Declaration: I write for my own pleasure and not for profit. I do not own Harry Potter Universe.

Three to Triumph

Chapter 23

Harrius James Potter, the ruler of magical United Kingdom was at peace as the only thing he had to worry now-a-days was the size of the stack of documents that needed his attention and the desire not to anger his wives. It was only a few months after the defeat of Lord Voldemort and life flourished under his rule. There was mild resentment at the start that they were being ruled by a half-blood but when it was known that all the three Potters were descendant from the 'First Four' families that were given magic, the criticisms immediately fell silent. The fact that their family would be ruling the country for a very long time also might have forced them to revise their opinions.

Led by the few remaining pureblood supremacists and their family members in other countries, the ICW tried to threaten sanctions on magical Britain under the guise of it being a dictatorship. A fierce rebuttal by not only Harry but even the goblins that controlled most of the banking around the world saw the threat fizzle out. Harry backed his words with actions and invited a delegation to visit his Ministry to get an up close and personal view of the living conditions of the general public in United Kingdom.

The delegation did visit, but what they saw could only be described as close to bliss as they could find at a place that was not heaven. People actually enjoyed their life for once after a very long time and if this was a tyrannical rule, they voiced their desire to have it for a very long time. Naturally, the representatives had to retract the statements and under the advice of his brilliant wives, Harry forced them to give a well-publicized apology.

The biggest and tangible change was in the worldwide opinion of England; it was no longer a pariah at the world stage. The opinion underwent a sea change after the visit of the ICW delegation and was certainly favourable towards Harry's rule. No one saw Britain as a breeding ground for anarchy instead it was seen as a progressive, tolerant and modern society. With its more open minded approach to relationships between the muggle and magical worlds within its borders, may of the other heads of state were looking to follow United Kingdom's example. Even the leaders of the muggle world enjoyed the freedom offered in using some magic to make their lives simple and strongly advocated a merging of both the worlds worldwide as it was probably intended by the gods.

That was the reason why Harry was all alone on this day as Luna was taking a well-earned break after finally getting the ICW not to interfere in the regime change and Hermione was busy at Hogwarts as school was in session. There however, was no respite for Harry from his duties.

Hogwarts was also a success, Hermione brought many changes to the school and it could now be said to be the premier school in all Europe and one of the best in the world. The overhauled curriculum now boasted to be the only one with world magic and ancient magic included, albeit as a specialization after the O. . The teaching staff was at an all-time high with new recruitment to handle the pressure of more courses and increased attendance. The strict division of the houses was long forgotten as students were encouraged to mix with other houses; the fact that Harry Potter their king was a blood descendent of Salazar Slytherin went a long way to overcome house prejudice. All the changes actually made learning a fun to students, a surprising development probably not seen in a very long time.

Hopefully the prestige of the school would be back to what the founders intended to; the spirits of the four founders were certainly happy about the positive changes. The castle was on the way to become one of the most favoured destinations among the temples of learning. The allure of learning ancient 'wandless' and intent based magic and unbiased history from the famous Harry Potter, Hermione Potter, and Luna Potter might have played a large part in the interest to study at Hogwarts, but the other members of the staff never minded the extra students the school was attracting which also increased their own load.

Albus Dumbledore could not survive long after the last of the war criminals had been sentenced; the horrors of what he did either through direct action or inaction broke him. He died within a month after the last of the cases had been dealt with, but he managed not to lose his fame as one of the most accomplished wizards before Harry Potter. His deeds were quickly painted as a necessary evil by Harry and his wives, ensuring that the legacy of one of the most successful headmasters of Hogwarts school of Witchcraft and Wizardry was not lost. That was the only area where the reputation of the once great man was left untarnished.

Reminiscing in the events of the past, Harry almost did not register the near silent entry of a being that was thought to have been lost to time, a High Elf. 'Have to ward against such a mode of transport' Harry mused. Elf apparition was notoriously difficult to ward against not only due to the nature of the magic involved but also the power requirements. The caster of the ward would have to be more powerful than the one seeking entry, and since Harry could borrow power liberally from his wives, and not to mention his own dual and bigger than any other magical cores, he was quite confident that he could do it.

Even though they were driven to hide away, fearing for their lives, Harry noticed that it did not teach the High Elves any humility. The emissary from the High Lord of the elves was very much an example of their misplaced pride which almost always bordered on arrogance and was cause for constant contention with the Goblins.

"Jayamu Maharaja, Maa pati meeku vandanalu teliyajestunnaru" (Victory to you Your Majesty, Our High Lord sends you his greetings) the messenger from the High Elves spoke.

"Rajadoota ku vandanalu" (Greetings to you messenger from the king of High Elves) Harry returned curious about the content of the message. Almost every other magical race though that the High Elves were extinct and it peeved him to no end that they sought to reveal themselves after the danger had passed. Taking a few moments, he called Hermione and Luna through their link asking them if they could travel to him and waited expectantly for them to arrive at his office.

Watching the body language of the three Potters who literally controlled the fate of the High Elves along with the entire magical Britain in their hands, the emissary understood the thinly veiled distrust bordering on disdain on display. The High Lord was quite confident that they would be welcomed with open arms once they revealed themselves to the magical world, but experiencing the cold reception, the messenger from the High Lord began to seriously doubt the wisdom of keeping away from answering the call to arms that was sent out. True, they could not be directly contacted by anyone, neither Goblin nor human, but the re-activation of the 'High Council' by the current King Harrius James Potter was well evident even at their hidden lands.

The High Lord decided to keep away due to their mortal fear of the 'Soul Suckers' which were sure to be used in an attack by the dark lord Voldemort and their fears turned true. At the same time it also displayed a lack of faith in the abilities of the King and his army, which would have been hard to forgive and as they found to their shame that the fears were unfounded. His Majesty Harrius James Potter vanquished Lord Voldemort without breaking a sweat, with the able assistance of his wives, just as the prophecy by 'Laya' foretold. They would now have to reap the consequences of their slight on the current ruler.

"You do not like us, do you?" he asked with trepidation.

"No" came the succinct answer.

His suspicion now confirmed, the messenger ventured into unknown territory, "May I enquire as to why?"

Hermione answered for Harry, "Freedom is the birthright of everyone and it is your prerogative to exercise your right, and you chose to do so by hiding away. When the world was threatened and freedom of every living being was at stake, the call to rally against darkness was answered by all except the High Elves. Now that peace had been restored, you come back expecting everyone to treat you as you were during the old times, making unreasonable demands in this present time."

"They consider themselves royalty, what else do you expect" Luna summed it up nicely.

The emissary nearly bristled at the insult but he was able to get his anger under control, he was sure that he would not leave the room under his own power if his anger was to get the better of him. Still he managed to grit out, "We are royalty, of course we are the expectant of your respect."

Harry was furious and was not willing to give him any leeway, "Who decreed you royalty?"

When no answer was forthcoming, Harry knew that he had his triumph, "If you High Elves have forgotten, we humans were made your overlords by divine intervention to solve your petty squabbles. We three did more than that; we saved your entire race from annihilation at the hands of the Soul Suckers."

His tirade was interrupted by a sharp intake of breath and that brought a smirk on the faces of the three humans present in the room. Harry drove the point home, "You Elves might have conveniently forgotten but I lived in the ancient times and my deed allowed you all to live and flee to safety. By the old decree your entire survival was a boon from me to you. Do you understand the consequences of my actions?"

Harry got a jerky nod of a very flustered High Elves' head and seeing the discomfort in the messenger's eyes he relented; there was no point in flogging the horse if the rider was at fault. "I am not the one to enforce the debt on your race as I believe that all life is the gift of the gods above." The silence after that statement allowed Harry, Hermione, and Luna to hear the almost imperceptible sigh of relief from the High Elf.

"You look so hot when you are in control" Luna giggled into their bond causing Harry to throw a stern glance in her direction while trying his best not to show the blush on his face. It was made hard by Hermione's open amusement but finally they turned to the matter at hand.

Deciding to give Luna more ammunition for teasing him, Harry declared to the High Elf in his most intimidating voice, "Tell your High Lord that respect is earned, not demanded and my respect for the High Elves died with my teacher and the great warrior elf Lord Legolas."

"So the legend is true then…" the Elvin messenger looked a little awed at the three Potters.

Luna smiled serenely at him, "Sometimes legends do have basis in historical accounts."

The messenger sketched a short bow in the direction of his king and his queens, "You have been known to be called 'Just Harry' in our legends but I believe that it should have been 'Harry the Just'…"

Harry acknowledged the praise with just a nod of his head while Hermione sniggered in their bond; it was she that coined the term 'Just Harry' after all. Luna projected amusement but at the same was proud at the way her husband handled the situation.

Hermione interjected at this point, "Your governing council needs to think about their past actions if they want to change their future. Convey this to them as the new decree of His Majesty Harrius James Potter, King of magical Britain."

"Very well, your highness" the High Elf bowed deep at Hermione and then at Luna and Harry, "I will convey your message to our High Lord. Will you accept our request for parley…"

After long sessions of negotiations headed by gleeful Goblins, who the High Elves were often at loggerheads with, they were re-admitted to the 'High Council' sans the privileges they were used to. The arrangement was acceptable to all except for the high Elves who still considered themselves to be above all magical races due to their longevity but had to swallow their pride and bow to the other races.

On the other hand the Low Elves benefitted the most from the defeat of the darkness. Their pledge to serve the humans which was perverted to a bond was lifted with the defeat of Lord Voldemort; the ultimate signal that the darkness that shrouded the magical world was well and truly lifted. Many of the Low Elves were happy with their situation and continued to serve their families who respected them back in equal measure but quite a few who were badly abused left the employment. It was mostly the purebloods who suffered the humiliation of a public hearing into the cases of Low Elf enslavement and consequently were forced to work their punishment by doing community service in the many Low Elf settlements that sprang up.

Unlike the High Elves of yesteryears, the Low Elves continued to mingle with both magical and non-magical humans and other magical races. They did help out the humans who acknowledged them as intelligent beings and continued to contribute to the society doing odd jobs and expending their magic to the benefit of everyone. The Low Elves took great pride in helping the non-magical humans, working mostly as lightning fast ambulances to transport the needy to either a normal hospital or to St. Mungos or any of the specialized Fairy clinics.

It turned out that the loss of healing magic in the case of the fairies was mostly their own fault. As they say, 'use it or lose it' and that's exactly what had happened with them. The continued strife in the world, the increasing divide between the magical and the non-magical world and the threat of extermination by Dark Lords one after another, forced the fairies to go into hiding and without a need for their skills in healing, their ability gradually disappeared. Their magic was intrinsically tied to their development and that led them to grow as stunted beings.

The long disuse also constructed mental blocks which caused their magic to hide the knowledge pertaining to healing magic from their own magic. This act rendered the beings that once had the 'Midas touch' at healing, to be nothing more than festive ornaments. Hermione worked with each and every fairy, not only in the British Isles but spread worldwide and managed to remove the blocks that prevented them from accessing their healing magic, while Luna healed the physical breach caused in their magic and 'Life Force'. With the Dwarves lost to time, the fairies still had to train themselves not only in the healing arts but also with long forgotten potions needed for healing. Harry, Hermione, and Luna were only happy to oblige returning the knowledge they gained during their sojourn into the past, to the rightful owners and now connoisseurs of the art of potion making.

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Epilogue

It was a little more than seven years since Lord Voldemort or Tom Morvolo Riddle as he was named by his mother, was sentenced to die and things were never better. Cooperation between the muggle and magical world rose to never before seen heights after the first century, as both the populations lost their prejudices or fear not only towards each other but also towards the other non-human races too. Miracles from the magical world in the form of potions and spells helped the non-magical population to achieve never before seen cures for diseases.

Thankfully, magic and technology could never co-exist and this went a long way to mitigate any resentment among the muggles that could have been directed against the magical population. While it could be said that the non-magicals benefitted the most, even the magical population learnt new tricks, especially in mass communication, entertainment, and mass transit which were very quickly and efficiently adapted to the magical world. New areas of study opened up in both the worlds and helped to not only better understand each other, differences and all included, but also to increase cooperation.

Specific areas were designated in every city, town, or community that was either magic or technology free that allowed people to mix without any restrictions on their talents. These areas played host to humans from both the worlds and in not too infrequent cases, other races too, to enjoy the benefits offered by either world. Entertainment options in the muggle world were a huge hit to even the staunchest of the purebloods. Liberal exchange of ideas further strengthened the bonds between muggles and the magical races ensuring that the time of life was really a golden age, sounding a death knell to not only the darkness that prevailed but also to any conditions that could give way to the birth of a new tyrant. It was truly a case of fairy tales coming to life.

With policies that were directed towards the benefit of the general population, crime was at an all-time low. The close knit dialogue with the muggle government, almost always spear headed by the 'High Council' ensured that every citizen of British Isles was treated equally whether it be a magical or non-magical human, Goblin, High Elf, Low Elf or a centaur. There were always petty incidents, but never did they escalate to create trouble to the authorities or entice mass panic. Punishments were always directed towards reforming the culprit rather than corporal punishment; laws were strengthened and with lessons learnt the hard way, vigilance was constant but vigilantism was non-existent.

It was more about 'live and help live' rather than 'live and let live' and the people in the magical and non-magical worlds could never be happier.

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Summer Solstice 2002, Potter Manor

The atmosphere inside the medical wing of the Manor house was an admixture of joy, anxiety, and downright panic. Luna conveyed the news from 'Apoorupa Dalam' that Harry was the one who was allowed beside Hermione and her during the process of childbirth. Not even a mid-wife or a healer was apparently allowed near his first born sons. That led to his current predicament of not only dividing his attentions between his two wives but also alternately panicking and being deliriously happy.

Magic had a funny way; instead of a normal birth, all four infants materialized out of the mothers' wombs at the same time. No one was older or younger, they were truly equal and the 'First Four' families which started out as brothers in all but blood were now brothers in blood. Each one of them represented one of the families and had their magic from that family solely; even a Goblin made heritage test would answer that the 'First Four' families were unequivocally represented in the four children. None of the families could intermarry, at least for a few generations, and that too only if it was ever needed thus ensuring that they could always uphold the pledge made by their ancestors.

The child who inherited the Schlakett- Slytherin family magic from Harry was named Julian Black, the one who inherited Rowenger- Ravenclaw magic from Hermione was named Raven Granger, the one who inherited Frairwood- Hufflepuff family magic from Luna was named Atracus Lovegood and the last son who inherited Griffter- Gryffindor family magic from Harry was named Fitzwilliam Potter. Harry, Hermione, and Luna selected the names as homage to the very first humans who received the gift of magic from the gods.

Hermione and Luna were especially thankful for the pain free way of attaining motherhood, and probably it was the gods' way of offering an apology for the tremendous strife they were put through very early in their lives. Magic ensured that there was at least another male heir in all the four families and so Hermione and Luna had normal pregnancies and deliveries six more times, making it a total of seven, a very powerful number. Four children both girls and boys, carrying the surname for the four different families made a total of sixteen children running around at Potter Manor ten years later. All subsequent children carried a combination of magic from Potter and Granger or Black and Granger families if Hermione was the mother, and Potter and Lovegood or Black and Lovegood if Luna was the mother. The bountiful gift by nature made sure that all the four families flourished without the fear of elimination and in the process made sure that the guardians of peace, prosperity, and bounty were ever present as long as time and gods allowed.

Holding two of his sons in his hands, Harry felt all the troubles of his young life fading away; he felt as if the hardships of his childhood was almost worth experiencing if it led to him to enjoy his life with his two wives and now his children. "When we turn sixty, I want to let these four take over the title of king and rule the world, bring back the legacy of the 'First Four' families of the ancient times. We could then tour the world learning new magic from the different cultures that we have not been exposed to before. In the process we could also spread the knowledge and ways of the ancients."

Hermione and Luna agreed to his suggestion; they were also more than willing to let their children take over the duties at the head of the government, school and their place at ICW in turns, when they reach that age.

With a sly grin Harry teased his wives, "Until that time comes, how about we work on giving these four a bunch of brothers and sisters, my queens."

Hermione and Luna smirked back at him and chorused, "Sounds like a plan my king!"

That's All Folks!