Working Titles: Sex Magic 101 or Bonds of Magic
Setting: AU Sixth Year (Ignores HBP and DH)
Unused classroom, Hogwarts
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Harry Potter could only stare at his best friend of six years as if he was seeing her for the first time. In truth, it was the first time he had ever seen her in anything but her Hogwarts School Uniform robes.
There standing, looking cute and nervous, was Hermione Granger. She was wore a thin, almost see-through sun-dress that seemed to cling to her womanly form. And based on his limited knowledge and observations, he did not think she was wearing anything else.
Upon noticing him, she flung herself into his arms and rested her head upon his shoulders, crying. "Oh, Harry," she sighed. She kept repeating, "I'm so sorry" over and over again.
"Hermione, what's going on?" he inquired in confusion. He had not seen her anywhere within Hogwarts, save within class. Even then, she was the last to come to class and the first to leave. More so, she was absent-minded within the class itself. Fortunately, it had only been the first week of classes, and at Sixth Year, not many at that, but all doing review of the past five years, so the teachers were not concern. Of course, there were the same teachers that had allowed all the bigotry, violence, and abuse to happen without any repercussion or consequences.
"Oh, Harry," Hermione signed again and clung to him as if her very life depended upon him. Although ignore of such things, out of necessity and a desire to help, he wrapped his arms around her to help support her, being very careful not to get too close to her arse. He was a hormonal teenager though, and was curious how a feminine arse would feel like in his hands, as well as the rest of the mysterious bits of a woman.
With his arms around her, she got herself under control and started to babble while resting her head upon his shoulder. "I'm so sorry, Harry. It was horrible. That evil... witch. Umbridge was trying to set you up all last year. She told me... at the end. She had the so-called trial all lined up and planned out. The trial would be a complete farce, and purposely a week long to drag everything out and the hit hard towards the end so that gossip on the weekend would be out of control and no one would know where or care where you were exiled to. Ron, she planned to just throw into Azkaban for a year or so. And me... me... She had the nerve to say she'd just have me Kissed immediately, as no one would care if a mudblood like me got justice or not." Her voice tried to mock Umbridge as she said, "Someone more deserving of magic would get my wand, at discount, since it would have to be fumigated to work correctly."
"What?" Harry roared. His mind was spinning and wondering what had brought this on. Umbridge had not been since Hermione had tricked her into the Forbidden Forest at the end of last term. Plus, at the Welcoming Feast and during the trip on the Hogwarts Express, Hermione was happy and looking forward to the new school year. Still, Harry had to ask, "But Umbridge couldn't have had you just Kissed..."
"Oh, Harry," she remarked, "but she could... as any high-level Ministry official could. I've checked the Library and with various teachers. Trials are only given to pure-bloods. Half-bloods might get one, like in your case, but the rest of us, are at the mercy of whichever Ministry official wishes to punish us."
"But?" Harry inquired.
"It's all about the Houses," Hermione answered. "It's archaic! It's barbaric! Argh!"
All he could do was hold onto her and offer what support he could.
"It's like the Roman Empire, all over again," she said. "Patrons and vassals. Lords and slaves! Lords can do anything they wish, and the rest of us have to just take it! The more I learn about the Wizardry World, the more backwards it is!"
She continued to rant and crave for several moments, still clinging to him and laying her head on his shoulder. It was a surreal experience for him. It might have been a dream to him, if she had not several of her rants were very similar to his Uncle Vernon's rant about the Muggle World. "Not what you know, but who you know", "how much money you have", and such things.
She calmed down a bit, and continued, "As I'm muggle-born, I am worse off than a House-less witch, as my parents don't count at all. Muggles have no standing within the Wizardry marriages are the result of a bonds, which are very easily to make. That's why you have to be careful, Harry. You could make a bond without knowing it.
"But getting back to opening and closing, as I said, it deals with a witch's magic-core. When a Witch is born, her magic-core is closed, until she has intercourse with a Wizard. When he ejaculates into her womb, while only one sperm is needed to fertilize a Witch's egg, each of those sperm has magic within it, and all that extra magic goes into her magic-core, opening it. Cracking it is actually more accurate. It is through these cracks that a witch's' magic seeps into her child, more so than the Witch's own magic within her body. Not only is this seepage make the child more magical, but allows a witch's core to grow."
"What about a wizard's core?" he asked in curiosity.
"A wizard's core is never closed like a witch's," she answered. "From the point of conception, a wizard's core is constantly growing, while a witch's core only grows while in the womb and after it's been opened. This is why many witches wish to be opened. That and the bond that forms between her and her Wizard, gives her comfort and stability."
Harry held onto Hermione, absent-mindedly caressing her lower back, as he asked, "So I take it in this transfer of power, a Wizard is weaken, and can be bound. But why can't an open witch do that too?"
"The ritual would prevent the wizard's magic from touching her closed core, and only a closed core, that would allow the witch to manipulate the wizard's magic within her to bind him. An open-witch can't do," was Hermione's answer. "Plus, a close-witch cannot bind a Lord."
"What?" Harry said puzzled.
"Any wizard with a sworn follower, ideally ten or more, but just one will be enough to protect him from a closed-witch," she stated. "Or a wizard with a bond with the magical-realm, can all be called a Lord. It's the origin, at least within the Wizardry World, of Jus Primae Noctis, Law of First Night.
"A witch who wishes to marry could go to one's Lord or Head of House to be opened, safely on everyone's part, and the all the bonds formed would strength the House. The witch would be bond to the House through the Lord, and the husband would be bound through the witch, as well as his original bond to the House."
As Harry was pondering this, she added, "Many assumed this was our situation between you, me..." She hesitated a little and then added, "And Ron."
"Huh?" was his response, he had no idea how Ron got involved into this very strange conversation.
"From a Wizardry point of view, it makes a twisted kind of logic," she pointed out with a bit of humor. "There are strong bonds between us... and Ron... for various reasons. Not knowing what we've been through, it's easy for others to assume that that bond was formed from you opening me. Either you took pity on completely clueless Ron or just followed one of the older ways making Ron your vassal, by sharing me with him."
"But," he began.
"Harry, it's all magic and bonds," she remarked. "That's what the Wizardry World is built upon. It is the responsibilities imposed by Magic and Tradition that keeps the Lords in check. Of course, these days, there are so few Lords... You can guess who two of them are."
Harry just nodded, frowned a bit, and getting back on track he prompted, "And the Heritage Ritual?"
Hermione blushed and stated, "Heritage Ritual allows a pure-blood or half-blood to come into their Family Magic somehow. As such, no one thinks of muggle-borns, but Family Magic does have to start somewhere.
"The ritual itself is just a declaration of who you are and that you're of age. Usually, one's parents stand with you. But one's Master or Lord can stand in place of them..."
"You wish for me to be your Lord," he cut in. "Both to protect me and for you to do the Heritage Ritual to establish your own Family Magic."
Watching his face as he spoke, she just nodded her head and waited.
He signed and said, "Fine. What do I have to do?" He could not fault her logic, and he did want to help her. That it would piss the pure-blood factions off was just a bonus. Plus, as Hermione's Lord, he could get her to rest more and relax.
She giggled a bit because she was nervous. Determined to continue, she stated, "You just need to relax as there isn't much you for you to do. I'll be doing most of the work."
He just looked at her, just knowing she had not told him everything. And whatever she was holding back would be something he would not like.
She fidgeted under his stare, and continued, "well... for the Ritual, I'll have to be completely naked. Besides, it would be best if you would open me just before the Ritual, for maximum effect. During the Ritual you'll need to draw some runes upon my body, as well as, touch me in a somewhat intimate-manner... I don't know how, as the Ritual itself, will tell you how and what to do. Whatever that means."
He choked on his nervousness and remarked, "Naked?"
"By me performing oral sex on you, we'll have a bond between us. Not as great as when you open me," Hermione stated in an off-handed manner in an attempt to get him to relax. "It's supposed to be very pleasurable for wizards..."
A look of complete shock, as he had not pieced everything together just yet, appeared upon his face. Slowly, his face relaxed and a look of determination was in his eyes.
Looking more nervous and uncertain, she inquired, "Harry? You'll still do this? Please?"
Not trusting his voice, he just nodded his head in agreement.
Not trusting her hands, she triggered the banishment spell she had placed upon her sundress and stood naked before him. With her courage showing in her eyes, she said, "I know that I'm not much... I'm not beautiful like Susan or Lavender, but I will follow and obey you always, Harry."
It was not a formal pledge, nor in any magical oath form that he was aware of, and yet, he felt some connection - a bond - form between them. It was a very strange, yet familiar feeling. This feeling and taking in Hermione's beautiful naked body had him speechless and on auto-pilot. This was how she was easily able to direct him over to a make-shift bed.
She quickly worked to free his fleshy wand out and as she caressed it lovely, she remarked, "Always remember, Harry. Good witches swallow." With that she kissed his fleshy wand and proceeded to perform oral sex upon him.
When he ejaculated several moments later, he was not sure how long it took, he could feel a small piece of his magic leaving his body and entering Hermione's.
She licked him clean, replaced his fleshy wand back into his robes and snuggled up along side of him, not bothering to dress or cover herself.
Seeing this, Harry began, "Uh-huh, Hermione. Shouldn't you..."
She placed a finger on his lips to silence him, and repeated, "I need to be naked for the Ritual, and you need to be able to not only deal with that, but even touch me without embarrassment or hesitation. I know it's a challenge, Harry, but I will make sure you enjoy it. To help, I've found several spells that will enchant my clothing to be invisible to you. We will need to practice every chance we can."
He put his arm around her, pulling her closer to him, and remarked, "It's not a challenge, Hermione. I do want to help you out. And if sex and you being nude is what you need for all this, then who am I to argue?"
Harry had to admit that Hermione was correct that his lack of knowledge and exposure to the female anatomy was a factor of his uneasiness when Hermione was naked. To which Hermione devised several charms to allow her to appear to him, nude, while fully clothed to others. She also had him perform very detailed, very intimate examination of her nude body, explaining her biology and reactions. After all, it could be fatal for them to discover that she was ticklish where an important rune had to be placed, or any unexpected reaction to his touch, anywhere for that matter.
Hermione seemed just as fascinated with his fleshy-wand as he was with her body, as she took to touching him when she could.
It was hard work doing all that research, Harry thought, but someone had to do it.
Harry sat in the Library with a nude Hermione in his lap as they were looking through some books, when they were approached by a small group of witches. He recognized Susan Bones of Hufflepuff House in the front, followed by Padma Patil Ravenclaw House, and Daphne Greengrass of Slytherin House brought up the rear.
Sitting in his lap, he could tell that Hermione was nervous.
The three witches stopped a short distance away when they noticed finally noticed Harry, hiding behind Hermione.
Seeing the impasse, he gestured to the chairs on the other side of the table and said, "Sit, friends of Hermione's are welcome."
Greengrass looked at him with a neutral expression on her face, but the three witches complied. The three witches placed their wands on the table, wand-points deliberately away from him and Hermione.
He placed both his and Hermione's wands in a similar position on the table. Greengrass's brow arched in surprise but said nothing.
Susan asked out of curiosity, "How do you know we're Hermione's friends, Harry?"
He smiled at her, and answered her, "It's one thing to be part of a study group, but it's another outside of study-time." With that, he placed Hermione onto another chair, took his wand, and went to his dorm.
About ten minutes after he got into bed, Hermione joined him, sliding her nude body up his legs and stopping a bit to perform some oral sex before resting her head upon his shoulder. They had been doing this since Harry agreed to help her with her Ritual. She thought it was a good way for him to be comfortable with her, and he thought it was a good idea to ensure she got some rest. They had set up charms and wards to prevent the other Gryffindor Wizards from finding out what they were doing.
Ron looked annoyed at Harry and asked, "Where have you been?"
A bit nervous, Harry remarked, "Hermione's seventeenth birthday is coming up..."
Ron interrupted with, "So soon? Wow... where has the time fly? Seems like it was just yesterday we were First Years." He nodded his head and finished, "In that case, I'll just keep out of the way then."
Harry could only look at his other best friend in surprise, and realize that either Ron was making some false assumptions again. Or he really did know what was going on and was giving his two friends room.
The next weeks flew by for Harry. Of course, spending most of his time with an essentially nude Hermione, who took every opportunity to performing oral sex upon him on what seemed like a semi-regular bases helped a lot. His summer activities, commandeering the Privet Drive wards, mediating and training had helped him a lot with his magic as well as providing ways to deal with his stress-levels.
He had loaned Hedwig to Hermione for her to owl her folks for the exact time of her birth. Several hours before that time, he had guided her to one of the many Ritual-Rooms within Hogwarts. It was a sign how nervous she was that she did not ask him any questions about the room or how he found it. This was good, since he, himself, was not sure how he knew.
The Ritual room had double room suite with an inner and outer rooms. The outer-room, where they entered from the hallway, was small area with a limited amount of space that only a couple of people at a time could fit into. The outer-room had upon two walls hooks and cubby-holes for clothes and such to go. Against the wall with the door to the inner-room, there was a basin of water standing for ritual washing. Hidden in a tiny alcove, farthest from the inner-room door, were special wand-holders. Once placed within, the wand was shielded from the ritual and theft. There could be no foreign magic within the Inner-Room, lest there be an imbalance or disturbance within the ritual. Foreign magic, in this case, was any magic not a part of a wizard or witch's core, such as wands, charmed clothing, enchanted objects, or even a House-Elf in the area. It was for this reason that many rituals were no longer practices because of the current heavy-dependence upon their wands.
As soon as she entered the outer-room, without hesitation, very eagerly, Hermione placed her wand into the wand-holder and quickly stripped completely naked. Since deciding on asking Harry for his help in her ritual, she had taken to wear as little as possible, so it did not take her long to undress.
Meanwhile, Harry used his wand to tap several runes that were on either side of the door before placing his wand into the holder.
Finishing that, Harry then hesitated a bit. Sure he had gotten used to a nude Hermione, even having her see his bits and touch them, but he had kept his robes on during those times. Now, he would need to change out of his school robes into a Ritual-Robe, which was nothing more than a piece of cloth cut without magic to cover himself with. The Ritual-Robe could not be touched by magic without endangering the Ritual and those performing it. His Hogwarts Robes had charms on them, for fashion and safety reasons, so he could not wear it within the Inner-Room. But he had forgotten his Ritual-Robe, and did not wishing to go back for them. Dobby could not get them, as that would contaminate with Elven magic. Squaring his shoulders, he simply disrobed and placed his clothing and all away, neatly and orderly.
He took a stun Hermione's hand and guided her into the Inner-Room.
The Inner-Room itself appeared bare, lacking any furniture of any kind. It was covered, or made, completely out of stone. No other material was visible within the room. It seemed devoid of anything else. If one looked closely however, one could see the entire walls, ceiling, and floor were covered in runes and markings. The markings were just indicators where one should stand, sit, or lay within the room, unlike the runes which were magic foci. He could see various runes were already softly glowing. The Inner-Room was well-lit, but no obvious source of light was found.
He could feel the magic that was in the room. Magic that had left over from countless rituals as well as the various magic-residues that remained from a millennium of spell-casting within the walls of Hogwarts.
He noticed that there was a large Seal of Solomon, two overlapping triangles pointed in opposite directions, forming a six-pointed star, inscribed within a circle, was upon the floor. There were markers within and without the Seal, as well as other geometric shapes and runes around and outside of the Seal. There were additional markers outside of the Seal as well.
Gently, he walked Hermione to the center of the Seal, placing her on the center-marker, and himself upon a marker where the two triangles diagonal lines met. He gently cups her chin, tilted her head so he could look into her eyes, and asked, "Are you sure about his, Hermione? Once we start..."
Whispering, Hermione intoned, "However my Lord will have this one she will be pleasing to her Lord."
He looked at her, a bit confused. It sounded like it was a part of the ritual, but not in any of the material they had covered. He gently laid her down upon the warm stone floor. The Inner-Room had been designed to perform powerful rituals within, but also be to be comfortable while doing so. He positioned her so that her wand-sheath was directly over the center of the Seal, and himself, between her legs. He then gently, lovely opened her magic-core, making sure that she got some of the pleasure out of this as he did.
He rested on his knees and hands for a moment, before getting up. He looked down and saw the wide-eye smile upon her face. He gently lowered himself to the warm stone floor and hugs her, hoping that her opening had worked as they thought it would and would not overly affect her. He gently caressed her body as he waited for her to come back to her senses. As he waited, he idly noticed his fleshy-wand was coated with their bodily-fluids and had a bright shine to it.
When she awoke, a concern Harry asked, "Are you okay, Hermione?"
"Oh, yes, my Lord," was her happy reply. "This one has never felt so wonderful before!"
"Are you ready to continue," he asked. He would prefer to relax some more, but he did not think she did.
She did not and said so. She did want lick his wand clean, but he felt that it would be best that she did not.
With a bit of effort, he got them both standing, and directed her to stand upon the right part of the bottom line of the bottom triangle of the over-laid triangles that made up the six-pointed star and was perpendicular to the door they had entered into the room from.
Hermione saw that she was off-center, but trusted Harry not to move. He smiled at her acceptance.
He, himself, walked out of the Seal and took the North marker of the cordial points that upon an outer-most circle.
He stood up straight, juices from their union dripped slowly down his fleshy wand and legs, and looked directly at his best friend. He gathered his magic and intoned the start of the Ritual, "Who comes?" Although their research had said those two words were all that was needed, he found himself forced to add, "Before the House of Potter?"
"A servant and a slave, Master," she ritually replied. "I, Hermione, first of my line, wish to serve and protect Magic, seek to establish my own House. I, born Hermione Jane Granger, to wish to build the House Granger."
He felt the built-up of magic, and it settling into Hermione, and that according to their research should have been the end of the ritual. What Family Magic they had just created would not be fully realized until her grandchildren came of Age. But he felt another magical built-up, one that was much larger than the previous one.
He could feel the magic over come him. It seemed to both pass through him and settle into him. The closest description of what he was feeling would be like the Imperius Curse, but without the foggy-feeling. Instead, he thought as if his eye-sight had improved that he could see every rune, every marker, and every irregularity within the stone. He could feel every pore, every individual hair upon Hermione's nude body, as well as the very magic within her flowing through her body.
Darkness seemed to consume him. He could not see anything. But he could still feel... and all he felt was magic. He was surrounded and consumed by magic. It was not truly darkness, the absence of light, but rather the absence of color and difference. Everything was magic. As he relaxed and took in everything, he realized in the distance there were various points of light. Each point of light was unique with different shades and hues. Among each point, there were various threads connecting them together. Each thread was a blend of color of the points of light that it connected with. It was like a multi-hue spider's web. Majestic and awesome to behold.
One of the points of light seemed to call to him. He felt himself floating towards it. The point of light seemed to examine him, somehow. After what felt like an eternity, he felt himself enter the point of light and had a feeling of acceptance. With a start he realized that the point of light he had entered was a representation of his Family Magic, which he was now fully apart of. The threads were the manifestations of the magical bonds between families, bonds of friendship, bonds of relationships, bonds of responsibilities, bonds of trust, bonds of love, bonds of rules, bonds of duty, bonds of magic, and so much more.
Each point of light was another House, all interconnected through magic and bonds. It was a tapestry of Life, and he, Harry Potter, was a part of it.
He could see and feel new connections being formed and old ones renewed, between himself and others. Only a few, like between himself and Neville Longbottom and between himself, Andromeda Tonks Nee Black, and her daughter, Nymphadora, he could recognize, and the rest, majority of the connections, he could not.
He also noticed that there were no points of light above him, and only a few on his horizon, and the rest below him. He did not think that it was a hierarchical reason for it, but somehow related to magical-buoyancy.
His thoughts did return to Hermione, and wondered where she fit within the tapestry of magic and life that he was in, and he could not find her. Concentrating a bit, he felt the bond that he had with her, and followed it to her. There, a little above the bottom of the tapestry there was a point of light that represented her, or rather the new Granger Magic that they had just made. It was but a newly-lit candle among the rest. Hermione's point only had one connection, but now that he was looking, he could see many points with no connections at all. How that was possible, or advisable, he did not know. He could feel that he could elevate Hermione's point of light a bit, which he did.
He did wonder where the House Black point of light was, but understood from his connection with the Tonks family that House Black had been absorbed by House Potter.
He did not know how much time he had spent within the tapestry, but knew that he needed to return to Hermione.
Slowly, he could see the Ritual Room once more, and he noticed that Hermione was lying unconscious upon the floor. He also realized that he, himself, was on the floor as well. He got up and picked Hermione's nude form off the floor and walked out of the Outer-Room into the Inner-Room. He used some wand-less magic to summon both his own and Hermione's wands and their robes without breaking stride.
Surprisedly, he did not encounter anyone in the hallways on his way to the Hospital Wing. He called for Madame Pomfrey as he entered, and placed Hermione down upon a bed before she came over.
"Are you alright?" Madame Pomfrey asked him upon seeing him in her domain.
"I'm fine," was his reply. "Hermione is the one that needs to be looked at." Taking a deep breath to calm and center himself, he added, "She asked me to open her and help her with her Heritage Ritual. I did, and her magic core has expanded."
While he was talking, Madame Pomfrey began to scan Hermione's body. She paused upon hearing about the Heritage Ritual and wondered, "But she's muggle-born!"
With a grin, he replied, "Family Magic has to start somewhere."
The School Healer nodded as he did have a point, and finished her scan. She commented, "You are correct, Mister Potter. Miss Granger's core is about twice its previous size. She'll need a couple of day's bed-rest, and then, with your help, a few days to adjust to changes her core has undergone."
Harry nodded his head in acknowledgement. Somehow, he expected such a diagnosis. He was a bit at a loss as to what he should do now. He knew that Hermione would be okay in the Hospital Wing, and if he stayed, he would just be in the way. But he did not want to return to his dorm alone. Something he had not been for the past couple of weeks. He had come to enjoy Hermione's almost constant presence.
While he tried to think of what he could do, Madame Pomfrey remarked with a smile, "You did a marvelous thing, opening up Miss Granger, Mister Potter."
He looked at her, a bit surprised that she was commenting on his actions.
"Don't let anyone tell you differently," she continued. "There is a world of difference between a closed-witch and an open one. Miss Granger will remember you for this, until her dying days. A Witch never forgets the Wizard that opened her. Why, I still recall my time with your Grandfather after all these years. Of course, your Grandfather was a professional."
"Professional?" Harry asked confused. She could not mean that his Grandfather, whom he did not even know his name, was a Professional Opener, did she?
"Admittedly, I'm biased, but I do believe he was the best Opener in the Western World," Madame Pomfrey answered in an off-handed manner, as if it was common knowledge. It might have been, he thought, and someone or an Order seemed to be keeping him from what was common.
He could only stare at the School Healer in wonder, and realizing that something else had been hidden from him. He did not even know where his grandparents lived, when, and how they passed on.
Misinterpreting his expression, Madame Pomfrey, "I'm sorry, Mister Potter. I forgot you were muggle-raised. A professional Opener is not like a gigolo that I've heard muggle-borns call them, they are more like a Ritual Master, Healer, and Match-Maker all roll into one."
Despite himself, Harry looked interesting, and asked, "Madame Pomfrey, Hogwarts doesn't seem to offer any Healing courses... I was worrying if, on one of my free periods, I could come to you and try to do an independent study on Healing. Would that be okay with you?"
Madame Pomfrey looked startled for a moment, quickly regains her composure, and replied, "What an excellent idea, Mister Potter! I know several books that I could recommend to get you started."
"Thank you, Madame Pomfrey," he replied.
As an off-thought, Madame Pomfrey added, "You do know that you're opening Miss Granger will be a matter of public and Ministry record." He nodded. "Given Charlus's history and profession, you will undoubtedly receive many requests for such a service... please, don't dismiss them out of hand. There are several professions that require a witch to be open to apply for them, such as Healer, and yet, there have always been only a few professional Openers around. Since Charlus's death, the few that survived went to ground... Sure, many believe that any wizard can do it, but take it from a witch that was professional opened, it's not the same."
"Thank you again, Madame Pomfrey," he said again. He got a name and a warning. As he left, he added, "Please inform Professor McGonagall that Hermione will be excused from classes this week."
Madame Pomfrey smiled and responded back, "Of course, my Lord." She then whispered to herself, "Charlus would be proud of you."
It felt weird being in Transfiguration class without Hermione. Not that she was missing anything. They both had gotten several months ahead of the class, which was not very hard to do as Professor McGonagall followed the Ministry Teaching Guidelines of setting the class pace to ensure no student got left behind. All but three students had a good grasp of the material, but still those three could not perform the required spell-work, so the class, as a whole, was still on the same material for the past several weeks.
It did not make for an enjoyable class.
"Where is Miss Granger, Mister Potter?" Professor McGonagall demanded of him. She seemed to have taken it as a personal affront that her favorite student was missing that day. A day that Professor McGonagall seemed to imply would make or break Hermione's entire Hogwarts education.
Harry was a bit surprised but responded calmly, "Didn't Madame Pomfrey tell you? She said she would."
The classroom silenced much to his annoyance.
Professor McGonagall made a dismissing gesture, showing she did not believe what she was told, and remarked, "Some non-sense about a magical-overload from an Inheritance Ritual. Miss Granger is muggle-born. Even if Miss Granger wasted her time on such non-sense, there wouldna have been anything for her there."
He could only stare, but calmly stated that he had helped Hermione with her Ritual, as well as, having opened her as well, which had accumulated in her magic-core doubling.
For some unknown reason, Professor McGonagall seemed to think he was talking non-sense and lying to her. What little she seems to know of the Witch-Opening and Heritage Ritual was not in keeping with Hermione and his research.
He did not know what was going on, but he would not stand for it any more. He got out of chair, walked over towards the Professor, and stopped a few steps from her. He did not see how his eyes were blazing jade-fires, nor how his Hogwarts Student Robes were replaced by the House Potter Battle Robes, which were enchanted robes made from various magical creatures' hides with runes engraved throughout. He did not know his magic created a palatable aura of power, authority, and magic around him. Rumors of his being the Dark Lord's prophesied counterpart, which had been taken as speculation until now, were going to be taken as fact from that point on.
When he spoke, he spoke with the Voice of the Potters. His voice was joined by his father's, and his father's, and so on. A thousand generations of Potter's voices were lent to his as he said, "Enough!"
Minerva McGonagall instantly fell silent. She could only stare at the young Lord Potter and tremble. The cat part of her, which allowed her to become an animagus, wanted to flee, but her stubborn pride would not allow that.
Unknowingly using the Voice of Potter, Harry explained how Hermione pointed at that Family Magic had to start somewhere, and how she was going to start her own Family Magic, and various tasks that went into that. He pointed out how Hogwarts should have a course or three on such forward thinking, and encourage the various younger Houses and House-less to help improve their world.
Professor McGonagall made the mistake of trying to quote the Ministry stance on Rituals and such, but Harry cut her off.
He proceeded to belittle all those failures he felt McGonagall had made during his Hogwarts years, as Head of Gryffindor House and Deputy Headmistress. He also threw in how unGryffindor she was to toe the Ministry line for Transfiguration education.
He had just started on his fourth year, when Minerva McGonagall could not take any more. To the students, it seemed that she apparationed out of the classroom, when in fact, she assumed her cat-form and ran out.
No, Harry did not know if her tail was between her legs or not. Nor at the moment, did he care. He did look over his fellow class-mates, and was not happy.
Before he could say anything, everyone ran out of the room.
In his regular voice, he called after them, "cowards!" With that he sat down and cried.
No one had seen Potter since Transfiguration class yesterday, so many were surprised when he showed up for lunch the next day in the Great Hall.
A hush fell over the Great Hall as the students and faculty as they saw him. Some wondered if he would still be dressed for battle or if he would turn those Avada Kedavra eyes of his upon them.
He just ignored them all and sat down at the end of the Gryffindor House table, put some food upon his plate and ate some lunch.
Just when things were turning to normal, the entrance doors burst open and several people marched into the Great Hall. At the lead of the party was Dolores Umbridge with several Ministry Aurors with her.
"Hem, hem," Dolores Umbridge began as she headed towards where Harry sat. "You've done it now, boy! Disrupting the natural order of things!"
Slowly Harry stood up, just looked down at her with contempt clearly upon his face and calmly asked, "Natural order of things?"
Three of the four Aurors drew their wands and were standing around very nervous. The fourth had a smirk on her face equal to that of Harry's. Her hands were empty, she slowly went to her partners and whispered into their ears. After which, each Auror lowered their wand and relaxed.
"Taking part in a non Ministry-approved Heritage Ritual," Umbridge stated. She added, "With a useless mudblood of all things!"
Harry grinned and calmly quoted, "Ministry approved?"
Not understanding the situation she found herself in, Umbridge thinking she had finally gotten through to Potter stated, "Yes, everything deals with Magic has to be approved by the Ministry for Magic. It's what the Ministry is for! Non-Ministry civilians can't possibly..." She continued on explaining the glory of the Ministry for Magic.
"Dolores Umbridge, you are telling me that the Ministry has to approve Heritage Rituals and what Houses do?" Harry asked softly. The grin was replaced with a calm expression that sent chills down those that had to deal with him on a semi-regular bases.
"Of course," Umbridge remarked as if to a small child.
Harry nodded his head, to which Umbridge began to recite the glories and majesty of the Ministry for Magic feeling she had won.
Harry ritually intoned, "Nameless One! For daring to interfere in the matter of the Houses, I call Judgment upon you!"
The on-lookers could only gasps. Even those that did not understand what was about to occurs were scared.
A Seal of Solomon appeared several feet above Umbridge's head, and another Seal appeared below her feet.
Everyone, including Harry, could only stare open-mouthed as the above Seal shattered, a large foot came crashing down and stumped Umbridge into the below Seal. Voices of young children cried out the various heinous crimes she had committed against them. The marks of the blood-quill that Umbridge had made several students use, glowed and vanished in a puff of smoke that followed Umbridge down. The giant foot was replaced by a hand, which replaced the bottom Seal, set a rolled-up parchment upon the wall before Harry, and the retracted sealing the top Seal complete. The two, now fully restored, Seals vanished as if they never existed.
He picked up the roll, knowing it would contain a list of all the crimes that Umbitch had committed and read it aloud, using the Voice of Potter. The disgust and contempt that such a vile, petty person had been allowed into such a high-office without any restrain or check was clearly heard.
"For such high-treason against the innocent and Magic itself," Lord Potter declared formally. "She-Who-Shall-No-Longer-Be-Named shall be removed from the Book of Witches."
Upon completion of the reading of Judgment scroll, the scroll duplicated itself, and he handed the duplicate scroll to the female Auror and instructed, "You shall hand deliver this scroll to Auror Bones." Several at the Hufflepuff House table muttered a bit angrily about the lack of proper address towards Madame Amelia Bones, Director of the Ministry for Magic's Magical Law Enforcement department. He ignored it and continued with, "The two of you are to then witness its archiving, Auror Whitney."
"So be it, my Lord," Auror Whitney formally replied. There was a flash of magic, signifying the acceptance of the ritual instructions and an oath to fulfill them. With that, she and the other Auror left the Great Hall to return to the Ministry.
Not liking the looks he was getting, he headed to the kitchen to finish his lunch.
Upon arriving, all the House-Elves stopped what they were doing and asked him how they could serve him. It was typical House-Elf behavior, which he had just accepted as "that's how it is". He knew that was not right. He also knew that he had a bond with Dobby, and as he explored it a bit, and seemingly a bond with House Elves in general.
He took the opportunity having so many House-Elves, with very little to do at the moment, to ask them about their lives, their histories, their magic, and their interactions with Wizards. It was alien and yet wondrous experience for him.
Harry knew it was Neville before he had said anything so he did not react more than making an acknowledgement sound to Neville's statement of "I'd thought I'd find you here."
Here was the Room of Requirements. He had thought he had set the Room not to admit anyone else in, but obviously that was not the case. The Room was set similar to the Gryffindor Common Room, with but a few differences. Those were the lack of other Grffindors; the color theme was more subdue with calming with shades of blue and silver mixed with softer shades of red and color; and the room itself appeared to be smaller, yet spacious, giving the room a cozy feel to it.
He was not sure what he was going to say to Neville when he turned around to face him, as his mind can to a halt upon seeing him.
Neville Longbottom was wearing formal robes, Harry knew that from the expensive look and fit of the robes, along with the various patches upon the robes that meant something to the Longbottoms, but not much to him. In addition to the formal robes, Neville was also down on one knee, his head bowed in submission.
A sense of worry and confusion settled over Harry. It grew as Neville said, "Harry... Lord Potter. All that I am, is because of you. Every Lord needs vassals... I..."
Harry tried to counter with, "You did all the work. We all need help from time to time."
Neville was blushing but determining to continue. He related a few tales of how back in their fourth and fifth year, several of then Seventh Year witches had tried to trick the Longbottom Heir into opening them or binding him to them. All very close calls whereas they had only failed because the witch reconsidered their choice of him as he was perceived to be a squib or Harry's unknowingly pulling him out of a situation to help him with something.
Harry did make a few connections. He did know that several of the older Gryffindors had been disappointed with Neville, and would from time to time, pick on him. He had, then, assumed it was much like Dudley picking on him or those that tried to befriend him. He had response as such. But it was only now, as Neville pointed it out, recalling Hermione's warning and research, that he realized that he and those older witches were having two somewhat different conversations.
"You do realize what you're asking me," Harry had to ask, trying to express that he did not want this.
"Please, Harry," Neville responded.
"But, it's too much," Harry answered. "You're basically asking to become a slave... Vassal... not much difference.
"You'd be completely under my control, Neville. I would control all aspects of your life: whether you can perform magic or not, who'd you marry or not, whether you have children and how many, and even who'd you be aroused by."
"Whatever my Lord wishes, I will do," Neville formally stated.
"As you may or may not know, Neville," Harry continued, ignoring a bit Neville's statement. "I am also the Head of House Black, or rather House Potter will be absorbing House Black. Anyway... both the Lestrange and Malfoy contracts are in question. If you're one of my vassals, Neville, there is a chance that I might have to marry you off to Bellatrix." Harry looked pointedly at Neville, hoping he would come to his senses.
Neville swallowed nervously, but formally intoned, "Whatever my Lord requires, I will do."
Neville recited his Oath of Loyalty and Obedience, to which Harry replied and tapped his wand against Neville's forehead, heart and groin.
There was a flash of light that temporarily blinded Harry. When his vision cleared, Neville was standing upright with a smile upon his face. A weight seemed to have lifted from Neville's shoulders. Formally, he said, "Thank you, my Lord."
Harry could not help looking over Hermione as she laid in the hospital bed. While her body was adjusting to her new magic-levels, her body had been adjusted as well. She had a health body to start with, having taken care of herself, more so then her fellow witches, but now, she looked stunning. Her shape was more hour-glass, with fuller, heavier breasts, and tone-up body. She was a few inches taller.
He reached down and took her hand in his and said, "Welcome back, Hermione."
"Did it work?" she asked worriedly, as she laid in bed.
He pulled her out of her bed and snuggled her into his arms. "It seemed to," was his response. "Of course, we won't know completely until your grandchildren come of age."
Hermione just hugged him, gave him a kiss and replied, "Thank you, my Lord." A thought seem to strike her and made her sad. She looked down at her feet.
He cupped her chin with his right hand, tilted her head up and asked, "What's wrong?"
"I won't... We don't... There isn't any more reason to," she began, bit embarrassed. She had enjoyed being naked for him and performing oral sex, but did not wish to say it out-loud, least she scare him.
Not fully understanding, but trying to assure her, he remarked, "As your Opener, it's my duty to ensure you're ready for a magical marriage and that that entails."
"Oh?" she prompted hopefully.
"I've opened a new world for you," he said. "Of course, I should prepare you for it as well."
He knew he would find her there.
There was the Hogwarts Library, an enlarged alcove with a table and chairs. A nice, out of the way, place for a group of students to study. Around the table were nine Ravenclaws, of whom he only recognized Padme and Luna, six Hufflepuffs, of those he recognized only Susan and Hannah, and Daphne Greengrass, Tracey Davis, and Blaise Zabini, the Three Sirens of Slytherin he had heard the three Slytherin Witches called. At the head of the table was Hermione Granger, the only Gryffindor there. They were either in his year, the year above and the year below. Majority at the table were witches, with only three wizards there, two Ravenclaws and one Hufflepuff. All three wizards were muggle-borns.
He listened as they discussed the previous day school-work, and various magical theories. It was quite interesting, but Hermione needed her rest more.
Of course, Hermione did not think of it that way. In fact, she was so busy discussing various Transfiguration theories with Padme Patil that neither witch noticed him, nor the silence that descended upon the table with his approach. He stopped behind Hermione and gently called out her name to get her attention. As he was not getting her attention, he called her name a little louder each time.
The other witches thought it was cute, but Harry was getting annoyed. He was getting close to shouting, but did not wish to. So he just lifted Hermione out of her chair and over his shoulder.
To the surprised witches, Harry just said, "Ladies," and departed with Hermione over his shoulder.
Each of the witches just looked each other not quite believing what they just saw. From a distance they could hear Hermione say, "Put me down! Put me down now!" There was a pause, during which they assumed Harry had replied, which was followed, "I'm sorry, my Lord. Please, don't. I'm sorry."
The witches were, of course, concern for their study-partner and semi-friend, but more curious as to what Hermione had done wrong and how Potter had punished her.
Notes: