Peace and Quiet for Lost Moments

AN: Apologies for the slow updates. I went into public, so I naturally caught a cold. This is ridiculous. Time to dust off my old box of masks.

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Harry woke up with a smile. The now familiar warmth of his lovers made each morning amazing. They didn't wake him up with a blow job or anything as fanciful. Little Lily had an unnatural sense of when things were starting to get naughty. Without fail she would wake up and need something. Fleur had told him it was common trait among Veela children. They were already naturally tapped into sexual energy, at this young of an age they didn't know what it meant so it made them anxious. It also served to make sure their mothers didn't get pregnant again too soon. Veela needed a lot of extra attention in their early years so having multiples at the same time wasn't a good idea. Nature found a way. It also meant that the only time Harry and the ladies were able to be intimate was when Lily was at Clutch Care, or with one of her various relatives.

Clutch Care was a specialized group similar to Muggle Pre-School, but solely for Veela. They got to spend time with others of their kind as well as subtly learn about their heritage. Lily hadn't been too happy about it at first. She was the only Veela with eyes that weren't blue in the group. As a whole, the Veela all looked like one extended family. They were near-human magical creatures, and their appearance was one of the ways that showed. It took a powerful being to change the features of a Veela. Usually, it was something small even with non-human mates. A slightly different nose, curly hair, or a difference in height. To make such an impact as another eye color meant the father had to have some serious magical power.

Lily was the first Veela to have a different eye color in nearly fifty years. She wasn't happy with the attention at first. It wasn't the same type as from her mommies and daddy. Eventually, the excitement ebbed. It helped that a Veela had a child with a giant. The girl was Lily's age but already stood almost six feet. Alicina and Lily were fast friends.

Harry didn't mind waking up normally. Sex was amazing, but the closeness and the warmth of his lovers was heavenly. Currently, Bella was cuddled up to one side with her leg draped over his, Fleur was on his other side with her face nuzzled in his neck, and Lily was curled up on his chest like a big cat. Andromeda had her own room, as did Nym, and even Cassandra had a suite when she visited. Technically, Lily had her own room as well, but more often than not she ended up in the snuggle pile. Bellatrix had a long since claimed a set of quarters that were set aside for Lords and Ladies. The magic of Hogwarts recognized her as a Lady and allowed her to have access. Due to this, they lived on the grounds all year around.

"Lily, darling." Harry said in a gentle sing-song voice. "I need to get up."

Lily buried her face in his chest and mumbled something.

"Oh, no!" Harry said in mock-terror. "Do you hear that?"

"What?" Lily's head popped up; all signs of previous drowsiness gone.

"It's…" Harry pretended to listen for something. "It's a tickle charm! I must tickle!"

Lily let out a giggle but didn't move. That usually worked.

"Nu-uh." Lily gave him a bright smile.

Harry tried to raise his arms to tickle her only to realize that both were trapped under his lovers. Lily giggled as she snuggled back down into her place.

"Uh-oh, Lily." Harry kept up the act. "The charm is too powerful."

A small wiggle of his fingers created unseen hands that tickled along her sides. Lily hopped up with a shocked giggle. She bounced around the bed, trying to escape. In the process she managed to wake up both ladies, which also freed Harry's arms. He sat up, canceled the spell, and continued to tickle her with his hands.

"Help me, Lily." Harry called. "The charm is too strong. Only a powerful, amazing princess can save me!"

"I'll save you daddy!" Lily sprang into the air.

For a brief moment little wings emerged from her back. They flapped once, lifting her higher in the air, before retracting. The little girl dropped like a rock back onto him. Harry let loud out an 'oof' as her knees connected with his stomach. Thankfully, she didn't weigh all that much. The brief transformation meant she was even lighter for a few more seconds.

"You saved me." Harry wrapped her in a hug. "My angel princess!"

"I'm not an angel, daddy." Lily shook her head. "Momma says that angels are strange creatures with too many eyes. I am a Veela!"

Harry smiled so wide his cheeks hurt. There were many times Fleur tried to end an argument or explain something she did with the same phrase. The fact that Lily had given each of his lovers a special title warmed his heart too. Fleur was Mommy, Bella was Momma, Andi was Auntie, and Nym was Num.

"If you're done." Bella slowly sat up. Her hair was a tangled mess that he found incredibly sexy. "Our little chick needs to clip her talons."

Harry looked down at the bed to see a new set of slashes along the sheets and blankets.

"That was my fault." Harry sighed.

"I know." Bella gave him a flat stare.

A morning person she was not.

"I'm not a chick!" Lily pouted. "Daddy, tell Momma I'm not a chick."

Harry raised an eyebrow at Bella. She sighed. Bird references were a sore spot for Veela. Plus, Lily was at the age where calling her anything but that insinuated she wasn't a big girl led to a lot of pouting. The fact that Lily would occasionally spout wings, feathers, or talons didn't mean she wanted to be called a bird. Such transformations were another reason that Clutch Care was so important.

"I'm sorry, Lily." Bella schooled her expression. "Forgive me?"

"No." Lily crossed her arms and looked away.

"Not even if I tickle Daddy?" Bella offered.

Lily turned back with a wicked look on her face that was eerily close to the one Bella had as well.

"Oh, no." Harry managed to squeak.

The two pounced on him. Harry wiggled under the assault. Fleur grumbled as she sat up. She let out a long string of cursing in French as she slipped off the bed. Her voice faded as she stomped away into the bathroom. The three paused, mid-tickle.

"Uh-oh." Harry whispered. "We're in trouble."

"Nu-uh." Lily shook her head. "Mommy is in trouble. She started it."

Bella squawked and turned her attention to Lily. Harry used the distraction to slip out of the bed. A mixture of cackles and giggles filled the room as he left. He found Fleur grumpily showering. How someone could shower grumpily was beyond him, but she managed to do it. No matter how many times he had seen it, Fleur naked was an amazing sight.

"Non." Fleur held up a hand as he started to undress.

Harry froze. She gave him a hard look.

"Un will turn into trois, troiswill turn into huit." Fleur sighed. "There is no time today."

Harry tried to think what was so special about today. It was rather difficult with Fleur nude and wet a few steps away. Her allure might not make him catatonic, but her body was a work of art.

"What is today?" Harry asked once enough blood had returned to his higher head.

"I will forgive you this time." Fleur sighed. "Today, I take my Charms Mastery."

"That's amazing!" Harry stepped into the shower and wrapped her in a hug.

Fleur giggled. Harry set her down and realized that he hadn't gotten fully undressed yet. His boxers were soaked. Sleeping in the nude wasn't an option with Lily constantly invading the bed. Nudity wasn't a taboo among Veela, and Bellatrix had no problem with him being naked, but it still felt a little weird to him. He would start again once Lily started to regularly sleep in her own room.

Harry made sure that Fleur was properly clean for her exam. It was very hard to stop before things got too frisky. Fleur stayed strong throughout, which Harry thought was rather impressive. He swapped his attention to his own cleanliness once she was finished. After dropping his soaked boxers out of the shower that is. Thankfully, Lily preferred bubble bathes and would pout when forced to take a shower. She would have been late every single day to Clutch Care if they had to use Muggle transportation.

He finished up in time to see Bella return from dropping off Lily. This year was a little odd in terms of classes for him. A regular Seventh year was focused on NEWTs, which meant he would only have courses for those subjects. He was taking Charms, Transfiguration, and Defense with each on a different day of the week. It gave him a lot of free time as well as the ability to complete any projects or homework.

"Hello, lover." Bella purred.

Her hips swayed nicely as she approached him. Harry was suddenly very glad that he had chosen a towel to dry off rather than magic. He would have already been dressed if he hadn't. The building heat between them halted when someone knocked on the door.

"Blasted office hours." Bella muttered as she stomped over to the door and yanked it open. "What!?"

"Professor Black." A familiar voice said, sounding completely oblivious to the tone. "May I come in?"

Harry froze as Hermione stepped into the room. She stopped mid-step as her eyes fell on Harry dressed only in a towel. He rushed back into the bedroom and hurriedly got dressed.

"Oops." Bella didn't sound the least bit bothered. "What did you need Miss Granger?"

He returned to find Hermione and Bella in conversation. Bellatrix may have been slightly mad, but she was still a consummate professional. The two were focused on whatever questions Hermione needed answered. Harry moved closer to listen in on the conversation and saw that Hermione had brought a notebook along as well. All NEWTs required a final project to present along with an exam. It was a common practice for students to work together on them, or at least help each other out. At this point in their education, it wasn't like they could get away with copying notes.

Hermione noticed his approach and gave him a polite smile. It lacked the warmth he had come to expect from her. The words were lost on him as he studied her. More specifically, he focused on how she treated him. It wasn't exactly cold, but it wasn't it didn't feel like it usually did.

"Would you like to join us for breakfast?" Harry offered.

"I wouldn't want to impose." Hermione looked from Harry to Bellatrix.

"Come on, Mione." Harry chuckled.

Hermione raised her eyebrows. She slowly followed him into the living area. A meal appeared on the table as the trio approached.

"What are you working on?" Harry asked.

"I'm trying to develop a way to block two of the three Unforgivables. Obviously, the Killing Curse is the first one that people think of, but the Torture Curse and Mind-Control Curse are just as horrid." Hermione slipped back into scholar mode. "We know that shields do not work against them, but there are other methods. I focused my research on memory altering enchantments and believe I've narrowed it down to a few options."

"That's amazing." Harry beamed at her.

He mixed her breakfast coffee just how she liked and set it in front of her. She was actually the person that started him drinking the stuff. Hermione glanced at the cup before she took an experimental sip.

"What have you come up with?" Harry asked.

"Sigil magic." Hermione stated. "The practice has been assimilated by Runic Arrays, but the original study is much broader than you'd think. That was the issue with Sigils in the first place. They could do so much that it was hard to figure out which one was needed. I found an Irish Sigil that's targeted on memory magic. With some Arithmancy I can translate the Sigil into an incantation."

"Forget your NEWTs, you'd get an Order of Merlin for that." Harry laughed.

"Thank you." Hermione inclined her head.

The two started to eat once Bella joined them. She was still focused on the notes that Hermione had brought. Harry could feel an odd tension in the room. At first, he had thought it was from him being in a professor's private quarters, but it was an open secret that Harry and Bellatrix were an item. There was something else about it.

Harry tried to figure out where the tension was coming from. Carefully, he started to work through his memories for any clues. The timeline had shifted enough times that there was possibly something he had missed.

Things seemed to be the same for the first couple of years. It was the third year that things started to deviate. The time turner was the beginning of things. Without the need to rescue Sirius she never revealed it to him. The distance between them grew once he began to live with Sirius. Ron hadn't joined their friend group in this timeline, so she wasn't at the Quidditch World Cup. Neve, Bella, and Sirius were there to help him through the Tournament which pushed her to focus on her own studies. By Fifth Year, they hadn't spoken to each other than a few times. Most of their interaction came from Trixie's Troublemakers. Sixth and Seventh year were too chaotic for any real time to spend with friends.

His hand froze in the middle of raising his cup to his lips. They weren't really friends anymore. He set the cup back on the table.

"Hermione." He spoke softly. "I'd like to be friends again."

"Oh." Hermione gasped. "That, that would be nice, Harry."

Bella finally looked up from the notes. She blinked a few times as she caught up on the conversation that had been taking place around her. Her eyes snapped from Harry over to Hermione. A small smile crossed her face.

"Miss Granger." Bella cleared her throat. "This looks very promising. Have you taken this to Professor Vector and Babbling?"

"Yes." Hermione nodded. "I spoke with them during the Arithmancy development."

"Wonderful." Bella had an underlying purr to her voice. "You should join us for dinner this weekend."

"I wouldn't want to impose." Hermione tried to protest.

"It's no trouble." Bella smiled at her. "I'd love to help you and Harry rekindle your friendship."

"Oh. Ok." Hermione nodded. "Thank you for breakfast, I have to get back to work."

Hermione left the two of them at the table. Harry turned to Bella and raised an eyebrow in question.

"What?" Bella tried to play innocent.

"You're planning something." Harry stated.

Bella replied in a wicked smile