Chapter Twenty Seven - The Frog, the Bursar and the Prank

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!

A/N: Quite a few reviewers were upset with my (Harry's) treatment of the dragon in the first task. I remind everyone that canon held that dragons were truly considered no more than we 'mundanes' generally consider bovine cattle. Dumbledore's twelve uses of dragon's blood; dragon heartstrings in wands; dragonhide armor, boots and other accessories ring any bells? As such, it occurs to me that what Harry did would not really worry the magical raised too much. Only folks such as muggle-raised Hermione would really be offended by his actions.

Secondly, I apologise for the delay in publishing this next chapter. I could give the piss-poor excuse of how my laptop with all my stories fried itself in the heat of Perth, WA. But, that would be a lie. Plus, I have everything back up on - not one - but three thumb drives. I've actually been both busy and distracted with other matters and simply didn't realise how long it's been. Oops. :)

_‗_

—==(oIo)==—

ˇ

Walking in to the living room of their apartment a little over a week since the second task, Daphne walked to the mantelpiece and removed the silenced, unbreakable jar containing Skeeter's animagus form. She carried it over to the coffee table and placed it on top as Harry and Hermione entered.

While she was moving the jar, Harry and Hermione were sealing the room. Even the mail owl window was temporarily sealed. They didn't have to worry about throwing up anti-portkey and anti-apparition wards, as those already existed over the school.

However, more importantly, they'd been using the time since the second task to research how to set up an anti-animagus ward, and how to force an animagus back into its human form. So, for this purpose, they made ready to throw up the anti-animagus ward.

Once done, Harry conjured a hard seated and backed wooden chair with strong armrests.

"Are we done?" asked Daphne. "Are we ready?"

"We are," replied both her spouses, keeping their wands out.

She reached over and unscrewed the lid of the jar, tipping it over onto the floor.

The little water beetle slid out and landed on its back on the carpet before it began kicking its legs a little.

"Reddere Formam!" muttered Hermione.

Skeeter's animagus transformation was cancelled, replacing the beetle with the witch lying on her back on the floor.

As soon as she appeared, Harry ripped the wand out of her hand and tossed it onto the coffee table, before doing the same with her purse.

Then he and Daphne picked her up under her arms and dumped her into the wooden chair, while Hermione brought up the temporary anti-animagus ward, as they had rehearsed.

"Stay there, Skeeter," demanded Daphne of the vile woman.

Harry conjured a glass and filled it with water before handing it to the still completely confused witch.

The three then returned to couches and armchairs in a half circle around the front of the woman and waited for her to get her bearings back.

"Wha... what... is the meaning of this?" the woman demanded as soon as she regained her senses.

"It's really quite simple, Miss Skeeter," said Daphne, quite firmly. "You are an illegal animagus. Your animagus form, a water beetle, was caught riding on Miss Granger's hairclip while it was in her hair.

"Of course, as there are no animagus forms of a water beetle registered with the Ministry of Magic, we had no possible way of knowing we'd captured an animagus, rather than a plain water beetle."

"This room is sealed shut," said Hermione. "You are not going anywhere until we decide you will leave."

"Why?" the woman asked, now able to think more clearly.

"I told you, Miss Skeeter, to keep your nose out of my... our... personal business," replied Harry. "You were told you would have opportunities for personal exclusives if you behaved yourself. You agreed. Using your animagus form to spy on me and mine, after you were quite vehemently told not to, is what got you into this predicament."

"So, since your word is insufficient, we've come up with a way to force your compliance," said Hermione, sliding a contract across the coffee table towards the witch.

Warily, Skeeter reached down and picked up the contract. She carefully read it while her face blanched with shock.

When she'd finished, with her hand shaking while holding the document, she said, "This could ruin me!"

"Yes," said Harry. "That's the idea. This way we force you to never write nonsense about the Potters, the Greengrasses or the Grangers, Sirius Black or Remus Lupin. Everything you do write about them you will confirm as fact, in advance. You cannot even use a quote someone gives you, if you haven't already confirmed it as true."

"That means there'll be no going to someone like Draco Malfoy or Pansy Parkinson and have them say something vile, then printing that," said Hermione. "And, yes, we're well aware that's one of your little ways to attempt to get around the laws of slander."

"So, Miss Skeeter," said Daphne. "That document will be your confession of what illegal and despicable acts you do while disgustingly claiming you do it in the name of journalism. Sign it, and you're almost free to go."

"And what's to stop me from simply walking out of here?" she huffed haughtily.

Harry grinned and held up his hand. He started to tick points off his fingers. "One, this room is magically sealed and you cannot leave. Two, we know the spell to force your body back into its animagus form. Three, if an animagus is killed while they're in their animagus form, their body remains in the animagus form. Four, my friend Neville has a toad that loves the taste of water beetles. Five, no one knows you're here. Six, those who do know you're an animagus, and what your form is, know you could always come to harm while in your animagus form. Seven, only your editor will miss you... for about a week... and then you'll not even rate a footnote in your own paper. Eight, you've already been missing for a week and no one's come looking for you, nor has word of your disappearance appeared in your own paper."

Skeeter stared back in fear at the very serious faces of the three for a few moments before she finally placed the confession back on the coffee table. She picked up the offered quill and, hesitating but a moment, signed the document.

"Thank you, Miss Skeeter," said Daphne, as Hermione pulled the document away, dried the ink, and put the document in her book bag for later.

"Now, Miss Skeeter," said Harry. "In this room and extending outwards a good few feet is an anti-animagus ward. We are going to return you your wand so you may attempt to transform, so you can confirm it exists. Attempt to use your wand to do anything other than transform and we'll hurt you; really hurt you."

Daphne handed Skeeter her wand as all three had theirs drawn and levelled on the older witch from three diverse directions.

With her wand in her hand, the three watched as Skeeter concentrated for a moment before she looked back at them in shock.

With a nod back, Harry said, "Good. Now you know. You should also know that if you enter the ward while in your animagus form it will force you to revert to human form. As it is a forced transformation, it will be painful."

Daphne added, "Our ward extends a few feet, even beyond the windows. Be aware; if you attempt to use your form to fly in through one of our windows, you will be forced back into your human form, and you will plummet approximately eight stories to your death. Do you understand?"

Skeeter went a little more white but just nodded back.

"This is the last warning you will get from us, Skeeter," Harry firmly warned her, as he reached over and picked up her purse. He then tossed it into her lap.

"I'll take down the room sealing and anti-animagus wards for no more than fifteen seconds," said Hermione. "I will then tell you I've done so. At that time, you are free to leave by way of the window. After those fifteen seconds I re-erect the wards. If you have not sufficiently cleared them by that time, you will revert to your human form and plummet to your death. Do you understand?"

Skeeter nodded.

"Good," said Hermione, as she stood. "Just remember, Miss Skeeter; bother us again... write lies about us, our families and or our friends... and that confession, which could easily double as a suicide note, will become public."

"I understand," she quietly but fearfully said.

Hermione quickly took down the anti-animagus and room sealing charms before she looked back at Skeeter. "Go!" she said.

Skeeter immediately concentrated and shifted into her animagus form.

The three watched it hover in the air for a moment before it flew out the window and away.

"Do you think she'll obey?" asked Harry.

"Yes," said Daphne, after a moment. "I do."

_‗_

—==(oIo)==—

ˇ

Madam Bones and her senior auror staff were steadily working through each office of each Department, including her own. Of course, it wasn't long before the Unspeakables learned of it and Croaker paid her another visit.

"I know what you're doing," said Croaker, as soon as he popped into her office.

"Bloody Hell, Algernon!" she again barked at him, after first jumping fright. "Stop doing that!"

"How bad is the problem?" he asked, completely ignoring her blustering.

"Bad enough!" she replied, grumbling and trying to calm down again. "Almost every office has at least one Death Eater working within it. And almost every office has someone accepting bribes and or supports Riddle on top of that. If Riddle does come back, as young Mister Potter and Dumbledore both firmly believe, if we didn't know about them all, we'd be in trouble.

"No, we are in trouble," she corrected herself. "If we moved to rid ourselves of those people, we'd find ourselves severely lacking manpower to prosecute another war."

"I noticed your questioning didn't include asking if my people had infiltrated those offices," he said.

"Of course not!" she grumbled. "I'm not an idiot."

"I never thought you were," he wryly replied. "But, I thank you for it, anyway."

"If... no, when... we have to clear house, I'm going to need the help of you and your people," she said.

"You'll have it and them," he replied.

"I will want the lifts, stairs and Floos all blocked; all internal and external communications shut down; but still allow me and my people to move through the offices and take away those we need to," she said. "I'll also be asking we place those who're 'Marked' into your cells... and I know you have them... to keep them separated from those we arrest just for taking bribes.

"I'd also like to summarily dismiss all those who would support Riddle... and will probably be Marked, if given the opportunity... but, I don't know if I'm going to be allowed to get away with that. Fudge will overrule me. He'll say, and he'll be right, we can't dismiss someone for something they might do. That's not a crime."

"We'll figure something out, Amelia," said Croaker. "He's not back yet. Now, I have a fair idea why, but I'd like you to tell me, anyway. Why haven't you arrested those taking bribes?"

"Because the ones doing the bribing would soon find someone else to bribe and continue on as they were," she replied. "I'd much rather take the whole lot at the same time."

"Wise," said Croaker. "And, for what it's worth, our own investigations confirm what you told me Mister Potter told you. The Dark Mark is definitely getting darker."

"Well, shit," she said.

"Do not act precipitously, Amelia," he warned. "Through your actions from the warnings of Mister Potter, we currently have an advantage. We don't want to lose that."

With a loud sigh, and before Croaker could disappear again, she said, "There is… another matter I need to discuss with you."

"Oh?" he asked.

"I'm also reliably informed there is a prophecy concerning Mister Potter and Voldemort," she quietly said.

Croaker just went still. He didn't respond.

"I'm informed a copy of it resides in one of those spheres of yours in the Hall of Prophecy," she said. "Mister Potter requests… confirmation… that such a prophecy exists. To demonstrate he knows of it, he asks you look in 'aisle 97'. Then, he wants to talk to you about it."

"How does he know?" asked Croaker.

"No idea," she replied with a tiny bit of a shrug. "But, he says it will confirm that Vol… Riddle… is not as dead as everyone seems to think he is."

"Well, shit," said Croaker, echoing Amelia's sentiments of a minute earlier.

_‗_

—==(oIo)==—

ˇ

Harry and his wives had returned to normal life in the castle, and were in their apartment soon after classes ended for the day, when they received a knock on the door from the statue.

Daphne, nearest at the time, went and opened it.

"Oh!" she softly exclaimed, stepping out of the way.

Harry and Hermione looked up in time to see a tall person step through in Unspeakable robes. However, the nature of said robes made it difficult, if not impossible, to tell if it was a man or a woman, or even what height they really were.

Not willing to take chances, all three drew their wands as soon as the Unspeakable was fully within the apartment.

Carefully, so not to cause the three undue alarm, the Unspeakable raised his hands and flipped back his hood.

They saw the man standing there to be who Harry thought it would be. "Croaker," he muttered.

"And just how did you know that, Mister Potter?" he asked.

"I have my ways," said Harry. "What brings you here?"

"In a moment," he said. "I'll give you an oath, first."

Without waiting for acknowledgement, he allowed his wand to drop into his hand before giving his oath. "I, the Unspeakable known as Algernon Croaker, hereby swear on my magic I am not in the Hogwarts apartment of Harry Potter and his ladies to do him or them or all three harm. As I say, so I swear."

There was a muted flash of light as the oath took affect.

He then raised his wand and asked, "May I add to your wards?"

"With what?" asked Daphne, not giving an inch.

He smiled at her and said, "An Unspeakable level anti-surveillance ward."

"Go ahead," she said, after only a moment.

Croaker cast the ward and the four of them felt it settle over them, before he lowered and resheathed his wand.

With a gesture towards the armchair, he asked, "May I?"

Harry nodded and Croaker moved to sit on the armchair, after Crookshanks received short shrift.

The three returned to sitting down as they resheathed their own wands, but spread across three of the couches. Watching them, Croaker seemed amused that they sat themselves widely separated.

"I take it no one else knows you're here?" asked Harry.

"No," he replied.

"So, what brings the Head of the Unspeakables to come and converse with us?" asked Hermione.

"Two reasons. First, I received a report from one of my people," said the man who was an enigma, getting to the point. "She received a visit from Missus Greengrass-Potter's father."

Harry wasn't surprised Croaker knew that little tidbit. He was only surprised that the man felt he needed to mention it.

"Mister Greengrass handed to her a transcript of a discussion you had just prior to Christmas at Greengrass Farm. It was on the nature of souls, bodies and magic. I take it you recall what I'm talking about?"

"I do," replied Harry, with a little nod of his head.

"My... colleague... found the information quite startling. And almost immediately brought it to my attention," said Croaker. "That is, after she took time to... absorb the information. She, as did I, found the information quite… unsettling."

Harry just sat there, not responding; which led Croaker, after a few moments, to smirk back.

'Point to me,' thought Harry. "And, why are you here?" he asked.

"I wanted to meet the young man who was capable of such profound thoughts," replied Croaker. "I also wanted to know how you came to such."

Harry sat back and thought about it for a few moments, before he felt the very light tickle of a Legilimency probe. Almost subconsciously, he batted it away.

"Naughty, naughty!" he smirked back.

Croaker just cocked an eyebrow at him. Apparently, not in the least abashed at being caught in the attempt.

Harry eyed him for a few moments more and said, "As a child I was always able to think. And, by that, I mean really think. Because of my upbringing, I also needed to be very aware of my surroundings, at all times. It was only the interference of the Weasley's potions that interrupted that mental flow. Now that I'm free of the potions, I'm once more able to think."

"Besides the nature of your true three-way soul bond," said Croaker, letting them know he knew the truth about that as well, "What made you think about the nature of souls, bodies and magic?"

"That started it, of course," replied Harry. "But then I started to observe my environment again. I take it you understand the first rule of experimentation is observation?"

Croaker gave him a mere nod of acknowledgement.

"Mmm. So, I started to observe," said Harry. "And to think about what it was I was seeing."

Harry settled himself more relaxed in his seat. "Ghosts only coming from magicals, for instance. Why? If magic is part of the physical 'you' rather than spiritual 'you' that should not be possible. However, if magic is spiritual rather than physical, residing in the spirit rather than the body, it makes sense. But, of course, it's only a hypothesis at the moment.

"To prove my hypothesis, if I could manage it without too many people finding out about it in the early stages of the research, I'd find a way of making a wand free float without the use of magic. Or, just hang it suspended by a piece of string. Then I'd ask a ghost to 'grip' the wand, as if they could actually hold it. And then I'd ask them to see if they could channel magic through it. Of course, as they can't move the wand making the right gestures, I'd ask them to perform something simple that didn't require gestures; such as, Lumos and Nox.

"If I'm right and they can, that would... right there... prove my hypothesis. And, my thoughts on it tell me it would work."

He looked right at Croaker again and asked, "Are you aware of what happened in the Chamber of Secrets here back almost two years ago?"

"Tell me about it," he said, neither confirming nor denying what he knew.

"There was an object, a diary, that contained what I've now come to know was a soul fragment of Tom Riddle. In effect it made the diary a soul container, of sorts," said Harry.

What Harry didn't know was that Croaker felt as if his blood had just turned to ice. He was very thankful that his outward demeanour did not reflect his perturbation.

"The enchantments on the diary included a compulsion charm to cause one to begin writing in it. Once they did, they couldn't help but… unburden their soul… onto the pages within. From my own contact with the accursed thing, it would also write back, encouraging you to keep going. Through that process you would begin to fall under the thrall of the soul fragment within," continued Harry.

"By the events of the battle with the basilisk within the chamber, that thrall had reached the point where the soul fragment was drawing off, apparently, the life force of the young victim in an attempt to regain a physical body. It seemed to be working, too.

"By the time I arrived down there, the soul fragment had the appearance of a ghost and was outside of the diary, the ghost took on the form of a fifteen year old Tom Riddle. But, the amazing thing was, young Mister Riddle was able to pick up... and use... a wand. He cast spells through it. He used the Flagrante charm to fire-write in the air. It was that event, more than anything else, which got me thinking about whether magic was in the body or in the spirit.

"It was also that event that got me thinking that a ghost always takes the form of the shape the body was in when it died. Riddle's... spirit... in the Chamber was of his fifteen year old self, and wearing his Hogwarts uniform, complete with his Prefects' badge. That is, the time the soul fragment was broken off. However, his spirit that was possessing Quirrell a year before was in the form of his mutilated sixty-plus year old self."

"Makes sense," said Croaker. "And your idea that unborn magical souls going into muggle foetuses is how we get muggleborns?"

"Again, it's a logical hypothesis. Muggle science in genetics tells us the likelihood of diverse muggleborns being conceived and having pretty much an identical magical disposition; such as the ability to use a wand, the same interaction with 'wizard' magic... rather than, say, elfish or goblin magic... and similar magical strength; would be considered by a muggle geneticist as so unlikely as to induce one to roar with laughter at the absurdity of it.

"However, having thought more on the subject, I've also reached a hypothesis that all muggleborns are actually the many times removed offspring of squibs. So, the two hypotheses are now in conflict. Or, are they?

"It could also be that both are correct. That is, magical souls are drawn to muggle foetuses that have a genetic predisposition towards magic due to their ancestry.

"I just don't know," he shrugged. "However, one day, I hope to find out."

Croaker looked back at Harry for a few moments with an inscrutable expression before he seemed to reach a decision. He gave a firm nod and said, "I'd rather you not."

Surprised, Harry asked, "Why ever not?"

"Consider the political and societal ramifications," the Unspeakable replied. "If the purebloods learn that their magical heritage has absolutely nothing to do with their... blood. It could bring down our society.

"Second, if it can be learned that a ghost can cast magic, it could have major ramifications with ghosts being used to cast offensive spells. Once you learn a fact, that fact can be used for nefarious purposes."

"It can also be used to lead the way into a glorious future," disagreed Hermione. "Scientists, the world over, have struggled with that concept in the muggle world for millennia.

"A perfect example is the thoughts and findings of Galileo Galilei," she began to explain. "In the late sixteenth century he put forward the hypothesis that the heavens... the stars, the sun and the moon... did not revolve around the Earth, as was the very popular belief of the day. Instead, he posited that the Earth was only another body within the firmament, and that it actually revolved around the sun.

"He then extrapolated on that and stated the sun, our sun, was only one of many within galaxies of such. This flew in the face of current thought. And it flew in the face of the dominant religious beliefs of the time. That is very much akin to the situation in magical Britain... perhaps the magical world, as a whole... today.

"Of course, we now know Galileo's views to be true. And that has led to astounding and enormous leaps in scientific knowledge; especially as it relates to astrophysics, space exploration and meteorology, to name a few such fields of study.

"No, Mister Croaker," she said. "It's not the research and thoughts that are the problem. You need to prepare society... it's beliefs and it's mores... for the possible findings of what may well be discovered. What will be discovered sooner or later. You cannot stop it happening. As Professor McGonagall once told us; you need to do what is right, not what is easy."

"I have no intention of dumping this on magical Britain in one great dump of knowledge, Mister Croaker," said Harry. "I'll dole it out, piecemeal. We're first starting with the nature of the soul. And that'll be disseminated in the book on soul-bonds we're currently writing. And, it'll not be as a fact; it'll be as an idea... a concept. In other words, we're writing about how we feel we are souls with bodies, rather than bodies with souls.

"That'll give the populace something to think about. It'll be something for them to consider for themselves. Then, we start coming out with the findings from observational evidence. And, finally, the findings from physical experimentation.

"And all that will be spread over many years. We don't want to dump it all in their laps as a fait accompli. They'll feel as if they just got smacked up the side of the head with a mackerel, and will illogically rebuke and rebut. We don't want that. We want them to accept the findings without a knee-jerk denial of the evidence similar to the responses against Galileo."

"And yet you did... as you put it... smack the populace in the side of their heads with a mackerel, when you released that information about the truth of Voldemort," argued Croaker.

"That's because we don't have time to hold back regarding Riddle," said Harry. "Riddle's been trying to get himself physically resurrected since at least 1991 that I know of. He tried in 1991-92 to get the Philosopher's Stone. And, he tried to suck the life force out of young Ginevra Weasley in 1992-93. I also believe it's his agents who have forced me to compete in the Tri-Wizard Tournament; possibly in an attempt to kidnap me. And his Dark Mark is darkening, which is leading his followers to believe he's on his way back to physical form.

"Sooner or later, probably sooner, Riddle will succeed; and we'll have Voldemort to face once more. Unless you have a way to entrap and then banish his spirit, he has time, determination and perseverance on his side."

Croaker sat there for a few moments before he suddenly said, "Tell me about this soul container; this... diary."

So Harry led him through what he knew of it, other than he knew it to be called a horcrux. But he lied and told him that spirit Riddle told him he'd planned to make others, and probably had. But didn't tell him they'd found them and used the ritual circle in the Room of Requirement to banish the soul fragments from them.

Ritual magic was still banned by law, except for very specific purposes, within magical Britain. Besides, they didn't want the Unspeakables to find the ring before Dumbledore. That would be disastrous.

It also meant sending Dumbledore after the ring was now a high priority. And that brought them to the subject Harry wanted to speak about with the man. He was about to raise it when Croaker beat him to it.

"Madam Bones has informed me you wish to visit the Hall of Prophecies to hear a prophecy you believe is about you and Riddle," said Croaker.

"I do," replied Harry with a slow nod.

"Do you know what it contains?" asked the Unspeakable.

Harry hesitated a moment, unsure of how much to tell the Unspeakable, when he decided not to lie - or even misdirect – about it. "Yes. Dumbledore has a copy of it in his pensieve. He was present when the prophecy was originally given."

"Do you remember what it says?" asked Croaker.

"Vividly," replied Harry. "The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches… Born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies. And the Dark Lord will mark him as equal, but he will have power the Dark Lord knows not… And either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives. The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord will be born as the seventh month dies."

Harry then sat back with a sigh.

"If you know what it says," said Croaker. "Why do you want to go and listen to the one in the Hall of Prophecies?"

"To confirm two things," he replied. "First, that the prophecy in Dumbledore's pensieve is real, and not one he faked up for my benefit; and, second, to see if the sphere still glows white, rather than dull grey."

"Ah! Of course," muttered Croaker. "That way, you know the prophecy wasn't completed in Godric's Hollow Halloween, 1981."

Harry simply nodded back.

_‗_

—==(oIo)==—

ˇ

When Croaker left a short while later, with the excuse he had much to think about and do, the three immediately began checking the entire apartment for monitoring and listening devices.

Once they were satisfied there were none - that is, that they could find - Daphne said, "We need to send Dumbledore after the ring now."

"I know," sighed Harry.

"You shouldn't have told him you believed there were other containers," she said.

"No, I had to," he disagreed. "I need him to accept that Riddle is still out there. If he thought there was only one, he might have thought I'd destroyed Riddle for good with the diary."

A quick glance at his watch and Harry sat up straight. "Oh, damn," he muttered. "We're missing dinner."

"Dobby!" called Daphne.

With a small pop the little elf appeared. "Yes, Mistress?" he asked.

"Can you organise a dinner in here for us, please?" she asked. "We seem to be running late for dinner in the Great Hall."

"Yes, Ma'am. Dobby can be doing that." And the little elf popped away again.

A few minutes later, they had a lovely layout of a dinner for three at the round dining table Dobby usually organised for them. They spent quite a bit of time discussing Croaker's visit.

_‗_

—==(oIo)==—

ˇ

The next morning the bondmates were resolved to enact their plan to send Dumbledore after the ring as soon as the opportunity presented itself. And that happened two days later.

They were coming down the stairs to the Entrance Hall to head for dinner when they spied Dumbledore talking to someone. Later, they learned the person was the parent of a Gryffindor student who had received a minor injury during a 'mishap' in potions.

"We'll do it now," Harry muttered to his wives.

As they were about to pass, Harry said, "No, it's definitely a triangle, a circle and vertical line. It's not a rune I can recognise, nor does it look similar to one."

"A triangle in a circle with a line through it?" asked Hermione.

"No, a circle inside a triangle with a vertical line through it," he corrected.

They'd just passed the Headmaster, and the parent he'd been talking to, when Dumbledore called out and hurried over, "Errr... Mister Potter?"

Harry and his wives turned to the Headmaster. The parent was walking out the main doors.

With a cold look, at the old man, Harry asked, "Yes, Headmaster?"

"That... symbol you were describing... If I may ask, where did you learn of it?" asked Dumbledore.

Harry stared back for a few minutes pretending to think about it.

Hermione, as planned said, "Tell him, Harry. He might be able to help."

Harry looked to Hermione for a few moments as Daphne said, "As much as I hate to agree on this point, she's right."

As Hermione offered him encouragement, he turned to look at Daphne. "You're sure?" he asked her.

"Yes," she firmly said.

With a sigh, Harry turned to look back at Dumbledore. The man was visibly eager to hear what Harry had to say.

"I keep having this dream. It's the same dream over and over again. It's of a ring with this big ugly clunky stone on it. Carved onto the ring's stone is this... symbol. It's a circle within a triangle. Bisecting the triangle, and circle, is a vertical line.

"The next thing I see is an old shack in the woods. I know it has something to do with the ring, but I don't know why. Nailed to the door of the shack is a dead snake in a... flat 'S' shape. Standing just outside and away from the door a bit, is a quite ugly man. He looks angry. When I look at him, I think about how gaunt he looks, though he's not, really. If anything he's a bit... chunky. That's all I know."

Harry nearly burst out laughing, when he saw the expression on Dumbledore's face the old man tried to mask.

"Headmaster?" he asked. "Do you know what it means?"

Giving himself a bit of a shake the old man readopted his grandfatherly mien and said, "I shall spend some time thinking about it, Mister Potter. Does... your scar hurt when you have these visions?"

"It's not a vision, Headmaster," Harry irritably replied; something he didn't have to act. "It's a dream. I have them while I sleep. It just happens to be one I'm aware of when I wake up."

"Yes, yes, of course, my boy," the old man said almost absentmindedly. Coming back to himself he said, "I shall discuss this with... others and see if I can work out what it means for you. Thank you for telling me."

"And, no, my scar doesn't hurt," Harry added. "It hasn't hurt since we three soul bonded and there was this hideous smell and black muck come pouring out of the wound."

Lifting his fringe up, Harry showed the scar and said, "Since then, the scar has been fading away. What ever was there has now gone for good."

Shocked at the state of Harry's scar, the Headmaster goggled back a bit before he said, "That's... incredible, Mister Potter. No more headaches? No visions?"

"No, to both, Headmaster," Harry firmly said.

"I'm... glad to hear that," said the Headmaster. Though, the old man also appeared confused to hear it, too."

Harry gave a grunt in response and muttered, "Whatever." He turned himself and his wives around and walked towards the doors into the Great Hall.

As they walked away, Hermione said loud enough for the Headmaster to hear, "He might be able to help, Harry. Give him time to think about it and ask others."

As they sat down Daphne muttered to him, "You saw how gaunt he looked, though he wasn't? Could you have been any more obvious?"

Harry smiled back and said, "I didn't want to leave it up to chance it takes him a while to figure it out."

All through dinner, the three bondmates saw that Dumbledore didn't attend.

"Our Headmaster appears absent," said Luna from across the table.

"He's probably too busy to attend," said Daphne. "After all, he's currently hosting two other schools, as well as looking after Hogwarts."

Luna just smiled back and returned to her dinner. Harry could tell she knew something was going on. Harry just hoped she didn't know they were planning the demise of the Headmaster.

_‗_

—==(oIo)==—

ˇ

That afternoon they'd also been able to 'corral' Neville to find out anything more about his parents. The girls practically dragged him back to their apartment. Harry was already there working on assignments and wrapping up third year Ancient Runes.

"Look who we ran into," said Hermione, dragging Neville in behind her.

"Nev!" exclaimed Harry. "Come in, please. Have a seat."

"Do you usually send your wives out to kidnap House scions, Harry?" the other boy asked a little miffed, as he moved to sit opposite.

"Huh?" asked Harry, thoroughly confused.

"Your wives grabbed me and dragged me up here," explained Neville.

"Did they?" asked Harry, turning to look at both. "Sorry. I had no idea."

"Never mind that," said Daphne, as both moved to sit either side of Harry. "How are your parents, Neville?"

"Oh! Ummm... They're good," replied the other boy, now looking a little embarrassed.

"Have they been released, yet?" she asked.

"Yeah," replied Neville. "Sorry. I should have told you."

Watching the byplay, Harry turned to Neville and grinned. "I daresay that's why my wives... as you put it... kidnapped you."

"We did not," huffed Hermione. "We invited him to come visit."

"We just... didn't give him much choice in the matter," finished Daphne.

Chuckling, Harry turned to Neville and said, "Sorry. I find it's an exercise in futility to argue with them."

"So I'm learning," Neville wryly grinned back.

"How've your parents been?" asked Harry. "I take it, since they've both been released, they're able to move about on their own now?"

"Yeah; slowly," replied Neville. "But, Gran and our house elves are there for them at Longbottom Hall. Gran even 'splurged' and bought another just to be nurse for them."

"We're happy for you, Nev," he said. "By the sounds of it they'll both be right as rain by summer break."

"That's the plan," sighed the other boy. "Barring any complications, which seem less and less likely each day, they should be able to move about on their own by the end of June or early July."

"So, how come you haven't come and kept us updated?" asked Hermione.

"Hermione!" scolded Daphne. "That was rude."

While Hermione blushed and muttered an apology, Neville was also blushing.

"I'm... sorry about that," he said, looking down. "I was... uncomfortable that I'm getting my parents back... and Harry..." he trailed off.

"You were worried I'd be offended you were getting your parents back and I wasn't?" asked Harry, shocked.

"Yeah," muttered Neville, still looking away.

"Then you were being an idiot," Harry firmly shot back.

Startled, Neville jerked as if he'd been slapped and stared back at Harry in shock.

"Neville," said Harry, leaning forward and trying to be as earnest as possible. "Make no mistake. I'm very, very happy for you. And for them. Have you forgotten, already, that your mother is my godmother?"

Calmer but a little sheepish, Neville replied, "Umm... yeah; I did."

"Well, I'm genuinely happy for you, Nev," said Harry. "You need not worry I'd be upset or jealous you have your parents back. My name's not Ron Weasley."

A lot more relieved, Neville said, "Thanks, Harry."

"There's nothing to thank me for," shrugged Harry. "Other than for forgiving you for thinking so poorly of me. And you have that, too."

"Again, thanks," the other boy said, a little firmer.

"That aside; and, since you're here; tea?" asked Harry.

"That'd be nice," said Neville.

"Dobby!" called Daphne.

_‗_

—==(oIo)==—

ˇ

Three days later they found out Dumbledore had ended up in the infirmary when one of the few gossips of Ravenclaw had gone to get a Potion for, as they blushed and explained, study stress.

"That's that done," said Harry, smiling to his bondmates.

However, half an hour later he noticed Hermione was upset.

He walked over, dragged her to a couch and, with her wrapped in his arms, asked, "Alright. What's wrong?"

It took a little while. Harry just held and cuddled her while he waited for her to respond. She eventually replied, "We killed him, Harry. We set him up to die."

"Those are two different things, Hermione," he replied. "The first would be considered murder. The second is we engineered a situation where we knew he'd end up dying because that's what happened in the original timeline."

"We didn't kill him, love," said Daphne coming over to cuddle her from the other side. "This event was going to happen. All we did was bring the event forward in time. Dumbledore is one of the pre-eminent minds of knowledge pertaining to magic in the world. He knew better than to put the ring on, even with the compulsion charm it had upon it. He's a Master Occlumens, and he should have been able to easily overcome it."

"All we've done is moved up what was going to happen by about fifteen months," added Harry, before he asked, "Did Roma tell you he still had to die?"

Hermione sniffled and nodded. "I asked why and she told me it was both his time and that he needed to be 'removed from the equation' so that the rest of the wizarding world would prosper."

"And you've never been one to agree that the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the one," said Harry.

She snorted and quickly had to wipe her nose with a handkerchief before she replied. "No," she replied, while wiping. "That's no different than Dumbledore's own 'The Greater Good' nonsense."

"Alright," sighed Harry. "We know that horcrux had to be destroyed, right?"

She nodded.

"And we know it was also the most magically protected of them all, right?"

Again, she nodded.

"And we also know the only one who was likely to be able to get through all those protections was Dumbledore, right?"

After she'd thought about it for a while; again, she nodded.

"Then he had to go after the ring, and have it destroyed as a horcrux, before the third task," said Harry. "I think we kind of left it to the last moment, don't you?"

With a sigh she replied, "Yeah, I guess we did."

"No guess about it, love. We did," added Daphne. "We have no idea what the Unspeakables would do with it if they found it. If what I hear about them is correct, they would have held on to it for almost forever simply to study it."

"We had to send him, so we sent him," Harry firmly said. "Grieve for the man he once was and should have remained. Please, don't grieve for the manipulative old fool he has become."

_‗_

—==(oIo)==—

ˇ

It took a few days but, a week after Dumbledore went after the ring, Hermione had managed to reason her way through it. However, she still felt a little ashamed each time she saw him.

This time around, the old man was wearing a skin-toned glove to cover his hand. But the three also knew exactly what that hand looked like under the glove - blackened and shrivelling.

Harry decided it was high time he contacted his godfather again, to share experiences.

Holding the mirror he whispered across the surface, 'Padfoot."

It took a little while but the mirror finally buzzed the connection being made before the fog cleared and Sirius's face appeared.

"Hello?" he said. "Do I know you?"

That caused Hermione to laugh, Daphne to smile, and Harry to give a hard-done-by sigh.

"It's not been that long, Sirius," he snarked back.

Sirius looked back at him in shock and gasped. "You know my name?"

"Alright, alright," grumbled Harry. "I get the very obvious hint. You want me to contact you more often."

"Good," Sirius firmly said. "Now, what can I do for you?"

"Well, I was only contacting you just to say hello, you know?" said Harry. "However, since I'm contacting you and all... you can tell me how Remus is doing in his new job."

"Well, he expected a small bursary he'd have to look after; and that it would, therefore, be a short term job. When he found out just how much money had been set aside, and that it wouldn't be the total amount, he nearly flipped," explained the old dog. "He then angrily Floo-called me yelling about how much he was supposed to be paid. And demanded I talk you out of it.

"I then contacted Ackerman and Co, and they then contacted him with the evidence that it was the going rate for someone at his level. Only then did he back down on refusing to accept that much pay.

"From me, that was a bloody clever way to get Moony to accept a decent job with decent pay, Harry."

"I just hope he's happy doing it," sighed Harry. "I know it'll be a rewarding job and he'll be able to get a lot out of it. However, it's also going to be a very demanding job. That's why there are provisions to employ Under-Bursars as soon as possible. So he's not run ragged."

"You can be assured he loves the job, Harry," Sirius said, well, seriously.

"I'm glad," said Harry. "Now, have you been doing any excavating?"

"Oh," said Sirius perking up again and twigging to what his godson was getting at. "Yep! And it's all done already. I'll give you the full tour when you come to visit me this Easter. You wouldn't recognise the place. That is, you wouldn't recognise the place if you'd been here before, which you haven't."

"I get it, Padfoot," said Harry. "Your godson needs to visit his godfather and spend a bit of time with him. We'll do it."

"Good," said Sirius. "I'd expect you to bring your wives with you, so no need for the hint. I've even already set up a room for the three of you, with an extra-extra large bed." He then grinned somewhat evilly back and said, "I also expect you to put up your own silencing charms."

When both ladies almost instantly blushed, Sirius barked with laughter again.

When the connection was cut, Harry turned to his wives and said, "You do realise, this means we're going to have to prank him, right?"

"Definitely," Daphne firmly replied. Hermione just nodded.

After a few minutes Hermione said, "I have an idea." And promptly dragged Daphne away to softly talk to each other. From the squeals and laughter coming from the two of them, Harry thought it must be a doozy.

_‗_

—==(oIo)==—

ˇ

The next morning owl delivery saw a stack of owls coming to Hermione and Daphne. The two girls eagerly checked the loads and started removing them from the individual owls. When Harry moved to help, he found the back of his hand resolutely smacked by Daphne.

"This is for us ladies, Harry," she mock-scolded him. "We'll let you know what we're up to later."

Harry just pulled his hands back in a gesture of surrender and smiled.

During History of Magic, both his wives sat next to each other - a very rare occurrence as they usually sat either side of Harry - and, while whispering at each other, were madly filling out forms of some kind and snickering to each other.

When they were ready to head to lunch, the two girls said they had to attend the owlery first and would meet Harry there; sending him on his way, alone.

Walking down to the Great Hall, Harry felt somewhat naked. He hadn't not had a witch on his arm for walks like this since they'd started the school year.

When he walked into the Great Hall he went immediately to the Ravenclaw table. Of course, Harry not having one or both of the school's most beautiful witches on his arms was so odd that all talking stopped as he walked in.

It was only Luna who asked. "Missing something, Harry?" she asked.

Harry smiled and cocked an eyebrow at her. "The ladies are engaged in some secret women's business that me, as a mere male, am not privy to."

Luna cocked her head and looked at him before she said, "They're engaged in setting up a prank. I don't know who the intended victim is, but I know it's not you or me."

'Sirius,' thought Harry. 'Look out, godfather!'

_‗_

—==(oIo)==—

ˇ

It was a couple of days later when Harry's mirror buzzed indicating Sirius wanted to talk to him.

When he answered, the first words out of Sirius's mouth were an almost barked, "You did this!"

Harry could hear the laughter coming from the background behind Sirius and recognised it as the laughter of both Remus and Nymphadora Tonks. 'Well, that's one relationship I won't have to worry about making sure happens.'

"What am I supposed to have done?" he calmly asked.

"Magazine subscriptions!" barked Sirius. "Lots of them!"

"You have magazine subscriptions?" asked Harry.

Harry didn't notice his wives suddenly look at each other, get up and walk into the bedroom before closing the door behind them.

"No!" barked Sirius. "Well, yes! But I didn't organise them! There are owls everywhere!"

"Wait," said Harry. "What did you subscribe to?"

"I didn't subscribe to anything!" barked Sirius. "That is, I didn't subscribe to anything except the Prophet. You did this!"

"What? No!" decried Harry. "I wouldn't have... well, yes, I would have if I'd thought of it... but I didn't!"

Harry could see Sirius frown at him for a long few seconds before he turned on his friend, Remus, in the background. "Moony!" he barked.

Harry heard Moony laughing. "It wasn't me, Padfoot. I told you that. Marauder's honour!"

Meanwhile he could still hear Tonks laughing near-hysterically in the background.

When Sirius turned back, he again glared at Harry before he asked, "If not you; then who?"

Suddenly, Harry heard Tonks's voice call out in a sing-song voice, "Yoo-hoo! Sir-ius! Your copy of Well Hung Wizards has arrived!" before she broke down hysterically laughing again, with Remus.

"Well Hung Wi..." Harry started, shocked. He suddenly smirked and said, "Sirius? Do I need to worry there won't be a rightful Heir of House Black in the future?"

"Whoever did this has declared war on a Marauder!" his godfather cried out. "Get off, you ruddy bird!"

Harry looked up to see what his wives thought of all this, only to notice they'd gone and the bedroom door was closed. 'Ah!' he thought.

When he looked back, the scene in the mirror changed and bounced around a bit before suddenly Remus's face was in the mirror. He'd been laughing so hard he appeared to have been crying.

"Wuh- Was it you... Cub?" he asked, red faced.

"No, Uncle Moony," replied a Harry who was now chuckling. "However, I think I know who it could have been."

"Oh?" asked the old wolf, calming down a fair bit. "Pray tell. Who is so brave as to have declared a prank war on a Marauder?"

"Well, Padfoot got a bit... well, smart-alecky... with Daphne and Hermione about our sex life a few days ago," replied Harry, as he listened to his godfather rant and rave in the background while his young metamorphmagus cousin laughed at him. "I think this might have been their retaliation."

Remus almost goggled at him before he suddenly smirked back. "Well, if it was... and I'm not going to tell him, by the way... it was a bloody clever retaliation prank. This place is both swarming with owls and there's naughty, and even a few not-so-naughty, magazines everywhere!"

"Hey, Sirius!" he heard Tonks call. "Can I borrow this copy of HouseWitch's Quarterly? I've not read it, yet!"

"Well, it's just a few magazines..." grinned Harry before his honourary uncle laughed back.

"A few?" he scoffed. "They started arriving last night. Sirius was... shall we say... entertaining a lady-friend when the first... errr... risqué one turned up. Apparently, according to Sirius, she stormed off in a huff saying she was going to tell all her single friends what a... errr... 'dirty wizard', he was."

"Ah!" said Harry, understanding. "I'll tell the girls to stop," he said.

"That would be nice," agreed Remus, grinning his head off.

Harry disconnected his mirror and, pocketing it, went to find out what his wives were up to.

_‗_

—==(oIo)==—

ˇ

He just walked into their bedroom to find both on the bed, laughing their heads off.

"Alright, you two," he said, amused. "Just how many magazine subscriptions did you sign Sirius up for?"

"All of them!" laughed Hermione.

"Wait. What do you mean, 'all of them'?" he asked.

"All of them!" she laughed. "Every magazine subscription we could get our hands on."

Harry sighed, trying not to laugh himself. "Well, I think I can honestly say, if he finds out it was you two, he'll admit you won. Now, can you shut them down?"

"Oh, it was only a short term subscription; and, therefore, a short term prank," said Daphne. "He gets the latest issue and one back issue, that's it."

Harry smirked and decided he wasn't feeling sorry for his godfather, after all. The man brought this on himself.

"I want a copy of all the subscription forms for the... male homosexual ones," he said.

"That got the attention of his wives. "What? Why?" squeaked Hermione.

"I think Draco needs to widen his reading material," he calmly replied with a wide grin.

Both girls looked at him for a second before they both burst out laughing, again.

"Oh, and Remus knows it was you two," he added. "But, he won't tell Sirius. He agrees, I think, that Sirius deserves it."

"Who knows," said Daphne. "He might just learn something from those witch romance magazines we sent him."

"I don't know about those; but, I do know one of the subscriptions was for a magazine called Well Hung Wizards," he said. "I heard Tonks, in the background, laughing at him about it."

"Tonks was there?" asked Hermione, surprised but happy.

"Yep," grinned Harry. "I think that's one relationship we don't need to worry about making sure still happens."

"Good!" she sighed. "I want to see Teddy, again."

"Teddy?" asked Daphne. "Who's Teddy?"

"Remus and Tonks's son," replied Hermione. "He's a metamorphmagus, too."

Surprised, Daphne asked, "Professor Lupin and Auror Tonks have a baby together? Isn't he old enough to be her father?"

"Well, for a start, there's only about ten years age difference..." he began, before Hermione cut in.

"Thirteen," she said.

"... Thirteen years age difference between them," he corrected himself. "So, it's really not all that much. He didn't become a Professor until she was already two years out of school and into the Auror academy, so there's nothing wrong there. And, it was her chasing him."

"She fought hard to get him to date her," said Hermione. "She kept having trouble with wizards wanting her to use her metamorphic abilities to change into movie stars, and things. And, she hated that. Remus both knew and understood her pain from that sort of disappointment. He never asked her to change into someone else either before or after they got together. And was happy for her to be whatever she wanted. If anything, it was that attitude that made her fall head over heels in love with him."

"However, he wasn't so sure about starting a relationship with her," said Harry. "First, he worried his lycanthropy would lead to her getting infected. And, later, worried that any child they had would be born with the affliction.

"I think, in the end, she practically raped him during one of the times he was feeling sorry for himself and needed some cuddling. Not rape, per se, but 'took advantage of', definitely. They married in the summer of 1997 and died at the Battle of Hogwarts, together, less than a year later. In the mean time, they had a son, Theodore Remus Lupin, who was less than a month old when his parents died, almost together. He was... will be... my godson."

With a sigh, he said, "That was one of the hardest things knowing, coming back, that he might not be born this time around. Knowing that Remus and Tonks seem to have started a relationship means there's very good chances he will be again. Whether or not they ask me to be his godfather, though..." He shrugged.

"Well, that's both heart lifting and depressing at the same time," said Daphne.

Climbing off the bed, she said, "You wanted copies of the subscription forms, you say? I organised two of everything in case we ruined the first ones. We didn't; so I've still got the second copies."

As Harry and Hermione followed her, she went to 'her' carrel in the living room and pulled out the stack of small forms before turning back to Harry and handing them to him.

"Do you need a hand choosing the right ones?" she coyly asked.

"Yes, please," he said.

Together, the three sorted through them selecting just which ones to 'gift' Ferret Boy.

_‗_

—==(oIo)==—

ˇ

During breakfast mail two days later the girls received a small white flag with an outline of a grim on it, sitting on its own little flagpole.

This had them both cracking up laughing again.

"It seems your victim has surrendered," said Luna.

Daphne reached out and stood the little flag on its pole up in the middle of the table.

"I daresay it's only a lull in the war," replied Harry. "I think we can call this one a short battle, which the girls won. The flag is just Sirius's way of acknowledging their victory for this round."

"You think he'll retaliate?" asked Hermione.

"I do," he replied. "But, it'll not be for a while. I think he'll wait until summer, though; as we're heading towards the final task and exams. He might be a prankster, at heart, but he won't want to distract us from what it is we need to accomplish."

_‗_

—==(oIo)==—

ˇ