm around the table, some of the things she was saying could have been considered rude even by a sailor.
The rest of the year passed almost without incidents, few girls were seen arguing over something regarding a boy, but whenever questioned the culprits won't give out details other than giggles.
Hermione instead kept battling with both Harry and Daphne for the first place as Top Student since the two had apparently 'joined forces' to beat her, the fact that the boy kept spending more time studying with others instead of her and Ron was a little painful, but she guessed Harry was just trying to make new friends.
At a week before the start of the exams the battle was still raging and Hermione was a nervous wreck, so she tried to distract herself by dragging her boyfriend to the Room of Requirement so to finally discard her first time and hopefully stop her mind from over-heating and collapse from the studying.
Thirty seconds later the two finished their romp, at that revelation she exited the Room crying in despair leaving behind the snoring boy.
The Nickname of two-inch-wonder was not only true but also an overestimation, it was even SMALLER than that...she was starting to have doubts about her choice, just by considering the hyphenated names of both, the-boy-who-lived was not as bad as the two-inch-wonder-that-finish-too-soon as the first surely had lesser implications than the second.
It was a free day so she tried to look for Harry so to console herself, planning to leave out the poor performances of her boyfriend from their talk since of all the people the raven-haired boy was the last one that should know about that.
Her musing about how to actually help Ronald in being a better man, and that was a long list of things to do, continued until she was on the shore of the Black Lake, last place people had seen Harry visit.
The area was deserted since the students were either studying for the various end of the year exams and/or to Hogsmeade to try and relax, the annoyed girl started venting her frustration by banishing little rocks in the water.
"Where is he? For once that I need him he is not around!" she said huffing
"If he really liked me he should have told me, was that harder than fighting a dragon? What a prat" the girl added, it was then that she saw someone coming out of the water at the opposite side of the lake, even if far away she could clearly see that whoever it was, he or she was not wearing clothes.
"What in Merlin's name is happening here?" Hermione growled as the Rule-lover in her yelled in outrage, with all the intention of chewing the head off of said pervert she marched towards the second person that had right now exited the lake, the probable-boy too naked.
Once in hearing distance she had to stop, the two talking had tiredly clothed themselves back and were now cuddling together, Hermione knew those two pretty well.
"W-wow...four hours...not bad..." Daphne said with a tired sigh
"Padfoot was right, doing it underwater is awesome, now I see why the others like coming here for a date" Harry answered hugging her closer
"Good thing the Bubble-head Charm can last that long, can you imagine doing that with the Gilliweed? That lotion to prevent the skin from wrinkle helped too" the girl said snorting
"Good thing the bubbles can join too, you have a very tasty neck" the boy answered giving her neck a little bite, earning a faint yelp followed by a moan.
"Come on, stop it!" she said with a little laugh
"Do you really have to marry that prick?" the boy asked sadly
"We already talked about this, my father signed the betrothal contract long time ago and I have no choice, luckily the boy is an idiot so I won't have to worry about controlling him nor about the fact that I am no more a virgin, sadly it's how things work in the wizardling world, I am not surprised you find it retrograde, I think that too" Daphne answered sighing
"So it's over between us, eh? What a drag" he answered sighing himself
"It was good staying with you, I will never forget this...can we still be friends? Please?" the girl asked with a low sobbing voice
"At least you are sincere, Padma and Parvati where swapping places when dating me...those two were passing me around, but you actually have a somehow 'valid' reason to end our relationship" Harry said closing his eyes in pain
"You know this is not your fault, right?" Daphne asked worried
"Yes, but really...it's the THIRD time I see a story blow-up in my face, kinda sounds like there is a curse of sort on me" the boy said jokingly
"Maybe is just Fate telling you you were dating the wrong girl, I am sure that once you find the right one you will have all the happiness you deserve" Daphne answered with a little kiss to his cheek accompanying her words
"Let's hope so...should we go back to the castle?" he asked
"I am for a last round, we still have a week before being forced to remain just friends, I want to squeeze out the most out of it" she answered
"Squeeze out from what, the week or Me?" Harry asked grinning
"Both actually" she answered leaning in for another kiss.
"A girl broke up with him again? Poor Harry.." Hermione muttered walking away, she decided to let her friend have a nice week after hearing that.
"Ginny, Padma and now Daphne, he can't find peace not even now that Voldemort is dead, one has to wonder if Fate really has a personal grudge against him" the girl said to herself
"I need to help him find a good girl, one that won't break his heart at the first occasion and ready to love Harry, not the-boy-who-lived..." she then said in conviction.
It was then that a detail of their talk finally went registered in her mind
"Wait! FOUR HOURS!? Harry can't last that long! It's not normal, just like lasting thirty seconds like Ron isn't either!" she yelled once in the Common Room, she was so shocked to not notice that her first scream attracted everyone's attention, her next words were all that it took for new rumors about the Golden Trio to spread around the school, the girl never linking her outburst with the sudden peak of dates request Harry would receive for the following week or the rounds of laugh accompanying Hermione and her boyfriend wherever the two went.
Several Years Later – Ministry of Magic – Cafeteria -
A thirty-five Years old Hermione Weasley was tiredly playing with her dessert while thinking about the past, glaring at her wedding ring after her husband latest idiocy moment.
It was seventeen years ago that she said I do and became Miss Weasley, she was still wondering why her mother kept crying even a week after the ceremony or why her father had started drinking whiskey directly from the bottle immediately after leaving the church, the two of them acting at their worst whenever she proposed to spend the weekend together as if despaired by something.
It was also seventeen years ago that she had heard the last from Harry, after her wedding where he was Ron's best mate (thing she found rather rude since her husband all but pretended him to do that) she had lost any contact with him, every time she wrote Hedwig would just deliver a two-lines long answer with just the direct answers to her questions and few polite words and questions about her, the coldness of the letters could have been worst only if he had used ice instead of parchment, the owl's Glare at every delivery only worsening the thing, even Hedwig was apparently angry with her.
She did not know if he had actually found a girl to love, he always dodged the question and even refused the Floo calls every time, keeping their contacts purely on written words, Hermione was finally reaching the breaking point.
Not only she could not talk to her best friend to console herself, but Ronald did not try to better himself either, if ever, he managed to get even WORSE, when Hermione managed with difficulty to get a job at the Department for the Regularization of the Magical Creatures she was ecstatic, imagining all the changes she could do for House Elves, Werewolves, Centaurs and such, to her dismay she had immediately discovered that changing something that was accepted for centuries as right required a LOT of time, connections and even gold to have every suggestion not being ignored.
Even if now almost every schoolmate of Hermione was in the position of power they took from their parents, excluding Draco that was lucky just to not be arrested like his father and was now living in poverty after having his possessions claimed by the Ministry for his involvement in the war, having Ronald Billius Weasley as husband did not help.
Need help from the DMLE? The actual head Susan Bones had firstly being 'molested' by a drunk Ron and then called "frigid cow" when she had not accepted his advances, and let's just not consider that THE Minister was her Aunt Amelia and so with enough power to have the man kissed just for revenge.
Need an hand from the Wizengamont? Neville was there for the Longbottom Seat whenever not at Hogwarts teaching Herbology and his wife Luna (that Ron KEEP calling Loony even with her husband present) was out of the question as well just like Daphne, Sirius (for both Potter and Black seat) and Cedric just to name a few, reducing any possible help she could get to the bare minimum.
Ron had instead managed to find a place in Department of Magical Games and Sports, and he got that out of pity and because the boy's father had almost pleaded on bended knees to accept him, the boy was now a simple assistant for a minor office in the department, but his clumsiness and overall lack of interest brought him to do more damages than good, making his already measly paycheck even slimmer from all the galleons his Boss held back as re-payment.
This led to Hermione being the main source of income in their family, her two children Rose and Hugo taking from a parent each with Rose being the young genius Hermione used to be back at school and Hugo acting as the new 'Ron Weasley' of his generation, but without an 'Harry' to keep the two closer and in check the twins were almost everyday fighting with each other, making Hermione worry about what the boy would do next year when he will start his First Year at Hogwarts.
"Granger?" a young man asked nearing her as no-one called her with the Weasley name, at the beginning she thought it was due to Pureblood bigotry but then she discovered that they respected her more than her husband, referring to HIM as Granger too when he wasn't listening.
"What happened Steven?" Hermione asked sighing
"Still angry about your husband?" the young Auror asked
"Don't worry, what can I do for you?" she asked waving his question off
"...Sigh! It's difficult to say this..." the man said with a long sigh and avoiding her eyes
"What happened?" the woman asked curious
"Do you remember that Muggle that was confunded?" Steven said with a nervous tone of voice
"You mean the man that went on for a week saying he was Napoleon? I remember the ones inspecting the scene describing it as a Poor attempt at the Confundus Charm made by a brain-damaged monkey, why?" Hermione asked recalling the rather furious scream of Susan once the details became knew
"Well...you see..." the Auror said shifting his weight from a foot to the other
"Did you find who was that incompetent fool?" the woman asked curious
"Technically yes...well...the victim was one of those Driver Instructors muggles have to learn how to drive their cars...we crossed the list of students with the list of every wizard we knew and..." Steven said as the Cafeteria became deadly silent, the various present that understood what he was saying discreetly rising Shielding Charms before praying for mercy.
"A driver instructor?" Hermione asked with a calm voice and empty eyes
"...Yes?" the Auror said swallowing in difficulty
"I have an idea of who he was...what did he say to justify it?" the woman asked standing up, the others adding further Shields in apparent fear
"...That...that..." Steven said closing his eyes with a whine, mentally cursing for drawing the shortest straw making him the one to deliver the message
"Yes?" Hermione prompted getting closer, her voice already gaining a ferocious edge
"...That...that it was YOUR Idea...he seems ready to draw you down with him for some reason, if proved right you too will lose your job for aiding him" the man said with few tears strolling down his cheeks.
No one was surprised when the magical-empowered explosion of rage literally obliterated the cafeteria and shock the whole Ministry.
Granger Home – the next day -
"Daniel! Come, it's your daughter!" Emma Granger, Hermione's mother called out as the young woman entered
"Ever since that blasted day she is MY daughter only, I quite remember you being also there that night! And it was YOU to carry her for nine months, not me!" the girl's father answered marching in the living room
"Yes?" the man asked with crossed arms
"I made my choice, is that so hard to accept?" Hemione said glaring at him
"At least you are taking responsibilities, what has the fool do this time?" Daniel asked
"He used a charm on a Muggle and almost fried the poor man's brain by doing it wrong, he lost his job and almost made me lose mine as well, before being sent to ST. Mungo to treat the broken bones I gave him he admitted that it was all his idea" she answered
"What now? Need some money?" Emma asked in despair
"No, I was wondering if I could return here for a little while I look for a new house"
"Why? Didn't the Id...the boy's father help you find an home after the wedding?" Daniel asked rapidly correcting himself
"Wizarding law, since HE is the pureblood between the two he get to keep the house, Rose will come with me since she had enough brain to understand what an idiot her father is, Hugo apparently shares the same views of Ronald, he said that since the man was a muggle we wizards should not worry what 'their kind' do and that if I was so stubborn to not understand that then he would stick with his daddy...what did I do wrong with that kid I will never understand" Hermione said sighing
"You mean you two are divorcing?" Daniel asked curious
"I already signed my half of the papers, apparently Ron was so poorly liked that the whole bureaucratic side went faster than a bullet this time, by tomorrow I will be only Hermione Granger, a free woman and I will be able to see my son once a month" Hermione said nodding
"What will you do now?" Emma asked
"I will try and talk to Harry, he still has not found a woman, maybe we can start all over again together" she answered, her mouth hanging open as her parents started laughing at that
"What?" the young woman asked surprised
"He has not a woman? He married five years after leaving Hogwarts, did he not tell you?" Daniel said still chuckling
"WHAT!? But...but he said to love me!" Hermione said shocked
"That poor boy was so sad when you refused him, he jumped from a girl to another trying to forget about you" Emma said shaking her head
"How do you know about that?" she asked
"Me and your mother had meet him one day in France during one of our vacations there" Daniel said
"One you did not invite me in" Hermione said
"You wanted to bring that oaf of your EX-husband" Emma said
"Well, we were in a lovely cafe when we saw a man we were sure to know" Daniel said continuing his story
"He was such a dear, he did not recognize us and just helped us as a guide through the city, both Muggle and Magic since we told him we had a daughter at Hogwarts, after a while your father managed to have him talk a little about him and we heard about his story" Emma said nodding
"Yes, that scar on his forehead is quite easy to recognize, for the whole week we kept talking and looking around, when it was time for us to move towards Spain for the rest of the vacation we told him who we were...it was not pretty" Daniel said
"What do you mean?" Hermione asked
"He became rigid and wished us a good time before trying to leave, it was then that Daniel slapped him" Emma said
"Why?"
"I told him it was not our fault if you ditched him, after an hug from your mother and an hand-shake plus apology from me we helped him finding a good witch, we were successful" Daniel said proudly
"She was so lovely in her wedding dress! Never been to a proper Magical wedding, it seemed something out of a fairy-tale!" Emma said sniffing at the memory
"WHAT!? Impossible!" the young woman's voice cracked into an high pitch at that
"Would you have preferred him being miserable until you decided to give him a chance?" her father asked with narrowed eyes
"But...but..."
"Give it some rest, dear, you had your chance and now you have to go on" Emma said patting her shoulder and giving her an hug
"I'll help you getting comfortable in your old room" the woman then said driving her upstairs
Some time later – Granger House -
Hermione was pouring over few dieting programs the Healers had give her, her eyes scanning every details of the potions they were proposing.
It had been two weeks since her parents dropped that bombshell on her life, Harry married? With a girl? Why? Sure he showed interest in girls already back at Hogwarts but every single story had finished quite abruptly, did he really forget about her?
Then there was the moment where her parents had to twist the knife they had shoved in her back by showing the pictures they took that day, her blood had frozen the instant she had moved her eyes on the bride and the name behind the picture.
Harry and Gabrielle
Gabrielle Delacour! Fleur's sister! A QUARTER-VEELA! An half-parrot had used the poor boy's moment of weakness to ensnare him! Certainly attracted by the fame coming from marrying the-boy-who-lived!
She knew that Harry had developed what one can call an "immunity" to the Veela Allure during the Triwizard Tournament where he had spent time near Fleur, but it was logical that in his confused state after being denied the Love of his first crush his mind was not strong enough to resist.
It had to be that way, Hermione refused to believe that someone like Harry could admit defeat even after being the best man at her (failed) wedding and watching the girl he loved marry another man.
The more she thought about the young raven-haired boy with she had spent seven...eight years of school together the more she was realizing that it would have been more 'Logical' for her to choose him, both were smart, he more on the practical sense contrary to her, both were rarely afraid of something and both were loyal to a fault towards friends, this not considering that it was in fact HIM to jump on the Troll's back, fight Voldemort several times, kill the Basilisk, hunt away the Dementors, out-fly a Dragon and even console her while she was crying over the 'annual betrayal' of Ron and never betray her trust/friendship, the one to always being there for her to help and assist her.
He had been her confessor, big brother, source of wet dreams (before switching her target) and overall BEST friend for almost a decade, and yet, she had to listen to her hormones and choose someone else she had nothing in common with, and no matter how many said otherwise, at fourteen arguing for everything is not 'sexual tension' it's just arguing for everything.
"Because he has pretty eyes..." she whispered in disgust, she was wishing for a Time-Turner just for the pleasure of going back in Time and strangle her younger-self for giving out that deplorable reason as an answer.
She was and still IS considered the smartest witch ever seen at Hogwarts for the love of Merlin's secret Dominatix Corset! Why she had to go all hormonal and screw up her own life like that? For a pretty boy of all things! One can understand that she did accept Krum's invitation to the Yule Ball, and not because he was a famous Quidditch Player but only because he was the first and ONLY guy to ask her since Harry still feared rejection from the girl (and in retrospective, she was one of the FEW friends he still had when the school as a whole was hating him, it was not a surprise that he didn't want to lose her too)
Seriously, if her life was a book, the author deciding that she had to stay with Ronald Weasley must have been under the effect of Alcohol or AT LEAST hurrying up to finish the last issue because out of ideas, because no matter how unpredictable teenage love was or you wanted it to be, a 'bright mind' like hers would have had the decency to see if it was really worth it at the very least before deciding with WHO she wanted to spend the rest of her life.
Shaking her sleep-deprived head free of confusing thoughts she once again started wondering what to do.
"Allure or not, Gabrielle is still a pretty girl, I'll need to clean up a little first" Hermione said to herself sighing, grabbing the sides of her belly where few extra centimetres of flesh were deposited, giving birth to two kids had not been good to her.
Rose had joined the house the day after her arrival and once the judges had confirmed both divorce and girl's allocation with her mother, all for the sheer joy of her grand-parents that couldn't wait any longer to put their hands on the little girl so to smother and spoil her silly.
"Mommy?" Rose asked entering the room she shared with her mother
"Yes, darling?" the woman asked moving her daughter on sit on her knees
"Still looking at uncle Harry's picture?" the little girl asked
"Yes and no..."
"Grandpa says that you are trying to have him become my new dad, is that true?" the girl asked
"I would love to, but your uncle can't, see this girl? She is his wife, your...aunt" Hermione answered almost choking on the Aunt part
"She is not as pretty as you" Rose answered leaning her head on her mother's chest
"Thank you dear, now go to bed, I'll come soon" she said lightly pushing the pouting girl towards the bed
"Okay"
"He still refuse to answer my letters in details, but he admitted he still had to have children with Gabrielle...why you did this? Were you really ready to voluntarily submit yourself to her powers just to Love a girl and being loved back? Even if just a fake love?" she muttered sadly
France – Beauxbatons School of wizardry and witchcraft – one year later -
It was an incredibly painful year for Hermione, the dietetic regimen she underwent was strict, harsh and taxing, but it showed its fruits whenever she watched herself in the mirror to admire the slim, sexy figure she regained after the cure.
Her dealings with Ron were completely over after he tried to take his daughter back, but as the barrister had no problem demonstrate, with his job as a clerk in the twins' joke shop he could barely take care of Hugo, so he should have considered himself lucky if the judge did not take away the boy too.
And speaking of Hugo Weasley, the boy managed to make enemies even before boarding the train towards Hogwarts by antagonizing every single student there, not only Scorpius Malfoy.
He even had the 'pleasure' to be chosen as Severus Snape new chew toy for the rest of the seven years of school since the man's personal feud against the Potter family finished with Harry, leaving the Potion Master in need of a new target, position that the young Weasley seemed perfect for.
Flashback – Hogwarts – first Potion Lesson -
In a way that someone could have called 'Dejà vù' Snape was going through the names of students present in his class, once reached Hugo's name he stopped with an evil smirk, remembering the name that came out from his research about Hermione and Ron's offspring.
"Aaah! The son of Granger and Weasley...our new...genius..." the greasy man trailed off smirking
"Yes?" the boy asked defiantly
"If the Muggle 'String Theory' allows for the consistent combination of quantum field theory and general relativity and agrees with general insights in quantum gravity such as the holographic principle and black hole thermodynamics because it has passed many non-trivial checks of its internal consistency, and according to that dunderhead of Hawking in particular that declared that "M-theory is the only candidate for a complete theory of the universe.", thing resulting from the realization that the very properties of its formulas made String Theory unsuitable as a theory of nuclear physics but making it an outstanding candidate for a quantum theory of gravity instead and "a step towards the correct fundamental description of nature" as several scientists will then define it, how can I use it in conjunction with basic and advanced 'Quantum Mechanics' and its Abstract mathematical formulations such as 'the wavefunction' that provides me with information about the probability amplitude of position, momentum, and other physical properties of a particle usually involving bra–ket notations which normally requires an understanding of complex numbers and linear functionals, treating a given particle as a quantum harmonic oscillator, and with its mathematics akin to that describing acoustic resonance to decide how much powder of asphodel I need to add to an infuse of wormwood to obtain a decent Draught of Living Death?" Severus asked with a devious glint of his eyes, it took weeks but he did learn to say it in a single breath.
"Duh?" Hugo answered with his mouth hanging open, complete silence filled the class as the absolute totality of students there did not have the absolute idea of what came out of the professor's mouth.
"Tch! Apparently your sister got all the brain, Weasley, fifteen points from Gryffindor for being an insufferable dunderhead" Snape said sneering.
It pretty much went downhill after that.
End of the flashback – Beauxbatons -
Hermione had the good sense to send Rose to the French school instead since not only it saved her from the Potion Master possible attacks, but it also prevented her from being harassed by her brother and was giving to the young woman an excuse to visit the school to see Harry.
Dusting off her best French she addressed one of the prefects
"Excuse me, I was looking for Professor Potter, can I talk to him?" she asked to the young girl
"Professor Potter? By now you should find him in his office, his door is already open so you won't need a password, just ask to the painting to let you in, I'll show you the way" the girl answered
"Thank you, what can you tell me about him?" the woman asked
"Ooh! He is wonderful, he has a lot of patient with the students and even have the ones showing difficulties come to his office for extra lessons in his free time...whenever his wife do not monopolize him that is" she answered giggling
"Does he have any problem with my daughter?" Hermione asked
"Your daughter?"
"Rose Granger" the woman answered
"Rose...I never heard students complaining about him, someone said he was a bit cold with a student of the first year, but nothing too serious" the prefect answered as the two stopped in front of a painting of a fierce-looking witch.
"Mademoiselle Dorotea? This woman wish to talk with Professor Potter, she is Rose Granger's mother" the girl asked to the painting
"Let her wait here, I'll let her in once he has done" the woman answered with a stern expression not so different from McGonagall's own.
"Have a nice day Madame Granger, I need to go" the girl said walking away
"Thank you" Hermione answered
"So you are Granger...Gabrielle told me a lot of interesting things about you" the painting inquired giving the woman a calculating look
"I see that she had fun twisting people's ideas of me when not poisoning Harry's mind with her Allure" she answered with narrowed eyes
"Allure? I see... you must be between the ones believing that she used that power to have him as her husband, let me be the one telling you that NO, she had not used her Allure on him, their marriage is all authentic" Dorotea answered sneering
"Impossible, he loves me, he has since we were kids and even used that to vanquish Voldemort, he would have never forget that" Hermione answered glaring at her
"I get it now...you really chose the wrong boy and are now here to try and repair the damages...what happened? Can't accept the fact that he went over his love for you?" the painted woman asked with an hint of amusement in her tone
"Who told you that!?"
"Gabrielle of course, apparently she and your parents had a long talk about what happened back at Hogwarts"
"Let me in so I can talk with that half parrot and solve this situation once and for all" Hermione answered
"You sure?" the painting asked curious
"YES!" she roared in answer
"As you wish..." the woman said as her portrait moved to the side showing a small waiting-room with a door
"The door leads to the office, good luck!" the portrait said as it moved to close behind Hermione.
"I am coming Harry, I'll save you from that woman" she said to herself grabbing the door knob
Giving a last check at her appearance Hermione opened the door with her best smile, her mind already preparing a speech to try and make the boy resonate so to make him throw off the Allure of his system and concede her a second chance, ready to do whatever in her power to have him forgive her for her past mistake.
"Harry it's me! I am..." she tried saying before her words failed her.
The office was pretty simple with two huge windows charmed to show what was happening outside but not what was happening INSIDE the office, of that she was pretty much certain thanks to what the other two were doing at the moment.
Gabrielle was leaning with her hands on the highly crafted desk of Harry, her carefully manicured nails digging deeply in the wood as her body moved in tandem with the man's thrusts.
She was wearing a pure white shirt that was pulled up to let a pair of masculine hands knee, pinch and overall maul the woman's breasts, her white short skirt pushed up and her white panties dangling around her ankles, drenched by the joined fluids of the couple.
"AH! AH! AH! AH!" Gabrielle moaned at every thrust, her breath faltering as the man behind her (that Hermione barely recognized as Harry as her own Lust was clouding her mind) leaned forward to nibble at her ear and neck, the woman's eyes tightly closed as her moaning turned to screaming.
"I...maybe I should...come back later?" Hermione tried saying in discomfort as the two kept their savage rutting on going without stop.
"AAH! MOOORE! MOOOOORE! GIVE ME MOOOORE!" the French girl moaned as her arms gave in and she ended with her face pressed on the desk with her mouth open and drooling quite a lot on the polished desk
"Yes...probably I should wait outside..." she answered herself while trying to open the door without moving her eyes away from the couple, enraptured by the fierce plowing the other girl was receiving and that she instead could only dream of, with or without Engorgio Spell 'helping' her former husband to reach average sizes.
"I am almost there!" he said with a grunt
"My face! Come on my face!" Gabrielle pleaded as she reached her orgasm with a loud shriek
Slipping down from the desk helped by the fierce grip he had on her hair Gabrielle was moved face-first on her husband crotch, mouth open wide with her tongue out in wait.
Closing her eyes the woman accepted with a loud moan the white bath he was giving her, coaxing more out with a rapid pumping of her hand as she lapped up all the spunk on her face while waiting for the next wave to once again cover her.
"...Totally waiting outside..." Hermione said hurrying out as the two moved to start a new round, this time with both climbing over the desk, never once noticing her presence in the office.
The flustered woman will be forced to wait outside the office for several hours before being hastily dismissed once a wobbling Gabrielle came out of the office to give Hermione their address.
"He is ready to give you a chance of forgiveness out of pity, but only if you can last a week of continued shagging with the two of us, take some Pepper-up, Stamina and nourishment potions with you too, you'll need them" the woman had barely the time to say before Harry grabbed the back of her clothes to pull her inside for a further round of debauchery.
"A WEEK!?" Hermione yelled in a mix of awe and fear.
Oh Boy! What followed was a tiring week for the young woman where every single millimeter of her body was thoroughly caressed, nibbled, bitten, licked, kissed, abused, molested and outright spoiled by the two Potters, by the time the week was over the delirious Granger woman was almost "Broken" by the couple, forcing her to undertake a brief visit to several Healers before she could once again join the wizarding world as the second wife of Harry that even adopted Rose as his, leaving a sulking Ron with only a son that managed to be the first Weasley to be expelled from school for trying to Curse Snape in rage, further driving the red-head name down.
"You see what happens making the wrong choice? You risk losing your occasion, good thing we are really forgiving after a nice fuck" Gabrielle said smirking
"That's true" Harry said nodding
"Thank you, Mistress" Hermione answered with a smirk herself
"Perfect, now be a good doggie and please you Master" Gabrielle said tugging the collar around the naked girl's neck
"Fine, but next time I am the one giving orders" she answered before burying her face between the man's legs
"Yes, yes, don't worry I won't forget the time-table you prepared for our Sexy-time" the French woman answered sighing
"Some things never change" Harry said chuckling before going cross-eyed at a rather kinky maneuver of the doggie's tongue.
It took her several years to understand her mistake, but the other two were well eager to make her catch up for the wasted time.
And if she had to walk with a limp for the rest of her life? well, a sacrifice or two were not a problem for her.
Everything was good now.
The end-
Here it is! my first oneshot, first of many I hope, tell me if it was a good first try and what to do to make even better ones please.
Favourite and review if you liked, a special thanks to another member of this site called 'Tremor230' that helped me decide to pubblish, I hope he too will read this.