Harry awoke the next morning feeling warm and snug in his bed. It took a few moments for his mind to clear and for him to remember where he was. He opened his eyes and it started coming back to him. To his left he could see the brown, curly hair of his best friend. He could feel her breath against his neck and feel her skin beneath his left had as he held her close. To his right, there was a head of blonde hair resting upon his chest. He could feel her breath as well and - was that drool? She too was wrapped in his right arm and Harry really began to wake up when he remembered that they were both naked. They had never put their clothes back on after they took them off in the garden and had come to his bed that way as well. Aside from snuggling and kisses - and the fact that his two girls were naked - nothing truly inappropriate had occurred.
Hermione woke first. There was almost a gasp from her and an “eep.” She had apparently remembered where she was and in what condition, but she soon relaxed again. As Luna started to wake up, Hermione kissed Harry on the lips and told his she was going to get showered and dressed. Luna, when she was fully awake, only mentioned a shower. Once his girls had left for their own rooms to prepare for the day, Harry got out of his warm bed and did the same.
Harry was fully dressed, just as he had been the entire time the day before, when he entered the Informal Dining Room for breakfast. Luna was already seated buttering some toast. It was obvious how she had arrived first considering that while she clearly had showered and washed up, she had not bothered with clothes again. Harry kissed her and took his seat and the small round table.
“You look pretty this morning,” he said as he poured himself a glass of juice.
“Thank you, Harry.”
“Not going to wear clothes?”
“We are under Time Compression, right? Why should I? I’ll only just take them off anyway.”
“Oh, I had forgotten,” Hermione said having just entered. She was dressed in slacks and a blouse, but that lasted all of another couple of minutes as she took off her clothes as well, kissed Harry and sat down.
“How did you sleep?” she asked Harry.
“Quite well,” he said. “Didn’t have any nightmares and I can’t remember the last time that happened.”
“I guess that’s another good reason to have a Harry pillow at night,” Luna said. “Keeps away bad dreams.”
After breakfast they began what became their daily routine. They spent the morning strolling in the gardens and usually had a picnic lunch. About an hour after lunch, Harry changed into swim trunks and the girls began teaching him to swim. They only spent an hour at that. Once they were all dry again, and Harry had dressed, they went to the library to study the books that the Flamels had given them and to try and figure a way out of their current predicament - not the bond, not even the four marriage contracts, but the last contract they had been shown. At night, the girls would snuggle up to him in his bed and they would go to sleep. Harry was soon convinced he could get used to this new life even if no one else would find it normal.
The girls loved the gardens. As Luna said, it was as if they had an entire world just to themselves. Harry had asked Dobby about whether one could fly brooms here, and apparently you could. The problem was that “the World” was finite. You had to pay attention to the fact there was a ceiling of some sort about three hundred feet up and that there were walls at the edge of the gardens. Still, given how vast the gardens were it seemed like an ideal way to get about and see it all. The problem was Hermione. Luna was a fair flyer and had two brooms of her own. Hermione had never taken to flying so Harry had decided to make that a summer project. Hermione need not take to it like a Quidditch player, but he hoped that she would be comfortable enough with it to go for a leisurely flight through the gardens when the summer was over. Naturally, she insisted that this was entirely unnecessary. She liked walking, thank you very much. Harry had not expected it to be easy, which was why it was a long term project to begin with.
Every day, he woke up in his bed with his two girls snuggled into him, which was how his days ended as well. Every morning, Hermione showed up at breakfast fully dressed, and then took everything off before she sat down. Luna never seemed to bother with dressing. They kissed, they snuggled, they walked though the gardens hand in hand. Yet, despite the lack of attire on his girls, they never did anything that they would regret or be ashamed of although Harry was not about to admit to anyone outside of his girls choice of attire, or lack thereof.
Of course, Time Compression was not for an eternity and it came to an end seven days to the second after it began. Luna, somewhat reluctantly and Hermione a little less so headed to their rooms to actually put on clothes or, in Hermione’s case, put them on with the intention of leaving them on at least until her parents left. Harry headed to the kitchen. He had yet to cook a meal and wanted to but his girls had kept him busy what with sleeping, swimming, studying and just hanging out together in the gardens.
Robert Granger finished reading the Contract. He had kept his calm until the end hoping this was just some kind of prank or something. Once he saw his signature, it seemed his memories all started coming back. He blinked a few times.
“I almost cried myself,” Rose commented after a moment. “To think Hermione could have grown up with friends.”
Robert nodded. “I know I’ve met Harry. I remember him from the other day. But… but it seems the last time I saw him he was just trying to walk. And Luna was just a baby as well. You saw them? Luna?”
Rose nodded. “She’s grown into quite the young woman.”
“Are they bonding?”
Rose nodded. “It began for real today, it being Harry’s thirteenth Summer Solstice and Luna’s as well. Harry and Hermione first kissed about a week ago, but today… Robert, it was so beautiful!”
“You saw it? You saw the glow?”
Rose nodded. “It was wonderful.”
“So it’s done then,” Robert sighed. “Our little girl… bloody hell! She’s not even fourteen yet!… our little girl is married.”
“In the eyes of magic, yes Bob. In the eyes of magical law, that requires a trip to Gringotts which could be as early as tomorrow for all three of them. In the eyes of magical society, from what I learned, they still need proper weddings one day with announcements and all of that.”
“Where are they?”
“Harry’s place.”
“With those good for nothing relations of his?” Robert exclaimed.
“Harry’s got some kind of magical trunk. While it is at Harry’s relative’s, they can’t get into it.”
“What’s a trunk got to do with this?”
“Harry lives in it.”
“He… he lives in a trunk? On purpose?”
“He says it’s a good sized home. I haven’t been there yet, but we’re invited over for dinner…”
“And just how are we supposed to get there? We don’t even know where his blasted relatives live!”
“We don’t have to, Robert. Harry gave us what he calls an access trunk. It has a ladder that you climb down into a cloakroom and a door from there leads to his trunk. They’re connected by something called a magical portal. Harry’s trunk could be just about anywhere. We don’t even have to know where it is and we can still go there… even if they’re at that school of theirs.”
“I’m still not sure I like this,” Robert said. “From what I remember, once the bond forms they either have to have sex…”
“They’re too young for that.”
“Not sure when a daughter is supposed to be old enough for it, truth be told.”
“Magical consummation is more than just copulation. It has to occur when they are nearing magical maturity, and they won’t be for three years at least.”
“Thank God for small blessing, I suppose,” Robert snorted. “But there was that other bit, sort of sex, something about prolonged, intimate physical contact?”
Rose nodded. “Holding hands counts, Bob. Kissing, hugs and snuggles count. Sex would as well, but six hours of that a day or more? They’d have to be abnormally virile, don’t you think? That and they’d probably get bored with it. They can get all they need simply by snuggling together through the night. You may not be comfortable with that and I won’t say I am, but that’s safe. I’d rather have our daughter grow up healthy in all respects.”
“Still, I definitely will have questions for the boy.”
“I’m sure you will. Now shall we pop over for dinner?”
After picking the wrong door at one end of the cloak room which happened to be a loo, the Grangers found themselves at the other end. There was a door, but no knob as far as they could tell, or any other way to open it. But there was a pull cord of some kind so, before Robert tried to bash down the door with his shoulder, Rose pulled it. The door opened and just beyond was a very small figure, not much larger than a small child. It was barefooted, with black trousers that were a few inches too high, a grey waist coat, white shirt, white tie and what looked like a black dinner jacket with some kind of crest just over the left side of the chest. Rose, who had seen a House Elf before, knew what it was. She also knew it wasn’t Dobby. Robert had never seen one before and had no idea what it was.
“Welcome to Master Harry Potter’s,” the Elf said. The Granger’s correctly understood that in this case the term “Master” was the honorific for an underage gentleman and not that of an overseer of some sort. “I am called Higgins. Miss Hermione and Miss Luna are upstairs freshening up and Master Harry is in the kitchen preparing dinner. If you will please follow me?”
“That other Elf doesn’t talk like you,” Rose observed.
“Dobby is Head Elf here and in charge of both the House and Grounds Staff. But House Potter is his second House. He talks the way his first House desired. That, unfortunately, cannot change. The rest of the staff, for us this is our first Wizarding Household and hopefully the only one. Master Harry, as Head of House, expects proper English. This way please?”
“House and Grounds Staff?” Robert asked Rose as they followed the Elf towards a large set of double doors and while trying to guess what the paintings and tapestries they could see were about. She could only shrug.
The Elf led them into a huge room that, while not opulent as a Royal residence would be, impressive both in its size and appointments. It did have a more informal look to it than one would expect, as if it was meant to be lived in and not looked at. The Elf then took them to a side room. It was small as compared to the other room but was probably larger than any room in their own home.
“This is the Ladies' Parlour,” the Elf said. “Your daughter should be joining you in a few minutes. Would you like something while you wait? Coffee or tea, perhaps?”
“Have anything stronger?” Robert asked.
“We have a stock of more adult beverages, beers, wines and distilled spirits. Master Harry and his Ladies are too young to partake, but they are available for adult guests of the House. I will send Blossom by to attend to you.” With that the Elf popped away and barely a moment later another Elf appeared. This one had long hair and was wearing a dress. She introduced herself as Blossom and asked what they would like to drink. Rose requested a glass of wine and Robert a single malt scotch. Practically as soon as the requests were made, their drinks appeared on a tray she was carrying.
“Now that’s service,” Robert chuckled. The Elf Maiden curtsied in reply.
“Dinner will be in twenty minutes,” the elf said. “Will there be anything else?”
“These paintings,” Rose began.
“As of right now and aside from their personal rooms, all the public spaces have portraits of Master Harry’s Potter ancestors and their families, Ma'am. In this room, we have our oldest painting for before then it’s all tapestries. This is Robert Potter, the youngest Lord Potter in history prior to Master Harry. He became Lord Potter when he was two years old when his parents, William and Daphne died in the Black Death in 1346. He’s shown much later in life with his wife Elena. Their children are here as well. We also have Master Harry’s Great-great Grandparents, Alastor and Desdemona. They died in 1958 and 1962 respectively. Then there’s Gregory Potter born in 1489 and his three wives - one after the other - one died in childbirth and another of Dragon Pox. Their children are also here…”
“How many portraits and such are there,” Rose asked amazed.
“There are sixteen tapestries representing eleven generations of Potters and forty-six portraits of the subsequent twenty-one generations ending with Master Harry’s parents.”
“And the oldest one?”
“It’s in the Entry Hall. It’s of Lord Edgar, Seventh Earl of Hwicca, his wife Matilda and their children. It was Elf made in 925.”
“Bloody hell,” Robert began.
“It is a bit much,” a voice said. The Grangers turned and saw their daughter wearing a dress Rose was certain they had bought last summer and another girl. Rose knew and Robert guessed it was Luna.
“You look lovely,” Robert began.
“I’m surprised that dress still fits you,” Rose said.
“Petal made some adjustments,” Hermione replied. “And thank you, Daddy.”
“You must be Luna,” Robert began.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Granger.”
Robert chuckled. “Last I recall seeing you, you were just figuring out how to stand up without help. You’ve grown into quite the young woman, it seems.”
Luna smiled.
“So you remember?” Hermione asked.
Robert nodded. “Didn’t. Not until I saw that contract again. Then it all seemed to come back to me. You’re Mum found some old photos in the attic from that time, the time before he erased that part of our lives.”
“Really?”
“We’re going to have copies made of them and the others. Consider it a… urm… wedding present of sorts.”
“Thank you Daddy. That would be lovely.”
“I’m still getting used to this…”
“I thought you said you remembered,” Hermione said with disappointment in her voice.
“I remember the Potters, the Lovegoods and the contracts and why we made them. I remembered about the Soul Bonds and the other two contracts and why they were necessary. I also remember it could happen this early but hoping it would wait until the lot of you were older. But those memories were taken away from us, weren’t they? This morning I woke up and you were my daughter and Harry was just a boyfriend and my concern was that the two of you would behave yourselves. That you would not… experiment, not for a few more years at least. Now, without so much as a by your leave, I remember that contract from years ago and am told your bonding has begun. I still see you as my little girl, but it seems magic had another plan for you and now, in the eyes of magic as it were, you’re married to him and Luna is as well triggering these contracts. While I remember it, it does not mean I understand it.”
“It was a bit of a surprise to us as well, Mr. Granger,” Luna said. “I’d like to think it was a pleasant one.”
“I would still like all of this explained,” Mr. Granger said. “I mean look at this place, for one. How can he afford it?”
“We can go over this at dinner, Daddy. We can begin with Harry’s new home and work from there, okay?”
Robert Granger nodded. Hermione led them from the parlour to the informal dining room where a round table was set for five. Robert and Rose sat next to each other. Hermione sat next to her father while Luna sat next to Hermione’s mother. The empty seat for Harry was between Hermione and Luna and across the table from Hermione’s parents. Harry entered not long after the others were seated, greeted the Grangers and took his seat. As he did, salads appeared at all the places.
“This is very good, Harry,” Mrs. Granger said. “What’s in it?”
“Aside from the bacon bits, cheese and the olive oil and vinegar, of course, it all came from our gardens. Dawkins, he’s the head gardener, says in a few months or so we’ll have our own olive oil and vinegar as well but we’re not there just yet. Okay. You have two different kinds of lettuce, spinach greens, some herbs, cucumber slices, some red onion and scallions and cherry tomatoes. The dressing is and oil and vinegar I made with more herbs, some mild spices and dried cranberries. After this, we have an onion soup. The onions were from our garden as well. After that is the main course: filet of sea bass in a white sauce, asparagus in a mild cheese sauce and roasted red potatoes with herbs. Naturally, the sea bass and cheese had to be bought.”
“And how did you come to learn to cook? Not that I’m complaining,” Rose Granger said.
“My Aunt. She had me in the kitchen since I was four or so. Hated it at first. Then I got good at it and… well, it was soon one chore I didn’t mind doing since they left me alone to do it. Maybe it was the knives or hot pots or whatnot. But it was one time when they wouldn’t do things to me and the one time my cousin ever got punished for doing things to me. Came to like it, I guess. That and I always ate better when I was cooking. Dudley’s bread crusts were not one might consider particularly satisfying…”
“Harry!” Hermione exclaimed, “that sounds horrible!”
Harry just shrugged. “I’d rather not talk about the bad stuff.”
“Well, that’s one way to steal my thunder,” Mr. Granger quipped.
“Steal your thunder, Sir?” Harry asked.
“This is the point where I, as father of my lovely daughter here, am expected and required to try and scare off her potential suitor. This is where I am expected to ask what your intentions are towards here and, after you hem and haw and stutter, tell you that she’s my precious little girl and that if you ever hurt her, you’ll regret the day you were born and, that if your penis comes within six inches of her, you wish you were never born with one. There. I’ve said it for all the good it will do considering I now find you’ve begun bonding and I long ago agreed that when that happened we were to see the two of you married as soon as possible with a proper wedding to follow when you’re older. While I remember all that, I don’t remember how this can be done. After all Hermione’s thirteen and you’re not even that, right?”
Harry nodded. “We were wondering the same thing, Sir.”
“It’s somewhat complicated,” Hermione said. “But we’ve been researching this and we think we understand. Certainly not all the intricacies, but we know how it can be this way for us.”
“How did you find this out so quickly?” Mrs. Granger asked.
Hermione then told them about Time Compression before getting back to her point.
“Now in most cases there’s little difference between marriage in the Muggle world and in the Wizarding world,” she continued. “Unless you take into account that socially the Wizarding World is a few centuries behind the Muggle one. Arranged marriages are still common place as are bride prices and other such things. What a wife owns belongs to her husband normally and so on. Divorce in the Wizarding World is rare but not unheard of. That being said, as you two know we come of age at age seventeen. Once we’re seventeen we can marry without parental consent and should that happen, it would void any unexecuted betrothal contracts. Then again, there is this treaty with the Muggle government that, should we decide to live in the Muggle world, requires the Muggles to recognize magical marriages and vice versa. Since the legal age for a couple to marry without parental consent in Scotland is sixteen and since those of us who attend Hogwarts can meet the residency requirements, as a practical matter we can marry at sixteen without parental consent. Absent special circumstances, a couple can marry at age fifteen with parental consent.”
“Special circumstances?” Mr. Granger asked.
“If the girl is pregnant, for example. If paternity is proved, then the parents of the unborn child can marry regardless of their ages. But this doesn’t happen much any more.”
“Why not?”
“Birth Control potions have been around for over two hundred years. As a student at Hogwarts, we girls are required to take them every month from the day we start school and as the potion lasts for up to three months, so long as we have taken a dose before the last dose wears off, we can’t get pregnant. Once we’re sixteen and have completed our O.W.L.s we can elect to stop taking the potion, but not before then.”
“Why at sixteen?”
“Because once we’ve taken our O.W.L.s we’re no longer required to attend school. We can go out into the workforce or start a family. Admittedly, without N.E.W.T.s your job prospects aren’t all that great but… well being a Muggle Born they aren’t that great either, not unless I married a man of higher social status.”
“I recall that bit,” Mr. Granger said. “It was one of the prime reasons we agreed to that contract as Harry is about as high on their social order as you can get.”
Hermione nodded. “Now the other exception to the normal rule is where there’s a magical bond between the young witch and her young wizard. Once that bond begins to form, they can get married provided they are both of bonding age, otherwise they’re still too young and are merely betrothed. There are two kinds of bonds that can do this. One is the one Luna and I share with Harry based upon compatible or complimentary magic called the Soul Bond. This bond can only begin to form once we attain bonding age which is following our thirteenth Summer Solstice and, in the case of us witches, when we have had at least six menstrual cycles. Coincidentally, today is the Summer Solstice and Luna and I have had at least six menstrual cycles…”
“My sixth was in April,” Luna said.
“Anyway, once our bonds began we are considered married in the eyes of magic and can legally marry at anytime after that and because of a long standing treaty, that marriage would be considered legal in the Muggle World as well.”
“But please explain how is it that Harry here can legally have more than one wife?” Mr. Granger asked.
“Plural marriage, while very rare, is recognized as valid in the Wizarding World if it has proper justification,” Hermione replied. “You can’t just have more than one wife just because you want to. There must be a basis for it. One basis, which applies to us, is where the wizard is magically bonded to more than one witch.”
“That explains the two of you, but there’re two others if I’m not mistaken.”
“Harry has a hereditary seat in the Wizengamot. He also has no true Potter relations left. His magical cousins that we know of are all from his grandmother’s side of the family. When a hereditary seat has but one potential male heir - that being a male descendant of the last Head of House’s Great-great grandfather, the line is considered at risk and they can choose to enter into a plural marriage to… um… repopulate the line. The Potters didn’t really do that to Harry. All of these contracts had conditions on them. For Luna and I, that condition was the formation of our Soul Bond which was by no means guaranteed to ever happen. We could’ve despised Harry and he could’ve not liked us one bit and it that were the case, our bonds could never form. The Greengrass contract was conditioned upon both soul bonds forming. Without both Luna and I married to Harry, that contract means nothing.”
“It keeps the Greengrass family from having to marry their daughter off to another family,” Luna said. “Such contracts are not unusual. It’s a way to keep the daughter off the betrothal market without truly committing to a match. Had we not fulfilled the pre-conditions, in time the Greengrass girl would be able to marry as she chose rather than be forced into an arranged marriage.”
“But you fulfilled those conditions,” Mr. Granger said.
“Which means Harry has to marry her as well,” Hermione said. “The contract was one in which the conditions to enforce it were remote but not impossible. Harry had to bond with both of us before she married another or before he turned twenty-one, whichever happened later. But if he did? The deal is done. She has to marry Harry soon.”
“Rather barbaric, if you ask me.”
“Daddy, you must understand we’re a few hundred years behind the Muggle world socially. Arranged marriages were common back then. A girl and boy could be married as young as twelve back then and only lack of consummation could truly invalidate the marriage. Well, that and consanguinity, but that’s not an issue here. True Luna, this Daphne Greengrass and Harry are cousins on his grandmother’s side, but third cousins once removed.”
“The contract with the Greengrass family was designed to take her off the betrothal market,” Luna said. “The risk was that the conditions could come to pass. There had to be such conditions that made the contract fully enforceable otherwise she could be married off against her will anyway and to a family her parents would have not preferred. With a contract that could maybe be enforced, they could keep any other family from even trying to bargain for her. It’s old fashioned, but it is the practice amongst older magical families and until that changes…”
“I still don’t see why it’s all that important,” Mr. Granger said. “I guess I can see why it’s important that the two of you marry Harry what with that bond and all, but that doesn’t mean he has to marry this third girl or any other for that matter.”
“It is the will of House Potter,” Harry said. “While my parents signed it, it was also signed by my father in his capacity as Head of the Ancient and Noble House of Potter. The only way I could ignore this contract would be upon attaining the age of twenty-one when I become Head of my House in my own right and can then legally and without penalty abrogate any pre-existing and unexecuted contracts. Unfortunately, by bonding with Luna and Hermione, this contract becomes fully enforceable and there are severe penalties for trying to avoid it. In fact, as it is entirely probable that Daphne is of bonding age or older - she’s in Hermione and my year - it becomes enforceable upon my bonding and marrying Hermione and Luna. We could only delay enforcement and then only if she’s not yet attained bonding age. As we understand it, upon verification of our bond by any magical authority…”
“That would include Hogwarts,” Hermione interjected. “Our books made clear that qualified healers can detect such bonds and Luna and I can expect and examination sometime in September.”
“As I was saying, once the bond is verified, any parties to contracts dependent upon the bond are notified and allowed to seek enforcement.”
“We figured it’s just easier to get it all out of the way now,” Luna said. “That’ll give us the better part of the summer to get to know each other.”
“So that’s three wives. What about the fourth?” Mr. Granger asked.
“Hannah Abbot’s her name,” Hermione replied. “She’s in Harry and my year as well, although in Hufflepuff not Gryffindor. Her contract is triggered once Harry begins bonding with either Luna or me. Hers is what’s called a Line Continuation Contract, which is a different form of marriage.”
“Different?”
“She’s Heir Apparent as Baroness of Godricston and as Regent as Head of the Ancient and Noble House of Abbott. She can’t serve as true Head of House in her own right if she marries under normal rules because once that happens, her husband gains control over her family’s estates. She would remain as Baroness, but the title cannot pass to her children thus, upon her death, the Ancient and Noble House of Abbott ceases to exist as she has no relations in that house left, other than by marriage which doesn’t count. With a Line Continuation Contract, Harry’s family agreed that he would act as her Consort. As such, Harry has no legal interest in the property or titles of House Abbott. Hannah retains them and can pass them on to their children who will be born Abbotts and not Potters. Given as Harry is also Head of and Ancient and Noble House and has many titles of his own to maintain, he needs at least a primary Potter wife before he can also become Hannah’s Consort.”
“Other titles?” Mrs. Granger asked.
Harry shrugged while Hermione nodded. “Harry is or will be the Earl of Hwicca, which was bestowed upon an ancestor of his by the then King of Mercia. He’s also Baron of Loch Sheen, bestowed by a Scottish King and Earl of Abengale bestowed by Edward the Confessor. True, these titles are not recognized by the current Crown but they are by the Wizengamot. He’s also Earl Hereford, bestowed upon an ancestor by Henry VII and Earl Finchley bestowed upon an ancestor by Queen Victoria and those titles are recognized as part of the Peerage.”
“So he’s in the House of Lords too?” Mrs. Granger asked.
“My grandfather was, when he could spare the time,” Harry said. “We know he never missed the Queen’s Opening of Parliament. But he spent far more time on the Wizengamot.”
“And with the reforms recently, Harry’s just a Peer unless he wants to devote all kinds of time to Lords,” Hermione said. “That and he’s too young to take his seat, assuming he meets the appointment requirements. He still can attend the Opening of Parliament if he wants to but…”
“Only when I’m older, if even then,” Harry said.
“I’m forced to ask this, but can you afford all this?” Mr. Granger asked. “Titles aside, I’m sure this place costs something and you now have two and soon four young women under your care.”
“I assumed you’d ask that, Sir. As of June 1st, I had 130,000 Galleons in the principal in my Trust, which gets an addition 10,000 a year on my birthday until I’m twenty-one. That just sits there earning interest at nine percent a year. I can’t touch the principal ‘til I’m seventeen and then only if I’ve already spent all the interest which has accrued. On June 1st, that was almost 119,000 Galleons, also earning nine percent. In Muggle terms given the current exchange rate from Pounds to Galleons, I have £877,500 doing nothing but earning about £79,000 a year and about £803,000 to spend which can - if I don’t spend it - earn another £72,000 or so. This trunk, everything in it and my new clothes cost about £238,000 leaving me with a spending account of around £564,000. The trunk is paid for, so no debts and no utility payments or any of that. Add to it that I expect to make between £54,000 and £74,000 quid from our farms after taxes and I think I’m doing quite well. Then there are the girls here. I get £65,750 just by marrying them, half into principal and the other half into my spending account and on my birthday my additions to principal will increase from £65,650 to £33,750 per head - £168,750 altogether.”
“You’re a bloody millionaire!” Mr. Granger exclaimed.
Harry shrugged. “That’s just my trust fund. I’m told my main account which I can access when I turn twenty-one is like at least a hundred times larger. I think I can afford to keep my ladies - er - comfortable.”
“I should say. You can bloody sit in this box of yours - as impressive as it is - and maybe never work an honest day in your life!”
“‘Cept House Potter’s never been about resting on the laurels of its ancestors and neither is Harry,” Luna protested. “They all had jobs - at least until they became Head of House and took their seats in government which, while that doesn’t pay, is a job as well. Even then, many of them still worked a job. We know that from the journals we’ve read. House Potter is not about a life of leisure but being productive. They got rich over time, each generation adding to what the generation before did.”
“We know they enjoyed the benefits of wealth,” Harry added. “But they neither threw it around nor threw it away and neither will we. This is - as Hermione explained - a legacy I got from them and one I need to pass one to later generations of Potters and I intend to see that done Sir.”
“So you have the means to support these young women,” Mr. Granger said. “There’s more to a marriage than just that. Do you even know if these other two women are even interested?”
“No sir, nor do we even know if they know about the contracts and their possibilities. We’ve - Hermione, Luna and I have talked about this. The three of us are soul bonded which in addition to being recognized as a binding marriage when it forms will also bring us closer together in time than might otherwise be the case. We can’t say the same’s true for the others, but the contracts are now enforceable so we need to go forward with them in any event. However, it’s not like they have to truly marry me.”
“But you said that’s just what the contracts require!”
“They require that we marry. They do not absolutely require that we stay that way.”
“Divorce?”
“Annulment,” Hermione said. “The marriage is not - um - permanent unless the couple consummate the marriage. No sex and after two years or upon Harry turning twenty-one, whichever is later, the marriage can be annulled and Harry can invalidate the contracts as he would then be Head of House Potter.”
“So you’re taking them away from their families and into a loveless marriage none of you want?”
“I regret that is a possibility. But I can’t force them to love me, can I? Unless they do, unless they want to remain my wives, I won’t keep them any longer than necessary, which is still a long time I admit. I… well, I hope it does work out for the best for all of us but I can’t say that it will because I don’t know. All I can say is I will work at it. In the end, this is and will always be their decision, not mine. We’ve - the three of us - have already worked out the rules.”
“Rules?”
“About boyfriend privileges,” Hermione said blushing.
“Come again?”
“Are you sure I want to know about this?” Mr. Granger asked. “While I understand that as married people certain things can happen, but that doesn’t mean I want to know about them.”
“Then we just won’t tell you any details,” Hermione said. “What we can say is that nothing is happening right now that you wouldn’t approve of. For the time being, unless I would be comfortable with a level of display of affection in front of my parents, it’s not happening nor will any more than that happen between Harry and Luna or Harry and the others and even then only when they are ready to do so. As for more intimate displays of affection, I think it will take some time for any of that to happen. After all, I’m not yet fourteen and Harry and Luna are not yet thirteen. That seems far too young, don’t you think?”
“You’re asking for the wrong person’s opinion,” Mr. Granger said. “I would think thirty is too young for my daughter…”
“The point is, Mr. Granger,” Harry said, “Hermione sets the pace for all of us and within that each girl decides what they will and will not allow and I will respect that.”
“You say that now,” Mr. Granger said. “In a year or two you’ll be chomping at the bit as it were.”
“Whether he is or he is not is not important,” Hermione said. “Our bond will keep us in line with each other and that will keep Harry in line with the others. If anything, although I have no reason to suspect them, I am more concerned about the other two wanting to move too fast and too early.”
“He is The-Boy-Who-Lived to most of the girls at school,” Luna agreed. “In a year or two they’ll be throwing their knickers at him.”
“Great,” Harry moaned.
“Although Harry knows I won’t be one of those girls,” Luna continued. “Then again, it’s rather hard to throw knickers at a boy if you usually don’t wear any.”
“You do at school,” Harry said.
“But not at home, as you well know.”
“How would he know that,” the Grangers asked in unison.
“I told him,” Luna said as if it was a normal thing to say.
Hermione felt relieved that Luna didn’t say any more. Although she was not embarrassed about it, she didn’t think her parents needed to know that when they were alone in the trunk Luna didn’t wear anything at all and Hermione was dressed only long enough each day to make it from her bedroom after her shower to the breakfast table. Luna thought that was just silly but Hermione actually found she enjoyed undressing in front of Harry. She decided to change the topic anyway just to be safe.
“And that leaves us with the last contract,” she began.
“What’s this?” Robert asked. “Another contract.”
“We were shown it this morning,” Rose commented. “It’s rather… infuriating.”
“Annoying is probably a better word,” Harry said, “especially after we researched it and found that most of the infuriating parts were fairly common practice. As you know, Mr. Granger, the four contracts we have been discussing were made by my parents with the parents of the young ladies in question…”
“Babies in question I should think,” Mr. Granger grumbled.
“True. But such betrothals are not unheard of in this world,” Hermione said. “The other thing which is important to keep in mind is that at the time Harry’s father was Head of the Ancient and Noble House of Potter. As such only the Head of House can agree to cancel the contract which is why Harry has to go through with this for now because he will not become Head of his House until he’s twenty-one. Also recall that all of these contracts were signed and filed as required by April of 1981.
“This fifth Betrothal Contract was signed by Albus Dumbledore on November 11th, 1981 just a few days or so after he was confirmed as Harry’s Magical Guardian. While as Magical Guardian he had the authority to enter into a betrothal contract on behalf of his Ward, he does not have the authority to abrogate or otherwise interfere with contracts made by the Head of an Ancient and Noble House. We think that his assumption of guardianship had less to do with our contracts than it does with his desire to place Harry with his so called relatives. There is a clause that suggests there may be more to it, but we’ve yet to figure it out from the books we’ve looked through.”
“So you don’t think he did that to hide these contracts?” Mrs. Granger asked.
“We’re giving him the benefit of the doubt for now,” Hermione said. “That’s not to say we trust him when it comes to us or to Harry. Anyway, while the contract says that the parties - that’s Dumbledore and Mr. and Mrs. Weasley - that the parties can abrogate any other betrothals or annul any other marriages that Harry and his betrothed may enter into, it does not mention these other Contracts and even if it did the law says they can’t have the authority to interfere with them.”
“But did you go through with all of this in that other timeline?” Mr. Granger asked explaining that Mrs. Granger had explained about the meeting with the Tennysons (Flamels) earlier.
“We don’t think so,” Luna replied. “We also don’t think anyone really tried to interfere with them - aside from Harry being left with his relatives of course. We think that for whatever reason we only saw each other as friends in that time so we never became close enough for the bonds to form.”
“We do know I married Ginny Weasley,” Harry added. “She’s the girl this contract says I’m to marry and unlike the other contracts there is no precondition such as the forming of a Soul Bond to set things in motion. In fact, this contract allows Dumbledore or the Weasleys to use magic including potions to get the two of us together if we don’t do so ourselves by the time she’s fifteen, which would be just before my Sixth Year a little over three years from now. That was rather annoying.”
“But not illegal or unusual in these kinds of contracts,” Hermione said with a hint of disgust. “But it was the vassalage clause that is unusual.”
“Vassalage? You mean like serfs or something?” Mr. Granger asked.
“In the middle ages it would’ve included serfs. Arguably, it included slaves as well. But it also included nobility. Lesser nobles were often vassals of higher nobles and were all supposed to be vassals to the king. But the notion is similar. The Vassal serves their overlord’s interests, or is supposed to at least. The Contract requires Harry to become the Vassal of the Head of the Family of the Bride - those are the exact words pretty much.”
“Which is odd,” Luna added. “First of all, Ancient and Noble Houses are not vassals to anyone in our world. But what was also odd was the language. It doesn’t mention the Weasleys or any other family by name.”
“We think a Goblin solicitor wrote it,” Harry continued. “It seems innocuous, at least to someone who thinks it says what it means. We think this vassalage clause was because I was being Muggle Raised and Dumbledore or the Weasleys or both were concerned I’d pick up all kinds of crazy Muggle ideas, ideas which would influence how I used my seat on the Wizengamot. We don’t know that that’s the case, but it seems plausible.”
“So what are you going to do about it?”
“The easiest thing to do is nothing except avoid the Weasleys starting the summer after my Fifth Year,” Harry said. “The problem is it’s harder to avoid Hogwarts and goodness knows when or where those potions could be introduced. So long as I manage to avoid consummating a relationship with Ginny long enough, once I’m twenty-one and Head of House Potter in my own right, I could simply abrogate the contract.”
“The problem is we don’t know why this Contract was made,” Hermione said. “It requires enforcement by the time Harry is nineteen and appears that it was designed so there was no easy way out of it. The way out of the other contracts was not to bond with Harry.”
“Is there a way out of it?” Mrs. Granger asked.
“There is indeed, although it’s more a way around the problem than out of the problem.” And she then went on to tell her parents their plan. None of them liked it, but short of committing murder or something equally vile, no one came up with a better idea.