Chapter 92: A little bit of a snag
The first of August saw two expected arrivals in Potter Manor. Fleur and Viktor had been told the secret of it and marvelled at the home when right under their very eyes it revealed itself to them.“Disi-llusionment?” asked the quidditch player.
“Not quite. The charm is very old and does more than just hide visually. It also occludes from the mind. It’s… well it doesn’t really matter. Know that you will be safe here. Potter Manor is one of the oldest magical homes in Britain with defenses that may match Gringotts. Let’s go in.”
Rick invited them to follow him inside. They barely went through the front door and both young people were gobsmacked by the luxurious decoration and design. Viktor looked around dumbly with his mouth open. He had seen luxury as a national quidditch player but only from the government of his country. Personal wealth? He never had witnessed something ostentatious. Fleur on the other hand was more than impressed. From the outside Potter Manor looked like a run out of the mill manor reminiscent of the 15th century. The inside however looked quite modern.
“We’re home!” Rick said and cast a patronus that went up the stairs. Lily’s head appeared from the living room’s entrance then the rest of her body when she saw Viktor and Fleur. She was all smiles and welcomed them warmly. A stark contrast from the redhead missile that came down the stairs with the grace of a hippopotamus and took both the guests in one arm hugs.
“I’m so glad you’re here guys!” Rose exclaimed with passion.
“Rose, let them breathe a bit, won’t you?” her mother chastised with no heat in her voice. If anything she was amused.
Rose let go of their friends but didn’t seem embarrassed one bit. She just smiled and her friends smiled back.“I’m ‘appy to be ‘ere.”
“Da. Thank you for velcoming us.”
“Karkass!”
The head house-helf of house Potter popped to existence instantly. “Yes, Master?”
“This is Fleur Delacour and Viktor Krum, our guests for an indefinite amount of time. If they need anything, I’m counting on you to let me know.”
“I will, Master.”
“Please, once they have chosen a room, bring them their luggage. Rose, lead the way.”
The house-elf nodded while Rose grabbed her champion friends’ hands and dragged them to the west wing of the manor. Rick and Lily followed behind closely.
“If you get lost or need something Karkass is the one to call. He’s the oldest elf in the family and knows probably everything about the manor. He’s kind of the head elf.” Rose began to explain. “There is Tipsy too but she’s more of the nanny than anything. Cookie, Wuzzy and Wooly are in charge of everything like cooking, laundry, cleaning. It’s them you need to talk too if you have any specification regarding food, clothing or your room organization.”
They took up some stairs and arrived on the second floor with a very vast corridor with no less than ten rooms on each side of it. Clearly the manor had been expanded.
Rick waved his hand forward. “You can choose any of the rooms you want. I thought about putting you in the family wing with everyone but back tracked when I thought you’d like your privacy and not be around shouting, fighting and hyperactive children.”
“Zank you, professor.”
Fleur took one of the rooms at the end of the corridor, one who made the corner. Her reason was that the windows of the room were arranged in a panorama view of the East and South. Viktor didn’t particularly care about this and took the very first room on his left. He had a bed, a bathroom and a lot of space. That was more than enough for him.
For the next thirty minutes they got a quick tour of the manor. The labs, the living room, the offices and parlors for tea. They both had been very interested in the library.
“We’re home!” Bella’s voice echoed through the manor.
Rose led everyone back to the living room where Bella, Andi and Dorea were sitting around the loveseats and couch, talking with Draco and Lyra.
“Mom, Andi let me introduce you to Fleur Delacour and Viktor Krum, our guests for a while.”
“‘Ello. Pleased to make your acquaintance.”
“Likewise and hello, Professor Black.” Viktor added towards Bella who nodded.
“*Gasp* VIIIIKTOOORRRR!”
“Oompfh.” Viktor was tackled to the side by a very energetic and happy Lea. The air being forcefully expelled from his lungs.
“You came!”
“Hello, Lea.” he replied, wincing a bit. His side took a good hit from the brunette.
“I made plenty of new paintings, you need to see them!”Lea came in like a wrecking ball and left the same way but dragging Viktor by the hand who had a sheepish look on his face and hadn’t been able to say a word of protest out of politeness.
“... I wonder who she got this from.” Rick said looking at Bella, joking but it turned out the joke was on him.
“““You.”””
“You, Corvus.”
“You, Uncle.”
“You, Dear.”
“You, dad.”
“...”Fleur couldn’t help herself and snorted, followed by a good laugh. Rick’s family had all answered at the same time and it was too funny for her. He just lowered his head in defeat and sighed.
“I’ll have the last word one day.”
“““““Suuuure.”””””
And Fleur laughed even more.
Rick’s torment took an abrupt end when Dumbledore called from the floo. He needed to speak urgently with him and Bella. The married couple exchanged a curious look. Offering a hand to pull her up, Bella ended on her feet. After saying ‘see you later’ to everyone, Rick and Bella took the floo and arrived at Dumbledore’s office. When invited too, they took a seat. Unhappiness showed on the old wizard and made the couple wonder what had happened.“I have bad news.”
“Voldemort bad news or you hit your little toe against the corner of your desk bad news?” Rick asked, trying to do away with the tension. It worked and it made Dumbledore crack a smile.
“Something closer to the latter. Cornelius has appointed his undersecretary Dolores Umbridge as the new DADA Professor.”
“Who?” a confused Bella asked.
“Remember the pink toad we met during-”
“Oh, her! Yerk.” The sneer on his wife’s face didn’t leave any doubt about to Rick about what she thought of Dolores Umbridge.
“I’m surprised you knew instantly who I meant.”
“Corvus, I have only ever seen one pink toad in my life.”Dumbledore cleared his throat to get their attention back. “Now, as the headmaster, it is my prerogative to hire and fire a member of Hogwarts' staff. Unfortunately I can and have been overruled by the board of governors and as such, my dear Bellatrix, I’m saddened to say that your employment has been terminated before it started.”
“I figured.” she said with annoyance.
“Albus. She needs to be at Hogwarts for her safety. Potter Manor is well defended and hidden but you don’t want her caged like this.”
“You’re talking as if I was a wild beast!”
“You are a wild beast, Bella. And while I love you for it, it always lands you into trouble. Look me in the eyes and tell me you won’t go hunt Death Eaters or use yourself as bait?”
She couldn’t and instead turned her head to the side. Rick took her hand in his and caressed it with his thumb to calm her down. A display of his love and support.
“That’s what I thought too. While the students of Durmstrang had nothing but praise for you and your class, Bellatrix, many parents showed concern about you teaching the dark arts. To some it was only confirmation that you weren’t… reformed. To others… they were worried you would… fall again to the dark side.”
Bella snorted when she heard Dumbledore, immediately remembering Star Wars.
“That is why I found a little loophole for you to be at the castle. As the headmaster I also decide which extracurricular classes are taught and which aren’t.”
“I like where this is going.”
“I hope so, because duelling is starting again this year and I don’t see a better person for the post than a many times World Champion.”
“DEAL!” Her shout of agreement was so jovial that it made Dumbledore laugh.
Rick had a small smile at Bella’s antics but focused on the important questions. “Won’t the board interfere again?”
“No. They did it in the first place because of the pressure Cornelius put on them. He wants an inside man or rather woman in the castle. The fact that every year I need a new DADA teacher made it easy for him. That Bellatrix was the one hired was just a bonus to wash away his mistake in allowing the Dark Arts at Hogwarts last year and be seen fixing something he had been criticized for.”
“Of course the fact that she’s my wife, the former Dark Arts teacher and a former Death Eater is an even bigger bonus. He must be jubilating in his seat.”
“Quite.” Albus said somberly. “Now, Cornelius doesn’t know about the duelling classes and even if he did it’s an extracurricular course and very few students ever take those so he wouldn’t really care. The board will have no problem either with your enrollment. They can’t really refuse it either. If it was known they refused one of the most accomplished duellists in the world the opportunity to teach students how to duel… Being mocked would be the least of their problems.”
“So it’s just Bella’s name and Dark Arts in the same sentence that scares them.”
“I’m afraid so.” Albus exhaled his displeasure and tiredness through his nose.
“It’s fine with me. Duelling is applying most spells you learn in DADA anyway. The class will just be less theoretical and more practical.”
“I was hoping you’ll do both. Here, take a look at the DADA manual this year.”
Dumbledore summoned a thick book from a shelf and presented it to the couple. They opened it and the first page made them grit their teeth. Bella turned a few pages hoping what she had read wasn’t that bad.
“You’re kidding right?” Rick said and Bella gave her own two knuts.
“There are no defensive spells! And they’re supposed to… call the aurors? They’d be dead by the time an auror arrived to help.”
“I’m sure you understand now more than ever why I need you to teach them both theory and make them practice.”
“Oh, I will. Don’t worry about it.”
“Does the toad have the standard contract for the position of DADA professor or the alternative?” Rick wondered aloud, a thought crossing his mind.
“I don’t know of any alternative contract.” The twinkle in Dumbledore’s eyes made Rick laugh.
“You know, for such a preacher of the light and good, sometimes you can be quite mean.”
“No one ever died from the jinx. Unfortunate incidents may have happened and some people were hurt but nothing lethal. Well, except Quirinus maybe.”
“Who knew that Albus Dumbledore was secretly a prankster?” an amused Bella commented.
“On an unrelated note, we moved into Potter Manor completely. Lions’ Pride is free to be used by the Order. Of course, it needs a Fidelius and a bit of warning: Lily and I made some… modifications. Nothing dangerous as long as one doesn’t go poking at the magic with their wands. Or try to steal something. Mundungus will lose more than a finger if he tries anything.”
“I’ll tell him but I’d like to know more about it so I can brief others.”In the meantime at Potter Manor, while Rick, Bella and Dumbledore were discussing the security. Nymphadora had showed up for a visit. She hadn’t been in the place in more than a decade and she felt nostalgic. The introduction with Viktor and Fleur who remembered her as the bass player from the Yule Ball the previous year were made properly. Andromeda took the opportunity to take her aside in private to have a conversation.
“Mom, if it’s to ask me to move in again-”
“It’s not. You’ve been quite clear you will not multiple times, I will not insist further. No, That’s not what I want to talk about.” Andi walked towards a seat near a window giving a good view of the garden and signaled her daughter to sit in front of her.
“What’s it then?”
“You, having a very small window of opportunity.”
Nymphadora frowned in confusion. “Opportunity for what?”
“To have Rick.”
Nymphadora’s hair turned to bright pink and her eyebrows rose up to her hairline. Such was her surprise by what her mother had just said.
“Mom, I’ve-”
“No, you didn’t. It’s boyfriend after boyfriend. All older than you by a decade and none last more than three months tops. You are not over him and I will not let you deny it.”
With a scowl, Nymphadora looked at her mother in silence.
“Scowl all you want, Nymphadora. It won’t change the truth. You’re still in love with him. Now. I’m telling you, you have a very short time to get him.”
“What do you mean?”
“Fleur?”
“Yes? What about her?”
“Your aunt went around the bend. Again.”
“Oh, so it’s Aunt Bella then. Merlin, what did she do this time?”
“She wants Fleur because she’s a veela. She wants the veela allure in the Black family.”
“... I doubt Aunt Lily gave her an apprenticeship to-”
“She did.”
That shocked Nymphadora even more than hearing that she had a shot at Rick.
“Bella argued that Lily got the one she wanted and that it was only fair that she got the one she wanted too.”
“Aunt Lily got-... Who?”
“Amelia Bones.”
Nymphadora completely gawked at the revelation. “Shut up! No way!”
“Rick, Lily and Amelia have a… past together. Now since Susan, you know Susan?”
“Boss’ niece, yes and Rose girl- Oh! They- You mean-”
“Yes. Susan is a lesbian through and through, meaning unless Amelia has children, the Ancient and Noble House of Bones is going to be extinct soon. That’s why, after almost six months of negotiation, Amelia and Rick finally married not long ago, discreetly.”
“He has three wives now and you think-”
“Just be quiet for a moment!” The glare she sent her daughter was intimidating enough to get what she wanted. “Rick is done with children. However with the development with Amelia that isn’t so. Especially with the Dark Lord’s return. They will make a child soon if that isn’t already the case. Bella counts on Fleur getting pregnant too at roughly the same time so it would be easier on Rick. If she can squeeze Fleur, we can squeeze you. Of course it’s wishful thinking on her part. Fleur is only eighteen and despite being in love with Rick or at the very least being heavily infatuated, she’s too young for children. Bella’s real objective is to get Rick to sleep with her and if she wasn’t so busy making plans she would think of you too.”
“... That’s… I was going to say insane but that's aunt Bella, soooo….”
“Exactly. Still the opportunity for you to be with Rick is there. He can’t marry you but besides that, your relationship with him can be anything. It could be a one time thing or you could become his concubine like Cissy and me. You can have children or not, it's up to you. Although my sisters and I would prefer if you do as it would be better for our House. However I will not push you to it. Cissy may. Bella…. Better check your food and make sure your contraceptive charms or potions are working.”
That was a lot for Nymphadora. She grew up looking up to Rick. First as a cool big brother then as a cool father figure when her own finally pulled away when her parents divorced. In her eyes there was no better man than Rick. There was no man she loved more. When her mother caught her morphing into Lily when she was sixteen or seventeen and told her explicitly why that was a bad idea she had given up. The consequences were too heavy for her had she gone through with her idea. But now, her mother was telling her she had an opportunity? She seriously was considering it.
“What about Aunt Lily?”
“Morph into either Bella, Dorea or me with Amelia’s curves and she would do anything to convince Rick to go with it. Just so she could watch the memory of the two of you going at it.
“You’re kidding! Aunt Lily?”
Andromeda nodded affirmatively in silence. “Everyone thinks Bella is the degenerate but in truth it’s Lily. I won’t speak into details but you may very well end up between her legs and eating her out before you understand what’s going on. She got Bella, she got me, she got Cissy. She got Amelia and Marlene. You wouldn’t stand a chance.”
“Holy Morgana’s tits! She got snooty Aunt Cissy to… Wow.” she exclaimed when her mother confirmed her unfinished question with a nod.
“You better make your choice quickly, Nymphadora. You have one month before Rick goes to Hogwarts and then it’s two weeks at Christmas break. Your next opportunity would be Summer break and by then it may be too late.”
“You don’t mind that I sleep with him when you do?”
“... I’ve given up on minding such a thing. It all went out the window when he gave me Atria.”
“So he is her father! It’s official!”
“Yes. The adults in the direct family know. He’s also Rigella and Ursa’s father. Your cousins all have suspicions.”
“Bloody hell, does he intend to knock up every Black woman or what?!”
“He doesn’t. Bella does. Heck, she wanted him to bed my mother and his own and of course, degenerate that she is, Lily… Well… she never verbally agreed but the way she drools at the idea is pretty telling what she thinks about it. At least regarding his mother.”
“You do know that if I have children with him, Atria will be both their aunt and half-sister, right?”
“Welcome to the House of Black, dear. Whatever you chose, Nymphadora, chose what your heart tells you.”
“Didn’t work so well for you and Aunt Cissy, mom.”
“Oh I wouldn't be so sure. I’m the concubine of the man I love more than any other. True I had a mishap with Ted which I don’t regret all thanks to you but in the end, I’m very happy. I’d like him to be all mine but honestly I always knew it was impossible. He loves Lily too much for that to happen. Yet, I’m happy. Very happy. Cissy would be too if she opened her heart again and wasn’t obsessed with having nothing less than her perfect fairytale in mind. Rick may not always be there when you want it but he will be there when you need it.”
Nymphadora took another moment to think. Putting herself as just a one night stand or a lover then a mistress and concubine. Children? She hadn’t thought about that. It never crossed her mind. She was only twenty three after all. But sex? Yes, she thought of that plenty. Dreamed of that plenty. Would she turn down ever knowing how Rick felt inside of her? She always wondered. She saw how happy Lily, Bella and her own mother were after a night spent with him. She knew she would be happy too, especially since she was a metamorphmagus. Her body could be altered anyway she wanted to get the most pleasure. Both for hers but also for his.
“So, how do I approach this?”
Andromeda gave her daughter a grin and began to coach her.