chapter 19
FRIDAY, MARCH 31st, 1995 - THE SOUTH WING, POTTER APARTMENTS.
Remus sat there stunned. Most of his life he had nothing but the utmost respect for Albus Dumbledore. The man had given him a chance when no one else in this world would have bothered. He was the leader of the Light. He was the most powerful wizard alive and the most respected as well and nothing until now had ever shaken Remus's opinion. But he had no explanation that explained any of this, at least none that did not question the old wizard's mental faculties, sanity or motives.
"The problems were many," Hermione continued. "Were this the Muggle World, Dumbledore's activities as Harry's Guardian would cause him significant legal and political problems. At best he would lose his positions and probably a substantial fortune. At worst he might well find himself residing in Sirius's old cell.
"But this is not that world. Dumbledore controls the legislature and courts directly and the rest of the government indirectly."
Amelia nodded. "While as head of DMLE I decide if a case can and should go to trial, he decides if it ever does. Same's true for non-criminal matters. If he doesn't want something to see the light of day there's little we can do about it."
"Sounds like a bloody dictator!" Robert said.
"Close enough," Hermione agreed. "There's always the chance that the Wizengamot could vote him out."
"He's too slippery and savvy to allow that to happen," Augusta said. "He knows how to play the various factions against each other too well."
"As I said," Hermione went on, "our options had to be – um – legal yet so out of the ordinary no one could stop us before it was too late.
"The immediate problem is that marriage contract with Ginny. She believes her mother will start moving on that this summer! That contract needed to be voided before the end of this school year."
"But it can't be," Amelia said. "There's no way that I could see!"
"Actually," Hermione smiled, "there is. The contract is not between House Weasley and House Potter. Dumbledore is not House Potter so neither bride nor bridegroom are bound by this unless and until it comes to pass. Were they to become legal adults before they could be forced to marry each other, they can void this contract without penalty."
"I could challenge Dumbledore's guardianship under normal circumstances," Sirius said. "I have standing as his magical Godfather and as the Head of the Ancient and Noble House of Black, given that as things stand now he's the next in line. But my current legal situation…"
"We are aware of that problem," Hermione said. "We're also aware that it's improbable that the Weasleys will emancipate their thirteen year old daughter and I doubt Dumbledore will do us any such favors regarding Harry. That being said, there is a way to end this contract AND get Harry out from under Dumbledore's control – short of killing the Old Man. All that needs to be done is for the two of them to emancipate themselves."
"You must be joking," several voices said in unison.
"How can a child emancipate themselves?" Robert asked. "Don't you need a court to do that?"
"Which Dumbledore controls," Remus added.
"There is a way in theory," Augusta said. "But since the invention of contraceptive potions which all girls in school take starting the day they arrive at school, it's impossible! It takes three months for it to wear off! Until they finish school, they're never three months removed from their last dose!"
"Excuse me?" Rose asked.
"Under our law, if an underage witch gets pregnant, she can emancipate herself by marrying the father of her child. If the father is underage, he is emancipated as well. And if those conditions are met, the parents and magical guardians cannot legally object. They need not even be notified until after the marriage is duly recorded and legally binding on the couple. You're not suggesting something like that?"
"No," Hermione said.
"Thank Merlin," a voice said.
"There's no need as it has already happened," she finished.
"WHAT?" several voices asked.
"How?"
"Three months! There's no way Madam Pomfrey would let the girl slide on her potion for three months!"
"Time is relative," Hermione said cryptically, although this next explanation was why she had told them all about her Time Turner last year. "When we took over this wing, it was dirty, dusty, unused and full of junk and most certainly looked nothing like it does now. We had to gut it top to bottom and completely remodel. Magic can do amazing things, but it can still take time."
"Months," Augusta nodded.
"Over eleven months to be precise," Hermione smiled. "And that was with fourteen House Elves and eighteen of us students working full time on the renovation."
"But that's impossible!" Robert protested. "I mean even if you began First Year there's no way!"
"From your point of view, two weeks ago this was the abandoned Wing," Hermione said. "For the girls here and downstairs right now, that was three hundred and eighty-eight days ago. For Harry and Neville it was two hundred and eighty-seven days ago."
"Time Compression," Amelia said.
Hermione nodded and then explained what that was and what it meant. "It would give the prospective bride time for the potions to wear off and to conceive a child. It also provided time for research and training, so don't think this Wing was just a teenage hormonal paradise. It takes time to learn."
"So Harry and Ginny are married?" Rose asked.
Hermione nodded. "But not to each other," she added. "Ginny knew that even if they chose to marry each other, Dumbledore would still have his hooks in Harry. She had to marry another. Fortunately, she's in love with another."
Harry really hoped the elves had put the Calming Draught in their food and that it worked. He knew what was about to come could be … unsettling and provocative to say the least.
"Now," Harry said carefully, "before we continue, I think we should point out that this solution was not Neville's or my idea. It may seem rash, but we explored every other option before this and tried to find a way to accomplish this short of this solution. But time was against us. We had to end that contract before this summer. We had to end Dumbledore's control before all other options for dealing with the threat were gone. In my opinion, we needed to do this before Voldemort succeeds in returning so that we have a say in how to go forward from there. None of us were forced or pressured into doing this…"
"Um," Neville said, "not that I'm complaining – 'cause I'm not – but I think it's fair to say Harry and I were tricked into it a bit."
"Fair enough," Harry said. "But we did go forward knowingly and having been shown this was both necessary and the only option we could do that Dumbledore could not counter in some way."
"Tricked?" Sirius asked.
"Yeah," Harry said. "We'll get to that."
"And just how did this work?" Robert asked. He suspected Hermione was far more involved than he would have liked. "You get her pregnant and only then agreed to marry?"
"Actually," Harry replied, "she told me what was going on – mostly. Neville and I and they could all agree not to go forward with this. I agreed to marry before anything irreversible happened."
"As did I," Neville said. This was not entirely true as Hermione had not told Harry of the full plan until after she was pregnant. They had decided not to tell the adults this as in the end Harry believed he probably would have gone along with it anyway.
"We were told all of this Wednesday," Harry continued. "We completed the marriages and had them recorded with Gringotts and the Ministry yesterday morning."
"That's impossible," Rose began.
"Time Compression," Harry replied. "We spent one hour your time with our – um – prospective bride, each of whom had already spent more than three months here under Time Compression since their last contraceptive potion. For us that was a full month which, given the fact that we did eventually become intimate with them and they were taking fertility potions pretty much sealed the deal."
"One might say the cart was placed before the horse," Hermione said, "but only by a few days in here and a few hours for the rest of the world. And it was planned, not an accident and it's irreversible."
"You can't be serious," Robert Granger began.
"I'm Sirius," Sirius complained but his joke fell a little flat.
"And if the brides in question are pregnant, they are quite correct," Amelia commented. "Unless they're brother and sister or a similar degree of kinship, the marriage is probably valid and cannot easily be annulled. Divorce is not a realistic option in our world unless the wife is unable to bear children or we're talking abuses of the worst sort and, as this law requires a pregnancy to allow the marriage to go forward, there can be no question of fertility. These are properly recorded?"
Harry nodded. He waived a wand and a stack of papers appeared before Amelia. Amelia spent several minutes reading them. Each time she finished one document it seemingly disappeared. Hermione explained the copies would be available for anyone to see after dinner. "Bloody hell," Amelia said when she finished.
"So they're married?" Sirius asked.
Amelia nodded. "Pursuant to several sections of the Marriage Acts most notably Section 14."
"But the boys are what? Fourteen?" Rose complained. "In our law they can't marry even with their parents' permission before they are sixteen!"
"Our laws are different," Amelia said. "If they are capable of having a child together, they can marry if they do. That was one of the reasons behind the mandatory use of contraceptive potions."
"That and underage marriages were wrecking havoc with Pureblood marriage arrangements," Susan added.
"As far as I know," Amelia continued, "it's been ages since the last time a couple married under Section 14, but that Section is still on the books."
"And that means?" Rose Granger asked.
"The Goblins have verified their claims of right," Amelia said. "They performed a blood test of sorts. It confirms that the wives were virginal before – er – being with their husbands and that there can be no question that they are pregnant and the boys are the fathers of the children and they agree to marry to raise their child together and finally, that upon emancipation, the boys have access to sufficient funds in their vaults to support their families indefinitely."
Robert Granger glared at Harry. He suspected Hermione was involved somehow and hoped it was not this way. Rose glared at her daughter wondering the same thing.
"Sufficient funds," Robert said, "just what does that mean?"
"Harry and Neville are the end of their lines," Hermione said. "They are from families that are known as Ancient and Noble lines. They are scions of magical lines dating back a thousand years or more and also from English nobility. And their families accumulated wealth over the centuries rather than squandered it. They are quite wealthy, Daddy."
"How wealthy?"
"Neville's the pauper of the two," Hermione said with a smirk.
"My total net worth is not quite a billion quid," Neville said.
Robert looked at the young man in shock.
"Harry's well over the billion quid mark," Hermione added.
"That explains this place," Robert began.
"Actually," Hermione replied, "this place explains why a prudent family can amass such a fortune. How much do you think this place cost?"
"A fair bit," Robert said. "Few million quid at least…"
"If we spent twenty thousand Galleons, I'd be shocked," Hermione replied. "Most of this place was finished before yesterday which was the first day any of us did any shopping."
"Actually, it was less than that," Susan said, "unless you factor in the books and entertainment system we got. That bit cost about 14,000 Galleons."
"You did this all for less than a hundred thousand?" Robert said in disbelief. "How?"
"Magic," Hermione said. "Some transfiguration, some conjuration and some warding and such and here we are. Aside from land, the actual building structures and certain magical items or potions, most of the magical economy pays for services more so than products. Clothes and fancy cloth are services mostly. Just about anyone with enough training can make the basics, but for stylish patterns and such, you need to be trained even more. You may notice the curtains, upholstery and bedding in this Wing, while nice, is not very fancy…"
"Robert! Hermione!" Rose began. "What has any of this to do with anything? Hermione? Stop beating 'round the bush. Answer me directly 'cause this dance of yours is beginning to annoy. Under the bizarre magical laws, are you Harry's wife or aren't you?"
"Yes," Hermione said.
"Yes? Yes you are his wife or yes you are not?"
"Yes," Hermione repeated. "Yes, this all was my idea after we could find no other way to help Harry. Yes, I was and am in love with him and he is in love with me. Yes, I told him about this before he was intimate with me and not after. Yes, I am pregnant with his child. And yes, we are now married and legally adults."
"NOT IN OUR WORLD," Robert began and he stood pushing his chair back. Then he sat suddenly and much to his own surprise and was immediately bound to the chair by ropes. Everyone looked around and saw that Harry had a wand pointed at Mr. Granger. He had not even said a word.
"Bloody Hell!" Nymphadora Tonks exclaimed. "How did you do that?"
Harry shrugged. "We told you that Time Compression was used for training as well." Harry looked at Mr. Granger. "I had hoped that would have been unnecessary, but I also was not about to not be prepared for something like that."
"And if he hadn't done it, Daddy, I would have," Hermione added.
Rose Granger's jaw had dropped open at first, but she was regaining her composure and looked at her daughter. "Your father's right," Rose said as calmly as she could. "You may be an adult witch, but in our world you are not. And, in our world you cannot be married! And yet … and yet … you should have known that! Now you're pregnant at fifteen…"
"Sixteen," Hermione countered.
"Excuse me? I'm your mother! I think I know when you were born!"
Hermione nodded. "Temporally, I've lived sixteen years and more. I'll be eighteen by the time this school year is over, or almost eighteen at any rate."
"So why this?" Robert growled more at Harry than anyone else. "If you can get older with that Time Machine thing, why marry?"
"Because legally I'm still fifteen in this world. The law was designed to prevent a child from becoming an adult that way."
"Which means you're still a child in our world and we can annul the marriage and deal with your child…" Robert began.
"You are NOT about to suggest and abortion!" Rose cut him off.
"Er … um … no. Adoption?"
"Unfortunately," Amelia said, "while she may be too young to marry in your world, she's not too young in ours and your world will recognize her marriage and emancipation as being valid. That recognition is based upon a long standing Treaty between the magical world and British Crown. If she was French, you might be right given that they lopped their last Treaty Bound King's head off, although I believe the French Muggles honor their treaty despite that. England never did that. It's a magical treaty so as of yesterday Muggle Britain will recognize your daughter as Lady Potter and as a legal adult in most respects."
"Most respects?" Robert and Rose asked together.
Hermione nodded. "Aside from marriage, any rights that are age specific remain. I can't get my driving license until after my real seventeenth birthday for example."
Rose glared at her daughter for a moment. "Well then. Since you are an adult, you can understand why your father and I wish to leave now."
Hermione nodded. "I can understand, but I would be disappointed with you if you could leave and did."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Robert asked.
"The security wards on this wing are exceedingly complex," Hermione said. "Most significantly, there's a fidelius ward on the whole place. If you could leave now and if we refused to let you know about us, you would have no memory of any of this. Unless and until our Secret Keeper is authorized to key you in, you cannot leave here and retain memories of this place or anything you learned or experienced while here. We believe it would have been inefficient to have our Secret Keeper meet every guest and bring them to us and we're not certain we could have done that at all for our Muggle Guests. Everyone is arriving by special passes through our floo, special portkey or by elf. The only door in is sealed and will remain sealed until the current security ward sequence is complete, which will be at ten in the morning the day after tomorrow – for the rest of the world. Basically, there's no way out unless you're an elf for now and once Time Compression activates, no way out at all."
"You're going to activate Time Compression," Remus asked.
Hermione nodded. "Actually, the warding sequence has been activated. I can't stop it even if I wanted to. There were four of us who placed the Runes for the wards and none of us know where the others' runes were placed. The only way to stop the sequence is to deactivate every rune in the place and no one can find a rune except the person who placed it.
"That being said, Time Compression will activate at about ten tomorrow morning. Between now and the end of the sequence, we will experience fifteen months under Compression. At the end of that time, my child will be six to seven months old."
"You know what I am!" Remus protested. "You can't have me here for fifteen months."
"Don't be silly," Hermione smiled. "Your transformation is tied to the full moon. There won't be one. Our fifteen months ends April 2nd and the next full moon will still be almost a month away."
"Fifteen months?" Remus said in almost awe. "Fifteen months without becoming the beast?"
"Yes Professor," Hermione began. "And it's closer to sixteen months as the next full moon is not until the 29th. You did transform the day before yesterday, yes?"
"Yes, and I'm no longer your professor," Remus replied.
"Don't be so sure about that," she smiled back.
"So we're your prisoners for that time," Robert began.
"I guess that's a pessimistic way of seeing it," Hermione smiled. "Then again, by that definition we all are as none of us can leave until the warding sequence runs its course. It is a safeguard we included. Trying to cross an active time compression ward is suicidal, and from a defensive standpoint limiting ingress and egress in times of vulnerability is prudent. Our understanding of what happened to the Potters and Longbottoms in 1981 led us to the conclusion that the failures were largely due to over-reliance upon a single warding scheme, one which those under the ward could neither limit nor control."
"But it's not like that now," Andy Tonks said.
"We believe Voldemort is trying to come back," Hermione said. "We're pretty certain of that. We do not know for certain, but Harry's involuntary participation in this tournament is highly suspect. We don't believe his inclusion was Dumbledore's doing, but the man made him compete once his name did come out of that Cup. Someone is trying to do something and whatever it is, it's not in Harry's best interests. Add in the very real prospect of an involuntary marriage and we can't say Harry's at no risk. All of us involved are here by our own choice because we believe that Harry and Neville may be important and the so called adults with the knowledge and position to do the right thing by them have and are continuing to fail them."
"I," Augusta Longbottom began.
"You knew nothing of the prophecy or that it could mean your son as well as Harry, did you?"
"N-no."
"You should have! At the very least Dumbledore should have told you! Then again, we wonder whether he ever told anyone! Don't you think this information's important? Would you have done things differently regarding Neville had you been aware?"
Augusta nodded.
"Dumbledore's been keeping valuable and critical information to himself for years! He may even have gone so far as to suppress the Potter Will in order to keep Harry under his control, although that is a conclusion and not a verifiable fact at this point. Harry, Neville and their families needed this information and were denied it for whatever reason and as a result, as this crisis approaches they are unprepared and – whether Dumbledore intended this or not – they are set up for failure! If that prophecy is true – and we're not saying it is – failure is not an option. Even if it's not true, two scary powerful wizards think it is and that too means Harry and Neville must be prepared. As we discussed, they have not been and there's reason to believe they won't be. The only way to change these things is to take Dumbledore out of his position of control and the only way we could find to do that without his being able to stop us is the way we've taken. When he returns to school on Monday, the marriages will be unassailable and we wives can remain in school since our children will be too old to send us or them away."
"Basically," Susan said, "this is planned to be legally and politically irreversible. That's part of the reason why you all are here."
"Oh?" Robert asked.
"We could have avoided telling you, Daddy," Hermione said. "You'd've receive notification of my marriage, emancipation and the birth of your grandchild sometime next week and we could have avoided the – um – discomfort of … well… But that's not right, is it? We did not invite Harry's Muggle relations 'cause they don't care. But you do care about me and I could not exclude you and … and … This way, we can build our family, don't you see? You won't miss anything outside and yet we'll be together for the next fifteen months. I feel like we've been drifting apart in a way and I don't like it. True, I'm not your little girl anymore, but I'm still your daughter and you're still my parents and I still love you and want your love. You'll be here through most of my pregnancy and for the first months of your grandchild's life. We intend to continue our training and classes while we're here and you will be allowed to at least observe them whenever you like. You always complained about how the secrecy laws prevent you from seeing what I've learned. Those law don't apply here."
Rose could not say anything.
"That explains us," Robert began.
"Sirius is Harry's Godfather who's missed most of Harry's life," Hermione responded. "Remus was best of friends with his parents and we only know him because he was our professor last year. The Tonks are Harry's closest magical cousins – other than Sirius - whom he's never met."
"And who are also decent people," Sirius said, "unlike the rest of Andy's family … no offense Andy."
"None taken, Siri," Andromeda replied.
Robert looked at Harry.
"Mrs. Tonks's older sister is Bellatrix Lestrange," Harry said, "a Death Eater rotting in Azkaban for the attack on Neville's parents. Her younger sister is Narcissa Malfoy, mother of Draco Malfoy…"
"Say no more," Robert said. "Hermione has told us about that little cretin. There's a reason why tigers eat their young. The others? I mean this Ginny Weasley's not here…"
"She's downstairs with her father and oldest brother," Hermione said.
"And she's my Hermione," Neville said. "She's my wife and is carrying our child."
"What about the other young ladies?" Robert asked. "Something tells me they and theirs are not here for the conversation."
Neville chuckled. "Now we get to the bit where Hermione and Ginny tricked us!"
"Excuse me?" Augusta asked.
"You are aware of the Line Continuation Contract between House Bones and House Longbottom," Neville began. After Augusta nodded, Neville explained to the others what that was.
"So you broke an arranged marriage?" Robert asked. "I swear this world is … out of date!"
"Actually no," Neville said. "While what we did had that effect in other cases, that's not what we did here. After Ginny and I signed our Marriage Contract, she then told me to honor my family's commitment to House Bones. Basically, she told me to make Susan my second wife."
"Bigamy?" Rose asked. "Is that legal?"
"It's exceedingly rare," Augusta said. "My Neville might be the only case in Britain right now, but it's not illegal."
"It is in our world!" Robert said.
"Is it really?" Marilyn Abbott asked. "I'm a Muggle Born. As you should know, my parents divorced when I was a child and remarried. How's that so different?"
"It is!"
"I really don't see how," Susan said. "You have to understand magical contracts are very, very difficult to break which is why divorce is so rare in the magical world. Muggles divorce and remarry quite frequently. They also engage in extra-marital affairs and in some cases those affairs are exclusive – as in the paramours don't have other paramours. That's legal, but how is it truly different? I take it, Harry, you have honored your family's commitment to House Abbott?"
"You know I have," Harry said. "I probably would not have had Hermione not told me to."
"Whipped!" Sirius said with a cough and then laughed.
"So you had to take a second wife?" Rose asked.
"Didn't have to," Harry said.
"That contract was a contingency when we signed it," Marilyn Abbott said. "I don't think any of us thought it would come to pass. I know we all hoped it wouldn't. But the Death Eaters murdered my husband before we could have another child. Hannah is the last of her line. House Abbott controls several votes in the Wizengamot and those votes would pass to a Pureblood line unless House Abbott continues. Hannah is not Mrs. Potter. She's Lady Abbott and their children will be Abbotts and not Potters. Few wizards would take a back seat in such matters, unless they had no reason to be in charge. As Head of his own Ancient and Noble House, once his line is secure, Harry would have no reason to take over House Abbott. With this, both lines are going to continue and House Abbott remains under House Abbott's control."
"Makes it sound like Harry's little more than breeding stock," Rose grumbled.
"A fair if inaccurate analogy," Amelia replied. "Susan and Hannah needed husbands who would stay out of their family's affairs as it were. This is not to say Harry and Neville will not have any input, but they can't expect control over those Houses or their assets. As they have their own Houses to look to, this arrangement can work and should when one considers the Houses were already allied. But that presents another problem: the Plural Marriage Laws."
"What's that?" Rose asked.
Amelia explained that as well.
"A harem?" Rose asked. "You're part of a harem?"
"Harem implies submissiveness and subservience," Hermione said. "That's not our situation at all."
"Do you really think you raised your daughter to be submissive?" Harry asked.
"So you have more than two wives?" Rose asked. "You had to do this?"
"Had to? No," Harry replied. "As I understand it I did not have to take another wife after Hermione nor after Hannah. But once I agreed to honor my family commitment to Hannah – at Hermione's insistence I might add – I could have been forced to take the additional wives."
"Which would have given Dumbledore an in," Hermione said. "And the Pureblood bigots would have insisted on having one of their daughters becoming one of Harry's wives. The same is true for Neville as House Longbottom is about as politically powerful as House Potter, which is to say more powerful than most of the others in the Wizengamot based upon their votes alone. By triggering the Plural Marriage laws, House Potter and Longbottom – and by extension House Abbott and Bones – become a political plum of immense importance to the various factions all of whom would want their people in the mix. That could only be prevented if the positions were already filled."
"This was a political maneuver start to finish," Lisa Turpin said speaking for the first time. "To get Harry and Neville out from under Dumbledore's control, we had to close all avenues of control and that included political ones."
"You're part of this?" her mother Cynthia asked.
Lisa nodded. "Technically, I'm Neville's Third Wife and fill the Half-Blood requirement of the Plural Marriage Law. This was my choice, Mother. I had eleven months or more to decide to go forward with this and I did think about it long and hard. Each one of us are doing this by choice. We all believe Harry and Neville are too important to be kept in the dark and under any one person's thumb. But all of us have our own reasons as well. Neville is one of my closest friends and I think he's dashing, so that bit was easy. But there's also that marriage contract out there, one which I never wanted to see go forward. This ends that. For many of us, it was those damnable contracts. For Muggle Borns like Hermione, it was the lack of any real career prospects unless she married well – and marrying into an Ancient and Noble House is as well as any girl can marry. Course it helps that they are in love…"
"We all chose this," Susan began.
"Um … speak for yourself," Neville teased. "While Ginny and Hermione were up front about the need to get married and Harry and I accepted that before anything happened, they left out the rest of this until after they were pregnant. I understood that I probably would have to take Susan as my Second Wife. I knew it was unlikely she would find a suitable wizard who would stand aside when it came to his own family and House Bones. I also knew that it might trigger this. But it wasn't until after it was too late with Ginny that she confirmed the existence of a Line Continuation Contract."
"Same here," Harry agreed. "I think I speak for Neville as well when I say that I would have been perfectly content if it were just Hermione and me. But the deck was stacked against us what with the Line Contracts and what they would trigger. Hermione's plan reshuffled the cards in our favor."
"So you have four wives then?" Sirius asked. "You do realize all of this is a prank of historic proportions, don't you?"
"I hadn't looked at it that way," Harry admitted. "Then again, this was not my idea."
"As we have no intention of backing down or taking it back," Hermione began, "I'm not sure you can really call this a prank."
Sirius shrugged. "It's gonna piss a lot of people off and there's nothing they can do about it. It's also totally unexpected. You do know, Harry, that your Mum would probably take issue…"
"She signed the Line Contract," Harry said. "I doubt she was unaware of what that might mean."
Sirius shugged. "She probably hoped it would never come to that."
"We all did," Marilyn Abbott said. "But we all knew what it could mean."
"I would like to note that Hermione is a Muggle Born," Harry said, "and bloody brilliant and this was her plan."
"You came up with this?" Robert asked.
Hermione shook her head. "One of our Pureblood members did. We looked for any other way to get Harry's life back, anything but this and came up empty. I love him, Daddy, and I don't want him to live his life as someone else's puppet!"
"So he's your puppet, then?"
"Most certainly not!"
"I don't mind being her puppet," Harry said. "At least she has my interests at heart."
"Whipped!" Sirius coughed.
"So just how many 'wives' are we talking about?" Rose asked.
"And who are they?" Sirius added.
"There were eighteen of us girls helping with this stuff," Hannah said. "Hermione was and is our leader of sorts. When this came up, we all had the choice to come in as either Harry or Neville's wife or not and if we chose not to, we were still a part of this team, so to speak. With Time Compression we all had ages to decide and it was a big decision as if we chose to go forward it meant we'd be married and have children in very short order and probably be committed to this course for life. I don't think any of us thought all of us would go all the way in…"
"All of you did?" Rose asked.
Hermione and the other girls nodded.
Neville pulled out his new wand and gave waived it. Four picture frames appeared on the walls positioned so that everyone could easily see at least one of them. Augusta beamed at this display of magic. With another waive, a picture appeared of a red haired young woman, one who was not in the room.
"This is Ginny Weasley," Neville said. "I love her. We've been officially dating since the Yule Ball and unofficially since the first Hogsmeade Weekend. She's a Third Year Gryffindor, second in her class. She's thirteen and a half by calendar and a year older with Time Compression. She's my First Wife."
"You all have met my First Wife," Harry said, "who was the first person who was ever nice to me and not named Hagrid. For those who don't know, she's a Fourth Year Gryffindor and at the top of our Year."
"My Second Wife," Neville said, "is Susan here. We've been friends since First Year. She's a Fourth Year Hufflepuff and third in our class."
"Hannah's my Second Wife," Harry said. "Didn't really know her well 'til very recently, but I know she's one of the few who's been on my side all along even if it was in the distance. She's Susan's best friend and also a Fourth Year Hufflepuff. Seventh in our year?"
Hannah nodded.
"Lisa's my Third Wife," Neville said. "She's a Half-Blood Ravenclaw and is just ahead of Hannah in our Year. I've been friends with her since Second Year."
Harry waived his wand and a new picture appeared in the Frame. "This is my Third Wife Katie Bell. She's a Fifth Year Gryffindor. She's Muggle Born, second in her class and she and I are on our House Team. We started on the team the same year."
Neville changed the picture again. "My Fourth Wife," he said. "She's Laura Caldwell, a fifth year Muggle Born Ravenclaw. She's top of her class and a Prefect."
The picture changed again. "My Fourth Wife," Harry said, "Luna Lovegood. She's a Pureblood Ravenclaw and at the top of Third Year."
There was a new picture. "Parvati Patil, my Fifth Wife. She's a Half-Blood Gyrff and is eighth in our class."
The picture seemed to change.
"Isn't that the same girl?" Sirius asked.
"No," Harry said. "that's her twin sister Padma. She's my Fifth Wife and second in our year behind Hermione."
There was a new picture. "My Sixth Wife Angela Lee," Neville said. "She's Muggle Born and a Third Year Puff. She's third in her class."
"Marcia Robbins," Harry said when the next picture appeared. "She's Fifth year in Hufflepuff, fourth in her class and a Prefect. She's also a Muggle Born."
"Tracey Davis," Neville said. "Pureblood Fourth Year Slytherin. She's also ninth in our year."
"Daphne Greengrass," Harry continued. Also a Pureblood, fourth year Slytherin. She's third in our class."
"Lucinda Urquhart," Neville said. "Fifth Year Slytherin Prefect. She ranks third in that year."
"Rosie Rosier," Harry said. "She's a Third Year Slytherin and fourth in her class."
"My final wife is Michelle Marcella," Neville said. "She's and Italian Muggle Born who was adopted by an Italian magical couple when she was young. She's a Fourth Year at Beauxbatons in France and is at the top of her class. She's here for the Tournament."
"And last but not least," Harry continued, "Gabrielle Delacour. She's at the top of her Third Year class at Beauxbatons and is the younger sister of the Beauxbatons' Tri-Wizard Champion Fleur Delacour. She's Veela and I saved her life during the Second Task."
"And she also happens to be the daughter of the Deputy Minister of Magic of France," Amelia added. "And Michelle's father is my counterpart across the Channel in Italy."
"An added bonus," Hermione said.
"Oh?" Robert asked.
"If anyone moves against House Potter or House Longbottom, such a move would provoke an international incident," Hermione replied.
"Politics!"
"The Ancient and Noble Houses are not unlike your nobility," Amelia said. "When it concerns them, it is political unfortunately."
"Nine extremely good looking and smart young ladies," Sirius laughed. "Don't know whether I should be jealous of you or feel sorry for you, Harry."
"We like to think we cornered the market on looks and brains," Neville commented.
"I still don't see how this is not a Harem," Rose began.
"'Cause Neville and I can't control them unless they want us to," Harry said. "You really think we can do that with nine of the smartest and most capable witches of our age? Like that would work!"
"And I have Ginny Weasley," Neville said. "She's probably more devious than the Twins!"
"Our generations Marauders," Harry explained to Sirius. "Hannah has final say over House Abbott matters. While I may have final say over House Potter, do you really think Hermione and the others will let me do whatever I want?"
"And just how does this Plural relationship work?" Rose asked.
"We're still working on that," Hermione admitted.
"But we'll make it work," Hannah added.
"And the other girls," Rose said, "where are they now?"
"The others are downstairs enjoying dinner with their parents and the other guest who have arrived so far," Hermione said.
"And they're being told this as well?"
Hermione shook her head. "Maybe. Not like this. We are going to tell all the guests tomorrow morning once Time Compression is active."
"So why are we being told?"
"You're being told because you're my parents and this whole think is mostly my fault in a way. You're also health care professionals which will become important in a few months and you're also Muggles. It is our considered opinion Muggle parents should not be excluded from this world.
"Mrs. Longbottom is here 'cause she's Neville's gran and Magical Guardian. She also holds the House Longbottom proxy on the Wizengamot which may become important going forward considering that even though Neville is legally an adult, he still must be twenty-one by date of birth to assume his House Seat. Hannah's mum is here 'cause of the Line Contract as is Madam Bones. But Madam Bones is also here 'cause she's head of DMLE. She can verify the legal documents…"
"Already have," Amelia said. "They are either the best forgeries in history or our girls are indeed pregnant and married to these two young men. Given that you can't fake the Gringotts documents, the girls are married and emancipated and no, I am not happy with that but will have to accept it."
"She's held the Bones proxy," Hermione continued. "She might also help us restore another Ancient and Noble House, namely House Black. Sirius is head of that house and we hope this –er – get together will at least begin a process that might lead to his exoneration."
"Thanks," Sirius said.
"Sirius is here because although Dumbledore is Harry's Magical Guardian, Sirius should be and Harry trusts him."
"Unless pranks are involved," Harry added.
"Professor Lupin is here for several reasons," Hermione continued. "First of all, he's the best Defense teacher we've had and we hope he'll continue in that capacity while we're here. Our current professor is…"
"Anti-social," Hannah said, "grumpy and scary."
"Professor Lupin was also a close, personal friend of Harry's parents and was the easiest way to get Sirius here. The Tonks family is here because they are Harry and Sirius's relatives but also because Mr. Tonks is a Healer, Mrs. Tonks a Potions Mistress and their daughter an Auror, all of which will be useful either for our training or … well our pregnancies. That's also why the Turpins are here as Mr. Turpin is also a Healer and Mrs. Turpin a Healing Assistant – I guess that's kind of like a nurse," Hermione added for her parents. "We're also going to ask Mr. Tonks and Mr. Turpin to verify that we are in fact expecting."
It took all of four minutes for the two healers to conduct their examinations and verify that the four young women were expecting. They were all between two and three weeks along. It was still too early to determine anything else such as the baby's sex or magical status, or even whether there was only one of them. Mr. Tonks explained that there was a higher incidence of fraternal (non-identical) twins where witches were using fertility potions.
chapter 20
FRIDAY, MARCH 31st, 1995 - THE SOUTH WING.
Robert Granger was as close to furious as he ever had been in his life. He paced back and forth across the room he was now stuck in for over a year and more as his home. He had so wanted to throttle Harry Potter! True, Harry had been his daughter's best friend. But Hermione was his little girl! Okay, it was true she had boobs now, she was becoming a young woman. But Hermione was his child.
He looked over at his wife Rose. She was sitting in the bed in their Guest Room pretending to read her book. He knew she was also upset by this! Their little girl, all but fifteen years old by their count, was married and pregnant! He knew his wife was upset by this. She had not turned a single page. And he had been watching! This was her way of not appearing upset and had been for many years. But he knew her and she knew him. He knew that she knew he too was upset.
Robert Granger had been born in 1952 in Portsmouth England, coincidently on the same day as the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II, a point his mother would bring up from time to time either in jest or when she was particularly annoyed with him. His parents had scrimped and saved and purchased their very first telly and, while neither became fans of the medium, Robert's mother was looking forward to watching the coronation. Little Bobby Granger had different plans for that day. "Bobby Granger! Just because you've always felt your more important that Her Majesty the Queen does not mean that…" was one of his Mum's usual introductions to a disciplinary lecture.
Robert's father Michael Granger was a career navy man. He enlisted at the age of 16 in 1939 several months before the war broke out. He spent the entire war assigned to the same destroyer beginning as an unrated deck seaman. His ship had been part of the hunt for the German Battleship Bismark in 1941 and participated in three invasions specifically North Africa, Sicily and off Sword Beach as part of the vast armada that invaded Normandy France in 1944. Most of his father's war service, however, was spent on convoy escort trying to protect the slow yet vital merchant ships from German submarines. He said he preferred the North Atlantic convoys even though the U-boats were seemingly plentiful. The one Murmansk Convoy was a nightmare. While there were far fewer U-boats, the convoy was almost always in range of the German surface fleet and Luftwaffe and it was one of the few times as a sailor that he and his mates prayed for perpetual fog. His father used to say that by war's end, his ship had sunk four U-boats, shot down eleven German aircraft and also had blown up a camel in Africa, a wine barrel in Sicily and an ox cart on Sword Beach.
By the time Robert was born, his father was a Warrant Officer. The pay, while far better than that of an ordinary seaman, was not all that great. Robert's parents were always very frugal people mainly because they had to be. They still lived in the same three bedroom flat in Portsmouth they had moved to after Robert's sister Anna was born in 1955. Robert was sixteen before they finally bought a small car, although that was mostly because they really did not need one given that they could get anywhere they needed to go either by walking or by public transit. The car was so he and his sister could learn to drive.
Roberts parents were not well educated formally. Each had left school when they were sixteen, which was not uncommon. At sixteen, you sat your exams similar to magical OWLs. If you did not do well enough to advance to the college prep course or if your family lacked the means, your choice was either trade or technical school or the workforce. Michael Granger passed well enough, but left for the Navy because there was little point in Prep School if he and his family could not afford University. His wife Ellen also did well enough but also lacked the means and became a waitress at a pub in Portsmouth that Michael frequented years later which was where they met. While they were not well educated, they were well read. Books were always a part of their home life and their children's. And, while they were unsure if they would be afford to send their two children on to university, they stressed education in their home. Both Robert and his sister Anna went into the prep courses and both did well enough on their A Levels to go on to University, although the money remained and issue.
Robert decided he'd wait. He could always go later. In the meantime, he'd earn and save and allow his parents to worry only about his younger sister. When he finished school, he followed in his father's footsteps and enlisted in the Royal Navy. Unlike his father, he became a sonar operator and submariner. He was ultimately posted to the then brand new atomic powered Hunter/Killer submarine HMS Conqueror and would spend much of his time at sea in the same waters his father had sailed during the nightmarish Murmansk Convoys, and even further north, under the Arctic ice seeking out and trailing Russian submarines and doing other things he was sure he still could not talk about.
Robert was proud of his naval service. He felt that Conqueror was a "Crack Ship" as was the term and he was lucky to have served in her. Years after he left the service, Conqueror sank the Argentine cruiser General Belgrano, effectively driving the Argentine surface navy back into port and out of the Faulklands War altogether. This still came up at family gatherings whenever his dad boasted about the U-boats and such. Robert's boat had done his old Pa one better, driving a whole Navy from the seas. One would think Robert Granger was there, given how proud he was of that feat at the time. But while he was not opposed to a naval career, he still wanted to go on to University and, thanks to his parents, had learned how to stretch and save his pay. His officers wanted him to stay in as, by the time his enlistment was up he was a rated Petty Officer who they felt might well make Warrant sooner rather than later. But he had enough money saved up, he figured, to put him through University so in 1976 he left the Service and entered University three years behind his younger sister Anna.
In Robert's very first class, in English Literature as he recalled, he met Rose Carter although they would not begin dating for another year. Rose was born in 1957. She had an older brother named Daniel. Her father had gone to University and was now a Professor. Her mother had trained as a Nurse. The Carters were better off then the Grangers. She grew up in a small house with a small garden and they always had a car. But it was merely a minor question of degree, really.
Robert would admit he was smitten immediately. Rose would as well. But he was not so bold in romance and she knew he was older so it took some time for them to come together as a couple, although almost no time to do so as friends. But they did start dating and fell in love openly very soon thereafter. After Robert's first year, he earned a scholarship based on his marks as did Rose. They now thought of advanced degrees. By the end of University, they were engaged and had been accepted to Dental School on scholarship. Their plan was to get married after Dental School and start a family once they felt settled enough, but they were planning on a family. When they started Dental School, they moved into a small flat together. Times had changed and society had changed. In their parents eyes this was almost scandalous, but as the parents agreed with the match and as they were already engaged, there was little real argument given that this sort of thing was common now.
Hermione changed everything. Pessimistically, she wasn't supposed to happen. Rose found out that she was pregnant early in the spring of their first year in dental school. She told Robert. Neither of them thought of not keeping her. But this was not the way they planned it. Hermione was not supposed to come to them until sometime after dental school, but it was clear she had other plans, just as Robert had other plans for the day of the Queen's coronation. It was somewhat distressing having to explain it to their families. But they went forward and changed their plans. They were married by a Justice of the Peace a few weeks after learning of the pregnancy - after all, they were engaged - and had the big wedding for family and friends after Hermione was born, because Rose was not about "to look like a beached white whale" in her wedding dress.
"This is madness!" Robert finally said. "This whole place is a bloody lunatic asylum."
"I'm trying to read, Robert," Rose began.
"No you're not! You haven't turned a single bloody page! And don't deny it, 'cause I've been paying attention! You're as upset as I am!"
Rose put down her book. "Possibly," she said. "Confused and befuddled might also work."
"You're okay with this?"
"No Robert. I am trying to deal with this! This is a different culture, a different legal situation and I have to accept that she is married and part of whatever this Plural Marriage thing is!"
"She's only fifteen…"
"Sixteen," Rose said. "You're the science fiction fan and know more about that temporal stuff. But I agree."
"She's still too young…" Robert began.
"Robert, how old do you have to be to be ready to be a parent?"
"Older than she and that Harry are!"
Rose snorted. "Robert, there are two parts to being a parent as you probably know. The first and hardest is usually the responsibility in providing for the child. You and I know a child means we needed money, and our first few years with Hermione were hard because we were both still in school and wanted to finish so that the rest would fall in place. That's why we wanted to wait! But they don't have that problem at all, do they? Even if you split his fortune between Hermione and the others equally, I'd think that over a hundred million quid makes that problem rather minor. Providing for a child is not a problem for them. Harry could have a thousand children and still provide for them all financially better than we have for Hermione. So in that regard, as disturbing as it all is, I'm not too worried at all.
"But the other part? It's more than providing for them isn't it? It's raising them as well. I'd like to think we did well with Hermione but did we? I don't think anyone is truly ready to be a parent in that regard; not at fifteen and not at fifty, not for the first one at any rate!
"And if what they've said is true, it won't be the same for them as it was for us when we had Hermione. They won't need to drop their child off early in the morning and pick him or her up in the evening five and six days a week, not seeing them at all except briefly at breakfast and just before bed as we had to during Dental School and our first few years of practice. The only time they won't be able to be with the child is when they are actually in class. The Elves will look after the child while their away for a few hours here and there. The one thing we always regretted…"
"We never had enough time with her," Robert said. "Not when she was a baby, not when she was a little girl. When our schedule began to allow for more time, she was in school and then … then she was here for nine months and more of the year when we couldn't spend any time with her at all."
"Exactly."
"You sound like you're almost willing to accept this!"
"And what else are we going to do, Robert? Their underage marriage law, while it hasn't been applied in two hundred years or so, is still valid. Their Plural Marriage and Line Continuation laws are also valid even though there hasn't been one of those marriages in well over a hundred years. And our world is treaty bound to respect those marriages as if they were valid under our laws! The only way to undo this would be by an annulment!"
"So we get one of those…"
"Obviously you weren't paying attention when that was discussed after the meal. I guess you were too busy fuming about all of this. Just as in our world, there are only certain grounds to annul a marriage which would effective be the same as saying there never was one to begin with.
"One of the grounds is if the bride or groom is already married…"
"But…"
"That wouldn't apply to Hermione because she was Harry's first. And while it always applies where the bride is already married, it only applies to the groom if he lacks the legal basis for a Plural Marriage or if the bride was not aware she was entering into a plural marriage, none of which are the case here.
"Another case is fraud. Typically for them it is when the parents who signed a marriage contract were defrauded, although it can also apply to the bride and groom."
"Harry did say he was tricked," Robert said.
"And only he could seek an annulment then," Rose continued. "Even if he was tricked, he accepted the situation after learning so. He had to stop it then. It's too late now under their law.
"Then there's consanguinity," Rose continued, "marrying a person to close to you in kinship. But here their laws are like ours and while disgusting in a way, in our world first cousins can marry and it's the same in theirs, although also more common - at least among Pureblood families."
"There are those two sisters…"
"Which might have been an issue under their law had they married the same husband, but they did not. There were also two first cousins who became wives - those Davis and Greengrass girls - but even though that would have been okay, they too have different husbands. Ginny is Neville's second cousin by marriage. Ginny's grandmother's sister married Neville's Granduncle, but it's by blood that counts. The closest true degree of kinship is between Harry and his wife Daphne Greengrass. They're third cousins from House Black. None of the others are any closer, so that's out.
"Finally there's minority…"
"Got them there!" Robert said.
"Apparently, given the specific law they married under, it doesn't apply … yet. Had they lied about their ages - claimed they were seventeen by outside calendar, the marriage could be annulled by either of them or us anytime before Harry's seventeenth birthday. But they married under an exception. Madam Bones explained it to me while you were moping about. The law in question was passed ages ago to discourage teenaged promiscuity and perceived sexual predation by Pureblood wizards on underage witches, in particular Muggle Born ones. There was also a concern about an ever increasing number of foundlings and bastards. One side of that law could force the father to marry the underage, pregnant mother, if any of the parents of the couple insisted. The other side, the one they used here, allowed the underage couple to marry without regard to parental or guardian or even Head of House permission. The marriage we're dealing with can only be annulled if Hermione either fails to carry her child to term or gives the child up for adoption before it bonds with her magically or it dies before then."
"That's it then?"
"NO IT'S NOT! I am not about to force or ask Hermione to abort her child! You know that! And, I am not about to let you or anyone else kill it later, not if I can prevent it! I am not about to pray for a miscarriage, still birth or early death for my grandchild and I am not about to even try to convince our daughter to give up our grandchild in any other way! I don't like this, Robert! But those are lines I will not cross!"
"So we're stuck then," Robert said.
Rose nodded.
"We should never have agreed to this Rose! We should never have allowed Hermione to come here!"
"Robert?" Rose began.
"Bloody impressive display, McGonagall did trying - successfully unfortunately - to convince us magic was real and our little girl was a bloody witch! Don't get me wrong, Rose! Until now, I was proud of her and all. But they took her away from us and have now ruined her! She'll never sit for her O Level exams, or whatever the bloody hell they're calling them now, never go on to prep or anything! We can forget about A Levels and University! Unless we want her to be a char woman or something, they took away our options for her and she deserved all options! I'm tempted to pull her out of this damnable school and this damnable world right now! But then what? Aside from this magic stuff, what has she studied in the last four years? We'd be lucky to get her into basic classes in a Comprehensive as a borderline retard at her age considering she might actually have to start back in Primary! We can forget about any prestigious Public School! Even if she aced an IQ test, they wouldn't take her considering how far behind she is! We never wanted to lose her and always wanted the best for her and this is our reward?"
"Robert?"
"No Rose! My little girl, my little Angel is stuck in this damnable world of hers and I can't fix it without totally ruining her life again! I never had enough time with her and to … to try and get it back, I'd now ruin her future in either world. This is just so goddamned frustrating!"
"Robert, calm down!"
"WHY THE BLOODY HELL SHOULD I?"
"Do you hate Harry?"
"Ummm…"
"I know you, Robert. Despite any evidence to the contrary, you'd prefer our daughter remain virginal to her death. Aside from the fact that it's obviously not the case that it will come to pass, do you have any reason to hate Harry?"
"Ummm…"
"We both know Harry was Hermione's second real friend. There was that American girl in Primary, but she was only there for two years. From her first letters home, we both knew she considered Harry a friend in a way. He was always kind to her and never put her down or anything. We now know about the Troll and all that, which was when he went from being friendly in her letters to her best and truest friend. Even after last year, we still thought this was coming in a way - maybe not as a marriage but certainly as a boyfriend in the romantic sense."
"I kind of hoped he'd not get back with her after that broomstick episode," Robert said.
"Yet that told me everything," Rose replied. "She never had a true friend like Harry before and yet she'd risked it all, knowing he might then hate her forever, just to keep him safe. I knew then she was in love with him."
"As did I," Robert sighed.
"And I also hoped it was just either a teenage thing and would, as most such relationships do at that age, dissipate and end or that, were it real, develop far more slowly than it seems to have. Our daughter seems happy now, more so than I've ever seen her. She's far more mature and confident than I remember. I don't want to destroy that so that means I must come to accept all of this. I don't want to lose her, Robert!"
"Neither do I," Robert said softly. "It's just.."
"You totally missed out on terrifying the young suitor," Rose suggested. She then suggested: "You can still terrify the poor lad, Robert. But instead of scaring him away from Hermione, you can now scare him into being a brilliant husband."
"With eight other wives?"
"Seven of whom have fathers who are here, Robert! I can tell you after a private talk with Marilyn Abbott, we are also going to gang up on poor Harry and get the other mother-in-laws involved if necessary!"
"Wicked!" Robert almost sneered.
"And there's that Black fellow and Lupin," Rose added. "I don't think they would be happy if Harry didn't do right by Hermione or the others. And there's another thing, one far beyond terrifying poor Harry."
"Oh?"
"Robert, for ages our biggest concern regarding Hermione was time. Neither of us felt or feel we've truly spent enough time with our only child. You heard that bit, I know! For the rest of the world, we leave here on Sunday. It's just a weekend for them and does not affect our practice or anything to spend a weekend here at all. But for us? For us fifteen months will have passed! FIFTEEN! For that time, we have no practice to think about, no bills needing paying, nothing. And we're in Hermione's world for that time! We can actually see what the hell is going on and what she's learning and be parents again! We have no other responsibilities other than being Hermione's parents. We missed so much time before! We both felt we were losing our lovely little girl forever. Don't you see? Don't you see? She's given us this gift! She does not want to lose us and is giving us this gift! Fifteen months where we have nothing to do but be her parents!"
"There is that," Robert began.
"She said it herself," Rose continued. "We'll be here through her pregnancy and for the first six or seven month's of our grandchild's life! We have nothing better to do, do we?"
"It's almost sounding like a good deal when you put it that way," Robert said.
"That is why - that is what - that is the reason I'm almost willing to accept all this," Rose said. "I want to be our little girl's Mum, full time and without all the business and other worries! Although I did see more of her than you, Robert, I too did not see enough when she was with us and now … I don't want to truly lose our little girl! Fifteen months, Robert! For the next fifteen months, even though she is now married and there's nothing we can seemingly do about it, we have fifteen months where it's just us and her and all the other rubbish in our lives can wait! Oh, I so want that!"
"She's not our little girl anymore, is she?" Robert said somewhat sadly.
Rose snorted a little. "Arguably that age ended when she had her first period, which was not long before we first sent her off to Hogwarts by the way."
"I didn't need to know that," Robert complained.
"But surely even you've noticed that she's become a young woman? While she by no means flaunts them - at least not that we've seen - she does have breasts…"
"Don't! Don't! Don't! Don't DON'T!" Robert complained. "I refuse to even think that of my little girl!"
"But it's true, Robert," Rose said in a teasing tone. "She's had them certainly since she returned from Second Year!"
"I don't want to think about it," Robert complained. "I want to remember her as my little girl! I want to remember the little girl in the photo. You know the one? Hermione in her new school robes with a real smile on her face and her wand and that copy of Hogwarts: A History that she almost never put down that summer after our trip to Diagon Alley? I want to remember her as she was the last time she truly was our daughter. Ever since we sent her here, we've been losing her, Rose. Slowly but surely we've been losing her."
"It might have happened anyway," Rose suggested. "Teenagers tend to drift away from their parents."
"But we might not have noticed so much," Robert sighed. "She's gone for months and months at a time and we're not allowed to either visit or call. Our only communication by letters and we only get to see her on Holidays, assuming she hasn't made other plans! We saw her over that first Christmas when we took her skiing in the Alps. I thought we had a wonderful time of it. She had always loved skiing. Didn't see her again 'til the end of June, and then only for two months. And she was so distracted even then!"
"Harry wasn't returning her letters," Rose offered.
"Harry was twelve! That's hardly unusual behavior!"
"And there were the visits to your family and mine, Robert. She found it so hard having to avoid questions about her school."
Robert sighed. "There was that. What good is it getting top marks in Transfiguration and Charms if you can't tell most your family what the heck that even is? Her second year, she didn't even come home at Christmas. Didn't feel like going skiing! We didn't see her for ten full months! She did enjoy our holiday in France, although I believe it might not have been enjoyable if we avoided the magical sites. Even then, she learns Harry's run off from his damnable relations and… She cuts her time with us about a week short to go to the Weasleys and to Harry. Again, she didn't come home for Christmas…"
"She was taking a very heavy course load at the time," Rose commented.
Robert nodded. "And she cuts this summer off two weeks early to join her friends and that World Cup thing. And this year, again she stayed here over Christmas. Rose? By my count, she's spent almost thirty-six months away from us and it's more and more each year! That's three whole years for what? Six months or so with us?"
"Actually, we've missed fifty months," Rose said.
"What?"
"If you take into account her use of the Time Turner last year and Time Compression this year, she's about fourteen months older than she would be otherwise by my estimate. She told us earlier she was sixteen. Actually, while she's not yet seventeen, she's closer to seventeen than sixteen. Much as neither of us might like it, she's no longer a little girl. She is a young woman: a very pretty, poised, well spoken, intelligent and confident young woman! I'd say despite everything else we should be pleased with that."
"But…"
"And I never thought she was ever as young as her age. Part of her trouble in school before coming here was she only found one friend, another girl who was more mature than the others in their year. In some ways, I'd say she's more mature than we were when we got married."
"What?"
"Whether we agree with what she did or not, and whether we agree with why she did it or not, this whole thing was both planned and she had months and months in her time to make her final decision. She might not have told Harry everything up front, but she told him enough at least when it came to the two of them and what she wanted for them. She told Harry she was pregnant the day she found out and she knew within days of actual conception that she was pregnant. There was no dithering after that. The only reason they were not at Gringotts that day - two days ago for us - was because of the other Time Compressions. They did, however, got to Gringotts the very next real day - yesterday for us - and complete the marriage requirements. She had already invited us here for the weekend and I'm sure that while it was in anticipation of this, it would not have been revoked if she had changed her mind. And here it is, for us two days after she learns she's pregnant and the day after she and Harry are before their world's equivalent of a Justice of the Peace and she tells us in person with Harry present.
"Now consider us. Yes we were officially engaged at the time and they weren't - but you can't say we didn't see Harry and Hermione getting together at one point, can you? It was all but obvious Hermione had feelings for him since First Year and they seemed reciprocated, if somewhat awkwardly. That being said, Hermione was an accident! We don't regret it, but she was. It took me two weeks to work up the nerve to tell you I was pregnant and it took us three weeks to finally decide to get married sooner rather than later. Then it was at least another week before we told our parents and we did that over the phone! Which couple behaved more maturely?"
"When you put it that way…" he began.
"And, even though we may not like what is going on," Rose continued, "there is this to consider. She told us the Wards are activated. For now, the Elves can come and go as needed, but the rest of us cannot. We are stuck here until the Wards fully deactivate Sunday morning. There are other guests who will arrive, but they're just as stuck as we are. She said this was done to protect Sirius Black, among other reasons. Outside, he is the most wanted man in both Magical and Muggle Britain, after all.
"That being said, for the rest of the world we can leave here Sunday morning if we'd like after less than two days here. But for us and everyone else here in this Wing, fifteen months will have passed! Hermione invited us here knowing this would be the case but probably not totally certain she would be a part of this as a wife and all that! Fifteen months, Robert! Fifteen months were we have absolutely no outside responsibilities: no bills to pay, no errands to run, not chores to do around the home, no patients to worry about or practice to run! Fifteen months were our only responsibility is to be Hermione's parents and a part of her family! I won't say this gives us back the fifty months or so we've lost with her, but she's as concerned about our drift as we are and is giving us this wonderful chance and this chance is in her world, the one we know so little about and now have a unique opportunity to learn so much! We can be with her everyday! For the first time ever, perhaps, for breakfast, lunch and dinner and more! And she told me that because of what's happened - although she said she's explain this bit tomorrow - it is entirely probable that from now on we can come and visit her every weekend she's here for the rest of this year and the rest of her time at Hogwarts! If that's true, we won't have to wait ten or more months to see her again … ever! If all else was necessary for her to give us this gift, I'm almost willing to say it is worth it!"
"I hadn't thought about it that way…"
"Probably 'cause you were plotting a thousand and one ways to kill Harry Potter for what he did to your little girl," Rose chuckled.
"And coming up empty given he's a wizard and what he did to me earlier," Robert said, "and realizing that Hermione would never, ever speak to me again if I even tried. And the fact that Hermione made it clear if Harry had not done that, she would have…"
"We haven't lost her, Robert. But to get her back, we have to accept this."
"Which is what makes this so bloody annoying," Robert said. "I KNOW THAT! I don't want to accept it, but I do know it's true! Deep down I knew that one day she might fall in love and it might be real and she might marry and might have children. I can't say I'd ever be ready for that. But this is so soon and bizarre and… But you're right, Rose. It may be too early. But he does seem to be a decent bloke, not even what I expected from her letters. We can't stop this and … and there is the bit about allowing us to truly be a part of this. She's always been special. Even when we didn't understand half the things she did and could do, she was always special. What really has me frustrated is Harry is so damned hard to hate!" He sighed and sat down on the bed next to his wife with a sigh.
"There's another thing," she said softly.
"Bloody Hell what else could there be?" he complained.
"We've tried to have children again," Rose said with moisture appearing in her eyes. "At least three times and I lost them all early. Until she was nine or so and gave up, Hermione always said she wanted a little brother or sister as a present either for Christmas or her Birthday and we did try in time… You know my Doctor said it might have been due to the stress of my job, that if we really wanted another I'd have to take a Leave of Absence at least for the pregnancy and for a long time we could not afford to do that. For the next fifteen months for us, there is no stress! I'm still young enough and we do have two of their Healers here who specialize in what we'd call OBGYN and Pediatrics. We gave up after Hermione went off to Hogwarts partly because she wouldn't be with us, but now she is! Fifteen months, Robert! We never wanted her to be an only child…"
"Are you sure Rose?" Robert asked with a smile.
"We're not starting tonight," Rose said. "We're both too stressed out and…"
"That's not what I meant. I meant is this what you really want?"
Rose nodded and was rewarded by a huge smile from her husband, if only for a moment. When it disappeared she almost panicked. "Robert?"
"I'm on board with this," he said, "truly I am! But Rose? How do we explain this later?"
"What?"
"How do we explain any of this to our families? They'll have to know about Hermione and her child at one point and there's no way we can say the child was adopted. I'd like to think she's a very mature and responsible girl, but there's no way any agency or whatever would allow her to adopt any child! NO WAY! Not at fifteen or even eighteen! Her child will be what? Five months old at the least when we end this weekend? Maybe more? They all saw her back in August! She would have been showing by then! And if we claim it was born way premature - they'd still know something was up 'cause we'd most certainly have said something! And if we also have a child here at the very least you'd have been showing over Christmas! We could at least argue it's adopted, but I'm not about to let our own child believe that!"
"While you were fuming about what has happened," Rose said, "that's what's been bothering me since I gave up searching for a way out hours ago! My suggestion is we tell them the truth … all of it!"
"But that Statute of Secrecy!"
"Applies to Hermione, not to us."
"What do you mean, Rose? Of course it applies to us!"
"Does it really?" Rose said. "Does it? We're Muggles after all. You'd think if it did, aside from encouraging us to keep quiet, they would have told us the penalties for not doing so!"
"But…"
"I asked that Amelia Bones this question when you were off fuming. The truth is, it does not apply to us as all! We could tell the whole bloody world without penalty for us or Hermione so long as she denies any of it! Muggles apparently blab or let it slip all the time, but it never makes the papers - at least not the reputable ones. Tabloids, of course, print anything but as no one really believes them, the Magicals are unconcerned! No Muggle has ever been prosecuted for violation of that law because it does not apply to them."
"Really?"
Rose nodded. "And there's more! While you were off fuming, Hermione told me she and all the others had taken some kind of inheritance test when they were at Gringotts. So long as an ancestor was either born in the British Isles or, if not, opened an account at Gringotts and so long as they were alive from around the Eight Century, the Goblins can show you the entire British family tree - at least as to ancestors and not cousins and such. They're all still going through it, but the one thing that seems increasing certain is that there is no true such thing as a Muggle Born. Hermione, the other five ones like her, and the Muggle Born ancestors in the other lines that are British way back, all descended from a magical line at some point, one whose magic diminished for generations and then came back. In Hermione's case, she has magical ancestors on your side five hundred years or so ago and six hundred or so on mine.
"Now let's consider some other facts. What were we told to tell people about Hermione's school situation when we sent her off to Hogwarts?"
"As little as possible," Robert replied. "We've said she attends and elite but very small boarding school in Scotland and she's doing quite well in her classes and likes it there and…"
"And little else, and she never truly elaborates," Rose said. "And we're not called on it because we're not known to brag and Hermione's reticence has been taken as a sign of her growing maturity."
"Where's this going Rose?"
"My brother Danny has three children: Jake, Emma and Jenna. He and Marion tell us all they attend an elite boarding school in London but with little other details. Jake finished last year and is not in a University. He's said to have been accepted to an exclusive program for Zoologists or Ecologists or something overseas. Then there's your sister, whose oldest Justine is twelve and we're also told is in and elite boarding school in London with no real details. This is what we've told them about Hermione and her school, see? It's what we were told to say!"
"But Hogwarts…"
"I learned tonight is not the only magical school in the British Isles. It is the oldest. It is also the only one that takes students from throughout the Isles, but there are four more! One in Scotland, Ireland, Wales and England, to be precise. Hermione, being a Muggle Born from England would have attended the English school had she not been selected at random for Hogwarts as they have some kind of lottery or something to pick their Muggle Born students. Had she not gone to Hogwarts, she would have received a letter to attend King's College of Magic in London - the English school!"
"And aside from our wedding, our families do not really mix," Robert said. "At least not the kids. They all know Hermione, but not each other through that. Your nieces and nephew are Carters and mine are Dawsons. They might not have made the connection!"
"Or they have through their parents, but have not made the connection about Hermione as she goes to a different school," Rose said. "This is all speculation, of course. But the facts suggest… Even if it's not true, however, at least with our parents and siblings, I think the truth about Hermione's child - and ours if we have one - and how this has happened should be told."
Robert thought for a while. "You really want to do this?" he asked. "To have another go at a child?"
Rose nodded. "I do," she said. "But we need to be willing to accept - even if it's grudgingly - what is going on with Hermione, Harry and the others. There really is little point if we can't accept that!"
Robert nodded. "I don't have to be totally friendly with him soon?"
Rose laughed. "That would seem odd, wouldn't it? No. Just give our Son-in-Law a chance."
"And the family?"
"We have fifteen months to think about that."
"And Hermione's present?"
"I want to set up an appointment with one of the Healers here to discuss that. I don't want another miscarriage! But we will tell her when the time comes."
"You do know I still think this is totally off," Robert said with a smile. "But, if this is truly what you want…"
"Thank you, Robert," Rose replied softly.