I am not the author of Harry Potter, just taking the characters out to play. Please note this is rated M for a reason, there will be lemons and in later chapters will have some dark themes. You have been warned. Enjoy!
"What's going on?" Hermione asks gently as she sits next to her best friends in the library of Grimmauld Place.
"Fleur and Bill had a fight." Harry whispers back, "Something about some old law."
Ron sighs, "It's an old tradition Bill's agreed to follow a long time ago and Fleur refuses, she says she can live with him not being beautiful anymore and even the little bits of werewolf, she doesn't mind he isn't rich but the rest of us she made pretty clear she doesn't like."
"I know she and Molly had some problems in the start…" Hermione frowned in thought; they had all seemed to be getting along much better since Bill had gotten out of the hospital.
"Yeah, but Fleur still thinks we're all uncuth or uncooped or something."
"Uncouth?" Hermione clarified.
"Yeah, that." Ron nodded. "She didn't realize that the tradition would apply or that Bill would consider following it. I guess it's pretty bad. She was going on about the twins being enough to cover any legal responsibility, she even called them depraved and to let them have at it or whatever. Merlin knows the rumors at Hogwarts during the Triwizard should have given her a clue we might follow some of the old ways but she's all leave it to them and let them live far away from our family."
"What's the tradition?" Harry asked with a frown, "And what does it have to do with the twins?"
"Twins traditionally marry together, actually almost always for identical twins since magically they are seen as part of the same person." Hermione clarified for Harry, "What does the tradition have to do with Bill though?" Hermione puzzled to herself as much as asked Ron, trying to remember anything she'd read on wizarding families and bonding traditions.
"The house wife." Ron shrugged. "Bill and Charlie always knew they'd marry the same witch but Fleur wont have it."
"Wait, what?" Harry startled.
"Bill and Charlie aren't twins." Hermione stated shaking her head as though Ron had forgotten.
"There are six of us Hermione, well five since Fred and George are… well one technically and they share witches, all Hogwarts knows if you date one you date both."
"Yes," Hermione nodded having heard more than one rumor and actually caught more than one witch sandwiched between the two, getting felt up by one while snogging the other.
"With five others, the head of house… Bill" he clarifies, "sets up a new household and he and his brother, Charlie, marry a witch, leaving Percy as heir to dad and me, well I get to do what I want which is the only perk to being the youngest, actually the twins get to do what they want too but have the whole twin share thing."
"They set up a new household?" Hermione frowns, "Percy has his own house."
"Yeah," Ron nodded "but its still the house of Weasley, we might not be aristocrats but we are pureblood and when dad… you know… passes… the head of house will be his heir, which should have been Bill but was passed to Percy since Bill and Charlie will set up their own household."
"What house?"
Ron shrugged, "With those two who knows, the house of dragons or puzzles or puzzled dragons." Ron snorted at his own joking but quickly sobered. "It means that Percy will inherit the Burrow and the family vault, if we were aristocrats he'd inherit the title too and Bill would get a new one but since we aren't the new household thing is mostly just words. Anyways, Fleur just realized marrying Bill is actually marrying Bill and Charlie and she basically called Charlie ugly and dumb and then said the rest of the family was below her or something."
"That's awful."
"She told him since he was bitten by the werewolf he could renounce his place have Charlie set up house with Percy and the twins become the heirs and Bill become part of her family and wouldn't that just be best."
"Renounce his place as a Weasley?" Harry frowned.
"She wants him to declare himself less than human rather than marry Charlie and disown mum and dad and have them disown him."
"She's basically called us all worthless but Charlie…" Ginny sobbed coming into the room. Harry pulled her into his arms to comfort her. "She let Bill put in the request to the ministry and now Bill has to marry or he's out of the family!"
"Which is what she wants?" Harry frowned at Ron in question.
"What happens if they just don't get married at all?" Hermione asked her mind whirling with new information.
"Bill will lose his magic." Ginny sniffled.
"He can't!" Hermione protested, "Magic is part of us!"
"It can be bound." Ron choked out while Ginny cried harder. "It's a very old tradition, well for families with six boys it's a law to expand the wizarding families and some other stuff because of population control, so those that disobey can be bound as little more than squibs and their next eldest brother takes his place. It's traditional if there are four boys or more, two for each house incase one dies. It can be three boys. This many kids is pretty rare." He sighed and waved at himself and Ginny to represent the Weasley kids, "Wizards and witches just don't have multiple kids."
"If Bill's magic is bound he wont be able to have any." Ginny added sniffling again.
They heard more doors slam and Hermione shuddered.
Two days later they sat in the kitchen of Grimmauld Place, at the tail end of an Order meeting, discussing Fleur's leaving for France the day before and the situation this left Bill and Charlie in.
"So Bill and Charlie have to find a witch and get married or Bill's out of the family and a squib?" Professor Sinistra grimaced at the two Weasley boys.
"Fleur was right about me being able to step aside and keep my magic." Bill sighed, "Percy's girlfriend has agreed to marry Charlie and provide him one child as long as the union is completely separate otherwise."
"I can live with that." Charlie shrugged leaning closer to Bill, "If I have too."
"No!" Molly hissed, "I am not losing my son over some trampy French… bitch!"
"Mum!" Ginny gasped.
"Like I said," Arthur sighed, "We need to get the boys married."
"I'm not exactly a catch." Bill reminded them waving at his freshly scared face.
"You're still hot." Ginny told him stubbornly. "You know, for my brother."
"I've been single a while and its not like Bill and I have a line of ex-girl friends we can call up and propose to. They either won't marry him or won't marry me or are already married." Charlie sighed, "I don't like it but Percy might be our only option or he's more than just out of the family mum."
"So we find another witch!" Ginny insisted.
"We're talking about a triad marriage Ginny, who would marry a man she didn't love let alone two? And with a wolf marked wizard." Tonks spoke gently shooting a sympathetic look at Bill, "While I am against prejudice…" Remus took her hand in his.
"We have three days to set the engagement." Bill sighed. "Penelope is being very generous." He leaned a little against Charlie so the brothers looked like they were holding each other up.
"There has to be someone who will marry you." Molly sniffled.
"You're both amazing, lot's of witches should want to!" Ginny huffed angrily.
"I'm a bit old for the two of you but since I prefer the company of Minerva I've never been married and I suppose I'm young enough to still have children." Professor Sinistra offered in a hesitant voice. The Weasley's had always been so good to her, she was over two decades older than the boys but she'd marry them both if there was no other option. The hand of her lover on her knee gave a supportive squeeze under the table, telling her that Minerva understood and agreed, and would probably offer the same if she wasn't past her prime for children. Aurora nearly was herself.
"I'll do it." Katie swallowed, "I'll marry them."
"Katie?" George and Fred stared at their off again, on again girlfriend.
"I've been with you two, and I love you," she hesitated, "Honestly, I kind of thought… one day we'd…" She shook herself, "I'm over seventeen, I can manage a relationship with two wizards, I want lots of kids… they might not be you two but I can do it."
"The triad thing… the witch marries them both and has two kids to one and one to the other." Professor McGonagal explains gently.
"I know." Katie swallows stepping a little away from the twins, "I love the twins enough to do this for their brothers and for the Order. We need Bill with his magic." Fred and George reached out to her but she sent them a sad smile, "There's no one else here who can." They gave weak nods as they looked at their older brothers, they might have been broken up but they had always assumed they'd end up with the beautiful, strong, quidditch loving witch.
"I can." Tonks offered in a wobbly voice squeezing Remus's hand tightly. "Remus and I aren't supposed to be married until next week, I, we could…" She swallowed.
All of the Weasley's were touched by the outpouring of love and support from the witches in the room, all willing to forego the lives they planned and dreamed.
"I'll do it." Hermione surprised herself as much as the rest of the room when she broke the moment of silence that had fallen.
"Hell no!" Ron spat.
Hermione rolled her eyes at him and looked at her Headmaster, "I'm seventeen, so I'm of age, I'm not in love with anybody, I never actually pictured getting married but I love all the Weasley's even if I don't know Bill and Charlie well, I'm certain we'll become friends. I'm not very attractive but there are lust potions and contraceptive potions and I am young enough to have kids and old enough to understand what I'm agreeing to. I suppose if we survive the war I'll want kids. At least they wont be marrying someone in love with their brother, who is already engaged, who prefers women or is maybe a little past having many kids. They also won't be stuck with a wife who will think either of them is less than the good, kind, strong and brave wizards they are." She stated calmly, though inside she was shaking and thought she might have lost her mind.
"We can't let you do that." Arthur shook his head, "Giving up your life." He looked forlornly at his sons.
"It might be a different life than I maybe expected but it's not giving up my life." Hermione protested. "I can do this."
"I don't think you understand triadic marriages Hermione." Professor Sinistra offered gently.
"No, I don't." She agreed. "Good thing I am a very good student."
"It's halfway through your sixth year." Molly protested. "We can't ask you to do this."
"You didn't." Hermione bit back tears, "I'm offering. If they can stand to be married to me, I'll marry them."
"What about school?" Katie asked gently.
Hermione shrugged, "If I learned anything being friends with Ronald Weasley and Harry Potter the last six and a half years, it's that some things are more important than school and to me, this family is one of them. So if being married means I can't go back to Hogwarts after the holidays… well I was mostly bored in class anyways, honestly I'm almost through the years work and extra credit assignments already."
Harry shook his head and chuckled while Ron snorted out a laugh, "Of course you are."
"So it's settled." Dumbledore twinkled at them.
"Not if they don't accept." Hermione finally looked at the two eldest Weasley's, both standing straight and staring at her, expressions unreadable.
They looked at each other and back at her and then around the room before back at each other and finally on her.
"We accept." Charlie nodded.
Bill sighed, "You don't have to do this Hermione. I won't be a squib if Charlie marries Penelope and Percy."
"He'll be married to someone who likes him little more than Fleur did." Ginny snorted.
"Not to mention Percy." Fred shuddered.
"The great git." George scowled.
"You'll be out of the family!" Ginny almost wailed.
"I'll always be your brother Gin." Bill gave her a weak smile.
"I don't understand this law, or triad marriages or anything that's going on really, but I do understand that this is the best option." Hermione spoke up again, "I don't have to do it and you don't either Bill but I've decided I will and Charlie seems to prefer marrying me with you than Penelope with Percy but those are our decisions, you have three days to make yours." With that she turned and left the room. Her whole body was shaking and tears stung her eyes. She didn't make it to her room before they fell. Harry joined her immediately while the others continued to talk. When Ron joined them later it was to tell them Bill had agreed.
Hermione nodded and more tears fell. Ron sat next to her and both boys hugged her, one from either side.
"Thank you Hermione." Ron whispered. Harry just rubbed her back soothingly.
"I had a crush on you." Hermione told Ron after a while.
"I had one on you too." Ron chuckled mirthlessly.
"Are you angry?"
"I'm to grateful not to be losing my brother." Ron admitted. "Besides, you scare me a little sometimes and I annoy you sometimes and we'd drive each other crazy if we ever moved past a little crush."
"Yeah." Hermione agreed with a chuckle. "Probably."
"I'd be the one in the nut house first." Harry agreed.
"Why would you be in a house of nuts?" Ron asked with a frown making them both chuckle.
"It's a muggle saying for a place people who've lost their minds go." Harry explained.
"It's where I might need to be sent." Hermione groaned. "I just offered to marry your brothers."
"And they accepted." Ron sighed.
"You're getting married." Harry agreed.
"To Bill." Ron groaned, "And Charlie."
"Two wizards." Harry looked aghast as the implications hit them all.
Ginny joined them then and flung herself at the older witch sobbing, "You are the best most amazing witch in the universe. The best friend, the best sister I could ever ever ask for!"
"You are the best friend ever." Ron nodded in agreement.
"The best sister." Harry agreed. Both boys joining the hug again and no one mentioned if tears were in all four pairs of eyes.