Chapter Twenty Two - Dogs and Goats

Disclaimer: The Harry Potter universe belongs to the proverbial Duchess of Magic, JK Rowling, Scholastic, Bloomsbury, Warner Bros and some other high falutin' companies. No matter how much I whine about not owning anything related to the HP universe, other than a few fanfic plots, I do not profess to own - and would never dream of making any money off - JKR's wonderful world... Damn it!

Chapter Twenty Two - Dogs and Goats

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The final breakfast before the trip to the train station on Sunday, the 3rd of January, also included the Grangers and Sirius adding the final touches to their own packing; as they, too, were leaving the Farm. The Grangers were returning to their home and dental practice in Crawley; and Sirius was returning to the Black House in London.

However, there was none of the utter chaos Harry and Hermione witnessed at the Burrow when the Weasleys packed to return to the castle; especially, the end of last summer. Here, everyone was well finished packing before they even sat for breakfast.

Sirius volunteered to take the three to Kings Cross, so the three bid their goodbyes to family at the Farm at about 10.30am. Then, together, they travelled by Floo through to the Floo point on the platform. That a Floo point existed on the platform was yet another check mark against the Weasleys and their method of travel to the station.

Again, the ride back to the castle on the Express was quiet and quite peaceful without the usual rude visit by Malfoy and his minions.

As they rode the carriages back to the castle, looking at it, Harry sighed and said, "Once more unto the breach, dear friends; once more."

"Shakespeare. Apt," replied Daphne, somewhat distracted and also looking to the castle.

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Surprised, Harry was shocked to discover Dumbledore wasn't waiting in the Entrance Hall for the three, especially Harry, to arrive back in the castle. So, they simply headed directly to the Ravenclaw table. Luna had 'reserved' their seats for them opposite.

"You had a good Christmas," she said, by way of greeting. "I'm glad."

Harry grinned back and said, "You know, you're supposed to ask if we had a good Christmas; not just tell us we did."

With her own grin affixed to her face, she said, "I know. But, it's more fun this way."

Chuckling, Harry asked, "And how was your Christmas, Luna? No troubles with the fairies hiding your stuff, I hope?"

"Oh, no," she replied. "They've been behaving themselves. I think it's because they've been busy performing their roles as Christmas decorations."

"I'm sure," he softly replied.

With those who departed for Christmas now returned and seated, Dumbledore stood and welcomed everyone back, before immediately calling for the feast.

At the end of the meal, he again stood and reminded all that classes recommenced on the morrow, and that they should make an early night of it.

The three walked with Luna back to the Ravenclaw corridor before wishing her a goodnight and walking the short distance to their apartment.

Stepping in, the girls immediately drew their wands and began casting detection charms about the place. Barely a few moments later, Hermione drew everyone's attention and put her finger to her lips in the gesture of be quiet. Then she pointed to the coffee table and caused it to glow for a moment.

Though the three were now quite angry, even Harry joined in with scanning everything.

They discovered listening and monitoring charms in every room except the ensuites. Once the search was complete, the three stepped back out into the outside passage and also scanned the surrounding area. There was another affixed to the wall next to the alcove that held Professor Whittaker. So, they stepped even further away.

Casting a privacy shield about themselves, Hermione was first to speak. "That manipulative old... so-and-so! How dare he!"

Though angry, Daphne was also amused by the vehemency in Hermione's voice and expression. "Well, what do we do with them?" she asked.

"Alright," Harry began. "Clearly, the one outside the alcove is so he can hear the password. Can we cause that one to have him hear nonsense words... no... swear words... used as the password?"

Amused, Daphne replied, "I like your thinking. And, yes, that shouldn't be too hard to do. What next?"

"Well," muttered Hermione. "If we're going to do something like that, rather than just get rid of them, how about we have the one on the coffee table change what we say to... plans for murdering the staff in their sleep? We can discuss ways to bypass their wards to get to them."

Harry laughed while Daphne snickered.

"I like it," he said. "How about the one in one of your rooms be a recording of singing... Henry the Eighth and have it on loop?"

"That's... evil!" gasped Hermione. "I want that in my room."

"Henry the Eighth?" asked Daphne, not having heard it before.

Hermione sung it once through for her and said, "Then you put it on loop; that is, have it repeat over and over again without end. It's the sort of little ditty that gets into your head and you can't shift it."

Daphne laughed out loud. "You're right," she laughed. "That is evil."

While the three laughed about it for a few moments, Daphne then said, "How about the sound of an annoying mosquito buzzing around for my room?"

Again the three laughed. "Brilliant!" said a gleeful Harry. "Now comes the big one. My room."

They thought about it for a little while before Hermione blushed and said, "Well... he obviously knows what goes on in there..."

"Yes?" asked Daphne.

"How about we let him hear just that... a lot... and loudly," she blushed even more.

Harry guffawed and had to bend at the waist he was laughing so hard. "No, no!" he gasped. "Not what we're doing. That is, what we're doing; but, so much more!"

"You mean, make it sound like a full on debauched orgy?" asked a shocked Hermione.

Harry could only nod back trying not to laugh again. His face had turned red and his eyes were twinkling with unshed tears.

Both girls were also blushing away. Daphne said, "I don't think I can set something like that up. I mean, I can... I just... it's too embarrassing."

"How about we ask the red-haired devil twins do it for us?" asked Harry.

"The Weasleys?" asked Daphne, surprised. While Harry nodded, she thought about it before saying, "Yes, I can see that. But, we set your room back up with a single bed before we let them in. I don't want to give them things to talk about, about us."

"Alright, I agree," said Harry. "So, how about we just muffle it for tonight and ask them to do it tomorrow?"

"Agreed," replied Hermione, while Daphne nodded.

"As for the other four," Daphne said, "I think we can get them all done before we go to bed."

"Let's get started," said Hermione, agreeing. "Oh, and we're going to need a new password for Professor Whittaker. Dumbledore would have heard and recorded it when we first entered, tonight."

As they were about to head back to start on their pranks, Hermione stopped them. "Hang on a second," she suddenly said.

When she knew she had their attention, she said, "I think Dumbledore placed that listening charm outside the alcove before we left for the Christmas break. That's how he learned of the password to get in. Plus, I think we need to question Professor Whittaker of who else has been in and possibly when.

"I'm going to put a muffle on the listening charm outside first," she explained. "We need to chat with the good Professor as to who's been inside."

Surprised, Daphne replied, "That's very Slytherin of you, Hermione. I approve."

"Right then," said Harry as Hermione blushed a little at the praise. "Let's do this."

When they returned to the alcove, Hermione immediately cast a muffling charm over the existing listening charm.

"Done!" she said.

Looking to the statue, Harry asked, "Professor, has Headmaster Dumbledore been in our rooms since we left for Christmas break?"

The statue appeared to think for a moment before it said, "The castle answers directly to the Headmaster. If he gives us orders, we must obey them."

"Ah!" said Harry. "In that case, we must assume he gave you orders not to tell us what he was up to. However, did he give you orders to tell us what he wasn't up to?"

The statue smiled before it replied, "No."

"Then we need to ask him questions based on what he wasn't up to," said Hermione, understanding.

Nodding, Harry asked, "Professor, did the Headmaster enter more often than once?"

"No," replied the statue, clearly amused.

"Did the Headmaster enter after Christmas?" asked Daphne, understanding what Harry and Hermione were up to.

"No," replied the statue.

"He didn't muck about waiting to set them up, did he?" Harry mused.

"Did the Headmaster enter accompanied by a member of staff?" asked Hermione.

The statue didn't respond.

"Hmmm..." said Harry. "Excluding speaking about the Headmaster... and Professor Snape, has any staff member been in our apartments since we left for Christmas break?"

"No."

"So he entered with Professor Snape... Wait!" said Daphne. "Has Professor Snape been in our apartment unaccompanied by the Headmaster?"

"Yes."

"Nosy wanker," fumed Harry. Neither of his bondmates berated him for his language.

"So, Dumbledore has only ordered the castle not tell anyone what he's been up to; not what the rest of the staff has been up to," said Daphne. "We can use that."

"Any other questions we want to ask?" asked Harry.

"Yes," replied Hermione. "Professor, even though we have a password to allow us or those we give it to, to enter, can the Headmaster simply order you to let him in?"

"No," replied the statue. "He cannot order me to let him in as the apartments are considered private. However, I must let him and anyone else in if he or they gives the password. The same applies to the guardians of the other apartments. However, for the common rooms of the four Houses, both the Headmaster and his Deputy have automatic access. And the four Heads of the Houses also have automatic access to each of their Houses' common rooms."

"Good to know," said Daphne.

"Right, then," said Harry. "We need a new password for the Professor, here."

"This time I have no problem if the password is 'manipulative old fool'," said Hermione.

"Agreed," added Daphne.

"'Manipulative old fool', it is then," declared Harry.

To the Professor, he said, "Change of password, Professor."

"Old password?" asked the statue.

"Double-H Dee," replied Harry.

"New password?"

"Manipulative old fool," replied Harry.

"Password change accepted," the statue stated.

"Brilliant," said Harry. Turning to his bondmates he said, "Alright, who's going to put the swear word charm on the listening charm?"

"I will," replied Daphne, before she turned to Hermione. "Could you remove the muffling charm, love?"

Hermione nodded and quickly removed her charm. And Daphne stepped forward and applied hers.

"Done," she said. "I'll use a similar charm for the one in the living room as soon as we step inside."

She then turned to look at the Professor and said, "The Headmaster's a manipulative old fool, Professor."

The statue smiled and immediately turned out of the way. "That he is," he murmured.

The three bondmates entered and closed the door behind them. Daphne immediately went to the coffee table and, after discovering the one Hermione had found, cast the almost identical charm on the one, there.

Indicating with hand gestures, she then led the other two into Hermione's room and closed the door. Hermione went to the foot of her bed and indicated the whole footboard.

With another quick quiet gesture, she started to cast at the footboard. Suddenly, she stopped and, in a loud and clear voice, sang the ditty Henry the Eighth. As soon as she'd finished, she cast again.

"Alright," she said. "That was a recording charm I used over the top of the listening charm, and charmed it to continually play back the recording. Then I used a silencing ward to lock them together. He can now no longer hear anything in here but me singing that silly song."

"Now for the mosquito," said Daphne.

She pulled a loose thread from the inside hem of her robes and transfigured it into a mosquito. Then hit it with the Imperius curse. "If you can use that same recording charm, Hermione, I'll have this little thing fly around near the listening charm in my room. It's the knob on the left top most drawer of my vanity, by the way."

"I can do that," replied Hermione.

Harry then went ahead and opened the door back out into their living room, before then walking over and opening the door to Daphne's room. He held the door open as Daphne forced the little insect to fly into her room.

Standing back a bit to give Hermione room, she then caused the mosquito to fly around, in and out, near the indicated knob. Hermione allowed it to fly around a fair bit between when she cast the start of the charm, and ended it before nodding to Daphne.

Daphne forced the mosquito away and Hermione cast the silencing ward over the knob while Daphne ended the transfiguration on the mosquito, returning it to a single piece of thread, which dropped to the floor.

"That's going to drive the old coot barmy," chuckled Harry.

"Alright," said Daphne. "I'm just going to cast a silencing ward over the one in Harry's room. Then I think we should rescan."

"Agreed," replied Hermione.

After blocking the charm in Harry's room they found others on effects in Harry's trunk.

A quick duck back into the living room for a mini-conference and Harry said, "How'd he manage that?"

"The house elves," replied Daphne, angrily. "He intercepted the trunks being brought from the train to the castle and applied them then."

"Well, we're not going to play with those ones," sighed Harry. Turning slightly, he called, "Dobby! Winky!"

Immediately, the little house elves popped in. "Yes, Master Harry?"

"Hello, my little friends. Here's what I want you to do," he said before explaining the existing charms around their apartment.

"Now, besides those, the Headmaster clearly had one or more of the castle's house elves bring him our trunks before they were sent to here. There are tracking and listening charms all through our personal effects. Please, strip them away."

"Yes, Master Harry," replied the elves before popping away.

"Let's give them a few moments to sort that all out before we go to bed," said Hermione.

"There's something I wanted to talk about before we went to bed, anyway," said Daphne with a rush before blushing a little.

"Sure," said Harry. "About what?"

Daphne and Hermione looked at each other for a few moments before Daphne turned back to Harry. Taking a deep breath she quietly said, "I think... no. I know... I'm... we're," she said indicating her and Hermione, "... ready to finalise the bonds."

Surprised, Harry looked from Daphne to Hermione and back again. "You're sure?" he asked.

"Yes," they firmly replied.

Thinking a bit, he asked, "Do you want to do this individually... or together?"

"Together," replied Daphne. "I think... if you don't mind, that is... I think I want Hermione to be there when I... finalise the bond with you. If that's alright?"

"I expected you would want to," Harry replied with a gentle smile. "And, of course, it's alright with me. We've done everything else when the three of us have been together; I pretty much expected you'd want to do this together, too."

Letting out a sigh of relief, she quietly said, "Thank you."

"There's nothing to thank me for," he replied, stepping forward to give her a hug. "Now, is it alright with Hermione?"

"Yes," replied Hermione, stepping in to make it a three-way hug. "Daphne and I have already discussed this. It's what we both want. Besides, we want you to be there when we two finalise our part of the bond."

Nodding in his arms, Daphne said, "I think it would weird me out, if you weren't."

"So, you want to finalise the three aspects all together, on the same night?" he asked them.

"Yes," they both replied.

"But, not tonight," sighed Hermione. "It's late. I think we should plan to do this on Friday night. That way we have the whole weekend to recover."

"Good," said Daphne. "I think I need the time to make sure I'm going to be ready."

"And, Daphne?" said Harry. "If you discover between now and then you feel you're not ready. Tell us! It doesn't have to be this Friday night, yeah?"

Nodding, Daphne replied, "Thank you. But, I don't think I'll be changing my mind. I don't want to change my mind."

"The option to do so is still open to you; to both of you," Harry firmly said.

A few minutes later, the three headed to bed. Harry had to re-enlarge it as the initial charm to widen it had worn off while they'd been away. Or might have been stripped off by Dumbledore or Snape.

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Classes recommenced the next morning and the three were quickly back into routine. Harry kept a close eye on Daphne to make sure she wasn't getting stressed about the coming Friday evening. Since the night of their return they hadn't spoken of it since.

Amusing all three, and Luna as they'd let her know of the listening charms Dumbledore had put throughout their apartment, the Headmaster appeared a little... frazzled after only a couple of days. It appeared clear to them the old fool had been checking his charms.

They hadn't approached the Weasley twins until the Tuesday morning as they used the Monday evening to go to the rune circle in the Room of Requirement and destroy the soul pieces and charms on the locket horcrux. Checking, the Cup was already stripped of all charms except the ancient ones placed on it by Hufflepuff herself.

"That now leaves just the ring and Nagini," Harry was pleased to state, once they were done. The two ex-horcruxes then went back into the hidden compartment in Harry's trunk he'd had installed.

When they let the two know what the Headmaster had been up to they were both horrified with the old fool's actions, and eager to begin to use them to prank him. So, immediately after dinner that night, the twins ducked up to their apartment and discussed how they were going to do it.

"You want to add what?" Hermione asked, horrified with one of their ideas.

"A goat and a dog," Fred, or George, smugly replied.

"It'll blow his mind!" added the other.

"Well," said Daphne, "Do what you want, so long as I don't have to hear it."

"Easy," said George. "That idea of wrapping the charms together in a silencing ward is brilliant."

Once they'd decided what they were going to do, the twins quickly set to work. Even after knowing them for as long as he had, through both timelines, Harry was still amazed with how they could easily work with one another without even talking.

Finally, both stood back and gestured to Hermione to step forward while miming sticking their fingers in their ears and singing.

With a grin of her own at their antics, she stepped forward and cast the same enshrouding silencing ward over the spot to which the listening charm was affixed. Stepping back, she firmly said, "Done!"

"I wish we could see what was going on in the Headmaster's office," mused Fred, or George.

"If he's attending to his charm he'll be looking horrified about now," snickered George.

"You know he's never going to believe it, don't you?" asked Hermione.

"Oh, that's where the beauty of what we've done comes in," said George as both boys looked quite smug.

"Why? What else did you do?" asked Harry.

"We added a sort of compulsion charm to the listening charm," said George.

"We weaved the compulsion into the original charm," said Fred.

"So, the longer he listens to it..." said George

"The more he'll want to listen to it!" exclaimed Fred.

"And he won't be able to talk to anyone about what he hears, either," crowed George.

"That's..." began Daphne, shocked, before she gave both a quite pointed look. "How is it you two never ended up in Slytherin?"

"Oh, that's easy," replied Fred.

"We told the hat to put us in Gryffindor," added George.

"Threatened to burn it if it didn't, we did," said Fred.

As the five returned to the living room, Fred/George asked, "So, what did you do with the other listening charms?"

"We found one in the alcove just outside the door that Hermione figured out must've gone up before we left on the Express for the ride home at Christmas," replied Harry. "She figured, and we agree, that he must've used that to hear the password given to the statue of Professor Whittaker.

"Then, when we left on the Express, he quickly used the password to get in. That's when he cast the charms throughout the rooms in here."

"That charm was overlaid with a gobbledegook charm to change what was said into nonsense swear words for the listening charm," explained Daphne.

"The one on the coffee table, here," she explained, indicating the table between them, "Changes what is said by whoever is in the room at the time, to be whoever is in the room planning the imminent murder of various members of staff."

Unabashedly turning and grinning at one another for a moment, they both turned back and chorused, "That's brilliant!"

"Is it doing that now?" asked Fred.

Daphne smirked and nodded.

"What else?" asked George, eager to hear more.

"The one in my room has me singing a muggle ditty called Henry the Eighth," explained Hermione. "It has the sort of tempo and tune that gets into your head and won't leave. It makes you want to sing it yourself."

"It has a compulsion charm attached to it?" asked one of the twins, thinking their idea was unique.

"No," laughed Harry. "It's just the sort of tune that makes you want to sing along with it. No magic involved."

"Overlaid on that, and binding both charms together, is a silencing ward just like I cast in Harry's room," continued Hermione. "That way he won't hear anything but the ditty. I really don't want him to know what I'm up to in my room, thank you very much."

"And the one in Miss Greengrass's room?" asked one.

"Similar," explained Daphne. "Same idea, but it's the sound of a rather annoying mosquito buzzing in your ear."

Both boys almost winced. Living, as they were, very close to a creek, they were well accustomed to the sound of annoying mosquitoes."

"E-vil!" exclaimed one of the twins.

The twins hung about for a little while longer before they took their leave. Just as they were about to walk out the door, one turned back and said, "The Headmaster's going to probably try to fix his little monitors and listening charms. George and I'll see if we can come up with other ideas to tamper with them."

"It sounds like, if you can figure out how to enchant something to do it, there's a prank product or two in there somewhere," offered Harry.

Both twins grinned back before one said, "A great idea, there, Harrikins!"

The other added, "Yes. Thank you for the idea."

After the door had closed behind the twins, Hermione accused, "You know what you just did there, don't you?"

"Yes," replied Harry. "Set them on the path to invent anti-eavesdropping devices. That'll be something to go hand-in-hand with their Extendable Ears."

"Extendable Ears?" asked Daphne, amused.

"The twins have... or, soon will... invent a product that looks like a human ear on the end of a long piece of string," explained Hermione. "They place the ear where they want to listen in on something, even through silencing wards, and stick the little knob on the other end of the string in their ear. They'll then hear everything as if they were where the ear is."

"What's the range?" asked Daphne, quite curious.

"No idea," replied Harry. "I know it's the length of the string that determines the range; but, I have no idea how long they can make the string. We know the ear will not go through an existing sealing ward, but we think it'll still work if the ear is in place before the ward goes up."

"Do you know if a Notice-me-not charm will work on them?" she asked.

Harry and Hermione looked at her before replying. "No idea," replied Hermione, while Harry shook his head.

"Think about what you can do with them if a notice-me-not charm can be placed on them; with a long enough piece of string," explained Daphne. "You can hang one in Dumbledore's office directly above his desk with the string hanging down to somewhere where you can listen in.

"Or, you can still do that, but maybe you can place a listening charm on the knob end of the string; and listen in from somewhere else."

Harry and Hermione, again, looked at one another before Harry said, "I think we need to talk to the twins again."

Turning to look at him, Hermione asked, "Harry, are you going to fund the twins for their shop again?"

"Yeah," he replied. "Their store was... will be... brilliant! I definitely didn't lose anything by funding them. Actually, I'm pretty sure I turned a decent profit."

"You don't know?" asked Daphne.

Shaking his head, Harry replied, "I was a little busy attending sixth year, getting tortured by Snape under the pretence of Occlumency lessons and hunting horcruxes while the store was operational. I only know it was turning a good profit from what I saw of the store in operation. Plus what the twins told me."

"But surely, your..." she began before halting. "No. You wouldn't have been receiving your bank statements, or hearing anything else from your Account Manager."

"Exactly," affirmed Harry.

"The twins developed quite a good range of products that aided the aurors, last time through," said Hermione. "Those Shield Hats were one such product. However, the Death Eaters also made use of some of their products, such as the Peruvian Darkness Powder."

"Yeah," said Harry. "Maybe, this time, we can voice our 'concerns' about Death Eaters getting hold of their products and see if something can be done to stop that; or, at least, greatly reduce it."

"I was always surprised those two created such a good business," said Daphne. "After all, word has it they're below average students."

Harry grinned and said, "They're fudging their assignments and exams."

"They're what?" asked a dismayed Hermione. Clearly, she didn't know they were doing that.

"They're deliberately downplaying just how brilliant they are by turning in average assignments and doing poorly in exams," replied Harry.

Dismayed that anyone would do such a thing, Hermione gasped, "But, why?"

"Because, if they do well, their mother would force them to take jobs within the Ministry," he explained. "By doing poorly... or just seeming to do poorly... with their schooling, they make themselves pretty much unemployable for the Ministry. So, when they want to open their shop, they believe their mother will not put up such a stink."

"Just how good are they really?" asked Daphne.

"Just about every prank they've come up with since about second year has included potions and spells they've invented," he explained. "That's second years, inventing potions and spells. Lately, they've also been inventing rune-based pranks and products. Shield Hats, Extendable Ears, and such; that involves enchanting with permanency. There's your evidence of just how brilliant those two really are."

Hermione sat back and looked a little upset. "Why didn't I see that?"

"Because they're also brilliant at hiding what they're doing," replied Harry, trying to soothe Hermione's distress. "If you can figure out what they're doing, then so can one or more of the staff. That would then lead to letters going home to their mother."

"And how did you figure it out," Hermione grumped. "Did they tell you?"

"Because I used to do the same thing; both in muggle school so I wouldn't get better marks than Dudley, and here so I wouldn't look like such a swot to Ron."

"And yet you let me," she grumped.

"I'm sorry, Hermione love. But, those loyalty potions I was getting dosed with..." he began.

Hermione looked horrified for a moment before she almost leapt into Harry's lap. "Oh, God, Harry! I'm sorry! I forgot!"

Giving them a moment, Daphne asked, "So, does this mean we can see a vast improvement in your scores, now?"

"It does," he firmly replied with a grin.

Hermione used the opportunity to give him a kiss on his cheek before hopping off.

"Thinking further about it, I think we should share the secret of the Room of Requirement with them," he suggested.

"Give them somewhere to develop their products?" asked Daphne.

"Yep," he nodded. "Plus, I think it's time for them to be properly introduced to the last two original Marauders, Padfoot and Moony."

Having been told about the Marauders by Sirius while he was sharing anecdotes about Harry's father, Daphne snorted and said, "Give them ideas and ammunition for further pranks?"

"Yes," agreed Harry. "However, I'm more interested in Sirius and Remus giving them more ideas for products.

"I think it's Moony who kept their pranking journals. But, I also seem to remember Padfoot also has a few notes. That way, I can start our partnership with the twins by coming to them, not just with the one thousand galleons prize money, but with an introduction to the original Marauders and their depth of knowledge."

"I want to read those journals first," Daphne said, quite firmly.

"Me too!" said Hermione.

"Gemino," said Harry, reminding them of the copying charm.

"No, I just want to make sure there's nothing in them that Slytherins consider secrets; or, can only be used against Slytherins," corrected Daphne.

"Fair enough," nodded Harry.

"And I think that's enough time spent discussing the twins," Hermione firmly stated. "We've got assignments to write."

Harry turned to Daphne and smirked, "Slave driver, she is."

But, the homework was pulled out and worked upon.

After they'd checked out Harry's improved knowledge of Ancient Runes - something he'd worked hard upon during the Christmas break when they had quiet times - Harry was rewarded by both his fiancées that night in bed.

_‗_

—==(oIo)==—

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The next morning, the three bondmates were early down to the Great Hall for breakfast, and were amused to watch the Headmaster enter, appearing quite shocked and horrified.

He hurried over to where Snape was sitting and whispered a few words into the Potions Master's ear.

With his own eyes widening in shock, Snape suddenly cast his eyes on Harry and his bondmates.

Quickly looking away, Harry murmured to his two girls, "It looks like Fumbledick's been listening to the charm in my room. He's in quite the animated discussion with ol' Sevvie."

Both girls, as surreptitiously as they could, looked to see what Harry was talking about. Both saw that Dumbledore was looking quite horrified while Snape was clearly trying to calm the man down.

Snickering to themselves, Luna leaned over and quietly accused, "You pranked the Headmaster, again; didn't you?"

"We did," replied Harry. "One of his listening charms had the most amusing sounds attached to it. Plus, with the help of the Weasley twins, there was added a bit of a compulsion for him to believe what he heard."

"Yes, but it appears the 'not telling anyone about it' was either not strong enough or didn't take," said Hermione.

"Or, it did and he can now only tell Professor Snape," said Luna.

"That's possible," agreed Daphne. "He also took Professor Snape into our apartment with him, so that might have exempted our Potions Master from the compulsion."

"Actually, I think it's more likely a result of the listening to the charm in the living room," corrected Hermione. "That explains the actions, and that he can talk to our kindly old Potions Master about it."

Both Harry and Daphne thought about that for a few moments before Daphne said, "She's right. That makes more sense."

"It doesn't make it any less funny," he snickered.

"No, it doesn't," smirked Daphne. "Maybe we should get the twins to diddle with that listening charm, too; with their compulsion alteration."

By this time, the Headmaster had gone to his own seat and was making himself breakfast. All the while he was pulling a Moody and scanning everything on his plate, around him, and his tea. A glance at Snape could see him doing the same with a very amused faux-Moody watching on.

"We're going to turn him ultra-paranoid," said Hermione.

"Good," said Daphne quite firmly. "It'll keep him occupied."

"It may lead to him putting extra monitor and listening charms on us," Hermione shot back.

"I don't think that's possible, love," Harry gently said back. "Besides, Dobby and Winky are having fun constantly removing them as soon as they go on."

"I think they've actually tagged us with monitoring charms and are using those to monitor when ol' Twinkles applies more," said Daphne.

"Well, I wouldn't put it past old Dobster," mused Harry. "I don't think Winky would have the guts or initiative to do something like that, though."

_‗_

—==(oIo)==—

ˇ

With the help of the two house elves, when Friday evening arrived, Harry had a private dinner held for the three of them in their private apartment.

So, as soon as classes finished for the day, he took them directly to the apartment. He told them both he'd planned out a private dinner for the two of them where they could openly talk with one another.

Secretly, he thought it would give either or both of them the opportunity to call off that evening's... fun... if they wanted to.

Hermione insisted in getting some homework done first, as she felt she couldn't relax enough if they had that hanging over them.

Then, after a few hours of homework, Harry called both elves and told them they could set things up for the dinner.

Very quickly, the same round table, chairs and table wear that they'd used most evenings they'd had a dinner in their apartment were set up. This time, though, that included a white linen tablecloth, cloth napkins, and candles.

After an excellent meal, they were relaxing while their dinner settled talking about inconsequential things.

When he thought the time was right, Harry said, "Well, ladies. Do you still want to go ahead with finalising the bond tonight?"

Both blushed but both also firmly said, "Yes, Harry."

"Then, shall we retire to the bedroom?" he asked, standing.

Before he could get a chance to go around the table to pull their chairs out for them, the girls already stood.

The two glanced at one another for a moment before Daphne asked him, "Harry, would you mind waiting to join us for about thirty minutes?"

Confused a little by the request, he shook his head and said, "No, I don't mind. Is there something..."

"There's just something Daphne and I need to do before you come in, alright?" replied Hermione.

Though he didn't really understand, Harry replied, "Of course."

"Thank you, Harry," they both said before heading into his room and softly shutting the door.

A quick check of his watch and Harry moved to one of the couches, calling Dobby, and asking him to clear away the remains of their most excellent dinner.

From the coffee table he picked up a book about advanced charms and was studying the Fidelius charm.

Inside the room, as soon as the door closed, Daphne called Winky.

"Yes, Mistress Daffy?" asked the little elf.

"Winky, I need you to go into Hermione's trunk and get her periwinkle-coloured negligee. Then go to my trunk and get my mist green-coloured one, too, please. Plus, in that little compartment I showed you within the trunk, I need you to get the two phials with bright pink potion, and two of the ones with pale blue potions. Can you do that for me?"

"Yes, Mistress," Winky replied and quickly popped away, before returning only a few moments later while the required items appeared on the foot of Harry's bed.

Both girls thanked the little elf before allowing her to leave again.

Walking over to the bed, both girls quickly stripped off before donning the sheer, sexy garments. As she was changing, Daphne indicated the potions and explained. "The pink potion is called Maiden's Relief. It makes it easier to... experience... the first time you experience sexual penetration. And the light blue potion is the one Mother told you about; it's to prevent pregnancy. It will provide protection for the next three months."

"I was just going to use the sterility charm," said Hermione.

Shaking her head, Daphne said, "The sterility charm is alright for most situations. However, we're finalising a bond here. We have no idea whether or not the finalising of the bond will cause any or all charms to fail or not. That's why Mother picked up the potions for us."

Having already changed, Hermione bent over and picked up one of the little stylised phials. She carefully looked at it and found a small label affixed to the base.

"Madam Primpernelle's?" she asked, surprised.

"Yes," replied Daphne. "Word has it old Madam Primpernelle does more business with these sort of potions, and others, than she does with her beautifying potions. But, for us, we know we can trust them, implicitly. She never has a 'bad batch' of any potion come through her store."

"When do we take them?" asked Hermione.

Now changed herself, Daphne picked her two up and said, "Now. Blue potions first, wait about ten to fifteen minutes, then the pink potion. That is, of course, unless you intend to fall pregnant as soon as possible." And promptly uncorked and downed the blue potion.

Hermione quickly followed suit. "Definitely not," she replied, licking her lips. "That's one of the better tasting potions I've had. I intend to finish my schooling and, hopefully, my Mastery before I have to start looking after a little one."

Conjuring a freestanding mirror, Daphne then collected the small make up bags both had taken to leaving in Harry's ensuite, and both lightly 'fixed' their makeup. Under the advice of both mothers they'd started wearing very light makeup daily since just after the start of the Christmas break; though, Daphne had been wearing a little since the start of the year.

With makeup done and, after checking each other, Hermione returned the bags to the ensuite while Daphne banished the mirror and called Winky to take their clothes away to be put in their laundry bags.

When they were ready, Daphne used a quick Tempus charm to see how much time they had left before sitting on the foot of the bed and asking Hermione to sit alongside her.

A little worried, she asked her bond-sister, "Can I ask you to go first with Harry? Then me; then... us?"

Hermione, knowing Daphne was still a little worried, slowly nodded her head back. "If that helps you, of course," she softly replied. Then, more firmly, she said, "But, if you want to stop, at any time, just say so. Harry won't think any less of you, if you want to stop things and try again another time."

With a sigh of relief, Daphne replied, "I know. But, inside, I know I'm ready for this."

"I know," replied Hermione. "As long as you know that, it'll be fine."

Quickly standing again, she said, "Now; how about helping me ready the bed."

With a small smile, Daphne stood and both girls walked to either side of the bed.

Working without speaking, they quickly pulled the comforter down and left it folded at the foot of the bed. Then they untucked the top sheet.

"On or off?" asked Hermione.

"On," replied Daphne.

And left the top sheet pulled up.

A quick glance at each other, a nervous laugh, and they hopped in. After initially about to lie down, Hermione flipped the pillows on her side onto their ends and pulled herself up to a sitting position, leaning against them against the headboard.

Daphne followed suit on her side.

After sitting there for a long few moments, Hermione softly asked, "Do you remember the talk Harry gave on the second night we were at the Farm... where he explained his views about how... it's our souls which are attracted to one another?"

"Mmm?" said Daphne.

"He said, we need to think about how we need to think of ourselves as souls, not just as bodies?"

"Mmm?"

"That helps... you know?"

"I know," Daphne softly replied. "That's what's helped me reach this point."

"Me too," replied Hermione. She hesitated a few moments before she said, "It also helped me understand something."

"What?"

"I... love you," replied Hermione. "And, I've realised, I'm attracted to you... physically."

Worried she'd upset her, Hermione carefully looked to her bond-sister to see her reaction.

After a few moments, Daphne, who appeared to be looking off into the distance, softly said, "Me too." Then her face shifted into an expression of wonder before turning to look at her sister. "Me too," she softly said, again.

Both girls smiled at each other.

After a few moments, Daphne said, "Maybe we should make it you and Harry, then us two, then me and Harry."

"Why the change?" asked Hermione.

"I was worried you didn't love me as much as I've discovered I love you; or was attracted to me as much as I'm attracted to you," she replied. "Plus, you know Harry needs a little while to... you know... recharge."

Both girls broke into relieved giggles.

When Harry walked in a few minutes later, it was to see both his fiancées sitting up in the bed, with the sheet pulled up to their waists, and happily chatting away. The sight of seeing the upper halves of their bodies through the translucent material, he found, was even more erotic than just their nude forms.

As he walked in and gently closed the door behind him, Hermione softly said, "Here he is, the man of the hour."

That had both girls giggling again.

"Get your clothes off, stud," said Daphne. "You have two willing witches, here, waiting for you to service them."

Relieved that neither was stressed out, especially Daphne, Harry grinned back before shucking his clothes with his back to them. When he turned back, Little Harry was pointing the way to the bed.

"Oooohh! Is that for us?" Hermione coyly asked.

"It certainly is," he replied, walking to the foot of the bed and slowly crawling up it.

That night, the castle was rattled three times over the space of two hours by what the muggleborns were adamant were three sonic booms. The last was the loudest of all, causing the castle to shudder, ever so slightly.

In her office just off the infirmary, when the first one went off, Madam Pomfrey looked up and smiled. She didn't turn in until after the third.

The Headmaster, however, was horrified by what he had heard through his listening charm before he quickly deactivated it. "Dogs and goats?" he muttered to himself.

Fawkes was utterly amused by his familiar's antics.

_‗_

—==(oIo)==—

ˇ

The next morning, once the three finally emerged from their bedroom into the living room, Daphne spotted a typical Gringotts barn owl perched on Hedwig's long roost; something that clearly annoyed the snowy owl.

Walking over, the barn owl regarded her for a few moments before offering her the leg with a small package attached.

Relieved of its load, the bird quickly took flight and launched itself out the owl window.

Daphne opened the letter and read it before grinning and handing it to Harry.

~ # ~

Gringotts

Office of Inheritance and Marriage

Mister Harry James Potter,

Gringotts congratulates you, Mrs Daphne Anna Potter nee Greengrass and Mrs Hermione Jean Potter nee Granger on the sealing of your soul bond. In the eyes of magic you are now married.

The sealing of the soul bond now marks you as an adult in the eyes of Gringotts. As such, irrespective of the wishes of your late father, you are to be granted access to all vaults of House Potter. To effect this change you will need to see your Account Manager, Sharpclaw, at your earliest opportunity.

Yours in business,

Blockrig

~ # ~

Handing the letter off to Hermione, who was anxious to read it, Harry grinned and swept Daphne up his arms, planting a deep kiss to her slightly bruised lips. Neither cared about the slight ache it caused.

Turning to Hermione, as soon as it was clear she'd finished reading and was sporting a wide grin of her own, he swept her up for a similar kiss. After they parted, the two girls - his two wives - without any hesitation kissed each other just as deeply.

"Dobby!" called Harry.

When the little elf popped in, he came bearing a note. Before reading it, Harry asked the elf to set them out a late breakfast.

Winky popped in and asked, "Do the Mistresses want Winky to move their thingsies into Master Harry's room now?"

"Yes please, Winky," Hermione immediately replied. As the little elf immediately popped away again, she turned to Daphne and asked, "I hope that's alright with you?"

"Definitely," replied Daphne. "A wife should sleep with her husband... and sister-wife."

Meanwhile, Harry had opened the note and read it. Turning to the girls he said, "Madam Pomfrey asks us to come and see her in the infirmary when we're ready. But, some time today, at the latest."

As the three sat down to a lovely breakfast provided by Dobby, Harry said, "I wonder where the owl from the Ministry is. After all, when the bonds were initiated we received letters from both Gringotts and the Ministry. I'd have expected there to be one waiting for us, just as the Gringotts one was."

"I don't think there will be one," said Daphne. "At least, not yet."

"Oh?" asked Hermione.

"It was important for us to be informed that the soul bond had been registered by the Ministry," explained Daphne. "That's why the owls were immediate. However, since we already knew of the initiation of the bond, there's no hurry for us to be informed it has been sealed.

"Plus, I think someone, quite some time ago, was offended that the Ministry knew when they... you know... were that intimate for the first time. So, since then, the Ministry has only recorded it, but not sent out owls. The argument is, we already know we've… done that, and sealed the bond. No one else needs know."

Thinking about that for a bit, Harry asked, "We should let our parents, and Sirius, know. But, I'll leave it up to you how and when we tell them."

"We've already discussed that with our mothers," Daphne calmly said. "We'll let them know, and they'll tell our fathers when they think they're ready to hear it."

Hermione just nodded in agreement.

Glancing from one to the other, Harry asked, "This is one of those things you four ladies talked about one of those times when you disappeared together, isn't it?"

"Of course," said Hermione, as if it was obvious even for Harry.

"And, I take it your fathers aren't aware of this cunning plan?" he asked, amused.

"Of course not," she replied with a smile.

"Fathers like to believe their daughters are virgins and always will be; even when they've already given birth," grinned Daphne. "It was mother who organised the potions for us."

"Potions?" asked Harry.

"Anti-pregnancy potions for Hermione and I to take from now until we're all ready to have children. And a special potion that allowed us to feel things our first night, without the initial pain women can feel."

Sheepishly, Harry muttered, "Yeah. Sorry about that. I was rather... umm..."

"Vigorous?" asked an amused Hermione.

"I'll say!" said Daphne, before both girls broke out in giggles while Harry blushed.

"Yeah," he said. Thinking a bit he asked, "You were both... umm... you're both... happy? With what we did?"

"Yes, love," Hermione softly replied with love while Daphne nodded in agreement.

Relieved, Harry said, "Good. Because, I was worried that... with two of you... I... ummm..."

"Trust us, Harry; we went to sleep well satisfied," said Hermione.

"And this morning was a bonus," said a pleased Daphne.

_‗_

—==(oIo)==—

ˇ