Scary
DISCLAIMER: That part of this world and those characters you’ve seen before belong to their Creator: JKR. The rest is mine - although I cannot quit my day job as I make no $$$
A/N: Sorry for the long delay. Life got distracting.
CHAPTER SIXTY-THREE: SCARY
TUESDAY, DECEMBER 14 th 1993
“Mr. Potter,” Professor McGonagall said causing Harry to look up. They were at breakfast. He and his girls arrived fairly early most every day. True, they could simply skive off breakfast in the Great Hall and eat at the estate, but they had decided that while they might sleep there and, in many instances, do their homework there, they took their meals in the Great Hall on school days. After all, that’s when things seemed to happen or the latest rumours were most rapidly spread about and in the mornings it was when the regular post arrived. “As you and your ladies have no examinations today, Madam Pomfrey would like to see the lot of you in the Hospital Wing for a physical First Period. You will be excused from morning classes.”
“It will take all morning, Professor?” Hermione asked almost disappointed.
“I have been asked to allow that much time, Miss Granger. I cannot say how long it shall actually take. But you all will be there immediately following breakfast.”
“Does that include me?” Ginny asked.
“She said nothing to me to indicate you’re not excepted, Miss Weasley. Yes, it includes you.”
“Yes Professor,” Harry and his five ladies replied.
After she walked away Ron asked: “So what’s that about?”
“No idea,” Harry said. “Guess Madam Pomfrey just misses seeing me all banged up and in one of the beds up there.”
There were chuckles from those at the table who heard that, at least those who were not First Years.
“Makes sense,” Ron nodded. “You’ve managed to go a whole term without being there. Must be some sort of record.”
“I’m sure this is about the Bonds, Ron,” Hermione said.
“If Madam Pomfrey were simply pining away for Harry, she would not have asked for us to be there as well,” Luna added. “Of course, she could be just pining away for Harry and asked us to be there so it didn’t look like she was pining away for Harry.”
“The Bond makes more sense,” Ron said. “Katie and I had to see her a few days ago about ours. It was… well, it turned out brilliant, but it was embarrassing. To be honest that other bit sounds… creepy. Madam Pomfrey’s too old for you, Mate. Or you’re too young for her, you know?”
“That’s just so wrong, Ron,” Harry said.
“Luna brought it up!”
“So how are you two doing?” Ginny asked changing the topic. Ron and Katie were sitting together.
“It’s been weeks since Mum’s offered us advice, so I’d say brilliantly,” Ron said.
“I am quite satisfied with what my magic wanted and what it got,” Katie added. “He’s a wonderful boyfriend and totally brilliant ‘tween the sheets.”
“Katie!” Ron gasped.
“What?”
“I… um… well,” he began blushing. “Um… look… thanks? You too. But do we have to tell everyone that?”
“He’s so cute when he blushes, don’t you think?” Katie said leaning over to kiss him on the cheek which only made it worse for the poor boy.
“They do stuff like this to you, mate?” Ron asked.
“Not in the Great Hall,” Harry said.
“But otherwise all the time,” Daphne added.
“Although,” Hannah said, “aside from his being a warm cuddle pillow at night, we can’t say much else about his skills between the sheets yet seeing as the bonding process between Harry and Hermione and Luna is not letting us enjoy that yet.”
“But we all agree that Harry has all sorts of between the sheets potential,” Luna added.
Now it was Harry’s turn to blush furiously.
“I stand corrected,” Ron chuckled.
“So, when’s the day, dear brother?” Ginny asked.
“Oh, um…”
“Saturday,” Katie said. “We’re going home by floo Friday night and I will be Mrs. Weasley before the Hogwarts Express pulls into King’s Cross. We’d’ve invited you, but the letter from Gringotts said just us and our parents or magical guardians are allowed. But we plan to have a dinner afterwards for the rest of our families and friends.”
“Not wasting any time,” Ginny began.
“The parents would be more comfortable having us sharing a bedroom over the Holidays if we were married,” Ron shrugged. “Mum would allow us to do so without the rings and such ‘cause of the Bond, but she’d prefer us to be married. To be honest, Katie and I can see no good reason to wait either. I mean you lot married as soon as you could and the same’s true for Neville and his ladies.”
“Like you,” Katie continued, “we do plan to have a proper wedding one day in a couple of years or so, right Ron?”
“Um… right. Just, um, tell me when, where and what to do.”
“You have my brother trained well,” Ginny quipped.
“I know how lucky I am,” Ron countered. “Besides, what do I know about wedding things? The only think I know is there’s no Quidditch but there is usually food. So, since it would be our wedding and I’m clueless, then it only makes sense that I listen to Katie here who’s not clueless.”
“He just wants to do it for the food,” Ginny said.
“Ah!” Katie said, “but he wants to do it which is the whole point in the end. And food is a less… private reason than the honeymoon sex that comes afterwards.”
“You never mentioned that!” Ron gasped. “This wedding thing seems like a better idea already!”
“Ah good!” Madam Pomfrey said as the six students entered the Hospital Wing. There were some thirty beds or so in rows on either side of the wing and some doors at the far end. The beds were empty. “I am pleased to see that you are prompt. Hopefully this will not take long and it should be relatively painless,” she added with a smirk. “Mr. Potter? I am pleased that this is the only way I could have found to enjoy your company here this term!”
“Well,” Harry said, “I suppose it helps that no one chose to try and kill me this time around.”
“Indeed, that is helpful,” Madam Pomfrew nodded. “Right then, the lot of you to examining room three at the end of the wing. Follow me.”
“Um… ,” Daphne began, “what’s this about, Ma'am.”
“I would say routine,” Madam Pompfrey said, “but nothing about Mr. Potter has ever been routine. Unless that in and of itself can be said to be routine. Actually, I need to examine all of you, in particular Harry and his bonded, but all of you given your circumstances for my end of term reports for your records. Right then, here we are,” she finished opening a door. Beyond was a brightly lit room with a counter and cabinets along the far wall, large windows, hooks and low shelves on another wall the shelves being empty and six chairs. “Alright then, all of you are to take off all your clothes and have a seat. You can hang your things on the hooks or place them on the shelves. I’ll be back in ten minutes and expect you all to be undressed and seated when I return.”
“You… ,” Harry began, “you mean we're… Naked?”
“That is usually the condition one finds themselves in when they remove all of their clothes, Mr. Potter.”
“But,” Harry began.
“Is there a problem, Mr. Potter.”
“In front of…”
“You’re a married man, Mr. Potter. Moreover, you’re on the Quidditch team. What are you saying?”
“Um…”
“Most of us have not seen him naked,” Luna said. “He’s seen all of us that way. But I think only Ginny’s seen him that way because of Quidditch.”
“Not as often as you’d think,” Ginny said. “He doesn’t parade around the locker that way and we, well we change and get out of there pretty quickly. In my case, it’s so I don’t have to watch my brothers.”
“I can see that,” Daphne said. “Seeing your brothers naked might be a little…”
“Creepy,” Hannah finished.
“Um, that too,” Ginny said. “The truth is I don’t really want to see their, um, post-practice naked games.”
“They and their girlfriends have sex after their showers,” Harry said. “Fred and George would probably not even wait for the showers if Alicia and Angelina didn’t insist on it. And yeah, I don’t stick around for that either.”
“I am well aware of what probably happens in the locker rooms,” Madam Pomfrey said. “Magical disconnect is no laughing matter as I am sure Miss Bell can tell you and that sort of… activity… is an effective preventative measure. A bond such as the one Mr. Potter shares with Miss Granger and Miss Lovegood protects those two young ladies and the bond Miss Weasley shares with Mr. Potter protects her. Still, I see no reason why you should be reluctant about this, Mr. Potter. You are, after all, married to four of these young woman and betrothed to the fifth with the fifth as your assigned Quidditch Partner, are you not?”
Harry just stared at the floor.
“Harry’s a gentleman,” Daphne said in his defense. “He asks and expects nothing from any of us that we would not freely give and we have not asked that of him.”
“He has seen all of us naked quite frequently,” Luna said. “He has because we all trust him and we all enjoy it,” the other girls nodded in agreement even if it was Luna’s idea all those months ago. “He has never asked that of us, which also makes it very comfortable for us. And we have never asked that of him. We all know when the time comes he will need to complete the bond and when that time comes it will be obvious to all of us and to Hermione and me in particular. In the meantime, we enjoy what we do have together.”
“I see,” Madam Pomfrey. “Be that as it may, I see no reason for refusing my order. I need to examine all of you. Moreover, I need to examine the bonding pairs together. Part of the examination cannot be done with clothing and given your circumstances, you should be getting used to the idea anyway. I will be back in ten minutes.”
A few minutes later, Harry was naked, seated on one of the chairs in the room. Fortunately, the chair was warm and comfortable or things would have been more awkward as his ladies sat in the other chairs which were arranged in a circle.
“You don’t have to cover up for us, Harry,” Hannah said. “We are your wives after all.”
Harry had not realized he was doing so. “Sorry,” he said sheepishly as he moved his hands to his side.
Daphne snorted. Hannah giggled. Ginny looked a little surprised. Hermione rolled her eyes at the others and Luna looked as if nothing was going on that was in any way out of the ordinary.
“For some reason, I was expecting more,” Daphne said.
“I think it’s cute,” Hannah added.
“Please!” Harry blushed. “There’s a guy here! Me! And we don’t think our stuff is supposed to be cute.”
“I’ve never really seen one so relaxed before,” Ginny admitted. “I mean I had some glimpses of Harry in the lockers. But every other time I’ve seen boy bits they were… sticking out and much bigger.”
“And who were those boys, Miss Weasley?” Madam Pomfrey asked. No one had noted her return.
“Um… my brothers. And no. Before you ask, I was not involved with that at all. When I was eight, I walked into the bathroom at home and caught my brother Percy… um… taking care of it, you know? He got yelled at for no locking the door,” she added with a chuckle. “Then last year I found him and Penelope Clearwater. He had his thing in her mount until he noticed me. I’ve seen Fred, George and Ron like that in the locker rooms. Ron just got dressed and left quickly until he bonded with Katie. Fred and George and now Ron would then… well, their girls would help them with that,” Ginny said blushing furiously. “Oh, and Ollie Wood was like that too. He brings an older girl in to deal with that problem.”
“The previously mentioned Penelope,” Harry added, “at least at school. I wonder if Percy knew that Penelope Clearwater has been helping Ollie that way since my First Year at least.”
“She has?” Ginny asked.
Harry nodded.
“We’re not here for salacious gossip,” Madam Pomfrey said sternly. “Right then. I have some questions while I examine each of you and you may find them uncomfortable, but I expect truthful answers. We will begin with you Mr. Potter. Stand up with your arms at your sides.”
Blushing, Harry did as he was told. Madam Pomfrey held a wand and muttered something. There were various colors that appeared seemingly at random both on and around Harry and she took some notes. She then asked him to step onto a scale where she measured his height and weight again while doing some kind of magic with her wand. “Right then,” she said, “the truth now and don’t make me think you’re hiding something. As a Healer I may use Veritiserum if it is necessary for analysis, diagnosis or treatment, understand?” After Harry nodded she continued: “When was the last time you experienced and erection, Mr. Potter?”
“What?” Harry sputtered.
“You heard me and you understood me.”
“Um… well, this morning I guess.”
“And before that?”
“Um… yesterday morning. Most mornings, actually, when I wake up I have one.”
“That is hardly unusual,” Madam Pomfrey said, “and consistent with your age. Just so you know, it is involuntary and, more important, it is not a true arousal rather it is a mechanism boys develop in infancy in regards to full bladders.”
Harry blushed furiously when several of the girls giggled. “Any other times?”
“Um… not… not since the bond, really.”
“Before then?”
“Frequently,” Harry blushed. “Sometimes for no reason. Anytime I even thought about a girl that way or what she might have under her robes I seemed to get one. Every time in the Quidditch locker rooms when the girls on the team undressed.”
“That too, is expected. But since the bond it has only been in the mornings, correct?”
“At first, no. But within a few weeks, it was only when I woke up. You said that was typical for the bonds.”
“I did. I’m sure Healer Tonks may have said the same. But to date it’s only in the mornings, correct?”
Harry nodded.
“You first bonded when?”
“I bonded with Hermione and Luna June 21st. It’s the earliest I could have bonded with either of them.”
“Or both of them,” Madam Pomfrey added. “That was almost six months ago by our calendar. How long by yours?”
“I bonded June 21st, First Year of the Estate Calendar. Today is June 25th of the Second Year of the Estate Calendar.”
“He gave Luna and me very nice anniversary presents the other day,” Hermione added.
“And toe curling kisses,” Luna added.
Madam Pomfrey nodded. “Which of you was the first to bond with him?”
“Hermione was the first to kiss him,” Luna said. “But I kissed him first on that day so I guess I was the first to bond with him.”
“Stand up, Miss Lovegood,” Madam Pomfrey said she then asked Luna to step to the scales as well when that was done, she turned to Harry who had resumed his seat. “Mister Potter, I want you to stand up and give Miss Lovegood one of those toe curling kisses she mentioned while I take some readings okay?”
“Um… it’s necessary?”
“To be honest I don’t know. I’m looking at several things and that degree of intimacy may or may not reveal who knows what. There’s little about these bonds in Healer Journals and nothing about the bonds such as yours and House Longbottom. Therefore, it is necessary to be a little too thorough rather than not thorough enough. I want to see whether and to what extent such intimacy affects each of your magical signatures. I will be asking that you provide the same assistance with each of these young ladies once I complete the other portions of their examinations.”
“Um… each of them?”
“Each of them.”
“But I’ve not bonded with the others!”
“That’s not entirely true, is it Mr. Potter. You share a bond with Miss Weasley, but of a different nature, correct?”
Harry nodded. “But… well, our rules are she’s too young for that kind of a kiss.”
“Waiting for her bonding age?”
“A month into her mentorship or her bonding age whichever’s first,” Hermione said. “She’s not yet at the stage for mentorship although she may well be in a couple of months or less.”
“I ask this for a reason,” Madam Pomfrey said. “I want to compare various results. Miss Greengrass and Miss Abbott will provided results not affected by a bond I should think, Miss Weasley’s results will be affected by her bond in some way and Miss Lovegood and Miss Granger in another way possibly because of that type of bond. There also may be measurable results based upon age and other factors unique to each pairing. Moreover, I will compare results from this test with the ones I received from House Longbottom the other day and, before you ask, I did ask that he kiss all of his ladies as passionately as he ever had including the youngest. I am trying to find out how these bonds develop as there’s little written about them at all. The more I know, the more I can help both you lot and any similarly situated couples in the future and the more likely I can tell if there’s a problem.”
“I… fine,” Harry said as he drew Luna into a deep kiss.
Harry did not see much of this part of the examination as he was too busy kissing his girls. Last was Ginny, with whom he had not gone beyond a peck on the lips before. True, they hugged and she was allowed cuddles, but toe curling snogs were not a part of their arrangement yet. In a way, Harry had been looking forward to that, but not in an examination room in front of Madam Pomfrey. He decided to do his best to make her first real kiss memorable despite the circumstances while mindful that he should not be more intimate than he was with the others, although he wondered how he could be in any event.
“You okay Ginny?” he asked when he finished.
“Think he broke her?” Hannah asked with a giggle.
“Wow!” Ginny finally breathed. “That was… wow!”
“Definitely broke her,” Daphne laughed.
“The first was amazing,” Hermione nodded. “And it only gets better.”
“Better?” Ginny asked. “Wow!” After a pause she then looked at the floor. “Do I still have to wait for my next one?” she asked in a sad voice.
“Nope,” Luna said brightly. “Line’s crossed. Can’t go back, you know.”
“Goodie!” Ginny practically squealed. They were then told to take their seats again.
Once they were seated, Madam Pomfrey began asking each of the girls questions that Harry found extremely embarrassing. It began bad enough with a series of questions about their monthlies since the bonding and marriages: when, how often, how long, how severe and so on and so forth. Then there were all sorts of questions about girl sex again what, how often where and with whom. Harry knew about this in general, but not the details.
“So, since you were married, it’s only within the family?” Madam Pomfrey asked.
“Is there anything wrong about that?” Daphne replied.
“No. That was not my point.”
“We feel as wives we should be faithful to our husband and our family,” Daphne added. “We discussed this practically from the off and we agreed that we still have those… needs, and Harry can’t see to them ‘cause of the bond and stuff. So we do it with each other.”
Ginny was asked about her own witch needs, how she handled them, how often, when and where. It seemed to Harry that he was far more embarrassed about this than Ginny was. He was burning red when Ginny said that she was really looking forward to having girl sex when her mentorship began sometime in the next two months. The other girls seemed as if she was merely commenting on the weather. After a year with them, Harry was certain that girls were weird in a way and certainly about these sorts of things. Blokes did not talk about that sort of thing in anywhere near the detail girls did. Harry thought after a year in what Sirius called “a particularly estrogen rich environment” he would not be embarrassed by such talks. Now he wondered if he would ever get used to it. He loved his girls. He loved being with them, talking with them, kissing them, everything about them. But they could be so blunt about such things.
And then there was the lengthy questions about sleeping arrangements. This was less embarrassing, except for the fact that now there was an adult who knew Harry shared his bed with five witches, not just his two bondmates. Ginny had been sleeping with them since the summer as it helped her with her terrible nightmares from the year before. She wore a nightgown. The other four girls wore nothing at all.
“Right then, that’s all for now,” Madam Pomfrey said after what seemed an eternity of embarrassment for Harry. “I want to see the lot of you back here at four this afternoon and, before you ask Mr. Potter, you most likely will not be asked to disrobe.”
They returned at four after resuming their classes for the day. Once again, they were sent into the examination room but as Madam Pomfrey had suggested, this time they were not asked to disrobe. The chairs were now in a semi-circle with seventh and an eight chair opposite. They were seated and soon Madam Pomfrey and Professor McGonagall entered and sat opposite them.
“The reason you all are here,” McGonagall began, “is so that Madam Pomfrey can go over the results of your examinations this morning. As this involves your health and well being, I am here as well as both Deputy Headmistress and your Head of House. But, I wish to take this opportunity to say something and it’s not that I’m pleased that Mr. Potter has avoided the inside of this part of the castle for an entire term which is a record and therefore worthy of note. Back on September 1st when I received notification as to your new status, you can understand I was concerned. You are all Second and Third Years, only two of you are fourteen. Three of you are thirteen and one only twelve. There was a time when you would be considered practically adults at such ages, but that was long ago. I feared this new situation would rob you of your youth. I also feared that very youth would lead you to make mistakes that would damage your relationships with each other and with others. And, naturally, I feared you might feel you had leave to behave in ways that are inappropriate under the Rules even for married students.
“As you know, there are other married students here aside from my odd assortment of First through Fourth Years. They are all Sixth or Seventh Year students. The last couple who were not sixteen or older when they married was a magical disconnect situation during the last War. The last time students as young as you were here as a married couple was almost two hundred and fifty years ago. And as far as our school records have shown, there have never been students here in a Plural Marriage. You and your Classmates in the same situation have done well. You have not embarrassed yourselves, your House or your School and have all shown remarkable maturity. I know it has probably helped the lot of you that you have your families' support and each others. I shudder to think how difficult this would be had it been otherwise. I just want to say I am proud of each and every one of you and hope you continue to keep it that way.
“And, also… You’re marks are something to be proud of as well. I dare say, if we thought being married at such a young age would help all students perform to their fullest potential, we might just consider it an admissions requirement. But as we know you and your friends are the exception and not the rule, we will not encourage others to follow your particular example, assuming they could.”
“We still have and exam or two left for this term, and all of next term,” Harry said.
“True, but the marks of all the current residents of your Estates have improved, even Miss Granger’s although there was not much she needed to improve upon. What impressed me most is how much Mister Weasley’s marks have improved and Mr. Longbottom as well. Don’t misinterpret that statement, for your marks have improved as well, Mr. Potter. Moreover, your performance thus far in Runes and Arithmancy is a very pleasant surprise seeing as those two courses are homework intense and you’ve been far better on the practicals your last couple of years. I am proud of all of you. I’ve said my piece for now and turn this over to Madam Pomfrey. Poppy?”
Madam Pomfrey explained that her examination earlier was in three parts. The first two parts were done without any kissing. One was a brief physical exam. Some aspects were obvious, others less so. Height and weight being the obvious ones, although all were somewhat surprised that they were each at least an inch taller than they had been at the beginning of the term and all had gained weight “consistent with your growth in height” which meant it was neither too little nor too much considering they were taller. Madam Pomfrey then said part of the test regarded sexual maturation as the bonds had a sexual component, one that was necessary for completion. The test confirmed the girls were still virgins - apparently there was no conclusive test for that in boys. It also was “vague” in some ways. The patient could be categorized as “infant”, “child”, “pre-bonding age adolescent” or “immature adolescent”, “mature adolescent”, “adult” and “one category for witches only that should not be relevant for thirty to forty years I should think.”
“For boys, bonding age is always their thirteenth summer solstice. They cannot magically bond before then. Girls are different. Bonding age is more a legal construct than a magical one and defines when a girl can legally consent to having sex with a boy. Their magical bonding age is when they are physically and magically mature enough to conceive a magical child. For most girls, when they begin mentoriship or when they can begin mentoriship they have reached their true bonding age. But since this varies from girl to girl, the law makes it easier. A girl cannot consent to have sex with a boy until she has reached her legal bonding age. And, as you should know, the law and school rules also include the two year rule until you’re sixteen which means that unless you’re betrothed and it’s your betrothed with whom you are having sex, you cannot consent to having sex with someone more than two class years removed from you in age. That’s a legal and not a biological or magical rule. Right now, only Miss Weasley has yet to attain her bonding age legally. Magically, however…”
“But I haven’t had my sixth period yet!” Ginny interrupted.
“Because of your bond with Harry, your magical bonding age was from the moment you went through menarche. Your monthlies have been clockwork regular, Miss Weasley. That’s seldom the case at first. You are still physically immature, although further along in that regard than might otherwise have been the case. This is why I have not suggested you move forward with mentorship because your physical side of things is not at that point yet where it becomes necessary. You will keep to the original schedule seeing as you should begin mentorship following your sixth cycle which should be next month. But, the important point is this: by this summer, Miss Weasley, by your legal bonding age you will be a ‘mature adolescent’ which means that while you will still have magical and physical maturation in front of you, you will be old enough to conceive a magical child and carry it to term. That is currently the case with these other young ladies.”
She explained that a magical signature consisted of measuring fifteen different components labeled A through O each of which could be quantified into ten discreet quantifiers numbered zero through ten. Combined, the component and its quantifier - A6 for example - was called a variable. Thus a magical signature might be written out as A6-B2-C9-D4-E0-F4-G1-H7-I2-J3-K8-L9-M0-N3-O5. Combined, this meant there were one hundred quintillion possible permutations or one hundred billion, million possible combinations. The letters and numbers signified only something that could be identified and measured discreetly. No one really knew what that something was or what the discreet measurements meant. Thus, you could not tell from such a description what a person’s magical potentials were, what skills they might have or would not have, how powerful they would be, whether their children would be Squibs or powerful or anything like that. But with so many possible combinations it was certain that no two people had the same magical signature.
A child shared seven variables with one of its parents and seven other variables with another of its parents. It shared between eight and ten with any siblings sharing the same two parents. Identical twins shared a dozen or in rare cases thirteen of the variables. Family relationships could be determined out to second or third cousins. If, for example, you shared Variables A through G with one parent, you would share three of those with your first cousins on that side of the family and two with second cousins. You would also share one with third cousins, although it was equally possible to share one with someone not related at all through sheer chance.
Couples who shared compatible magic shared between five and seven variables at birth regardless of any family relationship. The magical signature was not what proved such magical compatibility, it merely supported it; otherwise one would suppose brothers and sisters were magically compatible when they were not. The reason Madam Pomfrey recorded their magical signatures was because as the bond developed, their signatures would change. When the bond was complete, fourteen of their variables would be the same. The change would be such that roughly half of the changed variables would be to the other persons variable, such that if the boy was born with A2 and L9 and girl with A8 and L4, the bond would cause the girl to become an L9 and the boy an A8. Such shifts only happened when bonding, so it was the one way to prove a bond had occurred or was occurring.
Madam Pomfrey told them that the magical signature was not conclusive proof of a bond, but a shift in variables was highly suggestive as there were few other known factors that caused any shift from the signature one was born with and those other factors were never tied to corresponding shift in another person. Moreover, the shift could not tell you what kind of bond there was. The Concubine Bond caused such a shift, but it was usually very different than the bond arising from compatible magic which was similar yet different from a bond forming following magical disconnect. To prove a bond existed and to categorize the nature of the bond required the third test she performed which was done as Harry kissed each of the girls.
“But why did you have me kiss Daphne and Hannah, not that I’m complaining at all?” Harry asked. “We don’t share a bond.”
Madam Pomfrey smiled. “Remember what I said about the first test,” she said. “All of you are physically more mature than you should be and it’s not tied to your use of Time Compression, right? Magically, Miss Weasley has already passed her Bonding Age and is physically approaching it. Right?”
“You said that was because of the Concubine Bond,” Harry nodded.
“Indeed, but so far as her bond with you is concerned, it remains incomplete which would not otherwise be the case.”
“Naturally, seeing as we haven't… um… consummated and right now that doesn’t seem to be an option,” Harry said.
“The bond you shared with Miss Weasley did not require consummation to form, Mr. Potter. But in a way you’re correct. It is not final because you have not and cannot consummate it.”
“That doesn’t make sense!”
“One might say, Mr. Potter, there is little about you that does,” Madam Pomfrey smirked. “In this case, you are in a situation for which I have found only one other example. Knowing how you enjoy surprises, I will explain. The chart now appearing on the wall behind me is the expression of your magical signature and that of each of your ladies as they existed June of last year. Your signature and Miss Weasley’s were observed during your stays in this Wing following your misadventure beneath the castle. Miss Granger’s was obtained when she recovered from her petrification and Miss Lovegood, Miss Abbott and Miss Greengrass’s were obtained during their last monthly visit of last year. In other words, these represent what your signatures were before any bonding began.”
A screen appeared behind Madam Pomfrey with a list:
Potter A7/B0/C2/D4/E1/F9/G8/H6/I1/J8/K5/L2/M7/N3/O1
Granger A7/B8/C0/D4/E9/F3/G8/H5/I1/J0/K5/L6/M7/N7/O1
Lovegood A3/B0/C2/D8/E1/F9/G4/H6/I5/J8/K9/L2/M3/N3/O4
Greengrass A6/B3/C8/D2/E5/F9/G0/H9/I7/J6/K1/L8/M4/N2/O8
Abbott A2/B5/C6/D7/E8/F9/G6/H2/I6/J3/K7/L5/M9/N5/O3
Weasley A4/B7/C5/D3/E4/F9/G3/H8/I3/J5/K4/L0/M6/N9/O4
“You will note that Mister Potter and Miss Granger share seven variables: A, D, G, I, K M and O. Mister Potter and Miss Lovegood share eight: B, C, E, F, H, J, L and N. Variable F appears to be a marker from the Black family seeing as Miss Greengrass and Miss Weasley share it too, although I can’t explain why Miss Abbott shares it aside from random chance.”
“One of my Great-great grandmothers on my father’s side was a Muggle Born and her daughter, my great grandmother was born out of wedlock,” Hannah said. “It’s not something the family bandies about.”
“Which, given that Phineus Nigelus Black had over one hundred children out of wedlock around that generation suggests Hannah has a connection to the Black line similar to Daphne, Luna and Ginny,” Harry said.
Madam Pomfrey nodded. “It’s not conclusive of that,” she said, “but it is suggestive. Moving on you will also note that aside from the common variables I’ve pointed out, all others are different from each other.”
The students nodded.
“Now, let’s see what this morning’s test revealed.”
Another slide appeared
Potter A7/B0/C2/D4/E1/F9/G8/H6/I1/J8/K5/L2/M7/N3/O1
Granger A7/B8/C2/D4/E1/F3/G8/H5/I1/J8/K5/L6/M7/N7/O1
Lovegood A7/B0/C2/D8/E1/F9/G8/H6/I5/J8/K9/L2/M3/N3/O4
Greengrass A7/B3/C2/D2/E1/F9/G0/H9/I7/J8/K5/L8/M4/N3/O8
Abbott A7/B5/C2/D7/E1/F9/G6/H2/I6/J8/K5/L5/M9/N3/O3
Weasley A7/B0/C2/D3/E1/F9/G8/H6/I1/J8/K4/L0/M6/N9/O1
“You will note that as of this morning, Miss Granger, Miss Lovegood and Miss Weasley all share ten variables with Mr. Potter although not the same ten variables. Moreover, Miss Greengrass and Miss Abbott now share seven variables with Mr. Potter. Recall that before Miss Greengrass, Miss Abbott and Miss Weasley shared but one. In Miss Weasley’s case, her Concubine bond could account for a shift in four to six variables according to the authorities, but not nine. These readings confirmed what I observed when I asked you to kiss your ladies while being examined, Mr. Potter.”
“We’re bonding?” Daphne asked.
“Indeed. The test where I asked Mr. Potter to kiss each of you was a test both for and of a magical bond. The intimacy of that act makes bonds such as yours both easier to detect and to analyze. That test confirms the current status of the development of the bonds between Mr. Potter, Miss Granger and Miss Lovegood. It further established that an emotional and magical bond is also forming between Mr. Potter and the rest of you ladies.”
“But how?” Daphne asked. “I mean we don’t share compatible magic and… we have not gone through magical disconnect!”
“Indeed. And yet sharing compatible magic and going through magical disconnect does not mean a bond will form, does it? It only means a bond is more likely than it would otherwise be. I can only make an educated guess as to why your bond and the others are forming Miss Greengrass. Remember that the two bonds that you are familiar with as residents of the Estates have magical disconnect or compatible magic as a precondition. But the precondition needs more for a bond to form.
“The most important thing to know about expressive magic is that it is intent based. As you should know from your classes, expressive magic is that magic which originates from your magical core. Spells and such are expressive magic. Magical bonds are another form of expressive magic. So, the best answer I can give you to explain why a bond is forming between you and Mr. Potter is it is at some level yours and his intent that such a bond will form. Like the bonds you are aware of, this intent need not be a conscious decision on your part. If there is the necessary precondition and the intent on both parties and circumstances allow, then the bond forms. Here, I should think, the intent is there. You young ladies have all told me as your Healer what you think about and hope for your new circumstances. Although none of you have said that you hoped to bond with Mr. Potter, you all have strong feelings for him, you’re happy to be such an important part of his life, you fully accept the unusual nature of his family of which you are a part, you truly are happy to be a part of that and seem committed to remain a part of that. I dare say he thinks and feels the same way about each and every one of you. You all are in love with him and he is in love with each and every one of you. Thus, each and every one of you has the intent and your magic is merely expressing your intent and accepting the result.”
“Are you okay, Ginny?” Harry asked. The others looked and saw that Ginny had tears in her eyes.
Ginny nodded. “Happy tears,” she said. “That day you bonded me to you, remember Harry? Remember what you said to me and my parents? You said then that as far as you were concerned in the end I would be no different than any of your other ladies, your other wives and that this would be the case as soon as possible. You made me your Concubine, and you said that when… well, from what I’d been told that’s just not done. And you never lied to me about that. Whenever I doubted you about that, you have shown me that you meant what you said. There are few differences and those are only because I’m not yet at my Bonding Age. Otherwise, there are no differences between me and the others. This… this is proof you truly, truly meant what you said. I hoped you did when you said it and you’ve never given me a reason to doubt you or to think you’ve had second thoughts. But this… this proves it all, I should think. Thank you, Harry. I love you!”
“I love you too, Ginny,” Harry said.
“Can I get a hug later?”
“I’m sure that can be arranged. Oh, and before I do something stupid and forget, I love you Hermione. I love you Luna. I love you Daphne. I love you Hannah.”
There were five beaming faces, four of whom had tears in their eyes too when they said they loved him too. The mood was interrupted by a cough.
“Naturally, that helps a lot,” Madam Pomfrey said.
“But I still don’t understand,” Daphne added. “I mean, what was our precondition? Bonds don’t just happen, do they?”
“I’m Harry Potter,” Harry said. “Stuff does just happen to me, it seems.”
“So it does,” Madam Pomfrey smiled. “But where stuff just happens to you, Mr. Potter, it seems to be very unique. This bond you all are beginning to share seems to be merely very rare even where bonds are concerned. You are not alone in this regard.”
“We’re not?”
Madam Pomfrey shook her head. “I did not run those tests on a whim. Last week, House Longbottom was here…”
“They’re bonding like this too?” Hermione gasped.
“Indeed so it seems. The physical tests were done because of your living arrangements and the fact you are married. I normally do not check for bonds, but in their case I did check Neville and his bondmates as there was one that I knew about. To confirm my readings, I checked those against what I thought was a neutral source meaning a kissing couple that were not bonded, in their case Mr. Longbottom and Miss Davis. The results were not what I expected so I checked Mr. Longbottom with each of the other young ladies and got similar results. That was when I also checked their magical signatures and theirs are much like yours in that there are bonds there that should not be there and shifts in magical signatures consistent with the developing bonds.”
“Even my sister?” Daphne asked.
“Um… there’s what appears to be a protobond there, Miss Greengrass. That means a weak bond is detectable, but her signature has not begun to shift. Based upon the results I found today, my guess is she will bond when she’s older either after she passes through her menarche or after she attains her magical bonding age. In that I cannot be certain. But I dare say it is far more likely to occur than not in their case. The intent is there so far as I can observe and they believe.”
“But what about a precondition? These just don’t happen, do they?”
“That is an interesting question,” Madam Pomfrey said. “The answer is if they just happen, it has not been documented before now. The authorities recognize several kinds of bonds, three of which are currently represented within the student body and none of those just happen, as you put it. The Concubine Bond requires a Life Debt or similar pre-existing magical obligation. The Compatible Magic Bond requires that you and your future bond mate are born with the precondition. Likewise, magical disconnect does not just happen and a bond forming from that is the exception and not the rule. Intent and emotions are certainly a significant if not the determining factor.”
“But there still must be a precondition of some kind, right?”
“There must be indeed, lest bonds such as the one that you are forming with Mr. Potter would be far more common, Miss Greengrass. But in this case all I have is a theory which fits the facts and examples that provide those facts. You, your sister probably, Miss Abbott, Miss Davis and Miss Bones have one precondition. Whether Miss Weasley and Miss Parvati Patil have that precondition or a different one is another question as their situation is a little different. Miss Weasley has a preexisting bond which is merely transforming into a bond similar to the one that Mr. Potter shares with Miss Granger and Miss Lovegood. Miss Parvati Patil has an identical twin who shares compatible magic with Mr. Longbottom. Even though she does not also share such a precondition, she shares twelve variables of her magical signature with her sister and seven with Mr. Longbottom.
“But, I don’t think those two situation explain this. I think if their situations were different than they are, the bond would not form. I think the precondition is the existence of another bond and the fact that the wizard is trying his best to treat his ladies as equals in all things. When did you first sleep with Mr. Potter, Miss Greegrass?”
“Our… our marriage night,” Daphne said.
“And where have you slept since then?”
“With him. I’m his wife. Where else would I sleep?”
“And the same is true for you, Miss Abbott?”
“It is and has been,” Hannah said nodding. “It’s really nice and cozy that way.”
“And you, Miss Weasley?”
“Um… not at first,” Ginny said. “I was merely a betrothed. Still am, I suppose. But I was having nightmares ‘bout last year and they let me join them when I had them and, well then they just let me join them. I’ve been sleeping with them every night since. I guess it was only a couple of months and since then it’s every night. I sleep better with them than I do alone and as Hannah said it is nice.”
Madam Pomfrey nodded. “The sleeping arrangements in House Longbottom are identical for the most part. Miss Greengrass’s sister was never barred from their bed and was no stranger to it and in a short time that is where she came to sleep all the time. I was allowed this past weekend to run some tests while House Longbottom slept. My guess is that like them you lot sleep all cuddled together and like them you alternate who sleeps next to Mr. Potter each night and where within the arrangement Miss Granger and Miss Lovegood sleep?”
The six of them nodded.
“My tests revealed that the bond envelops those in contact with it. Now, before you get concerned, it does not mean you will bond with anyone you meet. But you have spent every night for hours within the embrace of the existing, growing and strengthening magical field of the bond. I think this made for the precondition for you are, whether you intended so or not, part of the physical connection for the forming bond. This may have set up the precondition and as it sounds like the intent was already there in short order you three were drawn into the bond as well.”
“You are certain of this?” Harry asked concerned.
Madam Pomfrey smiled, something she rarely did in front of any patient. “You need not sound concerned, Mr. Potter. Neither you nor your ladies have done anything wrong. What you now share and will share for the rest of your lives is a wonderful thing and it is in no small part because of you and your willingness to share, as it were, that all of your ladies will enjoy the wonders and magic of a bond that otherwise they would never have had. But yes, I am certain as to what is happening between you and your ladies. I admit I should have suspected as much when you arrived at the start of term considering…”
“Considering what?” Harry asked.
“Every member of House Potter and House Longbottom without regard to age or their former magical development was able to cast a fully corporeal Patronus Charm when the Dementors attacked the train,” Madam Pomfrey said. “At your ages, that one of you may have mastered such a charm is highly unusual. But all? Even Miss Astoria Greengrass who had only recently received her wand? I will assume you all were taught the charm responsibly. That being said, it is impossible to believe you all could have mastered it to that degree absent some other factor. I was not asked to determine the why of it then. It seemed to me just another of the wild rumours that are rampant here. But now? Forming bonds boost magical potential and allow the bondmates to draw upon each other. This much was known. It would certainly explain how all of you were able to master a spell than many cannot.”
“That,” Hermione said, “and the fact that it is a spell that best works from love. You’re told to pick a happy thought. That’s how it’s usually taught, right? But we were told to think of love and it was much easier that way. It still took a lot out of us. But it was easier to do it that way than by using some random happy thought.” The others nodded in agreement.
“Which,” Madam Pomfrey said, “was a thought or memory of recent derivation?”
“That day by the lake,” Ginny gasped. “Harry listening to me and telling me I was no different than you guys and meaning it. That was my thought. Although maybe now it would be that kiss.”
“Definitely a kiss for me,” Hannah said. “Not the one at Gringotts but one a day or so later. The first one I felt was because you wanted to kiss me, Harry, not because it was expected or something.”
“When Harry said I was his friend,” Luna sighed.
“He kissed me,” Hermione added. “Well, apparently he had before then but I was kind of petrified. No, he kissed me in front of my Mum and we bonded.”
“That perfect day when I realized I loved him and he me,” Daphne added.
“Makes me sound like some kind of prince or something in a fairy tale,” Harry groaned.
“Hate to tell you but that seems to be your life, Prince Harry,” Daphne said and looked at Hermione when she giggled.
“Oh no!” Hermione corrected. “Prince Harry’s a few years younger and not nearly as cute!”
“Okay!” Harry snapped but with a smirk. “My own fault for mentioning it. It’s bad enough I’m some Earl or some such. I’m no prince, not that kind anyway, and wouldn’t want to be one!”
“Well, you couldn’t be one,” Hannah said. “That Treaty things says you can’t be a wizard and remain a prince, so as you are a wizard you can’t be a prince, right?”
“Exactly!” Harry agreed. “I’m glad someone sees reason and agrees with me!”
“But it doesn’t mean we can’t think of you as one,” Hannah added with a giggle.
Harry groaned. “Can we get back to where we were? I should know better than to battle wits with five beautiful and brilliant witches. It’s like trying to climb a ladder without having arms or legs. Can’t be done. So, they’ll all be bonded with me? And when will that happen or has it happened and we just missed it?”
“Unless I am mistaken,” Madam Pomfrey answered, “yes, in time you will be bonded with each of these young ladies. I could be wrong, but the tests I have run are consistent with that conclusion and have no other possible explanation. You are not fully bonded yet, however. I can’t say when exactly you will bond only that your bonds with Miss Granger, Miss Lovegood and Miss Weasley are closer to completion although in Miss Weasley’s case I doubt you can complete the bond anytime before June 21st. What I also do not know is whether and to what extent your bonding process with Miss Greengrass and Miss Abbott will affect your bonding with the other three. It is possible they are connected such that you won’t be able to bond until all have reached that point.”
“And when that time comes? It’s just a matter of time and we’re done bonding?”
“Don’t you like the way things are now?” Luna pouted.
“I do. Sorry if it sounded otherwise. I was just wondering what happens then?”
“The only reason you have not yet bonded and cannot yet bond is because you are too young to take the final step,” Madam Pomfrey said. “That step cannot be avoided and when the time comes I dare say it will be all but impossible to avoid. You might delay it until it is convenient, but not more than a day or so. As I know I explained, your bonding process is also causing all of you to mature to a point where you can complete the bond. Without the bonding process, it would be a few years and as you know your situation is precarious until the bond is complete. You cannot be separated for prolonged periods of time without putting yourself and your separated bondmate at grave risk. In that vein, it is fortunate that you have avoided my Wing.”
“The final step being c-consummation?” Harry blushed. “I’ll have to have…”
“You will have to make love to your bondmate,” Madam Pomfrey nodded. “Which right now is not possible physically since the bonding process is protecting you and your bondmate from moving too quickly or taking an action that would be detrimental to the bond and a simple shag - as you students so rudely call it - could be detrimental during bonding. When you and the first of your young ladies reaches the appropriate physical, magical and sexual maturity - which will not be full maturity in any sense - you will know that you are ready and you will consummate your bond.”
“At the same time?” Harry protested. “I can’t consummate five bonds at the same time, can I?”
“No, Mr. Potter you cannot,” Madam Pomfrey said. “Nor will you have to. Given your youth and the fact that each of your young ladies are virgins where boys are concerned, you will not reach the bonding point until the young lady in question is at the peak of her fertility or monthly cycle, in other words when she is at the point in her monthly cycle where she would most likely conceive.”
“But… you mean they’ll get pregnant?”
“The bonding process should not power through their birth control potions, Mr. Potter. So no, that should not happen. But there is a small possibility that it might not that it matters.”
“Of course it matters!”
“What I mean is the bond will cause you to consummate despite the risk and despite whatever reservations you may have about that result. It should not happen but it could which is why you should be aware of it.”
“Harry, it’s okay,” Hermione said. The others nodded.
“It is?”
“Yes Harry, it is,” Daphne said. “We have talked about this. One of the books we have on the bond said that conception at bonding is not unheard of despite birth control. But we also know it did not happen for Sirius and Connie.”
“They are older, Miss Greengrass,” Madam Pomfrey said. “Neither of them were virgins. And, they had each achieved their maturity by then so consummation happened without regard to her cycle. So their example is not analogous. As I said, there’s a possibility of conception in your case and only a possibility. The reason I point that out is that it has been so long since the last recorded case of a bond at your age and most of the recorded bondings of young people such as yourselves happened before there was effective magical birth control. But as your bonding is similar to the ones arising from Magical Disconnect and as those had a high incidence of conception before birth control and a negligible incidence afterwards, I dare say the risk is very low, just higher than no risk at all.”
“If it is our fate in this, Harry, we accept it,” Daphne said. “I said we talked about it. We will chose to bear your children and we will be younger than many when we do. Expect a Potter brood beginning some months after our NEWTs. But we knew this was a risk and if it happens, we accept it. We’ll get through it if it does. And remember, if it does the wards will extend.”
Harry thought about it for a while. “You all agree?” They nodded. “You’re not trying to get that way?” They shook their heads. “But if it happens that way, you won’t be upset?” They nodded.
“We would prefer it didn’t,” Hermione said. “But we are married, so it is acceptable. If that happens, we still plan to finish our educations and we’re increasing convinced this will not be a problem that scheduling can’t sort out.”
“What we understand about the bond, Harry, is that it is better for all of us to be in one of these bonds than not to be,” Luna said. “The risks are not all that great. So we might have a baby sooner than planned. We are going to have children one day whether that one day is next year or five or six years from now makes little real difference.”
“I do have a House to rebuild,” Hannah added. “I’m not going to do something stupid like stop my potions, but if it happens, then House Abbott will be certain to continue sooner. I would not mind.”
“We’re your ladies first, Harry,” Ginny smiled. “We now know that’s more true than we thought. We’re your ladies first. Your wives second. Your friends always. Everything else that we are and will be is extra. We’re okay with this possibility.”
“You’re going to try to wait, though, right?” Harry asked. “Not sure I’m ready to be a dad yet. Still learning to be a big brother, you know?”
The girls nodded.
“So it won’t be all of them at once or the same day or something?” Harry asked Madam Pomfrey.
“You won’t complete the bond until each of them is magically, physically and sexually ready to complete it,” Madam Pomfrey nodded. “As the consummation will correspond to the peak of their cycles and as their cycles are currently spaced ever five to six days through the month, then assuming you all reach that point at the same time, it will still be five to six days between consummations and not quite four weeks between your first bonding and the last one.”
“When will this happen?” Harry asked.
“Not soon, I should think,” Madam Pomfrey stated. “I think not before this summer. But I’m fairly certain you will return to Hogwarts next school year as bonded. Now for what the authorities call the scary part.”
“More scary than having kids?” Harry asked causing the girls to giggle nervously.
Madam Pomfrey shrugged. “When the time arrives, you and the witch whose time has also arrived, the one who can bond and is at the peak of her cycled, will become very aroused more so than you have ever been before. You will be strongly attracted to each other more than before and you will desire sexual release perhaps more than ever before. The scary part it nothing will allow you that release save consummation. That means, Mr. Potter, you will have an erection that will be uncomfortable, probably inconvenient and one that will not go away until you consummate the bond. You will each know it’s time. The good news is you can wait until it’s convenient to do so. You won’t feel compelled to do it in class or the Great Hall or even the nearest broom closet. You will have time to get to your home to finish it.”
“Hopefully, it won’t happen during end of year exams,” Hermione said. With everyone looking at her she continued. “I want the bond. But I’d rather not be distracted like that during an exam.”