DISCLAIMER: That part of this world and those characters you've seen before belong to their Creator: JKR. The rest is mine - although I cannot quit my day job as I make no $$$
A/N: And a little bonus but with a…
SUNDAY, APRIL 2nd, 1995 - THE GREAT HALL, HOGWARTS SCHOOL OF WITCHCRAFT AND WIZARDRY
One of the nice things about a Holiday was that most students were not in the school if they could help it. For the most part, the Common Rooms and dorms were only occupied by the First and Second Years who had not gone home so that few in the school had any clue about what was coming. Many of the girls had brought their parents and children to their "former" House Common Rooms and dorms and few seemed to notice. Many others strolled about Hogsmeade village with their child or children and again, they seemed to go unnoticed. South Wing had slipped beneath notice, but now it was certainly about to change.
"Got a seat for ya, Harry!" Ron Weasley called out as Harry entered the Great Hall.
"Sorry, Ron," he replied. "I'm told to sit elsewhere."
"What are you on about, Mate?"
"Just what I said," Harry replied heading off to the new South Wing table. Unfortunately, Ron followed.
"Bugger, Mate," he said, "what you sitting here for?"
"You'll soon find out," Daphne replied.
"You're here with Slytherins?" Ron all but shrieked.
"Want me to hex him Harry?" Rosie asked.
"Ron, you'll soon enough find out why I'm here," Harry said. "Get back to your table…"
"And what are these babies doing here?" Ron asked indignantly for indeed there were already a fair few present..
"Hex him, Rosie," Harry said softly. Ron immediately learned that Ginny had apparently taught a Slytherin her Bat Bogie Hex.
"Bugger! What's this about?" Ron all but cried.
"This ain't your table, Ron," Ginny said. "And your attitude is bothersome!"
Ron looked at Harry and he nodded. Ron decided not to try and figure this out and skulked back to the Gryffindor table but wondered what had just happened.
"Mister Potter," a silky yet evil sounding voice hissed, "having your own House Mates hexed for your amusement?" Professor Snape asked.
"Hey Snivelus!" Sirius Black said, "I see you still have a pathological fear of soap related products!"
Before Professor Snape could respond, the nearby Hufflepuff and Gryffindor tables broke out in laughter.
"BLACK!" Snape began as he pulled his wand, "I have you now!"
But he did not. He soon saw several wands were upon him including several adults.
"Sheath it or drop it, Death Eater!" a voice called and Snape saw its owner. It was Amelia Bones, Head of DMLE. "You're under Dumbledore's protection, are you not?" she said with her wand leveled at him. He nodded. "And that's the only reason why I don't drop you where you stand or have you dropped! Who did you murder to get your mark? Who did you rape? You set foot off this ground and I will have you hauled in, find out and see to it you at best spend you remaining days as a guest of the Dementors! DROP YOUR WAND! NOW!"
"But Madam Bones," he replied, "it's the mass Murderer Sirius Black!"
"You have his name right, Death Eater," Amelia replied. "And that is as far as you are capable of going. I have highly credible information from many sources including from within the Ministry that the accusations against him are entirely without merit! He also happens to be under the protection of several Ancient and Noble Houses, as well as Hogwarts. You, however, are a known, marked Death Eater guilty of capital crimes just to earn your mark despite your patron's assurances. Set foot off of his grounds, and you will rot in Azkaban. Now be off, or I shall authorize my Auror to take action!"
"Very well," Severus drawled returning his wand to within his robes. "I trust you will be taking him with you when you depart?"
"And why would I do that?" Madam Bones asked.
"He is an escaped convict."
"As he was never convicted of any crime or misdemeanor, by definition he cannot be a convict. And while it is true he some how managed to release himself from Azkaban on his own recognizance, that was not then nor is it now a crime."
"You're just going to let him go?" Snape asked in an almost incredulous tone.
"In a manner of speaking," Amelia said. "He has agreed to take up residence here with his family. As this includes a cousin of his who is a fully qualified Auror, it means I will know where to find him should the need arise. Think of it as a mild form of House Arrest."
Severus glared for a moment. "As I see DMLE has this matter well in hand…" he then spun and stalked off towards his seat at the Head Table.
"He really is a greasy git, isn't he?" Robert Granger remarked. Although Hermione never used that particular term with respect to their Potions Professor, just about every other student in the South Wing had done so on more than one occasion. "How does he do that robe thing?" he added.
"It's not natural," Hermione replied. "We think he has them charmed or something."
"Your attention please," McGonagall began. She was standing at a podium, one usually occupied by their Headmaster, but as he was away it was not unusual to see her there. "I hope you all have enjoyed your Holiday and are ready to resume classes tomorrow morning. And I do hope, as many other professors do as well, that you have completed your assigned homework or that you will do so this evening."
Ron frowned. He had not even started any of his three assignments and doubted Hermione would help him.
"As you all may have noticed, we have a fifth table tonight off to my left. That table will remain for the foreseeable future. The students seated there shall have the privilege of remaining there for meals. The remainder of those sitting with them are family and friends of family who enjoyed this weekend with their children. After tonight, seating at that table is reserved for them and for their guests which will be by invitation only."
"What a load of rubbish!" a student called out.
"But it is not," McGonagall said. "While the rest of you enjoyed your Holiday, the students at our new table were working very hard on their classes with the assistance of several Hogwarts Professors, Madam Maxime of Beauxbatons and several Masters in their fields. All thirty-seven students you see there, be they Hogwarts, Beauxbatons or Durmstrang or its sister school have passed out of their years in the following courses: Arithmancy, Ancient Runes, Charms, Defense Against the Dark Arts, Herbology, Potions and Transfiguration and will not be required to attend those classes - or hand in any outstanding homework assignments - for the remainder of this year. They will be expected to do so for any remaining classes.
"Furthermore, will our Upper Years rise?" The eight rose. Ron looked and saw the Twins were among them. "These eight young people took their NEWTs this weekend and did remarkably well on all of them. I particularly wish to single out Mr. Diggory, who despite not sitting for NEWT Potions classes, managed and Outstanding on that exam.
"Will our Middle Years please rise?" The twenty-one did so. Ron's jaw dropped when he saw Ginny was among them. "These twenty-one students - nineteen from Hogwarts and two from Beauxbatons all took and excelled in seven OWLs. All had an Exceeds Expectations or better, all received at least one Outstanding With Distinction, and all had an Outstanding or better in Potions," she added that for Professor Snape. "But there are a few in particular I wish to single out. Miss Gabrielle Delacour of Beauxbatons took French National Honors in Ancient Runes and Transfiguration. Miss Michelle Marcella of Beauxbatons took French National Honors in Defense Against the Dark Arts and Potions. Miss Padma Patil and Miss Daphne Greengrass tied for British National Honors in Arithmancy. Miss Ginevra Weasley took International Honors in Charms."
Ron almost choked on the chicken leg he was eating. None of his brothers had managed National Honors, much less International ones.
"Mr. Harry Potter took International Honors in Defense Against the Dark Arts," McGonagall continued. "Mr. Neville Longbottom took International Honors in Herbology. Miss Lucinda Urquhart took International Honors in Potions. And finally, Miss Hermione Granger took International Honors in both Ancient Runes and Transfiguration. I congratulate them all.
"Now don't think this all happened overnight, although it did. Since March 19th, the students at this table have used a specific kind of magic that gave them, and those of us who joined them either on Friday or yesterday morning, a lot of time. It ranged from between fifteen and twenty-seven months depending upon the person. In real time, the babies you see here were all conceived between Wednesday and yesterday and all born either yesterday or this morning and yet by age they are all between a month and a half and seven months old. Their Birth Certificates all show they were born here at Hogwarts, and that includes the seven new Muggle Borns."
"You mean there are Muggles here?" Draco called out. "But there can't be! It's against policy!"
"You are quite mistaken, Mr. Malfoy. It is only in recent years that has been the case. Muggle parents were always allowed to visit the school and, once we had the Hogwarts Express, were always brought here the summer before their first child's First Year and allowed to come here for weekends. That policy has never changed, although Professor Dumbledore stopped the practice around thirty-five years ago."
"That's ridiculous!" Malfoy said. "Wait 'til my Father hears of this! He and the Board of Governors will not allow this place to be sullied by…"
"Detention, Malfoy!" McGonagall said. "And you are denied access to the mails for a month as is the rest of your House! You're attitude is none of my concern, and neither is your father's or the former Board of Governors!" This started some whispers throughout the four House tables, but McGonagall did not explain.
"You can't cut off their mail," Snape began.
"Oh, but I can," McGonagall said, "at least until tomorrow I am acting Headmistress. That being said, I am sure Dumbledore will uphold the punishment once all the relevant facts are known to him. And don't push it, Severus. Madam Bones would love nothing more than to haul you away, interrogate you, try you, convict you and throw away the key to your cell in Azkaban, assuming you don't get a date with an amorous Dementor!"
Something had changed in McGonagall, Snape thought. She had never liked him, but she had also never come down on him so directly and certainly not in front of the students, not since he had been named Head of Slytherin House. Then again, he was under Dumbledore's protection. Snape wondered. She clearly had a new alliance or patron, one who did not fear Dumbledore in the least. Not even the Dark Lord was that powerful. There was always the possibility she had lost it and gone 'round the twist as it were, but Snape felt there was more to this. He kept his mouth shut and observed, much to the consternation of Draco who assumed he would stand up and defend him.
McGonagall then began introducing the guests that had been hosted, most were parents or guardians of the students at the South Wing table and the others were family friends, to include two members of the Examining Board who had given many of the students their OWLs or NEWTs exams and had verified the scores. This introduction included thirteen of the thirty-six babies in the Hall, a point one Lavender Brown noted with interest and passed on to her roommate Sally-Anne and anyone else who would listen to her discreet comments. She was hardly the only one.
McGonagall then went through the marriages that had occurred. The students cheered for Professor Lupin and his new wife Dora. The boys cheered for Victor and his wife Katya, although the girls were more subdued. The girls cheered for Bill Weasley and his new wife, but the boys were similarly subdued and Ron was clearly confused as to how his brother could land the Veela bird when he could not. There were cheers also for Fred and George, although some of the Gryffindors wondered what it meant to have married couples on their Quidditch team.
"Next, Lord Sirius Black, Head of the Ancient and Noble House of Black…"
"WHAT?" a voice called. Malfoy was standing. "But he can't be! He's a convict! A criminal! He was disowned! I'm supposed to be the next Lord Black! Mother and Father say it's so!"
Before McGonagall could reply there was a laugh from the other side of the Hall and a lady stood. It was Andromeda Tonks. "You must be my nephew Draco Malfoy," she said. "It shows. My dear sister Narcissa never paid attention to details. Apparently it is a trait she passed on to you. Let us begin with your first contention, that Lord Black is a convict. To be a convict, you must have been convicted of a crime which also means you must have had a trial. Lord Black was never tried, much less convicted. He was sent to Azkaban without trial and forgotten, at least until he managed to escape. Now I know our Minister for Magic has said that he's a criminal, a convict and a Death Eater. But Fudge is a politician and being both accurate and objective with facts has never been his strong suit. As for being a criminal, that does not result in disinheritance unless one is sentenced to disenfranchisement. After all, your father was a Death Eater, a per se criminal regardless of his excuses and yet you did not lose your vaults or your property, did you?
"As for being disowned. Yes. Dear Aunt Walburga loved to think she could do such a thing. Then again, she was neither the sharpest of creatures nor entirely sane. The right to disown at any level rests solely with the head of the family and, in the case of an Ancient and Noble House, the Head of House and she was neither. From 1952 until his death in 1991, the Head of the Ancient and Noble House of Black was Arcturus Black, Sirius Black's Grandfather. Only he could truly disown a Black. He disowned one: Walburga. He disowned her because she violated House Law when she encouraged her younger son Regulus to become a Death Eater. It was and is still against Black Family Law for any male with a possible claim to Head of House status to become a Death Eater. Don't get me wrong. Arcturus Black was a right Pureblood bigoted bastard. But he was not about to risk the disenfranchisement of his entire line for some upstart, no named Dark Lord who killed almost as many Purebloods as he did others of what you would call lesser bloodlines.
"So, as Sirius was neither disowned by his Head of House nor disenfranchised - and had that happened there would be nothing to inherit as it would have resulted in the confiscation of all Black titles, rights, positions, properties and vaults - since neither happened, Sirius is rightfully Lord Black and his son James the Heir Apparent. That's right! Son! Lord Black married the widow Marilyn Abbott, mother of your classmate Hannah, and they recently had a son.
"But even if that had not been the case, you were not the next in line, Draco. You and Lord Black share two common ancestors. One is your Great-grandfather and his Grandfather Pollux Black, but that one does not count as it is his maternal line and his claim stems from his father's line, not his mother's. Your other common ancestor was Phineas Nigelus Black; considered the worst Headmaster in Hogwarts History he is your Great-great-great Grandfather and Sirius's Great-great Grandfather. Phineas had five children. Sirius is descended from the oldest son and you from the youngest. The other three either have no surviving descendant or their surviving lines were disowned before 1952, otherwise Neville Longbottom or Arthur Weasley would be next in line behind Sirius. All that's left then are the descendants of Cygnus Black, your Great-great grandfather.
"You are the son of the youngest daughter of the youngest son. If I had a son, even now, his claim would be superior to yours. Moreover, if your Grandfather's or greater Grandfather's older brother has a grandson, that lad's claim is senior to yours and that is the case as Alphard Black's daughter Vivian Greengrass recently had a son Marcus. The Greengrass line is senior to your's, Draco. Of course, all of this is academic if Cygnus Black has a surviving Great-grandson which he does. His daughter Dorea married Charlus Potter and they are Harry Potter's grandparents, so your line is actual junior to two other lines. You weren't even close to being the next Lord Black.
"All of this is quite academic. Since Sirius Black is the Head of the Ancient and Noble House of Black, you have no claim at all and, since he has a son, that cuts you off completely. Under our law, we can only look back as far as the Heir Apparent's Great-Great Grandfather to search for heirs. James Black is now heir apparent and his Great-Great Grandfather was another Sirius Black who, aside from Sirius and now James, has no surviving descendants. Unless Lord Black designated an alternate successor line in his Will, House Black is now limited to him, his wife and his son for the purposes of Heirs. We are still technically members from his mother's side, but with no right of inheritance. Being a member of an Ancient and Noble House is determined by those descended from the Head of House's Great-great Grandfather but successor lines from the Heir Apparent's."
"Wait 'til my father hears of this!" a voice said, but it wasn't Malfoy's. Pansy Parkinson stood, threw what looked like a ring at Malfoy's head and stormed out of the Hall.
Lavender could still count, there were many babies unaccounted for. And then, McGonagall began the introduction of House Longbottom. Ron had to be silenced when he learned the only way Ginny could have married Neville was to get pregnant first. He didn't seem to care he was now an uncle or that his father and brothers approved. Others were simply shocked that Neville even had a girlfriend, much less nine and nine wives and eleven children. Harry clinched it. No one was really surprised to learn he had managed to marry Hermione except Ron for he had seen Hermione as his girl. Their twins were unsurprising as well to everyone but Ron. But Harry also now eight other wives and the two Slytherins and one Veela and Ron's Yule Ball date were too much for Ron, he stormed out of the Hall muttering about how Harry got everything, totally ignoring the fact that Neville had as much as well, one noticed by Dean and Seamus, Ron's two remaining roommates.
Professor Snape did not believe much of what McGonagall had said. He was more than willing to believe Potter would impregnate nine young witches and drag Longbottom into his sick little club for kicks. If anything, the boy was even more arrogant than his father. He was also willing to believe that the babies were as McGonagall claimed. But there was no way Potter was married! Moreover, he didn't buy McGonagall's explanation that this all happened over the last few days. She was just covering for the flagrant misconduct of her favorite students and others who were somehow hoodwinked into this. Snape was certain the lot of them had been carrying on for ages and that the babies were either snuck into the castle over the Holiday or had been here all along, hidden in some out of the way classroom. The list of rules, even laws that had been violated were sure to convince Dumbledore to expel the lot of them.
MONDAY, APRIL 3rd, 1995 - HOGWARTS SCHOOL OF WITCHCRAFT AND WIZARDRY.
Madam Pomfrey had not been at the dinner the night before. She had three students in the Hospital Wing for various reasons and she only appeared at meals when the Hospital Wing was empty. When Dumbledore returned to Hogwarts late that evening, there were three notes from her about each of the patients who had arrived during the Holiday. There was also a note from McGonagall, a very cryptic one about events that had occurred over the weekend and the need to discuss new living accommodations for several students. A meeting between himself, the four Heads of Houses and Madam Pomfrey had been scheduled for the next afternoon. It was to be held in the South Wing, which struck Dumbledore as odd. But, "given the number of students involved, your office would be unsatisfactory and given the sensitive nature of the discussions, it would be best to hold the meeting somewhere where other students might not overhear," she had written. He had also received a long note from Professor Snape, accusing Harry Potter and Neville Longbottom of running a bawdy house for well over a year, getting several female students pregnant, including many from respectable families and harboring and escaped convict within the Castle. It further accused Professor McGonogall of condoning the misconduct and conspiring to keep it covered up. Naturally, he recommended expelling all the students involved.
Breakfast at Hogwarts was when the mails were delivered. Dumbledore received twenty identical envelopes from Gringotts. He only opened the first one and read the cover letter. It stated that enclosed were necessary notifications of the change in status of a student. He did not read any further. It could wait until after breakfast. It was not unusual to received such notices after the Holidays as young couples of age were known to marry, as well as some sixteen years olds in betrothal contracts. But twenty seemed a bit off. Dumbledore would spend the morning reading the notices. He really could do little more as the other Professors would be busy with classes until the time for the meeting. He certainly could see that Severus might have a point for once.
The meeting was not until four in the afternoon. For Madam Pomfrey, however, what could have been a quiet day was not. While her patients from the Holiday had been discharged and there were no accidents in Potions or Care of Magical Creatures which usually sent her a student a week, she found herself inundated with appointments. She met with two attending Healers and a total of forty-patients, eighteen students and their twenty-two babies.
Despite being allowed out of several classes, aside from the Sixth Year students, all the student residents of the South Wing had at least one class to attend. The First Years had Astronomy, with Gryffindor and Hufflepuff attending a morning class while Ravenclaw and Slytherin would be in the Astronomy tower after sunset. They alternated each week. The Second Years had History of Magic in the morning in two separate classes, but had the afternoon off. The Third Years had Muggle Studies in the morning and Care of Magical Creatures in the afternoon. For the Fourth Years in the classes, it was Care of Magical Creatures in the morning and double divination in the afternoon. For the Fifth Years, it was Divination in the morning and Muggle Studies in the afternoon. Several of the South Wing students took advantage of their time off to return to their former dormitories and pick up anything that had not already been moved to the Wing. For the most part, this meant pets, although the owls remained in the owlery. By early afternoon, Hermione's cat Crookshanks and seven other cats were prowling the South Wing while Neville's toad Trevor was making himself at home in the Greenhouse.
For Harry, Care of Magical Creatures was fine. Even though Ron and the other Gryffindors were in the class, he did not have to deal with them. Divination was a nightmare, however. In addition to Trelawney's most recent prediction of his imminent demise, he was partnered with Ron who clearly wanted nothing to do with his former friend. That and they were next to Parvati and Lavender and Lavender was trying to get Parvati to tell her all about what was happening.
Dumbledore met his four Heads of Houses and Madam Pomfrey in his office. He handed each of them a stack of documents. These were the Marriage Certificates and Emancipation Decrees he had received from Gringotts. In return, McGonagall handed him a large stack of additional documents, and a smaller stack to Professor Snape. These were the Wedding Certificates, Birth Certificates, OWLs results and exam scores for the students in the South Wing.
"If we are to be at the appointed place at the appointed time, we do not have time to read through these, Severus," Dumbledore said. "I would rather not be late. You know where this place is, Minerva?"
McGonagall nodded and led them to an empty corridor.
"Are we to have the meeting here?" Dumbledore asked.
"Professors?" a voice asked.
"Miss Weasley?" Dumbledore replied.
"Welcome to the South Wing," she said and an open doorway appeared in the wall behind her. She passed through it and the others followed.
Dumbledore walked into the large salon with the four heads of Houses and Madam Pomfrey. He could see that Harry, Neville and all their "wives" were present, seated in chairs arranged in a half circle. There were five chairs facing the students and Dumbledore could not help but snort. He had come here to question these students yet it looked like he might be the one on trial. The arrangement certainly was not designed to place him in a powerful or comfortable position and he recalled a story of a Muggle who, while powerful, was not intimidating looking. One trick he had used was a chair for his guests whose front legs were slightly shorter than the back, thus ensuring the guest could never get comfortable. It was said to be an effective technique.
"Please, have a seat," Harry said in a very neutral voice.
Another interesting ploy, Dumbledore thought. A subtle reminder that I am in what he considers his place of comfort. Dumbledore and the others sat and Harry and the others waited silently.
"I assume you are all aware that you have violated numerous school rules and not to mention a few laws as well?" Dumbledore began.
"And what rules would those be?" Hermione asked.
"Don't be insolent!" Snape shot back.
"Severus!" Dumbledore said. "Let's begin with perhaps the least disturbing, shall we?" He continued looking around. "I am fairly certain this was not how I last saw this wing. You confiscate and entire wing of the school for your own personal use?"
"We had permission, Sir," Hermione said.
"Permission?" Dumbledore and Severus replied in disbelief. Neither noticed that McGonagall was blushing a little.
"When Harry was forced into this dreadful competition, Professor McGonagall gave us permission to utilize any suitable, unused space to practice and train. We had a classroom at first, but it was insufficient for our needs and I found this place, which was more than suitable and was also unused."
"I'm sure she didn't mean…" Albus began.
"Be that as it may, Albus, I also did not place a restriction on where they trained or how much space they used. Only that it was a space not currently in use. Sorry."
"And the privacy wards?" Albus said.
"Again, that was my suggestion, Albus. Although I certainly would not imagine they would have managed to place it under a Fildelius Charm."
Dumbledore turned and looked at his Deputy in disbelief. She merely nodded at him with a slight smirk on her face.
"Who?" Dumbledore began.
"Miss Granger cast it," Flitwick responded. "Most excellent. If they evade expulsion I plan to award her 500 points as no student has ever mastered such an advance charm."
"Neither have most adults," Dumbledore nodded. "And Miss Weasley is the Secret Keeper I take it?"
Ginny nodded.
"I would have guessed Harry myself," Dumbledore noted more to himself than anyone else.
"At the time the charm was cast," Hermione said, "we knew occlumency, but Neville and Harry did not."
"And now?"
"They do."
"It takes months even for one with talent to master even the basics," Snape interjected. "That means you've been using this place since last fall at least! Well that explains part of this then! How you managed to hide your pregnancies from the entire staff is beyond me. But if you've had this place long enough for Potter and Longbottom to learn the basics of Occlumency - and I seriously doubt they have but will give your explanation a modicum of respect - then that was how you were able to hide the births and those children! They've been here the whole time! Still … given their apparent ages … it stands to reason the lot of you were carrying on like a harlot house since last school year!"
"Severus!" Dumbledore said in a louder voice. "But he does have a point. Although it concerns me greatly. Giving birth without medical attention is most unwise and some of you if not all of you were probably in school when it occurred. That, and while not a parent myself, I am aware and infants - and particularly newborn infants - require a significant amount of care throughout the day and night, and yet your attendance records would suggest you all but abandoned them!"
"They all have been examined, haven't they?" Hermione asked.
"Of course," Madam Pomfrey said.
"And?" Dumbledore asked.
"The children are all quite healthy and happy. Quite magical too. I understand your concerns, Headmaster, but so far as my evaluation has revealed … there are a lot of parents whose children are not nearly as well cared for as these. That they are all still in school is a credit to them, despite the circumstances.
"But none of this makes sense, Albus! The children would have been born in here at school during the fall! Severus is right. That places conception sometime last winter! But I've examined all these girls! You might be able to hide a pregnancy from others, but not from a Healer. Besides, as late as their last examination last month, each of them were still intact and still on their potions! The anit-conception potion takes three months to wear off and I would have known if it had!"
"This might help explain things," Hermione said. She Handed the Professor several sheets of parchment. "Don't worry. They're copies for our school records although I'm pretty sure the Ministry will also be sending copies. They did notify you already?"
Albus nodded. "I received notifications of you marriages in this morning's post."
Albus looked at the first parchment. It a certificate from Grigotts of Marriage stating that Harry James Potter and Hermione Jane Granger where lawfully married pursuant to Sections 14 and 16 and 29 of the Marriage Code. The marriage was completed at Gringotts Bank, London. The second said they were also magically married at Hogwarts School of Whichcraft and Wizardry by an authorized binder. It was Professor McGonagall.
"You knew?" Dumbledore asked.
McGonagall nodded.
There were two parchments which had also been filed with the Ministry stating that Harry and Hermione were legally adults. Then there was a birth certificate for Robert James Potter and Lily Rose Potter, born at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry South Wing Maternity Section at 1756 (5:56 P.M.) on April 1st, 1995 signed by Healer Theodore Tonks, St. Mungos, attending Healer. Albus now looked back at the other parchments noting the dates and he also noticed that the Magical Marriage Certificate was witnessed by Hermione's parents and Sirius Black, as Head of the Ancient and Noble House of Black of which Harry headed a cadet line with inheritance rights. The conditions allowing for minor consent were verified as of March 29th, 1995. The legal marriage and emancipation occurred and was recorded on March 30th. The magical marriage and the birth both occurred on April 1st.
"Time compression," Albus chuckled.
"Headmaster?" Snape asked.
"This room is, or rather was under a time compression ward, am I right Miss Granger - or should I say Mrs. Potter."
Hermione nodded. "Actually, I suppose it's Lady Potter, but for now Miss Granger may be less confusing."
"Oh?" Dumbledore noted he still held a sizable number of parchments. He handed the ones he had read to McGonagall and continued to read. There was a legal marriage certificate between Harry and Hannah Abbott pursuant to sections 14, 16, 26, 27, 29 and 32 of the Marriage Code, her emancipation papers, their magical marriage certificate witnessed by Hannah mother and Sirius Black and the birth certificate for her son Charles Edward Abbott born at 1810 (6:10 P.M.) on April 1st. The next stack was for Luna Lovegood, married under sections 14, 16, 28, 29 and 32 of the Marriage Code, her emancipation papers, her magical marriage witnessed by her father and Sirius Black and the birth certificate for her daughter Delilah born at 1822 (6:22 P.M.) April 1st. There was similar paperwork for all the other girls and all of their children as well.
"What was your compression ratio?" Dumbledore asked.
"One minute outside was twelve hours in here," Hermione said.
"I see. How long?"
"Outside time? A total of twenty-seven hours for the girls, twenty-four for Harry and Neville and fifteen for the guests who joined us on Saturday. Our time was 780 days for the girls, or about two years and two months, 720 days for the boys, or just short of two years, and 450 days for the others or about one year and three months."
"Well, that certainly explains how you managed what you managed," Dumbledore said. "And how did you otherwise use your time?"
"Sir?"
"I would like to think that this was not some hormonal teenaged bordello, as Severus suggested. You did use this time in a more productive manner, did you not?"
Hermione nodded. "The - er - teenage bordello was not the major occupation. We used most of the time for research, education and training."
"I see."
"I have their OWL's results," McGonagall said. "Copies are among the documents I gave you. They'll be official later this week, but we did have examining board members present to administer them."
"I see," Dumbledore said, "and why have you done this?"
"Harry entered this tournament at a significant disadvantage," Hermione replied. "The fact that he's done well so far does not mean he that he has overcome those disadvantages and, as we as yet have no idea what the Third Task will require, the more Harry learns, the better prepared he will be before we need to focus on the Task itself."
"I see, so you spent the majority of those two years or so in this room…"
"Wing, Sir," Hermione corrected. "The entire Wing is under the wards and was under time compression. We first activated that ward on March 19th. It was only us girls then and we were only here for about an hour a day in outside time."
"Or a month in here," Dumbledore said. "How did you eat?"
"We each had thirty days camp rations that first day. By the second day, our kitchens and store rooms were set up in the basement and our elves made our meals. We spent eleven months renovating this wing for our needs. We began in the basement and worked up. The basement, as I said, has our kitchens, storerooms for food and potion supplies - all under stasis charms - store rooms for non-perishable supplies of various sorts, and living quarters for our elves."
"So you admit to stealing food and Potions supplies," Snape cried out almost in glee.
"The camp rations were purchased, along with other supplies," Hermione said. "The general food stores were obtained from Food Distribution for the most part and the rest purchased. To be honest, Hogwarts food larders fell far short of our projected requirements. As for the Potions ingredients, initial supplies were obtained from the student practice pantry which are available to all students and yet underutilized. The bulk of our ingredients were purchased."
"And the furniture and the like?" Snape asked.
"Transfigured junk, mostly," Hermione said. "Some were conjured. Some were also purchased. The magic of Hogwarts and this region combined with Elf magic made the changes more or less permanent."
"You still stole our junk!" Snape said.
"Actually," McGonagall replied, "upon reflection, that fell within the scope of my permissions."
After a pause, Dumbledore asked: "And the rest of this wing?"
"The Ground Floor has our magical reference library, a few classrooms, some training rooms, a gym and swimming pool, our potions lab and our hospital wing, which was set up with an eye towards maternity issues. This floor is our Common Room, although it really has several rooms including our dining hall. This is where we can relax and mingle. The Second and Third Floors contains the private apartments for House Longbottom and House Potter. The Fourth and Fifth Floors have additional guest suites. Finally, the top floor has been turned into a greenhouse. It was also during that time when we completed the warding."
"And you were involved as well, Harry?"
"No Sir," Harry replied. "The renovations were pretty much complete when Ginny and Hermione first brought Neville and I here on March 29th. We were told about this place that morning at breakfast, although they didn't tell us everything. I thought it was just a large room or a couple of out of the way classrooms or something. Even using time compression, what the girls managed to do's pretty brilliant."
"You mean to say the others were not with you?"
"They came later," Harry said. "When Neville and I were first shown this place, it was just with Hermione and Ginny. The time compression activated once the main doors closed behind us and we spent thirty days with them. And yes, we did more than just sleep with them. During that thirty days, we spent most of our time learning Occulmency, physical training downstairs, and once we learned Ginny's wand was a very good match for Neville, we worked on Transfiguration. Oh, and we also worked on getting Neville's greenhouse up and running."
"And it was during this time that you decided to start a family?"
"Er - well the girls had already decided that before we were even brought here. We were not told of that plan until later. Once Hermione and Ginny knew they were pregnant, they told us everything, including why they were doing it and that we needed the others as well. Needless to say, I wasn't terribly happy with the idea at first, but we were arguably past the point of no return.
"Once we had been through thirty days, the time compression deactivated for a brief time. Hermione and Ginny left us and we were joined by Hannah and Susan. We continued our training with them. Katie and Lisa joined us next. We were now far enough along that the mentoring in Occulmency was not so necessary although Neville and I kept up with the practice. We were also through the end of Fourth Year in Transfiguration. Our training was now in Charms and Ancient Runes, the latter of which Neville was taking but I was not. We continued that training with Padma and Parvati. Then we were joined by Marcia and Andrea and with them we began studying Defense and Arithmancy, the latter of which neither Neville or I was taking. That training continued with Luna and Laura. I guess we should have guessed what was coming next, but we didn't. Once our time with Luna and Laura was up, the Slytherins arrived. First it was Tracy and Rosie and then Daphne and Lucinda. With them, we studied hexes and curses and basic dueling and Potions. When their time was up, Gabrielle and Michelle arrived. Neville and I continued working on all the stuff we had been doing and those girls taught us - or at least began to teach us French and Italian and a lot about magical culture, healing and stuff."
"And at the end of it, all of these young women were pregnant?" Dumbledore asked.
"Yes sir, they were."
"I don't see how this helps you with the next task at all," Dumbledore said out loud, although Harry and many of the others suspected the man knew exactly what had occurred.
"You cannot obviously believe this farce," Professor Snape said. "Even assuming this is true, there is no way their so called marriages can be legal."
Dumbledore sighed. "I regret, Severus, if the conditions are met - and it appears they have been - these marriages are both legal and unassailable even by me. They've somehow evaded anything I or anyone else could do. Their certificates appear totally valid. The certificates cite to provisions of the Marriage Code I cannot refute either as Headmaster or as Chief Warlock.
"Section 14 of the Marriage Code allows minors to legally consent to a marriage without either permission from or notice to their parents or guardians provided the girl is pregnant and the boy acknowledges paternity. It also is predicated upon the fact that there is no real question of paternity as the girl has never been with another boy in such a manner. Section 16 means the marriage was validated and completed by magical contract at Grigotts. Those two provisions have been verified and are unassailable by anyone. Section 26 means the marriage was also by prior betrothal contract between the heads of the respective families. Section 27 states that the marriage is a Line Continuation Marriage, meaning that the wife is the last of an Ancient line and their children will continue that line without legal claim to the estate of the father. Those two sections only apply to Miss Abbot and Miss Bones, but they are valid and unassailable. Section 28 is similar, except that the children will merely inherit from their mother's estate, but can choose whether to continue that line. This section only applies to Miss Lovegood, but still it is quite valid under our law given Section 29. Section 29 states that the marriage is part of a legally valid and binding Plural Marriage. That section applies to all the young ladies as does the last. Finally, Section 32 invalidates all pre-existing betrothal agreements. The marriages are quite legal. But it still does not explain why. I still have no idea why you needed to marry these women. Your participation in the Tournament does not provide a justification for all that seems to have transpired, Harry."
"I will admit, the tournament does not justify most of this. The South Wing and Time Compression were originally about training me up. But the marriages? No. What the tournament did, or at least what my FORCED participation in this thing did, was get Hermione thinking. And not just her. All of these lovely young ladies got to thinking. None of them believed I was in this nonsense by choice…"
"You're so like your father," Snape began. "He would have loved to have been a Champion…"
"Yet my mother would not have," Harry said. "I only look like my father and even then not so much. I have his hair, his damnable eyesight and his bone structure. I have my mother's eyes and the eyes are said to be the mirror of the soul. From what I've learned over the last year or so, my father would never have gone after Quirrell. It was neither fun, nor funny. At best, he'd have given up after meeting Fluffy because as I'm sure you're aware, that was one intimidating and not so fun dog! He became a brave man, but at age eleven if it wasn't a joke, he wanted little to do with it and going after the Stone was no joke! My Mum would have because it needed doing. My father would have hidden under a rock with the opening of the Chamber of Secrets. He was a Potter. He was a parslemouth. While he was not the Heir of Slytherin, he was from a Cadet line and that was his family's dirty little secret! Mum, on the other hand, would have been like Hermione and tried to solve the puzzle if only because it was there. My father would not have tried to save a Sirius Black. There was no fun involved and it was ruddy dangerous to confront a supposed killer. My Mum would have tried because it was an intellectual challenge and she would have rescued Sirius because it was the right thing to do, not because she stood to gain from it. My father would have jumped at the chance at being a part of this Tournament. My mother would not have under any circumstances and certainly not if she was below the age line. My father was an open show off and huge Quidditch fan, probably knew more about it than Ron who can be quite annoying about what he knows. Despite what you think, I only play Quidditch because I like to fly and am good at it. I can't tell you about any Quidditch Team or their stats or anything because I don't know, and honestly I don't care! And I most certainly don't carry a snitch around with me! Gods, that idea seems SO annoying! My father would never conceive of being friends with any Slytherins. My mother, on the other hand, was a friend of some Slytherins. And I willingly married two lovely ones. They are brilliant and lovely young women. I'd have been a fool not too. The Sorting Hat took barely a second to sort my father into Gryffindor. It argued with me forever it seemed. It wanted me in Slytherin and, most unfortunately, I had already met Draco Malfoy and would have left Hogwarts altogether rather than be in the same House as him. The only thing I truly have in common with my father is we don't like you! Yet he didn't like you from the start. I did give you a chance and you jumped all over me for just being! What did you expect? Who am I truly more like, Snape? My father or my mother?"
Snape did not answer.
"This still does not answer my question, Harry," Dumbledore said. "Why was all of this necessary?"
"Because of you," Harry said.
A/N: … with a bit of a cliffy…
