In Pursuit of the Unknown Power

The next day Harry woke up as usual between two witches, Gabrielle seemed to sense that he was alert as she soon rolled to face him. "Good Morning Master."

"Morning Pet." He smiled at her and kissed her softly, before long she had rolled over and sheathed him inside her. He was beginning to get used to this kind of wake-up and worried that he would go into withdrawals once they returned to school. Gabrielle was starting to make it a bit routine however; he much preferred making love to getting shagged, even if he couldn't say the words. He decided he needed to talk to her about that some time soon. Not now though, right now he was enjoying her ministrations.

After the normal morning routine of showering separately the three headed down to breakfast. They stopped off on the second floor and picked up a very sleepy Tonks before heading down to the Kitchen. They talked during the meal and Susan had elected to accompany him to the Ministry for the testing, and then drop in on her Aunt Amelia for a visit once he was done. Soon Tonks had enough coffee in her to wake up and they were out in the back where she set up a test are area similar to the one the Ministry would be using.

"Right then you two, the first test is to walk into one room and Apparate into the other room across the hall. You do get a chance to see the room through a window first." That said she pointed at the two boxes, one with a window that allowed them to see a chair inside the room.

"Now just go into this box and Apparate into the other one." She crossed her arms and waited.

Harry went first; they had not practiced Apparating through anything yet so this was a first. But he figured it couldn't be all that different. He looked through the window and got a good mental image before stepping into the other box. He closed his eyes and concentrated before stepping through the tube into the other box with almost no sound.

"That was amazing Harry!" Tonks exclaimed. He just grinned and shrugged. Susan Apparated to the other side of the box on her first try but was able to get it on her second try. Harry pulled her back against his chest and wrapped his arms around her. And they both looked to Tonks for the next part of the test.

"Right this time when you look in the window you will see that there is a target painted on one wall. Your job is to enter that box over there facing the target, and wind up in the other box facing in the opposite direction towards that target. Got it?" Harry nodded and was able to pull it off flawlessly on the first try, nearly silent as well which still stunned the Metamorph.

Susan got it again on the second try, Tonks told her not to worry; she responded that Harry had 'Super Magic' on his side so she didn't feel bad at all.

"Right, this time you see that chair?" They both nodded. "You are to Apparate in, sitting in that chair. This one screws a lot of folks up because they end up splinched into the chair. Susan can tell you it's uncomfortable but not painful so don't worry about it. Just do it." She told them.

Harry actually needed two tries to get it right. The first time he was standing on the chair. Susan took a full five tries before she was able to change positions to sitting when she rematerialized. That got Harry thinking about exactly what was going on during an Apparation anyway. He seemed to be adding to his long list of things to research.

"Alright, the final test is a long distance Apparation. They give you a Portkey that has a tracer on it which records the coordinates where you end up. I happen to have one right here thanks to your connections." She said with a wink. "If you can't make it back for some reason the Portkey is timed, they can use the coordinates to go pick up any splinched pieces. Now who wants to go first?"

Harry decided to go for it. "Now what happens if I end up in the middle of the ocean?" He asked and she just grinned.

"That's why the international Portkey. But I wouldn't worry; if I were you I would think east instead of west. Now get to it." Harry gathered his magic and just concentrated on traveling as far as it would take him. He stepped and when he opened his eyes he had moved about three feet.

"What the?" he asked.

"I don't know Harry, let me see that Portkey." She waved her wand over it a few times, getting more and more confused. "Alright, explain to me how the coordinates say you moved three feet, but the tracer says you traveled over 40,000Km?"

Susan gasped as it hit her. "No freaking way!"

They both turned to her and in unison asked, "What?"

"Tonks, the circumference of the Earth is just over 40,000 Kilometers." She said quietly. Tonks took a minute before she turned to stare at Harry.

"You mean to tell me the reason he looked like he traveled three feet, is because he traveled exactly all the way around the world plus three feet?" She nearly screeched.

Susan shrugged, "I don't know, but it is the only explanation that makes sense."

Tonks looked back to Harry. "Have you ever seen a picture of Ayers Rock?"

He nodded, "That great big mountain in the middle of nowhere Australia?"

"Yeah, I want you to picture yourself standing at the point whatever picture you're thinking of was taken. Pretend you are standing in Australia looking at Ayers Rock. Now go." She said handing him back the Portkey.

Harry concentrated and stepped and was suddenly very cold. He opened his eyes and gazed upon the amazing sight of Ayers Rock. Before he had time to properly process what had happened he felt the tug behind his navel and was ripped back to London where he landed in a heap. He groaned as he stood back up. "You know, I much prefer Apparation to Portkeys any day."

Tonks didn't even check him over as she grabbed the Portkey off the ground and ran the diagnostic. "No Freakin Way!" The coordinate confirmed it. Harry Potter could Apparate anywhere in the world.

"So yeah, what is the normal Apparation license set at?" Harry asked.

"Harry, most witches and wizards can barely make it a few hundred kilometers per hop. And can only do multiple Apparations about ten times before they are exhausted." Tonks said.

"Um, well what is the highest license they offer?" He asked fishing.

"The highest I have heard of was a 500km for someone who could make it that far. Why?" She asked.

"Because I see no reason to advertise my freakishness. Lets get an atlas and pick me a spot to Apparate to during my test." Tonks' eyes lit up at his planning and she nodded turning toward the house. "Nym wait! Susie it's your turn."

Susan made it 200 kilometers, still putting her at the high average. She only wished she could join him for testing today, but was happy she was allowed to use it in emergencies.

Harry asked Dobby to bring him an atlas and decided on Berlin, Germany. A sudden thought struck him. "Dobby? Where is the library in this place anyway?"

"The Black family is keeping it's books in the dungeo… er in the basement. Dobby and Winky is cleaning it just as good as the rest of the house. Does you wants to see?" The little elf asked.

"No, thanks Dobby, it just occurred to me that I own this place, Mione owns the books, and yet I don't think either of us had actually been into the room."

"Oh yous not needing to go Harry sir. Dobby and Winky memorizes it and can tell you if a book is there or not."

"Really? So if I said, are there any books on… Apparation?" He nodded and popped away, presumably to the library and reappeared shortly carrying three books. Harry set those aside to read later. "Dobby this is amazing, you're like a living card catalogue." The elf took the praise rather well, not even trying to hug Harry this time.

"Thank yous sir, is there anything else?"

Harry waved him off with a grin. The three of them got up and used the Floo to travel to the Ministry

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They arrived in the Lobby and quickly had their wands weighed. Harry noted that there was much better security this time than before his trial. He assumed Amelia did not want a repeat performance of the end of June. Harry held Susan's hand and she and Tonks accompanied him to the lift down to the Department of Magical Transportation and into the offices of the Apparation Testing Center.

The three of them entered the waiting room and Harry had them sit down while he queued for a bit. Finally he made it to the window where a bored looking witch gave him the forms, which he filled out and was told to sit down and wait for his number to be called. The three of them chatted idly for ten minutes before an abnormally pale old wizard walked out holding a clipboard and called his number. Waving to his friends he followed the man into the testing area.

"My name is Willkie Twycross and I will be administering your testing today, if you will please follow me?" He said without looking up. Harry followed the man to a room on one side of the testing area where he was allowed to look in the window. He noted the location of the Chair and the target on the wall. He was then led to the other room where the man accompanied him inside.

"Right then, your first task will be to Apparate into the other room from here."

"Excuse me sir, do you think it would be possible to skip to test three? I wouldn't want to waste your time or mine." Harry said and the man looked up at him. Harry watched as his eyes went wide before glancing at the name on his clipboard.

"Oh, of course Lord Potter-Black…" As usual Harry cut him off.

"Please, just Harry or Mr. Potter." The old man nodded.

"Very well then Mr. Potter, into the other room if you please." Harry closed his eyes and quickly stepped, making sure to take enough air with him to cause a slightly louder than normal pop. He reappeared in the chair facing the target just as he was supposed to. Twycross joined him a moment later making notes on the parchment and making Harry nervous. He then walked to the corner of the room and got what Harry recognized as the testing Portkey.

"Right then Mr. Potter, this is a Portkey with a trace applied which will measure the distance you travel as well as record the coordinates of your landing. If you should happen to splinch it will return to this room in a few minutes and we can go gather your parts together. The highest license is unrestricted, however you would have to travel over 500 Kilometers to qualify. I have only met two people who earned the maximum."

"If I might ask, who were the other two people?" Harry asked, guessing at the answer.

Twycross' eyes lit up as he got to talk about two of his favorite students. "The first is Headmaster Dumbledore, the second was a about 50 years ago, a nice young man by the name of Tom Riddle. I never did hear what became of him after Hogwarts." He trailed off a bit before snapping his eyes back up to Harry. "Now Mr. Potter, whenever you feel ready please attempt to Apparate to the limit of your range."

Harry nodded and thought of the picture he had found from Berlin. Once again he let his magic fill him and stepped. When he opened his eyes he was facing the Berlin Wall and he grinned before quickly scanning the area to ensure no Muggles had seen him arrive. Then turning once more he popped back into the room behind Twycross, scaring the poor man half to death. "My Mr. Potter, well let us see what we have here." He cast the detection spell and his eyes went wide. "It says here you traveled over 900 Kilometers! Impressive, quite impressive!"

Harry just shrugged but smiled at the praise, it felt nice to be praised for something he actually did as opposed to being respected for something he had no memory of. Twycross made a few more notes on his clipboard before handing the form back to Harry. "Congratulations Mr. Potter, you can take that to counter two outside where they will get you the license and file the paperwork, if I may say so, it has been a pleasure." He said extending his hand. Harry shook it noting he felt rather frail. He wondered for a moment if that and his coloring were the result of Apparating too much.

When he entered the lobby Susan noted the expression on his face before she met his eyes and he grinned, she then jumped into his arms and kissed him soundly. "Congratulations Harry, hardly anybody passes it on the first try!"

"What!" He exclaimed.

Tonks came up beside them, "It's true, I didn't want to freak you out. I hope you're not too upset." She had morphed her eyes to nearly twice normal size and was looking at him with doe eyes.

He turned Susan in his arms and pulled her against his chest with his arms below her breasts. Then he smiled at Tonks, "It's alright Nym, it's all over now anyway. So are you ready to go visit your Aunt?" He asked the girl in his arms who nodded with a large smile. He quickly went to the counter where he turned in his form and received his official license to Apparate. She then promptly dragged him from the room with a smiling Tonks behind them.

They once again entered the lift and headed all the way to the top floor. When the doors opened they entered at a very cushy looking waiting room. There was a receptionist doing paperwork at a desk in front of ornate double doors and hallways leading off to the left and right. Tonks walked up to the woman and spoke. "Hey Marie, the kids are here to see the boss."

The receptionist continued her paperwork as she answered. "Tonks the Minister is a very busy woman I don't think she has time for a couple of…" She trailed off as she looked up and saw Susan and quickly her eyes flicked to his forehead. "Um, I will go let her know you are here." She disappeared through the doors.

She re-emerged not long after, "Lord Potter-Black the Minister will see you now and your guests are welcome as well." She said opening the doors for them. Inside they found Amelia at her desk with paperwork up to her eyebrows. She stood quickly and came around the desk pulling Susan to her in a hug.

"Oh Susan, it feels like forever. I don't know how Fudge took off every day at four or how he ever found time for vacation, except that he was incompetent. Its no wonder were in the mess we are with underlings like Umbridge running the Ministry for him!"

"Well Auntie, Harry took me shopping for everything so you don't need to take extra time off for me." She said, and Amelia immediately took notice of the way they were standing. They were not touching overtly but Harry was standing just behind her. That combined with the lack of the Weasley girl led her to assume they had become an item.

"Harry, I don't know how to thank you. I never imagined you would take such good care of her how can I repay you?"

Harry just shrugged, "I wish I could do more, I make more in interest per day than most people make in a year, and I will never be able to spend it in my lifetime."

Her eyes lit up at his words. "Funny thing you should mention that Harry, why don't we sit down?" She asked. Harry immediately went on guard but had no reason to distrust the woman. She led them over to a soft seating area with a quad of comfy armchairs in the corner of the room. "Now Harry, you are not going to like some of what I am about to tell you, but please hear me out, can you do that?" He simply nodded.

"Harry the Ministry does not collect much in the way of taxes, just enough to run the departments. The problem is Fudge mismanaged so much of our money that we don't have any left to execute a war. In the past wealthy individuals have been known to make bequests to the Ministry for certain programs." Harry's mood immediately darkened.

"You mean like certain 'Imperiused' Death Eaters?" He asked quietly.

"Yes Harry, you can rest assured I will not be accepting any bribes to let people off for crimes. But the Auror program is underfunded at the moment and in no shape to fight this war. The hit wizards are nearly non-existent. I would like to request funds from you to properly outfit them once again and raise our recruitment. The last Auror class to leave the academy was only 15 cadets. That didn't even cover our losses from death and retirement this year."

Harry's face darkened to match his mood, but he glanced over to Susan who nodded and he sighed. "Alright, but here are other things that Department can be doing as well. I want promises that response times are going to come down, and I think the Ministry should provide an Emergency Portkey for every wizarding home, including Muggleborn children."

Amelia had produced a Muggle notebook and biro from somewhere and was making quick notes. "Alright Harry, those are reasonable requests, I will make sure to pass them on to Scrimgeour. Anything else you would like to request?" He thought for a moment.

"I want Remus Lupin appointed as Werewolf Liaison and for you to work with him to change the Anti-Werewolf laws to be more humane. Right now all of these people cannot find work in the UK and are almost forced to join Voldemort. I also think we should provide Wolfsbane potion free of charge; most of them can't afford it. I do agree there needs to be some kind of tracking, perhaps require them to report to the Ministry for the full moon where they can be locked in a holding cell, only for the duration and they will be treated with respect, not like animals."

She continued to write everything down and then looked up. "That last part is going to be tricky Harry, there are an awful lot of bigots on the Wizengamot. You might need to take up your seat and do some dealing in the background." He looked up at that.

"Wait, I have a seat on the Wizengamot?"

She nodded and smiled at him, "Actually you have two. Dedalus Diggle currently holds the Potter seat in trust until you turn seventeen. The Black seat has been vacant since before your godfather went to prison. Due to your unusual circumstances you are able to sit claim that seat now."

Harry pondered it for a moment before nodding, "Speaking of the Wizengamot, when is your confirmation?"

"The next full meeting of the Wizengamot is on the 30th. Thank you for your vote?" He smiled and nodded. "We can get to work on this right away. Shall I let you know the requested amount once we have a budget?" She asked him.

"I suppose that works, and if you must you can include Remus' salary though don't tell him that." He grinned.

She stood and they quickly followed. "Susan I would like you to join me for the last week before school at the Ministers Mansion. It should be fine being the fourth safest place in the UK." Harry looked up at that?

"Fourth?"

She nodded and began counting off, "Gringotts is the safest, I consider the House of Black to be number two, and there is a rumor about a house in a Muggle neighborhood that received every ward Gringotts could throw at it." She said the last with a significant look in his direction. "Unfortunately we are unable to find the house, or even remember who lived there. I do find it interesting that Hermione Granger's magical signature was recorded in the area." Harry just grinned at her.

"That makes the Ministers home the fourth safest place in the country. I used to think Hogwarts was at the top of the list as well but after the past few years it is nowhere near as safe as I once thought. Well you two should be off, just promise me you are being safe?" She said the last throwing a look to her niece who blushed confirming her suspicions.

"Of course Auntie." She said shyly, Harry finally caught the double meaning and blushed as well. "Right then I will see you soon Susan." She gave the girl another hug and shook Harry's hand.

They made their way back down to the Lobby and to the Apparation point. Tonks took Susan side-along and Harry disappeared with hardly a sound. Making his first legal Apparation with a large grin on his face.

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Ron was sitting at his desk staring at paint samples, but that was the farthest thing from his mind. Luna had been slowly working on his attitude toward Harry. He had no idea why he would let her talk to him the way she did sometimes. In the end he got a handjob so he would listen to anything she wanted to say. It had actually started to sink in a bit but he just couldn't get past the git stealing Hermione from him.

Luna entered without knocking and as soon as Ron saw her he walked over to the bed removing his shirt and dropping both his trousers and his boxers. Luna had been getting better each time, but it was more like a business arrangement than sex. He was beginning to get frustrated that she did not want to explore the other procedures she had mentioned before.

Luna pushed him back onto the bed and wrapped him in her small hand and began pumping him slowly before speaking to him. "Now Ronald, you have been doing well but I know you are still being a git deep down. We need to do something about that." Ron just grunted in response.

She paused and waited for him to meet her eyes before she continued. "Good now that I have your full attention we can continue. Ronald, do you realize you are getting more play from girls by simply being in Harry's vicinity than you would normally? He is going to be dating most of the girls at Hogwarts this year and you need to understand. Jealousy is not an attractive trait." He grunted again but kept eye contact.

"Now you chose not to do Occlumency and you treated Hermione like meat instead of like a person. I actually fancied you as well but you were not very nice to me. We both much prefer Harry but I am willing to possibly give you a chance if you can show me that you have changed. Do you understand?" She stopped her movement once again getting a groan from him.

"You mean you actually want to date me this year?" Ron asked and she began pumping slowly again.

"If you are a good boy I might. But I need you to promise to stop being jealous and accept that it was your own fault you lost Hermione. Do you think you can do that?" She asked as she continued to pump. His hips bucked a bit as his orgasm began to approach and he didn't answer. Suddenly her other hand grasped his balls and squeezed just hard enough to get his attention. He was close to orgasm but his body was trying to retreat from the threat to its most important parts.

"Okay!" He nearly screamed. And she released his testicles as she began slowly pumping him again.

"You are going to apologize to Harry, even if he shags every girl at Hogwarts including Hermione, your sister and I, you are not going to be jealous, instead you are going to slap him on the back and support him like a true friend should. He has a valid reason for dating half of the school this year." He just nodded in response as he came close to orgasm once more.

She stopped and squeezed him member hard causing his eyes to shoot open. "So you are no longer going to get angry with him for doing what he must to defeat Voldemort?" Ron nodded and she began stroking once more, his balls were beginning to ache from holding off his orgasm for so long. "And you are not going to say anything to him no matter who he dates, even if it is your sister. Even if it is me?" Ron nodded again getting close once more.

"To summarize, you are going to support Harry no matter what, even if I do not date you, even if I fall in love with him. Even if he falls in love with Hermione and Ginny?" He nodded again but she slowed down causing him to groan in frustration. "And you are going to apologize and be the friend he needs you to be?" He nodded again as she picked up the pace, his hips bucking again.

She then squeezed the head of his cock preventing his imminent eruption. "Do you swear?"

"Yes I swear!" He said through gritted teeth.

"On your magic?"

He was so far gone he didn't care as long as she would let him orgasm. "I swear on my magic, So Mote It Be!"

She began pumping him rapidly until finally he came. Ribbons of cum flew at least a foot into the air and fell onto his chest and face looking like a fountain. Luna nodded as he lay panting from his largest orgasm ever. She got up and washed her hands before drinking two glasses of water. She exited the bathroom holding a hand to her head trying to stave off the migraine headache she could feel coming on. As she pulled his door shut behind her she whispered back to him. "So Mote It Be!"

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When Harry, Susan, and Tonks arrived back in the garden they made their way into the kitchen where they found Luna holding her head in her hands and nursing a nasty looking concoction with a lemon slice on the side of the goblet. He quickly walked behind her and replaced her hands with his, lightly rubbing her temples.

"Rough day Lu?" He asked.

"You could say that." She replied as she downed the rest of the potion, not making any face to indicate that it tasted as bad as it looked. "I had a talk with Ronald, he should stop being a jealous git now. If not I suppose we could throw him to the Gnarlbeast in the basement."

Harry smiled as he pulled her into a hug. "Right now I'm still leaning toward the basement… What's a Gnarlbeast anyway?"

Tonks looked back and forth between them as if Harry was getting imbalanced simply due to his proximity.

"Oh, Gnarlbeasts are what Rats could become in a few millennia, I suppose that isn't very helpful right now is it?" She asked him.

"I don't know, I think throwing him to the Rats sounds pretty good too." He said kissing her on the cheek. Tonks looked back and forth between them before walking out of the kitchen saying something about crazy bugs.

Luna called out to her as she walked away, "Oh you don't have to worry about Crazy Bugs Nymph they're hibernating right now. They only come out in the fall." They didn't hear all of her reply but Harry thought he recognized the Thwack sound against the wall before she stomped up the stairs.

"Well Susie I think we can do some work before lunch, are you going to work on your Occlumency?" She nodded with a smile. "And what about you Lu?"

"Actually Harry it is getting to be too much concentrating all the time, and my job here is done anyway. I really need to get home in case Daddy gets lost and can't find himself. He usually leaves me a note." She kissed his cheek before stepping into the fireplace and disappearing. Harry just stared at it until he felt the smile on his face that only Luna could put there.

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At dinner that night Molly was not happy to find that Luna was no longer with them. But looking down the table she was glad to see that Ron was talking with Harry and the girls once again.

Ron was holding a whispered conversation with Harry. "Look mate, Luna got me to realize I've been quite the git. You offered me every chance to learn with you and I just pissed it away. I lost Hermione you didn't take her. I'm not gonna say anything even if you date half of Hogwarts this year, I'm just gonna enjoy the show."

Harry didn't know what to think of his sudden change in attitude, he was afraid it was some sort of trap. "Look Ron, I really feel something for both Ginny and Hermione but I have an honest reason that I have to learn how to love. Gin and Mione know that and are basically forcing me to date all these witches. That doesn't mean they aren't special to me."

Ron nodded, "Like I said mate, I'm your cheering section. I trust you not to hurt either of them."

Harry was quiet for a while before he spoke again, "I just can't do it again Ron, I can't take another betrayal."

Ron sobered quickly at the word and realized just how awful his actions had been in the past. "I can't apologize enough for fourth year Harry, and this was just icing on the cake. Can you forgive me?"

Harry though for another long moment before smiling and holding out his hand. Ron took it and Harry asked, "Brothers again?"

They both repeated the phrase from earlier in Unison. "Not if you're shagging my sister!" and just like that Harry's world was alright again for a small amount of time, as far as he knew entirely thanks to Luna. That is until he began thinking about the aforementioned sister.

"Hey isn't Ginny's birthday in like a week?" Harry asked.

Ron looked at him sheepishly. "Uh yeah, I forgot all about it, good on you mate."

"I think we need another party!" Harry said as he began thinking up ways to get his witches back home where they belonged.

After dinner he approached Molly who was extremely excited about the idea. He realized just how much she loved planning and organizing, and wondered how she was holding up with all of her children gone. He told her she was welcome to use Hedwig to get in contact with the Grangers to set up the surprise.

The rest of the night was spent on the couch watching his new favorite movie 'Return of the Jedi' with a witch on each arm and Ron on the other couch. He took an immediate liking to the Telly and Harry almost feared giving him the set he had purchased for his room. He may have just gotten his friend back only to lose him to TV land.

Eventually the girls dragged him off for bath time and bed. Susan joined them for bed and was content just to watch the show while Harry took care of her needs much like in the morning. He did work two fingers into her other opening at one point giving her a huge orgasm but much to her disappointment they did not repeat the shower scene. She once again reminded herself to ask Gabrielle about that potion, she knew Hannah would be interested as well. When they finally drifted off to sleep Susan dreamed of the next time Hannah was coming over.