A/N: I couldn't get a vacation, so I gave H/Hr one...Thanks as usual to Lady Starlight for her
splendiferous work on this chapter. Oh, Yeah....there could very well be smut in this chapter...
Chapter 37: R&R at Wandpoint
************************Godric's Hollow*********************************
March 11, 2016
8:35 am
"We don't have time for this, Tonks," Hermione growled, even as she stepped around Winky as the elf
elevated loads of seemingly random clothing into an open trunk set at the foot of the bed. She glanced at Harry, who
was sitting on the bed, watching bemusedly as his minuscule minion, shrank his Firebolt and levitated it into one end
of the still, seemingly-empty trunk. Hermione huffed faintly and dropped heavily on the bed next to Harry, crossing her
arms and looking up at the Metamorph as Tonks shimmered, her jeans shortening and slowly changing to a probably
improper-length skirt and her t-shirt gaining an stick-figure, on all fours with another on its knees behind it.
"Yes, you do...you two haven't really had a day off since...you know, or really the train," Tonks retorted as she drew her wand and flicked it at the pair, sending Hermione tumbling into Harry's lap.
Tonks glanced to the right as Winky set a shrunken, doll-sized trunk on Hermione's lap, and sat on the bed next to them. She took Hermione's hand, and squeezed it, "Go, sis, take two-three days off...go to sleep on the beach with Harry still in you, and wake up to do it again."
Hermione looked back over her shoulder at Harry who shrugged and kissed her ear. "Fine," Hermione growled, as she grabbed the trunk and slipped into a thigh pocket on Harry's cargo pants, "we'll take a few off, but you will mirror us the instant something comes up, Nymphadora."
"Yes, my beloved, know-it-all sister," Tonks smirked and stood, bending back down to kiss both of them on the cheek. "Don't worry, Hermione, we can hold the lid on for a bit. You need to relax, I promise we will be alright for a couple of days."
"Call us, instantly, Tonks," Harry reemphasized, his eyes narrowing towards the currently green-haired Auror. "We can be back...."
Tonks rolled her eyes and drew her wand, "Don't make me have to use this," she smirked and both Potters rolled their eyes as one.
"Fine, Nymphadora," Harry retorted, "we're gone." A flicker of psuedomotion and they vanished without seeming to move, leaving behind a suddenly empty bed, and Tonks, who was gaping slightly at the their sudden, seeming surrender.
*******************************Caribbean********************************
March 12, 2016
5:45 pm
The quiet crash of the waves on the white sand shore along with the soft cry of gulls was the only sound in the air as Harry walked down the beach, his hands in his pockets and his bare feet leaving perfect tracks in the sand. He looked out over the crystal blue waters, to the horizon to find nothing there, before he looked back forward along his path.
A single, large beach towel was occupied by only one soul, spread out across a nearly life-sized image of a griffin. He smiled absently, as his heart forgot to beat for a moment at the sight, before he continued on, to stand over the young woman lying there. She was as bare as the day she had been born, except for a ring on her left hand, a few jeweled ear studs and an emerald-bearing ring in her navel.
Hermione smiled up at him, reaching her arms above her head and stretching, arching her back from the towel with a loud, almost wanton sigh. She relaxed to watch him with a crooked smirk as he fought to keep from reacting to her, and failed, as she knew he would. Her smile only increased, her eyes twinkling as he surrendered to the inevitable and lowered himself to the towel next to her.
She waited impatiently as he settled himself down, before crawling on top of him, slipping one leg between his as she tucked her head under his chin and closed her eyes contently. A barely audible purr rumbled from deep in her chest as he started to stroke along her spine, pausing at the bottom to trace his fingers over her bum and back up, before starting again once more.
Get hot? Harry whispered, as she yawned, reaching between them to burrow one hand under the loose hem of his brightly colored red shirt with white flowers, a Christmas gift from his sister-in-law.
I thought I already was.
Well...yes.
I told you that I needed some sun, she opened her eyes and turned her head to rest her cheek on his chest so she could peer out over the ocean, Let's bring everyone here this summer, the kids, the other kids, Ron and Luna...
Alright.
Harry lifted his head slightly as she started to undo his buttons one handed. He waited as she undid the lower half,
before he kissed her hair, What are you doing?
We've been married how long...I would have thought you'd have sussed it out by now, she replied as she continued upwards. She lifted herself like a cat, and brushed his shirt all the way open with her nose, before settling back down. She half-moaned as she settled her weight back on him, pressing her chest to his and removing the useless barrier between them. Rolling to off to one side, and propping her head on one arm, she trailed her other hand down his chest to play lightly with the button holding his shorts closed. Harry, she paused and let her hand sweep up and back down to where it had started, did I tell you that Luna is wanting to have another one...or two?
Harry's hand, which had continued to rub along her spine, though constricted by her body, paused. He watched as slightly anxious brown eyes met his, and he bent his head to kiss her. Looking into her eyes from only an inch away, It's up to you, Hermione, I would love to have more children with you...but you are going to have to carry them. And you'll be fifty-five-six when they are grown up. He frowned as a brief flicker of a night lit by the flicker of spellfire reflecting off a long red train. And what about...
We let Tom dictate our lives when we were younger, Harry...If it had been up to me, I'd have had our children when we got married, that very night, if not the night we bonded...we were so careful that year...she swallowed heavily and closed her eyes to fight back tears. I half hoped, even then, to wake up some morning and feel three of us, to have forgotten the night before.
And as the other, so? She shrugged, bending her head back down onto his shoulder, I talked to Poppy about it the other day...after she got done pulling her hair, and haranguing me about the propensity of wizards to screw up the order of things...Baby, she's now projecting that our ages won't start to catch up to us for another two hundred, maybe two twenty or forty years...I should be able to have babies until I'm one fifty, maybe two hundred even.
Harry snorted. So you want to work on those twelve sprogs the old bat predicted?
She sighed and pushed on his chin playfully, How about we go for one more...and see where we are from there?
When?
Tonight...let's dress up and hop over to Miami for dinner, spend a few of those Galleons we seem to be collecting faster than we can spend, and come back here...
Harry grinned, Are you trying to seduce me, Mrs. Potter?
I did a long time ago, baby...but I'll remind you tonight. She snuggled down against him, rocking her hips on his for a moment, before stopping with a sigh and letting herself fall to sleep in his arms. More secure in the thin mortal flesh than the dozens of Intrusion Wards and active and passive defenses surrounding the old private getaway of the Potters-thousands of miles away from the turmoil that they both were ignoring for one shining weekend in the sun.
****************************Hogwarts*********************************
"How is she, Poppy?" Dumbledore asked before he had even finished entering the room, moving at nearly a sprint and sliding to a halt next to the single, occupied bed. He swallowed undetectably as he looked down at Minerva McGonagall, pale and unmoving, her dark hair the majority of color present against the white sheets. "What happened?" he turned and asked the other pair in the room, before Poppy could even draw breath to speak.
Parvati straightened, and brushed her hands on the legs of bright green scrubs. She swept her hair back out of her eyes as she paced back to Neville. Wrapping her arms around his chest she tucked under his arm. Neville kissed the top of her head as she clung to him, settling his wife before he shrugged towards Dumbledore.
"I don't know, Albus," Neville fell silent as Poppy flicked her wand over Minerva and frowned at the orangish-red glow that covered the Professor's chest. "We were going over the plans for the renovation of Gryffindor Tower this summer, and she grabbed her chest and collapsed. Par walked in just as she fell and started CPR on her."
Parvati looked over at Poppy, who nodded to her, "It looks like she's had another relapse from when that b...Umbridge had her stunned..." Parvati turned and rose on her toes, stretching to kiss Neville quickly before she slipped back out of his arm, having resettled herself with the contact. She reached over and took a clipboard filled with tiny purple writing from Pomfrey and started to read over it. Her lips moved slightly and she reached into a thigh pocket of her scrubs, the Muggle-style garments common among the younger generation of Healers, and pulled out a pair of small, round glasses.
She perched them on the end of her nose, and scanned down the rest of the chart before she glanced up at crystal ball in which a small glowing heart pulsed slowly in time with McGonagall's heart. Parvati set the chart on the corner of the bed, "If she was a Muggle, she'd have been dead years ago, Profess...Albus. She needed to stay longer in St. Mungo's the first two times...and during her relapse three summers ago. The nerves around her heart were damaged all those years ago, and when V...Voldemort Crucio'ed her, along with the rest of her injuries, she should have stayed for them to totally regenerate and repair them but she never did...damn, stubborn arse Gryffindors-"
"You are one, love," Neville muttered and she glared at him.
"I know, Merlin damn it," Parvati snapped, and took a step to her right, falling onto the bed next to Minerva's. She took a breath, "I know...and you fucking know what that cost me...us, Neville." Both Dumbledore and Poppy were silent as Neville slowly sat next to her.
He started to slip his arm around her, only to have it batted away angrily. Neville waited as she dropped her head, and reached under her top, pulling out a band on a gold chain, twin to the one on her left hand. Fingering it, she did not fight when Neville pulled her unto his lap.
She stopped after another moment, and let it fall to her chest, the chain carefully just long enough to allow the ring to rest over her heart. Sighing, she accepted Neville's wordless apology with the expedient of his hand in hers, and looked back over at Dumbledore. "There are specialists in this, I know one in Alberta. He'd be glad to come here...but she's going to have to take off several months, probably until the fall term. And we really need to get her to St. Mungo's...Not that Poppy can't take care of her here...but it would be easier there, away from the distractions."
Dumbledore nodded, and motioned to Neville, waiting as he disentangled himself from his wife and followed Dumbledore out into the hallway. He waited until the door closed behind him, "Neville, please consult with Filius, I would like the pair of you to split Minerva's duties between you."
"What about her class?" Neville shrugged, "I may be alright these days, but I'm no where near an expert in her field."
Dumbledore tapped the side of his crooked nose with one finger and smiled faintly, the first such expression he had shown since he arrived at a run, after a panicked house elf found him with the news, "Oddly enough, I think that I may already have the solution to that quandary in hand, so to speak." He did not elaborate, as he straightened his robes and turned to leave, "Please tell Minerva, that I will return shortly, I need to inquire of a friend."
Neville nodded to Dumbledore's back and returned to the infirmary, not noticing as the great wizard's shoulders fell the instant the door closed behind Neville, nor did he hear the choked sound that came from the hall.
**********************Potter Estates, Caribbean************************
Harry, a soft voice whispered across the ether, brushing with light fingers across his soul and caressing his mind.
He had barely Apparated them back to the beach house, arriving in the comfortable living room, when Hermione pushed him at a chair and vanished into their bedroom. A soft, needless fire was lit in a charmed firepit in the center of the room, the red-gold flames licking several feet up, without any smoke or almost any heat. Harry looked up and back, towards the door leading to the bedrooms and swallowed faintly as the door opened and Hermione slipped out, her eyes flicking with emerald sparks as she met his from across the room.
He rose to his feet without a conscious thought and watched, his heart racing, as she padded across the room. Her hips swiveled as she placed bare feet one in front of the other, moving directly towards him as if a lioness stalking her prey.
Over the years, Harry had found her in innumerable situations. He had seen her standing smeared in mud and much, much worse. He had watched her dance across inlaid wooden floors in two thousand Galleon gowns. And he had witnessed, his heart in his throat, as she read a bedtime story to a pair of black-haired children who hung on her every word as she regaled the adventures of Andy the Antipodean Opaleye.
It was that last, that oddly enough, felt closest to how he felt right now, as the firelight danced across her face, and cast reddish highlights in her hair, which fell in loose waves over her bare shoulders. Narrow, dark blue straps helped a thin silk shift defy gravity, as it hung to just below the join of her thighs. The chemise was mostly open at the sides, held together loosely with black ribbon, and exposing that the only thing beneath the garment was his wife.
She took a breath, drawing his eyes to the laced-closed v in the front, before he took a breath of his own and lifted his gaze back to hers. Taking another step forward, Hermione stepped close to him, and lifted her hands to his emerald tie. Grinning, she pulled on it, pulling his head down to hers.
Hermione let go to tangle her fingers in his hair, as she tilted her head to the side to kiss him with a quiet sigh. It broke with another soft gasp, this time for air, and she took a final step, tucking herself against his body with a practiced ease. She moved to one side, letting her head fall to his shoulder as she watched her fingers adroitly unknot his tie and slip it from the collar of his night-black shirt. The tie fell from her fingers to the floor behind her, as she started on the small, dark buttons holding his shirt closed.
Harry fell back to the couch as she pushed on his chest with two fingers, landing on the seat and bouncing once. He found Hermione in his lap before he could bounce again. She nibbled on her lower lip as she continued to unbutton his shirt, and passed, groaning as Harry slid his fingers up her thighs, to bunch her garment around her hips, and run his thumbs in small little circles about the points of her hips.
Rocking against his lap, she let out a soft hiss and her eyes narrowed to slowly glowing slits as she felt him respond to her. She ground her core into the bulge in his pants, feeling the heat between them through the fine fabric of his dress trousers.
"Hermione?"
Um, hmm....she murmured as she started to rock faster on his lap, until Harry tightened his grip on her hips just enough to stop her, to her visibly expressed displeasure.
"You are going to make me pay for this for the next nine months, aren't you?" Harry breathed in her ear, and she squirmed on his lap as his breath sent tingles down her spine.
Licking her lips, she finished unbuttoning his shirt and slowly spreading it open. She pressed her open palm to his chest, Probably less than with Sirius...that boy was obstinate, just like his daddy... Hermione looked up into his eyes, and pouted slightly, The sooner we start...
You know, Harry commented, as he brushed her hair back from her neck, and brushed his lips along her pulse. She shivered as he nibbled, before flicking the flat of his tongue against a spot that sent her nearly in paroxysms, I seem to remember that you get really horny while you are sprogged up.
Trust you to remember the important things, Mr. Potter, Hermione grinned before she gasped, and her neck went limp, as he sped up his ministrations.
Harry slowly slipped one strap down her shoulder, and then the other, letting her nightie fall down to pool about her hips. His lips followed the silk, until he took one already engorged nipple into his lips and sucked lightly. She moaned and wrapped herself around him, kissing the top of his head and holding her head there as he shifted his attentions to the other.
Hermione resumed her idle movements on his lap, rocking harder with each instant as Harry's every action sent a line of pure fire racing to her core. She rocked again and screamed quietly into his hair as she felt herself suddenly trip over the edge with only a heartbeat's warning, as Harry's feelings washed over her in a sudden wave, sending her world swirling away in a rush of color.
Harry groaned as she fought to keep from following her, feeling more like the teenager that he had never been allowed to be, than he had in years. Holding her as she slowly calmed, and stopped moving on his lap, he trailed his lips over to kiss her directly over her heart.
A moment passed as Hermione blinked slowly, her breathing slowly returning to normal again, before she lifted her head and bent his back with both hands to kiss his scar. She swallowed and Harry could feel her hands shaking slightly on his back as she fought to bring herself under control.
I didn't know that you were that ready, Harry grinned even as a portion of his mind helpful provided images of Umbridge in her knickers in an on-going attempt to keep from letting go at the sight, feelings and smell of Hermione's release.
Honestly...I didn't know I was either, she murmured in her thoughts, still too short of breath to form the words out loud. And you really need to get the image of Umbridge out of your head...
Harry stood with a quiet grunt; still holding her to him, as she wrapped her legs around his hips, tucked her head into his shoulder. She started to nibble on the spot where his neck met his collarbone, letting her teeth and tongue alternately caress his skin. And who would you recommend? he smirked as he let one hand fall from behind her, to gesture at the hardwood floor next to the firepit.
A thick, night black fur appeared, complete with cushions, and he let his hand fall back to her, pressing between her shoulder blades.
Hermione glanced backwards and let her legs fall to the floor. She took a step back and breathed in slightly, as she brushed at her sides, sending her garment falling to the floor. She took his hands in hers and slowly walked backwards until she felt the soft pelt brushing her feet. I don't know...I'd think that you had enough right here, she nibbled on one corner of her lip as she pushed his shirt off, letting it fall away behind him. Her hands trailed down his chest and stomach, feeling his muscles jump at her touch before they paused on his belt buckle.
More than enough, Harry replied as he leaned forward to kiss her, before he kissed across her cheek to settle behind one ear.
B...brilliant, Hermione sputtered, her pulse starting to race once more. She undid his belt with trembling fingers and grunted in frustration, as she just could not seem to grasp his zip. Her eyes flared and the button and zip parted with a ripping sound, letting his pants fall to the floor. She grinned as she caught sight of the boxers she had gotten him for his birthday two years ago, with "Hermione's toy" written in gold across the front of the straining, black cotton.
Harry groaned as she started to stroke him, before she twisted her fingers in the elastic and pulled them out, nearly to breaking, before pulling them over and down over the obstruction. Sinking slowly to her knees on the fur, she let her eyes flick downward to his feet, as he stepped out of them and his pants, before she looked up with a half grin as she started to stroke him. Harry's breathing went short, as all thoughts flittered away with every caress of her nimble fingers.
Licking her lips, Hermione looked up, holding his eyes as she slowly leaned forward and a small, pink cat's tongue flicked out, collecting the shimmering drop waiting for her on the end. She smirked as Harry groaned her name, his fingers slowly wrapping in her hair. One finger twirled around the braid she kept over her left ear, sign, not that any could possibly need such a thing, of her loyalty to him. She slowly wrapped one hand around him, pushing it up against his belly as she traced the long, throbbing vein along the bottom with her tongue, before rolling it around the head. A quick breath, and she took him in, to start bobbing in time to his quiet moans, or perhaps it was the reverse.
She moved until she felt him start to shake, and she could feel nerves start to fire randomly, and pulled away. Reaching up, she took his hands in hers and slowly pulled him down to the floor in front of her. She took his face in her hands, leaning in she slowly pressed her lips to his, teasing them with the tip of her tongue until they fell open to her ministrations. "I'm not wasting any tonight, baby," Hermione whispered into his mouth.
"Good," Harry returned as he started to kiss down her neck.
She gasped, loudly as one long finger started to trace her lower lips, before it slowly slid in to the base. It slipped out to slowly trace up her centerline, before lightly tracing her lips. She grinned and darted her head forward, taking the finger into her mouth and slowly sucking it clean.
Harry kissed her again, swirling his tongue about, Merlin; I love how you taste.
I know, she muttered and kissed him again, even as she fell backwards, pulling him along with her. She pulled him down to her breast, letting her head flop back as Harry took a nipple into his lips automatically, and started to gently suck. Hermione groaned and arched upwards, a quiet mewing sound escaping her lips faster and faster as Harry's fingers trailed down once more, slowly teasing her in time to the motion of his tongue on her breast.
Come on, Mione, Harry whispered, as he trailed his lips back up to her neck. His tongue flicked along her pulse, collecting a thin bead of moisture, and she shuddered, come for me again...
Whimpering, Hermione nodded frantically, as his fingers sped up again, each small movement sending pure molten fire racing along her nerves. She cried out, after only a minute and stiffened under him and arched up from the rug, shaking randomly for a long movement before flopping back bonelessly to the floor.
Harry grinned as he watched her chest heaving, and contented himself with slowly brushing her wet hair from her eyes, until she blinked a few times and her eyes, now fully lit, regained sentience.
Licking her lips, she reached up and pulled his head down to hers. Sucking his tongue back into her mouth, where it belonged if she had anything to do with it, she caressed it lightly even as she tangled her legs around his. A quick flex of her abs and she rolled them both over and sat up, still breathing heavily. She reached back behind her bum, to slowly stroke him, where he was pressing hot into a cheek.
"I love you, Harry," Hermione said very softly, holding his gaze as she rose up on her knees and slowly rocked herself back down onto him, her eyes fluttering closed as he vanished into her. Opening her eyes once more, she slowly rolled downward to kiss him, and began to move on his lap as his lips opened to hers.
Hermione broke the kiss and rolled back upright, as she leaned back on her hands and started to bounce on his lap, nearly lifting herself all the way off him before falling back a beat later.
Harry groaned as he fought to keep his own eyes open, to watch as she moved, her hair flying about and catching the light from the fire. A thin stream of moisture slid down from her cheek, down the long expanse of her neck and down between her breasts, drawing his eye to her heart. Reaching up, he took the gently bouncing globes in hand, caressing them, as she moved ever faster. "Oh...God..." Harry whispered as he felt his spine tighten, and random shards of magic send his world wavering.
Neither noticed as the flames in the firepit flared up, doubling, tripling in size and taking on an emerald cast, nor of the soft crash as a vase on a side table smashed against a wall across the room.
Couch cushions shot past, nearly catching in the fire as Hermione took his hands in hers, interlacing their fingers, and using the leverage to move even faster. Soft whimpers became continuous, as she ground her core into his with every move, driving a shock to the pool of fire quickly growing in her belly.
Oh...M...Mionnnee, Harry whispered reverently, fighting to be even able to think, as she moved even faster, her movements becoming frantic as he rocked up to meet her every move, slapping their hips together with a soft, welcome sound. His breathing started to become a constant, harried rasp, his chest heaving as he tried desperately to keep from losing control before her. M...Mione...p...please...
She nodded between pants and reached down, brushing herself frantically as she moved, every muscle in her abs flexing visibly as she moved. Her fingers stroked once, twice and she cried out his name, freezing as she shivered in place, and arched back until her forehead nearly touched his shins, and her world swirled away in a rush of colors. Her inner walls clenched frantically around Harry, velvet fingers stroking him for a long moment until he followed her with a hoarse cry, arching up as he emptied into her.
He fell back, panting, and Hermione flopped forward, nearly hitting her forehead on his before she lay fully on him, both of them panting, desperate for oxygen that seem to tease them and dance just out of reach. Harry blinked slowly, his eyes still flickering softly as he fought to regain enough motor control to stroke his fingers along her spine.
Hermione purred quietly at his attentions, even though even if he could have actually managed enough mental acuity to work the problem, he would not have been able to suss out if the sound was in his ears or his mind. She squirmed slightly and tucked her head into his neck, her breath warm on his sodden skin, as a soft, contented hum filled both of their heads.
Hermione? Harry whispered after a beat, and grinned tiredly as she did not reply. He continued to stroke her back, pulling her tighter into him, as she started to make a quiet rather cute sound that Harry would forever steadfastedly refuse to call a snore. He reached out a hand and summoned a small pillow from the couch and tucked it under his head, before letting one hand fall down to cup her bum with the other comfortably behind her shoulders as he closed his eyes, I'll see you in a bit, Love, we have all night, after all.
*************************Transfiguration #1******************************
March 14, 2016
Sirius yawned and stretched in his seat as he waited, along with the much of the rest of his fifth-year classmates, for Minerva McGonagall. The Assistant Headmistress was running late, a rather odd occurrence for the habitually prompt woman. Lawrence made a small noise and Sirius looked over, to find his friend shrugging and tapping on his watch.
Next to Lawrence, his sister and Kris were leaning close together, taking turns writing on a scrap of parchment, as a folded parchment bird fluttered overhead, swooping around the various students. Kris giggled at something and squirmed, and Sirius looked back down at his books, trying to keep from rolling his eyes as Virginia leaned back with a satisfied mien.
Olivia Wentworth, a tall, dark-blonde girl, reached forward from her seat behind Sirius and tapped him on the ear with her quill. He looked back over his shoulder at the Gryffindor girl, "You think we can leave if she doesn't show, Sirius?" Her friend and roommate, Trisha Hue nodded and looked pointedly towards the still-closed door to the professor's office.
"Um," Sirius replied thoughtfully, "I don't know...maybe we should just wait, I mean it is...McGonagall."
"I can't believe the great and powerful Sirius Potter is afraid of one old professor," Lawrence interrupted even as he let his eyes flick down Olivia's top, before he grinned crookedly, "What are you doing tonight, Olivia?"
She flicked her eyes down his chest, "Not you...Gina-"
Sirius dodged forward slightly as Virginia reached up to rap her bother on the back of the head. Loud giggles came from several of the girls scattered in the immediate area and Justin, who was half-snoozing behind the study table across the aisle from Sirius, snorted and looked over. "I thought you were dating Aiko?"
"Well, we always love company," he grinned.
"And this is why I don't tell Mum anything about this world," Trisha muttered. She had not been the first Muggle-born mildly-surprised about the less published realities of the Magical world. She brushed straight, long brown hair out of one eye and looked to her roommate.
"What that it's more likely that--"
"No," Trisha replied with a sigh, "Weasley twins."
Several laughs answered her only partial jest, and fell suddenly silent as the Professor's office door open and a slender witch walked in. All new murmurs erupted, along with a low pair of wolf-whistles as she smiled and waved to the class before slowly pacing to the front and leaning back on the desk, stretching out long legs, that were exposed by a black skirt more than a touch shorter than any of the other female professors might don. White stockings went to just above her knees, only serving to point out the four or five inches of muscled thigh exposed between them and the skirt. She reached up with one hand and brushed back slightly wavy, nearly waist-length dirty blonde locks and smiled brightly, her huge silvery grey eyes shining behind a pair of small, round glasses that she sometimes wore these days. For like her 'sister' she had spent entirely too many hours looking at cramped text in ancient tomes in the poor lighting of this castle and another exactly like it.
The witch, for it was obvious she was one, if only from the sheath strapped to her right thigh and halfway exposed from under her skirt, looked like she might have just graduated Hogwarts this past summer. With witches, as any of them here knew, appearances were deceiving, she could be twenty years older than any of them, and not look much more than twenty or so. Sirius's own mother was a prime example-as was his other mother.
"Hello class," Luna said brightly and hopped backwards to perch on her desk. She kicked off her shoes and crossed her legs, sending her skirt rising along with the blood pressure of a few of the students, "My name is Professor Weasley, but you can call me Luna. In fact I would prefer it, there is a odd chance of Cornish Pixies trying to imbue Corians on us if you get myself and the other Professor Weasley confused." Her head turned like a bird's to Sirius, "But you can still call me Mum, Sirius."
Loud sniggers broke out across the room and Sirius sighed as his ears turned the color of his girlfriend's locks, "Bloody hell."
***************************Hogwarts*************************************
March 16, 2016 (Wednesday)
Draco hid a sigh as the last of the Sixth year NEWT class slipped in just as the distant chime of the clock tower struck, and he flicked his wand at the door, closing it with a loud boom. He strode the length of the room, his shimmering black robes billowing behind him before he stopped and pointed at the board.
Long lines of writing appeared, and he looked out over the class. He let his eyes pause for the briefest instant on Rain as she sat with Harriet on the table to the right of Emilia and Xander. He did not return her fleeting smile, and continued about the room, catching sight of Maraisah and Antares doing...something, a few tables over, which he would have to investigate in a moment.
Bethany Guinness, a Ravenclaw, who somehow, through some random quirk of fate had inherited Neville's seeming penchant for exploding potions, was digging in her bag, and leaning over to talk to her desk mate. She started to say something else, when Draco cleared his throat. "Five points, Miss Guinness, your social lives are irrelevant to Potions, the last time I reviewed the syllabus.
She reddened slightly and shut up quickly as Draco leaned on his desk, "Now that I have the class's attention, today we are going to brew the Familarius Sedium potion. This potion, as you should know from your reading and possibly from your study in creatures, is used to treat injured, bonded Familiars. There are several variations of this potion, depending on the genus of the Familiar and today we will look at the Feline variation."
In the back of the room, Emilia nodded to herself and sucked on a quill to get it started before she jotted down Draco's words and the start of the instructions on the board.
"Is there anyone who knows the reason that one would use such a potion instead of sedating the animal with a spell," he let his eyes flick around the room, and fought the natural tendency of his eyes to flick heavenward as Emilia's hand lifted halfway with her quill flicking in the air. "Miss Potter, enlighten us."
"Sir, the main reason, is that if a bonded Familiar, as opposed to a pet, was injured the psychic shock of the trauma would still transmit along the Familiar bond, if only a spell were used. This potion suppresses the bond to background...noise, without breaking it. The bond would fully reestablish as the potion wears out."
"Five points to Gryffindor," Draco replied, even as he glanced around to his own house, thinking that for once, he might be able to award points. He frowned faintly as none seemed interested in looking up, "What is the difference, then, between the base potion and the Kneazle specific version that we will be making today?" He looked to the back once more to watch as Harriet's hand waved idly, "Yes, Miss Weasley."
Harriet looked at him for a moment, and blinked once or twice before what he had said seemed to percolate through her jumbled thoughts, "For Kneazles, or cats, really, the potion is based around the essence of nepeta cataria, as opposed to Fledrals, which would of course need a bit of snaproot." She smiled brightly as he seemed to process her answer.
"Umm....correct on the question asked, five points." He flicked a wand at the board and a long series of instructions appeared, "Very well, get started then, you have two hours to produce it."
He sat down behind his desk and watched as the students stood and started to gather ingredients, while a few stayed behind to light cauldrons. He watched as the first few gathered the plant and started to press the purple flowered stems with the flats of their knives, and looked down towards today's copy of the Prophet. He turned to the financial section, and started in on an article about a proposed merger between Nimbus and the Quality Carpets company based out of India, when he looked up as a faint, odd sound carried to his ears.
He slowly panned around the room, pausing on the usual suspects until he looked to the back. His eyes widened as he watched as Rain and Harriet were both staring fixedly at their table, their chests heaving slightly as they leaned against each other. A soft, purr-like sound carried forward, drawing the attention of more than a few of the students, before he caught the quick flash of Xander's wand, cutting off sound. The rest of the class, not having yet zeroed in on the back, returned to their work even as Draco stood slowly.
He worked his way to the rear, noticing on the way, that none of the four Gryffindors in question had yet to so much as light a fire.
Emilia was leaning heavily against Xander, rubbing at least her shoulders against his, and possibly more as both of her hands were out of sight. She had turned and had her head tucked under his. Xander's breathing was quick as well, with just the faintest hint of white extending past his lips as he tried to hold Emilia still.
Draco took a final step closer and crossed the invisible wall cutting off sound around the four, and the purring sound he had heard earlier only softly now filled his ears. The sound seemed to come from three slightly different voices, and he glanced over to Rain and Harriet to watch as Harriet slowly stroked Rain's palm with her fingers, causing the taller girl to shudder.
"Miss Weasley," Draco said quickly, then remembering the ward, "Harriet, Rain..."
They both slowly looked up to him and he sighed and closed his eyes for a beat as he found slitted irises looking back at him. He looked over as Xander managed to grab Emilia's hands, and hold them above the table. Xander was panting quietly, obviously fighting something.
Draco sighed to himself as Emilia looked back over her shoulder with her eyes fully cat-like and glowing faintly. "Hi, Uncle Draco," she said, giggling breathily, she rubbed her head against Xander's chin, "Xander's randy...I'm randy...this is a great potion."
"I'm sure it is," he replied wryly as he watched ears start to creep out from under Rain's hair, and a long, black tail appearing from under her skirt. Draco quickly glanced back, verifying that no one was watching, and quickly cast a Glamour to conceal her more, inhuman, features.
He had learned of his de facto daughter-in-law's cat form this Christmas when he and Ginny had finally escaped the disaster that the Christmas Dinner had become to come home to the Manor. He had drawn his wand at the huge black cat sitting draped along one comfortable couch with its head in the lap of his youngest son. His wand had clattered to the floor as the head turned to him, with huge blue eyes looking back into his with human intelligence.
Ginny had only laughed and announced how cute Rain was as the cat flowed to the floor and padded over to Ginny to accept a petting before flowing into Rain's human form.
Draco dropped Xander's ward with a flick of his wand, "Mr. Lupin, if you would please take your classmates back to Gryffindor Tower, they seem under the weather." Several of the class turned at his announcement, as Draco leaned closer, "Get them to their rooms, and keep them away from Justin and Sirius," he whispered, and sighed, "Or at least Sirius, I suppose it's too late for-"
Xander nodded and half carried Emilia out of the classroom, even as he fought the hormones racing through his own body at the siren call of Emilia's pheromones and emotions that were hitting him with all the subtly of a half-ton anvil.
Rain and Harriet followed along, giggling, and swinging their joined hands. Draco paced back to the front, "They had a bad batch of the main ingredient," he explained and half-glared about the room. "Back to your potions." He stalked back to his desk and sat down with a groan, holding various gazes until every student returned to their work.
Out in the hallway, Xander groaned and managed to maneuver the trio of girls towards the stairs. He sighed as Rain and Harriet giggled loudly and wrapped their arms around Emilia, all three girls now purring louder and partially transformed into their alter egos. With a small frown, as they reached the main stairs leading upward, he glanced towards the long walk to Gryffindor Tower, and with a quick judgment, took all three of them out the near door to the courtyard. He sat down on the edge of the fountain, pulling Emilia into his lap, and with a faint grunt, reaching up and pulling the other two down beside them.
"Come back to me," Xander muttered as he stroked Emilia's hair. She continued to purr and started to rub up against him once more, even as the other two girls giggled and cuddled with Emilia. "Just my luck, my wife and the other two most beautiful girls in Hogwarts all crawling on my lap...and they are stoned on catnip...Mum never said there would be days like this."
Emilia's gaze sharpened as she realized what he had let slip, "Really?" she asked, as she fought through the effects.
"Yeah," he kissed her head between her cat ears, "really." The three purred in response to his words but slowly regained control.
Emilia's eyes cleared, though her ears and tail remained, as did Harriet's and Rain's. She took a long, deep breath, "I'm fine now, baby," she whispered, her voice slightly distorted by her cat fangs. "Thank you, Love."
Harriet and Rain just nodded, and Xander shrugged, bending to the side to kiss the other girls' cheeks, before he kissed Emilia properly, "That's me, I'm a cat lover, I can't help it."
There you go....the cat bit was from an idea by Fenris Wolf, a while back, thanks to him for letting me use it.
Next Chapter: A Step into Darkness, A Leap into Light...