The platform was packed and Harry could see why Remus had chosen to stay home with all her siblings. Sirius and Peter were both at work, but Harry's mum and dad had come to see her off.
"Let us know where you're sorted," Dad said as he pulled Harry in a quick hug.
"And don't let the boys drive you crazy," Mum added as she, too, gave Harry a tight hug. "I mean it, Harriet. You have plenty of time to build your own coven. Don't let anyone pressure you into making choices you're not ready to make."
"I'm eleven, Mum," Harry said with a sigh as she pulled away. "I'm not getting married anytime soon."
"I know," Mum quickly agreed, running a soft hand over Harry's wild curls. "But you know how popular you're going to be. Just be aware of that."
Harry nodded, knowing full well that since her dad had sired two daughters, of which she was one, she'd be in very high demand as a future wife. Most men couldn't even manage to sire one daughter, no matter how many children they had.
A woman next to them grabbed her bushy-haired daughter into a tight hug. "We can still take you home, Hermione."
"But I want to learn magic," the girl said, voice muffled against her mother's coat.
"I understand, but this society seems so barbaric," the woman replied, looking around at all the magical people with wide, anxious eyes.
Harry's mum chuckled softly and turned towards the woman. "Your daughter is muggleborn, right?" When she got a nod in return, Lily pressed on, "I'm a muggleborn and I well remember how scary it was to suddenly belong to a society that's so different from the muggle world." Lily gave Harry a small push in her back towards the other couple. "My daughter Harriet will be happy to answer all your daughter's questions, won't you, darling?"
"Sure," Harry agreed easily. She knew from all of her mum's stories how overwhelming it could be for muggleborns, especially witches. "Let's find a compartment together. I'm Harry Potter."
"I'm Hermione Granger," the girl said, her eyes full of hope as she stared at Harry.
"Let's go then!" Harry all but jumped on the train and then waited for her dad to haul her trunk aboard for her. Harry looked and looked but she couldn't find an empty compartment. Then she spotted two of her friends, Ron and Neville seated together and she pulled the door open with a bright smile.
After some greetings and introductions and lots of pulling and shoving to get their trunks up on the luggage rack, Harry and Hermione sat down opposite each other.
"So what do you want to know?" Harry asked when the train pulled out of the station, because Hermione sat on the edge of her seat, obviously bursting with questions.
"Is it really true that witches are expected to take multiple husbands?" Hermione asked, sounding as though she only half-believed that, even though Harry knew the Ministry had a whole team dedicated to educating muggleborns about the need for covens.
"Yep, every witch has to form her own coven," Harry explained with a shrug. This was all old news to her, since it's how she'd grown up. "By law she needs at least three husbands, but more is encouraged. My mum has four husbands. My dad, James Potter, and Sirius Black, Remus Lupin and Peter Pettigrew."
"My mum's got my dad Frank Longbottom, Walter Simmons and Reginald Bones," Neville said while giving Hermione a kind smile.
"And my mum's got my dad Arthur Weasley, and Rowan Parkinson, Kingsley Shacklebolt and Michael Whittaker." Ron gave Hermione a cheeky grin. "I've got twelve siblings. And only three are daughters, all from different fathers."
Hermione took a few moments to look between them all with wide eyes. "So it's really true that not many magical females are born?"
"Unfortunately, yes," Harry said as she leaned back in the seat. "I've got six siblings and one on the way. There's only two girls, myself and my full sister Hyacinth, which is very rare."
"Harry's going to have every eligible wizard after her once she turns 15, mark my words," Neville said with a teasing smile. "Bloodlines that produce more than one daughter are really, really rare."
"Do you have any sisters?" Ron asked as he gave Hermione an expectant look. "Cause if you did and they turned out to be magical, too, you'd have the pick of the wizards as well."
"No." Hermione ducked her head for a second. "I'm an only child. My parents are dentists and they're very busy. They don't have time for more children." Hermione's expression changed, from slight embarrassment to insatiable curiosity. "Was it really a curse that did this? Can magic truly be so powerful?"
Harry nodded, knowing this whole story by heart. "Yep. A long time ago a Dark Lord named Gellert Grindelwald cast a powerful curse over most of Europe that plunged the birth-rate of witches. Minister Riddle was the first to discover this and he alerted the authorities. Unfortunately Grindelwald died in a duel with his former lover Albus Dumbledore. When the authorities arrested Dumbledore he tried to shift the blame from his lover to Minister Riddle, who was at the time just an Auror trainee at the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. Dumbledore got sentenced to Azkaban and Minister Riddle came up with the Coven System to save the magical world."
"Britain was the first to implement it back in 1948, but most of magical Europe has something similar now," Neville added.
Hermione leaned forwards in her seat, hands wringing in her lap. "And no one was able to break the curse?"
"No one," Ron said with a solemn nod. "Many people have tried, including Minister Riddle more than once."
"And how does the Coven System work exactly?" Hermione looked as though she rather dreaded the answer to that question.
"Before her twentieth birthday a witch is expected to select at least three husbands," Harry explained, rather enjoying seeing Hermione squirm a bit. This was all old news to Harry, who'd known she was expected to do these things for as long as she could remember. "The witch is allowed to choose her own husbands. She cannot be forced in this by anyone."
"Including her parents," Neville added quickly. "Before the Coven System certain pureblood families liked to arrange marriages for their children but the Coven System did away with that entirely."
Harry waited for Neville to finish talking before she continued. "After the marriage, the witch is expected to have at least one child with each husband, but more is encouraged."
"The more the merrier, my mum always says," Ron said with a laugh. "She's pregnant with number fourteen now."
"Are witches expected to just sit home all day and pop out babies?" Hermione sounded more and more affronted.
"Not at all," Neville said with a shake of his head. "My mum is a Ward Master and works full-time. Walter looks after the kids. He really enjoys that stuff."
"And my mum's a Healer," Harry said, understanding why Hermione might be very upset by the idea of sitting at home all day raising kids. Hermione seemed like a very clever and ambitious girl who had big plans for her own life. "Remus looks after the kids. He's a werewolf and there's still a lot of prejudice against them in our world, unfortunately. So instead of constantly getting fired he prefers to just stay home and raise the babies."
"Talking about prejudice," Ron said while he narrowed his eyes at Hermione. "You're lucky the Coven System exist. Before there was a lot of prejudice against muggleborns in certain parts of the wizarding world. But since the Coven System all witches are highly valued, no matter their blood status."
"It's still a very strange idea," Hermione muttered as she seemed to mull everything over.
"You'll get used to it." Harry gave Hermione a reassuring smile. "For now nothing happens. In our third year boys might start to make their interest known in one of us by giving us small gifts. Nothing fancy, just some candy or a book or something. Then starting fifth year wizards can genuinely start to court a witch, asking her on dates. Of course, a witch can also take the initiative and ask a wizard they like out."
"Mostly it will be boys around your own age who will show an interest," Neville explained when Hermione started looking a bit anxious. "But in case of a desirable witch like Harry older wizards might also try and court her. She can of course always turn them down."
"And do they respect a witch's wishes?" Hermione asked in a small voice.
"They better," Ron said, crossing his arms. "Not respecting a witch's wishes gets you hauled before the Wizengamot."
"That's good to know." Hermione heaved a deep sigh.
"For now, just enjoy learning magic and don't worry about anything else too much." Harry gave Hermione an excited grin. "So what House do you think you'll end up in?"
Hermione perked up at once. "Ravenclaw sounds good but I really hope I'll get into Gryffindor."
As it turned out, Hermione got her wish and she joined Harry in Gryffindor. They were the only two Gryffindor girls in their year. Parth Patil had a twin sister, Padma, but she was sorted into Ravenclaw as the only girl in her year. Hufflepuff had two girls, Susan Bones and Megan Jones, and so did Slytherin with Pansy Parkinson and Tracey Davis.
"Not a bad assortment of girls this year," Leander Brown said from his seat beside Harry. Hermione, who sat on Harry's other side, immediately gave him a disgusted glare.
Harry waved at the staff table, where her uncle Regulus sat next to Severus Snape, a good friend of her mother. "They're a couple," Harry whispered to Hermione. "Younger sons are encouraged to seek husbands if they're at all attracted to the same sex."
Headmistress McGonagall stood up to welcome the students and to open the feast.
"Is she married to multiple husbands as well?" Hermione asked as they filled their plates with the amazing food Hogwarts had to offer. "Are they on the staff?"
"All witches have at least three husbands, including the headmistress," Harry said absently as she reached for the porkchops. "McGonagall is one of those witches that did her duty and birthed three children and then separated from her husbands. She's still officially married, but my parents said they don't live together anymore and haven't in a long time."
"So that's also a possibility?" Hermione mused as she poked at some green beans on her plate.
"Oh yes. As long as you do your duty, you can separate from one or more husbands eventually. Of course, some witches enjoy having their coven. My mum seems happy enough with her husbands. I think it helps that they were best friends before they married her, so they all get along pretty well. And Sirius and Remus have a relationship together as well."
Hermione blinked at Harry in confusion.
"It's not uncommon," Neville said from across the table. "Walter and Reginald are also a couple. They've got their own wing in our mansion and share a bed most nights."
"Next summer, you should come stay with us for a week or so," Harry offered because she was eager to show off her family and help convince Hermione that the Coven System was a system that worked.
"That would be great," Hermione said with a relieved smile before eating some mashed potatoes.
Their first year flew by in a rush of flying feathers and dancing pineapples. Hermione was indeed the smartest student in their year and Harry, who'd never been the most motivated of students, got swept up in Hermione's determination to pass all her exams with flying colours and also got high grades for all her subjects.
That summer Hermione did come and stay for a week at Harry's home. Harry's family thrived on chaos. Lily worked shifts as a Healer at St Mungo's. Both James and Sirius also worked shifts as Aurors. Peter regularly worked overtime as an Undersecretary to Minister Riddle. And Remus was looking after a new-born daughter, Peter's, as well as seven other children who were all home for the summer holidays and demanded constant attention.
"Wait until you visit Ron's home," Harry said with a burst of laughter when Hermione politely commented on the sheer disarray around them. "His family makes mine look tame in comparison."
They did visit Ron's home for a day and after spending ten hours surrounded by a dozen very loud kids and one mother who ruled her brood with an iron wand, Hermione had to concede that Harry's home was rather peaceful, all things considered.
During Hermione's last night at Harry's home, they were able to have dinner with at least a few of the adults present. Lily, James and Sirius had all worked the day shift and got to spend an evening at home, much to Harry's pleasure. It was rare to have everyone at home at the same time like that.
"I read that Minister Riddle has been in power for a very long time," Hermione said, looking between the adults curiously.
"He's been Minister for just about thirty years now, was Head Auror before that," James said with a nod. "He's been doing a well enough job, so people don't want him to go."
"But doesn't that make him a dictator?" Hermione asked with a frown.
"They hold elections every five years, but Riddle always wins," Sirius said with a chuckle. "He's got most of the Wizengamot in his pocket as well."
"There are very few people who don't support him," Lily said with a kind smile. "He's a very intelligent man and his policies have definitely improved the wizarding world."
"Who is he married to?" Hermione asked with polite interest.
"He's not married," Lily answered with a bit of an amused wrinkle of her nose. "When he created the Coven System he made himself the exception."
"Exception how?" Hermione asked with a frown.
"That he is allowed to have a witch for himself, basically," Sirius answered with a shrug. "But the man's been a bachelor for so long that no one expects him to still get married."
"You'll get a chance to meet him," Lily told Hermione with a patient smile. If anyone understood Hermione's need to know everything about the wizarding world it was Lily Evans. "At the start of your fifth year he'll come and speak to you. He does that every year for all fifth year witches."
"Well," Hermione said as she narrowed her eyes in determination. "I'll make sure to have a list of questions ready for him then."
Second year was much the same as their first year. They were still very much allowed to just be students, to learn magic and enjoy their spare time around the castle. Harry tried out for the Quidditch team and got the Seeker position, much to James' everlasting pride and joy. Both Ron and Neville's families welcomed another baby brother, while Lily told her family that she was done and eight children was enough. On the one hand, Harry was a little disappointed by that since she loved all her siblings, but on the other hand she was also happy to know that dirty diapers and crying babies were soon a thing of the past.
It wasn't until third year that things started to get a bit interesting. During their train ride to school Dante Greengrass and Milton Bullstrode both stopped at Harry's compartment and handed her a bar of Honeydukes' finest chocolate each. Harry accepted it with a polite smile and a small nod, as was expected, but she kept it with that. She hardly knew either one of them and as of yet wasn't interested in them at all.
Not five minutes after they left, Draco Malfoy did the same thing with a rather embarrassed look on his face.
"Really?" Harry asked him a bit flummoxed as she accepted the bar of chocolate from him. She and Draco were practically family, since Sirius was Draco's cousin and they spent plenty of time in the same social circles.
"Yeah," Draco sighed in a rather defeated manner. "Mother insisted. She expects a ton of grandchildren apparently and your line is very fertile."
Harry found that rather amusing, since Narcissa Black had done her duty, but no more than that. She'd produced a son each for her three husbands, and these days she lived in her own wing in Malfoy Mansion, the ancestral home of Lucius Malfoy. She rarely set foot anymore in the home of her other husbands, Evan Rosier and Walden Macnair, who were in a relationship together and insisted on raising their two sons away from the Malfoy home.
Henry Abbot and Leander Brown both stopped by to give Hermione a chocolate bar each. Hermione thanked them with a smile and a nod, but left it with that even when Leander clearly waited for more of a reaction. Harry shut the compartment door in his face when he wouldn't take the hint to just leave.
Harry's half-brother Rigel Black was sorted into Gryffindor, as was Neville's half-brother Ethan Bones. Ron's half-brother Ambrose Shacklebolt got into Ravenclaw.
Throughout the first few weeks many more boys handed Harry small gifts, mostly chocolate but also things like a Quidditch magazine or a new quill. One day after Charms, Blaise Zabini gave Harry a delicate silver bracelet, which Harry looked at with wide eyes.
"Isn't that a bit much?" Hermione commented while giving Zabini a narrow-eyed glare. "That's hardly a small token."
"I'm merely trying to make an effort to stand out from the crowd," Zabini said with an elegant shrug before giving Harry a cheeky wink. Then he turned on his heels and strolled away as though he didn't have a care in the world.
"It's a nice bracelet," Harry said, a strange, warm rush rising up from her belly throughout her entire chest. Zabini was a very good-looking boy who would undoubtedly grow up to be a very handsome man. His mother had a bit of a reputation for marrying rich, older men, but she did always give them a child before they inevitably died of old age. Zabini had four younger siblings, of which only one was a girl.
Hermione harrumphed. "You do realize he's cheating, right?"
"He's a Slytherin," Harry said while putting the bracelet on. "It's kind of expected." Uncle Regulus had told her and her siblings tons of stories of what Slytherins got up to when it came to courting witches. Gifting a silver bracelet when chocolate was more appropriate was still a rather innocent gesture, all things considered.
"Still." Hermione took Harry's wrist in her hand and examined the bracelet. "All right, it's quite pretty."
Aside from wearing Zabini's bracelet, Harry didn't give any of the boys a clear signal that she might be interested. She honestly didn't know if she was interested in any of them. She was barely thirteen and she much preferred to spend her spare time flying her broom while chasing a snitch than gossiping about the pros and cons of various marriage prospects.
That changed a bit during their fourth year. Harry wasn't sure if it was hormones, or what, but she suddenly noticed certain boys. Blaise Zabini was one such boy, without question. Another boy was a sixth year Hufflepuff named Cedric Diggory, who was quite handsome as well and ever so kind. Harry got a real thrill from playing and winning against him in the Gryffindor/Hufflepuff match that year. Afterwards, outside the dressing rooms Cedric gave her a blinding smile and a jar of luxury broom wax, much to Harry's excitement.
Another boy she started noticing was Roger Davies, the Ravenclaw Quidditch captain, who was quite fetching with his black hair and clear, blue eyes. And then there was Graham Montague, a Slytherin Chaser with the most amazingly broad shoulders. Harry quite liked staring at him, too.
"Harry, you're supposed to put together a coven, not a Quidditch team," Hermione said with a sigh one evening in their dormitory when Harry confessed which boys she might be interested in.
"Shared interests are a good thing, though, right?" Harry gave Hermione a cheeky grin while she flopped down on her bed. Harry saw no problem spending the rest of her life with a bunch of men who loved Quidditch as much as she did. In fact, she might very well make that a requisite for any potential husbands.
"Well, I suppose," Hermione mumbled as she put away a few books in her desk. "But there is more to life than Quidditch, honestly."
Harry utterly disagreed with that, but kept that to herself since it had become clear over the years that Hermione just did not understand the vital importance of the best sport ever invented.
"Who are you interested in then?" Harry asked, propping herself up against a pillow and giving Hermione a challenging look.
Much to Harry's surprise, Hermione blushed a bright red. "I'm not really sure yet."
"Oh come on." Harry waved an impatient hand at Hermione. "You look like a tomato. Who is it?"
"Isrn," Hermione mumbled, head down, chin practically pressed against her chest.
"What?"
"It's Ron, okay?" Hermione pursed her lips, eyes narrowed in a defiant glare.
"Has he given you a token?" Harry asked, because she hadn't noticed him doing so.
"No." Hermione's voice cracked a bit when she said that. "But he gave Susan Bones a chocolate frog once after Herbology."
"Oh, that swine," Harry said, feeling heartbroken on Hermione's behalf.
Well, that wouldn't do. The next time Harry had Ron to herself, when he'd gone with her to watch some Quidditch practice in the afternoon, Harry punched him in the shoulder. "You are a twat, Ronald Weasley."
"What the hell did you do that for?" Ron rubbed his shoulder and gave Harry a disbelieving look.
"Go give Hermione some chocolate, you pillock." Harry gently smacked Ron on the head with her broomstick.
Ron's ears instantly turned red. "I meant to, but I hadn't gotten to that yet."
"Well, you'd better hurry before other boys snatch her up." With one last glare at Ron over her shoulder, Harry marched back to the castle.
The next day at breakfast, Ron all but shoved a chocolate frog into Hermione's hands. Both of them were blushing like their lives depended on it, mumbling things no one could possibly ever understand. It was utterly adorable and Harry beamed at Hermione all the way to Transfiguration.
Summer before fifth year, Harry started slowly but surely get a bit nervous about the whole thing. Up until that point it had all been an innocent game, more or less. But now the real battle for her affections started and Harry had no clue how many boys and men would genuinely make their interests known through a courtship.
"I'm all kinds of nervous," Harry confessed to Hermione on the train.
"Oh, me too." Hermione wrung her hands in her lap while chewing on her lip. "I've been preparing all summer, but the OWLs are the foundation of our education and I cannot afford to mess any of them up."
"I was talking about potential courtships," Harry said with a fond little smile aimed at her best friend.
Hermione pinched the bridge of her nose while she shook her head. "Oh, I forgot about those. I've been so busy revising that it completely slipped my mind."
Harry's half-brother Dennis Lupin went straight to Gryffindor, while Ron's half-brother Daniel Parkinson went to Slytherin.
The next day at breakfast, Rigel flopped down beside Harry and gave her a scheming little smile. "If you need any potential suitors tracked, followed or scared off, just say the word, Sis. My services are at your command."
"Thanks," Harry said while giving her half-brother a suspicious look. Rigel took after Sirius when it came to his love for pranking, and Harry knew she was as much at risk for Rigel's tricks than any potential suitor she might get. "So far I'm perfectly capable of handling things on my own."
"Fine, fine," Rigel said with a defeated sigh and all but threw himself off the bench again to go sit with his classmates.
Harry immediately checked her breakfast for contaminants with a wave of her wand. Her tea lit up like a lighthouse so that little shit had put something in it. With a sigh, Harry vanished the contents of her cup and poured herself some fresh tea.
Their Head of House, Fabian Prewett, came to collect Harry and Hermione right after breakfast. "Minister Riddle is here to speak to all of you girls," Prewett said with a warm smile. "Not to worry, it's nothing bad. Just listen to him and be polite. You are representing Gryffindor in this, don't forget."
All seven girls of their year gathered in a classroom where they waited for Minister Riddle to arrive. Harry had seen him before, from a distance on some functions where one of her parents had to attend. All she remembered of him was that he was very tall and quite good-looking for someone his age. Harry wasn't sure how old exactly he was, but she did know that it was at least sixty.
The classroom door opened to reveal Minister Riddle. He was much more handsome than Harry remembered, with black hair that greyed a little over his ears, and brown eyes that were sharp as they gazed around the classroom. Behind Minister Riddle trailed a huge snake. Harry had heard that Riddle kept a snake as a familiar, but she'd never seen the thing. Harry was sure it could swallow a man whole if it put some effort into it.
"Nagini," Minister Riddle said as he gestured for the snake to coil up near his feet. "Do you think we shall finally find someone worthy of us instead of the usual feeble-minded fools?"
Harry inhaled a shocked breath while she stared at Minister Riddle with wide eyes. She had not expected him to be this openly rude to her and the others. In fact, all she'd ever heard about Riddle was that he was always unfailingly polite.
Surprisingly, Minister Riddle stared back at her with wide eyes, his pale face quickly losing what little colour it had. "Did you just understand me, child?"
"Of course," Harry said, crossing her arms tightly so she wouldn't fly off the handle. This was the Minister, after all. "And there was no need to be so rude."
Minister Riddle reached behind himself blindly until he found the desk chair. He pulled it closer and sank into it as though his legs could no longer support him while keeping his eyes fixed on Harry, who started squirming in her seat under his burning gaze.
"Well now," Minister Riddle said while everyone else looked between him and Harry in utter confusion and disbelief. "This changes everything."