With six wives to take care of, to cuddle with and to be taken care by, Harry felt very content. The only down side was the knowledge that once he went back to school, he would be envied even more than before, yet he didn't really mind it. How could he? Every night was becoming a celebration of love and desire; every morning he had the fabulous view of six naked beauties and he was also sure he would be doing great in his studies, being surrounded by the smartest girls in school.
His family needed a whole compartment for itself on the Hogwarts Express, yet they still had some visitors during the ride. Neville visited shortly with Hannah.
"Lord and Lady Gryffindor, congratulation for your wedding," both said formally.
"Thank you, scion Longbottom," Ginny answered just as formally, before bursting in giggles.
"How was your vacation?" Harry asked.
Neville smiled. "I've asked Hannah if she would like to marry me. We're engaged now." He lifted Hannah's hand, showing the engagement ring.
"Well, congratulations to you two. It seems you are very good for each other," Harry said, while the girls moved closer, to get a better look at the ring.
Draco came alone to congratulate Lady and Lord Gryffindor. "I wish to put our past rivalries aside and help create a better future for all of us," he added.
Harry and Ginny accepted the congratulations gracefully. "Let's focus on our studies this year, Lord Malfoy," Harry commented, "so we'll have better understanding of what needs to be changed and how to achieve the changes, working together."
Draco left the compartment walking just a bit straighter.
Ron only sat with Harry and his wives a bit longer. He then joined Lavender in another compartment. Harry and his wives didn't mind. They didn't need any additional company to pass the time very pleasantly.
Ginny was now a prefect as well, not unexpectedly. While not on par with Hermione, she still was the best Gryffindor student in her year. Only Luna and Susan were not made prefects, yet both liked it that way, not having to cope with the duties and the responsibility associated with the position.
\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/
The first few weeks passed with no problems. Harry made sure to have his prefect's duties divided so he could spend them equally with his wives. He also made sure that Ginny had enough time to become close with the other, older wives, so that they would really become one close family.
Ginny was making the rounds that evening with Daphne while Harry and Hermione were checking a different area. Ginny heard some noises while going through a corridor near the dungeons. It sounded like somebody was weeping, trying very hard not to make any noises.
"Have you heard it?" she asked Daphne.
"What was it?" Daphne asked in a hushed voice.
"I'm not sure." Ginny put her finger to her lips to sign for silence and walked cautiously in the direction of the sound. Daphne followed her. Both were holding their wands at ready.
The short corridor ended with a door which was partly open. The noise seemed to come from the other side.
"Cover my back," Ginny said, as she silently opened the door wide enough for her to go in. The door squeaked a little. Ginny froze.
"Go away! You can't get any more from me!" she heard a female voice crying in anguish. It sounded somewhat familiar, yet she didn't recognize it. Daphne did.
"Pansy?" she asked, unsure of how to act.
"Daphne? Thank Merlin it's you! I thought it was Nott again."
Ginny stayed close to the door, guarding against any intrusion, feeling uncertain about the right way to act. Pansy had never been nice to her or to any Gryffindor, for that matter, yet she had never been one to be abused or to cry, as far as Ginny knew.
"What is it, Pansy?" Daphne asked with concern in her voice.
Pansy took a deep breath, trying to calm her nerves and to phrase a reply. She wiped some tears from her face and cleared her nose, using a handkerchief conjured by Ginny. She smiled momentarily as she saw the two worried faces looking at her.
"It all started last year. You were no longer at the dorms and Draco also got his Lord apartment, as his father died along with the Dark Lord. He had lost interest in me even before, but he didn't dare disobey his father. Now he didn't need to consider that."
Pansy bit her lips. "While Draco was considered my bertrothed, I was quite protected. Nobody wanted to get on the wrong side of Malfoy. Once it was clear we were no longer an item, some other boys started showing interest in me, and not of the kind I like. Nott noticed that Crabble and Goyle were no longer with Malfoy and he took them as his own body guards, trying to rule the Slytherin common room as Draco had done before fifth year. Without Malfoy's protection, I became an easy prey for them. They would drag me to some secluded place and have their way with me."
Ginny could see some tears leaking from Pansy's eyes. Pansy wiped them furiously with her hand, as if they were a sign of weakness.
"I tried to resist, at first. You know how strong those two are, though, and Nott is quite agile. I had no chance against the three of them, especially since nobody dared stand in their way."
Daphne frowned. "Where were the prefects?"
Pansy shrugged. "You were no longer at the dorms, and the others – I don't know, but nowhere near me. I tried to complain, but Nott was smart enough to leave no signs, and you know it was long since I've been a virgin. There was nothing I could show as evidence."
"So, they were forcing you for more than a year?"
"A bit less, but they each take me at least twice a week. They don't even mind my period. Luckily, I was already on the potion, or I would have become pregnant."
Daphne was furious. She knew Crabble and Goyle had no mind, but she expected Nott to be smarter, if not more considerate. "Did you tell Professor Snape?" she asked.
"What for? Since it became clear that I'm no longer with Malfoy, he's almost as nasty with me as with the Gryffindors. He would have asked me if I complained because I didn't enjoy it as much as expected."
Ginny could no longer stay quiet. "Sex is for sharing with someone we care for, not for being taken by force!" she stated, as Pansy looked at her with confusion.
"I've never enjoyed it, not even with Draco."
"Did you love him then?"
"What was there to love? He was insufferable at the best of times. I had to be with him due to my contract and act just as he demanded. You know how contract betrothals are, don't you?"
Ginny only had a vague idea, but that was enough for the moment. "How can we help you?" she asked.
"I don't know," Pansy shrugged her shoulders as if accepting her sentence.
"I think Professor Snape should handle this. If we come with you to complain, he won't be able to brush it aside. We have the power of Lord Potter-Black behind us," Daphne noted.
"I'm afraid this would be just a waste of time," Pansy said.
"We'll make sure it won't!" Ginny promised.
Walking between the two Potter wives, Pansy felt a bit relieved, although not quite ready to face Snape's wrath. Daphne didn't hesitate. She knocked on Snape's door and led them all in.
"To what do I owe this unexpected visit, ladies?" Snape asked in mock politeness.
Daphne answered, wearing her most intimidating "Ice Queen" persona. "Pansy, here, has been repeatedly raped by three of her classmates since last year. We've only found this now. Do you want to handle this unthinkable behavior and punish the appropriate persons or do you want us to take this to Lord Potter?"
Snape didn't like being spoken to like this, but he knew better than to offend the girls. That could well be his last deed at Hogwarts or as a free man.
"How can I know that what she tells is true? I can't use veritaserum on underage students, you know."
"That law had never stopped you when you wanted to find something," Daphne said knowingly, "yet you may find that seeing her memories in the pensive would be more than enough."
Feeling cornered, Snape did as requested. He instructed Pansy on how to bring her memories forward so he could tap them and store them in some conjured vials. Pansy's anguish seemed to get extremely high. Despite his normal attitude, he still considered her a student in his house. Without really thinking, he tried to calm her down using Legilimancy.
That was not a smart idea, he soon found out, as Pansy's memories of her abuse flooded his mind and almost overwhelmed him. He tried not to show it, but Daphne was acutely aware of what he did.
"So, using Veritaserum is out, but Legilimancy is fine?" she asked haughtily.
"I only tried to calm her. Maybe a calming potion would have been a better idea, though," he sneered back, as he walked to his potions cabinet.
"Take this," he told Pansy a moment later. Pansy took the potion in one gulp and seemed to calm almost instantly.
"I'll watch your memories and then decide what to do. Would it be alright to show a few to the Headmaster as well?"
Pansy shrugged. "It's no secret, really. Half the Slytherins know already. The others will know as soon as this gets out."
"You mean that other knew and let this go on?" Ginny asked.
"They were afraid. Slytherins are known for ambition and cunning, not for bravery, you know."
Snape seemed to hold back a comment that was almost on his lips already. He turned back to Pansy. "I don't think it would be wise to send you back to the dormitory. I'll have to ask the Headmaster for other options."
"I think we can let her stay with us until you find a better arrangement," Daphne said. "I'm sure my husband wouldn't mind too much. He has a weakness for saving people, you know." The last sentence was said with a slight smirk which made Ginny laugh.
Snape thought for a moment. "Well, that could pose no harm and should be safer than sending you back to the dorms. Would you accept that?"
Pansy smiled now, her relief evident. "I think that could work fine. With six wives, I think he may not find me too interesting, and even if he does, he seems to be much nicer than the ones I had experience with."
This made Ginny frown, but Daphne only laughed.
Hermione raised a brow when she saw her co-wives bring Pansy in, but after seeing the distraught girl, she just assigned a room for her. Harry didn't say a word until Pansy retired to her assigned room as the house-elves brought her stuff there.
Ginny told him what had happened and what they found out. Harry became very furious. "Nobody should be treated this way, not even Pansy. Can we do anything to help her?"
"Snape has already promised to act. He has also seen some of her memories when he tried to clam her and he seemed shocked. I'm sure he'll act as expected, especially since he knows that you may act harsher if he doesn't," Daphne told him.
Daphne was right. Snape took the memories to be viewed in Dumbledore's pensive, along with the Headmaster. They were both furious when they finished. As it was after midnight, they decided to handle the punishments publicly during breakfast.
With seven women needing the bathroom, they arrived to breakfast quite late. Pansy wasn't sure where she should sit. "You may stay with us," Daphne told her. "I'm a Slytherin as well and we have all houses in the mix anyhow. It wouldn't matter."
Pansy agreed reluctantly. She still felt odd being in Potter's group, contradicting, in a way, all that she had said during the first four years at school, yet she felt secure, which she had never felt among her house mates.
Dumbledore rose from his chair as soon as they were all seated. He tapped his goblet with a spoon to attract everyone's attention and started speaking as the hall quietened. "It has been brought to my attention that some unthinkable deeds were occurring here at school and nobody has taken upon himself to stop them and to let us know. I find this very unsettling, as I believe we should stop any evil before it has a chance to grow and spread out. Yet these actions have gone too far and I must regretfully inform you that I had to involve the aurors as well."
As he moved his hand in a waving motion, everybody was becoming aware of several aurors positioned near the doors.
Pansy looked at the Slytherin table, as did Daphne. The three boys there didn't look as if it concerned them. They looked just as curious as everybody else.
"Mr. Nott, Mr. Goyle, Mr. Crabble – please approach the head table."
The three boys were surprised, yet Nott turned immediately arrogant, as if all he'd done was fine, while the other two looked just confused, not really understanding the severity of what they'd done by following orders.
Three aurors came forward, removed the wands from the boys and cuffed them before escorting them out. Some urgent whispering started in the hall, but Dumbledore had not finished yet. He hushed the students and continued. "Your heads of houses will speak with the members of their houses about what happened. I just want to make it clear that no unlawful behavior will be tolerated and whoever encounters such behavior should immediately inform either the prefects or one of the teachers."
As Dumbledore left the hall, Snape approached Pansy, ignoring Harry and his wives. "The headmaster wanted me to ask you if you feel secure enough to go back to your dorm now."
Pansy hesitated. "It may probably be safer now, after these three had been removed, but I no longer have anybody there I can call a friend. The only ones who cared are Daphne – Lady Black – and Lady Gryffindor. May I stay with them, if that's acceptable to them?"
Snape looked at the Potter family for the first time, concentrating on Harry. Harry nodded, accepting Pansy for an extended stay.
They parted, going to their lessons, soon after that. It was only in the evening, after returning from dinner, that Pansy approached Harry.
"Lord Potter, I'd like to thank you for your help and your support. I feel deeply indebted to you, but I don't know how to repay..."
Harry stopped her, lifting his hand. "There's nothing to thank me for. Daphne and Ginny helped you as well as they could and they also know how much I abhor bullies. They should have been stopped and their victim rescued, regardless of her name or her house. You're still welcome to stay with us for as long as you like. And please call me Harry when we're here, like everybody else."
Pansy felt her eyes moist. "Thank you, Pott... Harry, from the bottom of my heart."