AN: Thanks to everyone for all of the reviews! A few people said that I developed the relationship between Harry and Hermione too quickly, but remember they have been friends for four years now, and Harry wanted to marry her before he got caught up in the marriage contracts! Everyone suggested that Luna Lovegood be one of Neville's witches, but remember we don't meet her until book 5. I will try to help her out at some point thought. I hope that everyone likes how this turns out. Don't worry, Dumbledore will be dealt with.
Recap: Neville came running over to the fireplace. "I'm so glad that you accepted your inheritance Harry! You can help me."
"What's wrong Neville?"
"I'm betrothed to three separate witches."
"Is that all Neville?" Harry asked chuckling lightly. "I thought it was something serious."
"Who are you engaged to Neville?" Hermione asked.
"Susan Bones, Hannah Abbot, and Parvati Patil. I was originally betrothed to both Patil sisters but I let Padma out of the contract because she is in love. Really wish I hadn't now though!" Neville explained.
"Well that's not bad!" Hermione exclaimed. "They are really nice girls."
"But it's uneven! Plural marriages must be made up of either an equal number of wives with the same blood-type or one wife of each blood type. I'm currently betrothed to two half-bloods and a pureblood. So I need another pureblood wife. And if I don't choose one soon the Wizengamot can force one on me." Neville said, resuming his pacing.
"Well I'm sure we will be able to find another pureblood for you to marry." Hermione said kindly, hoping to calm the boy.
"You don't understand Hermione! The Wizengamot can only force me to marry someone of my status or above. Since there is no one above me, that means I must marry someone from a Noble and Most Ancient House. House of Potter, House of Black, and House of Greengrass are out because of Harry. I am House of Longbottom, and I'm already betrothed to House of Abbott, and House of Bones. This only leaves one House…" Neville cut off, as if even thinking about the other House was too much to bear.
Harry looked at Neville in shock, realization dawning on him. "But that means you have to marry Pansy Parkinson!"
"What?" Hermione exclaimed! "I will not allow them to force you to marry that cow."
"Hermione, I have no choice. Grandmother doesn't want it to be a forced marriage either and she is already in negotiations with Lord Parkinson. I know that Pansy is already betrothed, but he isn't anyone of standing. Who would pass up the opportunity to marry their daughter to the Heir of the Noble and Most Ancient House of Longbottom?"
"Neville, look at it this way. If you and I make an alliance we can unite all of the Ancient and Most Noble Houses. We can do great things in the Wizengamot. Besides, other than hanging around with Malfoy we don't know much about Parkinson. She may be a decent person. Her parents have remained neutral through the war, along with the House of Greengrass. It must be incredibly difficult to be neutral in Slytherin. Give her the benefit of the doubt. Hermione and I will come up with some way for you to spend time with her." Harry said, trying to remain calm for his friend.
"Harry, don't encourage this! Neville shouldn't have to marry her! Do you forget that she has all the looks of a pug?"
"Hermione, stop it! I know that she has been terrible to you throughout your time at Hogwarts, but Neville is going to have to marry her, and nothing you can say or do will stop this. You don't understand the ways of the Wizarding Nobility."
Hermione looked incredibly angry for a moment before turning to Neville. "Harry is right. As I cannot stop this, I will do everything I can to help you get to know each other and form at least a marriage of peace if not love. I don't understand the Wizarding Nobility, but I will learn!"
Two days later Harry, Sirius, Hermione and Remus made their way to Gringotts. Once inside they were directed into a backroom. Lord Greengrass hadn't arrived yet so they all sat down to wait. Nearly ten minutes later lord Greengrass entered. Sirius stood and said, "Welcome Lord Greengrass. Although I am surprised that you raised no objections to this meeting even though I am considered a fugitive, I am glad you are here."
"Lord Black, the protection and care of my daughters means more to me than your supposed crime. I for one know that you are not a Death-Eater, and I respect the Ancient Laws. But tell me, the marriage contract between our houses was made with your brother in mind. As you are now Lord Black, who is your heir?"
"Lord Potter is my heir apparent. He has declared that he will not accept the ring of heirs until he knows how your daughters accept the contract. He will allow them to fulfill their other marriage contracts if that is their wish. Lord Potter is already engaged as he needs a Lady Potter and the marriage contract dictates that one of your daughters will be Lady Greengrass."
Lord Greengrass nodded and turned to Harry. "Lord Potter you are certainly a good choice for my daughters. An alliance between our three houses will serve us well. Please don't think that I mean disrespect, but what status is your fiancée?
"She is a muggleborn Lord Greengrass." Harry said in an icy tone.
"Well this is perfect Lord Potter. You know of the rules of Plural marriage?" When Harry nodded he continued. "Well you will only need three wives. My angel Astoria is a half-blood. I was trying for an heir with my mistress but when Astoria was born I fell in love with her and brought her to my family. With your fiancée, Astoria, and Daphne you will have a set Plural Marriage."
"That certainly makes things easier." Harry said with a smile. "But I won't accept the heir ring until I understand their feelings."
"You are a unique person Lord Potter. But regardless; I Lord Alcander Greengrass summon the Noble and Most Ancient House of Greengrass before me." There were three soft pops and three women were suddenly before them. "May I introduce Lady Airlia Greengrass, Miss Greengrass, and Miss Astoria Greengrass. Harry bowed to the three women and took the opportunity to asses them. Daphne had long, straight hair that shone like gold. Her eyes were a piercing blue color, and although only fifteen she had the body of a goddess. Harry felt himself blush as she noticed his stare.
"Welcome to you ladies. I am Lord Potter; this is my Godfather Lord Black, my friend Mr. Lupin, and my fiancée Miss Hermione Granger. I will allow your father to explain why you are here." Harry glanced over at Astoria and was struck by how dark she was in comparison to her sister. Her dark brown hair reached her shoulders and he could tell she would be very pretty when she got older, as she was only around thirteen.
"Darlings, you remember that I told you about the marriage contract between our family and the House of Black?" Both Astoria and Daphne nodded at their father and he continued. "You are to both marry the heir of the House of Black and this just happens to be Lord Potter. However, he has decided not to accept the ring of heirs until he learns if the two of you want to fulfill this marriage contract or stay with your other ones."
"Really?" Daphne asked, raising one eyebrow.
"Yes Miss Greengrass. I could never force either of you into marriage." Harry explained.
"You are a very unusual person Lord Potter." Astoria said, gazing at him in awe. "I know that we don't know each other at all, but I am currently betrothed to the heir of the Noble house Malfoy, and want out of that contract. I would like to get to know you better Lord Potter, but our contract pleases me."
"That is because you will become Lady Black." Daphne said in an icy tone. "Would you betray the Slytherins?"
"Daphne cut the act. This is Harry Potter! I mean Lord Potter, and he is the Golden-Boy of Gryffindor. You don't need to be the Slytherin Ice Queen here."
"There is a reason for that." Daphne said, walking to her mother.
"Ignore her," Astoria said to Harry. "She has been hurt by the boys in our house and it has caused this icy demeanor."
"What did they do to her?" Harry asked, a fierce protectiveness coming over him as he looked at the blonde haired girl. She looked up at him and their eyes locked. The two stood staring at each other for several minutes.
Daphne walked over to Harry and said, "Lord Potter, you intrigue me. I would also like to get to know you better. It certainly beats marrying Theodore Nott."
"I'm proud of you my daughters." Lord Greengrass said. "I'm sure that Lord Potter will come up with a way for you to get to know each other better."
"I have an idea." Hermione said walking over to the group. "I was talking to Ragnok and he told me about some of the things in your Head of House vault Harry." Daphne made a disapproving noise and Hermione turned to her. "What?"
Daphne ignored Hermione and asked Harry, "She is to be my sister wife?" Harry nodded. "Well then I will teach her to be a proper Lady."
Lady Greengrass could see Hermione begin to anger so she said, "Miss Greengrass is trying to help Miss Granger. You do not understand the ways of nobility, but we will teach you everything. You may continue your explanation."
"Well, Harry's" Daphne made another sound but Hermione ignored her, "parents left him a special trunk. A replica of an entire floor of Potter Manor is inside. The trunk contains a time charm so that what is a week in the outside world is a year inside the trunk we can all spend a year inside the trunk getting to know each other and training. Daphne and Astoria can each spend four months as Harry's sole girlfriend, meaning that you are the only girl he will worry about and date. At the end of eight months you must either agree or disagree to the marriage contract. If you agree we will spend the last four months sharing Harry as we will for the rest of our lives."
"That sounds like a good enough plan." Harry said. "Mr. Lupin can train us in defense, and Lord Black can train us in charms. I know those are their specialties."
"I will train you in potions and my wife will train you in healing." Lord Greengrass said.
"I am sure that we can convince Professor McGonagall to come and teach you all transfiguration. The rest of the subjects you will have to teach yourselves." Sirius said.
"I will invite the heir of the House of Longbottom and his betrothed to join us. I believe Mr. Longbottom will benefit enormously." Harry said. "If you all floo over to Mr. Lupin's home in two days time we can being our time in the trunk. Lady Greengrass, if you could take care of the details please? Let me know how many elves you estimate us needing."
"Certainly Lord Potter, I can only thank you for doing this for my daughters. They have a chance to find true happiness, and even if these are not love matches, I feel that you will always treat them well."
"I promise to do so Lady Greengrass. Miss Astoria Greengrass," Harry said, taking the young girl's hand and bowing over it. Astoria dropped into a curtsey and averted her eyes although she was smiling in pleasure. "It has been an honor to meet you and I look forward to seeing you soon." Harry kissed her hand and Astoria broke into giggles.
"It has been a pleasure Lord Potter."
Harry then walked over to Daphne. Taking her hand he bowed over it and she dropped into a curtsey. She stared him straight in the eye, and no smile graced her lips. "Miss Greengrass, you intrigue me as well. I want to get to know you better. And I promise that I will do you no harm." Daphne tensed at his words, but tried to play it off. "I look forward to spending time with you. Until Thursday," he said bringing her hand to his lips.
Hermione watched this and sighed. She knew that it was going to be incredibly difficult to watch Harry with the two Slytherin beauties. Lupin seemed to sense her trouble and he laid a hand on her arm. "How do they do it? They all seem as if they were born with these manners and customs.
"Well that my dear, is because they were. You can only try to learn to imitate."
Dumbledore sat at the head of the Wizengamot, looking forward to another uneventful day. He had already looked at the schedule for today and nothing important was on there. He would simply have to sit back and bask in his power as Chief Warlock. He sat in the middle of the podium, with Fudge on his left side and Amelia Bones on his right side. However, as they both considered him the greatest wizard in the world he very rarely heard any protests from them and was able to run the Wizengamot as he liked.
Dumbledore was just settling in to listening to some noble complain about their taxes when the guard called for attention. "Announcing, Lord Potter, the Head of the Noble and Most Ancient House of Potter." Dumbledore watched in amazement as Harry swept into the room in the regal Head of House robes of the House of Potter.
Several cries of protest resounded throughout the room, the most common being, "But the boy is not of age!" Dumbledore had to agree with them on that point. He had taken precautions to destroy Harry's parents will so that the boy could not get his inheritance until he was of age. And at that time he would most likely be dead from trying to defeat Voldemort. Dumbledore glared down at his student, but then reminded himself that even the best laid plans can go array and that he needed to get his weapon back on his side.
"Silence!" Augusta Longbottom called out. "A Head of a Noble and Most Ancient House cannot get the title through ill-gotten means. Lord Potter if you would be so kind to show us your family ring." Harry held up his hand and the Head of House ring was plainly visible on his right hand.
"Thank you Dowager Lady Longbottom." Harry said calmly. "It was the previous Lord Potter's wish that I take the title on my fourteenth birthday. I now claim my seat in the Wizengamot. As Lord Potter, so I mote it, so it be."
"Very well Lord Potter, you may take your seat." Fudge announced.
"I am not done Minister. As this esteemed body is aware, 13 years ago an heir to a Noble and Ancient House was sentenced to Azkaban without trial." There was uproar, although this was made up of the other Heads of Houses.
"Lord Potter, if you speak of Sirius Black he was sentenced during the war, which means this body had special governing powers." Dumbledore said, not liking the turn of events. Is it possible that the weapon knows of his parents' will? Does he know there is concrete evidence proclaiming Sirius Black as innocent? I cannot have this! Black will ruin my plains, he thought to himself.
"He is Lord Black now, and as such is my Head of House. I owe fealty to him above his body."
"Hem, hem." Said a toad-like woman beside Fudge. "Do you mean to suggest that you have had contact with a fugitive Lord Potter?" Oh wonderful, Dumbledore thought. Stupid Umbridge has ruined it now. The other Heads of Houses will come to Harry's aid. I may have no choice but to go along with this foolishness if I wish to gain my weapon back.
"Do you try and hinder the rights of the heir of the House of Black?" Lord Parkinson asked, rising to his feet. "Do you deny the Ancient Laws?"
The woman looked taken aback. "I apologize Lord Parkinson, Lord Potter."
"Thank you undersecretary. I now move to vote to allow a trial of Lord Black." Harry said.
"I second the motion." Augusta Longbottom proclaimed.
"A vote then." Dumbledore said, knowing the matter would pass because the other Heads of Houses would not want to see their rights diminished. "All in favor raise your hands." Harry, Lord Greengrass, Lord Parkinson, Lord Abbot, Lord Bones, Lady Longbottom, Mr. Malfoy, Mr. Crabbe, and Mr. Goyle all raised their hands. "That is a majority vote. We will have the trial scheduled for sometime this summer."
"Chief Warlock I disagree with you," Harry said, to Dumbledore's shock and horror. "I want this matter resolved now. I will summon Lord Black to the chamber now. As Lord Potter, heir of the Noble and Most Ancient House of Black I summon my Head of House in matters regarding his freedom, before me." with a soft pop, Sirius Black was suddenly in the room. He had obviously known Harry would do something like this because he was dressed in his Head of House robes. "I call Ragnok forward to present evidence of Mr. Peter Pettigrew's still being alive, and I present my parent's will in the matter of secret-keeper. I also ask that Madam Bones reside over the Wizengamot because the Chief Warlock is mentioned in the will and as such is a biased party."
Dumbledore was appalled. How was he supposed to get the Wizengamot to produce a guilty ballot if he was not presiding over them? Before he could respond to the ridiculous claim Madame Bones said, "Certainly Lord Potter. Chief Warlock I will ask you to wait outside." Dumbledore walked out of the room, fuming over the power that Harry had come into. How did the weapon manage to pull this off?
Harry carried his parents' will to Madame Bones, and tried not to laugh at her facial expression as she read what James had written about Dumbledore. "The will clearly states that Peter Pettigrew was the Potters' secret-keeper. Lord Black, we will need a testimony under Veritaserum to prove this is true."
"Of course Madame Bones." Sirius sat down in the chair in the center of the room. An auror placed three drops of Veritaserum on his tongue. Sirius's eyes rolled back and he slumped down further in the chair.
"What is your name?"
"Sirius Orion Black."
"Are you Harry Potter's Godfather?"
"Yes."
"Were you Lily and James Potter's secret-keeper?"
"No."
"Why did you claim to be?"
"After Lily and James told me that they had made Peter secret-keeper I began bragging about it because I knew Voldemort would look to me first as James's best friend."
"Did you ever betray the Potter's?"
"No. Well I betrayed Lily's wish that I not teach Harry any pranks." There was a general chuckle from the Wizengamot.
"Did you murder Peter Pettigrew?"
"No."
"Did you fire the hex that killed all of those muggles?"
"No. I confronted Peter, and he shouted that I had betrayed Lily and James. He then cast an explosion hex, and transformed into his animagus form of a rat. But not before he cut off one finger."
"To the best of your knowledge is Peter Pettigrew still alive?"
"Yes."
"That is all Lord Black. Now I would like to see the evidence from the goblins." Madame Bones read over the document stating the dates when Peter had accessed his vault. "I'm afraid that this evidence is circumstantial. Anyone could have entered the vault with the key."
"How about if I prove that Peter Pettigrew is still alive?" Harry asked.
"Well that would certainly do it Lord Potter, but how would that be possible?"
"I, Lord Harry James Potter, call upon Peter Pettigrew to fulfill the life debt he owes me by appearing in front of this esteemed body, telling the truth about the actions thirteen years ago regarding the betrayal of my parents and the murder of the muggles, and by not transforming, unless ordered to do so by Madame Bones." There was a loud crack, a swirl of fog, and suddenly Peter Pettigrew was kneeling on the floor in from of the Wizengamot. "Pettigrew I have called you here to prove Lord Black's innocence." Several aurors ran forward and bound Peter, placing him in the chair that Sirius had just vacated.
"Mr. Pettigrew. You are to be questioned under Veritaserum for your involvement in certain events."
"No! I won't, you can't make me."
"Watch us Pettigrew," Harry said, looking rather vindictive. "You owed me a life debt and I am cashing in on it." Two aurors placed several drops of Veritaserum on Peter's tongue, and watched as he underwent the effects.
"What is your name?" Madame Bones questioned.
"Peter Pettigrew."
"Were you the Potter's secret-keeper?"
"Yes."
"Did you betray them to Voldemort?"
"Yes."
"Did you kill thirteen muggles, cut off your own finger, and disappear, leaving the blame to fall on Lord Black?"
"Yes."
"Are you a death-eater?"
"Yes."
"Guards, place the anti-transformation bracelets on his arms, and then take him away." Harry hugged Sirius as Pettigrew was led out of the room. "We shall now vote on Lord Black's innocence in the matter." A ward was placed up around the members of the Wizengamot so Sirius and Harry couldn't hear what was being said. But they didn't care; they knew Sirius would get off. After a mere five minutes the wards were lowered. "Lord Black, this body is sincerely sorry for the pain the lack of trial in the past has caused you. You are declared not-guilty on the charges of betraying the Potter's to death, and the murder of 13 muggles. For the charge of escaping Azkaban we fine you 50,000 galleons. However, we are willing to give you 150,000 galleons in reparation payments."
"Keep the money Madame Bones. I am an illegal animagus as well as Pettigrew, and the money will cover the fine."
"Very well Lord Black. Simply go and register yourself and all charges will be dropped. You are a reinstated member of the Wizengamot." There was a rather small round of applause but Sirius didn't care, he was a free man! "I declare this session of the Wizengamot over." Harry and Sirius walked out of the room and were immediately confronted by Dumbledore.
"Harry my dear boy. When did you come into your inheritance? I was under the impression that you would not receive it until you were of age."
"You were under that impression because that is what you wrote in the fake will you had executed. I know all about your lies and manipulations Headmaster." Harry spat out rather venomously. "A marriage contract with Ginevra Weasley? That is simply a dishonor to the House of Potter."
"My dear boy, I have only ever acted with your best interests at heart."
"That is a lie Old Man! You have done nothing but manipulate me to follow you and lie to me about why I needed to. If you had simply been honest with me I would've fought for the Light because that is who I am. But your mistakes have made reconciliation impossible. You were simply training me to lead me to my death. Yes, I know all about the horcrux I have inside me, and I can promise you that I will continue to destroy Voldemort. But then I will get rid of you."
"How dare you Potter? I have looked out for you for years! Who do you think changed all of the protections to the Sorcerer's Stone? Who allowed the Basilisk to go uncaught so that you could kill it? Who has ensured you faced Voldemort? I have! I had to let you test your powers yet keep you safe at the same time, and it was no easy task."
"How dare you Headmaster? Allowing my son to face Voldemort when it wasn't necessary! How dare you rely on an eleven year old to stop him from coming back? There will be consequences. Most especially of you placing him in that muggle home," Sirius said, walking away with Harry in tow.
As Dumbledore watched Harry walk away thoughts flew through his mind. How does he know of these things? How did he find out about the horcrux, let alone the fake will? Maybe there is more to my weapon then I had previously thought. I will have to consider this and speak to Severus on the matter.
Harry and Sirius were almost out of the ministry when Sirius said, "Harry, we should go check on something while we are here. There is a prophecy with your name on it which describes why Voldemort has always come after you. Dumbledore knew of it and was having the Order stand guard so that the Death-Eaters couldn't get to it. You deserve to know the truth. Come, we will listen to it Pup."
"You mean that Voldemort attacked my family and tried to kill me because of some rubbish prophecy? I don't need to hear it, I'm sure all it says is that I can beat him. Let's just go home Sirius. I need to talk to Hermione anyway; she is already having problems with the multiple marriage thing."
"You poor man, I'm not sure how you'll be able to handle three wives. Holding one girlfriend has always been enough for me."
"Not all of us are man-enough to do what it takes Sirius, and I guess you are an example of that." Harry said laughing as he ran down the hallway. "But come one, I have purchases I need to make. Wives expect jewelry I hear."
AN: The end of yet another chapter! I hope you all enjoyed it, and I would really appreciate hearing your thoughts or ideas. I don't have anything you all can help me with exactly, as in the girls for Neville last chapter, but let me know what you think!
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