Join me on Discord for discussions, character portraits, and one advanced chapter. Server code is vN7sTYhEp6.

  Or hop onto Patreon under the same penname to read an additional five chapters.

  This chapter was edited by Gdiusx. Check his works on HP and ASOIAF, I highly recommend them.

  Earlier,

  “You know, your face hasn't changed since you st checked your makeup two minutes ago.”

  Susan flinched in embarrassment as she shut her hand mirror and looked aggrieved at her mother, finding her with a rare teasing smile. Circe Bones was a strict woman, especially towards her only daughter, but Susan knew it came from a pce of love. Even now, Circe gave her a side hug, and Susan sighed as she practically inhaled her mother's magic.

  It was said a mother's love was the strongest force in the world; Susan could confirm that it was an understatement, especially as her mother knew all about her ability and never shied from sharing her magic.

  “You look lovely, dear. You didn't bother to doll up that much st year. Do you have a certain special someone you're trying to impress?”

  “Maybe.” Susan giggled as she stared coyly at her mother; after the school year, the young witch was only half a head shorter. “Do you think Father will send my brothers after that special someone for a bit of men talk?”

  “Most likely not. Your father did say he would be te since the Wizengamot meeting took so long and caused his old injury to act up.” Susan sobered at the reminder of the parting gift her father received from that unknown Death Eater that fateful day when Uncle Edgar died. “As for your brothers, they seem too busy with girls to care.”

  Circe fixed a stray lock of her raven hair before pointing with her chin where her eldest brother Edwin spoke to his girlfriend’s family while Edmund chatted up a pretty ministry employee.

  “Er, Mum. Are you sure my hair is good?” They turned to the youngest son of the Bones family. Edward kept trying to slick his blonde hair back, even though it was already combed straight, and made it even messier.

  “Of course it is, dear.” Circe smiled gently as she twirled her wand, and Eddy’s hair combed itself straight. “You just need to stop messing with it.”

  Susan giggled as her younger brother pouted and hid his face from embarrassment. They had arrived ten minutes prior by floo, opting not to arrive earlier for the unofficial mingling that many witches and wizards did, but they were still required to go through security. Aunt Amy would take the security of such an event very seriously, especially when they would be attending.

  Now, Susan and the rest of the Bones family waited to the side for the other noble families to show up, so they entered the ga together as a show of unity.

  A fsh of green had Susan turn to the firepce, and she spied a certain green-eyed heiress waving at her as she exited the Floo.

  “Hey, Susie! Long time no see.” They hugged each other in greeting, and it took everything in Susan's power not to get lost in the smell and taste of Daphne’s magic that reminded her of hyacinth. “Wow, girl. You look beautiful. Did your boobs get even bigger?”

  Susan hid a blush as she separated from the other girl. As her mother had mentioned, she had dressed up for this gathering, hoping to catch the eye of a certain green-eyed boy. The only daughter of the Bones family was garbed in a white frilly dress, keeping to the traditional colour of House Bones, and a bck bodice with a yellow corsage as a nod to her school house. She wasn’t even sure why, as while she respected Harry Potter’s sheer magical power, she did not think she liked him that way.

  “It’s only been a week, Daphne.” The red-haired witch shook her head in exasperation and inspected the Greengrass heiress. “It must be you who've grown. Did you py Quidditch? I could feel some muscles in those arms.”

  A loud guffaw came from the firepce just as Daphne released her in shock. Susan turned to the rest of the Greengrasses as they exited the Floo and found Astoria giggling like a loon at her sister.

  “You have no idea how close you are, Susan.” Daphne hurried to shush her sister, but she ended up tripping over her dress, a rather garish green that she still managed to make look pretty on her, and grabbed onto Susan's arm for support. “Daddy had us, Daphne, in particur, doing so many chores after our stunt in the train that we–”

  “That's enough airing our dirty undry.” Tracey Davis ruffled her sister's head, causing her to realise how loud she was and the crowd they attracted. “Now, how about you greet our friends properly?”

  “Sure, hullo Susie. Where's Eddy?” Susan couldn't help but smile at the youngest Greengrass. She had shied away from the girl every time they met. Her magic was so simir to Daphne and Tracey's, yet it had a hint of something foul in it that all her instincts screamed against even tasting it.

  She had asked her father about it, fearing for her brother after noticing how quickly she befriended Eddy, but Elwood Bones simply shook his head in sympathy when she mentioned it and told her not to worry about it. Trusting in her father and since Astoria was genuinely interested in befriending her brother, and Eddy had always had trouble making friends, Susan let the matter go.

  “You've made some interesting friends, Susie. Eddy? Come here, dear, and say hi to your friend.”

  Her mother nudged Edward forward, and her brother's shy demeanour melted as he saw Astoria. The two children immediately struck up a conversation and, within a minute, had managed to drag Luna Lovegood from somewhere into it. Where did she come from? Despite being purebloods for many generations, the Lovegoods were not part of the nobility.

  “Might want to watch out. At this rate, your dear brother would go to Ravencw just to be with Tori.”

  Tracey muttered after she greeted her mother, who had gone to speak with the three Greengrass parents and gave them space to mingle. Susan was curious about how Estelle Greengrass allowed her husband to have a mistress. She recalled Astoria talking about it on the train, yet the view of a child would always be different from the reality of the situation. She could never imagine herself in such a retionship; if she had a man, then he was hers and hers alone.

  “I have faith that Eddy will go to the house that most suits him,” Susan replied diplomatically, before gncing at the other girl’s green and gold dress. “You look lovely.”

  “Thank you, you’re not so bad yourself.”

  Pleasantries exchanged, they remained awkwardly silent while waiting for the tent to open up and allow them inside the venue. Susan tried to think of anything to discuss, even looking for Daphne to save the day, but she was speaking to her Warrington cousin, and there was no way the red-haired witch would get anywhere near that scoundrel.

  “Looking forward to the dance?” Tracey spoke up, green eyes almost glowing with challenge.

  “Certainly. I look forward to dancing with a certain someone I’ve had my eyes on for a while.” Susan smiled, earning herself a gre from her yearmate. “After making the headlines tely, he will certainly have plenty of women chasing him for a dance or two. It’s only natural I alleviate him from such a worry by taking a good chunk of his time tonight.”

  “Oh? Is that a challenge, Bones?” Tracey stepped forward, her shoulders squared, and Susan’s smile turned coy.

  “Would you like it to be?” She straightened herself to her full height and looked down at the shorter girl whose eyes barely reached her lips, “We can make it like one of our games. How about the winner gets the first dance with Harry?” Susan produced a Galleon and held it over her chest, grinning when the other girl’s eyes wandered to them for a moment before shaking her head.

  “… Fine, but I will flip it.” The blonde snatched the Galleon and checked it closely before carefully rolling it over her fingers. It amused Susan to no end how easily the normally unfppable girl lost her cool at the first mention of Potter. “I’ll be taking heads.”

  Tracey didn't wait for her reply before flipping the coin high. They watched in trepidation as the coin flipped end over end until it reached its maximum height, then fell back to the marble floor. It cttered around until it settled, and facing them was…

  Tails.

  “It appears fortune favours me today.” Susan breathed a sigh of relief as she grabbed the coin from the ground and smiled at the other girl's defiant face. Tracey bit her lips before she took a deep breath and gazed coldly at her.

  “It doesn't matter. I–”

  “May I have your attention, please?” They were interrupted by the reverberating echo of the Sonorous charm from an older girl in Auror robes with the most fshy green hair Susan had seen. “We shall begin the entrance momentarily.”

  The tent covers behind the Auror opened, and everyone returned to their group. Tracey gnced at her one final time before returning to her family. Susan sighed as she wondered if she took her game with the girl too far, she was supposed to be trying to make friends, and Tracey was a good friend to have. Besides, the blonde girl’s magic tasted refreshing. Susan licked her lips as she and her family quickly went through security and exited to the other side of the tent.

  The beautiful decorations of the ministry barely brought a gnce from her, as it was the same every year, though she did pause at the phoenix in the floating fireball. That was new. Eddy had already run off with Luna, of all people, to py with the fairies. Seriously, how did that girl make it through? She didn't even go with them through security!

  Regardless, none of that could grab her attention for long, as Susan activated her Mage Sight and scanned the crowd for the tremendous amount of magic power she had memorised. No, that was Auntie speaking to Crouch. Oh, that was very bright, but still not them either; that was Dumbledore and McGonagall speaking to some tiny hunchbacked dy. Merlin, all three made Harry's power look slightly cking… maybe not McGonagall, but who was that ancient dy? She was spping Dumbledore’s knees with a cane for some reason.

  Shaking her head, Susan continued to scan the crowds for a few seconds more until she finally found her quarry. She grinned and gulped as the expectation of being so close to the powerful wizard almost had her run to the boy staring back at her strangely with–

  Wait! Why was Potter holding a girl in each arm? And why the bloody hell were they so close to each other?!

  A*L*S*M

  “Ah, I think I'm finally full. Dinner was lovely, compliments to the house elves.”

  Harry wiped his hands and lips with the white handkerchief provided at the table before dropping it on his empty pte. Or, well, the shortest stack of ptes on the table. A moment ter, all the ptes vanished, and Harry grinned at the incredulous faces of most of his schoolmates. Or at least those who had not already finished eating and left to dance. Tracey had already gone for a stroll with Daphne, while that young boy who introduced himself as Susan's brother had been absconded by both Luna and Astoria. He wasn't sure if he should pity the d or give him a pat on the back, but speaking of the red-haired witch, Harry winked at her. Susan had waited for him patiently, clearly wishing to dance with him, and Harry would have obliged the beautiful girl if not for his cousins.

  “Hestia, Flora. Care for a dance?”

  His cousins, having already witnessed his voracious appetite before, smiled and grabbed his offered hands as he led them to the dance floor. The podium Fudge appeared from was now occupied by a band that pyed a slow cssical tune that Harry thought he had heard in an old antique shop.

  It was nearly an hour since Fudge decred the event's start, and the assigned seats had the children seated in a group of tables away from the adults. At first, Harry thought it insulting, but then he realised the wisdom of the seating arrangements. New students who would enrol next semester could introduce themselves to their seniors and make connections, while older students could show the ropes to their younger retives. It still surprised Harry greatly at the number of young students who would be calling Hogwarts home in a few months, and that's not considering those who couldn't make it, or the muggle-borns. The Potter Lord was certain that those celebrations in ‘82 would involve a lot of muggle women as well, and the fruits of their bour might appear this September.

  He shook his head inwardly as he focused on his cousins, “Shall we?”

  Flora nodded with enthusiasm, her smile growing rger and her blue eye glowed brighter. Hestia was more shy, but still offered her hand with a meek smile, gncing at her sister. Harry took both of their hands and gently led them to dance to the slow tune. Their happy smiles and bright eyes had him choke back a sob at how they reminded him of the sister he’d never see again. The st time he had seen his sweet Sansa, she was a few moons older than the twins, and he prayed for her soul, wherever she was now. He hoped to make her proud tonight, for she was the one who taught him how to dance.

  It was not easy dancing with two partners at the same time, despite the twins being in sync with each other. Still, they made it happen, and then Harry moved and twirled with each of his cousins separately until the tune ended, and they bowed to each other. The older boy couldn’t hold back from pinching their cheeks teasingly as the dance ended, especially when Hestia daringly gave him a kiss on the cheek, prompting her twin to follow suit. He turned around, only to find Susan waiting for him with a bashful smile.

  “You look lovely, Susan.”

  “You look dashing yourself.” Susan gnced at the retreating twins warily. “Who were they?”

  “Cousins of mine that I managed to connect with.”

  “I see.” The girl looked relieved for some reason, though Harry could not tell why.

  They stared at each other for a minute until the music started again for a waltz, and Harry realised what was expected of him. Smiling galntly, he bowed with a flourish and raised his hand. “May I have the honour of dancing with you, my dy?”

  “Certainly, good sir.” Susan hesitantly grabbed his hand, but once she did, her eyes widened, and her cheeks turned red. For a moment, he worried for the girl until a smile split her face, and Susan got closer to him, pcing her hands on his shoulders. “You are amazing, do you know that, Harry?

  “Er, I suppose?” He grabbed her waist, pulling her closer to himself, enjoying the feeling of her chest on his own. The girl was tall, much taller than most adult women, so they had to adjust their positions with his hands on her hips and hers on his shoulders instead of the traditional position. Thankfully, he had pulled in height since they st saw each other, and now, his eyes were level with her chin instead of her colrbone - more like her chest. “What brought that on?”

  “Oh, nothing much.” He allowed her to lead him as she began with a box step, stepping forward with her left foot before sidestepping with her right, Harry easily following her along. “Just wanted to have a chat with you. Have you heard from Hermione? I tried sending her an owl, but it refused to go.”

  “Ah, she’s supposed to be in France with her parents. I sent Hedwig to her this morning with a letter to check on her. I should expect a reply by tomorrow.” They danced silently for a minute or so, and Harry couldn’t help but feel the girl was trying to avoid a discussion of sorts. Her earlier question about Hermione was genuine, as he could sense real fondness from her when she mentioned his friend, but there’s something about–

  “I must confess something that I never got the chance to tell you.” Susan suddenly blurted out, her red cheeks growing even hotter as she looked at him strangely.

  “Oh? Do tell.”

  “I can see and taste magic, even absorb it to an extent. Yours is just so powerful and tastes so delicious!”

  Harry chuckled uneasily as the girl breathed the st word into his ear. He gazed at the way the girl’s eyes were wide; her breathing was slightly boured, and her tongue licked her lips as she looked at him with a flush creeping up her neck. She looked… drunk, despite not having a sip of alcohol - his nose would have surely detected so.

  … Could one get drunk on magic?

  “Is that why you’ve been trying to get close to me, to dance with me? You just wanted some of my magic?” Harry took the lead, initiating a reverse box step as he led her closer to him before surprising her by lifting her as they switched positions. He had to thank Chiara for teaching him the steps to a waltz. “The allure of The Boy Who Lived was just too much for you, huh?”

  “I don’t care about any of that hogwash.” Susan retorted dismissively, making him miss a step, and she took control of the dance, her lips on his ear again. “I didn’t care much about you over the past two years, I will admit. You were in a different house, and all I knew about you was how much trouble you got yourself into and how Dumbledore favoured you too much by always being there to get you out of it. While you had impressive magic… nothing else stood out, for there are many students better in css than you in our year.” The girl gazed at him with smouldering eyes as she utterly dismantled him so casually that even Ghost almost drowned his mind in amusement. Worse, he could tell she was being genuine.

  “Truly?” Harry hummed. It was not… false - he did not try too hard in csses. Passing had been enough, and he was content with what he had. But no more.

  Susan huffed. “The only thing you ever excelled in was Quidditch and flying, yet you didn’t act like a Quidditch star, whether by befriending your opposition or even being a braggart and instilling some friendly rivalry with the other houses. Being humble is good, but at some point, it comes off as arrogance, as if the rest are not worth your attention. Why should I be impressed with someone like that?”

  The red-haired girl did not break eye contact with him, her nose nearly touching his own, and he could smell the familiar scent of cardamom and cinnamon coming from her. Susan was not wrong, of course, and he appreciated the candidness.

  “So what changed?”

  “The way you handled Snape in the infirmary and what I heard of what you did to Malfoy ter. You always allowed the likes of Snape or Malfoy to insult you and yours and let them get away for over two years, or worse, fall for their cheap tricks and goading. But no more… you showed you have a spine and wouldn’t suffer any insults suddenly and did so without arrogance, as if you had learned of your self-worth.” Susan gazed at him as her hands trailed to his neck, “Yet the biggest mystery is how Harry Potter changed so much in a single day.”

  “I would like to say I’ve always been like this,” he deflected.

  “Yet you know as well as I do that is not true.” Susan smiled as he twirled her in pce, and the beat got stronger as the tune reached its finale. “You go down the Chamber of Secrets and return a changed man. Many have noticed your demeanour changing and have attributed it to Weasley’s death, but I know better. Your magic… your very being was altered in that chamber, yet it remained, without a shadow of a doubt, inherently you. Your magic power more than tripled overnight. You lost your gsses, you gained confidence, you had better control over your temper - most importantly, you finally deigned to reach out to people who would love to know you.”

  The dance ended, and they separated from each other before bowing. Harry was loath to separate from the girl, nay, the woman in front of him, for she had proven to be so much more than simply a beautiful face.

  “And you, Susan? Did you like that I reached out to you?”

  The girl gave him her most beautiful smile yet, and approached again with a hug. “I loved it and look forward to meeting you more. Perhaps in a more private setting?”

  “Oh? How about a stroll in Diagon Alley, then? We could have some ice cream before venturing out into Muggle London.” Harry returned her embrace as propriety would dictate, though he might have clung a second or two too long. “I confess to not being the most knowledgeable about muggle life, so I’m sure it wouldn’t be boring for either of us.”

  “That would be lovely. I shall await your owl then.” Susan curtsied, face still flushed, before departing to where he could see Hannah rubbing her feet after dancing with Neville.

  Harry looked around as he searched for the rest of his friends; Astoria was pying gobstones of all things with Edward Bones, and Tariq looked ready to doze off as he listened to his cousin ughing with her friends. The Tonkses were talking to Nymphadora, who was scowling at the Shafiq table. If she were a dragon, Harry would bet she’d be spitting brimstone and fire right now.

  It was a surprise to see the Metamorph strike up a conversation with Daphne, of all people, when she interrupted their conversation with a grin. Then again, he recalled Ted being Astoria's healer.

  Pansy and Draco were arguing over something by the botanical garden before the girl sneered and stormed away, causing the Malfoy heir’s face to turn stony. It looked… oddly wrong to see Draco completely isoted; even Crabbe and Goyle had not approached him, preferring to stay in their seats and gorge themselves on the courses.

  His gaze halted on Narcissa speaking to Arthur Weasley, the woman not looking like she had enjoyed her evening. Percy Weasley was with them, but none of the other Weasleys had made an appearance, and Harry worried about the family that had so eagerly welcomed him to their home. Just as he was about to head their way, Tracey Davis approached him.

  Harry decided Mr Weasley could wait for ter.

  “Would you do me the honour of a dance, my dy?” He asked with a grin, offering his hand.

  “Certainly.” A few heartbeats ter, they were already dancing. Harry had a far easier time with Tracey than with Susan, probably because they were closer in height. Tracey was also a better dancer than the redhead and moved with surprising grace and agility. Harry easily lifted her time and again, and she always nded with practised ease before continuing their dance. “I noticed you were getting too close with Susan.”

  “Perhaps I was. She is a beautiful maiden that has not hidden her interest in me.”

  “… I see.” Tracey’s face stiffened, and he could tell she felt unsettled. If she wanted to talk about it, he would listen, but this was not a topic he would raise so btantly. They continued to dance in silence, yet it quickly turned from awkward to comfortable as they did twirls, steps, and reversals with focus and smoothness that was missing from his dancing with Susan.

  They separated and bowed once the song ended, but Tracey stuck with him as she grabbed his hands. “Thank you for the dance, Harry. It was fun.”

  “You are welcome. You were a great dancer, Tracey. Beautiful and graceful.”

  “T-Thanks.” Her cheeks turned pink. “Was I… Was I better than Susan?”

  “Honestly? Yeah, your moves were better,” Harry expined after a thoughtful pause, causing Tracey's smile to widen for some reason. “Have your parents mentioned when they would like me to visit?”

  “Oh, yes. You are welcome to visit any time. Just please owl us first.” After chatting for a bit, Harry finally separated from the blonde girl and headed to speak to Mr Weasley.

  Truth be told, he could tell Tracey was somewhat interested in him, but had the feeling the girl was not certain what exactly she wanted. She had not returned his pyful banter on the train. Harry was not sure if she was just pying or trying to test his resolve or something silly like that. Robb and Theon had mentioned such things quite many times. Harry shook his head. Neither he nor Jon had been overly successful with women, and the more he tried to figure them out, the more confused he became. Flirting and teasing were fun… but he had no idea what else to do. Jon had not paid attention to his lessons on courting in favour of the more important steps - betrothal and marriage.

  He was distracted by Luna pulling on his sleeve, a bright smile on her face and a familiar raven haired fairy on her shoulder. “Would you mind if I interview you now, Harry?”

  It was then that he noticed the tag on the girl’s chest that decred her as a member of the press. He stifled a groan; who in their right mind would give the Quibbler such power? Harry simply did what he had been doing all day regarding girls.

  He smiled with a nod.

  A*L*S*M

  Evening of the Summer Solstice, 20th of June.

  Birmingham.

  A cloaked man shivered slightly as he walked down the road, wearing a thick bck coat. He would have apparated straight to his destination, but he did not wish to risk getting splinched in his state. He adjusted his hat and breathed a sigh of relief as the muggles around him ignored him, the Muggle-Repelling charm he managed to cast working. As he walked past a store, the man paused, stared at his reflection in the gss, and scowled.

  Lucius Malfoy was but a shadow of his former self. His tall stature was stooped as he tried to retain as much heat as possible. His lithe figure was gone, his sunken cheeks looking sinister in the gss. His appetite had been ravenous, yet no matter how much he ate, it was never enough, for the cold seemed to sap that energy away. Even the Emberheart Elixir was losing its efficacy, and he had but one vial left. He would need the vigour for the ritual, along with the multitude of other potions.

  Shaking his head, Lucius continued down the street past a butchery, where one of those muggle carriages was unloading sheep for the sughter. He suddenly stopped when a shadow caught his attention from across the road, right in front of a church.

  Lucius raised his eyes, and his heart burst at the sight of the massive bck beast that stared at him with strangely familiar grey eyes. It was a dog, only he had never seen a dog so huge in his life aside from a Cerberus. His thoughts raced as his tired mind tried to remind him of where he had heard of something like that until he remembered, and his fear turned into terror.

  A Grim!

  The giant, spectral dog that haunted churches and graveyards. Massive and Bck, those who witness the omen of death are said to follow it soon.

  A rge muggle carriage, reminding him of the Knight’s Bus, stopped in front of him to unload passengers before driving off, and Lucius could no longer see the Grim. He scoffed at the thought. Him? Dying from some stupid dog? Ridiculous. He drank the st of his Emberheart Elixir before throwing away the vial, the warmth and power filling his veins and melting away his worries.

  The Malfoy Lord continued wandering the streets of the muggle city until he finally found his destination. The pce was a small apartment building, five floors high, and where middle-css muggles would live. His contact had located his targets living there and had shadowed them for days, even casting diagnoses charms in their sleep to be certain of their purity. Soon, Lucius stopped in front of his contact, a short wizard with bandy legs and long, straggly matted ginger hair.

  “What do you have for me, Fletcher?”

  I had a dilemma deciding who's POV to start this chapter with. I knew it would be either Susan or Tracey and whoever it was, they would end up scoring a date with Harry. It was a tough decision, so I flipped a coin, and now Susan is in the lead to be the pairing.

  I was sorely tempted to drag this chapter on for some more politicking and whatnot, especially a meeting between Harry and Arthur as well as Dumbledore. Ultimately, I decided against it, as it would not add much to the plot and could easily be expanded upon in ter chapters through a fshback or regur conversation. Just assume that Harry had met and networked with as many people as he could, yet most of his night was spent dancing with many maidens.