chapter 27
THE SOUTH WING - TIME COMPRESSION DAY 363.
At nine o'clock in the evening of Day 229, Time Compression stopped. It was just at sunset in the high, Scotland latitude and for once real night fell over the Wing. Before, the windows had been charmed to allow for an artificial nighttime inside. So long as one did not step out on the balcony, it appeared to be nighttime, when outside it was still day. But now, it was night in both worlds. At six the next morning, Time Compression resumed. April 1st had become April 2nd.
After the Grangers, there had been a long break between births, but the baby boom resumed on Day 228. Sira Patil gave birth to a son named Pasha, and ever since Padma and Parvati's father learned his wife was to have a boy, his whole attitude about what had happened changed. Pasha would celebrate his simulated birthday on December 1st. Daphne's mother had the first of the children to be born on April 2nd. Marcus Greengrass was born on day 300, not long after Time Compression resumed and would be a year old on December 3rd. Rosie's mother Agnes followed with a son named Vincent on day 338. Katie's mother had twins on Day 345: a daughter Annette and a son Edward and Tracy's mother Jasmine had a daughter they named Samantha on day 358. That little girl would be the last to celebrate her assimilated first birthday in 1995 as her modified date was December 31st. They would not be the last births in the Wing. Lisa, Andrea, Laura and Lucinda were all expecting to have a new brother or sister before Time Compression ended, and Hannah was expecting to meet her half-brother or half-sister as well as her mother and Step-father Sirius were expecting as well.
Classes had resumed on Day 320. For the Upper and Middle Years, lessons had changed. For the Upper Years, they no longer attended classes where they had already attained their NEWTs. They continued only in their new post OWL lessons with the goal of getting them through the end of Sixth Year by the end of Time Compression. This meant they all had a fair amount of time off. The three older Champions used this time for additional training, while the Weasley Twins used it for product development having been promised a quite significant investment in their not yet existing company. Harry and Neville had both offered them a thousand Galleons each and, while they were the largest investors, they were not the only ones. They were currently being assisted in their work by Sirius Black, when he was not busy pampering his pregnant wife or with other things and by Jason Lee and Daniel Urquhart, the "First Years" who had declared they were the rightful heirs to the Weasley Twins when they were not otherwise involved in classes.
For the Middle Years, things were very different. Having passed their OWLs, it was decided that while training would continue and would include NEWT level and beyond materials, only their lessons in Potions, Healing and History would truly continue. The later two were because they were not technically OWL or better classes as the History lessons were not what had been approved by the British Magical Education and Examining Board and Healing was not even offered. They continued with Potions for two reasons. The first was that none of them ever wanted to take a class with Snape again if it could be avoided. The second was that one of the Sixth Year lessons was about poisons and antidotes which they all agreed was worth knowing. They all now knew how to apparate and were learning to use that skill in duels and they were also continuing with their Animagus training which had begun once classes resumed following their own Baby Boom. Still, aside from their three classes, everything else was covered in their extended magical training sessions. The result was they had far more free time than before. Naturally some of it was spent with their children, but they now could return to various research projects that had been neglected so far.
Day 363 was the first day of a two day weekend in the Wing. For Harry, it seemed that the days off from training and lessons were the only days he really got to spend any time with his children and that bugged him. True, he saw all of his children every day and spend a little time with them every day, but during the week if he managed more than a few minutes with each child it was rare.
Harry's oldest were now a little over four months old and his youngest were a little over three months old. Fortunately, they all had hair now which made it much easier to tell them apart. Only Padma's twins were born with hair you could actually see and for a while it seemed that a bald baby was still a bald baby.
Okay, he admitted, he could tell them apart even when they were bald. At the very least, he could use the Weasley Twin method which was you knew who it was by the witch they were with. But he also could tell Parvati apart from her twin sister Pattie very early on as well, provided he was wearing his glasses. To most, they looked alike and a lot like their mother with their dark hair, eyes and skin but if you knew where to look, you could tell. Pattie had a more pronounced dimple on her left cheek than her sister.
In addition to being a boy and a girl, aside from their eyes - they both had their mother's eyes, they were very different. Bobbie, as Robert was called - had black hair like his Dad and Lily's was almost the same shade of brown as her mother. Although recently, Harry, Hermione and others noticed the hair on both children was starting to curl.
Hannah's son Charlie had light brown hair. Hannah said it was "Dirty Blonde" whatever that meant. He also had blue eyes like his Mum. Katie's son Michael was a red-head like his grandmothers on both sides. He was one of the few who seemed to have inherited Harry's eyes. They were calling Rosie's son "Jamie" in part because James seemed too stuffy for the boy. He had red hair and blue eyes much like his mother's.
Luna's daughter Deliliah looked a lot like Luna, Harry thought, although Mr. Lovegood said her eyes were more like Luna's mother's eyes. Gabrielle's daughter Michelle was blond haired and blue eyed. Then again, she was Veela and that was a Veela trait. Marcia's daughter Julie had brown hair as Harry saw it. Marcia called it auburn as it was redder than brown. Julie also had Harry's green eyes.
The only one who looked more like Harry than his Mum was Daphne's son David. He had black hair like his father and both of his grandfathers and Harry's eyes. The Twins had joked that it took Harry nine tries to "get it right." Harry had tried to point out that David was the last to be born, not the last to be conceived. If one went in order of the wives, David was second to last. If one went by probable conception date, he was average, neither the first nor the last although they all were probably conceived within a week of each other. But the joke proved more popular than reality.
Days off such as this one were the only days when Harry was able to spend a fair amount of time with each of his children. On class days, he was lucky if he got to change all of their nappies or hold them all for a minute or two. Most of his "Daddy Time" on those days was with the Baby of the Day, or babies if Hermione or Padma was that day's witch. But even on Harry's days off, the kids had their own schedule and that schedule included nap time, which was where all his kids were now. His wives were off somewhere as well. He would not be surprised if Hermione, Luna, Daphne and Padma were down in the library or if Katie and Rosie were taking a nap as well or if the others were spending time with their friends and families. Harry was standing on the Potter House balcony looking out over the lake. While it was early afternoon in the Wing, it was a little after seven in the morning in the Outside World.
He was not alone. As large as the Wing was, it was hard to be alone. Sirius and Marilyn now lived in the last of the Potter House Apartments. The Dogs Playing Poker from Sirius's guestroom now hung in his study. The two of them were nearby on the balcony enjoying the sun. Robert Granger was also nearby as his wife was busy watching several babies sleep, including their new children and grandchildren. Arthur Weasley was present as well. Ginny and his granddaughter were apparently taking a nap.
Arthur was now a frequent visitor in House Potter. The day after the guests all learned of what had occurred, he had spoken with Harry and Ginny about the Contract. He was not proud of it. He had never told Ginny about it because he hoped they would be able to avoid actually going through with it. He knew if they went forward with it, Ginny might - as she feared - be pulled from school probably without even attaining her OWLs, which would mean that she legally would be barred from owning or using a wand.
Arthur admitted that at the time they could have used the money that was offered. They did not need it really. Molly had recently received an inheritance that would allow them to send all of their children to Hogwarts rather than King's College which Molly opposed. But it was not really about the money.
Molly had some paperwork that indicated the Weasleys had been named as potential custodians and guardians of Harry Potter should his parents pass away before he attained his majority. She had contacted Dumbledore about this not long after learning that James and Lily were dead and that Harry was believed to be alive but in some kind of protective custody - which was what the paper had reported. She had demanded that Dumbledore, as Chief Warlock, allow her to review the boy's current custodial arrangements and to be allowed at the very least that Arthur should act as his Magical Guardian. Dumbledore insisted this was unnecessary as he was quite comfortable with Harry's situation and felt it no burden to act in Harry's stead. Apparently, Molly went into one of her rants. While Dumbledore may be a headmaster, he has never been a parent and knew nothing about young children from experience and that young children are nothing like the children he dealt with at school. She had threatened to petition for guardianship based upon the paperwork she held.
Dumbledore argued that the worst thing that could possibly happen would be if House Potter and its fortune fell under the control or influence of the Pureblood Elites, which is what would happen if Molly pursued her claim. Apparently, he was aware as who might have similar paperwork and knew the Weasleys were not at the top of that list. Sirius Black was probably at the top and not far below him was Andromeda Tonks nee Black. Sirius might be in Azkaban, but Andromeda was not and while Orion Black had vowed to disown her, he died before he could become Head of the Ancient and Noble House of Black. Arcturus Black had never disowned her which meant she still owed a degree of fealty to her Head of House which would mean House Black - whose political persuasion was patently unacceptable - would control House Potter. Even if that would not come to pass, there were dark families with a closer degree of kinship to Harry than the Weasleys, most notably Narcissa Malfoy and they had wealth and social standing, two things that tended to impress the Wizengamot in these matters. It was for the best that Harry remain away from the magical world lest such events come to pass.
More critical, however, was the continuation of House Potter. Again, it was important that House Potter not fall under the dominion of the Pureblood Elites and, if they failed to achieve such control by becoming his guardians, they could do so through marriage. It was entirely probable Harry would be offered very lucrative marriage contracts from those families, ones it would be hard for a guardian to ignore. So long as he remained outside their world, such offers would not be made. But once he started school, unless he was already betrothed, it could happen. Moreover, Harry was not destined to live a long life. He would most likely finish school, but after that? Dumbledore doubted Harry would live to see twenty-one. Just as critical as keeping Harry out from under the control of the Pureblood Elites was the importance of continuing his line. It would be far better for their world if he were betrothed now and in an unassailable contract to a daughter from a Light family, a family that would ensure the continuation of the Potter line sooner rather than later.
The explanation was not terribly convincing, but it was honest. Arthur admitted Dumbledore could be quite persuasive when he wanted to be and quite charming, both figuratively and literally from the magical perspective. The money … to this day Arthur still considered it akin to blood money and was embarrassed he had agreed to it. He signed the contract and then forgot about it. It was in his mind a betrothal contract between infants, few of which were ever enforced. They were made to secure alliances and allow an excuse to refuse others, not necessarily to see the two children marry. In fact, until not long after the Second Task, Dumbledore had never even mentioned it again.
Dumbledore said he had hoped a relationship leading to marriage would develop mostly naturally between Harry and Ginny. But events were unfolding that told him this would not be the case, even if it could have been otherwise. Ginny's relationship with Neville since the Ball was one example. He was a fine young man and good catch and it was becoming increasingly clear the two were smitten. Harry's relationship with Hermione did not seem to be heading towards a romance, not that Dumbledore would have minded. She was, he said, a fine catch for their side. She was a fine young woman and her being a Muggle Born would mean she could not be a threat to their side.
But there was now a new wrinkle beyond Ginny and Neville. Harry had apparently rescued a young Veela girl in the Second Task from certain death. Harry would soon learn what this meant as the girl had clearly chosen him as a bondmate and Harry was too noble not to accept her when he found out. He had also recently learned of a Line Continuation Contract with House Abbott. Any marriage would trigger that contract, which meant a Plural Marriage and Harry would need a Half-Blood, a Muggle Born and a Pureblood to avoid any political marriages from the other side. Dumbledore was willing to push Hermione towards such a marriage with Harry and would allow the Veela to fulfill the Half Blood position. But he needed to control the Pureblood side of this equation and that was Ginny. Preferably, she would be the first and the others would follow.
Dumbledore was not about to tell Harry why he must do this. He felt that with the Tournament, it would be unwise to place any additional burdens on the lad and, as he was still only fourteen, Dumbledore felt it improper to tell the lad he was not going to have a long life or that because he was expected to die, he had to have an heir sooner rather than later. Arthur and Molly were forced to promise not to tell Harry anything. They both argued that neither Harry nor Ginny were likely to agree to this. After all, Ginny was only thirteen and in order to marry, she would have to get pregnant. Dumbledore had always envisioned the possibility of potions and now that had become a necessity, although aside from seeing to it that Ginny no longer received her monthly dose of contraceptive potions, nothing could happen until after the Tournament. Harry would need to be thinking clearly until then.
Arthur was not aware that Molly had withdrawn five thousand Galleons from Harry's vault. Unfortunately, neither was he terribly surprised. Dumbledore had given them a list of potions and dosing instructions. While Molly was confident of her ability to make the Fertility Potion Ginny was to take each day after she got home for the summer, most of the others were beyond her abilities and were not exactly the kinds of potions one could buy at the Apothecary shop. In fact, aside from the fertility potion and a virility potion, the others were all both morally and legally questionable at best. You could not buy them. For the right price, you might be able to hire a Potions Master who could make them for you, and that right price could be pretty steep. Dumbledore had offered the services of Professor Snape but Molly was not about to put her daughter's life much less Harry's under that man's control. Molly did not trust him at all and nothing Dumbledore could say would change her mind.
"We didn't know what you know," Arthur said. "Dumbledore never told us about the Prophecy or anything else for that matter. He gave us just enough information and persuasion to get us to do what he wanted us to do. He has a formidable reputation in our world. What were we to do? We had no way of knowing that just about every decision he has made in regards to you had been the wrong one or certainly not the best one. Had I known then what I know now, I would have never agreed to that contract. I'm sorry, Harry. I will see to it you're paid back! Every knut!"
Harry had not wanted to hate the Weasleys, not even Ron. He had not wanted to believe they had been using him this whole time. For him, they had become the closest thing he had to a family up to now at least that he could remember. He did not want to think that Molly was stealing from him or she and Arthur had been plotting against him from the start. It seemed clear to him now they were almost as much victims of Dumbledore's scheming as he was. They had been tricked into this it seemed for whatever Dumbledore thought was for the best. If anything, Arthur's explanation made Dumbledore appear even less trustworthy.
"All I want is for her to explain this as you have and an apology," Harry said.
"But the money…" Arthur began.
"I am aware of my finances and to be honest that amount is almost nothing really. I will want to know if she spent any of it, how much and on what. I'll refund her whatever she's spent."
"Harry, we can't accept that! We don't need the money!"
"Oh, but you do!" Harry said. "Do you honestly think Ginny and her new family can fit in her room if they come to visit? Do you see me and mine sharing a room with Ron? I have no doubt Mrs. Weasley could feed and army if she wanted to, but you certainly can't house one. Personally, I wouldn't change a thing in the Burrow itself. It has a unique charm for me and is full of pleasant memories. But you need a Guest House…"
"Hotel, more like," Arthur laughed. "You're right. While I don't doubt Molly would be more than willing to visit, I know she will insist on your visiting the Burrow and Ginny and her family as well - at least once she gets used to this."
Arthur Weasley was again Harry's "unofficial" Dad. He was also now Neville's, after all of all the Dad's he was the only one with almost as many children. Harry had others as well. Sirius was one, although he was more the mentor and older friend given that he was only recently married and still was awaiting the birth of his first child. Most of his other Father-in-Laws were as well. Xeno Lovegood was a bit too odd and Mr. Patil was a bit too distant. But of the others, Harry felt he got on the best with Robert Granger. Robert had spent probably more time with Harry than any of the others aside from Arthur and Sirius.
So he found himself on the balcony pondering everything. His biggest worry was being a father.
"I feel like I'm a lousy Dad," Harry said.
"Why do you say that?" Arthur asked.
Harry shrugged. "Never really had one at least not one I can remember. But really, I feel like … I don't think I spend enough time with any of them."
Arthur, Sirius and Robert all laughed at him.
"What's so funny?" Harry asked.
"I can't advise you on being a Dad," Sirius said. "You beat me to that by a fair few months. I can say you a far better father for your children than mine was. I barely ever saw him and until I was nine I was not even allowed to speak to him except by saying 'Yes Sir,' 'No Sir,' and 'Thank You Sir.' I doubt he ever changed a nappie or gave us a bath. That's what servants were for."
"Sounds awful," Harry said.
"Actually, he was far better than my Mother. I'd rather have him ignore me than put up with her interminable lectures about being a proper Pureblood or later her rant about Lord Black - my grandfather. He forbade my father permission to become a Death Eater under pain of being disowned, a prohibition that extended to my brother and I. My brother was his mother's child. Joined up as soon as he could and was promptly disowned by my grandfather. To be honest, I felt an outsider in that house. Finally had enough of it and ran away."
"You did?"
Sirius nodded. "I was sixteen. After taking my OWLs I didn't go back to them again. I went to live with your father and his parents. If all I had known of parents and families were my own experiences with my parents, I would probably never considered getting married. But your parents - you do know your Gran was a Black?"
Harry nodded.
"She was more like Andy then the rest of that lot," Sirius said. "It was from them that I saw what a real family could be like and that not all Purebloods were like my parents."
"Still…" Harry began.
"Harry," Robert Granger said, "the fact you're concerned about this shows you're a good father. A good father never feels that he spends enough time with his children, even if we try. Then one day, they're grown up and moved away and have a family of their own. It all happens faster than you want it too. In my case, a lot faster."
"Sorry."
"Don't be," Robert said. "A year ago - it's been almost a year hasn't it - a year ago when Hermione told us what you did, Rose and I had all kinds of objections. Then again, we had concerns when we learned Hermione was a witch. It was clear then there was a parallel world out there and our daughter belonged in that one. The laws that allowed you to marry as you did and the Plural Marriage are a part of that world and we must accept them even if we don't agree. And it's not as if we could not see this coming one day. You just had to read Hermione's letters home and hear her speak to know you two could well end up together. That's not to say this was inevitable. Young people are incredibly fickle in that regard. Under other circumstances, you two may well have wound up with someone else and been quite happy about it.
"Our real objection, the only one that lingered for more than a couple of day, was your ages. You were and are teenagers. Despite your means, we were concerned you both were not mature enough to be parents. Then again, who really is? Rose and I were in Dental School when Hermione was born. We had planned on a family, just not then. Hermione, apparently, had other ideas. Rose was about seven or eight years older than Hermione when she was pregnant and I'm four years older than that. We love our daughter dearly, but life has its ways. We had school and could not take her with us. Fortunately, Rose's Mum and Dad lived nearby and we could leave Hermione with them. After Dental School, we started our practice and the hours were even worse at first and we were in a new place and could not leave our little girl with her Gran. When we finally had the time to spend with our little girl, she was in school. And then she was gone - off to Hogwarts."
Robert seemed chocked up.
"Harry?" Arthur Weasley said. "As a parent, I've watched all of you and I agree with Robert that as a Dad it never seems like I can or have spent enough time with any of my children. I watch Ginny and Neville for obvious reasons and Neville with his other wives and children. But I watch you as well. As you know you might well have been a Weasley and are in many respects. You are a good father."
"I am?"
"It is not the amount of time you spend with them," Arthur said, "it is the quality of that time that matters. Then again, they are easy now."
"Easy?"
"They can't walk or crawl," Arthur said. "Just you wait. Once they can move about without help, they'll be hellions!"
"You were," Sirius added. "I gave you a toy broom for your first birthday and you sat it like a champ! You then proceeded to terrorize the cat with it and you couldn't even walk yet! Lily was so mad it almost was not funny! I think she was madder at your Dad who thought it was so brilliant!"
"Hermione was about two," Robert said. "She could walk by then and we heard this crash and scream of terror from the kitchen. We found her on top of the refrigerator with chocolate all over her face and a fudge in her hand. We kept the sweets up high so she couldn't get to them. Apparently, she built herself a ladder of sorts from chairs and boxes and such to get to the fudge and knocked it over when she tried to come down. I wish we had a photo."
Arthur laughed. "Don't even get me started about my lot! You know Harry? The hardest part about being a parent is that one day you have to punish your children for something and yet, more often than not, what you're really thinking is what they did was hilarious or at least bloody brilliant! Ginny might have been the worst overall."
"Ginny? I would think Fred and George…"
"Neither of them nicked a wand at age five and could use it. Ginny could! And, before Luna's Mum died, she and Luna were perhaps worse than the twins."
"Luna?"
"The two of them used to cause so much trouble… Although, to be totally honest Ginny was the primary instigator."
Harry chuckled. "Okay, that makes more sense."
"You're a good father, Harry," Sirius said. "When you come into the room, they all know who you are and want time with you and you do make the time."
"Even a hug and a few minutes counts," Arthur added. "They already seem to know they have to wait their turn for that, but that they will get it. While I also believe you're a good husband, you do realize what today is."
"A year in days since Gringotts when our marriages were official," Harry said. "There'll be a dance tonight in honor of it. But our joint Anniversary shall fall on April 1st. That was the real day we had our weddings."
"And your personal ones?" Robert asked. "You all did not marry on the same day in our time after all."
"Our bedding schedule aside," Harry began. This was no longer a total secret. "Day 373 here, I plan a nice, romantic, candle light dinner with dancing for Hermione. That's a year since our wedding date. I'll figure a way to take her out for her special night each January 15th to follow as that will mark our second year together in days. The others will follow in order of that wedding anniversary and so on."
"Gifts?" Robert asked.
"Not much I can do now, is there? But I intend to give each of them another permanent rose for their vase. They each have one right now. One day, I hope, they'll each have a forest of them."
"And a good husband too," Sirius said. "You do know you and Neville are setting a high standard for the rest of us."
"You're not doing too bad yourself in that regard," Arthur said.
"Just saying."
"This is hard for us," Harry admitted. "I want them all to be happy and I do work at it. I wish … I wish I could be Hermione's, or Hannah's or Katie's or all of their exclusive, but that's not what happened. I want them all to be happy with this. Years from now, I want them all to look back and believe they made the right decision to be a part of this. They are all very special, every single one of them and I want them to know that all the time - at least from me."
"Something tells me you will succeed," Robert said. "Sirius is right though. You are making it harder for the rest of us and we only have one wife to deal with!"
Harry chuckled. "That might explain Moony."
Remus Lupin was being aggressively pursued by "I guess you can call me Dora and I won't hex you" Tonks. There was not a lot of gossip in the Wing, but this potential relationship had been it for ages. Dora had been chasing Remus since practically the first wedding. Yet, while they were generally considered a couple, as far as anyone knew they were not going anywhere … at least until recently. There had been a huge blow up between them just a few days ago during dinner in the Main Dining Room.
"What do you mean by it not being that simple?" Dora said loud enough for the entire dining room to hear. "I love you! You love me! We are consenting adults! How much simpler can it be?"
"Dora?" Remus began.
"It was that simple for Sirius and Marilyn," Dora continued.
"What was that simple?" Sirius asked.
"Asking her to marry you," Dora said. "It was that simple for all the others!"
"Um…," Harry said, "I request you leave me out of that one. Hermione asked me, not the other way around, and she asked on behalf of all of them ... once she was certain I wasn't going to run away."
"Dora, I'm almost old enough to be your father!"
"My father is seven years older than you, Remus! That's not 'almost!' You were thirteen when I was born, not twenty!"
"And Harry's only fourteen," Remus began.
"Leave me out of this, Moony!" Harry said. "Rather unique circumstances. And chronologically if not legally, I'm sixteen! I'll be seventeen in July. And, I don't see your ages as a problem. Then again, it's not as if I have any intention of marrying again, much less to a three year old."
"Not helping, Cousin," Dora said.
Harry shrugged. "Told you two to leave me out of this."
Dora turned back to Remus. "I don't care about the age thing!"
"I'm a werewolf, Dora!"
"So once a month between moonrise and sunrise you have a little furry problem…"
"It's more than a little problem!"
"A problem you have not had since coming here. It's been a year now, right?"
"It's not a little problem!"
"And yet, while you've been spared your rougher day a month, I happen to be a woman and this Time Compression does not affect my cycle at all! My monthly visitor shows up right on schedule, no thanks to you!"
"It's not a little problem," Remus protested again.
"Oh? How many people have you bitten? You've had your problem since you were six! How many werewolves have you created?"
"None."
"Exactly! In fact seventy percent of all of the werewolves living in Britain were turned by a single rogue: Fenir Greyback, and that includes you. He is responsible for most of the new weres of the last twenty-five years and a significant number on the Continent as well! Saying you can't or won't marry me because you're a werewolf is like saying you can't marry because you're a wizard and some wizards are known to be Dark!"
"But children… Our children would be…"
"Old wives tale," Healer Tonks said. "Perpetuated, no doubt by the bigots. If you were a witch Were, you would be unable to have children. The Lycanthropic change tends to terminate pregnancies, assuming there was one. But as a male … there is no documented case of a child of a werewolf becoming a werewolf unless that child were bitten as well."
"And I know you're responsible, Remus," Dora said. "That would never happen! Any other brilliant reasons why you won't ask me?"
"For the record," Andy Tonks said, "Ted and my only objection would have been your former employment status. Seeing as the Founders' Heirs have decided to retain you in some instructional capacity here at Hogwarts for the foreseeable future, that objection is moot. If you want our blessing, you have it."
"Aside from Moony," Sirius said, "is there anyone here who has any objection to these two idiots getting hitched?"
"Um, I might," Fred said.
"Oh?"
"It's Day 358. I picked Day 371 in the pool."
"Pool?" Moony asked.
"Yeah. We have a pool going as to when you will agree to letting the lovely Miss Tonks make an honest fur ball out of you."
"I picked Day 360," Bill said. "Go ahead with it!"
"Any other objections?" Sirius asked. "There being none, the motion carries! Get on with it, Moony!"
"What now?"
"Afraid I might say no?" Dora teased.
"Um… will you m-marry me?"
"Not exactly the most romantic proposal on record," Dora said with a chuckled. "But it will do."
"Well?"
"Well what?"
"Will you?"
"Of course I will, silly! But on two conditions…"
"Oh?"
"We have the wedding here and we have it before the end of Time Compression. I want two anniversaries per year just like all the others who were married here."
TIME COMPRESSSION DAY 396
There had been three more births since Day 363. Cynthia Turpin gave birth to a daughter they named Cathy on Day 368. Cathy, although born on April 2nd, 1995, would celebrate her assimilated birthday on January 10th, 1996. Andrea's mother gave birth to twin girls Emily and Jessica on Day 380. Finally, Laura's mother gave birth to a son named Thomas on day 389, just hours after the wedding of Remus and Dora.
A meeting had been called in House Potter. The meeting was for all of House Potter and Longbottom and certain adults. Those adults were ones who possessed sufficient occlumency skills. That proved to be a very short list. Professor McGonagall was the only Hogwarts Professor present. Also present were Sirius Black and Remus and Dora Lupin. Bill Weasley was there as was his wife Fleur and Mrs. Delacour. Veela were taught the skill early in life as it helped them control their unique magic. There were no others.
"We think we've figured out how Voldemort has done it," Hermione said. "Ginny found it."
"That's not exactly right," Ginny said. "I merely recognized it for what it was."
"Be that as it may," Hermione said. "Over the last few months, we finally had time to look through the books on Necromancy we got from the Black Estate and there it was. Ginny?"
"What we were looking for was a way, however dark, that a wizard's body could die, his spirit remain and yet where he was not a ghost."
"How do you know he's not a ghost?" Bill asked.
"Ghosts can't take possession of people," Ginny replied. "Voldemort's done that at least once. That's what happened to me First Year. There was also what happened to Professor Quirrell, although that was somewhat short of out right possession. Whatever this dark magic was, it also had to allow for the possibility of the spirit to regain a physical form."
"You're talking about a Horcrux, aren't you?" Bill said.
Ginny nodded.
"There references to them in some old Curse Breaking manuals," Bill said. "Very dark and very dangerous stuff. They don't really say what they are, though."
"A horcurx is a very dark magical object as you say, Bill," Ginny continued. "It's wickedly difficult to make one - takes a full month of rituals and enchantments and it cannot be completed without a human sacrifice of sorts."
"Of sorts?" McGonagall asked.
"One of the last steps is to commit cold blooded murder."
"So aside from and excuse to kill people, what is it?" Dora asked.
"Properly prepared," Ginny said, "it is a vessel or container of sorts, into which the Dark Wizard is able to trap a piece of his own soul. So long as the Horcrux remains intact, his entire soul is trapped in this plane of existence. It cannot move on even if his physical body is destroyed. And, under the right circumstances, he will be capable of restoring himself to a physical form although it's not easy.
"The primary spirit - that part of his soul that was in his body when it died - is capable of taking possession of animals and even people for a time. That usually destroys the victim in the end. It is possible to take over completely, but not for long.
"The soul fragment - that part within a horcrux - is also capable of taking possession of a person. Again, such possession is not for long and will destroy that person as well. But, what that possession does do is allow the soul access to the means with which to fully restore it to a body."
"That being said," Hermione continued, "what happened our first two years doesn't make a lot of sense. Then again, maybe we don't have all the books on this."
"Oh?" Harry asked.
"First Year Voldemort went after the Philosopher's Stone wanting to make the Elixir of Life. The problem is, aside from Nicholas Flamel and maybe his wife, who really knows anything about either of those? It's not like they ever published their work. I guess it's possible, but it seems a bit desperate. As for what happened to Ginny in the end, had she died, he would have been no better off. Without a real body, the best he could managed would be a slightly magical ghost."
"But he can come back?" Neville asked.
"There is a way and I'm surprised he didn't try it the first time," Hermione said. "There is a really nasty ritual. First, you need a baby and preferably a magical one. The baby must be sacrificed within it's first day of life. The body will die, of course, but the primary spirit can take it over and with assistance and dark magic, can keep the body from decaying for a long period of time. That body would also be able to communicate. Eventually, a vile potion is prepared in a large cauldron. The body is placed into the potion as it begins to boil. Three more elements are required to complete the ritual. The first is a bone from an ancestor of the same gender. The second two are blood sacrifices. A servant must willingly sacrifice part of their body - cut it off - and dump it in the potion. Finally, an enemy's blood must be used as well. If done properly, it creates a human like, physical manifestation of the Dark Wizard's soul."
"Human like?" Sirius asked.
"Well, it's not really human, is it? It would look human like, but it's really a dark magical creation, not truly alive. But it would be mortal and can be destroyed just as easily as any real human."
"But if he still has one of those things, he can just come back again in time," Neville added.
"That's correct," Hermione said.
"So he made one of these horcrux things?" Harry asked.
"More than one actually," Hermione replied. "The diary was one and you destroyed it, yet he's still trying to come back."
"How many more?"
Hermione shrugged. "Who knows? No one seems to have made more than one. There may be a practical limit. My guess was he was aiming for a magically significant number. My guess would be seven as it is extremely powerful magically. The next two numbers would be thirteen and thirty-three which both seem unlikely. And we must wonder whether he was aiming at seven soul pieces or seven soul fragments."
"There's a difference?" Harry asked.
"If it was soul pieces, his primary spirit counts. That means six horcruxes. If it was soul fragments, his primary spirit does not count and that would mean seven - assuming he made them all. We don't know."
"So there's at least one more out there and probably several more."
"A fair assumption," Hermione replied. "That and they could be literally anywhere."
"What might they be?" Neville asked.
"Could be anything, really. Well, almost anything. The ideal material is gold. It does not decay or rust and permanence is a goal."
"Which is why we Curse Breakers are aware of them," Bill added.
"Why the diary then? It wasn't gold."
Hermione shrugged. "Perhaps it had some other significance or perhaps he couldn't find any gold."
"A Galleon then?"
"Possible, but unlikely. You might actually spend it and most Dark Wizards used something rather unique - something easy to recognize," Bill said. "Then they usually hide it away protected by powerful curses and enchantments. They're wicked hard to get to and harder to destroy."
"What destroys them?"
"Three things," Hermione said. "Basilisk venom is one, as you should know from the Chamber. Fiendfyre is another, although its very dangerous and dodgy magic. The Venom destroys magic and the Fiendfyre consumes it. Either way, the protective vessel is destroyed along with the soul fragment. The third thing is of no use."
"Why not?"
"The maker can destroy his own horcrux with the Killing Curse. But no one else can do the same."
"Oh. But we do have access to a Basilisk and we can learn Fiendfyre. Not that it matters all that much. We know he as at least one more of those things out there somewhere and maybe several of them. But we don't know what they are or where they are and so long as even one of them remains intact, we can kill the bastard but he can still come back again, right?"
"That's about the size of it," Hermione said.
"It's hopeless then," Harry moped.
"No Harry, it's just not going to be easy," Hermione said.
"Then again," Daphne said, "it's a fair bet Dumbledore knows of them. He might not know much more than we do, then again he might. He's probably suspected them for years and may have already started dealing with them. At the very least, he may have some useful information about them and what they might be."
"Useful information he's not likely to tell us."
"You never know, Harry," Hermione said.
"Hermione's right," Sirius said. "When Dumbledore is holding all the cards, he is tight with it. But, if he knows what we know and that we'll go after those things regardless, he might be more forthcoming."
"Assuming, of course, another of our assumptions is correct," Hermione said.
"Another?" Harry asked.
"We believe Dumbledore's belief that you have to die did not exist until after your family was attacked. If he was so certain, why would he place you and Neville under a Fidelius? Why not just let things play out? No! We think he believes that somehow you became a Horcrux that night."
"So I do have to die?"
"No Harry!" Ginny said. "If Dumbledore believed that, he's dead wrong! More wrong than about anything else we've seen! If he knew about how to make one of those things, he could never have believed that. But most of the books that discuss them never tell you how they are made, only what they are, how to identify them and how to destroy them. Remember, the ritual to create the vessle takes a full moon cycle: full moon to new moon and back again. He didn't take you off for a month, did he?"
"Time Compression," Harry began.
"Affects internal clocks," Hermione replied. "Not external ones. That's why we were able to get pregnant, have our children and once again have to suffer through our monthly visitor! That cycle might be triggered by the tides, but it is internal from then on and not tied in to the moon cycle at all. Moony, on the other had, his condition is which is why he hasn't suffered a single transformation in over a year!"
"Then there's the fact you've never been possessed by the thing," Ginny said. "I had that bloody diary less than a year and it began taking me over within months and almost killed me! Something like that would have done the same to you!"
"I have this connection," Harry began pointing to his scar.
"You've never been possessed!" Ginny said. "Harry, I have absolutely no memory of ever doing anything that happened that year regarding the attacks! None! I only suspected I was involved and was not certain until after I woke up in that Chamber after you destroyed the horcrux."
"Finally," Daphne said, "there's something we haven't discussed because until now it was unnecessary. The object used for a horcrux must be magically inert before the ritual can begin. Any residual magic would prevent the soul piece from binding with the object. Only the horcrux magic alone will allow that to occur. And if you were magically inert…"
"I'd be a squib," Harry began.
"Actually, you'd be dead, Harry," Hermione said. "Magically inert means magically inert. All living things have some magic. You remove the magic and it dies. That's what the Killing Curse does."
"So I can't be one, can I?"
"No Harry, you can't. It's impossible. Although, unless you know how those things are made, you could reach that conclusion. This supports one of our possible conclusions about Dumbledore. He made assumptions and didn't do the research!"
"Fifty or sixty years of being the greatest Wizard might make one complacent in that regard," Sirius added.
"There's one other thing to consider, Harry," Healer Tonks said. "Basilisk venom. You were bitten by one, yes?"
"But Dumbledore's phoenix Fawlkes cured me," Harry said.
"Their magic doesn't cure, Harry, it heals and there is a difference. His magic cannot neutralize poisons, it just makes you magically immune to it - although I would not recommend playing with basilisks in the future. Your brilliant young friends say that poison would destroy one of those things. I can tell you that poison is still in your system at what for anyone else would be a lethal level."
"It is?"
"Remember when I drew blood from the lot of you when we learned Rose Granger was expecting?"
Everyone nodded.
"Muggles don't respond to Blood Replenishing Potion. Had something gone wrong - and fortunately nothing did - I would have to do it the Muggle way with a transfusion. I was looking for blood matches and Harry's would have been, but I couldn't use it. The venom still coursing through his veins would have killed her. So it would seem your now immune to that venom, but it would have destroyed the thing if you were one."
"So I can't be a horcrux," Harry said. "It's impossible and yet Dumbledore is certain I am?"
"I think that sums it up pretty well," Hermione said.
"Bugger! And my scar and connection?"
"It's been known to happen," Healer Tonks said. "It runs in some families, the connection that is. It is also possible given the violence of that night it might be a minor form of possession, nothing an exorcism can't fix. As for the scar? Most often scars are just that."