Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or anything related to them.


The first week of classes went decently well for Harry. The last few years, his night-time tutors hadn't really taught him much about practical transfiguration or charms, or astronomy or herbology, so those were a fun and new experience for him. They still visited him in his dreams every night, but their lessons were less intense than before and on Thursday it had turned into a homework session, much to Tom's amusement and faux-annoyance.

Potions class was disappointing. He had hoped to do extremely well there with his tutelage under Salazar, but Professor Snape seemed to hate him. He remembered his intrigue lessons from Maylzred, The Powerful One, and determined that the wisest course of action would be to wait, observe, and record. If things didn't improve, he'd plot his next move carefully with the information he had gathered.

Another disappointing part of the week was the house rivalry between Slytherin and Gryffindor. He had expected some, but not that much. When he tried to talk with Daphne at lunch the first morning, who of course had been sorted to Slytherin, Draco had yelled that Harry wasn't welcome at 'his' table. Sure, Harry had lost five points for animated Draco's sausages using the first parseltongue spell Thusaxu had taught him, and said animated sausage links had tried attacking Draco with their mouthless heads, but the whole scene had given ammunition to Daphne to help her standing in her house. Harry spoke parseltongue, the language of Slytherin, the language of Lord Voldemort. He cast a parseltongue spell. The older Slytherins would allow Daphne her friendship, though they themselves did not offer their own friendship to him.

After that little fun, some of his housemates started looking at him sideways, both for his parseltongue and his friendliness with a Slytherin. He diffused the tension by talking extensively with Hermione, Neville, and Pavarti, all three people who a blood supremacist would find repugnant. By the end of the week, he was welcome to stop by any of the tables, even though Draco would shoot him dirty looks every time they were close.

But then the week had ended, and Saturday morning brought with it the meeting he had not been looking forward to. Harry against all four heads of houses, seven students, and most of the students' parents or magical guardians. Sirius had talked with the families during the week, both to explain the situation and to begin negotiations/arrangements as each contract needed. They had agreed to meet together on Saturday to meet Harry and the others, and also to talk face to face with their own children. It was a small blessing for Harry. He didn't want to have this conversation more than once.

"I would like to thank you all for being here," Harry began. This was his responsibility, and he would own it, as he was taught to. It was what his father and mother would want him to do. "As a way of introduction, I am Harry James Potter-Black-Peverell-Slytherin-LeStrange-Travers-Gaunt. The last four names I got when You-Know-Who was destroyed when I was a baby, when my parents died protecting me. I didn't want the titles and family names, I didn't ask for them, I was only a baby when they were bestowed on me. I didn't even know about them until a few weeks ago. I wanted to meet so we can clear the air about the contracts dealing with those four families."

Harry stopped to take a breath and to read the room. Some of the families looked downright excited at the whole situation. He was personally disgusted with most of the contracts forced on him, but it wouldn't do to offend when civility was more likely to succeed. Salazar and Tom had taught him that. He and Sirius had chosen his words carefully when preparing his speech during the week.

"Pansy Parkinson and Lavender Brown both have standard concubine contracts with House LeStrange, with Pansy in a binding and Lavender in a non-binding. Cho Chang has a standard binding marriage contract with House Slytherin. Since I was not the one who signed the original contracts, I am willing to nullify the contracts when I am legally able, if you request it of me."

Lord Parkinson and Mr. Brown both looked relieved at that offer, but Lord Chang looked almost angry.

"Of course, if anyone wishes to keep their contract as is, I will gladly abide by it as required. I just wanted you to know that I am open to the nullification of it, if so desired."

Lord Chang didn't say a word, but his features softened. He understood the game Harry was playing, knew the tightrope he had to walk with this many families from different backgrounds in the same room. Lord Chang almost looked impressed at Harry's performance. He just hoped he had learned the game well enough from Maylzred, The Powerful One. He'd have to talk with Sirius about what Lord Chang said to him in the private negotiations.

"There are also some ironclad contracts. Susan Bones has a fettered marriage contract with House Gaunt, and Su Li has a fettered concubine contract with House Slytherin. Padma Patil has a nonbinding concubine contract with House Travers, and Nymphadora Tonks has a fettered slave contract with the same house."

"Call me Tonks," came a shout from the back.

"Tonks it is," Harry smiled slightly. Sirius had already talked at length to Andromeda Tonks, Tonks', mother during the week, since they were cousins, and reassured her of Harry's plan and intentions. Harry had talked with Tonks yesterday, since they had known each other for years. She had babysat him on numerous occasions, and would come over during the summer months for the Sunday family dinners Sirius put on. She was the only one besides Pansy that Harry had talked directly with that first week, at least outside of classes.

"You bet it is," Tonks retorted. That exchange had been planned out by Andromeda in an effort to help the families understand that Harry wasn't going to abuse the situation.

"Since there is no nullification possible for them, I wish to assure anyone who is nervous that I will do everything in my power to provide, protect, and honor you, as required by common decency, law, and the contract," Harry continued his prepared speech. "Since Tonks, Susan, and Su's contracts are fettered, I want you to understand that I just want you to be as happy and hopeful as you can be. Until I reach my majority, and even after that, we're all going to be stuck together, so we should take this opportunity to get to know each other as family and I'll do my best to answer any questions that you have."


The house elves had prepared a buffet of small breakfast foods that allowed everyone to eat and mingle easily. Someone had set up a wireless to softly play some light background music. Stomach already queasy at the whole situation, Harry's plate held a single untouched hard boiled egg sliced in half seasoned with pepper, paprika, and salt. More than anything, the plate occupied his hands so they didn't shake.

"I have had my first blood, so I am your fettered concubine," Su Li stated to Harry without preamble as Harry was moving between the Bones family and the Parkinsons. She was the only one who didn't have her family present, by their own choice. Sirius had warned him the Li family were staunchly traditional, more so then even the Malfoys, but traditional to the ancient Chinese magical customs, not the European ones. While Su's tone and demeanor were demure, her eyes held a sharpness in them. "As a concubine, I must produce two children of the Li name."

"And we will get to that, but I'm not ready to have any kids anytime soon," Harry stuttered, thrown off balance by her directness. "Your contract didn't have anything in it on a time limit for that part."

"The contract did not, not the one translated into English and Chinese, but my Magic sings something else to me," Su lowered her eyes to the ground. "Do you not feel it in your Magic as well, our bond of sharing?"

"Umm, feel what now?" Harry asked, dumbfounded. None of his tutors, dream or mortal, covered anything like this.

"The contract between the Li family and the Slytherin family was written generations ago, by the great-grandfather of Salazar and Emperor Li Chu, the last emperor of the Tang dynasty in China. The original was written and signed in True Draconic, and copies were made in English and the Chinese language in the time of the Tang dynasty. Our contract is more than a simple concubine bond. I give you magical strength and you give me magical strength, making us more powerful together than we would be separate. Being close together, especially being intimate, will further that bond exponentially, allowing us to augment our own magical prowess at an accelerated rate."

"Do you have a copy of the original, the one in True Draconic. I'd love to read it," Harry said without consulting his brain, which was busy processing the bomb Su had dropped on him.

"Unless you read Draconic, it won't do you much good. It is not the same as the parseltongue you speak."

"I know. My tutors taught me to read and speak both parseltongue and draconic."

There was silence in the room. By fate or coincidence or dumb luck, everyone heard Harry's last words.

"I will ask my father," Su Li bowed before retreating, leaving Harry alone as the center of attention.

"These eggs are delicious," Harry said loudly, causing a wave of chuckles to circulate the room, restarting the stalled conversations that his unintentional language announcement caused.


"Hello Mr. Brown, Mrs. Brown. Hi Lavender," Harry greeted a few minutes later. They found themselves in one of the corners of the room, allowing for privacy as they talked. He focused on his housemate. "How have classes been for you?"

"Struggling in Charms. The Lumos homework is not coming along well, but Pavarti is helping me with it. Luckily I'm understanding Transfiguration and Herbology well enough. Potions is, well, you know," Lavender babbled before ending with a blush and a shrug.

"Lord Potter, I wish to explain our circumstances," Mr. Brown spoke.

"Call me Harry."

"Harry, then," Mr. Brown nodded. "This contract was signed out of necessity. During the last war, my late father was given a choice. Join You-Know-Who, or face the eradication of the family. Two of my uncles had already been killed, one by You-Know-Who and one by aurors, so my father was in an impossible position. He was able to convince You-Know-Who's envoy, Lord LeStrange, that a contract was an acceptable form of supporting his master."

"I feel your family wasn't the only ones to face that choice," Harry sympathized. Sirius had told him some of his war stories before, and the 'Join or Die' theme was common on both sides.

"Indeed," Mr Brown nodded. "However unsavory the origins of the concubine contract were, we must look at what the circumstances now are. A standard level one nonbinding concubine contract is not a repugnant option for our Lavender. She is our only child, we have no other to carry on the Brown family name. From our interactions with you, and we have also asked around, you seem to be a kind and considerate boy. You also have prestige, wealth, political power, and fame. For now, we would ask that you spend time with our daughter, get to know her. If friendship, or perhaps stronger feelings, develop over the course of your Hogwarts education, we may ask that the contract stays in effect. If, on her seventeenth birthday, Lavender wishes to cancel the contract, we will listen to her wishes. We ask you to give her a fair chance."

"Is that what you want?" Harry asked Lavender.

"Like my dad said, it's not the worst idea. I say let's be friends for now."

"Friends it is."

When the two shook hands to cement their newfound friendship, Lavender felt a slight shock of electricity course through her. She disregarded it as her imagination, or nerves from being close to The Harry Potter, potentially her future husband. It was anything but.


From their dress and mannerisms, Harry could tell the Patil family held their Indian heritage in great regard. Unfortunately, Harry knew almost nothing about Indian heritage. He would have loved to talk with them in Hindi (which Daphne had revealed to him that the Patils spoke fluently), or used some traditional formal greeting to impress them, but he had nothing like that in his repertoire. He had ignored Sirius' suggestion of offering them a few cows as a gift. His Godfather wasn't the most reliable source when it came to things that didn't matter.

Since they were all in their school uniforms displaying their houses, he could tell which one was Padma and which one was Pavarti as he approached the twins. Unless, of course, they had switched on purpose. Their parents, talking with the Lord and Lady Parkinson, watched over them out of the corner of their eyes.

"Hi Harry," they both said in unison.

"The Weasley twins do that too," Harry said. "Is talking in unison something that you two practice, or does it just come naturally to you?"

"We practice," they answered, again in unison. They both smiled in a manner reminiscent of the Weasleys. Much more attractive however, though just as mischievous.

"How do you feel about our contract?" Harry asked Padma directly. She glanced at her sister before answering.

"Being a concubine allows our children to bear the Patil family name. That gives Pavarti the chance to become a full wife for her future husband, with all the extra benefits a full wife will provide."

"I thought the only difference between a wife and a concubine was which name the children take," Harry said, slightly confused.

"Officially and legally, that is true," Pavarti answered the implied question. "At least here in Great Britain. In many other countries, concubines are subservient to the wives, and legally are forced to accept second pick at residences, food, clothes, inheritance money, medicine, and so forth. If I am wed to a man there, I could do so as a wife since Padma is carrying on our family line, so I will get the best my future husband has. Here, the differences between wife and concubine are more social."

"At least things are more equal here," Harry muttered. "I read a few books that referenced marriage and concubine contracts, but I guess they don't include the unwritten rules and stuff in them."

"That is why they call them unwritten rules," Padma smirked. "But more importantly, it doesn't matter much what I think of our contract. We are stuck in it."

"I know, I just," Harry stumbled before pausing to take a breath. After he let it out, he started again. "I don't want to mess up too badly with all this. Arranged marriages, especially ones arranged generations ago, wasn't what I expected when I was growing up. I want to do everything I can not ruin your life."

"Let's make a deal, Harry Potter," Padma said after a pause. "I will be honest with you, if you are honest with me. No lying, no deceiving, no tricks or traps. If we can do that, then our arrangement will be better than most of my relatives."

"I think I can manage that," Harry smiled, and stuck his hand out to shake. Padma took it, and felt a slight tingle in her arm.

"I think you will be very good to my sister," Pavarti spoke.

"I hope to be," Harry agreed. "Do you think you can teach me more about your culture?"


"Sick of talking to all the in-laws already?" Tonks smirked as Harry flopped down in the seat next to her, uneaten hard boiled egg abandoned for the half-full glass of orange juice in his hand.

"Oh shut up," Harry remarked with a roll of his eyes.

"You know, I'm actually glad I have a fettered contract with you, instead of a binding one," Tonks remarked seriously.

"Why? You can't use loopholes," Harry asked with a tilted head.

"As a fettered slave, I know you didn't actually want me to shut up, and thus I can make all the snarky comments I want. If I was bound, I wouldn't have been able to speak at all unless you ordered me to speak again."

Horror dawned on Harry.

"I didn't even, I'm so sorry," Harry apologized. "I didn't even think that that would count as an order."

"Harry, you're eleven. Of course you didn't realize it. You are a world famous child who has seven titles dealing with seven magical contracts that essentially gives you seven female slaves, at least one of which is already a smoking hot beauty. Me. I'm talking about me. But the sheer quantity of things you don't think about or know about would fill a library the size of the moon. I figured bringing it to your attention now would avoid the inevitable awkward situation in the future where you inadvertently give one of your girls an unwanted order, which causes them distress, which causes friction between you and the rest of your little harem, which leads to drama and heartbreak and misunderstandings. On the downside, you will miss out on any make-up sex, which I hear is some of the best, but I'm sure you'll make enough minor mistakes to cover that later."

"Tonks!" Harry cried as he spit a fine stream of orange juice. The entire room stopped their conversations and looked at Harry. Tonks' smile told him she'd timed her last comment on purpose. He spoke loud enough for everyone to hear him. "Freshly squeezed by the house elves. I recommend trying some."

"That's the spirit," Tonks grinned as the room returned to normal. "Nothing like a good embarrassment to stop being moping about."

"Sometimes, I really hate you Tonks," Harry sighed without any malice. "Can I, may I, do you mind if I ask you to tell me if I am abusing my power over the rest of them? I don't want to hurt any of them on accident, or on purpose, or at all. Would you mind if I give you an order to keep me in check?"

"You just did," Tonks said with a nod. "Even phrasing it like that, your intent makes it an order to me. That type of wording will work on the bonded, but not the fettered. I know it was an order because it's intended to be an order, whether or not you wanted it to be an order. But don't worry, it's an order I don't mind following."

"What is it like, on your end of the contract?"

"Strange. According to the text of our contract, I've been your slave since I was ten, but I don't think the contract actually kicked in until you took your inheritance test and took up the headship. The weeks before school, I had you in my thoughts more than usual. Not creepy like, but more of wondering how you were doing with your impending Hogwarts experience. I just put it down to looking out for my younger cousin, but I think it might have been Magic, at least in part. Now that we are geographically close, it's like I can instinctively feel what you need or want, if I concentrate on it."

"The books say that it causes you pain if you try to do something against my commands," Harry ventured.

"Give me an order, one you really mean for me to obey," Tonks requested.

"Don't embarrass me any more today," Harry said.

Tonks looked at Harry, then looked at Susan Bones, the closest student to them, then looked back at Harry.

Her eyes tightened for a moment.

Her body spasmed for a second.

"Stray thoughts of disobeying don't hurt, but I do get a faint feeling of unease about them. Serious plotting to disobey is like a brain freeze when you eat ice cream too quickly. Attempting to disobey feels like a small jolt of electricity is running through your body. If I kept on trying to disobey, I don't think I'd be able to walk out of here."

"I wish I didn't have any of these bloody contracts," Harry muttered darkly.

"Cheer up. If you didn't have them, You-Know-Who would still be wandering around, and he would have them. Him or his death eaters. Speaking for myself, but I assume most of the girls here would agree, I think that you are an improvement to a homicidal bigoted psychopath."

"Thanks Tonks," Harry smiled, his gloomy attitude dispelled. He hugged her, a small discharge of static electricity shocking them both a bit.

"Go on, go talk with Susan. I bet she is as freaked out about this as you are."

"Thanks for keeping me straight," Harry grinned before finishing his orange juice in one gulp.

With the knowledge that Tonks, at least, will help keep him from making horrible blunders, Harry felt better than he had all day.


"You doing OK?" Harry asked Susan tentatively. They were by the breakfast buffet table, relatively isolated from the rest.

"Just overwhelmed is all," Susan softly spoke. "Auntie Amelia is talking with Mrs. Tonks right now, so I just got to thinking about everything."

"I know, it's strange," Harry agreed. "Your aunt and my godfather have been dating for years, and now you and I are going to get married. It's weird."

"You know she asked him to marry her two weeks ago, right?" Susan added nonchalantly.

Harry dropped the glass cub he was holding, which shattered into countless pieces. True to form, the castle's every attentive house elves cleaned it up within a breath, but everyone had stopped their conversations to look at Harry. He had no witty remark this time.

"No, I didn't," Harry shrugged after he cleared his head. "I bet he didn't tell me so he could prank me, somehow."

"That sounds about right," Susan agreed. "It just makes things much more awkward for us, though."

"How so?"

"Essentially, you will be my step-brother and my husband."

"Ewww," Harry shivered, before his eyes widened. "Not eww to being your husband, eww to being siblings and married. I'm not that pureblood."

"Don't worry, I had the same reaction when I found out about the contract. I knew I wanted a big family, I just wasn't thinking of four kids before I was thirty."

"The contract was written in the early 1800s, I guess they had children young compared to today, and not every child survived," Harry guessed.

"What do you know about the Gaunt family?" Susan asked. "I couldn't find much about it."

"I think You-Know-Who worked really hard to destroy everything he could about it. He was the last Gaunt, but he went by the last name of his muggle father, Riddle."

"Do his death eaters know he was a half-blood?" Susan whispered, herself stunned by that little tidbit of information.

"Sirius is working on spreading that around to the right people," Harry affirmed. "He needs to find sources the traditionalists will trust, and not just dismiss as propaganda. It'll be a huge blow to the pureblood movement, so he is being careful not to waste the chance."

"But other than You-Know-Who and their title, the Gaunt family really fell apart before World War I. Lost their wealth, their property, most of them were killed off through in-fighting. If it wasn't for You-Know-Who, they would have just drifted off into obscurity, another forgotten bloodline."

"And I'm going to be Lady of that?" Susan scrunched her nose in disgust.

"We can make it better, make it mean something good," Harry promised. "You can erase the past, and make the name of Gaunt something to be proud of. I know you are up to it."

"Thanks Harry," Susan smiled as she drew him into a big hug, which he returned. "We'll make it great."

Susan felt a warmth rise in her cheeks as she realized she was hugging Harry Potter, her friend and future husband. She jumped back a bit, red faced and slightly embarrassed.

Only part of the warmth she felt came from her blush.


"Thank you for hosting this gathering, Lord Slytherin," Lord Chang greeted with a short bow. Harry returned the bow before speaking. Cho, his daughter and Harry's future Lady Slytherin, stood next to her mother, both of whom were behind Lord Chang.

"You are most welcome, Lord Chang, but I am not yet Lord Slytherin, just Head Slytherin. I doubt the Wizengamut will grant me my emancipation nor my title so early."

"Head Slytherin, it is," Lord Chang adjusted. "The marriage contract between our bloodlines has been passed down for thirty-one generations, and it will be a great honor to see it finally fulfilled. It is a shame that you are burdened by the Li concubine, but I am certain my daughter will keep her in her place."

"I am certain all of my wives, concubines, and slaves will be on their best behavior," Harry pushed, uncomfortable at the old man's insinuation. He glanced at Cho, who didn't seem phased by what he said. "And it will be six more years before the contract is triggered, in any case."

"Unless you become a man before then," Lord Chang corrected sharply. "The contract does not specify that you must be of a majority age, only that you are a man and my daughter a woman. She qualifies, so it is up to Magic to determine your worthiness. It may be your first time laying with a woman, or your first kill, or your first own notable and independent achievement. Magic is not consistent when it comes to worthiness."

"I will keep that in mind," Harry said, eager for the suddenly uncomfortable conversation to end but knowing he had a duty to talk with each family. "Have the conversations with my godfather gone well?"

"For the most part," Lord Chang answered with a hint of a smile. "We are currently negotiating the dowry and bride price exchange. Unless you have a spare basilisk hidden away, the terms of the exchange must be updated."

"I will discuss it with Lord Black promptly," Harry promised before turning to Cho. "I hope to have many delightful discussions with you throughout the year."

Cho didn't answer, just curtsied, keeping her eyes downcast demurely.

Harry nodded, then headed to the next group he needed to mingle with.


"How was your morning, pup?" Sirius asked his godson that Saturday night over their communication mirrors.

"Interesting," Harry began before taking a moment to organize his thoughts. "I'm hoping to get a copy of the Li-Slytherin contract in the original draconic since it evidently has some hidden clauses that I should be aware of, but that might take a while to arrange. Everyone else was pretty understanding, but I am concerned about Lord Chang. I mentioned your negotiations and he seemed smug."

"Ahh, he would. Since the contract is so old, it still had a dowry and bride price attached to it that wasn't in coin but rather in trade. Evidently, the Slytherin family would provide a fresh basilisk corpse as payment to the Chang family, killed in solo combat by the husband. As a dowry, the Chang family would provide a dozen nine-tailed foxes and their lethifold farms. Since basilisks are extinct, we have to determine the equivalency for the basilisk corpse."

"Do they have the foxes and farms, or do you have to negotiate their values as well?" Harry asked.

"The foxes are rare enough to be very expensive, but not so much that the Chang family couldn't afford it. Because of the wording, you originally would get all of their lethifolds. A century ago, the Changs monopolized the lethifold supply in most of Europe, but at the expense of their diversification. They became very rich off of it, but giving away all of their farms would annihilate the family financially. That's why Lord Chang is allowing us to renegotiate the exchange, he will accept a lower bride price for a dowry that doesn't include the farms."

"I didn't like some of the things he said, especially about Su Li," Harry confessed. "It reminded me too much of the Malfoys, but even Lucius doesn't treat his wife like property."

"Narcissa is not bound, so Lucius would be insane to abuse a daughter of Black when she could freely retaliate. The Changs have a different heritage than the Potters. Different culture, different customs," Sirius sighed. "Just because it isn't how you were taught doesn't mean it is wrong. That said, I agree with you. I don't like how he talks about his daughter at all."

"Keep the negotiations going, I think I might have a surprise," Harry grinned.

"What are you up to, pup?" Sirius asked, knowing that gleam in his godson's eye. It was the same gleam Lily got when she and her Nomads were about to out-prank the Marauders. He almost felt sorry for the Chang family, if Lord Chang wasn't attempting to fleece Harry's vault.

"I'll let you know later, if it works out," was his only reply. "Changing topics, YOU'RE ENGAGED?!"