Power Isn’t Everything Ch.6 (Harry Potter)

Read Chapter 5 here

“This could have been disastrous!”

Kingsley’s furious tone didn’t fool Ron. He could clearly see the poorly hidden satisfaction from the news he had shared with him.

“Sure, it could have. But it wasn’t,” Ron looked completely unrepentant as he said that. After all, why should he not feel that way? Ron had cut through a needlessly complicated way to contact Harry by using Daphne Greengrass and did it directly.

“Right…” Kingsley rubbed his brow in frustration. Ron was generally someone who did things by the book and followed orders. However, he turned into someone completely different when Harry Potter was involved. He supposed it wasn’t too much of a surprise with their shared history.

“I still don’t understand why he refused to come back to Britain,” Kingsley tried to move on from having his orders disobeyed, “You did mention that the Ministry has no intention of using his fame, correct?”

“I did, but Harry still refused,” Ron paused for a second and said, “I’m not certain, but it might be because of Hermione. He seemed worried about meeting her.”

“Ms. Granger?” Kingsley thought of the brilliant witch spearheading most Ministry reforms, “I can see why some think she would be frightening, but that shouldn’t apply to Mr. Potter.”

Ron couldn’t help but glare at his boss for saying Hermione was scary. That was the last thing she could be described as. Passionate and loyal would be much better words. Ron didn’t think there could be a witch more suited to changing Magical Britain for the better.

…Then again, Ron remembered how Hermione could be when she was furious. He’d rather take on the fool trying to emulate Grindelwald than face her. Ron suddenly understood why Harry would be hesitant to meet her.

Still, he kept up the glare he was giving Kingsley.

“Why would he avoid Ms. Granger?” Kingsley asked, ignoring Ron’s attempt to glare a hole through him.

Ron shrugged since he wasn’t sure about the answer to that. The only reason he even had a hint that Hermione was the reason Harry was avoiding Britain was his shifty reaction whenever Ron mentioned her. His only guess was that Harry felt too guilty about ignoring Hermione.

Honestly, Ron doubted that was true since he sensed that Harry was more scared of Hermione than anything else. That was where he got lost. He couldn’t think of any other reason.

“Hmm,” Kingsley leaned back in his chair before moving to the next topic that concerned him, “What should I do about Ms. Greengrass? I assume Mr. Potter now knows the real reason she’s there.”

Ron couldn’t help but let the smirk appear on his lips. He remembered how Harry seemed more confused than angry at the revelation of Greengrass being a lure to get him to come back to Britain. Ron might have a bias against Slytherins even after all these years out of Hogwarts, but he could see that Harry liked Greengrass for some odd reason.

Besides, he could respect a witch that could call Harry a trollop. Ron might not be a wizard’s wizard, but admitting his oldest friend was ridiculously handsome wasn’t hard. Greengrass was something to admire if she could resist him.

“Don’t change anything. Harry likes her for some reason,” Ron tilted his head before adding, “And I think he needs Greengrass. She might be the only woman he’s spent time with recently that’s been outside of a bed.”

“I see,” Kingsley blinked, “Well, I suppose we don’t change anything then.”

Ron took that as a sign that he was dismissed and was about to say his goodbye to go home to Hermione.

“Ah, Ron, maybe there is one thing we could change,” Kingsley stopped Ron from leaving, “What do you think of getting Ms. Granger to go to France.”

That idea came to Ron’s mind far before Kingsley suggested it. He knew that Hermione would pester him on Harry’s location since she knew that Ron had met him, so of course he would think about it. The main reason he was hesitant was to be careful about having Harry meet too many people from his past in a short time.

Harry seemed pleased to see Ron, so that should probably apply to Hermione too. However, there was always that slightest chance that it could be the thing that made Harry’s well-known temper blow. Besides, Ron didn’t like to admit it, but Hermione was the last person Harry spoke to before he left. He didn’t want to chance a repeat of that, especially since Harry was scared of Hermione for some reason.

“I think we should table that for now,” Ron said reluctantly, knowing that Hermione would be hurt if she knew about what he said.

“Good. I was worried you’d let her know where Mr. Potter is.”

Ron blinked at Kingsley owlishly, realizing that his boss had been probing his plans for dealing with Hermione.

“Do let me know if you decide to run off to France. I’d rather not find out from your assistant again.”

[Break]

Hermione tapped her chin as she stared at the floating symbols made of light. She was close, unbearably so, to cracking the mystery occupying her mind for the past few months.

Just a few things were stopping her from figuring it out. If only she could ask Harry some questions.

There were plenty of clues left behind by Harry that gave Hermione the information she needed. It was all too obvious what her friend was up to. She had been concerned that Harry had somehow been duped into using magic that was attractive on the surface but all-around terrible if given a deeper look.

What else was Hermione supposed to think when she noticed the signs of sex magic being used on the women Harry slept with?

However, against all logic, what he was doing seemed to be of mutual benefit. It was obvious after following his trail, but hard for Hermione to accept that since there was always some sort of cost for magic similar to this. A cost that the unknowing party usually bore. She had honestly been terrified that she would discover her best friend had fallen to using the darkest of arts.

Luckily, that was all worries of the past. Hermione was now burning with the need to know how Harry was doing something that was thought impossible. How did there seem to be no harm done to either party while both seemed to only get benefits?

Sure, the women Harry bedded might not be seeing enough of that benefit to significantly change their lives. Still, neither did their vitality get drained like it should have. As for Harry, it was too obvious what this was doing to him.

Hermione might not have seen him in years, but she had seen the reports that detailed his physical appearance. It was as if all the damage done to his body was cured. Since Harry still hadn’t stopped his new habit of sleeping around after that, Hermione could only assume that the changes were more than just physical.

“Hermione?”

The floating symbols disappeared when Hermione lost her concentration. She frowned as she turned to see Ron staring at her questioningly.

“You’re staring at those things again,” Ron had seen her doing this often in the past month or so.

“I still haven’t figured out what I’m missing,” Hermione said before changing the subject, “You came home later than expected. Did you meet Harry?”

“Er, yeah, I did, actually,” Ron’s mind was racing to think of the answer to the following question he knew was coming.

“Really?” Hermione’s tone became much brighter, “Where is he? I’ll go meet him immediately!”

“Right, about that… I was thinking you should give it a little gap before meeting Harry.”

Hermione gave Ron a look that made him feel chills. He knew delaying wouldn’t go well with her.

“Before you bite my head off, hear me out,” Ron said quickly while holding up his hands as if to ward Hermione off.

“Alright, I’m listening,” Hermione had her arms crossed, looking close to losing her patience.

“I’m a bit scared of Harry running off again. He seemed glad to see me and told me he missed everyone, but that doesn’t mean we should all rush to meet him. What if it’s too much?”

“Ron,” Hermione said flatly, “You’re making it sound like our entire Hogwarts class will be meeting him. It’s just me.”

Ron laughed nervously, not wanting to tell Hermione that Harry seemed scared to meet her. “Would you just trust me on this? Please?”

Hermione didn’t back down. She didn’t see why Ron would act like a gatekeeper in this situation.

“Fine,” Ron sighed, “Harry seemed scared of you. That’s why I want you to give him some time.”

“Scared?!” Hermione asked with shock, “What on earth made Harry feel that way?”

“I have no clue,” Ron shrugged helplessly before something sparked in his memories, “Come to think of it, Harry seemed nervous after I told him about you getting angry at him for sleeping with so many women.”

“That can’t be the reason!” Hermione’s mind raced, wondering if there was anything deeper there. Surely Harry wouldn’t avoid her just because of that.

“I can’t think of anything else,” Ron scratched his head as he tried to think of anything he might have missed.

Hermione sighed, deciding it might be best to do as Ron suggested.

“Wait!” Ron suddenly exclaimed, “Harry was a little uncomfortable when I mentioned you were angry, but it changed to something more when I mentioned your research.”

Hermione stayed silent as she got lost in her thoughts before a determined look appeared in her eyes.

“Ron,” Hermione’s tone made him nervous, “I’m going to meet Harry tomorrow. And you can’t stop me.”

Ron wanted to argue. He really did. Still, he didn’t fancy getting his extremely stubborn girlfriend angry at him when he knew it was hopeless to change her mind.

“… Alright.”

[Break]

Harry strutted into the bar, allure under control and more than ready to finally make some progress after wasting a few days.

He had heard that this particular establishment was popular with younger magicals, and he was excited to see what it offered. As Harry made his way to the bar, he couldn’t help but notice several people turning to look at him as he passed by.

At first, Harry thought it was just his imagination, but as he got closer to the bar, he realized that the attention was becoming more intense. Far more than could be explained by just his good looks. He immediately thought about the issue that caused him to miss his rigid schedule.

As Harry took a seat at the bar, he tried to see if any cracks in his control let out a bit of the allure. After a careful check, he determined that everything was fine. Harry figured that there were more stares because of who he was, not just his attractiveness. It wouldn’t be out of the realm of possibility.

Harry was scoping out the room and focused on a woman already giving him bedroom eyes. Thankfully, she was alerting his senses as a valid target for tonight. He ordered a couple drinks while ensuring that the woman stayed in his line of sight, making his intentions clear. Harry completely missed the sound of someone taking the seat directly next to him.

“Hello, Harry,” Daphne said, making him turn in alarm to see her giving him a sarcastic smile. “You look especially handsome tonight. What’s your secret?”

“What?” Harry asked dumbly, still surprised to see Daphne here.

Daphne rolled her eyes, “You’re drawing a lot of eyes, couldn’t you tell?”

“Oh, that,” Harry chuckled nervously, “I guess I must look better than I thought.”

Harry suddenly remembered what Ron told him, about how Daphne was here to convince him to return to Britain. Harry would have thought it was a blatant lie if it wasn’t his oldest friend telling him this information.

Daphne didn’t do anything suspicious that would hint at being anything other than an odd friend. Harry immediately knew that he was being overly generous. She might not have said anything suspect, but Daphne had a habit of suspiciously being in the same place that Harry was.

Even if it was something as ridiculous as a muggle airport.

“How have you been?” Harry figured he might as well test her one more time.

“What’re you up to, Potter?” Daphne raised an eyebrow, looking a little wary at the change in Harry’s tone.

“I was thinking, we seem to get along pretty well.”

“If that’s what you call it,” Daphne interjected.

“And that maybe we should take this relationship to the next level,” Harry ignored Daphne, “Imagine how it’d be if you walked out of the bar with me.”

Daphne stared at Harry blankly before snorting in amusement. “Out of ten, I’d give that attempt a one. So, I assume Weasley told you when you met him.”

“A one!” Harry was insulted, “That was at least a four!”

“Is that really important?” Daphne arched an eyebrow, “I’m more interested in why you don’t seem angry with why I’m here.”

“Yeah, I should be, right?” Harry said thoughtfully, “But it always seemed like you were doing everything possible to not do your job. I don’t think insulting me is a way to convince me, is it?”

Daphne laughed, happy that Harry was still oblivious. Treating him like a normal wizard seemed to be the best method for her plan to work.

“Glad you realize that, Potter,” Daphne nodded, “The Ministry might have sent me to bring you back, but I rather just treat this like a well-earned vacation. It just so happens that you are a decent company.”

“I’m honored,” Harry rolled his eyes and looked away from Daphne back to the woman he was targeting, “Now, if you’d excuse me, it looks like I have a partner for the night.”

“You know, you never answered me,” Daphne stopped Harry from leaving by grabbing his hand, “Why does it feel like you’re treating your conquests like some sort of job.”

Harry saw the woman glance at the area where Daphne was touching him before frowning and looking away. “Let’s talk about this later,” Harry said impatiently, “I’ll come to your flat in a day or two.”

“No,” Daphne said to his surprise, “I rather not have this mystery on my mind anymore.”

Harry sighed in disappointment when the woman he was interested in struck up a conversation with another man. He had already lost his shot at her. Harry felt some irritation when his eyes went back to Daphne.

“You might be the worst wingman ever!” Harry said in exasperation, “Was that really necessary?”

“Wingwoman. Get it correct, Potter,” Daphne interrupted, determined to be an annoyance to Harry.

“Whatever!” Harry threw up his hands before ignoring her as he tried to find the next target, “I don’t mind our conversations, Daphne, but never do that again.”

Daphne had to fight the impulse to draw her wand, knowing that Harry’s strange fixation with bedding women should have warned her of this reaction.

“I apologize for interrupting, Potter,” Daphne stood from the barstool, finishing her drink in one gulp, “Let me just get out of the way.”

Harry could see that his reaction angered Daphne but couldn’t find it in him to feel sorry about it. He liked her, he really did, but that didn’t mean it gave her the right to delay his progress.

“Oh, and Potter?” Daphne paused before leaving, “Your magic is out of control. I could feel it pressing on my mind from the start. And it’s only getting stronger. Might want to deal with that before you bring home a witch under the influence.”

Harry’s breath hitched as he turned his head quickly to stare at Daphne walking away with shocked eyes. He immediately shut out his senses to the outside world and tried to confirm what Daphne said but couldn’t see where the leak was. Harry estimated that he had an hour from when he entered the bar before his control would loosen, and it had been less than thirty minutes.

He opened his eyes and let out a frustrated breath, debating internally if Daphne could have lied for some reason. Harry found that unlikely from the little he knew of her.

He knew there would be nothing accomplished tonight. Harry once again cursed his decision to sleep with Adriana as he stormed out of the bar. Hopefully, Daphne hadn’t left yet.

Harry owed her an apology.