While everyone else seemed to be off on fun adventures, Pansy and Su were busy as well.
"Urgh, I think this is the 100th diaper we've changed today..." Su complained as she held the dirty diaper in her fingers and tossed it into the diaper pail.
They had been given the unfortunate task of diaper duty for the day, and she wasn't too happy about it.
"I don't think it's so bad." Pansy answered, having the nerve to remain positive as she put the new diaper on one of the babies.
"In that case, you can change all of my kids' dirty diapers." Su said.
"It's a part of being a mom." Pansy countered.
"Well I'm not ready to be a mom just yet." Su declared resolutely.
Of course she wanted to be a mom, eventually, but before she settled down she wanted to have the chance to have lots of adventures.
Changing diapers she supposed could be an adventure... just not the type of adventure she was most eager for at the moment.
Harry, Fleur, and Gabrielle were likely fighting a dragon or having sex, both of which seemed rather good to her, and Susan and Ariana were probably bashing Grindelwald's head in to make him talk.
All she had had to do was take care of babies with Pansy.
It seemed rather anti-climatic in comparison.
Fortunately she had at least one thing to look forward to: pre-Auror training.
However, Tonks had been telling her all week that because all the Aurors were so busy trying to track down Dumbledore and any more clones, all she would be doing is filling out paperwork the entire time in order to give the actual Aurors more time to be doing field work.
Even though Tonks tried to argue that she really did need to learn it as it was an important and necessary part of an Auror's job, she didn't see why she should be the one saddled with it.
They were supposed to be trying to persuade her to want to become an Auror, not the other way around.
The only upside was that she had somehow managed to persuade Pansy to accompany her... under the condition that she came with her later on in the summer for pre-Healer training she had managed to get at St. Mungo's.
Since she actually felt rather guilty having to rely so much on Pansy for the constant injuries she managed to get either through duel training or physical combat training, she decided that it might not actually be a bad idea even if she had no desire to become a healer herself.
After making sure all the babies were back with their mothers, they went with Tonks, who Apparated them both to the Ministry.
"Don't worry girls." Tonks said, having the nerve to be cheerful, "I've got a couple stacks of paperwork a foot high for each of you, and there's plenty more where that came from."
"Oh joy..." Su replied, most unhappily.
"Cheer up girls!" Tonks said, "I had to do all the paperwork when I first became an Auror."
"I can see why so few people become Aurors." Su contended.
"I suppose whatever we can do to help?" Pansy told Tonks helpfully.
Grr...Pansy and her helpfulness.
"That's the spirit!" Tonks said enthusiastically.
Su was tempted to slap Tonks right then and there.
When they got inside the Auror department however, she lead them into where they presumed would be their room.
Expecting to find huge stacks of paperwork on desks, instead she found a huge world map covering the back wall, papers containing all sorts of information, and even a few cool looking devices currently lying in a bin in the corner.
Tonks grinned at them and said, "You didn't really think I was going to have you do paperwork the whole time did you?"
"I knew you wouldn't do that to us!" Pansy claimed, although looking pleased to find she was right.
"Wait a minute?" Su asked Pansy, "You knew and you didn't tell me?"
"I thought you were supposed to be the former Ravenclaw and I just the former Slytherin?" Pansy pointed out, "If you couldn't figure it out on your own, I figured it would be more fun to watch you suffer a bit and then be pleasantly surprised."
"How very Slytherin of you." Su ground out.
"So what exactly are we going to be doing then Tonks?" Pansy asked.
"You'll be taking on a very important case, possibly even more important than Dumbledore-and I really do mean that." Tonks informed them, "As you both know we intercepted a package from Malfoy to be delivered to someone."
"Yes, but we still don't know just what was in that package." Su pointed out, hoping that she might find out.
"In due time." Tonks soothed, "What you need to know now is that we intend to find out just where that package came from, where it is going, and what it is intended for. I managed to interrogate both Malfoy and the drug dealer who gave it to him, but neither really knew anything. The drug dealer never actually learned the identity of the person who gave it to him as they wore a hooded cloak, had Glamours on, and disguised their voice. He never asked questions as long as he got paid."
"What about Draco?" Pansy asked.
"Draco of course knew nothing either except how to contact the person he was asked to find." Tonks told them, "His mom was able to convince him to cooperate in exchange for a full pardon on his drug use and smuggling provided he get some help at a rehab facility where he'll also be required to do community service."
Su couldn't help chuckling a little at that, imagining poor Malfoy having to suffer through being cooped up in rehab all summer, possibly picking up poop at Muggle dog parks whenever they let him out.
"As I was saying," Tonks said, gently chiding her for the interruption, "we managed to contact him with Malfoy's help and let him know that we would be delivering the package to him tomorrow. Due to the dangerous nature of the contents of the package, we've elected to create a well made fake which should pass any inspection so long as it's not actually used. As of right now, however, he is our only link to finding out anything, so we'll be sending someone in undercover. Amelia wanted to send me in but I'm too busy heading up the Dumbledore case, and no one else has the requisite skill."
"What kind of skill would you need?" Pansy asked.
"It's not so much a skill, more a background." Tonks admitted, "The man, who's real name is Walter Simmons, was actually a former Death Eater but we couldn't ever prove that he actually committed any major crimes, so after 3 years in the few areas of Azkaban with no Dementor exposure, he was let out."
"Unfortunately though, soon after he skipped out on parole and hasn't been seen since then until now. Evidently he's been living in the Muggle world all this time as far as we can tell, but he's only just recently returned to Britain. By now he apparently works as a martial arts teacher in a Muggle boarding school."
"That seems kind of suspicious." Su observed.
"I quite agree," Tonks answered, "but since it's a boarding school for teenagers and we can't risk Glamours, we would need..."
"Actual teenagers to go undercover." Su finished for her, "Meaning you need us to go in and find out what we can."
"Correct," Tonks agreed, "it's definitely not ideal and I had to work hard to convince Amelia, but even she is forced to admit that there simply is no other option. Besides, she recognizes just how dangerous this situation is quite well."
"Do we get any cool gadgets?" Su asked, "Maybe a pen that transforms into a sword."
Tonks smiled slyly, "I think we've got a few things lying around."
"Well then," Su urged, "show them to us."
Tonks went over and reached into the bin of gadgets that Su had been eying earlier. First she pulled out a Muggle device of some kind.
"This is supposed to resemble a Muggle music player." She informed them, "Difference being, it causes any Muggles listening to it to instantly fall asleep."
She next picked up some glasses.
"As long as you're wearing these, I'll be able to see what you see and even hear what you hear." Tonks explained.
Personally Su had perfect vision, but she supposed she could manage to live with wearing them.
Tonks then picked up a pen.
"So what does that do?" Pansy asked.
"It just lets you write stuff." Tonks said, playful grin in place as Su huffed. "You're going to need it because it will be a Muggle school and you will need to be able to write."
Both girls groaned as what she was implying sunk in.
DUELDUELDUEL
Harry woke up feeling more satisfied than ever.
Both Veela could really go at it with him, and their stamina would have impressed any man.
What awoke him however was a knock on the door and he hurried to wrap a small blanket around himself before answering it.
"Yes?" He asked.
He noticed that it was one of the guards... Giselle, he was pretty sure was her name.
However like before she still was choosing not to look at him and instead was looking at the ground in front of her.
"The Queen wishes to speak to you." She announced.
"All right, just one second and I'll get the girls up and then we can get dressed." Harry offered.
"She wishes to speak to you alone and right now. What you are wearing should be sufficient." Giselle insisted.
"A... blanket?" Harry asked in surprise.
Giselle sighed and proving that she had a sense of humor said, "It would be better than going naked."
He wanted to laugh but chose not to as he said, "I still think it might be a good idea to put on some clothes."
Going to see the Queen and Fleur and Gabrielle's mother in a blanket probably wasn't a good idea.
"As you wish." She agreed before adding, "Just hurry."
"Do you think you could wait while I get dressed?" He asked her.
"I'm afraid my orders are to not let you out of my sight once I found you." She admitted.
Quite honestly being naked in front of girls really wasn't that big of a deal to him anymore. Even Amelia and Narcissa had caught him naked once while he was currently involved with Pansy.
It was a bit embarrassing, but they chose not to say anything.
"Just avert your eyes." Harry commanded her as he removed the blanket.
Yet while he searched for some underwear, he glanced back at her.
Now however she caught him unabashedly staring at him.
She tried to avert her eyes again, but he'd definitely caught her.
"Forgive me." She tried to apologize, "I've never actually seen a man before and I was curious what..."
"You've never seen a naked man before?" Harry inquired.
"I've never seen a man at all before." She clarified, "I grew up in this city and I've never actually left it."
"I'd say that must have been hard, but that's probably all you've known." Harry answered.
He noted that she stared up at him again for a second before saying, "You are truly quite beautiful."
"Um...thanks?" Harry said, "You're pretty attractive yourself."
She blushed and said, "I would say that I am quite ordinary."
"Among totally human women you would be considered incredibly beautiful. Solid nine, at least." Harry said, having finally gotten his underwear on and was now looking for a shirt.
He had had the shirt he had come with, but that one was now rather dirty since Fleur had used it to wipe up some of her sweat.
Why on earth she had to use his shirt he didn't know, but he hadn't been in the mood to complain.
"Even so I pale in comparison to the glow and beauty of your Veela lovers, they practically glow with your strong sexual power." Giselle insisted.
"Um...thanks?" Harry answered again, once more unsure as to how to reply.
He finally found a shirt and some pants among the supplies that they had brought and put them on.
"Ready," He announced, "you can look at me now."
"I'm not sure that is a good idea," She confessed, "I must admit to being very... attracted to you."
"Girls usually are attracted to me and I've learned to deal with it." Harry said, half-jokingly.
Giselle reluctantly looked at him and this time did not look away.
In fact as they walked, she kept her eyes mostly towards him, even though she occasionally blushed as she did so.
"So would you happen to have any idea just what the Queen might want with me?" Harry asked her.
"It would not be my place to ask that." She informed him.
"You'd let me know though if she was planning to execute me or something, right?" He asked her, trying to make another joke.
"I'd likely be the one ordered to carry out the execution." She admitted.
Eesh, tough crowd.
Finally however, she said, "It would however be an awful shame to have to kill you."
"Yes, I quite agree." He replied.
When they finally entered, the Queen was still sitting in her throne, looking foreboding.
"I brought him in as you wished." Giselle informed the Queen.
"Good, you may now leave us." The Queen commanded her.
After she had left, he bowed to her as best as he could.
"I imagine you have plenty of questions for me." She stated, "Although I have plenty for you as well, which is why I chose to have you come alone."
He couldn't think of how to reply so he said simply, "Okay, I'll try to answer as best as I can."
She nodded before saying, "You do realize I could have you executed?"
He gulped but then said boldly, "I am aware, but I also know you won't do that, and it's not because it might cause harm to your daughters, it's because you know I love them and that they've found happiness with me."
It was a bit presumptuous of him to say, but he still felt the need to say it. Plus, he was backed up by their very customs; he'd made it into the city when literally hundreds, maybe even thousands had failed.
She let out a smile and then said, "From my discussion with them I do know that, which is why I can't be upset with you. I know that you had to make them slaves but that you also have chosen not to abuse this power or them which definitely puts me at ease."
Wrapped up in her speech, she failed to notice his tiny wince as he remembered accidentally abusing the very thing she was talking about the night before.
She continued, "However, there are still problems. First of all, according to our law all slave masters who enter our land are to be killed. Even so, since you have proven to be a worthy Veela mate and entered this city under your own volition you are subject to having the right to citizenship, including our protection. As you can imagine, this puts me in a bit of a bind, considering the conflicting laws."
"I'd prefer the one where I didn't have to be killed." Harry said seriously.
"I'd imagine you would." She agreed with a bemused smile, "Obviously I wouldn't desire to kill the man that both of my daughters so clearly love, nor allow harm to come to either of them. I am not heartless, which makes my decision all the more hard due to what I know."
"Fortunately however there is a way out. I cannot remove the slave bond, but I do have the power as Queen to switch it as long as you are willing so that you become their slave and they your masters. Doing so would also cause Fleur to become eligible again to become the future Queen."
'Wow,' Harry thought, 'that was... not what I unexpected.'
Yet as he thought about it, he thought about how much trust both girls had put in him in allowing him to be their master.
Did he have the same trust in them?
The simple answer was yes.
"If that is what they wish, then I will indeed trust them with that." Harry finally replied.
Again the Queen smiled and said, "That was a test, one which you passed. I could indeed do that to you and you have proven willing, but my daughters would not, I am sure. For some reason they actually seem to enjoy being slaves instead of Queen."
"I think most people would be rather confused by that." Harry answered, unsure whether he was talking to a confused mother or an sarcastic Queen.
"I feel I can understand them better than most." She said, "I am not sure what they told you, but I myself once had a lover that I was once forced to choose between and my crown. While a hard decision, I knew that I had to put my people first above that of my own happiness."
"I'm sure it still wasn't easy." Harry observed.
"Quite," She agreed, "whether they admit it or not, my daughters are still quite upset at me for abandoning them."
"You could have least visited or something," Harry pointed out, hoping he wasn't being too insolent, "I'm sure they would have been happy to see you."
"It is unfortunately one of our laws that I not leave for my own protection." She answered, "A difficult rule, but one I am obliged to follow."
"It appears you have many rules which I confess to not knowing very well." Harry told her.
"That is all right, you will learn them in time." She replied confidently, "I have decided upon my sentencing for you... you will be granted a stay of execution and instead given full citizenship among these people along with all the rights that go with it. I am also aware that you will not be coming to live here permanently nor will my daughters and I am willing to grant that provided that you stay here for a period of one month to learn of our ways and our culture, which you have been adopted into."
He winced as he admitted, "I'm not sure if I can stay that long."
"You will." She urged, "There are things that you will need to know. You will come here at precisely 10 in the morning everyday to be privately instructed by me in some things and then afterward you will be instructed in our history and culture."
Admittedly he was rather confused as to why she would make such a request of him since Fleur and Gabrielle were the Veela and her daughters and she should probably be trying to spend time with them and not him, but he felt it wasn't wise to protest further.
"I thank you, noble Queen," Harry responded, now bowing.
"We shall soon see if you are saying that at the end of the month." She declared.
He could only guess what she meant by that, but he didn't need a hyper sensitive sixth sense to detect that she was hiding something from him.
DUELDUELDUEL
Susan and Ariana were currently busy making out in their hotel room.
After learning they would have to wait a few weeks, they really didn't have much to do...leading to them having to find ways to entertain themselves.
It had really become something of a turning point for them, Susan realized. Now that she and Ariana were alone and on their own, she was able to accept that she was definitely bi-sexual and liked girls.
While admittedly scary to have to admit that, it was also something of a relief. It felt sort of freeing in a way.
The girls and Harry had all been supportive even if she had, on occasion, ended up staring at one of them, but while it could get a bit awkward for the most part it really wasn't too bad.
She would never actually act on any such feelings unless they wanted it anyway, and they all knew it. It was still frustrating on her part though.
The general public, however, she made sure not to give anything away, not really ready to come out just yet.
Fortunately she had a way to express that part of her in Ariana.
In her time of knowing her, they had only gotten closer as friends and now more than that.
While they hadn't crossed the bridge to actual lovers with intercourse as she had done with Harry, she knew it was only a matter of time... and something that she would welcome.
Looking at Ariana from an outsider's perspective, the young woman would be looked at as merely pretty. Nothing to really catch anyone's attention. Her blonde hair and blue eyes were nice and she had at least somewhat decent figure. Her breasts were actually on the smaller side, but not non-existent either.
Admittedly she was a breast girl herself and liked bigger boobs. She knew enough about her own sexuality to accept that. She'd caught herself literally drooling while staring at Fleur and Gabrielle a few times.
That had been embarrassing.
The problem was though that Ariana was very self-conscious of that after Susan had admitted to her breast fetish, causing the the Bones Heiress to feel guilty for doing that to her. She had insisted that she had breasts big enough for the both of them, and not to worry about it. Besides, nothing turned her on more than to have either Harry or Ariana suck one of her breasts. Didn't even need to be the nipple, any sort of lip-to-tit contact drove her crazy.
After making out for several minutes, Susan confessed breathlessly, "Oh, Ariana, I love you."
She hadn't meant to say it, it had just popped out, but it still caused Ariana's eyes to go wide.
"You... love me?" Ariana asked in amazement.
"... Yes, I do." Susan said boldly after a moment of hesitation. She knew when she fell in love with Harry and how she felt about him then, and she recognized that she now had the same feelings for Ariana.
"What about Harry?" Ariana asked.
"I love him too, but I also know I love you as well." Susan confessed.
Ariana seemed to think about it for a moment before cautioning, "I don't think we should be going that far."
"Why not?" Susan inquired.
Ariana sighed and said, " Since both of us know that our relationship will only end up being temporary. You'll be marrying Harry and neither of us want to disrupt that."
Susan urged, "You could still visit frequently, I'm sure Harry wouldn't mind."
All right so it wouldn't be the same she knew. It wouldn't really be like having Harry and Ariana like she wanted.
"The only way it would work is if I was married to Harry too," Ariana observed, "and that just seems like it will never happen."
It was again an old problem. She knew Harry liked Ariana, he'd saved her life and she had likely saved his, but that connection between them had never been acted upon.
She kept dreaming of a time when Harry would just decide to kiss Ariana and the rest would be history.
Ariana on the other hand would marry Harry in a heart beat but simply didn't have the courage to be able to get Harry in some way. As much as Ariana seemed attracted to her, she also liked Harry just as much.
It was almost sad that it hadn't worked out that way and why should it?
There was simply no shortage of girls to occupy Harry's attention and she simply had a lot of competition. How was Harry supposed to develop feelings for a girl when he already was involved with 6 other girls?
Usually when a person was in a loving relationship with someone, feelings for other people tended to decrease or even disappear entirely. Well try multiplying that sort of state by 6 and you had Harry.
Why would he desire someone when he already had everything he could possibly want?
She had spent countless hours trying to figure out how to get Harry and Ariana together but to no avail
"Maybe we just need to get him to notice you more somehow." Susan suggested.
Ariana seemed to think for a moment before stating, "I should get my breasts enlarged."
"A breast enlargement?" Susan asked in surprise, "Your boobs aren't too bad of a size."
"Yes, but I've seen the way Harry ogles yours, Fleur's, and Gabrielle's boobs." Ariana reminded her, "If I'm going to get his attention, I'm going to need to have something that will get his attention. I mean I'm a pretty girl, but I don't really have anything that will let me stand out."
"You shouldn't feel the need to get a breast enlargement to help you stand out." Susan said, "I mean I think you're beautiful."
"Thanks, but I know you like big boobs, beginning with your own." Ariana pointed out, "Can you honestly tell me that you wouldn't like me better with bigger boobs?"
Susan gulped. That wasn't an easy question, and it wasn't because she didn't automatically know the answer.
"I think you already know the answer to that." Susan answered, "You shouldn't feel pressured just because of Harry or me. Harry's always been able to like small boobs too. Take Su for example. As for me you know I'm a boob girl, I like big boobs, there's nothing wrong with that, but I also would never try to get you to change your body just because of me."
"Then I would do it for me." Ariana insisted, "I know I love your big tits and I think it would be great to have a big pair of big tits as well. I want you to suck my boobs the way I suck yours."
"How would you be able to afford it?" Susan pointed out, "Those kinds of potions are really expensive."
"Not if I was to make it myself." Ariana reminded her, "The cost of the potion comes almost entirely from the difficulty of brewing them, and I've certainly got the skill. Apparently Dumbfounded was quite the pervert."
She allowed herself to imagine Ariana with a big pair of tits.
Okay yeah, that turned her on, and if Ariana really wanted to do it, was it so wrong? Why should she be arguing about this?
Finally she only shrugged her shoulders and said, "If that's what you want to do."
DUELDUELDUEL
Gabrielle was actually rather pleased about hearing about Harry's meeting with her mother.
Despite her misgivings about coming here, largely due to her worry that Harry might not actually make it or what her mother might do, it appeared to have worked out relatively well.
Even having to stay here for a month was a punishment she would willingly pay.
When her mother left she'd had still been quite young, and as such obviously missed out on quite a lot. This was really a chance to be able to get to know her again and spend time with her. She even had a good guess that one of the reasons her mother had made such a request was in order to have both of her daughters with her for at least that much time, something that she couldn't hold against her.
Sure they never would have the regular mother/daughter relationship with her mother now being a Queen, but any modicum of something would be better than what they had now.
Admittedly she had felt somewhat jealous of Susan or Harry, who obviously had adopted a mother figure in Amelia and she to them.
She was sure in a way that worked both ways, Susan and Harry being at least a little jealous of the fact that her mother was still alive, but it was still different for her.
It seemed to be almost a requirement to join their little harem group: having absentee, uncaring or dead parents.
Yet she and Fleur were different, they had always known that even if they couldn't tell anyone. They had a mother who was alive and well and probably still cared for them a great deal.
That seemed to be proven in coming here, although the dynamic appeared to have changed. She remembered her mother being very kind and gentle and loving, who would read her stories and sing songs and all sorts of other things. Obviously the years as Queen had changed her, but she could tell that that part of her mother was still inside her and she was eager to see if she could maybe coax it out.
Unfortunately much to her chagrin, their main purpose for coming would only make that all the more difficult.
Both she and Fleur had finally been granted the opportunity to go see their mother and as they approached and bowed, Fleur led the conversation.
"Mother," Fleur said, "we did in fact come here for a purpose, a purpose other than just to see you."
"I'm aware of that," Their mother answered, "which admittedly has made me curious just what could be so important."
Fleur uttered just one word, a word that caused all of them to shudder in fear.
"Anduvar."
Her mother looked upset.
"You dare use that word here?" She asked her angrily.
She had good reason to be upset. Saying such a word was worse than a swear word to a Veela. It was worse than saying Voldemort to a British wizard. It was however a word every Veela knew, and avoided so much as thinking about since it generated so much fear.
"I do," Fleur said, "I do not do so lightly nor do I wish to say it again. Just know that one of... them... was captured in a police raid and I was asked to come here to see if you might have any knowledge of it or how to defend against it."
"That's impossible." Their mother tried to insist, now looking more worried than when she had found out they were slaves, "We made sure to destroy them all. I made sure of it."
"It appears that at least one managed to escape." Fleur said, "Which means that there may be more out there. From what I've been told, whose ever it was clearly had intended to use it, and I think you know what that would mean."
Their mother stated, "I just can't believe that... After I spent so much effort... How did we miss one?"
"There is a possibility that it was the only one and the situation was contained." Fleur replied, trying to see the bright side to prevent further panic. "Although we really can't rule that out and should assume the worst. We need to know your way of locating them if we are to find that out."
"Absolutely," Their mother said quickly, "I shall have my very best look into it and ensure that I get you whatever you require. I want it contained and totally eradicated. If what happened last time happens again... Our entire population could be wiped out."
Their mother was clearly emotional while she spoke. Last time had hit her really hard even though it had affected all Veela in some way, with some more than others.
Had it not been for what had occurred last time, her mother and the others in line for the throne would still be alive and she would not be Queen.
She would instead have had the chance to really be their mother and none of them would be here.
Last time had essentially ruined their chances at happiness as a complete family.
"Don't worry, I know." Fleur agreed, "This will be dealt with and we will nip it in the bud without any losses.
She said it with determination and faith, things that would be needed to handle the situation. If it got out to the general population... there could even be possible anarchy.
The good thing was they had gotten the response they had been hoping for and that was very important. With luck, things would manage to work out. Otherwise it could mean doom to them all.