STORY TITLE: The Stag and The Swan

PART: 01 of ?
AUTHOR: Red Jacobson (redjacobsonfiction )
DISTRIBUTION: FF. Net, My Yahoo Group, Hentai-Foundry, Archive of Our Own, HPFFA, Questionable Questing

DISCLAIMER: None of the Characters You Recognize belong to me, they all belong to JK Rowling and her publishers.
SUMMARY: At the end of his third year, Harry decides to get serious about his life, and over the summer, discovers one of the Wizarding World's Dirty Little Secrets

FEEDBACK: Of course! It Makes Me Write Faster
CATEGORY: Lots of Women
RELATIONSHIPS: Harry/Cho/Multi, Neville/Hermione/Multi, Cedric/Heidi MacAvoy/Others
RATING: NC-17
WORD COUNT: 4,230
SPOILERS: None, basically canon up until the confrontation in the Hospital Wing after Sirius Escapes in Prisoner of Azkaban
WARNINGS: If you've read any of my other stories you know what to expect, Oral, Anal, Dom/sub, femme-slash, femme-cest, Multiple Partners, the usual. Also, there will be general Weasley bashing in this story, so if that's not your cup of tea, look elsewhere. Also, I'm going with a helpful Dumbledore in this story.

IMPORTANT AUTHORS NOTE: To Avoid the Underage Sex issue, Hogwarts students start the September 1st after their 14th Birthday.

YET ANOTHER AUTHORS NOTE: Readers with long memories will recognize 'Helga's Gift' that is mentioned in this story. For those of you who don't, it's something that I came up with in my Harry Potter and the Betrayal of the Phoenix, to explain the rampant female bisexuality in most Harry Potter smut fics. Basically, in the founders days, Helga Hufflepuff and Rowena Ravenclaw were lovers, and, one time, after a particularly great romp, Helga idly wished that all the girls in the castle could experience such a wonderful feeling. Being a Magical Castle, Hogwarts heard and responded, And, from that time forward the female students at Hogwarts had, at the least, bisexual tendencies.

CREDIT WHERE CREDIT IS DUE DEPARTMENT: This story has its genesis in Two plot bunnies that I saw on the Fanfiction Forum, unfortunately, I don't recall who generated the idea, so sorry if I don't give the proper credit. One was called "Penny's Dreadful Employment" and the other was called "Harry Potter and The Books of Casanova"

From the Private Journal of

Harry James Potter,

Minister for Magic

June 8, 2044

A lot of people wonder why I chose this date to retire from my time as Minister. After all, my popularity has stayed at high levels, the economy is booming, our relationships with our neighbors, both Magical and Non, has never been better, and we've even opened up negotiations with the Centaur Tribes. Not to mention the fact that my allies and I have long since managed to overturn those obscene laws that had been on the books for the past 400 years!

There are quite a few reasons, actually, but the primary one is because the irony of the date amused me. After all, it was the 50th Anniversary of the day that started all the changes our world has gone through, the night that I listened to a voice in my heart, and confronted Minister Fudge in the Hogwarts Hospital Wing about my innocent godfather, Sirius Black...

Actually, it started earlier than that, it actually started before dinner when I had my final exam with Professor Trelawney for Divination. I thought then, and, despite the actions of others, still, think that it's a subject that has no business being made available to just anybody. If you have the gift for it, fine and dandy, you can receive training, but if you are just a Weasley and just looking for an easy course, you won't get in the class. But that's a battle for tomorrow, when I join the staff of Hogwarts, working under my best friend (who I'm not married to), Hermione Granger-Longbottom, Headmistress of Hogwarts.

Of course, there is a great deal more I could write in this journal, but that will do for now. I have every confidence in my successor, Neville has been right beside me for the past 50 years, and has never let me down, and Cedric will do an outstanding job as Chief Wizard of the Wizengamot, Albus has taught him well these last few years, when it became obvious that it was nearing time for him to prepare for his 'Next Great Adventure' I just hope it's not too soon, because I know that my kids and grandkids will all miss their Grampa Albus.

That's enough of the depressing thoughts, my family is waiting for me at home, and I'm looking forward to getting home at a decent hour for a change.

Family, it's funny, that was one thing I always wanted as a young boy but never thought I would have. If anybody had told the scared little boy staring at the Mirror of Erised his first year that he would have a family of his own, he probably wouldn't have believed them. But I'm glad to say that dreams sometimes do come true, even if it's not the way I ever would have imagined it.

End of Entry

June 8th, 1994

Divination Classroom

Harry stumbled down the ladder from the Divination Classroom, his mind buzzing with questions after Professor Trelawney had faded out during the final exam and a very different voice came out of her mouth.

"IT WILL HAPPEN TONIGHT."

"THE DARK LORD LIES ALONE AND FRIENDLESS, ABANDONED BY HIS FOLLOWERS.

HIS SERVANT HAS BEEN CHAINED THESE TWELVE YEARS.

TONIGHT, BEFORE MIDNIGHT... THE SERVANT WILL BREAK FREE AND SET OUT TO REJOIN HIS MASTER.

THE DARK LORD WILL RISE AGAIN WITH HIS SERVANT'S AID,

GREATER AND MORE TERRIBLE THAN EVER HE WAS.

TONIGHT... BEFORE MIDNIGHT... THE SERVANT... WILL SET OUT... TO REJOIN... HIS MASTER...

"Oh, Merlin!" Harry muttered to himself, "it's Sirius Black! He's going to do something tonight! And Voldemort is going to come back? Shite! Shite! Shite! What the hell am I going to do?" Remembering Ron's words that he would meet them back at the Common Room, he hurried toward Gryffindor Tower.

June 8th, 1994

Hogwarts Hospital Wing

Several Hours Later

"Fellow seems quite unbalanced," said Fudge, staring after him. "I'd watch out for him if I were you, Dumbledore."

"Oh, he's not unbalanced," said Dumbledore quietly. "He's just suffered a severe disappointment."

"He's not the only one!" puffed Fudge. "The Daily Prophet's going to have a field day! We had Black cornered and he slipped through our fingers yet again! All it needs now is for the story of that Hippogriff's escape to get out, and I'll be a laughingstock! Well…I'd better go and notify the Ministry…"

(From Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Chapter 22, "Owl Post Again")

Harry had no idea at the time what made him speak up just then, but he did, and said, "Minister Fudge? Can I ask you a question, Sir?"

Fudge turned around, a pained smile on his face, "Of course, Harry, what would you like to know?"

"Minister, is there any way I can show you memories of what happened tonight? I don't really know what 'confounded' means, but wouldn't you be able to see if our memories were tampered with?"

Dumbledore's eyes lit up and he smiled, "Actually Mister Potter, if the Minister doesn't mind, there is just such a device, it's called a pensieve, and I have one in my office." Turning to Fudge, he said, "It would only take a moment to have an elf bring it here, and you will have specific information to provide the papers."

Fudge paused, making up his mind, when Harry, prodded by an unknown impulse, spoke again, "Minister, look at it this way, the problems that Hermione, Ron and I told you about, they all happened before you were Minister, so you won't get the blame for what happened. And imagine what the papers will say, if we are telling the truth, and Sirius Black never got a trial? Don't you think that they would approve of you taking steps to remedy a grave miscarriage of justice to one of the oldest pureblood houses?"

Harry heard a gasp from Hermione's bed and thought that Dumbledore was going to start grinning like a loon, his eyes were twinkling like a disco ball! He briefly wondered what a disco ball was, but shrugged it off, his attention focused on the Minister.

Fudge was almost pathetically easy to read, especially when Harry mentioned the approval of the papers, and he nodded decisively. "The lad's got a point, Dumbledore, have your elf bring the pensieve and we can watch their memories and get to the bottom of this!"

Dumbledore summoned one of the castle elves, and soon a large stone basin engraved with strange symbols all around the rim. Harry glanced over at Hermione and she was staring at the basin in fascination, he could see her lips moving as she seemed to be reading the symbols. He was about to ask her what she was doing when the Headmaster came up to him and asked him to concentrate on his memories of what had happened in the Shrieking Shack. Realizing that it could cause a lot of problems if the Minister realized he and Hermione had helped Sirius and Buckbeak escape, he stopped the memory when Pettigrew had escaped.

Once again, acting on impulse, he says, "There's actually a second memory that you might find interesting as well, Minister, Professor Dumbledore." He concentrates on the memory of the prophecy and nods when Dumbledore puts his wand to his temple and extracts it.

When the memories are put into the basin, Fudge and Dumbledore each touch the surface with their fingers, and their bodies stiffen up. Turning to Hermione, Harry whispered urgently, "Make sure you stop the memory before the Dementors showed up, I don't think we want to talk about where the Patronus came from, do you?"

Hermione shook her head, "No, you're right, and I don't want them to know about my little necklace either. But that's not important now, Harry, what's gotten into you, talking to the Minister like that? That's not like you at all!"

Harry opened his mouth to answer, and then closed it, shrugging. "I'm not really sure, it just seemed like the right way to express myself. I've felt different ever since I cast that Patronus earlier. I wonder if it changed something in me?"

A movement from the corner of his caught his attention and he continued, "We can talk about that later, it looks like they are done with the memories."

Harry watched as Fudge and Dumbledore both shook their heads as they removed their fingers from the memories. Fudge was ashen-faced when he turned to Harry, and he said, "Thank you for letting me see those memories, Harry. It's easy to see that your memories were not tampered with, and it's just as obvious that a grave injustice was done, and I will be calling off the manhunt for Black as soon as I get back to the Ministry. I also need to start preparations for You Know Who's attempted return!"

He laughed weakly, "I could have gone my entire life quite happy never saying those words, but it's better to be prepared, and, thanks to your warning, we will be much better prepared this time." Putting his bowler hat on his head, the Minister hurried out of the Hospital Wing, although Harry was surprised to see that the older man seemed to be walking straighter, and his face was fixed in a determined look as he left.

Dumbledore watched Fudge leave with a bemused smile on his face, and gathered up the memories from the Pensieve and tapped his wand on Harry's temple, letting the silver strands soak into the skin. He put his wand away and sat down on the edge of the bed, smiling softly.

"I believe that your actions tonight have saved far more than I had anticipated Harry. I am pleased that you were able to convince the Minister to listen to you and watch the memories. Of course, that second memory was a surprise to me as well, and there are things that I will need to do as well. So I will bid you a very good evening."

Turning to Hermione and the sleeping Ron, he said, "Miss Granger, you have performed a very great deed this evening, and if there was ever a question of why you were sorted into Gryffindor, you certainly answered that this evening."

Smiling genially, the old man got up off the bed and left.

A few minutes later, Madame Pomfrey gave the two of them a final look over and said that they would be fine to return to their dormitories. As they were getting ready to leave, Harry looks over at Hermione and says, "I need to let Sirius know what's happened, can I borrow some parchment?"

She doesn't say anything, but picks up her bag from beside her bed and rummages through it for a few minutes, before pulling out a sheet of parchment and her ink and quill, handing them over to him. When he takes them she says, "I'm really happy for you Harry, that was a good thing you did."

He nods, "I'm happy too, but I just hope that Fudge doesn't expect too much from me in return. Granted, he is helping me now, but he's still the one who tossed in Hagrid in prison last year just so he could be seen as doing something."

Hermione looked at him strangely for a few seconds before chuckling. "That's remarkably cynical, Harry, but I can't say that you're wrong, either. It's just surprising to see you thinking like that. I think it is something that we may want to look into because people will notice your changes in attitude, and question you about it."

He paused in his writing, and said, "Hmm, you could be right, I'll have to think on that, maybe tone it down a bit for the rest of the year. We can always say that something happened over the summer when we get back."

Finishing up the letter, he looked over to the window and wasn't surprised to see Hedwig landing on the ledge. She always seemed to know when he needed her to send a letter, appearing just as he was finishing up. Smiling at her, Harry tied the letter to her leg and said, "It's for Sirius girl, get it there as quickly as you can, it's something he's going to want to know!" Giving a soft bark, the owl stretched her wings and flapped once, taking flight and speeding out the window.

He watched her fly away for a moment, envying his familiar the opportunity to fly before his stomach rumbled reminding him he hadn't eaten since lunch, and that was several hours ago. He turned to Hermione, who's stomach decided it wanted to voice an opinion as well, and said, "Why don't you head up to the tower, I'm going to head down to the kitchens and see if we can get some sandwiches and crisps to keep us from starving to death."

With a laugh, Hermione nodded, and, stopping to give him a hug, she headed out of the Hospital Wing.

The Hogwarts Kitchens

20 Minutes Later

Harry was leaning against a work table, casually chatting with Dobby while the elves were preparing dinner for he and Hermione when he heard a giggle coming from behind him and several elves turned toward the door attentively. The door slid open, and a girl slipped inside. She looked familiar, but it took him a couple of seconds to recognize Cho Chang, since most of the time he had seen her, she had been filling out, very nicely in fact, her Quidditch leathers.

But that wasn't what she was wearing now, and he was glad to see that she was dressed in a loose fitting vest with a band logo that he didn't recognize, but the name 'The Hobgoblins' was printed across the top. He also noticed, before pulling his eyes away in response to an amused feminine voice, that she had a very nice pair of breasts that were not encumbered by an undergarment. He didn't recognize the voice, but her tone was definitely amused, saying "It's okay to notice Harry, but don't stare, that's just rude, and you don't know her that well yet!" He somehow knew that the voice was the source of the impulses he'd felt earlier in the evening, and lifted his gaze to her face, glad to see a friendly smile there. The voice spoke again, and said, "If you want to get to know her that well, here's what you do..."

Smiling slightly, he said, "Evening Cho, looks like we had the same idea this evening. How are you?"

"Hey Harry, yeah I was nominated to be the one to get the snacks for my friends and me since I'm the one who knows where the kitchen is. And I'm doing good, thanks, glad that the exams are over and we can relax for a few days before getting on the Express. How about you?"

The smile widened into a genuine grin, and he said, "Other than a couple of really scary moments tonight, I have to say that it's been just about the best night of my life!"

She looked at him with interest, "Oh really? What happened?"

"I can't say much yet, because the news hasn't been released, but Sirius Black is actually my godfather, and he wasn't the one who betrayed my parents and killed those people. There's a lot more to it, and you'll be able to read about it in the papers, but finding a friend of my parents after so many years of knowing nothing about them just made my night!"

Cho blinked in surprise at the casual mention of knowing nothing about his parents, but put it aside and smiled happily because she was honestly happy for the boy in front of her. She really didn't know Harry that well but knew he was an excellent Seeker, practically the only one who was better than she was, and she really enjoyed flying against him. She heard from Padma that he was a decent student, not all that great in theory, but extremely powerful in his spellcasting in Charms, which intrigued her. Not to mention that he was certainly easy on the eyes, with those green eyes that drew her attention, and his lips... and she jerked back with a start, shaking her head, to find Harry looking at her in concern.

Smiling slightly, she said, "Sorry Harry, I was woolgathering for a minute, but I'm really glad that you found a friend of your parents, and I would love to hear more of the story when you can tell it if you don't mind?"

"I wouldn't mind at all, Cho, but I need to get moving, I didn't get much to eat since lunch, due to the annual Harry Potter Death Defying adventure, and you don't want to keep your friends waiting, do you?" The last with a smirk that she found attractive.

She laughed, "No, not at all, Padma gets grumpy if she doesn't get her pudding, and Luna wants her ice cream, not to mention I've got a taste for some treacle this evening."

"That does sound tasty, but I'll let you get to it, and I'll talk to you later, okay?"

"I'd like that Harry, you have a good night."

"You to Cho, see you tomorrow." With a grin, he gathered up the package the elves had prepared and headed out the door.

Cho shook her head after he left, 'Damn! I never expected to be hit like that, but his magic was doing things to me that I couldn't believe. I wonder if he even realized what he was doing to me?'

Gryffindor Common Room

A Few Minutes Later

Harry brings the snacks back to the common room, and Hermione looks up and says, "That took a little while, everything okay?"

"Yeah, I just bumped into Cho and we talked for a couple of minutes, no big deal."

Hermione grinned at her friend, "Cho, huh? And what did Miss Chang have to say?"

"Not too much, she was doing the same thing I was, grabbing some snacks for her and her friends, I told her a little bit about what happened tonight, and she was really interested."

Hermione laughed, "I'm sure!" she paused and said, "Are you going to be writing her over the summer?"

"Probably, I can always use more friends, and we seem to get along really well."

Hermione hid her grin with her hand as she lifted a sandwich to her mouth. 'Just a friend, Harry? Sure!'

Outside Edinburgh, Scotland

Around the Same Time

It had been several hours, and he was getting tired. Of course, it was understandable, it's not every day that you avoid having your soul sucked out by Dementors, not just once but twice in the space of a few hours. Sirius still couldn't understand how Harry and his friend managed to rescue him, but he wasn't going to complain!

Spotting a cave in the hills below him, Sirius pointed Buckbeak toward the entrance and soon the two of them were concealed in the shadows from anybody who might be looking for them. He had just spent a few minutes rubbing the hippogriff down, to Buckbeak's pleasure, when he noticed a white blur out of the corner of his eye. Turning toward the entrance to the cave, he shifted into dog form and crouched down, waiting to see what was approaching.

Moments later he recognized the sight of Harry's owl, Hedwig, and he shifted back into human form and waited for the owl to arrive. Hedwig barked happily when she arrived and landed gently on Sirius's arm. Holding out her leg, Sirius removed the letter and opened it quickly. It took him a moment to translate the hasty scrawl that filled the paper, but when he did, his eyes widened and he collapsed against the wall of the cave in shock!

"He, he, he managed to what? Oh, this is unbelievable!" He shouted, a huge smile on his face. "Pup, I'm sure there is another story here, but I don't care! This is amazing!" Laughing with delight, Sirius rummaged in his robes and managed to find a broken quill and a little bit of ink to send a message back. Tying the letter back on Hedwig's leg with fumbling fingers, he said, "Thank you, girl! Take this back to Harry please?"

The owl barked agreeably and was soon heading back toward Hogwarts.

With a happy smile, Sirius switched back to Padfoot. Curling up against his traveling companion, he was soon fast asleep.

Gryffindor Tower

Third Year Boy's Dorm

With a yawn, Harry stripped out of his dirty clothes and pulled on his pajama bottoms, smiling widely at the idea of getting to live with Sirius and not having to go back to the Dursley's. He had been crushed when Pettigrew had gotten away earlier, but thanks to that voice he was able to find the words to convince the Minister, and he even managed to surprise Professor Dumbledore, which he didn't think was possible!

Of course, that wasn't the only reason he was smiling, his mind kept coming back to the way Cho looked when she smiled during their conversation, and the way her breasts looked under her shirt tonight, and the slight smile on her face when she caught him looking. 'I wonder what it would take to get to see them without the vest? Or even better, to touch them!'

He was still thinking about the shape of Cho's breasts, and they way they moved under her shirt, when another voice floated into his consciousness, that of Professor Trelawney! He heard the words of the prophecy again and groaned, it was talking about Pettigrew, not Sirius, and the rat is on his way to find his Master. But at least the Minister and Professor Dumbledore had believed him, so they would be getting ready for when he came back, he wouldn't have to do everything on his own this time!

But... he did need to prepare, that was obvious. Voldemort had come after him three times so far and it was only luck, and whatever his mum and dad had done that had saved him. He couldn't keep counting on luck, he had to get better! And he needed allies, not just his school friends, but adults who could help him, but who? And how can he contact them?

It was almost frightening to realize just how much he didn't know about the society he was a part of, and unfortunately, Hermione was just as much a stranger in a strange land as he was, so she wouldn't be able to help him. Ron? The Weasley's were nice people, but not exactly movers and shakers in the Ministry. Neville? He thought for a few moments, Neville was pure blood, and from what he had mentioned over the years, his grandmother seemed to be pretty active in the Wizengamot... Yeah, Neville could help him...

Harry was still thinking as he fell asleep.

End Chapter One