Chapter 32: 32 Cleaning House

Each day for the next two weeks, a prisoner in the high security wing of Azkaban Prison was found dead by the Azkaban guards. No one questioned it and no one investigated, even though they had suffered the same fate as the old warden. Bellatrix had been completely right and no one cared that the prisoners died.

It reminded Harry specifically about how he had been treated while growing up with the Dursleys. People would specifically ignore him, just so they wouldn't have to think about him being abused and not doing anything to stop it or to mitigate it. They all knew about it and only a couple of people had tried once or twice to help, then they gave up and ignored him, too.

It was only the two librarians that had treated him like a normal kid. They were the only ones that ignored how he looked and ignored how everyone else believed that he was an actual delinquent and caused trouble. It was why he tried so hard with Irma Pince in the Hogwarts Library, because he knew that as long as you were respectful of the books and took care of them, she would become a friend for life.

Harry never told Padma that he had been systematically dealing with the high profile prisoners. He had also not told her that it was him that had arranged for all of Voldemort's still free Death Eaters to be arrested. There were just some things that shouldn't be shared.

Hermione had been almost completely assimilated into their group of friends, too. She and Padma really hit it off like he had predicted and were becoming the best of friends, almost like Padma's sister Parvati and her best friend Lavender. They had so much in common and enjoyed practically endless debates about their favorite things.

A week before Halloween, Harry and Padma had been walking around the inside of the castle while holding hands. When they passed the Kitchens and the Hufflepuff common room, they reached the entrance to the dungeons and both received a startling popup.

Congratulations! You have found the Instant Dungeon named Hogwarts School's Disgrace!

Your task is to clean up the vermin that have infested the lower levels of the castle. You can earn rewards based on how well you do, how quickly, and how efficiently you remove the swarms. Style points count!

Do you wish to try the Instant Dungeon? Yes / No

Harry and Padma exchanged looks of desire and then both asked the same question. “How long will it take?”

Time compression will be in effect. One minute of Real Time is one hour of Dungeon Time.

“What level is the dungeon?” Harry asked.

Hogwarts School's Disgrace is a Level Two dungeon. Recommended Level of Gamer: 20.

Harry was Level 57 and Padma was only Level 15. The two of them debated accepting for almost ten minutes before Padma asked a very important question.

“How many times can we use this dungeon?” Padma asked.

Level Two dungeons can be accessed once per day. MP can be spent to upgrade the dungeon when it is cleared and before it respawns the next day. Upgrades increase the difficultly, the creatures, and the rewards.

Harry asked the next question. “What are the notable difficulties and the benefits?”

Level Five dungeons can be accessed twice per day. Recommended Level of Gamer: 50.
Level Ten dungeons can be accessed five times per day. Recommended Level of Gamer: 100.

“Oh, wow.” Padma whispered as she stared at the popups.

Harry nodded. “I thought it would reduce the frequency at higher levels because of the difficulty.”

“Me, too.” Padma said. “When we're higher level, maybe we need more of the better rewards to keep fighting the dungeon?”

“That makes sense.” Harry said and then chuckled. “Or the stronger we get, the more we are going to go in there and wreck the place.”

Padma gave him a happy smile and a hug. “So, are you going to protect me and power level me up to the dungeon's recommended minimum?”

“I was getting worried that we weren't finding anything to help you level your base stats and would have to wait for the summer before we could go out and gain you levels.” Harry said and Padma nodded. “I'll take point and you stay right behind me with your wand ready. I'll disable everything I can and you finish them off.”

“Why? Don't we share XP?” Padma asked.

“We do, except you get bonuses for kills and finishing blows.” Harry said. “Once you're close to my level, we'll upgrade the dungeon by a level and then fight on equal terms.”

Padma thought about that and nodded. “We'll also leave it at Level Three and we can add Hermione to our Party next month.”

Harry raised his eyebrows at her.

“Oh, please! As if I couldn't figure out that you wanted to include her before Susan and Parvati.” Padma said with a laugh. “We both know they would want Hanna and Lavender included as soon as possible.”

Harry smiled. “My reasoning was they would tell their best friends right away and we wouldn't have much of a secret secret anymore.”

“A secret secret?” Padma smiled back. “Half of the school would know the next day if you include Parvati and not Lavender.”

Harry laughed. “It wouldn't be for revenge or to pressure us, either. She would just want everyone to know that her friend was getting preferential treatment and she was sad about being left out.”

Padma nodded. “Lavender can be vindictive if you cross her or annoy her.”

“We all can.” Harry said and smiled crookedly at her.

“You prat.” Padma laughed and smacked his arm. “You're the Party Leader, so you have to accept on my behalf.”

“I think so.” Harry said and mentally accepted entry, then Padma was given the option to join in or to leave the party.

“I'm never letting you go, Mister Bones-Patil.” Padma said and accepted.

“You really can't wait to say that for real, can you?” Harry asked as the dungeon entrance in front of them changed from the dimly lit stairwell to become pitch black.

“I've already asked my mother if it's legal to kidnap you, take you to a non-magical third world country, and marry you in the muggle style.” Padma said and lit her wand with a Lumos spell.

“You're kidding.” Harry said and swiped his wand at the walls and they glowed as if covered in luminescent paint.

“She said, and I quote, 'he has to be at least 12 for it to be legally binding, so you have to wait until next year'.” Padma said with a grin.

Harry barked a laugh. “Of course your mother's okay with it.”

“Why wouldn't she be? She adores you because you adore me.” Padma said, smugly. “You know our parents had a political marriage. For me to find some I actually love to marry and father wasn't against it, has her practically jumping for joy every time I send her a letter to tell her how much you're doing to help me and the other students in our classes.”

Harry stopped walking and turned to face her. “Padma, I...” He stopped talking and sighed. “Did you read the infidelity clauses in the betrothal contract?”

“Of course I did. I didn't want to activate them.” Padma said.

“Did you also read the small print that they reference to about the penalties?”

“No, I just assumed that they would cancel the contract and that was that.” Padma responded and then she gave him a pointed look. “Why are you bringing this up now?”

“No, I haven't done anything even remotely close to anything like that.” Harry denied. “However, someone told me to read the clauses and the small print. It was... enlightening.”

“What do you mean?” Padma asked and cancelled her Lumos spell.

“Infidelity, as defined by the contract, is having intercourse with someone that's not the intended betrothed.”

“Yes, and?” Padma asked.

Harry didn't say anything and waved his hand to tell her to think it through. Padma frowned a little and started to sift through what he said. Harry kept making a rolling finger gesture and she kept examining it.

After about six minutes, Padma sucked in a sharp breath. “Oh, Merlin!”

“I'm very glad to be too young to be that interested in all of the things that two people can do without actually having sex.” Harry said and Padma nodded several times. “Oh, and the first offence is a fine of 500 galleons to be paid to the wronged party. It does not cancel the betrothal contract.”

Padma's mouth dropped open.

“The second offence is 1,000 galleons and being sequestered separately for a week. The third offence is ten percent of the offender's assets and then the contract is broken and the penalties for breaking the contract are fulfilled.”

Padma stared at Harry and she didn't know what to say. According to him, he could have sex with another girl three times before he was considered in violation of the terms of the contract. It didn't once occur to her that on the other side, she could also have sex with three different boys and then she would be the one in violation of the terms.

“Why are you telling me this now?” Padma asked and waved at the glowing dungeon.

“I wasn't specifically waiting for this moment; but, with the time compression and privacy it offered, it seemed like the best time to let you know that what we thought was us inside a nice and safe binding agreement, was just us declaring we were going to have sex with each other and eventually get married.”

Padma took a breath and let it out. “You suck at breaking bad news.”

Harry chuckled. “How was this bad news? I gave you essential knowledge that you didn't have before. I also let you know that you won't be getting 500 galleons as soon as I hit puberty.”

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Padma gave him a surprised look, then she shook her head. “I'm not going to laugh at that.”

“Why not? You know I've got a few girls eyeing me like I'm their next tasty meal.”

“Including my sister.” Padma almost growled.

“Wait, what?” Harry asked, surprised.

“You're all she can talk about. You're willing to take responsibility for the family and she doesn't see any harm in us being a nice little closely knit family.” Padma said and sighed. “Very close.”

“But... I'm marrying you.” Harry said, confused.

“Yes, and she has no problem playing with my things.” Padma said. “She even suggested that we switch places once or twice on the weekends, just so she can have a nice safe date with you and not have to worry about someone she doesn't like trying to take advantage of her.”

Harry opened his mouth to refuse, then he looked at Padma's face. Instead of saying anything about her sister, he stepped close and looked deep into her eyes. “May I?”

Padma nodded and stared into his eyes.

Harry dove into her mind and marvelled at how much the combination of Occlumency and Gamer Mind had benefited Padma in so short a time. Starting her at Gamer Mind Level 20 had been the best decision he had ever made. He floated over to the section of Padma's mind that was dedicated to her family, then specifically her sister, and floated into and immersed himself into her memories.

The jealousy and envy Harry felt about Padma having a normal childhood was fought down, especially since she saw Parvati as another her that was different and the same. She loved her sister deeply and wanted her to be happy, even if she was frustrated and jealous of the Griffindor for being so outspoken and forward. Padma was definitely not like that and believed that they were like two halves of a whole.

That revelation let Harry know that despite how Padma said she felt about Parvati wanting to date him, she wholeheartedly agreed with her sister that Harry was the best option. She loved him and she loved Parvati, so it wouldn't be wrong if they loved each other, too. Parvati was her other half, wasn't she? Of course they would both fall in love with the same man.

Harry pulled back slightly and looked at the family section with Padma's mother. The temptation to dive through and see what it was like to have a real mother growing up and not an abusive shrew that hated him, was almost too great to ignore. He was better than that, though. Padma had only offered for him to experience Parvati's part of her mind and he had done that.

Harry retreated from her mind and Padma had tears in her eyes as she stared into his. “You can switch on the weekend and I won't say anything about knowing it's not you.”

“H-Harry, you... you don't have to...” Padma whispered.

“I love you and you love me and you love her. It's only fair if she's given a chance as well.”

Padma wiped at her eyes and then she gave him a tender kiss and hugged him. “I know how much that hurt you to see and feel.”

“Yeah.” Harry said and hugged her. “You are such a horrible person for having a normal childhood and I hate you so much.”

Padma snorted and let out a laugh. “You suck at lying and I really love you, too.”

Harry let her go and smiled at her. “So, how about we take all of our current frustrations out on dungeon rats, bats, and lethifolds?”

“Harry, I could probably fight off a Dementor right now.” Padma admitted.

“Really?” Harry asked and lifted the Elder Wand. “A patronus charm works well on lethifolds.”

Padma lifted her own wand and smiled at him. “On three. One, two, three!”

“EXPECTO PATRONUM!” Harry and Padma yelled and poured out positive emotions into the spell.

Harry's corporeal patronus animal was an Indian Tiger, or more commonly known as a Bengal Tiger. It was huge and bright silver with dark silver stripes and it let out an ear piercing roar.

Padma's was a much smaller Indian Tiger, obviously female, and it landed and rubbed its face on Harry's tiger. His tiger gave her tiger's face a lick before both tigers let out growls and then charged down into the darkness of the dungeons. Their inherent silvery glow lit the place up even more than Harry's illumination spell on the walls.

Screams from several lethifolds echoed down the hallway and Harry and Padma dismissed the notices about a bunch of XP gains.

Harry held a hand out to Padma. “Shall we?”

“Let's go.” Padma said and put her hand in his.

The dungeons lit up even brighter as their happiness enhanced their patronus charms and the pair walked hand-in-hand as they started casting cutting curses at all of the rats fleeing towards them from the large predators that were tearing apart the other dungeon creatures.

*

Parvati felt very, very naughty. She had finally convinced her sister to let her switch with her for a date with her boyfriend. They had switched places hundreds of times while growing up and they both knew each other and their behaviors so well that no one had noticed. Now she was going to do it again and she wasn't nervous about it.

She was sure that Harry wouldn't know that it was her and not Padma, because her act would be perfect. She dressed in Padma's weekend outfit and left the Ravenclaw dorm room to go down to the common room. She thought she was fully prepared for today and felt confident as she strode down the stairs like she owned the place.

Parvati stopped at the bottom of the stairs and looked around. She didn't see him right away and frowned slightly, then quickly hid it. She knew Padma only frowned when she couldn't find a reference in a book. She was about to leave when she heard someone coming down the stairs. She stepped aside and turned to look, then caught her breath at the sight.

Harry Bones was even more handsome than ever with his hair teased out with more golden blond waves in it that usual. It was also a little longer than she remembered and his eyes almost glowed blue. He also wore a pair of jeans and a t-shirt that was so tight that she could count the ridges of his muscles that she never knew he had.

Parvati blushed as Harry saw her and he gave her a heart fluttering smile. She straightened her back and smiled Padma's happy smile. “Hi, Harry.”

“Hi, Padma.” Harry said and stepped off the steps and gave her a hug. “Have you decided what you want to do, since we're giving the library a break? We did study hard all week.”

Parvati blinked her eyes for a moment at the odd statement, then she smiled warmly. “I'm up for anything you want to do.”

“Really?” Harry asked and then smiled teasingly as he led her across the common room and out through the door. “What if I said I wanted to help Irma re-catalogue the rear section of the library that she's been putting off until the Christmas break?”

Parvati barely managed to not immediately laugh at the idea of wasting so much time when she was supposed to be on a date. “Um, we could do that... or...”

“Or?” Harry asked as they went down the spiral staircase.

“Why don't we take a walk by the lake? I'm sure you have something for the giant squid tucked into your pants.” Parvati said.

Harry raised his eyebrows at her, then he laughed. “We're too young for you to see my tentacle!”

Parvati blushed deeply at the accidental implication she had made. “H-Harry! I... I only meant...”

Harry laughed and laughed as he put an arm around her waist and led her down the hallway to the staircases to the lower levels. “It's okay, Padma. I couldn't help make that joke.”

Parvati nodded and kept the blush on her face the whole time they walked through the castle, because Harry never moved his hand from her waist and he greeted a bunch of people by name, which seemed to make those same people look both surprised and happy. When they approached the lake, Parvati felt disappointed when Harry had to let her go.

“You might not want to look.” Harry said and reached for the front of his jeans.

Parvati fought with herself as her act needed for her to turn away and her Griffindor tendencies demanded that she stare at him. Since she wanted to keep up the act of pretending to be her sister, she swallowed her pride and her sigh as she turned her face away. There was a bit of a squelching sound, a thump, and then the strong smell of fish filled her nose.

“Harry! What is that smell?” Parvati asked and covered her nose as she almost choked.

“Did you know that the stinkier the fish, the easier that predators can find it in the water?” Harry asked and swiped his wand at her. “Better?”

Parvati moved her hand and took a sniff, then nodded as she turned around to see what happened. She stared at a lidless muggle garbage dumpster that was filled with fish heads, bones, fins, ruined cuts, fish guts, whole fish, and a bunch of sea creature parts that she did not want to know the names of.

“Watch this.” Harry said and flicked his wand at the dumpster. It lifted up as if it weighed nothing and flew out over the black lake. When it was a hundred feet out from the shore, it started to tip over and dump its contents into the water. A moment and another hundred feet later, it was empty and zoomed back to the shore to land beside them.

Parvati stared at the water, because it looked like it was boiling and bubbling. The splashes and spurts of water went on for several minutes before it died down and the surface of the lake was pristine once more... then a single long tentacle poked up out of the water and waved.

“You're welcome!” Harry shouted and waved back. “I'll have more next week!”

The end of the tentacle wiggled before it dipped back below the water.

“What was that?!?” Parvati asked, shocked.

“Free food delivery for the creatures that live in the black lake.” Harry said and shrank the dumpster and put it into a plastic bag and then his pocket. “They don't get out much and stuff from restaurants that serve seafood from all over the world, is like a delicacy for them.”

Parvati just stared at him and didn't say anything.

Harry chuckled and put an arm around her waist again. “Ready for that walk now?”

Parvati could only nod and she leaned into him as they started their walk around the lake. She really liked that he was supporting her without being too possessive and her thoughts went over what just happened.

If that was the start of a normal date for Harry and Padma on the weekends, what in the world did they do when no one was watching? Parvati asked herself and glanced at the handsome boy holding her close. She couldn't help herself as she decided that she really wanted to find out.

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