Like A Phoenix From The Ashes
Chapter 9
By Kinsfire
Warning: While I kept the descriptives to a barest minimum, there is a description in here of a rape. You have been warned.
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"Tell me again why it needs to be you," Hermione requested, holding Pansy tightly. The one-time Slytherin girl could feel the brunette's shivering and the pounding of the poor girl's heart.
"Because I know Draco," she replied simply. "And more importantly, I've been raped by him before. You'd be doing it for the first time and giving first time reactions to his … ahem … ministrations. Harry is past that now and reacts far differently. I won't be giving first time reactions either." She smiled. "Besides, I would die for any of you now. Sexual abuse is nothing, especially since I'll be able to testify in court as to what will happen."
"Sexual abuse is not nothing!" Hermione cried into Pansy's hair as pulled the black-haired beauty closer.
Pansy held the woman who somehow had come to mean so much to her in these past months and let her cry for a moment before pulling away slightly and pulling Hermione's face upward. "I understand what you're saying, and I agree with you." She grinned evilly. "But this is Draco and his equipment, not to mention Crabbe and Goyle. Trust me, it's nothing." Hermione giggled quietly and then sniffed. "In honesty, I don't want to do this, but if it weren't me, you'd be offering yourself up for this, wouldn't you?" Hermione blushed prettily in response. "Uh-huh. I'm best suited for this mission, both in foreknowledge and revenge capabilities."
She leaned forward slightly and let her open lips brush the brunette's. "I love you very much, do you know that? I never thought I'd feel that way for a girl, and now there're three of you that make my heart pound." She let her hands slip down and caress Hermione's rear end as she pressed her open lips against Hermione's mouth. Pansy gently sliding her tongue along the pretty Gryffindor's lips, which opened to allow entry.
When they finally broke, breathing heavily, Hermione panted, "Ginny Weasley and I experimented a few times, but I never thought I'd reach a point where I wanted to spend the rest of my life with a female lover. Now there are three." She blushed prettily. "One especially."
Pansy laughed, a happy, delightful sound. "When this is done, the four of us need to tie Harry down and make him see reason. He loves us all, it's just that the Weasel broke him."
The door opened to show a chuckling Harry. He wasn't completely back to his normal self, but finding that his four roommates did not hate him or pity him for what he had been going through had helped him a great deal. "I think staying further away from Ron Weasley than usual is a good idea for the next few days," he said.
"What did you do?" Susan asked as she walked out of Luna's room clad in naught but a tired and satisfied smile.
"Well, the Weasley twins developed a product - quite juvenile, but fun nonetheless - that basically gives you a literal hot-seat when you, umm, when you pass gas. They discovered by accident that the more gas that passes, the higher the likelihood of actual flames happening. Well, I managed to coat all of his trousers and pants with the stuff. And I'm sending everyone in the school free candy, including a few Wheezes. No word who it's really from, though, obviously. And all but one of the Wheeze packages are labelled as such. Now, I've arranged that the Gryffindors are getting a new one called Flatulence Fudge. Knowing Ron …"
"I wonder how far out the flames will shoot," Hermione said around a giggle.
"The way he eats?" Susan asked. "Probably from the doors of the Great Hall to the Head Table!"
"Should someone gift him with a pair of roller skates?" Harry wondered with a chuckle.
Hermione paused and then began to giggle again as she imagined the resulting scene.
Harry's eyes fell on an envelope on one of the tables, and his face fell. "Damn. I hate owl deliveries sometimes." He sighed. "Well, looks like that time again," he said, no humour in his voice. As he reached over to pick up the letter, his eyes widened just before he fell to the floor unconscious.
Hermione and Pansy put their wands away and walked over to Harry. "I'll put him in bed," Hermione said. "You take a hair or two and put it in the Polyjuice."
"I'm still not asking where you got this from," Pansy stated as she gently took a single hair from Harry's head and then lovingly kissed his lips.
"Ask me no questions; I'll tell you no lies," Hermione responded.
"More importantly," Susan said with a grin, "she hasn't had the time to make up a really entertaining lie."
"Hey!" Hermione said in mock effrontery. "Who do you think I am, Fred or George?"
"No, you have much better curves than they do," Luna quipped. The others had learned that Luna had a very wicked sense of humour, and quite often the things she said that seemed oddest were for those with the wits to understand the joke behind her statements. (Crumple-horned Snorkacks not withstanding, of course.) She turned to Pansy. "Do be careful, darling. The five of us have a life to share someday, and we need all of us here. Draco Malfoy has a vicious streak in him."
"I know that you mean well by that, Luna, but as Harry would say, 'That's a no-brainer'. Even Gregory knows that."
"I understand," Luna replied, "but it's a Rule Three situation. 'Say it and be sure. Never assume.'"
"What are Rules One and Two?" Susan asked, mildly dreading the response.
"Rule One is 'Never drink and laugh at the same time,' and Two was 'Be careful around Nargles.' Easy to remember, really."
Pansy shook her head. "Someday I'll ask about the Nargles, but I don't have the time right now." She opened the envelope, looked at the note, and then looked at her watch. "I may be a little late, but I'll use us as an excuse." She added the hair to the potion and then drank it quickly.
The other girls watched as Pansy began the nauseating process of morphing into another human being, her skin bubbling and stretching weirdly as the potion took effect. They couldn't help but giggle slightly when it was over, however, with the sight of Harry Potter in bra and knickers before them, especially since Harry was a bit larger than Pansy. They found themselves impressed next as 'Harry' reacted to them all. "I'd best get dressed," she said in Harry's voice. She disappeared into Harry's room and exited a minute later dressed as he usually did. "I decided to forego boxers," she said. "Give Dorko some ammunition for a moment or two."
Hermione walked over to 'Harry' and cast a spell. "By now, I'd imagine that Malfoy has stopped checking Harry for magic if he follows through with his general laziness. I can contact the Headmaster as soon as you leave, and trace you to your torture chamber. This spell will make sure the Marauder’s Map reads you as Pansy."
"Good idea. It would be especially good if you could catch him in the act, but I'm willing to go under Veritaserum to prove that he actually did it."
"I'm waiting to see what happens if he tries to break the oath, or better, if he's successful," Susan said. "Actually no. That would be bad, because it meant that he actually hurt you."
Pansy shook her head and took off to the place Harry was to meet Draco after grabbing a small flask and pouring a small amount of Polyjuice into it, in case she needed to keep the façade going for more than an hour.
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"You're running late, Potter," Malfoy smirked as 'Harry' came to a stop in front of him.
"The girls are suspicious. Considering I can't tell them why I'm leaving, I have to come up with something. So I'm running late. Let's just get this over with, okay?"
"Testy today, aren’t we?" the blonde student sneered. "That's just earned you an extra special treatment. Seems that we've discovered some interesting uses for Engorgement Charms," he said with an evil smile.
They entered the empty classroom, and 'Harry' was quickly stripped. "Finally being smart enough to come prepared, I see," Malfoy said mockingly. Crabbe and Goyle bent the faux Gryffindor over a desk while Malfoy undressed and cast the modified Engorgio, followed by a lubrication spell.
The scream that Pansy released was not forced or faked. She felt a tearing sensation in her rectum and knew that Madam Pomfrey would be working overtime to fix her.
This was followed immediately by Draco screaming for a moment and then shakily pulling free. "What the hell did you do to me, you bastard?" Malfoy asked in a shaky voice.
"I've got no idea what happened," came the response. "Not anything I did, and I'll swear to that."
"You and your damned oaths," Malfoy shuddered. "Crabbe, Goyle - you deal with him while I recover." Pansy found herself held down by rough and clumsy hands and then violated some more. This round did not last for very long as the door exploded inward. Malfoy was hit with a Bludgeoning Spell before he could even reach his wand, sending him into painful unconsciousness.
Crabbe and Goyle stood, staring stupidly at the scene in the doorway, treating everyone to the disgusting image of them nude. The two stared even more stupidly than was their norm as they saw the student they had been attacking standing in the doorway. They looked back down at the person on the desk, which was all the time that was needed for Harry to bull his way into the room and heave Crabbe up against the wall in an attempt to get at his duplicate.
"Pansy, why?" he asked.
"Needed to be done. Draco broke the Oath by not verifying that I was really you. You should be able to talk about it now."
"But you're hurt!" He looked at her more carefully and then grabbed her. To everyone's shock, he disappeared.
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Hermione looked down at the Marauder’s Map and frowned. "Pansy's in the Hospital Wing right now. I'll worry about how he got there in a minute. Right now . . ." she trailed off, turning toward Draco and the other two with menace in her eyes.
It was at that moment that Amelia Bones arrived, two Aurors in tow. "Susan, I'm here as you … May I inquire as to why there are three naked boys in this room?"
"It's part of why I asked you here, Auntie. As we understand it, these three are the reason that Harry's been in the shape he's in. There was an Oath involved, which I believe Draco just broke."
Amelia looked at the group and saw the fury that the girls were barely holding in. She had trouble reading the Headmaster and the Heads of Household, but they all seemed equally furious. "Where are the other two of your group?" she asked.
"I don't know how," Hermione said, "but Harry grabbed Pansy and somehow disappeared to the Hospital Wing."
The entire group headed to the Hospital Wing after the three Slytherins were restrained and covered. Draco remained unconscious and was floated along by one of the Aurors.
By the time they reached the Wing, Harry was holding Pansy and rocking back and forth. Both of them were crying. "Why, Pansy? You could have died! Why?" was all he seemed to be able to say.
"Maybe now he'll admit it to himself," Hermione said with a sad smile.
"Mr. Potter?" Amelia Bones asked softly. "May I talk to you?"
Harry didn't hear her until she repeated her request. "Yes, Madame Bones?" He saw the gathered group, including the three attackers, and Hermione quickly Stunned him as rage came to his face.
"What was that for?" Amelia asked as she spun to Hermione.
Susan answered her. "If you want those three alive to stand trial she needed to do that. He was willing to be attacked by them on a regular basis, but his reaction to Pansy's attack … well, we might find pieces of them around the castle. Maybe."
Amelia turned to the Aurors. "Take them away from here and put them into secure holding facilities. If anyone other than myself comes to see them, they are not to be admitted. You will be on duty guarding them until you are relieved by me. Do not take the word of any Auror saying that I sent them to relieve you - I will do that in person only. I want these three checked out carefully, cataloguing all the injuries they may have, and any evidence - such as the blood on Mister Malfoy's nether regions."
The Aurors snapped to attention and quickly removed the three accused teens from the room.
Only then was Harry re-awakened. "Thank you, Hermione," he said after being told what happened. "I want them to stand trial for what they did to her."
"How about what they did to you?" Susan asked.
"Except for the first time, the others could be considered to be consensual, and I'm quite certain that the Malfoy lawyer will push that as hard as he can." Hermione started to say something, but he interrupted her before she could begin to speak. "I know it was under duress, but since I had agreed to it, a highly paid lawyer could conceivably convince people that it was consensual." He scowled. "If he doesn't get serious penalties from the criminal charges, then he deserves what he will get from me." He met Amelia Bones's eyes. "I give you a warning - no one hurts these four and gets away with it. I subjected myself to being Oathbound and being repeatedly raped in order to keep them safe. I will state here and now, in front of witnesses, that I am willing to kill to keep them safe." He turned to Dumbledore with cold eyes. "You might want to get word out to some of the students in the castle about that. I'm hearing rumours of a rather nasty prank someone wants to play on them. If someone hurts them badly, I visit upon them their own personal Armageddon."
The assembled people started at him for a moment, before the other three girls surged forward and swept Harry and Pansy into a deep hug. "I love you too, Harry," Susan whispered. "I think I always will."
The Headmaster cleared his throat. "I do hate to interrupt, but since Mister Malfoy showed the magical signs of breaking an Oath, I have the suspicion that you will now be able to explain what you were unable to before." He frowned. "Please forgive me, Harry, for not realising what you were telling me when you informed me that you could not tell me what had happened. I was mistaking …"
"Sir, it was an honest mistake, and I'll admit that I was hoping that you'd make it. I don't hold it against you. Now, I assume you'd like to be made aware of what happened?"
*****
Harry was heading back toward Gryffindor Tower when he felt a spell strike him, and he fell unconscious. He awoke in an unused classroom, tied face down onto a desk. "Ah good, he’s awake," he heard, and looked up to see Malfoy grinning at him. "We’ve got you here to have a little fun with you, Potter."
As soon as Malfoy had finished saying this, he felt blinding pain in his … oh God, are they … "No!" Harry screamed, which was answered by laughter. "Oh my God, no … no, no, no …" was all he chanted for a while as they took turns raping him. Crabbe decided to molest Harry’s mouth, but Harry taught him otherwise, although it earned him a particularly violent retribution.
When the conquest was done, Malfoy smiled evilly at him. "The thing is, Potter, that only the Duffers are even willing to believe you, and what can they do? They’re useless. That’s why they’re in that House! We are going to have so much fun going through the Mudblood, the traitor, Loony, and the redheaded Duffer. There’s not a thing you can do to stop us, either. Even if you warn them, we’ll find a way to get them alone, and then we’ll teach them about trusting you. We might even let Parkinson survive the experience. Probably not, though." He smirked at Harry. "And you can’t even prove that we did anything." Harry felt several spells strike him, and all the wounds he had taken were healed. He still felt sore and uncomfortable, and his back still felt raw, but there was no longer proof that he’d been raped.
"What will it take to leave the girls alone?" Harry asked, dreading the answer.
"You swear an Oath that you’ll let us keep doing this to you until we break you, and we’ll swear Oaths to leave them alone."
"You’ll swear that you’ll not knowingly allow them or anyone they care for aside from me to come to harm, and I’ll swear to return and tell no one of our agreement."
"How do I know you’ll swear to your side after I’ve sworn to mine?" Draco asked.
"I’m a fucking Gryffindor, Malfoy. We’re so stupid about Oaths it’s not funny. Besides, I Swear to make my Oath as I specified, if you,Crabbe and Goyle make yours first."
"Sneaky, Potter, but it’s worth it. I Swear that I’ll not allow Parkinson, Bones, Lovegood, or Granger to come to harm, nor those that they care for, excluding Potter." Crabbe and Goyle repeated the formula, and a flare of light filled the room for a moment.
"I Swear to tell no one of this agreement we have made." Another flare. "At least now I know you can’t touch them," he said.
"No, but I can still go after the Weaslette," he smirked.
"Um, actually I think you’ll find that Luna still likes her and Ron. Hell, Hermione is hoping this whole thing can be worked out and that we’ll all be friends again someday. That’s two separate people who care for them."
Malfoy looked angrily at Harry. "You’ll pay for that next time, Potter."
"Of that I have no doubt, Malfoy. You’re petty that way." He left the room and returned to the suite to find Hermione and Pansy nude in each others' arms.
*****
"Of course, that was before Ginevra made her stupid comment in the Great Hall," Harry said. "At the time the Oath was made, she had been given protection. I don't think that Malfoy thought about testing it after Hermione told her off."
"That boy is stupid, I can guarantee that," Amelia Bones said. "The Oath he let you swear had so many holes in it that it's not funny. You got a lot more than he did out of that."
"I just want it all over, you know?" he said. "I used to love coming to this school, and now I just want to be finished here and out. I want to be shut of the Weasley family, except for the twins. I want to be shut of Gryffindor, and Slytherin, and Ravenclaw. They've even turned me off Quidditch, at least as a school activity. Might have been nice to see if I could do it as a professional thing, but I'm not out there to be seen by the ones who could make the offers, which is another thing that I can chalk up to Mister and Miss Weasley.
In an amazing display of timing, several Gryffindors came into the Hospital Wing with Ronald Weasley walking carefully amongst them. Wisps of smoke could be seen rising from behind him, and at least one other Gryffindor's robes appeared to be the worse for wear, showing every sign of flame damage.
Harry was brilliant in managing to avoid any sort of facial expression as it became obvious what had happened. Exactly as he had planned, Ron had gorged on the Flatulance Fudge. Somehow it seemed that the label had been misplaced on that batch, and people though it was merely a box of fudge.
"Place is going to be a toxic wasteland for a while," he heard Dean murmur. "Everyone was eating that fudge." Ron inadvertently agreed with a loud eruption from his posterior, followed by pained whimpering.
"Got to admit that the distance he got with the flame was impressive, though," Seamus said in a strangled voice.
Dumbledore waved his wand, and the air cleared, followed by a barrier coming between the sections of the room. "When Miss Parkinson is free to be released, I believe that we should adjourn to my office and continue this conversation."
"As long as she promises to take it easy she is free to go," Madam Pomfrey said. "I have other patients to sort out." She turned around and headed toward Ron Weasley. "Now what childish prank has happened to cause this?" she asked.
Harry scooped Pansy into his arms as she stood. "Shall we head to your office, sir?" he asked. Both groups studiously ignored the other. It was rather obvious that the Gryffindors wanted to do something to Harry and company, but the presence of the adults prevented it.
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Amelia Bones looked at the spectacle before her eyes. It was radiating off this young man just how much he felt for the girl in his arms. As she watched his eyes slide across the other girls, she realised that it held true for the others as well. He was obviously deeply in love with all four young women. "Oh dear," she murmured to herself.
They walked to the Headmaster's office. She smiled to herself as she saw Miss Parkinson nestle into Mister Potter's embrace and saw the smiles and looks of longing on the other girls' faces. Susan met her eyes for a moment and shrugged as if to say, "What can I do? I love him." Amelia nodded her understanding.
Up in the Headmaster's office, they all sat in chairs that the Headmaster created, a love seat in Harry's case since he seemed to be showing no sign of releasing Pansy. "Our question now is to determine precisely this situation will be handled," the Headmaster said once everyone was settled.
"He leaves school. I can testify, Pansy can testify, the Pensieve memories should be considered valid. Now that he's broken his Oath, the signs of it should be obvious."
"I hate saying it, but we may have problems with that, legally speaking," Dumbledore responded.
"Find something that will stick, sir. If you don't, he'll be dead. I'll hunt the little … He hurt Pansy, sir. What he did to her could have killed her, and Madam Pomfrey said that it was my getting her to the Hospital Wing that allowed her to be completely healed. He could have killed whomever he was raping with that little manoeuvre."
"Harry, it was necessary for -" Pansy began to say.
"No it was not!" he barked in response. "Losing any one of you girls just to get evidence against a Death Eater is not a fair trade and never will be! I will not accept any line of reasoning that says that it is!"
"You'd die for us though, Harry," Susan said. "You've said so. Why isn't it all right for us to be willing to do the same?"
"Because you ladies are worth dying for. I'm not."
Amelia heard six sharp intakes of breath, and realised that one of them was her own. "Mister Potter," she said, "Are you calling my niece stupid?"
He looked at her, horrified, thereby missing the twinkle that Dumbledore developed as he immediately realised where this conversation was going. "My God, no!" he answered, mortified. "She's smarter than I am!"
"She is willing to die for you. She obviously thinks you quite special. To tell her that you aren't worth dying for tells her that you think she has not the intelligence to make her own decision."
Harry was, simply put, gob smacked. He emulated a fish for a short while before he stood and walked over to Susan and knelt in front of her. "I'm sorry, Susan. I didn't realise what my actions were saying to you. I'll accept whatever punishment you desire."
Amelia schooled her face not to react as she saw the rather overt signs of sexual arousal in her niece.
Susan bit her lower lip for a moment and then giggled. "Well, Harry, since you're down there . . ." she said.
"If you want that, I will," he responded seriously.
"Ah well, there goes my hearing again," Dumbledore said quietly, with a hint of a smile on his face. He was uncharacteristically silent for this conversation, Amelia noted.
"Only when you actually want to do it because you desire me, Harry, not because you think you owe me." She stood and pulled him to his feet and into a tight hug. "I know you, and I didn't think badly of you. I love you, Harry James Potter."
Amelia was stunned by the look of emotional pain that hit his face as she said that. "I wish that I could say the same," he replied, a suspicious wetness at the corners of his eyes.
"Harry," Amelia said, "I've been around the block, as the Muggles would say. You show every sign of being in real love, not the standard school-boy crush that so many mistake for love. I've been made aware of the living conditions in the suite you five share, and whether she intended to or not, Susan has made me aware of just how frustrating you can be."
"Not surprised by that," he murmured darkly. "The Dursleys were good teachers, as far as that's concerned."
"No, Mister Potter, you misunderstand me. Her frustration is with just how honourable you are. I am quite certain that she would, in fact, make love to you with witnesses such as myself around, if it meant that you would finally make love to her. I've watched your reactions, and while it is most obvious at the moment concerning your feelings for Miss Parkinson, you also make it obvious for those with eyes that can see it that you are deeply in love with each of these girls as well."
"But I feel it for all four, so it can't be love," he protested.
Amelia was completely stunned by that statement. "Who told you that?" she asked in shock.
"Not everything that the Dursleys taught me was wrong," he said defensively.
"If it dealt with an emotional subject, though, count on it," Hermione said. "Remember, one man and multiple women is not 'Normal', so your uncle would hate it. Even while fantasising about it all the time." She shuddered. "Bad mental image there. Bad image," she finished with a laugh, gently smacking the side of her head as if to dislodge something.
"You think that's bad," Harry responded, "I have the actual mental image of that man naked seared into my brain. His towel fell off while leaving the shower once." He frowned. "Of course he blamed it on me, and I didn't eat for three days because of it." He shuddered. "Not that I could have eaten, after seeing that."
"You're trying to change the direction of the conversation," Amelia said. "I happen to know the law concerning multiple lovers. I know it because I needed the information myself. I have been with Dale and Emily for over thirty years now."
"It's why I didn't even blink at the possibility, Harry," Susan interjected. "You think of yourself as a pervert or worse for feeling what you do for us. That must mean that I'm a pervert as well, Harry, because I'd marry all four of you in a heartbeat. I'd be proud to call Hermione and Pansy my wives." She looked over at Luna, eyes shining, and took the blonde girl's hand. "Need I say how I feel for you, Luna?" She looked back to Harry. "Does it make me a pervert to want to have a huge bed the five of us can share?"
Harry started to open his mouth, and Hermione cut him off. "No double standards allowed, Harry. If we're not wrong for having fallen for each other, then you're not wrong for feeling the way you do about all of us."
He sat, confusion evident on his face. "I don't know what to think anymore."
"Well, what you should think about right now," Amelia said, "is the fact that all five of you are safe, Draco Malfoy is about to be carted off to a Ministry holding cell, and that you can hopefully get on with your lives. I have no problems with your living arrangements, although …" She paused before adding with a laugh, "I can't believe I'm saying this. I'd recommend you get everyone's hormones under control. Susan's going to explode with the way you keep teasing her."
Harry blinked. "Me teasing her? She's the one who's got a body that should be enshrined as living art!" He suddenly realised who he had said that to, and his face did something odd. He somehow managed to blush and go pale at the same time. "I'm sorry for -"
Susan shushed him before he could continue. "Thank you for the compliment, Harry. I told Aunt Amelia about the night I unsuccessfully tried to seduce you. I'd swear to that series of events under Veritaserum."
"I trust you, Susan." Amelia frowned. "Back to the question at hand. What do we have on hand that I can use to charge Draco Malfoy with?"
"Two direct witnesses of his assaults. As high as four if you can convince Crabbe and Goyle to testify against him," Harry said.
"This is Crabbe and Goyle," Pansy said. "It takes both of them to add up to half a brain."
Harry nodded with a smile. "We have my memories, which can be put into a Pensieve. I'm not sure writing it down would do anything for the case, though. The Pensieve would show everything that I was writing about. We may be able to get Malfoy to testify, but maybe not."
"He swore an Oath, did he not?" Amelia Bones asked. When Harry nodded, she smiled. "There is magical evidence as well. We can force him to testify."
Harry nodded. "Good. Maybe we can get some peace at the school once he's gone."
"No, we still have Gryffindors to deal with," Hermione grumbled.
Harry snorted. "Think Ron's learned his lesson yet about overindulging? We can deal with the Gryffies."
Susan nodded accord but then smiled mischeviously at him. "Now what are you going to do about our problem, Harry?"
He looked at her strangely. "They're going to be taken to a Ministry holding cell. Your aunt just said that."
She shook her head solemnly. "Not that problem. I'm referring to the problem of how sexually frustrated you've made me."
"And me," three other teenaged witches chorused.
Amelia Bones just laughed.