Harry Potter and the Laws of Love
Rating: M
Summary: This is a sequel to Pansy Invictus. Please read it first, to lay the groundwork. Harry finds that, under wizarding law, he has some unexpected obligations. Some unfair laws are challenged.
Disclaimer: I have not claim to characters or scenes from the Harry Potter series, which belongs to JK Rowling and associates. I get nothing from this except the enjoyment of imagining and writing the story. No money, damn it.
Author's Notes:
It has been said that only the middle class cares about middle class morality – the poor can't afford it, and the upper classes have always had their own rules. Learning to live by any new rules can be difficult, when you grew up living by other standards.
Viewpoints expressed by the characters are not necessarily those of the author. This is fiction, and I intend to explore conflicting points-of-view.
I have generally followed canon as background, but ignored a lot of the epilogue, notably about the next generation.
Footnote #1: Lyrics are from 'Feet fall on the Road' by Bruce Cockburn
Inheritance
After a very disturbing meeting with Pansy Parkinson, Harry sent a floo message to Hermione Granger, who was studying at the magical wing of the University of Edinburgh, reading a double major in chemistry (potions) and law. She was also volunteering part-time at a major Hospital there as she was thinking about being a healer, but looking at the legal or research aspects of the craft. Harry and Ron had discussed between themselves and decided that she was likely either going to become one of the 'Unspeakables' in the department of Mysteries at the Ministry of Magic, or a pathologist at St Mungo's, as pathology was a specialty where you had to know everything about everything, and they figured that that described 'their' Hermione to a 'T'.
Harry asked if she could look up some information on the laws of marriage and inheritance. After asking what specific areas he was interested in, she assured him that she had been looking some stuff up (telling him that it was purely out of academic interest, of course, which raised Harry's curiosity a bit), and it might be a week or two because of her workload, but she would get back to him.
Between his games and practice sessions with the Glasgow Tartans quidditch team, Harry had spent time travelling around checking out the properties that he had inherited from his parents, as well as from Sirius Black. His godfather had named him as his heir, and Harry found himself the sole heir of both the Ancient and Noble House of Potter and of Black. These inheritances made him wealthy beyond dreams of avarice, or as Ginny Weasley summed it up, 'richer than God', and he found himself the owner of properties around the world, as well as the Chief of a Highland Clan and Laird of a castle in the highlands of Scotland a little ways away from Hogwarts.
He also found that he was a part owner of several professional quidditch teams, including the Chudley Cannons, a fact he did not advertise so that when Ron was picked for the team, there was no hint of favouritism or influence. He did tell Ron of his interest as he did not want to lie to him or seem to be working behind his back, but swore that he had not exerted any influence, as he knew that Ron was capable of make the team on his own, and he also wanted his friend to know that he (Ron) had made it on his own merits. He pointed out that Ron had won the cup for Gryffindor while Harry was banned from the game, and so he saw absolutely no reason to interfere with the natural course of events.
As he wandered, Harry was looking to find a home. He had never really had one, staying at Hogwarts during the school year, and in Surrey with his relatives, or in Devon with the Weasley family during the summer. As the castle at Hogwarts had been the first place of residence where he felt any sort of welcome and comfort, he found himself fond of his highland castle, but found the Scottish winters rather too harsh.
He arranged to have the Potter Manor in Godric's Hollow (in Cornwall) rebuilt, repairing the damage done to it when his parents were murdered there in his infancy. Once the palatial manor house was restored, Harry moved in and decided that, for the moment at least, it would be his primary residence, as the southern English climate was far more gentle than in Scotland, due to the influence of the Gulf Stream bringing warmth from near the Caribbean.
Harry found that, as much as he loved travelling and seeing new things, having never had the opportunity when he was young, no place really felt like home to him. 'Home' was where the people he loved were. This feeling was becoming a problem as the people he loved were becoming spread out as they moved away from where they had grown up. Hermione was in Scotland, Ron had moved to Chudley after he was drafted as first reserve keeper for the Cannons, and Ginny had moved up to Holyhead on the Irish Sea when she was picked by the Harpies as their first string chaser and reserve seeker. Neville and Hannah were living north of London on the Longbottom estate, while George Weasley and his wife Angelina were running the store in Diagon Alley in London. Arthur and Molly Weasley still lived at the Burrow in Devon, and Bill and Fleur were still at Shell Cottage in Cornwall a short distance from Godric's Hollow.
All were connected to the floo network, so visiting was easy, but on a summer's evening sitting alone on the balcony of the third floor of Potter Manor watching the sun go down with a butterbeer in his hand, Harry couldn't help feeling a bit lonely. He and Ron and Hermione had been inseparable for most of their seven years at Hogwarts, and he and Hermione had even shared a platonic bed in the tent while they were on the run hunting for the Horcruxes. Being alone just felt wrong, but it also was relaxing as no one was bothering him or trying to kill him (as had been his life up to a few years ago).
Now, Harry had met with a woman whom he had thought of as an old enemy, and been informed that, under wizarding law, as the head and sole occupant of two Houses, he was not only expected but legally required to have two wives and a number of concubines. Harry thought to himself, "Wizarding society seems to think I am just a race horse. I did my service for them, running like hell and getting rid of Voldemort for them, and now they are going to put me out to stud. Why should I give a rat's ass what they want? I suppose I will have to have a Lady Potter and a Lady Black, but anything else, I do on my terms, not theirs! That's why we fought this damn war, to get rid of this pureblood crap."
Near the end of October, Hermione got back in touch with Harry and asked if they could meet the following week – she was working a weekend shift at the hospital but had some time either the Wednesday or Thursday afternoon and evening. She said she hadn't had Harry's cooking in some time, and would appreciated it if he would cook dinner for her. Harry agreed to a date, and then looked at his calendar. The agreed-upon date was Hallowe'en. Harry's heart fell as he thought "Oh crap. Nothing good has ever happened to me on Hallowe'en." Then he thought, "Hang on. That's the day when Hermione became my friend, admittedly after she was almost killed by the troll; maybe it's not so bad. However, other than that, Hallowe'ens have usually been a disaster."
The afternoon of Hallowe'en, Hermione floo'd down to the Manor. As this was the first time she had visited there, Harry showed her around the house. When they got to the swimming pool, Hermione smiled and asked "Can I go in for a dip? I haven't had a chance to swim since last summer with my parents." Harry said "Sure, shall I wait for you upstairs, or would you like some company? I guess it depends on whether you want to just splash around or really swim seriously." Hermione paused for a moment, and then said "If you don't mind, I'd like to swim hard for a bit, and then as you say, splash around a bit. I see you have a hot tub at the end of the pool. Say, meet me there in about a half hour?"
She then stopped and said "Slight problem. I didn't bring a bathing suit. I guess I can transfigure my undies into a serviceable bikini." Harry smirked "Or you could just swim in your skin. That's what I generally do." Hermione grimaced "But what about when you come in too?" Harry smiled with a wicked grin, "Well, you have a number of choices. One, I could come in nude too, so we are both wearing the same. You know, fair is fair, and we would be on equal terms." Hermione blushed as she considered this option. Harry continued, "Two, you could just wear your underthings as they are. Three, you could charm your undies into a fetching bikini, as you suggested. Or four, we could call Florie and have her make up a suit for you, by the time I would come in."
Hermione was shocked, "Harry, you have an elf here?" Harry grinned and said, "Come on Hermione, don't get your knickers (which I am dying to see as a bikini) in a twist. You know me. Yes, I have several elves here; it's a big house and estate. They are all paid as well as I can get them to agree to. They are the most cutthroat negotiators I have even dealt with, talking me down and down and down until I won't put up with it. Florie got me talked down to giving her a flower every week, a bowl of porridge on New Year's Day, and a piece of toast with cinnamon on it for Valentine's Day. I tried to pay her more, but she won't have it. She's Dobby's niece, by the way."
Hermione smiled and laughed "I think I need to get Florie to make me a swim suit. Anyone who can talk the great Harry Potter into such as sweet deal, I have to meet. I may even wear the suit when you join me." The last was said with an even more evil grin than Harry had earlier.
About a half hour later, Harry came into the swimming pool wearing red trucks. He was startled to see, laid out in a trail towards the pool, Hermione's skirt, then her blouse, then her half-slip, then her bra, then her silk knickers, then a one-piece bathing suit with a rustling bamboo pattern (like wizarding photographs, the bamboo moved as if there was a gentle breeze). Hermione was sitting in the hot tub, up to her neck in water, smiling wickedly at him. Harry came up to the side of the tub, and blushing all the way down his body (at least as far as Hermione could see) to the point where his trucks looked pale, said "Well, I did issue the challenge and fair is fair", as he reached for the top of his suit to push them down. Hermione smiled widely and said "Stop", as she stood up, showing that she was wearing a bikini with a pattern of tropical flowers. "Harry, you are just so easy to tease. I think we should keep our suits on, because we have some important things to talk about. I know boys tend to stop thinking when they are near a girl who has little or nothing on."
Harry raised his eyebrows questioningly. "Boys?" Hermione blushed, and said, "Okay, Ron. I mean, you've seen how he turns into a complete idiot around Fleur, and that's when she's wearing clothes!" Harry laughed at the implied situation, "Ron has seen Fleur without her clothes?" Hermione laughed as she hit him on the arm lightly "We went swimming last summer with her and Bill in the south of France. You know women there don't usually wear their bikini top. Anyway, when Fleur and I came out of the changing area, Ron's jaw dropped so far I thought it was going to bounce off the floor, and he blushed so hard that his skin was redder than his hair. Fleur put her top on, before the blood loss to his brain made him pass out." Hermione giggled lightly, and said "Mum told me years ago that boys have two heads, a big one on their shoulders, and the little one lower down, but they only have enough blood supply for one at a time." Harry smirked "Were you dressed in similar fashion?" Hermione smiled and with a bit of a twinkle in her eye, she said "It has happened."
Harry smiled and asked "So how are you two doing?" Hermione smiled contentedly and lowered her eyes slightly. "We're looking at rings, and we plan to announce our engagement this Sunday at lunch at the Burrow. You are coming, aren't you?" Harry replied that he had a standing invitation from Mrs Weasley to come to Sunday lunch with the rest of 'his family', and that he would most certainly be there.
Hermione's brow furrowed, and (as Harry and Ron had described it many times) she put on her 'serious' face. She said "I looked up the laws on inheritance and related matters, as we talked about after you met with Pansy. Wizarding laws are extremely patriarchal. They seem to all be concerned with maintaining and enhancing the pureblood male bloodline and their property, and they completely neglect the female line or almost any consideration of the muggleborn or half-bloods. You know, some cultures consider inheritance only from the female line, because you can always be sure about who the mother is but not the father. Anyway, it seems it's okay for a wizard to marry multiple witches, particularly if he is from one of the supposedly 'Noble' houses (or just filthy rich, so you're covered two ways), but a witch is not allowed to have two or more husbands."
Harry grinned at her, knowing that if anything annoyed Hermione, it was things being unfair. "So who were these two or more wizards you had been planning to marry?" Hermione blushed and looked shocked, and Harry continued "And you said I was easy to tease."
Hermione still looked shocked, but also rather hurt, and Harry realized that she had not been looking up these laws just out of academic interest, and he had a pretty good idea of who the 'extra mouth at the table' might be. Meanwhile, Hermione was watching Harry's realization of the implications and his shock, and thinking that there was no way she could deny his assumption without hurting his feelings, which she definitely did not want to do, mostly because he was right.
Harry's eyes softened, and he reached out to hold Hermione's hands. "Hermione, I am deeply touched and profoundly honoured that you would consider me as a potential husband, even if I would have to share you with another, and I was in second place. Thank you from the bottom of my heart." He looked deeply into her eyes as he said this, and although it was left unsaid she knew that, had things with Ron been different, she was at the top of his list.
Hermione shook her head to break the spell between them, and continued, "Getting back to the topic, I think you need to read the laws yourself. I have summarized the more salient points in my notes that I left upstairs in your den. Harry, I think I know that you don't feel that this is right, and that it is taking advantage of the women. However, there doesn't seem to be any way around it, within the wizarding law. If you don't follow through with it, the titles and the property are forfeited to the Ministry, and the next nearest relatives then inherit. If there are no relatives, and they can go back hundreds of years to find the connection, the Ministry keeps the money, and the 'House' ceases to exist. Essentially, if you don't go along with it, you lose all your inheritances."
Harry had considered just telling the Ministry and the Wizengamot to take a long walk off a short cliff, and chuck it all. They had been running his life for a long time, and doing him no favours, on top of lying about him and besmirching his character for a good many years. However, if he did that, he would be essentially spitting on the graves of Sirius and his parents. That, he could not do. He was trapped. It might be a pleasant trap, but Harry remembered a song he had heard that had the line "Though chains be of gold, they are chains all the same." (1)
"Cutting to the chase, basically, as the sole heir of two noble houses, you are not only expected but required by the laws to repopulate both houses. You are to be 'assisted' in this effort by one wife of each house, who will be the 'Lady' of that house, and as many concubines as you can manage or afford. If either marriage is childless, an heir can be chosen from the offspring of the other house, so that the property remains in the family. The heir is to be the senior male child unless the senior male child has been disinherited for whatever reason, or if there is no male child then the senior female child inherits – when she marries, all authority over the house then is vested in her husband, and she loses her rights, unless the marriage fails, in which case she gets half the property back as dower rights, but he gets to keep the titles. Like I said, unfair. "
"One rather unpleasant point of law comes into effect if you decide that you do not want two wives, and leave one house without a 'Lady', in the expectation of appointing one of the children as the heir of the other house. In that case, unless it can be shown to the Wizengamot that an honest effort was made to arrange for a marriage, but this failed because of factors such as the wizard being such a prune that no witch would have him, and there were no impoverished houses looking to sell their daughters for the political and financial alliance, the wizard shall be found to be failing his legal obligations to the wizarding society and the title and all the properties are to be passed to the nearest male relative of the line, thereby preserving the male bloodline's wealth and status."
Harry looked at her grimacing face and said "I know I am not going to like the answer, but who is the 'next in line', if I don't do this." Hermione looked unhappy, "I haven't been able to find the next Potter connection yet, but the nearest Black relative is Draco Malfoy, through his mother. The fact that he is a convicted criminal does not negate his rights of inheritance."
Harry smiled and said, "Well, if I have to get married to two or more witches, and have a happy life, just so Draco doesn't inherit, I could live with that." They both laughed.
Harry enquired, "How come we haven't heard about any of this, either at school or from the Weasleys?"
Hermione thought about it for a minute. "I think it's a matter of the wizarding society's class structure. I guess you could say that the Weasleys are middle class, like my parents, and this stuff seems to affect only the "Ancient and Noble Houses" like the Potters and the Blacks. You really didn't have much chance to talk to Sirius about it, and he would have probably thought it was all rubbish anyway. Voldemort seems to have wiped out most of the Potter line as well as your parents, so no information from that quarter either. A lot of the stuff they did or told us about at school seems to have been geared towards keeping the purebloods in charge, and unless the teachers were of the 'higher castes', they wouldn't have been up on this either."
Hermione continued, "There were a couple of really strange laws as well that I thought you might find interesting, while we are on the topic of inheritance and fertility."
"One I thought was interesting, because I have heard of similar laws in some muggle societies. If a pureblood wizard with a family dies, and he has an unmarried brother, the brother is to marry the widow and adopt the children, so that the bloodline continues. If there are married brothers, one of the brothers is to take the widow as a concubine, and adopt the children as his own. If the wizard who died was the heir to the title, then the eldest remaining brother is to marry the widow and the dead brother's children will be considered the heirs. If the dead husband was a younger brother, and so not the heir, then his children will follow the line of succession as through their father was still alive. This way, the children do not lose their succession rights. However, I have to say that, given a lot of historical examples, I would suspect their chances of surviving to adulthood would be slim if they had ambitious cousins."
"Another weird and rather old one which ties into something Pansy said, in that, if a wizard is sleeping around to the discredit of the dignity of his family name, he will become sterile. You mentioned that Pansy said there was a rumour that Lucius Malfoy was 'initiating' all the girls in the brothels he ran, and brought home a venereal disease which left him and/or Narcissa sterile, which is why Draco was an only child. You'll notice that a lot of the 'high caste' pureblood families (a lot of whom were recruited into the Death Eaters) seem to only have one child. The only purebloods with lots of children seem to be the lower caste ones like the Weasleys. This is the only law I have ever seen that seems to penalize the behaviour of purebloods, and I don't think most purebloods are aware of it. I really wonder what happened in the 1400's to have the Wizengamot of the time pass this one – most of the laws seem to reward the purebloods for bad behaviour.
Hermione concluded, "Harry, I think I'm going into Law as a profession."
Harry looked at his wrinkled fingers, and said, "Well, before you go into law, and we solve all the legal problems of the wizarding world, I suggest we get dressed and I cook you supper, if Florie will let me use the kitchen. She says it's her job, and given that I am paying her exorbitantly, she will do it. Alternately, we can turned the air temperature up to tropical, turn on the sunlamps, and sit down here getting a tan."
Harry then put on his 'serious' face. "Hermione", he asked, "could you set up a time when I can meet with your parents for a couple of hours?"
Hermione shrugged and said "Sure. Why? Just my parents, or do you want me there too?"
Harry blushed a little, and responded, "They are one of two couples that I know who have a successful marriage. The other is the Weasleys, and I am going to see if I can meet with them too, at a different time."
"Hermione, all my life, people have been telling or making me do things when I have absolutely no idea how to do them. According to what you and Pansy have said, I am going to be the husband to two or more witches, and I have no idea how to be a husband. It's not like they covered it in 'Defence Against the Dark Arts'! Although, the way Pansy came on to me, that may have been the appropriate class for it."
"I know that there is a lot of emphasis on sex, but that can't be all of it. In Charms and Transfigurations, they covered a bit of the anatomy of boys and girls, so I think I know a bit about the mechanics. I mean I know that Tab 'A' does fit into Slot 'B', but I have no idea why a woman would want me to do that. It sounds painful, if not entirely gross. I have some idea of the 'how', but absolutely nothing of the 'why'. As you so eloquently put it a while ago, boys tend to think with their 'little' head when it comes to sex. But how does it work for girls? I don't have a clue, and if I am going to make a go of it, I have to find out."
"Hermione, if I am going to be a success at this, and I owe it to my wife or wives to make it a success, I need to talk to some people who have made it a success, and get some guidance. Your Mum and Dad obviously have a very loving relationship, and they are not having sex every minute of the day (and yes, I remember that night I stayed at your place with all the nocturnal sound effects). Molly and Arthur obviously have a loving relationship, and by the number of red heads around the table at meals, I know they have had sex more than once. But that can't be all of it. Hermione, I need help, and I think I need it sooner than later. I mean, what if I am a total disaster in bed? Or out of bed? According to my understanding of the spells at a magical wedding, like we saw with Bill and Fleur, my wife can't leave me or divorce me, even if I make a total mess of it. I don't want her to have her life ruined like that."
Hermione reached across the hot tub and kissed him. "Harry, I know you are worried that you won't make a successful husband. You have been successful at almost everything you have tried to do. With an attitude like that, even if you don't get it completely right as first, you and she will learn together, and with that attitude, you can't fail to succeed." She blushed slightly, and said "And believe me, your wives will certainly want you to insert Tab 'A' into Slot 'B'!"
Harry grinned, and said, "Thanks for the vote of confidence. The problem is, most of what I was successful at was killing people and monsters. I'm not sure that's the best preparation for a wedding."
Hermione responded, "Harry, if I wasn't almost engaged to Ron, I'd jump your bones right now and demand that you marry me! Anyway, let's get dressed and eat. All this talking has made me hungry."
Harry laughed "Yep, you and Ron are going to get along just fine, with such an appetite. Hermione, I love you and you're the best sister I never had. And if you want to sit in on the meeting with your parents, I don't mind. I should warn you that I am going to ask some questions where you might not want to hear the answers from your Mum and Dad."