Trapped

This Harry Potter story was written for fun. All rights belong to the wonderful lady (JK Rowling) who gave the world Harry Potter to read and enjoy.

Printed Word in letters and newspapers.

{Parsel tongue conversation}

Harry is trapped inside loveless marriage with Ginny and discovers she is cheating. But magic won't allow her to bring a cuckoo into the Potter nest without penalties. And her Mother just cheers her daughter on. And old story I wrote a couple years ago.

Tales at Bath Time

Harry Potter lifted his youngest boy, Sirius, from the bathtub and wrapped him in a fluffy towel. The dark-haired, little boy rambled about the day's adventures in the backyard of their home.

"James found a snake and we talked to her," Sirius admitted.

"Siri! You promised not to tell!" James shouted from the tub where he still played with a fleet of boats.

"I forgot," the younger boy admitted before he turned to his father. "Don't be mad."

Harry continued to dry off his youngest and calmly replied, "I'm not mad. What kind of snake did she say she was?"

"Clarice is a viper and likes our garden very much," Sirius said.

James added, "Clarice told us that Nobby is a good garden elf. She said there're plenty of spiders, toads, and birds to eat. How does she eat a bird, Dad?"

"A viper?" Harry asked. "She's poisonous if she bites you."

"She won't bite us," James said as he stood up, ready to get dried off. "We asked her about it, and Clarice told us snakes won't bite 'speakers' unless asked to. Humans don't taste good."

"She said we nasty. We taste like old rats," Sirius said.

Harry grinned and asked, "But I thought snakes like to eat rats?"

"Clarice says she likes to eat young rats, not old ones," James explained, and Sirius nodded in agreement.

"Now, remember not to tell Mom about Clarice," Harry said quietly. "Mom doesn't talk to snakes, and she gets…"

"Mad!" James said.

"Well, yeah," Harry agreed. "Mom doesn't like to hear about talking to snakes."

"Grandma says wizards that talk to snakes are evil and if we talk to snakes, we'll be evil," Sirius told his Dad. "Are we evil, Dad?"

"No, you are not evil. Grandmother Molly is wrong," Harry insisted hugging his boys.

Then he asked, "When did she tell you this?"

"Grandmother always asks us if you been talking to snakes or goblins or dragons when we go to the Burrow. Granddad tells her to leave us alone but Uncle Ron…"

"Uncle Ron is there?" asked Harry as the revelations continued.

"Yeah," Sirius said.

James added, "Granddad said we weren't supposed to tell you about Uncle Ron being at the Burrow. He lost his job. Grandmother told him to come eat supper and he just stayed."

"That sounds like Uncle Ron," Harry admitted. "Let's get you boys ready for bed."

"I'm not sleepy!" Sirius insisted as he yawned.

"Me neither," added James.

"Okay but how about some hot chocolate and a story?" Harry suggested.

Thirty minutes later, both boys were curled up asleep in their beds as Boo, the house elf in the nursery, cleaned up the day's toys and dirty clothes.

The door to the nursery closed tightly and alarm charms in place, Harry Potter made his way to his study. Ginny insisted that the nursery be on the opposite side of the manor from their bedroom but as she spent more and more time on the road with her Quidditch team, Harry moved the nursery and his own bedroom to the first floor beside his study and the library. That had been six months ago, and he'd not ventured anywhere near the bedroom he 'shared' with Ginny since. Though, now that he thought about it, she'd been home only one night a week during the same time.

An owl waited on his desk and Harry took the letter from the bird before sending it to the perch he kept for all visiting birds with ample food and water. The letter was from Gringotts, and Harry opened it as he sat behind his desk. After reading the parchment, he tossed it onto his desk and sat back, staring at the small fire in the fireplace.

Trapping Harry

It had been only a month after the final battle at Hogwarts when Molly Weasley revealed the secret marriage betrothal between her daughter, Ginevra and the 'boy-who-lived' that trapped Harry Potter in a loveless marriage. Harry went to the goblins who examined the contract and reported that Mrs. Weasley and Dumbledore had indeed bound the 'boy-who-lived' to the Weasley girl. Any affection he had for Ginerva died in the three weeks of preparations for the wedding.

Even before the wedding service, there were loud blow-ups and arguments erupting at the Burrow after Harry refused to open his vaults to Ginny and Molly. In the one piece of his control in the betrothal, Harry refused to name his wife as 'Lady Potter', stating she could only be known as 'Mrs. Potter'.

"You're mine now, Harry Potter," Ginny shouted on more than one occasion. "And I want galleons for new robes!"

Each shout from his fiancé was echoed with a bellow by Molly and yells from Ron, who was incensed when he didn't get a vault of his own. With the mercenary nature of Molly and her two youngest revealed, Hermione left The Burrow in disgust. She remained in touch with Harry occasionally, but they grew apart as her years at University brought her in close contact with Justin Finch-Fletchley, the Hufflepuff who studied finance while she studied law.

By accident, Harry bumped into Hermione and Justin once while they queued at Gringotts and learned that the couple had wed. As the couple waited, Harry stood with them for a minute before his accountant took him in the bank. Understanding the preference provided for valuable, rich client, Justin coached his wife not to speak out of turn. But Hermione did say, "I was disappointed you couldn't make our wedding, Harry."

His face brightening for a moment to know he'd not be forgotten by his childhood friend, Harry quickly explained, "Ginny must have misplaced the invitation."

None of them believed the polite lie.

After their wedding, Ginny received a single vault that Harry filled once a year with a modest allowance and the young witch-wife learned the hard way that the household accounts would not pay for jewellery, robes, new brooms, or dinner on the town. With her fingers cut off from the main vaults, Ginny turned all matters of running Potter Haven over to the elves who managed the accounts much better in any case. And she found that she could not exit the house with any expensive belongings that might be pawned or sold to dealers.

The Department of Magical Law Enforcement fired Ron before the end of his first quarterly review as an Auror. In the years that followed, the red head was terminated from every other job he held while Molly fought first with Harry and then with Ginny in her attempts to provide galleons to keep Ron entertained and fed. For some inexplicable reason, there were never any arguments from Molly that Ron should go to work like his brothers.

From the start, Ginny refused to share her vault with Ron; Harry was implacable about providing any extra galleons beyond her 'reasonable' annual allowance. After Sirius was born, Ginny announced that two children were enough and the next month, she signed to play seeker with the Holyrood Harpies; a job that kept her from home six days of each week.

With Ginny's absence from home, Harry gave two weeks' notice at the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, used his banked vacation, and never returned to the Ministry except for an occasional meeting of the Wizengamot. The Daily Prophet predicted the rise of Dark Lords and the fall of the Ministry within weeks of the 'boy-who-lived' resigning his position as an Auror.

Of course, nothing of the kind happened in Magical Britain. Harry merely had to mention his support for a certain bill, his disagreement with the minister, or his disdain for some under-secretary, for the ministry would fall in line with Harry's wishes. Wizards with dark magic understood that the darkest wizard of all – Harry Potter – would never allow a dark wizard to collect followers and create problems for magical Britain.

As a result, the darkest wizards to rise in Britain in the years following 1997 went into business and government with all the passion that might have been misspent on torture and war. The ICW had several papers and studies reporting that in the next twenty years, Magical Britain would dominate the globe with magical innovation and finance. Percy Weasley's network of dark followers were in positions of power in every major nation, creating cooperation and peaceful communications. Bill Weasley's followers worked in every Gringotts around the world revolutionizing banking in the magical world. And George Weasley's innovations in magical spells won him followers in every household that practiced magic. Televisions, phonographs, tape players, telephones, and game players ran off natural magic that was generated by magical people using his new runes.

At the British Ministry for Magic, Arthur Weasley was treated with kid gloves by successive ministers and under-secretaries. Three of his sons and his only son-in-law were too powerful to annoy by firing the bumbling, good -natured man. And everyone ignored his wife with her frequent demands to honour Albus Dumbledore with statues or holidays.

Daily Prophet Buy-Out

In the months that followed Ginny's departure to the world of Quidditch teams, Ron and Molly pestered Harry so much that he closed the floo to them and struck their names from the admissions roster for Potter Haven. None of the Weasleys visited the manor any longer and there were few visits by the children to the home of their grandparents outside dinner on Sunday night. Ginny's career took off – everyone wanted to see Mrs. Ginny Potter play Quidditch and eventually no one paid attention that her husband did not come to watch her play. The newspapers requested multiple opportunities to photograph the Potter family, but 'Lord Potter' refused all requests for interviews that involved his children.

One day while Harry was away from Potter Haven attending to business with Gringotts and his wife was home, Ginny arranged for Rita Skeeter and her photographer to pop over for an interview and photograph session. The next morning when Harry saw the faces of his two little boys on the cover of the Daily Prophet, he exploded in anger and summoned his Gringotts manager and his solicitors. He ignored his wife as Ginny fussed that the article didn't mention her wins in the Quidditch tournament or her new hair style.

Within two days there were judicious purchases of stock that left Harry with majority ownership of stock in the newspaper and all magical magazines in Britain. His accountant also purchased control of the firm that supplied the paper and ink to all publications. This was followed by a single meeting with editors of the magical newspapers and magazines in Britain during which Lord Potter-Black made known his displeasure at the appearance of his sons on the cover of the newspaper without his knowledge or consent.

Pushing her way into the meeting, Rita Skeeter shouted, "You can't lock them away!"

"I have no intention of locking my children away but there'll not be any exploitation of my sons! My Gringotts account manager will direct all future interviews and photography sessions. Any deviation will bring the full weight of my displeasure upon the reporter, photographer and publication."

Rita laughed, "You can't control the press, Harry!"

"You should refer to your employer as Lord Potter-Black," a goblin mentioned.

"My employer?" Rita asked. "What do you mean?"

"I own the Daily Prophet, and your employment contract is air-tight. You will never write another article about me or my children without my approval, Skeeter," Harry explained his magical aura released for everyone to feel and see.

"What? No!" the reporter protested but she was bending under the power of Potter's magic displayed for everyone in the room.

"You could find yourself writing obituaries and gardening articles for the next fifty years," the goblin reminded Rita. The reporter caught her editor's eye and the man simply frowned and sat back. The Daily Prophet would report only the truth from this day forward while steering clear of any and all mentions of the Potter-Black children.

There were no limitations on articles concerning Mrs. Potter (and there were many speculative articles about why Ginerva was never referred to as 'Lady Potter' but only always 'Mrs. Potter.) The Daily Prophet reported on the seeker's plays in each game, her wardrobe, her new brooms, and her after-game attendance at wild parties with the other players on the Holyrood Harpies team.

Harry Examines Ginny's Trap

Harry had a new problem. According to the letter from his accountant, Ginny was having an affair with the manager of her professional Quidditch team, Oliver Wood. They travelled together around the world and when outside of Britain, they didn't bother to hide their mutual affection. Unfortunately for everyone, Ginny had fallen pregnant with Oliver's child.

Gringotts provided private detectives who followed the couple in the muggle and magical worlds to document the infidelity. The same detectives broke into the medical clinic she visited and copied the records. Harry stared at the files and photographs in the office of his accountant before handing them back to the goblin.

"What do you suggest?" Lord Potter-Black asked the goblin manager who handled his 'problems' very well up since the trap was sprung in the fall of 1997. The former Potter accountant died of shame to have allowed his client to be trapped in such a one-sided contract by the Howler of Ottery St Catchpole and White Whiskers.

"The betrothal contract is written to favour Mrs. Potter as the 'pureblood' while you are only a half-blood, Lord Potter-Black. In a divorce, even if she is proven to be unfaithful, she gets everything except the titles that will go to your sons after your death."

"And after a divorce, she can arrange for my death without repercussions," Harry stated. "Magical Britain lets the purebloods do just about anything they want within their family."

The goblin nodded but continued, "Gringotts has long wanted to suggest that you invoke the life debt owed to you by your wife and her various lovers."

Harry's mouth grew tighter to hear that Oliver wasn't the first man with whom Ginerva betrayed him.

"Life debt? What is a life debt?"

"When a magical being truly endangers their own life to save another magical person from death, a debt is created. In history, many wizards and witches used life debts to control other persons. The whole of magical Britain owes you a debt from October 1981… or your mother was owed, and the debt transferred to you. The spring of 1992 when you stopped the Dark Lord inside Hogwarts another life debt from the whole of magical Britain was created. Dumbledore played with magical fire to never tell you this. And then again in 1993 when you killed the basilisk and stopped Tom Riddle from manifesting, you doubled up on life debts for all the students and faculty in Hogwarts."

"That was sixteen years ago," Harry observed. "Are these debts still in place?"

"They are. The fact that your wife has been unfaithful to you has coloured the strength of the debts she owes you. Draco Malfoy, Oliver Wood, Marcus Flint, Daniel Goldstein, and some Smith fellow, also have coloured their life debts by their dalliances with Mrs. Potter."

"I believe that James and Sirius are my natural children," Harry stated, ashamed to doubt his sons for a moment.

"They are your sons, Lord Potter-Black. Magic demanded it of your wife when she forced you into the marriage. She was compelled to bear two sons – one to inherit the Potter name and the second to inherit the Black name. When you married, she was faithful and dutiful until the second boy was born. Once magic was assured your youngest was healthy, Mother Magic allowed Mrs. Potter to follow her natural inclinations."

"But this child will not be 'mine', but it will still be a Potter-Black."

"Potter, your wife has miscalculated with this pregnancy," the goblin said. "The contract does not allow for you to divorce her, but it also does not allow her to bring a cuckoo into your nest. Magic will… her magical core will demand a terrible price of her for bearing a child that is not yours but forcing you to give it your name."

"A terrible price, eh?" Harry asked. "I shall have a new child without my blood?"

The goblin nodded and Harry stared the goblin in the eyes and continued, "At the ministry, there are whispers about Gringotts blood adoptions. Do they work?"

The goblin nodded and added, "Lord Potter-Black, you would be surprized at the number of your peers who were blood adopted shortly after birth. Gringotts cannot reveal any information concerning the practice, but the ministry never interferes when a pureblood family does a blood adoption at Gringotts."

Harry looked confused for a moment before he said, "And using Gringotts means that none of the ministry bribe-mongers can get the information."

The goblin sneered as he explained, "Albus-Many-Names-Dumbledore earned our everlasting disdain and enmity by attempting to compel and bribe a department manager to reveal a list of blood adoptions. The wizard might even have been able to resist the Dark Lord's cursed ring if a goblin magic user underneath a cloak of invisibility hadn't been there to cast the same compulsions on him that day as he hunted for Tom Riddle's soul jars."

Harry smirked. The longer he lived and the more he learned, the less he valued any information he'd learned from Dumbledore.

"Thank you for bringing this information to my attention. I shall think on this and speak with you again within three days."

Discord at Sunday Dinner

Four days after Harry's meeting with his account manager, Gringotts began to implement Lord Potter-Black's directives. First, the bank quietly bought controlling shares in the Holyrood Harpies through a shell corporation, and the manager was called into Gringotts for a long discussion with the goblins. Their legal department was prepared with full details of the penalties imposed on management when players violated the morals clauses in their contracts and brought disrepute upon the team's public image. Without too much persuasion, the man caved and agreed to the suggestion that his star seeker would take family leave. And Mr. Wood's contract would not be renewed after the 2009 season.

That Sunday, The Daily Prophet carried an interesting article on the Quidditch section – legendary seeker Ginny Weasley-Potter would take a sabbatical because of an unexpected pregnancy. She would be missing from the team roster until after May 2009.

"Harry! What happened?" Ron demanded to know when Harry, James and Sirius arrived at the Burrow for Sunday dinner, one of Molly's traditions that Harry agreed to because it allowed his sons to play with their cousins.

"About what?" Harry asked as he greeted everyone. Ginny was still in Argentina with the team that weekend – the article would not be in the papers there until tomorrow.

"This story about Ginny being preggers?"

Harry sent his boys outside to play with their cousins – Bill's two, Percy's three and George's four. The brothers and their wives waited quietly in the kitchen as Molly began yelling about the wild story.

After listening to his mother-in-law's rant, Harry turned to his brother-in-law and said, "Ron, Ginny's been gone for six months, and she hardly lets me touch her since Sirius was born – she said our two boys were enough and she wanted to keep her flying weight for Quidditch. I don't know how she fell pregnant in Argentina."

"You own the paper, make 'em say it is a lie!" Molly demanded.

Reaching out his hand, Harry asked, "Can I see the paper?"

"Didn't you read it this morning?" asked Bill, curious about the story but not interested in capturing his mother's attention.

"Just the front page and the articles about bills coming up in the Wizengamot," Harry replied. "I don't read the sports section."

"Here," Molly said, thrusting the paper into Harry's hands. He quietly read the press release from the Chutney Cannons that their star seeker was pregnant and taking a family leave until the following May.

"It's all a lie! I know it!" insisted Molly again.

"Yeah," Ron agreed.

Harry shook his head, in a slightly sarcastic tone he asked, "Wow… Ginny's going to have another baby. Wonder how that happened?"

"It's a lie, that's what happened!" Molly continued to yell and scared the children. To prevent any upset, Arthur sent his grandchildren into the yard where Angela, Penny, and Fleur comforted them.

"No," Harry replied. "The Daily Prophet cannot print something that is a lie or even a half-truth. I placed a geas on the paper's staff and equipment to only be able to print the truth. You remember how sometimes there will be a blank spot in the paper? That's when a staff person made a mistake in a story and the printer won't include it in the daily run. The editor gets really aggravated because advertisers can't lie or exaggerate in their ads in the paper."

"That's true," George said. "Angela and I have to be careful how we advertise new jokes, or they don't get in the paper."

"Then Ginny got knocked up by somebody on the team!" Ron declared.

His mother immediately smacked him in the head, and yelled, "Don't say that about your sister! She would never do that!"

Arthur Weasley who had said nothing before now stepped forward and asked, "Harry, is this true?"

"Ask your daughter, not me," Harry replied. "I am just her husband, and she does what she wants."

"Because you let her!" Arthur replied.

Harry snickered. Then he laughed for almost two minutes, wiped his eyes, and said, "I apologise Arthur, but for 'you' to tell me to make my wife do something is the one thing I never thought I would hear."

"What do you mean?" Molly demanded. "Arthur has been like a father to you since you came back to the magical world! He always does everything I tell him to do for you!"

Fleur, Angela and Penny came back into the house while the children were distracted and playing "Kick Dumbledore" with a small, animated dummy of the dead wizard. It was a game Harry invented and brought to the Burrow each week to aggravate his mother-in-law. The ball looked like Dumbledore's worst robes, and kept squeaking, "But it is for the Greater Good!" every time one of the children managed to kick it.

Harry glanced at the wives of the three older Weasley sons present and saw each of them frown at their husbands; the men winced but said nothing against their mother or father. He was glad Hermione escaped from the Weasley family; Ron was the only son who failed to find a career. Charlie never came home but communicated regularly with George and Angela. When questioned by his mother about talking with the 'traitor', the excuse George used was that the joke shop needed to procure materials from the dragon preserve and they got better prices working through Charlie. But Harry knew the brothers were in close communication and even visited each other during vacations. And Harry knew that his 'brothers' all were dark as he was, and their fingers reached around the world already.

"Are we going to stand around and 'talk' all night or can we eat?" Percy asked. "Penny and I have to get the kids to bed on time tonight because tomorrow is a school day."

"Yes," Fleur said. "My little ones look forward to their grandmother's cooking on Sunday."

Molly frowned to hear her least favourite daughter-in-law praise her food, but if her grandchildren were hungry then she had to put supper on the table. Per Molly's instructions, the men filled their plates first, then the wives put food in front of the eleven children and monitored them as they ate. Once the men were fed, they took over dealing with the children while the women filled their plates. Harry said nothing as Ron went through seconds and thirds before starting desserts after everyone else was finished.

Before the wedding took place, Harry realized that Molly fed Arthur first so that she could make certain he ingested any potions she had for him without taking the chance of ingesting any herself. He used his wandless magic to make certain there was nothing in his food or the food his sons ate. He noticed each of the 'wives' took similar precautions with their plates, as well as the plates for their husbands and children.

"I think I'll take the boys home," Harry said as soon as Percy and Penny began to gather their three. Fleur moved without saying anything to gather her two children and depart, leaving Bill behind to prevent any arguments from erupting.

In the bustle, Harry escaped from the Burrow with Sirius and James without any more words from Molly, Ron or Arthur. As soon as they apparated into the front yard of their home, he immediately checked the wards – no one had entered or attempted to enter while they were gone.

James and Sirius ran off to the nursery to play with their favourite toys for the next hour while Harry quietly called his elves into this study for orders about all future visitors of any kind. The fire in the floo chimney was extinguished and all fuel was removed to prevent any attempts to restart the fire remotely. A metal panel was fastened over the fireplace opening – anyone who forced the floo to open would hit reinforced steel and bounce back hard into the floo network.

Harry went to the warding room, removed the name of everyone from the book except for himself, his two sons, and his wife. When she returned, Ginny would be limited to apparition to the front door and with locking spells in place, she would have to knock to obtain access to his house again.

There were three howlers caught by the wards in the morning. The de-spelled papers were delivered by an elf without the ear-splitting screaming and after reading the insults and abuse included in the letters, Harry returned the favour by sending two banshee howlers back to Molly and one to Ron. This enhanced howler was Harry's own creation when he grew tired of Molly's attempts to subdue him with shouting just after he married Ginevra. Everyone heard what was shouted in the howler, but the recipient was deafened for a day and healers were unable to reverse the charm.

Frowning as he debated sending a letter to Arthur about controlling Molly and Ron, Harry decided to raise the stakes by charming a fourth banshee howler for Arthur and sending it to his father-in-law at the Ministry. "Get your wife and gluttonous son under control Arthur Weasley! I am tired of dealing with their screaming and yelling! And what about your adulterous daughter? How did that witch become pregnant in Argentina?"

Return to England

There were multiple requests for interviews from international news services and magazines, but Harry declined each of them. Ginerva Potter-Weasley did not want to return to Britain but because she had been removed from the active roster, she had to leave the team's hotel and pay for her own accommodations. After three days, she learned that her Gringotts card was being declined for all bills except a one-way portkey back to Gringotts London.

Returning to London, she was surprized that no one was at the bank to meet her – not her husband, her parents, brothers, or management from the team. To delay her return to Potter Manor, she sought out Rita Skeeter who asked hard questions and got no answers, but the paper did have several good pictures of Ginny attempting to beat up the reporter and her photographer. Eventually, Arthur appeared at the Leaky Cauldron and used the floo there to take Ginny to the Burrow where she had a tearful reunion with her mother. Ron had lots of questions but Molly and Ginny both hexed his bits sore and drove him from the house.

"Ginny, what about this story that you're pregnant?" asked Molly.

"My magic Mom… it hid the pregnancy for more than six months… slowed it down," Ginny mumbled. "The healers in Argentina never saw anything like it. I think it's because Harry's magic is so powerful, his seed just sat there until now."

"I knew there was something that would explain it!" Molly said, accepting her daughter's lie instantly.

Wives of the New Dark Lords

The day she learned that Ginny was back in London, Penny opened her floo and invited Fleur and Angelina to visit.

"We have to protect our families," Penny said without preamble. "The fallout from Ginny and Molly's mouths can take us down with them."

Fleur nodded in agreement though Angelina remained silent and expressionless at first. Then she said, "As the wives of dark lords, we must be careful."

Penny smiled and said, "As the wives of modern dark lords, our lot is much easier than in earlier generations. We only have to help our husbands not lose control."

Fleur nodded and said, "Bill and I shall visit France and Italia. While on vacation, he will find an outstanding opportunity at Gringotts in Florence that will require his attention for the next fifty years. Our children will attend school near Rome."

"Australia," Penny said. "Percy can be appointed as ambassador next week and we will leave immediately. That'll keep us away for a while. Then he can serve in Brazil, the United States, and China."

Angelina smiled and said, "We want to relocate our headquarters to the United States. The market is fifty times larger there alone and the Americans have distribution systems in place to reach around the world. George's WWW will dominate the world of techo-magical devices in ten years."

No Shows for Sunday Supper

It was Sunday and Molly Weasley was angry. Each of her sons had floo called on Friday to say that they would not attend the traditional family dinner on Sunday. Per her favourite tradition of blaming everything on the women who married her sons, she made fun of each of their names.

"George and 'Angle' have gone to America with all their children," she sneered. "Bill and 'Phlegm' have gone to the continent for a vacation. Who goes on vacation in July? What do France and Spain have that is better than England, I'd like to know."

"And Percy and 'Coin' have gone to some place called Austin where he's to be the ambassador! Ron thinks Austin is a city in Texas and that's somewhere in America! Why do we need an ambassador for a city?"

A fter listening to her mother's complaints for an hour, Ginny said, "Mom, maybe this will work better… Can we douse Harry with some potion at supper to make him pliable? Something to make him believe me?"

"Yes, I have several potions that will make your husband pliable and do your bidding. I can't let Arthur head to the ministry without his daily potion," Molly explained, growing excited at the prospect of using one of her potions to control her son-in-law.

Unfortunately for Ginny and Molly, the treacle tart sat untouched on the table that night. Harry and his boys did not appear through the floo, and no one answered floo calls to Potter Manor that night or any subsequent night.

Finally, desperate to hear from Potter after another two weeks, Ginny went to the ministry and the office for child welfare. After a contentious meeting where the case worker laughed at Ginny's charges and insinuations, she left in a huff and sought the opinion of a talented lawyer; Greengrass and Associates was headed by Daphne Greengrass now and she agreed to meet with Ginny.

A fter hearing Mrs. Potter's complaints and making copious notes, the Slytherin graduate pulled out a folder and lay it on the table. Allowing Ginny to open and view the contents, Greengrass continued, "My friends at Child Welfare gave me a head's up earlier today after you asked for a meeting. They sent over this folder for my use this afternoon. It's all documented here; your sons have been well cared for by their father."

"Apparently, Harry thought you might try something like this, and he made certain a representative of child welfare was present to document every birthday you missed, and the fact that you never floo called your children or husband during the week. Harry is the parent of record who cares for James and Sirius. You will just embarrass yourself and spend galleons you don't have for my services if you try to sue him for custody."

Springing The Trap

Ginerva's third pregnancy proceeded as normal though her weight gain exceeded both of her previous pregnancies. Her mood was often sour, and she fought with Ron who hung around the Burrow even though Arthur found him another job working in the kitchens at the Leaky Cauldron.

Molly couldn't find a newspaper reporter who would write and print any story about her daughter's sad plight of being an abandoned wife. Each time she approached a reporter, the wizard or witch reminded her that only the truth could be printed in a newspaper or magazine in Magical Britain. After the story was written and a truth spell cast at the paper, all the words about Ginny's pregnancy being 'magically delayed' would vanish.

The ninth month, May 2006, Ginny began to plan on losing the baby weight to be able to play seeker for the Holyrood Harpies by August. There were potions that help her return to her best flying weight without too much pain. Her mother would care for the baby – if Potter wanted to see his youngest kid, he'd have to pay enough to make Ginny and Molly happy.

There was sad news for Ginny when Oliver was released from his contract. In the months since Ginny was placed on 'family leave' the Holyrood Harpies had lost money – no one came to the games without the controversial seeker on the roster. She knew that her return as seeker would raise revenues again. Then the day arrived when the contractions began, and Ginny hoped this would be a quick delivery. Molly fussed about the need to go to Saint Mungo's.

"Aunt Muriel delivered each of you here at the Burrow without the expense of Saint Mungo's," her mother argued.

"Money isn't a concern," Ginny argued before she stepped through the flames and disappeared. Molly decided to prepare supper for Arthur and Ron before following Ginny to the hospital. There would be many hours before Ginny went into the delivery room.

When Molly and Arthur arrived at Saint Mungo's at four in the afternoon, a nurse immediately directed them toward the delivery room.

"But she's only been here for two hours," Molly argued. "My daughter's second delivery took eight hours!"

"But each delivery is different, Mrs. Weasley."

When they stepped into a special observation room where they could see what was occurring in the delivery room, Molly immediately began yelling, "Harry Potter! What are you doing here! You haven't appeared for four months and now you come around?"

Wards in the room grabbed Molly, wrapped her in unbreakable magical ropes, and silenced her bellow before the second breath. In the delivery room where a healer was coaching Ginny's breathing to help with the contractions, everyone heard Molly's outburst.

"Good! Mom's here!" Ginny wheezed as a contraction lessened. "That bellow means that Harry is out there too."

In the observation room, Harry smirked as Arthur tried unsuccessfully to release Molly from the room's restraints.

"Weasley, you're wasting your time. As the ranking lord present, the wards are for my protection, and I'll never feel safe with your wife present."

His father-in-law asked, "Why are you here? You said this is not your child."

"A child born from my wife's body is a 'Potter' and my responsibility. When the child is born, it will become mine and I shall leave with the new baby within an hour of it being pronounced healthy. And it better be healthy, Arthur. If Ginny's been under any potions, I will bring charges against you, your wife and that moron living in his old room at the Burrow."

"Why are you so angry? We have a happy family!"

"Arthur, have you been scanned for potions in the last forty years?"

Even though she was silenced and bound, Molly began to struggle even more to escape from the wards holding her and the effort was noticed by the two wizards in the room. The wards increased in power to protect both wizards and put the angry witch to sleep.

"I should see a healer," Arthur mumbled.

"Not until after the birth," Harry argued. "You must be here to stand as witness that Ginny delivered the child and that an imposter was not slipped into the delivery room."

It was over shortly after the third hour of contractions. With an unusually strong contraction, Ginny's body shuddered, expelled twin girls and then dropped back in the birthing chair – her magical core had collapsed. Without any signs of problems earlier in the delivery, suddenly Ginerva Potter was dead in the delivery chair. While one team of healers examined the new-borns, another team attempted to revive the mother, but they were unsuccessful with every method available.

Time of birth, 18:05 4 May 2006 for unnamed Baby Girl Alpha Potter-Black.

Time of birth, 18:05 4 May 2006 for unnamed Baby Girl Beta Potter-Black.

Time of death, 18:05 4 May 2006 for Ginerva Potter, nee Weasley.

Once the twin girls were pronounced healthy, Lord Potter and his nanny elves took the infants immediately to Gringotts and disappeared into the depths of the bank. Arthur Weasley was admitted to the hospital for a detailed examination and his wife was admitted to the Janus Thackery Wing for observation as her grief over the death of her daughter left her prostrate and incoherent.

The Daily Prophet carried a story in the inner pages about the death of Mrs. Ginerva Potter during the birth of twin daughters. After another two days, Lord Potter formally announced the birth of Lily Marie Potter-Black and Dorea Catherine Potter-Black, twins who promised to have their grandmother Lily Potter's eyes and hair colour. Sirius Potter-Black and James Potter-Black were only slightly interested in their new sisters, but the house elves were very happy.

In a separate, small article, Arthur Weasley announced his divorce from his wife of forty plus years for line theft. Molly Prewitt was sentenced to Azkaban for two years in the minimum-security level. Her mind and magic had fractured with the death of her daughter and divorce from her husband. Upon her release, she was once again admitted to the Janus Thackery Ward in Saint Mungo's where she remained trapped for the remainder of her life.

Harry Potter never remarried though his name was linked romantically with several witches and even a couple wizards over the next century. His four children were very powerful young wizards and witches and they thrived in the re-structured curriculum at Hogwarts under Headmaster Filius Flitwick. Harry was pleased when his children each went into a different house at the school and the children were always praised for their academic achievements.