AN: My notes for the last chapter were excessive. You have my apologies. The reason for the last chapter (and this one) is to provide the background for a subplot planned for the 2nd year. I didn't want it to come out of nowhere. This really should have been part of the previous chapter, but I really wanted that pause between reading that and this. James is Dudley's father. That is going to lead to lots of issues.
AN: My belief is, life is messy. I could write my core plotline in less than 40K. It would be weird because it would not mirror life. It would be too neat without any complications which did not directly affect the plot.
Last AN: You can thank the guest reviewer for today's update. Sometimes the strangest things can motivate you. Thank You Guest reviewer!
Chapter 21
Putting the Genie Back in the Bottle
-===November 12th, 1980===-
Lily could hardly believe the changes the year had brought. Yet here she was, in the same room again, with Petunia. The more things change, the more they stay the same. Speaking of change, Harry and Dudley sleeping together in the playpen was a welcome change. They looked so cute together and far too much alike. In fact, they looked like twins. Eventually, it would be a problem. A LARGE problem.
Sadly, that was not the reason for meeting with Petunia today.
"He is. I know he is." Petunia sighed heavily.
"Dudley is very young. Accidental magic rarely shows at this age. Could you be imagining it?" Lily cautiously inquired.
"Well, he is not floating things around like Harry," Petunia paused as she and Lily looked toward the crib and their sleeping angels. "But when he is happy… When he is happy, his eyes twinkle."
"Toony, eye twinkles are common in… normal … children too."
"In the dark?" Petunia huffed.
"Well, no, that is not normal." Lily agreed. "May I check him for magic?"
Petunia nodded. "That is why we are here."
Lily rose from the couch and walked to the crib, taking a moment to smooth her skirt, avoiding the diagnostic charm for a few more seconds. If Petunia was this worried, she probably had a reason.
"Vernon has not noticed anything yet. According to him, taking care of babies is 'women's work'. He has not changed a diaper or helped with feeding or rocked him in the middle of the night. He says his part will start when Dudders is older enough to talk and run. Dudders? Who the hell would call his son Dudders? I hate that name."
Lily took a deep calming breath and centered her attention before she cast a simple detection charm. Harry woke up immediately, smiling. Lily had used this charm on him several times and from his reaction… it tickled. Smiling she recognized the faint blue aura surrounding Harry. He would grow to be a powerful wizard, just like James.
Looking at Dudley, Lily gasped. He was no longer asleep. He was looking right at her and cooing. And there was the aura a magical child would have, in this case, a teal hue almost as bright as Harry's. 'Toony is right. Dudley is a wizard.'
Reaching down into the crib Lily stroked the cheek of each child in turn before returning to sit by Petunia on the couch.
"Well?" Petunia demanded a bit shrilly.
Nodding Lily confirmed Petunia's worst fear, casting a calming charm as she did: no reason to upset the children.
Petunia's sobs died away immediately as she replied, "Vernon will kill Dudley and then me. He has praised God for me 'not being a freak like your sister'. If he finds out, he will kill us both. And how can he not find out? Look how much they look alike! They are practically twins!"
"Tell him they take after you and me more than him and James. No. That won't work. Harry looks too much like James." Lily sighed.
"So does Dudley," Petunia said blandly. She had long suspected James was Dudley's father, but Lily had never admitted it and she wasn't cold-hearted enough to ask bluntly. Though looking at Harry and Dudley side by side, it was becoming harder to ignore.
"He does, doesn't he?" Lily admitted quietly. "You know why, don't you?"
Silence hung between them, broken only by the cooing and babbling of Harry and Dudley as they tried to eat each other's fingers.
Petunia sniffled before replying, "I suspected. After they were born, I suspected. How could anyone not? They look so much alike! But I didn't know how to bring up the subject. At least we know it can never happen again. We barely look like sisters now, much less like twins."
"So, what do you want to do?" Lily asked softly.
"What do you mean? What choices do I have?" Petunia moaned. "I've no place in your world. I'm a squib and a mudblood squib at that. I'd be hated on general principle by almost everyone."
"How do you know those terms?" Lily asked sharply.
"Dumbledore. That is what he told me when I begged to come with you. He said leaving me in the normal world was a kindness compared to the hardships I would have if I tried to follow you into yours."
"Bastard," Lily mumbled.
"Everyone in your world seems to think he is this paragon of virtue. But he just seemed cruel to me."
"You could leave Vernon."
"And then what? Raise a son on my own? Without a job? How would that work?" Petunia sneered.
"I could arrange through the bank for you to have enough money to live comfortably for the rest of your life. Regardless of the circumstances, your child is my husband's. Supporting the both of you is the right thing to do." Lily's shoulders slumped as she admitted aloud Dudley's father for the first time.
"Would you tell James? Would you tell him Dudley is his son?" Petunia queried quietly.
"No. I can't. If I had told him as soon as I found out, I think we could have worked through it. But after so long." Lily sniffed loudly, trying to hold back the tears at the thought of what could happen. She didn't know that James would leave her, especially since Harry was born, but she knew their marriage would never be the same.
"I understand. And that is why it would never work. Eventually, he would notice. He has money. Lots of money. Which means he has people to manage his money. So, someone would eventually notice, and he would be informed. You would have to tell him then. If you don't think your marriage could survive a year of this secret, imagine if another ten went by before he finds out?" Petunia let the words hang, leaving Lily time to consider her comment.
"You're right. It would never work, not that way. But still, we can do something!"
"Yes, we can. Remember when that woman came to tell you about your … magic?"
Lily nodded.
"She said you could go to Hogwarts and learn to be a witch. Or you could stay in the normal world and be normal for the rest of your life."
Lily's eyes popped wide in shock.
"But, they said I could only be normal if they bound my magic and removed my memories of it… forever," Lily gasped.
"Exactly. Can you arrange for Dudley and me to have our magic bound? I know I am just a squib, but that is still more magic than I want. I just want to lead a normal middle-class life. I want to forget that James is Dudley's father. I want to forget that night; it leaves me longing for something I will never have. Can you arrange this, so no one knows? Please?" Petunia begged. With the calming charm, there were no tears, but her eyes clearly showed the desperation she felt.
Taking a deep breath, then sighing heavily, Lily agreed, "Yes Toony. I can arrange it."
-===December 21st, 1980 Number 4 Privett Dr===-
Dumbledore walked around the Dursley home. Thanks to a generous donation by James and Lily, Vernon and Petunia owned their home. Albus looked through the kitchen window to see the sisters talking at the kitchen table. Paying off their mortgage seemed to confuse Vernon. He seemed torn between anger at receiving charity and happiness at the money he would save in interest alone. The combination came across as confused, not a good look for Mr. Dursley, but one common to his features.
"The world is a more complex place than you will ever dream, Mr. Dursley," Albus whispered as he returned to his work.
Lily had brought him an interesting problem; one whose solution would provide a potential lever to solve another problem. Thus, Dumbledore was walking the property, mumbling quietly as he moved the Elder Wand seemingly randomly. Five ward stones were now buried around the property, deeply enough to not be easily disturbed. Two more would be buried beneath the house, one connected to Petunia and the other to her son.
Lily asked him to bind their magic, emphasizing the danger to them both if Vernon ever discovered it.
But Lily did not understand the danger to herself and her family. 'Eventually, I will have to tell them' Albus thought to himself. 'But not yet. Let them have their holiday in peace.'
So, instead of binding Petunia and Dudley, Albus planned to drain their magic into the ward stones. Dudley would be the problem since he was a wizard. The ward stones would easily keep Petunia drained, but Dudley would need a block in addition to the ward stones. Binding his magic wouldn't help Lily, but draining it into the ward stones would provide a possible bolt hole should everything go pear shape. Albus smiled. 'Pear shaped… what an interesting phrase for oops.'
Shaking his head in amusement, Albus continued his mumbling and wand waving.
-===Inside Number Four===-
Vernon was confused. Not his normal confused; he knew how to deal with that. No, he was just confused. 'Why am I sitting here? Should I be watching the telly? It's Sunday night. Good stuff on the box on Sundays, I think. What is on Sunday nights?'
"Albus offered to add a ward scheme to keep you and your family safer," Lily explained. "That is what he is doing out there now."
"Can't he dress like normal people? People are going to notice the barmy ol' codger waving a stick around after dark, especially in those outrageous robes! They're glowing!" Petunia complained.
"Trust me. He is the most powerful wizard in the world. When he leaves, no one will remember him, unless he wants them to." Lily explained calmly.
"He would have to be powerful to get people to forget that outfit!" Petunia snarked before asking, "How are we going to get around the elephant in the room? Harry and Dudley still look a lot alike."
"With your permission, I will cast a compulsion on you and Dudley. You will always see him as a few pounds lighter than he is, so you will feed him more. Dudley will always be a little bit hungrier than he should be, so he will eat a bit more. That will fill out Dudley's cheeks and round him a bit, more like Vernon. I will also cast a compulsion on Vernon, with your permission, to only see the traits that are most like him when he looks at Dudley. He will never guess otherwise."
"How can you do that?" Petunia asked with a bit of awe.
"Magic," Lily said sadly. "The same Magic we are going to bind in Dudley. Without that binding, he would grow up to join the magical world and be able to do all this and more. Are you certain you want to take this from him? We can look into other options."
"No. I have considered this for the last few weeks. Without taking Dudley away from Vernon, it would never work. Without you taking the risk of James discovering what happened, it would never work. It just won't work. I can't take Vernon's son from him. Binding his magic is the only way this can work." Petunia said with resignation.
With a sudden thought Petunia asked, "Wait, if you do that to me and Dudley, he will get fat, won't he? I don't want to overfeed him."
"I'll come by every few months to check up on you. If he is starting to get a bit tubby, I will ease the compulsion a bit. With the compulsion on Vernon, as long as Dudley stays ten percent or so heavier than Harry, no one should think about it too much." Lily said, trying to assure her sister of the plan.
"Okay. I trust you to keep an eye on us."
Lily smiled. Maybe their relationship could recover some day.
Petunia returned Lily's smile.
*cough*cough* Interrupted their moment. Turning they saw Dumbledore holding a stone with runes carved into its surface, shaped like a pear.
"In case things go pear shaped. I thought it appropriate." Albus grinned.
Petunia did not look amused.
Lily did not look amused.
Vernon started laughing, "Pear shaped!" as he slammed his hand on the table repeatedly.
Confundus charms can sometimes have unexpected side effects…
-===Azkaban Jan 1992===-
"So, now that I am a free man and Peter is enjoying the pleasures of my former accommodations," Sirius said as he walked into the sparse sunshine of Azkaban, "what do you want from me?"
"Nothing more than we agreed upon already," Lucius smiled. "You will come home with me to return your hygiene to that of a Lord, dress as a Lord, greet Narcissa, enjoy a good meal, a good night's sleep complete with dreamless sleep, and a healthy breakfast. Then you will go to Gringotts, claim your Lordship and complete your portion of our deal."
Stepping onto the deck of the ferry, Sirius queried, "And that's it. We're even."
"Of course," Lucius smiled. "Although, if you would keep an eye on Draco when you see him and should he get into more trouble than you think he can handle himself, I would appreciate you letting me know or giving him a hand, whichever you find more appropriate."
"After what Draco has done for Harry? You did not have to ask."
"Then we agree as to our next actions. Come. I have a bottle of cognac I promised I would open should the occasion ever arise. I think you escaping Azkaban qualifies."
"Henri IV?" Sirius asked with an arched eyebrow.
Lucius merely smiled and nodded slightly.
Sirius looked suspiciously at Malfoy, "You know I never served your Dark Lord."
"Of course."
"You know I will never serve him."
"Of course."
"Then why would you open a 40,000 galleon bottle of cognac for me?" Sirius queried darkly.
"Let us just say I did not pay that for the bottle and have wondered for many years how it would taste. Until now, I have had no one with a palate I thought would appreciate the nuances of such a refined spirit. I look forward to sharing it with Lord Black," Lucius replied smoothly.
Sirius nodded, turning back to the bow of the ferry as it began its latest trip away from the god-forsaken rock. In silence he experienced the fetid smell of dead fish, the cold spray stinging his face; the bitter winter wind howling against his body, threatening to strip his coat from him before tossing him to the waves, never to be seen again.
Drawing in a deep breath, Sirius Black laughed.
It was truly a glorious day to be alive!
-===Hogwarts Jan 1992===-
Harry and Draco are enjoying their usual pastime; arguing. Or so it seemed to Harry. Draco would come up with some off the wall idea and then try to get Harry to go along with it. In the beginning, Harry would go along just to keep the peace, such was the betrothal contract insanity. But recently he had developed more of a sense of what he would (and more importantly… would not) do to keep the peace with his secret friend.
In their usual room, the one they first met in, Dobby had provided snacks for their weekly debriefing and planning session.
"You have to!" Draco commanded.
"No"
"It is the done thing."
"No"
"Do you have a better idea?"
"No"
"Well then, you better start thinking of something. You need to elevate the NAME of Potter. Your grandfather was the last Potter to hold serious political and social power. If he didn't invite you to a social function at the beginning of the season, you probably would not be invited to any others either. The world swayed to his rhythm, much as it does now for my father. Your father, James Potter, was not interested in politics and social niceties. Had he survived into his fifties, I am sure your grandfather would have ingrained the need into him and he would have performed his duties as expected. But that didn't happen. Thus, your father was unable to train you. So, we will have to do the best we can with what we have. I can share my knowledge with you, but I am decades from being properly trained to be Malfoy of Malfoy." Draco explained, using the teacher speaking to a slow student voice Harry had learned to hate.
"I have money. I can buy attention."
"Yes," Draco droned, "but you have to buy the right kind of attention. Regardless of what some celebrities would have you believe, there is bad publicity."
"So, I should fund a wing at St. Mungo's or open a home for widows and orphans or subsidize a theater company or commission art to place in public buildings, is that it?"
Draco nodded, "Any of those would do. There are many ways to achieve good publicity. My father was 'allegedly' a death eater. Now he has tea with the Minister on a regular basis and is consulted before many major changes in government occur. How did he make that transition? He bought good publicity, lots of it. He used that goodwill to counter the previous reports of his behavior. If he can do that, given his history, imagine what you can do starting as The Boy Who Lived."
Harry knew he had lost this discussion, as he usually did. Draco's advice was usually supported by a firm foundation of fact, leverage, and a knowledge of manipulation.
Nodding Harry said, "Okay. I will consider the options you have suggested and any others I can think of. We will do something to elevate the Potter name before the school term ends."
Draco, always gracious in victory, nodded his head as his armed snaked across Harry's shoulders for a very manly one-armed hug.
"I knew you would understand."
-===Abandoned classroom, 4th floor===-
Harry was meeting with Hermione. Somehow, in the few short months since he accepted her into his House, she had become someone he relied on. She was his social secretary, although those duties were very light for now. But upon seeing his need, she became his research team leader, organizing the other members of House Potter, ordering them about, and then collecting and analyzing the data they gathered. From there it was a very short hop to what she now was, his 'Director of Intelligence'.
"So," she began, "I have examined all the betrothal and marriage contracts, breaking them into groups by age, gender, dowry, family wealth, family political power, trade routes/contacts, and access to military resources."
"Gender?" Harry interrupted.
Smiling Hermione nodded, "Oh yes, there were quite a few males applying for the position of your 'wife'."
"Um, just… um… No. Just no."
"I assumed that would be your opinion and moved those contracts to the bottom of the pile. Although, there was an eastern European prince who was a perfect fit, except for being male," Hermione teased lightly.
"Once again, no. I need children to carry the Potter line. Blood of my blood, flesh of my flesh, fruit of my loins, and all that," Harry responded firmly. 'I'm not even interested in girls yet. Guys are definitely out of the question!' he thought.
"Do you want the detailed breakdown? Or would you prefer I just tell you who you should marry?"
"Give me the top pick and then support your position," Harry sighed.
"Okay. Daphne Greengrass should become your first wife. Since pureblood witches don't seem to be very fertile, rarely giving birth to more than one child and almost never more than two… hmmm… I wonder why? First generation witches seem as fertile as muggles… Will have to look into that later. Back on topic," Hermione started, then raised her hand to stop the inevitable interruption, "Weasleys appear to be the exception. So, if you want more than one child, you will need to engage in coitus with more than one woman. If you want them to be able to inherit, you will need to have some legal bond to the mother: wife, concubine, mistress, etc."
Harry nodded. He had decided this months ago. He didn't like it, but he didn't have to like it. Reality is what it is. But sometimes, Reality sucks.
"So why is Ms. Greengrass the best choice?" Harry inquired.
Hermione raised her fist and started ticking off points as she raised fingers. "She is your age, female, her father is promising a sizable dowry which includes valuable land, the Greengrass family is wealthy (having stayed neutral in most previous wars), their political power is practically unrivaled should they choose to use it (although they rarely seem to), and they have several import/export businesses both magical and muggle. The only negative is their lack of military resources, but with enough money, those can still be acquired."
Stopping to look carefully at Harry she continued, "But those are not the best reasons. Those are the reasons for you to pick Ms. Greengrass if you were who you are pretending to be."
"I am not sure what you are implying," Harry stated flatly, drawing himself to his full height.
"Oh please! Recall what I just told you about the Greengrass contract. I have collected that level of data on EVERY contract sent to you. You would be amazed at what people say when the only person around has her head stuck in a book reading. I might as well be furniture for all the caution they give when speaking around me. And when those contracts started coming in, people talked. A lot. Within two months I had the information I gave you on every House and so much more. It did not take long to realize you are a fraud."
Harry started to talk fast but Hermione quickly raised her hand to quiet him.
"I don't have a problem with you being a fraud. I figured out why. I have seen some of the books in your bag when you are in the library. If you were what you pretend to be you would not be reading such elementary books. So, you entered Hogwarts untrained and have been bluffing your way through the whole time. By the way, well done!"
Turning to pace along the front of the classroom, ignoring Harry's red face, she continued.
"You are rebuilding your House, almost from scratch. You plan to marry and produce an heir as quickly as possible to prevent your line from dying. You plan to have many children with many women, to reduce the chance your House will ever face this again. You plan to gain Power, capital P; political, magical, social, and any other you can acquire. And you plan to use that Power to defend your House and those allied with it. That about cover it?"
Harry was a bit stunned. He had only discussed these issues with Draco and he knew Draco would never say anything. He nodded to Hermione, wondering where she would go from here.
"I'm brilliant," Hermione answered the unasked question, "and I have been spending a lot of time with you. I am very observant and as I said, people ignore you when you sit still and read quietly. But that is neither here nor there. It gives me enough information to determine Daphne is your best choice Because…" she started raising fingers again, "The contract states she is properly trained to be the wife of a Head of House with all that goes with that. She has the skills to run a home, manage the servants, deal with social requirements, and so on. She is also to be your bed partner until she is pregnant. Upon giving birth, she becomes your wife and not until then. This used to be common in marriage contracts to prevent 'being saddled with an infertile wife'. No, I don't like it, but it is what it is. Tradition and all that. Very few of the other contracts contained this clause. But, most importantly, upon you accepting the contract, she will swear an unbreakable vow to not reveal your secrets without your explicit permission."
Hermione waited for Harry to understand the significance of that last bit.
Harry nodded, "Okay, that sounds good."
Hermione frowned and waited… and waited…
Exasperated, she explained, "She has all the training you are pretending to have! And will swear a vow to keep your secrets…" She waited again.
After a minute of silence, Harry shook his head in annoyance, "Just tell me."
"After she swears the Vow, you tell her you don't have a clue how to be a proper Head of House. She will then be required by the contract, as your betrothed, to teach you everything you need to know. It's PERFECT!"
Hermione was practically bouncing as she waited for Harry to catch up.
Finally achieving the 'ah ha' moment, Harry's eyes went wide, and he smiled.
And even though it was her idea, Hermione was more than a little uncomfortable with how much Harry's smile looked like Draco's at that moment.
-===Lower Level of Gringotts===-
In a dimly lit room, well away from the well-traveled tunnels and railways below Gringotts, four cloaked and shadowed figures stood almost face to face as they discussed business. Each of the four entrances to this dusty room guarded by two large and heavily armored goblins, their backs to the room as they stared into the dim light of the hallways.
"The ring is gone. It is reported it appeared on his hand while he was in the Great Hall of Hogwarts", one figured whispered.
"The report is confirmed," another whispered.
"He will want access to our money," said one bitterly.
"It is our money until he turns seventeen. The contract supports us in this," spoke the last.
"Not if he claims his Lordship, which he has. Then the contract is in his favor and we must settle for the profit we have made these last years," complained the first.
"Not necessarily…" the last goblin said with a grin, sharp teeth shining in the dim light.