AN - I have rewritten or otherwise edited the previous three chapters, so please reread them if you haven't done so already. It has also enabled me to lower the rating to T. I hope this will encourage more readers, it's still my most popular fic though (12,000 hits!).
They looked out over a common room filled, it seemed, with angry red heads. Harry gulped.
'Why do Charlie and Bill both have to be back in the country now of all times,' Harry and Ginny thought simultaneously. Her two eldest brothers were cracking their knuckles and looking menacing every time someone entered the common room. Ron and Hermione were sat together, talking heatedly. The twins had the Marauders Map out, looking at it intently, obviously they had pinched it from Harry's trunk. Percy of course was nowhere to be seen, but they did notice a rather large black dog sat by the fire. Dumbledore and McGonagall were both trying to calm down an irate Molly Weasley, but they seemed to be failing miserably.
"I want to know where my babies are Albus!" Molly shouted. "They could be anywhere, up to anything! I thought you said she was safe from him!"
Dumbledore sighed, rubbing his eyes gently with his long fingers. "As you know, Molly, there are various precautions taken at Hogwarts to prevent sexual activity. Boys have the charm put on them by their parents before they come to Hogwarts, muggleborns get it from the teacher who introduces them to the magical world. In Harry's case this would have been done by Hagrid," a slight flicker of worry crossed his face at this. "In addition most girls born to magical parents are placed under a chastity charm broken only by marriage. I presume Ginevra was charmed?" Molly nodded.
"But the normal rules don't often apply when it comes to Harry," Ron complained bitterly. "He always has everything so easy, and now he has my sister." The dog by the fire growled loudly at this.
Harry felt glad that he could still trust his godfather to stick up for him. Ginny squeezed his hand in reassurance.
"I'm sure everything will work out alright, I've spoken with Miss Chang and she's decided to forgive Harry," Dumbledore tried to pacify them. "A quick memory charm and everything will be back to normal. We simply cannot have them complete what started in the Chamber."
"But why, Albus?" McGonagall asked. "It's going too far, influencing their lives in such a manner."
It would be disastrous, Harry would never willingly sacrifice his life to destroy Voldemort if he knew that it would kill Ginny also." He ignored the angry bark from Sirius.
Neither Harry nor Ginny could believe what they were hearing. How long had they been kept apart by the headmaster's meddling?
"It doesn't seem like they're going to show up here anytime soon, might I suggest that we return to my office for a spot of tea while we wait," Everybody mumbled in agreement and followed the headmaster out through the portrait hole.
Sirius and the twins however remained, all three of them looking towards the fireplace. "Come on out Harry, Ginny," the twins called in unison.
Harry and Ginny slowly emerged from the fireplace, nervously checking that it all wasn't some big trap.
"How did you know we were there?" Harry asked, placing a protective arm around Ginny.
"We saw you appear on the map behind the fireplace, it would appear that even the Marauders didn't find that secret passage." Fred, or maybe it was George, said with a sad smile. "Sorry for taking it anyway, but we didn't want one of the others using it."
"But the map must be broken, it says here 'Ginny Potter', see?" George said pointing it out on the old parchment.
"It worked!" Ginny cried, jumping into Harry's arms to hug him. "We're really married." Sirius gave a happy sounding bark and wagged his tail.
Harry was about to say that they knew that anyway from the fact that the chastity charm didn't work, but thought better of that seeing her two brothers there. Ginny climbed down from him and patted Padfoot on the head. "Maybe we should go somewhere more private to discuss this, just in case they come back," he said, glancing at the inquisitive stares that they were receiving from their fellow Gryffindors. The twins agreed and, when nobody was looking, Harry and Ginny led them through the back of the fire and up the hidden staircase.
As soon as they got to the entrance hall Sirius transformed back to human form. "Wow, you couldn't have chosen a nicer girl pup. I would say that your parents would have been proud, but they'd probably want to kill you just as much as Ginny's do."
"Thanks for the vote of confidence," Ginny said rolling her eyes.
"Why don't we move into the sitting room," Harry suggested and led them all through.
"So how'd you do it then?" George asked, taking a comfy armchair.
"And most importantly, why?" Fred continued. "I know you'd jump at the chance Gin Gin, but Harry's hardly shown you any attention at all."
Ginny blushed. "I don't really know, and I don't even think Harry does either," she said glancing at Harry. "We both kind of got caught up in the moment, it was weird really. I felt as though, if we didn't get it done right away, it was going to be too late."
"Yeah, I had the same feeling too," Harry mused. "It was as though this was the last chance for me to really live. You know what? I haven't felt a single twinge in my scar since."
"Really?" Asked Sirius. "What kind of spell did you use?"
"Imbolc," Ginny replied. "It was in the Quibbler."
"Well that explains it then. The Imbolc marriage bond protects the couple from others interfering, in other words no extramarital affairs, not even with Voldemort. Quite good too, considering what you're up against. Memory charm or not, Miss Chang isn't going to have a hope in hell. I tell you though, it must be a strong bond, being forged on Valentine's day."
"Is it legally binding though?" Harry asked, a worried look on his face.
"Why? Don't you want to be married to me Mr Potter?" Ginny growled with a determined look on her face.
"No, I didn't mean it like that Ginny," he said before noticing she was joking. "I'll get you Mrs Potter." Ginny just giggled in response.
Sirius coughed loudly and the two turned back to him. "As to whether it's legally binding, it is if you were betrothed at an earlier age. If not then there are probably ways in which they can work around it. However, if what they said about you and Ginny in the Chamber of Secrets is true, then that act of saving Ginny's life may well have created a betrothal bond."
"Well I for one am glad," Harry pronounced. "Glad that you're my wife, and glad that you're going to be with me forever, Ginevra Molly Potter." Ginny swatted his arm for using her hated full name, though she couldn't help but smile at the use of her new surname.
"Ahh, just like your parents Harry, just like your parents," laughed Sirius. "Anyway, according to Wizarding Law a wizard who is over the age of fifteen, the age of parental consent for boys marrying, gains full majority rights in the Wizarding World upon his marriage. If his bride should be younger than fifteen, the minimum age with parental consent is eleven, he takes full responsibility for her, acting as her guardian until she too reaches fifteen."
"What's with eleven year old girls being able to marry?" George asked, horrified.
"Well that's the purebloods for you," Sirius sighed. "Fifteen for boys is when they are preparing to take their OWL exams, thus being able to function as an adult in the Wizarding World. Eleven is when children are sent to Hogwarts, if you know that they're going to Hogwarts, it stops you from accidentally marrying your heir to a squib. At the same time some families may feel reluctant to pay for their daughter's education, Hogwarts is quite an expensive institution to attend you know, so a family will pay for her education in return for the marriage. I hear some families were even interested in you Ginny. Luckily your father wouldn't stand for it, but still it was quite a close broom race, he returned home one day to find your mother about to sign consent for you to marry Draco Malfoy. That's why he and Lucius hate each other so, your father even accused him of imperiusing your mother."
A shocked silence fell over them all.
AN2 – I got the idea for the measures Hogwarts employs to prevent teenagers being teenagers from the author apothecary in training and their fabulous fic Unexpected in which Harry has a little too much fun after 4th year and the following summer he has a baby dumped on him. Don't worry though, it's a Harry/Ginny story after that.