A Bridge's Foundation
You can find more of this on by SubscribeStar (dot adult slash KajaWilder), it’s posted past FwB2 Ch. 30 there. You can find the same on my new Patreon (via Discord per their ToS), under /WildErotica. The DISCORD is at https://discord.gg/N9yDASt6Cw . If you prefer direct links, go to my Discord and follow the ‘links in general’ section to find the ones you want. All of my fics are well ahead of what I post here, often 10-30 chapters ahead.
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Enjoy!
NOTE: I cannot currently upload this chapter to FFnet for some reason. So right now this site (Ao3) and subbing are the only places to see it. Will update when I can over there.
NOTE 2: Sorry about the long gap between updates. Was just very sick and didn't have the spoons.
Chap. 25: A Bridge’s Foundation
Over the next few hours, most of the ladies on the rooftop either drifted to the bedrooms they had chosen, or had taken the Floo to their own homes. Even Hermione, who over the years had become almost as much of a night-owl as Harry thanks to shared experiences, adventures, and trauma,
True, she had cited ‘reviewing her homework and doing some light reading before bed’ as the reason for it, but as Ginny had looked over at her from the rooftop excitedly and announced that she was staying the night again before following her, Harry suspected the two girls were actually talking rather than working.
About what, he didn’t know. Maybe they were just having some one-on-one time with each other. Hermione didn’t often seek out any of the girls when she was feeling randy, but Ginny had never been shy about doing so, and he knew she quite enjoyed Hermione’s company in the bedroom, with or without Harry even there.
He didn’t begrudge them the time, of course: He wanted his girls happy, and honestly quite enjoyed the idea of them keeping themselves happy if he was otherwise engaged. It would, if anything, help keep jealousy down on a more practical level… and get him thinking about it, of course.
Eventually, after even Padma broke away from the telescope she had been using to chart for the last half hour went to find her sister and head home, Harry found himself mostly alone on the rooftop, half-awake himself, but with a small conundrum: Kennedy Teasdale was leaning against his shoulder, snoring quietly, but also occasionally whimpering. Nightmares, he thought, his heart welling with sympathy. He was hardly a stranger to them himself, of course, though thankfully being able to spend nights with one of the girls he loved in his bed seemed to do a lot to hold them at bay of late.
Harry sighed, and resigned himself to an uncomfortable night. He could probably carry her down to her room without jostling the young woman too much, given his extra strength and, well, magic (the Loco mo tor Mortis spell seemed appropriate enough), but he also knew from the small bags under Kennedy’s eyes, and the tiredness she displayed at almost all times, that she hadn’t been sleeping well.
The Dreamless Sleep Draught most of the victims had been given would do little for her, after all, as a muggle. And her fear of wands in general made him hesitate to carry her with magic, even for something as innocuous as taking her to her own bed. Harry wanted to wake the woman even less, however, so it seemed cushioning charms, a few blankets being conjured, and some warming charms were the order of the day. Or night.
Kennedy only stirred briefly as Harry withdrew his wand and began with a layer of a half-dozen cushioning charms, three for each of them, and then a few more on the rooftop in case one or the other of them happened to roll. They were short-lived charms, for the most part, but Harry knew from experience and his own nightmares that his would at least last until midmorning. Before he could conjure a few blankets, Dobby, sleepy-eyed, popped into view with a pair of them already floating spread open in the air. They settled onto he and Kennedy with a soft breeze of air, and Harry whispered a quiet, “Thanks,” to Dobby before the elf disappeared with a nod and smile, no doubt returning to his bed.
Once the warming charms were applied to the cushions and blankets, Harry put his wand away once more, then set about the process of slowly shifting Kennedy to a more comfortable position without waking her up.
It was tedious and slow, but eventually he had her laying on her side, though her arm refused to release his. In fact, when he tried to pull himself away simply because he didn’t want Kennedy to think he was doing anything inappropriate. Not that he would, of course. He remembered all too well the screaming in her mind when they had first met. Consent, for her, mattered . She was, in many ways, the complete opposite of Lavender, who craved being forced, for all that her regular willingness made it hard to actually do so.
Kennedy Teasdale had valued her personal rights and freedoms a great deal before they had been stripped from her. Now, she valued them even more.
Only, she wouldn’t let his arm go.
In fact, as he tugged away again, she squeezed tighter, and shifted closer so that her head, once resting on her own shoulder, moved up onto his lap. “Dompho,” she murmured sleepily.
Harry sighed. He couldn’t be sure, of course, not without being rather invasive into her mind, but that had sounded a lot like ‘don’t go’. Shaking his head, Harry added another cushioning charm to the railing behind him and the low back of the bench, leaned against it, and closed his eyes. “Lilith, I’m apparently sleeping up here, tonight. Kennedy’s passed out, and I don’t want to wake her. She’s on my lap, of course.”
An emotion of acknowledgment came back from some distance off, but no words. Lilith was, apparently, hunting in the nearer half of the village, enticing dreams of an erotic nature, encouraging those with able partners to engage in lust-filled acts, and harvesting the fluids they left, along with the emotions they contained.
Eventually, he began to drift off once more. Drifted into a land of smoke, of hazy images, twisted reflections of reality. Of men, strange men, angry men, hurtful men, all with wands he feared. Men that hurt him, her, others. Strangers. Some who treated her kindly, when they had rare moments of peace, and some who thought of her as little more than an animal: like the men who had enslaved them all.
And someone else.
Someone she-he feared as much as any other, at first.
Someone who broke into her very mind without her consent. Someone who drove the others away. Who kept her safe. Who treated her-them like a human being.
And there was another there, then, too.
In his-her mind? Harry’s, but also not-Harry’s. Not Kennedy’s, either. Harry knew their minds were separate. She was an open book to his empathy, with no more ability to guard herself than a child, aside from actually controlling her emotions a bit better. But she was there , and he-they were here . The dreams, of course, were the twisted conjurations of his unconscious mind, shaped around and shaped by her experiences in that dreadful place beneath Malfoy Manor.
This other mind was familiar, though. And it recognized the pain within Kennedy at once. It did not merely empathize (though it did that too). This other mind sympathized , in a way Harry could not.
She had been a victim too, after all.
In that moment, Harry realized who the ‘other’ was: Iris.
His not-quite-sister, not-quite-self from an alternate universe, who had first started appearing in his life as a way to protect his fragile male ego from the fact that sometimes he truly enjoyed having a girl’s body… and then been revealed to be a full person in her own right.
Iris?
I’m here, Harry. Let it go. Her pain isn’t yours, and it isn’t your burden to carry.
How are…?
Don’t worry about it. It just is. Call it esoteric arcana if you must. Where you excel in practical magic, I always favored the more theoretical side, like our Hermiones have in common. It’s just something I’ve figured out how to do since my last, um, visit. The timing is not quite coincidental: I felt your need. Rest, though. Rest, let me take this. I’ve been where this poor woman is. She will need that, in a way you can’t give. It’ll help, I promise.
… Are you sure?
No. I learned not to make promises like that a long time ago, Harry. But I’ve got to try. You of all people should understand that.
In his mind, Harry nodded. Alright. I’ll step back. I’ll be here if you need it.
Thank you. Kennedy? Kennedy Teasdale, are you there?
This time, the response was slower, garbled, as if Harry was hearing it underwater, though Iris’ mental presence was as direct and unmuffled as before.
Hello? Who are you? Where… where am I?
Somewhere between minds, Iris answered with Harry’s mind, though the voice was, he thought, her own. I am Harry’s… sister, you might say. Almost like a twin. I can explain more if you wish, but later. First, I want you to know that I have had similar experiences to yours. You are not alone. I came to help, to talk to you, because Harry doesn’t yet know how to help. I know you’ve latched onto him as a stable male figure. He’s protective of you- even now he’s mad at me that I’ve told you that you’ve latched on, even if he sees it, too. He doesn’t want to embarrass you.
But you aren’t embarrassed, are you, Kennedy?
Her voice was a few moments in the dream-state from coming, and a little hesitant, but even muffled clear enough, No. It’s common in… trauma cases.
Exactly. It’s a defense mechanism. But I’m telling you, Harry is not someone you want to latch onto in that way. He will keep you safe and healthy. You’ve my word, and his. He will protect you, guard you, with his life if necessary. That’s just who he is. But he isn’t your father, or an older uncle. He’s mature enough, in his own way, but he’s still young. A few years younger than you. He is more a peer than a guardian to watch over you. Do you understand?
Again, there was a pause, and Kennedy’s voice seemed a little sad, but still sure when she replied, Yes. He’s… a friend. A friend who looks out for people. Not like family.
He could be family, if you wish, Iris replied softly, but he can’t be your older brother, or your father, or uncles. He isn’t ready, and if he was, the dynamic would still be, ah… weird. Since you’re a few years older. But a little brother who loves you? He could be that, if you want. Or a friend, yes. I don’t know Harry’s mind fully, but I think he’d be happy to be either of those for you. At any rate, I want you to understand something else, okay? You are not to blame for what those men did. Not in the least. They took you from a night out with your friends, didn’t they? Stunned you, by the look of Harry’s memories, Stunned your friends, and whisked you off.
Raped you.
That’s not your fault. That’s the fault of the men who did it, and the monster who allowed it, even condoned it. So please do not blame yourself.
Harry could not be sure, but the sudden pleading tone in Iris’ mental voice made him wonder if, at least for a while, she blamed herself for those similar circumstances, though the conscious thought was mostly drowned out by a combination of fury and empathy for the alternate him, and those who’d done it to her.
I… understand, Kennedy thought-whispered.
Good. I’m going to leave you, for now. The magic I used to come talk to you is still unstable, and I can feel it slipping on my end. I don’t know how often I’ll be able to do this again, or when, but I hope we can talk again soon. It was nice to meet you, Kennedy.
It… it was nice to meet you, too. Iris, you said?
Thought, dreamed, but yes, I’m Iris, his pseudo-sister giggled softly, You can also call me the Devil’s Imp, ‘cause apparently I’m tricky. That’s what my former enemies called me, at any rate. But you aren’t my enemy, so you can just call me Iris. Or Set, actually, I like that one, too. That’s a nickname for my prankster disguise. Anyway, the spell really is slipping and I should-
There was static, and Harry jerked awake.
Kennedy did too, and yawned as she rolled onto her back, staring up at him blearily.
For a good three minutes, blinking slowly, before she seemed to realize where she was, and bolted upright fast enough to bang her forehead against Harry’s chin, making both of them wince.
“Sorry,” they both muttered at the same time a few seconds later, rubbing different parts of their heads.
“No, I’m-” Again, at the same time.
Harry chuckled, waving her on. “Sorry,” Kennedy whispered after a moment, sitting up next to him and scooting a little away, though she kept beneath the pair of blankets that now overlapped between them. “Er… wh- why’re we up here?”
“You fell asleep, and I didn’t want to wake you,” Harry said simply.
She swallowed. “I… on you?”
He shrugged, “Sort of. You were just on my shoulder at first, but you shifted when I tried to lay you down. After that I gave up, and Dobby brought us some blankets.”
“They’re warm,” she observed.
Harry grinned, “Warming charms, on the benches and blankets. Cushioning, too, if you hadn’t noticed they’re softer. Not all magic is harmful.”
“Oh,” she whispered, looking down in wonder, and then patting the space between them with her hand. “It feels the same, but at the same time, you’re right. It’s softer, too.”
“Yep. Anyway, if you’re alright, you should probably head down to your bed. I think you’ll still sleep better there.”
“Brianna snores,” Kennedy giggled quietly, “So I don’t know about that.”
“I guess I won’t mention that you do, too,” he laughed.
“I do not!”
Her tone was vastly offended, which only made Harry chuckle again as he looked over at the young woman’s scowling face. “Of course you don’t, I’d never admit otherwise,” he said with a grin, “I’d never disparage a person such as yourself with such obvious falsehoods.”
“Good,” she frowned, the scowl softening only slightly before she turned away, red-faced, “I don’t, do I?”
“Of course… not,” Harry replied, “Only a little. Kind of cute, actually.”
“Lies and slander,” Kennedy sniffed, looking away and up to the stars, only partially hidden with the half-opened rooftop gazebo. “I don’t have to listen to this… this libelous assault.”
Harry grinned, “No, I already said you should go to bed.” He glanced at his watch, “It’s half-three.”
She shook her head, and drew up her knees against her chest, then hitched closer to him again. Shoulder to shoulder, Kennedy wrapped the blanket around her far side, no doubt to help warm her exposed back. “I’m… kind of awake, now. I don’t sleep well anymore, and… I had a strange dream, just now.”
“Iris.”
His tone was quiet, but Kennedy gave him a strange, confused look. “That… that was real?”
He nodded. “I don’t understand much about it, but… I guess she’s right in calling her my sort-of-sister. She’s, well, me , from an alternate universe, I think. I used to think it was just… well, a side of myself. But no, she’s… been here. Using my body, but I was basically asleep, and during that time, I was in her world. Different versions of Hermione, and Ron… he’s the tall ginger, Ginny’s older brother.”
“Oh. He’s cute,” Kennedy giggled. “Taken?”
Harry grinned, “Why, are you looking?”
She shuddered, and went very quiet, “No. Not- not really. I’m… damaged. I’m not… any good, anymore, as… as a wife. At least… not for a long time, I think. What… what I dreamed, what Iris said, it…”
“It’s true,” Harry told her. “You aren’t the one to blame, and it’s not your fault. You are- or were- a victim. It was done to you, not because of you.”
“I know that,” she replied, shaking her head, “It’s just… Knowing it and feeling it are different, you know? And… well, as I said, that Ron bloke’s cute, but I have a feeling he and Hermione are… well, you know, close.”
“Wouldn’t surprise me,” Harry shrugged, grinning knowingly.
Kennedy gave him a curious look, then shook her head again as she looked off into the distance at the black mountainside across the valley. “Then again, I got the same feeling about you and her, so…”
“Well, we are , or at least were, both her boyfriends. You’ve met Lilith, you know she’s a Succubus. Her being here has changed all of our lives. Hermione and Ron… they’ve been flirting for years, but it wasn’t long after Lilith showed up that Hermione basically told us both that she’d never be able to choose, and started dating us both. Since then, they’ve drifted a bit. I think Ron’s decided, at least deep down, that she’s too high-strung, and she’s decided he’s too laid-back. They have a lot of sex, though, still. ‘Course, that doesn’t stop me and Hermione.”
“You… you do have a lot of female friends,” Kennedy whispered.
“Most of them aren’t lovers, at least not yet,” Harry told her quietly. “Daphne and Tracey are together. Daphne’s a lesbian, and Tracey’s bisexual, but I’ve been with them both, and… well, there’s complications. Wizarding politics, arrangements to carry on her family line… Fleur has history with one of Ron’s older brothers, and Padma, the star-gazer, and her twin are… well, recently more friendly, but I’ve only been with Padma even though Parvati and I have been sort-of-friends for years, and I’m pretty sure Padma’s a lesbian, too. Anyway, it… yeah. Girls sort of just… flock to me, now, I guess. I didn’t really do anything, except try to treat them well, but… Lilith’s changed a lot, all the same.”
“Must be well-hung, then,” Kennedy snorted, amused.
Unabashed, Harry nodded, “I am. I was before, but now I can literally change my size, among other things, so… But most of it’s technique, I’ve found.”
“Right. Aren’t you seventeen? Sex god, I’m sure,” Kennedy chuckled.
Harry raised one eyebrow, and turned to look at her with a level, even look. “Kennedy, I was taught by a Succubus. I could make you cum with just words . Not even magical ones.”
She gulped, and her eyes widened… and she shivered.
Then sniffed, turned away again, “I- I doubt it.”
“Doubt all you want,” Harry shrugged, “But I’ve done it before. It helps that I know- or at least, I can know- their secret desires. One of the things I picked up because of Lilith. But yeah, for some women, and I think you’re one of them, just telling them what I can do to, or for, them is enough to induce orgasm. Certain tones, certain words are very… triggering.”
“If you say so,” she whispered, sounding less sure now, despite her words. “I just… I don’t think I like sex, much. I know people go on and on about it, but…”
“Well, to be fair, you haven’t had great experiences thus far,” Harry told her gently. “But if you don’t want to again, no one- at least no one decent- would blame you. I’m pretty open about things, and most of the girls who’ve been with me for a while are, but don’t let that seem like… pressure, or anything. It’s not like I’ve set out to seduce you, or anything, right?”
“Not outright,” Kennedy snorted, “though you flirt an awful lot, considering I’m about five years older than you are.”
Harry could only shrug again, “Bit older than Fleur, but not much. Wouldn’t be the oldest woman I’ve flirted with. Just flirting, though. I mean… you’re very pretty, don’t take this the wrong way. I just… I know you aren’t in a good place.”
Kennedy nodded, but didn’t say anything else for a long time. In fact, the horizon was just starting to glow, at about four-fifty in the morning, when she did. Harry jerked, having thought she had actually fallen asleep as her eyes had been closed for some time, and he’d become lost in reverie.
“I like her. Lilith. She’s quite… nice. The other girls are too, of course, your friends and… you know, friend-friends.”
Harry chuckled at the turn of phrase, knowing she meant anything but just friends.
“And that girl… Iris. I don’t know… I can’t explain it, but she felt… safe. Dangerous, but safe. Like… well, like you do. I know you could… do a lot. To me, to others. It’s in the way you walk and carry yourself, and I know you were… with a bunch of adults, and lots of them looked to you for… for being a leader, on that day. But you wouldn’t hurt me, or others. Just… well, the bad guys.”
“That’s the goal, anyway,” Harry replied softly. “I don’t much like fighting. Dueling for sport is fun, I do truly enjoy that, or in class, but fighting is… I worry too much. About the people around me, the people I care about, getting hurt. One mistake, and someone I know could die. It’s… it’s happened before. Too many times.”
“I’m sorry,” she whispered. “I… I don’t know if my friends are alive.”
Harry put his arm around her without asking, but this time she didn’t flinch away. Instead, Kennedy leaned against him, and sniffled. “We can try and track them down, if you’d like. We have some contacts in our government, after all. You know Kingsley, Moody- Mad-Eye- and Tonks. They’re, well, Mad-Eye’s retired, but all three were Aurors, kind of like Scotland Yard. They can probably help. We’d just need some names and descriptions to go on.”
“Already gave them those,” Kennedy answered. “When they talked to me earlier today. That Kingsley bloke said he’d look into it and get back to me.”
“Then he will. He’s a good man.”
“Yeah. I… Thanks.”
“For what?”
“For being there, for being you.”
Then, totally out of the blue, she leaned over and kissed his cheek.
Before Harry, battle-hardened, Dark Lord-forged, tested in life-threatening scenarios again and again, could react, she was gone, all-but running with a blanket streaming around her shoulders like a cape, or robes, down the stairs and into the house.
He did not make it to bed.