The Unhealable Hurts

Harry was just taking off his quidditch gear, expecting a nice hot shower after a home game in the cold Scottish rain, when the floo connection in the team office flared green. Ginny's voice called to the team's manager "Harry Potter, right now!"

The manager ran into the locker room and got Harry, who wrapped a towel around himself, and headed into the office. He announced "Harry Potter here."

Ginny sobbed "Harry get down to St Mungo's as fast as you came. Ron's hurt. Bad! Hurry!"

As the need for haste, and the use of the family codeword 'Bad' indicating that the injuries might be life threatening but not requiring readiness for battle, Harry cast some cleaning spells to get rid of the sweat and dirt, dressed quickly, and floo'd to St Mungo's. He was immediately taken into the emergency ward where he was instantly wrapped in hugs by his crying sister-in-law and 'first' wife. This was almost instantly followed by a hug from his 'first' mother-in-law, who was also crying her eyes out. He looked around the room, and to his surprise met the eyes of Poppy Pomfrey who was bent over a body on the gurney; she also had tears in her eyes and looked very worried.

Adopted his usual stunned expression when wrapped in crying women (a fairly common occurrence given his four wives), Harry asked "Would someone please tell me what's going on?"

Arthur Weasley shook Harry's hand, as assorted other Weasley brothers and their wives were entering the room from the hall. "Ron and the rest of the Cannons were just coming off the field into their locker room. There was an explosion. Three of the team were killed outright, and Ron has lost a leg and the healers say there are other severe injuries to his lower body. They called in Madame Pomfrey, as she has extensive experience with quidditch injuries, and is familiar with Ron as a patient. She is actually one of England and Scotland's leading experts on sports injuries."

"Harry, they don't know whether Ron is going to survive. If he does, he may never walk again."

At this point, a team of Aurors arrived, and to the surprise of both Arthur and Harry, they were accompanied by Kingsley Shacklebolt, the Minister of Magic.

Their old friend, ex-Auror and member of the Order of the Phoenix called the two of them, Hermione and Molly to the side and said, "Our preliminary investigation indicates that someone placed an exploding device in the Cannon's locker room, which had hexes on it to maximize the damage, and there were some dark curses to prevent wounds from healing. Nasty piece of work. We are calling in our best curse-breakers to help block those effects. If you would rather Bill does the work on Ron, I'm okay with that. He's the best we have in the country, but if it's too much for him because it's his brother, we have all the help Ron might need. Now, let's get out of this room, and let the healers do their magic. Meanwhile, I am having Auror Inspector Jordan (I think you know Lee from school, he was a good friend of George and Fred) have his best investigators on this. I'll let you know as soon as we find anything." Shaking hands all round, he left the hospital and the grief-stricken family.

After a couple of hours, the healers' team leader, Healer Southern, came out into the waiting room to the assembled witches and wizards. She said "the good news is that we have him stabilized, and he will live. It will be some time before we can start reconstructive work, and there are some lingering effects of the curses which we may not be able to overcome, but we will do our best."

Hermione looked at the healer and asked "Healer Southern, you said that's the good news. I have to ask, and please give me a straight answer. My husband is badly hurt, this I know. He will live, this is the good news. What is the bad news?"

The healer looked at her, with tears forming in her own eyes, "Mrs Weasley, your husband's right hip and leg were blown off by the explosion. This also removed his penis and testicles, as well as about a third of his lower intestine. The curse appears to be inhibiting healing in these areas. Whoever did this wanted the damage to be permanent. We will do our best."

Hermione's legs seemed to give way, and she crumpled to the ground weeping. Ginny and Harry sat down on the floor, and wrapped their arms around her as she cried.

Hermione looked up at her mother-in-law and asked "Molly, can you look after the kids for a few days? I don't think I can. Arthur, can you call my office at the Ministry and tell them I won't be in for a while?" Both nodded at the requests.

The bushy-haired witch looked at Ginny and Harry. "Can I come home with you and stay tonight?" Both agreed instantly, and knew that neither of them was going to get much sleep as they comforted their friend and sister. Hermione tried to say thanks, but could not get the words out.

They asked the hospital staff to let them know instantly as soon as there was any development.

When they arrived at Potter Manor, Harry rapidly filled Pansy in on the situation. She sent an owl to Tracey and Daphne, to keep them in the loop, and then conferred with the house elves to set up a room for Hermione.

Meanwhile, Harry sat in the main room on the couch, holding Hermione as she wept in the arms of her best friend. Ginny added her hugs, but Hermione seemed to want Harry's arms more.

Pansy's native paranoia raised a warning flag in the back of her mind. She said to Ginny, "Something stinks about this. Really stinks. I sense that someone was trying to destroy the Cannon's and possibly Ron in particular. If so, they may want to discredit anyone around them. You've seen enough of the crap Harry has gone through to know they might be also trying to go after Harry through the people he loves."

Harry looked up from the weeping witch, and nodded. He said "Pansy, I think you're right. Paranoia is just good policy when people hate you. As our old DADA prof used to say, 'Constant Vigilance'. The last few years, I have been getting complacent because things have been good, maybe too good. Sometimes, I can forget that there are still people out there who don't like me much. What do you suggest?"

Pansy thought for a moment. "Now, if I was trying to discredit you, and wanted to drive a wedge between you and wizarding society, and moreover to discredit Hermione and her office's attempts to change a number of unfair laws, I would be delighted if your best friend got hurt (particularly with the injuries you mentioned) and the first thing his wife did was run to your arms and your bed."

"Tell you what. We don't put Hermione to bed. You stay with her on the couch, holding her. If necessary, sleep there holding her."

Harry looked at his wife, "and that would help, how?"

Pansy smiled with the nastiest Slytherin grin that Harry had seen in years. "We will set up a video camera, and record the fact that all you did was hold her as she cried, and maybe slept. The record would have the date and time on it. We will need to record some irrefutable evidence of the actual time and date, like the signal from a Wizarding Wireless program or television (we have those old muggle devices somewhere). If anyone claims that anything more happened between you and her, we would have unanswerable evidence. Also, the fact that someone would make such a claim would be direct evidence that they were involved in the plot – it also shows them up for trying to take political advantage of a family tragedy."

To Ginny's evident surprise at Pansy's suggestion that this was part of a conspiracy, Harry grinned at Pansy, and said "My nasty cunning wife, I love the way you think!" Please set it up as fast as you can. I hate to say it, but you're right, we need to have hard evidence. Pansy, before you have a chance to feel hurt by what I just said, I do not hate the fact that you are right, I hate the fact that what you are right about is that someone is trying to hurt people I love - that is something I do not forgive."

The plan was put into play, and the video camera was set up showing Harry holding his desolated best friend weeping in his arms for hours, until she fell asleep exhausted. The recording continued showing Harry holding the sleeping witch, and periodically checking his watch and announcing the time. As the dawn light brightened the room, the recording continued, finally showing little Marigold coming and asking her father why Aunt 'Miney' was sleeping on their couch in her father's arms, and he told her that Uncle Ron was hurt, and she really needed a hug. Marigold looked at him, and asked "All night?" and he said, "Yes love, all night."

The little 5 ½ year-old girl put on her fierce face and jammed her hands on her hips, looking sternly at her father "If it was all night, did you give her a mummy-daddy hug?" Harry said "No, Mari-Lily, Aunt Hermione is not my wife. She is like my sister. I gave her a family hug." Marigold said "A brother-sister hug, or a Granny Molly hug? When Granny Molly hugs me, I can't breathe." Harry smiled and said "Me either. No, it was a brother-sister hug."

The little girl nodded (propriety was maintained, so she was content) and said "Okay, I'm going to have a cookie, okay?" Harry smiled and said, "Okay, but just one. Your mommies will be down soon to make us all breakfast", as he tried to keep himself from burdening a little girl with grownup heartaches.

Later that day, Pansy made several copies of the recording, and sent them by owl to Lee Jordan at the Aurors' headquarters, with a note saying why they had made the recording.

After Ginny and Pansy came downstairs from their bedrooms to assume Hermione-sitting duties, and Harry went up for a short nap, the family floo'd over to the Weasleys to see if there was any more news, and then Hermione, Ginny and Harry floo'd to St Mungo's to check on Ron's condition.

They found an exhausted Poppy Pomfrey sitting having a coffee, and crying. Hermione of course feared the worst, and ran up to the older witch. She grabbed Pomfrey by the shoulders and said quietly "Tell me!" Poppy surprised Hermione with a strong hug (the healer had never hugged the younger witch before, even with all the trials and tribulations they had been through) and Poppy said through her tears "I'm sorry, I am just so tired, I have been up all night working on him and I hate to see my kids hurt. You three always seemed to need more of my attention than any other students I ever had in my care. He's going to be better. We can fit a prosthesis for his leg, and with a special saddle he may be able to fly and maybe even play quidditch again."

"But Hermione, I am sorry to say, you and he won't be able to have any more children. Between the damage and the curse, and the magic related to the integrity of the Life Force, we can't fix that. I know you and he wanted more, but I'm so sorry." She broke down in tears again, and now Hermione was comforting the older woman while she cried herself.

Three days later, Lee Jordan sent an owl to Hermione asking if she and Harry could meet with him and his investigative team. They set up a meeting for that afternoon. When they arrived in his office, Lee explained that there were some issues that both might be interested in, and Hermione's interest might be both personal and professional as an officer in the legal research department. He knew of her efforts for eliminate the unfairness in a lot of the wizarding laws, and he and his superiors supported them whole-heartedly.

Lee said "we have found the person who planted the bomb, and we have a very solid case against him and a couple accomplices, but we think there is a larger conspiracy behind it. We haven't got the evidence for that, as they seem to have covered their trail well, and we think the perpetrators may be highly placed people in wizarding society, so we have to have our stuff really solid. We think there is money exchanged which would tied them together, but the evidence would have to come from Gringott's, and the goblins are not keen to release any information about their dealings. The relations between the goblins and the Ministry have not really recovered from the Voldemort days, and those little buggers have very long memories. Now Harry, you have some rather special relations with the Gringott's staff, so we are asking for your help."

"We are willing to be patient on this one, as I get the sense that this might be some old pure-blood business, some old families trying to keep their hands on the reins of power. I know you two have been involved in trying to remove the old bigotries from our laws, and you are making some powerful enemies. We need to be careful, but we want to get these people, and clean out the garbage."

Hermione asked, "What is going to happen to the people who hurt Ron?"

Lee said, "Well, we have them cold on murder of Ron's teammates. We have enough evidence for both murder and unforgivable curse-use to convict them. Both are capital offences, and the major players will be executed by sending them through the Veil, and those less directly responsible will be sentenced to the Dementor's kiss, or at the very least, a very long prison sentence. The one who actually planted the bomb, one Michael Groffle, is definitely going through the Veil, and right now he is very carefully not talking about who else was involved."

"That's the basic law. By the way, Mr Groffle has a wife and four children, a son and three daughters."

"Several different statutes are involved, and some have some odd provisions, and rather archaic punishments which could be invoked. However, the last bit is the real corker. According to one of the laws involved, if a pureblood wizard is injured in such a way as his 'procreative powers and rights are denied him' (that is, if he is made sterile and impotent), the person causing the injury is to be executed, and (interesting wording) 'their bloodline is to be terminated', and his or her property confiscated and given to the injured party."

Harry furrowed his brow, "What does that mean?"

Hermione looked disgusted, and said "It means that his wife and children are to be killed too! During the Roman Empire and in feudal Japan, this was a common punishment. There was a case in Rome where Lucius Sejanus was supposedly conspiring against the Emperor Tiberius, and he and his whole family were executed – there was no law allowing for the execution of a virgin, so his daughter was raped, and then killed!"

"Harry, this is just so wrong! The wife and children are likely innocent of the crime. They are being punished for a crime where they have no guilt, and they are being treated as chattels to be confiscated and disposed off. Harry, we have to do something about this!" Harry looked at Hermione, and nodded. They now had a cause where Harry could put his fortune and power to correcting something in the wizarding world that needed to be fixed. This was his kind of task.

Lee Jordan interrupted Hermione's diatribe. "By the way, there are several caveats to this law. For instance, if the injury took place as part of a legal duel, or as a result of stopping a crime, then there was no punishment to the one injuring the wizard, as it was seen that he was in the wrong. If the injury was by a witch, either in prevention of or retaliation for (using the law's wording) 'aggressive and unwanted attention', that is, rape or attempted rape, there is no punishment for the injury, and the injured wizard must also pay reparations of 10 thousand galleons."

"Also, if the husband divorces his wife and disowns the children, before sentence is past, they would not be executed. However, unless some other wizard immediately marries the witch, she and the children would be destitute as the law requires all property to remain in the hands of the husband who is, presumably, divorcing the wife for violating the marriage contract. According to our records, this provision has never been used."

"Another interesting feature is that if the injured party and his wife wish to have additional children, the wife is to 'lie' with a brother of the husband, so that the bloodline remains intact and pure. I am sorry, Hermione, but this bit applies to you. I think it is adding insult to injury, but there it is."

Hermione was shocked by the implications of this law. She thought about the situation for a bit, and then scowled as she exclaimed, "Lee, Harry, have you noticed that this law makes no provision for penalties if it is the witch that is injured and it is her fertility that is damaged! Or, for that matter, if it is a half-blood or muggleborn. I guess if I was hurt like that, I'd be on my own with no legal recourse, two different ways."

Lee looked pensive. "You know, Hermione, most people would expect you to be the first in line to want revenge here. It is your husband who was injured, and your 'marital rights' that were 'denied'."

Hermione looked thoughtful and said "If I went after cases of injustice only when my own interests were not affected, then I would be a hypocrite, and people would ignore my efforts. They should ignore my effects. Lee, Harry, you can't think that I would do that. What kind of a girl do you think I am?"

Harry laughed, which puzzled Hermione. He smiled at her and said, "You know, my friend, you are probably the only woman in the world who has ever used that phrase in this context!"

Hermione thought about what she had said, and giggled a bit. "You're right, that is a bit out of place, isn't it."

Mrs Groffle looked at Harry with a determined look in her tear-reddened eyes, touched with a lot of pain as well. She said, "Lord Potter, Lady Potter, Mrs Weasley, I do appreciate what you are trying to do, really. But I must refuse."

"Lord Potter, I am touched by your offer. However, under wizarding law, I cannot divorce my husband, as he is a pure-blood and that restricts my actions. I will not ask him to divorce me and disown my children."

"You both were raised by muggles, so I don't expect you to understand. My family has lived and died by our code of honour for centuries. We were and are a poor family, but we are pureblood, and proud of its code and its obligations. On my wedding day, I promised my husband that wherever he went, I would go. If that means I follow him into death, then that is just the way it is. I raised my son to be aware of his family's honour, and even if his father has disgraced the family, he can regain his honour by going into death standing upright. I swear on my magic that none of my children, nor myself, knew of what my husband was planning or doing, but that doesn't matter under the law. I and my children will join him in death, as our honour requires. I do not want my children to die, what mother would, but our honour demands it. If you know of any other way which preserves our family's honour, I would be pleased to hear it."

Hermione looked at Mrs Groffle, with tears in her eyes. She said "Madame, I am sorry that you misunderstand me. I understand your code of honour and I respect it and you. I am very impressed by your courage and firm stand on what you believe. However, I do not agree with it. I cannot agree with a code where the children, innocent children, can be punished, or in this case put to death, for the crimes of the father. I do not, I cannot, agree that guilt can be inherited."

Edna Groffle smiled sadly, "Mrs Weasley, if a child is entitled to inherit the good of the family, why should they not inherit the bad as well as the good?"

Harry interrupted. "I am sorry to interrupt this philosophical discussion, but we have important matters to deal with."

Edna Groffle looked at him in astonishment. "Lord Potter, this is critically important! It is in the extreme moments of life when your philosophy matters the most, because it is only then that you find what it is that you truly believe, and what you are prepared to live or die for. It is more important than my own life. I would have thought that as a valiant warrior, you would know this!"

"However, back to the matters at immediate hand. You wish to save my children from death. I see no way for you to spare my son in a way where his honour is preserved, but I think I see how you can spare my girls. If you take my daughters in marriage as concubines before the sentence is passed, then under the law they are no longer of my family or my husband's family, but they belong to you, and they will not be subject to the execution."

Harry gulped, looking at the three sandy-blonde girls. They looked as if the eldest was nine years old, and the youngest was five. They looked frightened. He said, "I'm sorry, I can't marry little children. That would be abuse, and a stain on my own honour."

Mrs Groffle swallowed hard, and said "I understand. Then they will die with us."

Harry was shocked, but realized that there was only one solution. "Okay, I agree. I will marry them as my concubines, but I keep them safe and will not take them as wives. I will not abuse children, and that's what they are at the moment."

Edna Groffle's face turned red. "No! Lord Potter, if you take them in marriage but do not treat them as true wives, then the marriages are frauds, and will be seen by the whole wizarding world as dishonourable and only exist as ways to cheat the law. I would rather they die with their father and me, than be parties to dishonour and fraud. If I agree to their marriage to you, you must agree to take them to your bed and consummate the marriages! You will have children by them! Either that, or they come into death with us, honourably!"

Harry was caught. Hermione and Ginny were looking at him in shock. As they saw it, he either abused three little girls, or sent them to their deaths. Then Harry smiled as an idea came into his head.

"Mrs Groffle, I must confer with my wives as it will affect them and their children as well, but if they agree to my plan, I will do as you ask." Ginny looked as if she was going to break into tears, while Hermione's face turned bright red and she was about to scream, when he held up his hand to her to stop her tirade and continued, "I will take them to my bed and I will consummate the marriages. I will do my duty to them as their husband." Ginny looked shocked at this statement, but then Harry continued. "However, I will consummate the marriages only when they are of age and can agree to it themselves, without coercion, on any part, in any way. Until then, I shall take them to my bed as I have agreed, and while they are there I will read them stories from Beadle the Bard, and Anderson, and Hoffman and others, while they drink warm milk and eat cookies, as befits their age. I will honour their commitments to me at the right time, and until then, I will honour their childhood as should be their right. Do you agree to this arrangement?"

Edna Groffle burst into tears, while Ginny nodded her head with respect for Harry's solution to the issue. Mrs Groffle said "Thank you, my lord, for agreeing to this demand. Their honour and mine are satisfied by this arrangement."

Harry went to the office floo, and called for Pansy, Daphne and Tracey. After a short discussion, they agreed to his plan. Pansy thought about it for a moment longer than the others, and demanded "Harry, make very sure that those conditions are explicitly stated in the marriage contract documents, and that copies are sent to suitable authorities. I can see someone trying to use this to discredit you. I can see the headline in the Prophet – 'The so-called honourable Harry Potter is going to be a pedophile!' Be careful on this one. But yes, I agree."

A notary wizard was called into the room, and the papers were drawn up in accordance to the terms agreed. Mr. Groffle was brought into the meeting room, had the agreement explained to him (to which he agreed, sadly), and to sign the papers. He was then returned to his holding cell. Then Mrs Groffle added on further term. "Lord Potter, I insist that you must bring my daughters to witness my execution."

The others in the room were all stunned by this. Harry asked, "May I ask why you want them there?

Mrs Groffle said quietly "So that they can see that their mother died with honour!" Harry nodded, and Ginny and Hermione burst into tears.

The three girls were brought into the room, and Mrs Groffle explained to them that sometimes, families would arrange for marriages with other families. She pointed out that both of their pairs of grandparents had been married by a family-arranged contract, and so had their uncle David. She also told them that, for some great and powerful wizards, they would have a number of wives, which were called concubines if they were not his first wife.

She then told them that their father has done something very bad, and the law required that he die for this crime. As she started crying, she told them the law demanded that she and their brother Rickie would also have to die because of their father's crime. She pointed out that she and their father had agreed with the great wizard, Harry Potter, that he would marry all three of them, and that as of now, they were his concubine-wives. She pointed out that, because they were now married, they did not have to die with their parents. They would now be going to live with Harry and his family.

She then introduced them to Harry. The eldest, Elizabeth, was just nine years old, with long blonde hair. The middle girl Katherine (called Kitty) had her hair cut short, and was seven, and missing her front baby teeth. Five year old Lydia had shoulder length hair.

Lydia started crying and hugged her mother, saying "I don't want to be a porcupine."

It's hard to smile when you're crying.

Kitty looked at Harry, then at Ginny and Hermione and asked "Are you Harry's concubines too?" Ginny said "I am called Ginevra, Lady Potter, because I was Harry's first wife in the House of Potter. You are going to be a sister to me, and you can call me Ginny." Hermione knelt down and shook Kitty's hand "My name is Hermione. I am married to Ginny's brother."

Elizabeth looked puzzled "You are married to the man my daddy hurt. Why are you trying to help us?" Hermione looked the girl in the eyes, and said "Because just as your family's honour requires your mother and brother to go with your father, my honour requires that I try to protect innocent children from unfair laws." Elizabeth nodded, as she recognised that honour can make you do things that don't always make sense to everyone.

Elizabeth looked at Harry with a worried look on her face, and then at her mother. "Mummy, do I have to do that grown-up thing that you and Daddy do? I don't think I'm ready yet. I'm still a little girl!"

Harry sat down, so he could look them in the eyes at their own level. He said "Elizabeth, that is an excellent and very wise question. I am happy that I am married to such a clever witch. Elizabeth, Kitty and Lydia, your mother and I have agreed that none of you will have to do the grown-up thing, as you call it, until you are all grown up and ready. When you are seventeen years old or more, and then when you decide that you are ready. Only then. You are now my wives, and I will protect you and love you as you deserve. But you are also little girls who deserve to grow up as carefree as little girls should. I will do my best to let you grow up, protected and loved by me and the rest of my family."

"You see, there is a law saying that, because I am the only one left in two important families, I need to have a whole bunch of wives. I have four other wives as well, besides Ginny and now you three. They are named Pansy, Luna, Tracey and Daphne. They will be like your big sisters. We also have children who are your own ages. You're going to be part of a big family, and I sincerely hope you will be happy with us all."

Although not happy, the girls seemed to be content with the arrangements, as at least Elizabeth recognised that if their parents had not agreed to this deal, they would all have to die shortly.

Two weeks later, Harry and all eight of his wives sat and, as they cried, watched Edna Groffle, holding her son's hand with tears in her eyes, walk into the Veil with her back straight and her head held high. Just before her departure, she came over to Harry kissed him on the cheek, whispering "Thank you for saving my little girls."