Spring Equinox

Chapter 13

The night of the solstice was a pleasant and warm night (for Scotland). Harry and his wives, all clad in outer robes only, just as for the Equinox Celebration, made their way to the Room of Requirements. Although the ritual could be performed in their apartment, Harry preferred to do it elsewhere. He carried a wooden cup in his pocket, one carved out of a fallen branch he had found near the lake.

Once inside the room, they all disrobed. Hermione used a sterile needle to prick her finger and counted ten drops into the wooden cup. She then used a cleansing spell on the needle and passed it to Ginny. One by one they added their blood to the cup, with Minerva adding twice the amount, as her blood was already mixed with her child's. When the women finished giving the blood, Hermione took a pack of condoms from her robe. With a mischievous smile she opened it and put the first condom on Harry's erection. They then used the bed which the room supplied to make love, as they normally did every night. Hermione made sure that the contents of the used condom was dumped into the cup and Harry's member cleaned before using another condom and letting Minerva enjoy her husband.

By the time all six wives were sated, it was long past midnight. Harry was just thankful for stamina potions. He was sure he couldn't have done his part in the ritual so well had he not taken some beforehand.

The cup was about half full with a rosy mixture, reminding Harry of some spilled strawberry-vanilla ice cream. He stood in the center of the circle formed by the women. Each dipped her wand in the cup and then Harry put it down, dipping his wand as well, before raising his wand straight up. The women raised their wands to touch his and then Luna recited the spell in its original form. The only intelligible word was Voldemort's name. Their wands lighted golden and stayed lighted for several seconds before gradually dimming back to normal. No trace of the rosy substance could be seen on any wand. They even seemed a bit cleaner than before.

Harry joined the circle, leaving the wooden cup in the middle. It was shining different colors, as if manifesting the process of removing the soul fragments from their latest vessels and sending them back to unite. He then felt a sharp pain as his scar burst open and some dark cloud seemed to emerge and hurry towards the door, then pass straight through it. The pain disappeared almost as soon as it appeared. Both Hermione and Minerva checked Harry's forehead. Minerva then cast a cleansing charm and a simple healing charm. It seemed to work this time, as the edges closed and the scar seemed to heal. There was still a faint scar there, but it was almost invisible.

Voldemort was trying to get some sleep, but sleep wouldn't come. He kept thinking of the failed attempt at the ministry. When his loyal servants appeared in the ministry's lobby, they were immediately stunned by an auror force, much larger than he had anticipated, yet there didn't seem to be anybody who could leak the information. He only ordered his loyal to act a few minutes earlier, not letting anybody know his plans until the last moment. They were overwhelmed so quickly that there was no real fight. Belatrix managed to dodge the first stunner, but even she could see there was no hope. She used her emergency portkey just as another stunner hit her. In a way, she was lucky, despite suffering the Dark Lord's wrath. None of the others was heard of since. Voldemort assumed that they were either imprisoned in some secret place, unknown to even his best spies, or just thrown through the Veil of Death, as he would have done. He had no reason to still consider them useful.

Yet, as he was contemplating his situation, he suddenly felt a surge of hope and energy, as if he went back to his twenties, when he was still known as Tom Riddle Jr. and had not yet adopted the name Voldemort. There was nobody he could share his feelings with, except for his loyal snake, but he failed to contact Nagini. That bothered him a bit, yet the snake liked to hunt at night and could hardly be distracted when following a prey. It would probably return in a short while.

Voldemort relaxed back into his bed and closed his eyes. Yes, he could think about ways to get rid of Potter in the morning. He needed his sleep now.

With Harry's bleeding stopped and his forehead healed, there was no reason to delay the rest of the ritual. The liquid in the cup seemed to calm down, looking uniform dark pink by now. The Potters resumed their positions around the cup, pointing all wands at it.

There had been some friendly competition between Daphne, Luna and Hermione about who would say the spell. As Luna got to say the first spell, if only due to her finding the ritual, Harry thought that both other girls could say the final spell together, removing a cause for tension in the family. Both were now looking at him, expecting his signal. Harry looked around, made sure that everything was as it should and then nodded.

Both girls started talking in unison, reciting the spell in its original ancient form. The contents of the cup seemed to lighten, becoming uniformly pink. Now Ginny and Susan repeated it. There seemed to be a faint glow from the cup, but so faint they couldn't be sure. Harry and Minerva repeated it. The glow became stronger.

Harry looked at his wives. 'Let's all say it together,' he told them in his mind only. They repeated the spell, all talking in unison. As the spell finished, it seemed like something stirred in the cup. The liquid started glowing deep red and then intensified, turning into a bright red, encompassing the cup as well. The red glow grew brighter quickly until it became too bright to look at. Harry closed his eyes. A second later he saw, even with is eyes closed, the light intensifying even further, turning into a bright flash and then disappearing completely.

It took their eyes some time to readjust, and then they saw practically nothing on the floor. The cup and its contents vanished and the floor was clean. Even the discarded empty condoms were no more. Yet they all felt very tired. The bed in the room grew wider and they all fell on it in a heap, falling asleep immediately.

Belatrix was normally the first person to see Voldemort in the morning. She knocked on the door, not too loudly. There was no response. She tried again, and then, very cautiously, opened the door.

Her scream of despair could be heard quite a distance from Riddle Manor. When Wormtail found the courage to check, he found her weeping at the side of the bed in his master's bedroom. All he could see on the bed was an old bone, which he recognized as the one he had used to resurrect his master, the remains of his own hand, which had been sacrificed for the same purpose, and a puddle of blood, which he dared not touch. His master's wand was still resting on the night table, at the head of the bed. He then heard some noises. As much as he wanted, he could not change into his rat form. His master had set anti-animagus charms around the manor as safety measures. As he turned to see what made the noises he found a wand pointing at his chest. When he was carried out, bound in heavy ropes with anti-animagus charms on them, he could still see Bella crying at the side of the bed, oblivious to anything else.

Harry woke up a bit groggily. He didn't recognize his surroundings at first and almost panicked until he remembered what happened during the night. Looking around, he only found five girls. He then noticed a piece of parchment on the chair near the bed. "I'm sorry I couldn't stay, but I have a leaving feast to arrange. Please go back to the apartment to wash and change before you join your friends. Minnie."

His hair was falling over his eyes. Absentmindedly, he moved it away, brushing his forehead. He then stopped, as if struck by lightening. He touched his forehead again. His famous scar was no more. He could feel a faint scar there, like the ones he had from several events when he got injured one way or another. Each left a certain scar, but one had to know it was there to notice it. His forehead was now practically free of the scar which marred his life for almost fourteen years!

There was a mirror on the wall, near the door. He stood in front of the mirror and checked his reflection attentively. He could barely notice the scar, which had been his identifying feature since before he could remember. He was too confused to even know how he felt about it.

"Like what you see?" Daphne's teasing voice reached him from the bed.

"It's… weird. I can't remember a time I didn't have that scar, and now... it's gone!"

"Do you want it back?"

"No! I don't yet know what its healing means, but I like it better this way."

"So do I," she smiled at him. "Now, don't you like to show me that this didn't adversely change your performance in bed?"

By the time he finished sating Daphne, and then Hermione and Ginny, his stomach was grumbling. They all got dressed and hurried to their apartment. A quick shower and a change of clothes later, they walked to the great hall for lunch.

The atmosphere in the great hall seemed different. It wasn't the happy, carefree one that prevailed only a day earlier. It wasn't the sombre one that marked the end of the previous year either. It was like a tense anticipation, full of rumors and speculations. As Harry sat down near Ron, he asked, "What's happening?"

It was Lavender that answered instead. "There were some weird events last night. The morning paper is full of reports about captured Death-Eaters yet nobody seems to know what it means."

Harry thought he might know a bit more, but he kept silent. He looked around, noticing that Malfoy, Crabble, Goyle and Nott were looking extremely nervous. He was surprised to see that Pansy seemed to be in a good mood, which didn't happen very often.

'She's happy to be rid of Draco,' he heard Daphne in his head. 'With his family disgraced, her contract is canceled.'

Hermione was speed-reading the main article on her newspaper, which was still waiting on the table near her regular place. 'They found many Death Eaters. Some who had not yet been captured are trying to flee. No real details given,' he heard her in his mind.

Minerva approached from the head table. Harry and Susan now had permanent places there, but they preferred to stay with the students. "The headmaster requests an audience with you at your earliest convenience, Lord Potter," she said formally.

"I think we may all meet in his office after we finish here. Will it be alright, Minnie?"

She smiled adoringly at him. "I believe he'd like to only speak with you, but I wouldn't miss this conversation. I'll tell him."

A short while later, the seven Potters assembled in the Headmaster's office, where Albus was already waiting.

"Have you heard the news?" he asked.

"Of course. It seems to be a great day for the light."

Albus frowned. "Do you have any part in what happened?"

Harry smiled innocently. "I really hope so. You see, Lady Ravenclaw has recently found an old book with a ritual that could rid us of Voldemort. It only needed a few drops of the ladies' blood and some other substance from me, extracted in a very pleasurable way with their help. As we were all at school, there was no way for us to check if it worked, but judging by the information in the Prophet, it probably did."

"You didn't delve into dark rituals, did you?" Albus seemed extremely concerned.

"Dark? Not really, unless making love to my wives is considered dark. If so, I'd rather be considered dark than stop making love to them." He could see and sense his wives' agreement.

"Care to tell me about it?"

Harry expected this question, but he had no intention of satisfying the old man's curiosity. "It was kind of private, you see, between me and my wives. I can make a copy of the pages in that book and send to you during the summer, if you like."

It was clear that Albus was not satisfied, but knowing his position, he accepted the answer. "Well, I wish you all a pleasant summer vacation," he concluded.

"Where are we going to spend the summer?" Luna asked on their way back.

"I don't know. I hope Dumbledore will not force me to stay with my relatives." Harry's mood was plummeting.

"He can't force you. As Lord Potter, you can do as you please, He has no power over you," Daphne said.

"He made me return there last summer, and, as I've learned by now, I was already Lord Potter then."

"You didn't know that and he used your ignorance, as did the ministry later that summer. He should have not done it then. Minnie should have told you." Daphne was getting angry with Dumbledore and with Minerva as well.

"I believe he told her it was 'for the greater good,' and she was unable to oppose him then," Harry didn't want to put the blame on Minnie.

"Well, maybe, but he can't force you now. Besides, you need to visit five families of parents-in-law, and I think you'd like some time with only us as well. The summer may seem too short for it all." Daphne was now teasing him.

Harry didn't look forward to meeting his in-laws. He had already met Hermione's parents, and he knew the Weasleys, but the others were still frightening for him.

"I'm sure Dad will like you. He's been a great fan of you since you started Hogwarts," Luna said, "but I think we should better not stay there. The house is quite small and Dad has practically no visitors. He wouldn't know how to handle visitors. We can stay at The Burrow and only come for a few short visits."

"My aunt is also too busy to invite us for more than a weekend. She'd love to get to know you, though, and the other wives, although I think she already knows Minnie quite well," Susan said.

Daphne let Harry see her parents in her mind before speaking again. "My parents would like us all to stay with them for a few days, at least. They would like to get to know you, Harry, and the girls. They also told me they knew your parents quite well. Mom was in your mother's class, only in Ravenclaw, and Dad is two years older, but he had some business and politics with Potter. They may even have some stories for you about your parents." She knew he couldn't resist the temptation.

"Fine, we shall visit with Greengrass, Weasley and Granger. I'd also like to visit Potter Manor. The goblin told us it is a very elegant place that was shut down when my parents went into hiding."

Hermione smiled at him. "We should visit there while staying somewhere else, I think, as it may need some renovation and cleaning. We may also consider staying with Sirius for a few days."

"Only if he doesn't tease us to death."

"Sure!"

Yet planing their summer vacation was going to become even more complicated. As soon as they sat at the Gryffindor table, Neville joined them. "My Gran asked me to invite you for a visit during the summer. She hopes you can come with your family and stay for a few days," he told Harry.

"I'm not yet sure about our plans, but I'd really like to visit. I'll let you know as soon as I can."