Chaos of the Potter Family
Wanda: This has certainly been interesting. Balancing the emotional nuances in a polygamist family is going to be a fascinating balance. That and I feel like I need to write more romantic scenes, because I get warm fuzzy feelings when I wrote the scenes between Harry, Tracey and Luna. Mixing that with Politics should be pretty fun. Keeping them balanced should be entertaining.
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter!
Chapter 3: Potter and Peverell
Alys Davis nee Amsterdam had been raised in a modest pure blood environment, raised by her tough, opportunistic grandmother to make a better place for herself in the world. "There is only one way to rise in a society like this one," her grandmother had always said. "Take advantage of its laws, climb its ladders, and then burn them down when you reach the top." There wasn't much room for personal desire in there, especially for a talented young woman – keeping a 'noble' husband happy often required submitting to their whims, whatever they may be. Her grandmother had allowed her to pursue her artistic desires, but once her marriage to Kaius Davis had been arranged, she hadn't been allowed to play the piano or sing for the public.
"Those treasures are now mine and mine alone," Kaius had told her after their wedding night, when she asked about singing for a charity ball. "You sing and play only for me."
Yes, most pure blood marriages ended up like that. Alys's initial hope that her husband may be someone she could grow to like, or even love, and virtually dissolved after that. The following years had not made Kaius any better, even after the birth of their daughter, Tracey. Kaius had always been angry that she couldn't give him any other children. He had wanted a son!
Alys, however, knew that the fault for that was not her own. Her reproductive abilities were perfectly healthy; with a good husband, she could have had as many children as she wished. However, Kaius's 'pure blood' had given him near impotency. Not that he would have ever acknowledged that fact.
It was thanks to her modest, if pragmatic and secretive, upbringing, that Alys ended up forging a mild friendship with James and Lily Potter. She had met Lily in school, and she liked the other girl's boldness and courage. Lily, meanwhile, had wept when she heard of what Alys had to do to go forward in this world, which she accepted as a means to an end, for a potentially happy ending. For a while, Lily had been Alys's only true friend – the other heiresses could hardly be described that way, except for Aileen Parkinson.
Oh, Aileen.
There was a tragedy. Aileen had fallen in love with a muggleborn, and suffered an honour killing for it. Her own father and brother, Owen, had delivered the killing blow.
Alys remembered being one of the few people at her funeral. She remembered Tracey vainly trying to console Pansy, her only friend at the time, as the young girl begged them not to bury her aunt, who had been more of a mother to her than anyone.
After that death, Pansy had never been the same. The girl who had once been so sweet and kind had constructed a cold and cruel facade to shield herself from further suffering. And since she could not turn her anguished rage against those responsible, she had turned it on the other faction that was, supposedly, to blame for loosing Aileen – the muggleborns.
What a loss, Alys always felt a great sense of sadness whenever she thought of Pansy Parkinson. She'll be forced to carry that grief, loss and anger forever. She knows why Aileen died but she is not allowed to accept it. Those feelings will devour her until there's nothing left of that kindhearted cat lover that my darling Tracey loved spending time with.
Alys had done her best to help the young girl. Of course, it wouldn't be enough, since Pansy had to go back to her father. It had always enraged Lily and James that they weren't able to get proper justice for people like Aileen and her niece, since the Blood War had given protection to some of the worst of their kind.
The Blood War. Even when she was at her most controlled, it made Alys furious to even think about it and what it had taken from her, from everyone. The loss of her friends, the shadow it cast over her daughter. That had been their conflict, damn it, and now Tracey could suffer for it with Voldemort having returned to the world thanks to the Ministry's incompetence.
At least now she was shot of Kaius. If one good thing had come out of the Battle at the Ministry, it was his death. Hit by a wayward killing curse from that lunatic Lestrange. Irony at its finest.
That made Alys's mind drift to the contract she and Lily had drawn up a month before the lady had gone into hiding. A promise and a possibility, a hope, that their children would be able to build a better world. Her training from her grandmother would be vindicated.
Tracey would become Lady Potter, scion to the quietly powerful house who had always despised all those worse aspects of pure blood culture.
Of course, the Great Albus Dumbledore just couldn't keep himself from interfering, could he?
That was why Harry didn't know anything about his family's business, which Alys was willing to bet was were most of the Order's funds were coming from since their reawakening. That was why he didn't know about the contract. That was why he was blinded to the pitfalls of their world, stumbling through it without the power that was rightfully his, that could have brought about true, honest change. Because Dumbledore didn't want great change, he wanted to 'protect their world'.
It probably had something to do with Grindelwald. Alys's grandmother had been one of the few to know any details about that particular friendship before Grindelwald's rise to power. The man had wanted to make big changes. So now Dumbledore believed that any big changes – any at all, even for the better – shouldn't be made.
Hmph. It always came back to Dumbledore. The man's ego must be massive, for him to have made himself the centre of their world but still insist that he was 'just a humble headmaster' when that was clearly bullshit. What was the point of being the head in their world if you weren't willing to do anything with that power?
Alys was sitting at her piano in the evening, playing her daughter's favourite song. Tracey always asked for her to play whenever she had trouble going to sleep. It was plain to see, despite attempts to hide it, that Tracey was afraid of what the next year might bring. It was probably for the best that Kaius hadn't been very interested in raising a daughter, seeing her mainly as a future contract to write – most likely to the Malfoy family, those pompus peacocks.
That meant that Alys could raise her daughter as a person, not just an heiress. Wonderful things happened to children when they didn't think of themselves as pawns or tools.
Tracey had fallen asleep on the couch about three quarters of the way through the song. Alys softly asked the family house elf to take her back up to her room, which the young female elf hastened to do. Just as she was winding down on the last few notes, an owl flew in with a letter for her.
"Oh?" Alys murmured, taking the muggle-looking parchment from the tired animal. Who was writing mail to her now? She didn't have many friends among her social circle – most of them weren't worth befriending. But when she turned the note over, her eyebrows shot up.
It was signed to her, from Lord Harry Potter. The Potter seal – she remembered it from her time with Lily and James – had closed the envelope. Immediately Alys's mind raced over at least six different possibilities for what that meant, before quickly casting a spell to see if the letter was forged or enspelled.
When it came up clean, she cracked the letter open and began quickly reading it's contents. When she reached the end, both the owl and her loyal house elf jumped when Alys burst out laughing, much in the same way Ayla Hydra/Malfoy had the previous day.
Dumbledore had finally made a mistake.
Once she had gotten a hold of her emotions, Alys hastened to write a response, offering to set up a meeting where they could speak more about what the young man had discovered. She would tell Tracey about this in the morning before he arrived. This was the chance she had been waiting for ever since her grandmother had drilled the family principle into her head.
"Take advantage of the law, climb the system, and burn the ladder from the top."
~Line Break~
"A marriage contract...to Harry Potter?!"
Tracey stared at her mother, her breakfast all but forgotten in her surprise. This was a new precedent for her. To do this would be to set themselves in opposition against Malfoy and Voldemort!
"Yes." Alys said simply. "What's wrong, my love? You described mister Potter as a 'kind, if rather dense, young man, and it's a pity he wasn't sorted into Slytherin because you would have liked to know him better'. Am I erring in my memory?"
"Wha...no, I did!" Tracey admitted, twisting a strand of her golden red hair between her fingers. She always did that when she was nervous. "I...just...why now? What brought this on? I thought we were keeping our heads low!"
"Keep our heads low forever, and nothing changes," Alys gently admonished her daughter. "Tracey, if we were to live under Voldemort's rule, how long would we last? The man only respects his own greed and lust for power, and those who serve him are little better."
"No mother, I know that, it's just – this is such a risk!"
"Of course, there is always a risk when you stand up and declare for the right." Alys acknowledged. "But Mr Potter is not Dumbledore, and therefore there is a good chance we will not loose more than we can afford by throwing our lot in with him."
"How could he possibly be much better than Dumbledore?!" Tracey asked, thoroughly confused. "He's the Gryffindor Golden Boy! I thought-"
Alys raised a hand to silence her, a gentle smile on her face. "Tracey. Does the name Guinevere Potter mean anything to you?"
"Wha...? No. I...was she one of Potter's ancestors?" Tracey asked in confusion.
"No," Alys responded. "She is Harry Potter's younger sister. Dumbledore separated them at birth and forcibly adopted her onto another family. He kept them apart so his agenda wouldn't be affected by her existence."
"I..." Tracey was stunned. "He really...? How could he?! It's one thing to interfere with an heir, but taking away the only family that Harry had after loosing his parents?! That's...that's just vile!"
Alys nodded. "Tell me, Tracey, if you were in Lord Potter's shoes and you discovered this, would you remain loyal to the man responsible for such a crime?"
"No! I'd declare a blood fued between our families, and summon all the laws and judgments our law has to offer to throw his miserable, manipulative ass in Azkaban!" Tracey exclaimed heatedly, slamming her fist on the table.
"Then you have your answer, don't you?" Alys asked. Tracey paused for a second, thinking, before slowly nodding in agreement. "With how Lord Potter's life has gone on, and the things that he has achieved even without knowing the place he could have in the world, he could very well gain more power than even Albus Dumbledore. And beyond that, with the way you have described him to me, I believe he may be a good and gentle husband to you."
"Well..." Tracey thought back to a time when she had seen Harry Potter joking and laughing with some of his friends in the courtyard. She had been seized with a great feeling of jealousy. Having lost her friendship with Pansy, she would have given anything to experience the happiness and camaraderie Harry was enjoying. "I guess so..."
"He and his sister are going to meet us this afternoon to discuss the contract that I filed with Lily Potter many years ago," Alys said. "You'll get to meet him properly, without having to maintain any artificial facades. Be there, and speak with them. We don't have much to loose."
"Alright, mother." Tracey said, nodding. "I'll go change into something a bit more classy."
"I don't think that's necessary, but if you want to, go ahead."
"I was in Slytherin, wasn't I? I don't know what he thinks of me, because we only met in passing. I want to make a good first-or-second impression," Tracey said, before pushing her plate aside and hurrying upstairs, calling for Mei as she went.
Alys simply smiled and knocked back the rest of her tea. Let us see indeed.
~Line Break~
"Thank you for meeting me on such short notice, Miss Davis." Harry said politely when Alys opened the door.
"It's no trouble, Lord Potter, Lady Potter." Alys said warmly. "You're welcome in my home. Please, come right in – my house elf has prepared tea for all of us."
"Thank you; that's very kind of you."
Harry and Guinevere both stepped into the stately Davis mansion with curiosity and slight caution, respectively. Harry had never really visited a place like this, while Guinevere was shaking off the ingrained animosity against Slytherins that her adoptive family had inducted to her thanks to the deaths of her uncles in the first war. After all, not all Slytherins were Death Eaters – she had seen as much when a number of them had joined the DA in their previous year.
Alys lead them into a living room, where several velvet chairs were waiting. There was a table with four china cups and a large beaker of tea sitting. Harry's eyes immediately came to a rest on Tracey Davis.
She was certainly a pretty girl, he acknowledged that straight away. Tracey was dressed in a pure white gown with gold trimming, lovely but not flaunting wealth. Her golden red hair fell down just past her shoulders in soft waves, a ruby clip holding her bangs away from her eyes. Her skin was slightly tanned, suggesting a foreign heritage on one side of the family. She was slender but not too skinny, not particularly athletic but not a porcelain doll. Her dark blue eyes opened wide with surprise when she saw Guinevere.
"Ginny Weasley?" She blurted out, setting her teacup down on the table. "You were-? Oh, I'm sorry." She flushed. "I didn't mean to speak out of turn."
Guinevere waved a hand. "It's alright, Tracey." She said kindly. "That was lower key than my own surprise when I discovered the truth." She sat down on a nearby chair and offered Tracey her hand. "It would probably be prudent to introduce myself again. I'm Guinevere Potter, in truth. It is nice to meet you."
Tracey smiled shyly and shook in return. "Tracey Davis." She said. "It's nice to meet you both."
"Thank you, miss." Harry said respectfully. Tracey felt herself blush a bit, which she quickly hid by taking another drink. Draco, Theodore, Goyle, Crabbe and those other twits never would have called her 'miss' even if they had been betrothed. They had no respect for anyone but themselves.
For a little while, the four drank tea and ate crackers in reasonably companionable silence, with Guinevere mildly breaking the ice with small talk about their work at school. The house elf Mei occasionally came in with new snacks, and Harry was pleased to see that she looked healthy and well treated.
You can tell much about a person with how they treat their underlings, Ayla Hydra had remarked, referring to the families he might make contracts with.
Eventually, the conversation did come to the contract.
Alys set the papers on the table. "You said you wanted to talk to us about this?" She asked politely. Tracey set her cup down and stared into Harry's eyes, waiting to see how he would react to this.
Harry's brow creased. "Well, yes and no." Guinevere nudged him slightly, and he quickly backtracked, "I mean no disrespect by that – I do want to discuss it, but I'm not here to simply sign it and leave. I was hoping I could talk about it, not just with you, but with your daughter."
"Oh?" Alys raised one eyebrow, but the glint in her eyes suggested she was more pleased than she was letting on.
Harry took a breath and explained, "In my life, I have had a lot of experience with being forced to do things, with no one asking me what I wanted. When my lawyer first encouraged me to look at the contracts, I initially didn't want to touch them. In the world I grew up in, cultural osmosis dictated that women who were bound by contract to marry always bitterly resented the removal of their freedom to choose, not just who they loved but how they lived their lives. Those who signed the contracts treated those ladies less as valued family members, but as tools to achieve political or personal ends."
Guinevere tilted her head slightly, indicating she very much agreed with the sentiment. "I have experience with not being able to choose," Harry continued. "And I greatly empathize with that anger it causes. So, when I arrived here, I was hoping that I could speak to Tracey about the contract and ask her what she thought of it, and what she might want."
Tracey sat up straighter, hope flickering through her eyes. "You did?"
Harry looked over at her. "Yes. I know...I have discovered multiple Houses under my control. My lawyer stated that each one needs a Martiarch for revival, so their powers will return and I can use them against Voldemort. But that...that seems cold, impersonal. It treats the women I marry as pawns to achieve an end, without a thought to their happiness. I refuse to treat another person like that, especially after what I've gone through."
Harry met Tracey's eyes gently, before finishing his little speech with a final flourish. "The thought of having more than one wife is a bit threatening, to be honest. I want any girl who becomes a part of my life to be secure and happy in it. I don't want to inflict what I've experienced on them. So, I was hoping to get Tracey's opinions on the matter before any contract was sealed."
Tracey sat absolutely still as she processed this. Had she been over eighteen, she would have cut her finger, signed the page immediately, and jumped on her husband-to-be to crush him in a hug.
"I think that was the right thing to say, big brother," Guinevere noted, her voice gently teasing. Tracey gave her a mortified look, but the understanding glow in the other Potter's eyes soothed her instantly.
"I...that sounds like a wonderful possibility, Harry." Tracey said, ignoring the fact that technically, she should be calling him 'Lord'. When he didn't react, Tracey knew that her mother was right and this was the chance she had always wanted. "I think I would be a fool to give up the chance to be with a kind and accommodating husband."
Harry blushed. "I would do my best for you," he promised. "I know that, in order to gain the power necessary to change our world, I would need more than one wife. I don't want you to feel threatened by that. I'll give you whatever I can to make you happy."
"That's good to hear," Alys said softly. "The Davis household has a vote and a seat in the Wizamgot, which I'm currently holding by proxy since Kaius left us without a son." Not that I think that is a tragedy, she added silently. He left Tracey in my care to raise, but I shudder to think how a son might have turned out under his tutelage. Undoubtedly he'd be much like the Malfoy spawn. "I imagine it would come with great use for you."
"I don't have much political training," Tracey admitted. "But I suppose that's less important, since Guinevere has the Lady Potter seat in the Ministry."
"You can learn," Guinevere said encouragingly. "We would be equal partners in the household, I can promise you that. I heard from school that you're very good in the arts programs, and with finances."
Tracey flushed slightly at the compliment. This scene was taking her back to when she had been friends with Pansy, at six years old. A simpler, happier time. She had forgotten how much she dearly missed it. "That's kind of you Guinevere. I was a diligent student."
"You can call me Gwen," Guinevere said with a smile. "Alys, if you would wish it, Harry and I will extend our House Protection to you, now that your husband has left and this contact is going to be signed."
Alys resisted the urge to laugh. Kaius had said she would be nothing without him whenever she displeased him, that she would have to whore herself out to keep a decent living. Oh, how wrong he was! "I would like that. You are most generous, Lord and Lady Potter."
Tracey handed Harry the quill to sign the contract. He encouraged her to leave her own name in the consent, with her mother and Guinevere as witnesses. Tracey recognized this as his offer of power over her own life, and she accepted it gladly. A matching ruby ring, similar to Guinevere's, was given to her directly afterwards.
"There's one more thing I need to handle today," Harry told the pair. "And I need to get a proper house worthy of the women who will be entering my life. Please, pack at your own pace, and I wouldn't ask you to leave until you're prepared."
"Of course. Thank you, Harry." Tracey paused, glanced at her mother, and carefully asked, "If it is not to bold of me, who are your other contracts signed to?"
Harry, unlike Draco who would have blown up at his fiance for daring to 'pry into the Lordship's affairs', answered straight away, "To be honest my mother only prepared one other, because she did not foresee me winning two houses by Conquest or being adopted into the Blacks. Do you know Luna Lovegood?"
"Oh yes," Tracey said immediately. "She knows more about ancient magics than probably anyone else at school, barring maybe my friend Daphne Greengrass. The class system wouldn't let us speak much, but I greatly enjoyed speaking about Ancient Runes with her."
Harry smiled, his expression both pleased and slightly grim. "As of right now, she is the only other one potentially promised to me by contract. I was hoping that you and her might assist me in finding others who would be prepared to change this system. Dumbledore has made it nearly impossible for me to trust those I once had absolute faith in, and knowing what I know now I cannot trust him not to try and regain power over me through anyone I might choose."
Alys didn't look surprised. Tracey clenched her fists slightly, remembering what Dumbledore had done to the two kind people in front of her. "I would be happy to help," she said, her mind going back to her current friend...and the older one that she still wanted to save. "In fact, I think there are at least two people I could speak to. I'll tell you more once you've settled the Lovegood contract."
Harry shook her hand, and with a slight nudge from his sister, lightly kissed Tracey's fingers. "Thank you. I'm glad to have you and your mother on my side." Tracey felt herself blush, but this time she had no inclination to hide it. There was no threat of mockery here.
~At the Rookery~
"Hello, Harry. It took you a while to get back to me."
"I'm really sorry about that, Luna. I just thought the ground with Tracey might be a bit rougher, considering she was in Slytherin. However, it hadn't tainted her judgment, and her mother is a smart lady."
Guinevere was still inside the house, speaking with Xenophilius Lovegood who was eagerly ranting about his newest discovery to her. It was novety for him to be taken seriously by anyone, and the curious little redhead who had befriended his only daughter had always been kind to him on that front. He said he'd agree to whatever Luna wanted, so she and Harry went for a walk in the woods behind the house to speak of their potential future.
"No, it's okay." Luna said. "You seem a little different now, Harry. More calm, more in control. I can see it in your eyes." She turned towards him, slowly walking backwards as she spoke. "Personally, I think it brings out their best quality. Pools of emerald water."
"Ah! I'm flattered," Harry said with a slight blush. "I hadn't really noticed. I suppose part of me has already buckled down for the storm I'm brewing up."
"I heard muggles say that the best way to stop a fire is to start a counter fire," Luna recalled.
She and Guinevere had visited a muggle village as children once. It had been a fun experience, even if a worried Molly had cut the expedition off prematurely.
"So I've heard." Harry agreed, one hand going to his arm. "I just hope I don't burn any innocents along the way."
"You'll do the best you can to do right by them," Luna said simply. "That's the most anyone can do. And I think you'll do wonderfully, there. You've already done it once, with the DA. Those people can fight and defend themselves now. They're much safer than they would be otherwise."
"Thank you, Luna." Harry said, pausing his walking. "But I can't help being afraid of what I might be starting. The upheaval I cause if I manage to take over the Ministry won't discriminate in who it hurts."
Luna smiled gently. She reached out and touched his face, gently tilting Harry's head upwards until she was looking him in the eye. "You're a good, kind man, Harry. I hope that good side doesn't paralyze you. There's always a chance for things going wrong. But evil will flourish if good men like you decide to do nothing."
Harry's heart was soothed slightly at this. "You're pretty smart, Luna," He said softly. "It's a shame that no one else can see this side of you."
"Some people see only what they want to see," Luna responded with a slight shrug. "When you see only with your own eyes, you're easy to fool. That's why Draco acts the way he does, and it's what blinds Hermione to possibilities. They can't see them."
"You're right." Harry said, remembering with some heat how Hermione had started the DA, then immediately tried to back down on the idea the moment Sirius said he liked the sound of it. Hermione could be smart, but she wasn't quite as wise. "I hope my eyes are open."
Luna suddenly stepped forward and embraced Harry tightly, causing the young boy to start. "Your eyes were always open. You saw me for who I really was right away. Everyone except Gwen called me 'Looney' and thought I was crazy, but you never did." Tears welled up in Luna's blue eyes. "You've always been so good to me. Aside from Gwen, you're my only friend."
"Luna..." Harry whispered. He'd never seen Luna like this. She had always taken her sadness in stride, keeping it from the world.
"I wanted you to be more for a while now, but I was too afraid to ask." Luna confessed, her fingers digging into his shoulders. "I thought, if you rejected me, I'd loose that wonderful friendship too. I couldn't bear that!"
"Shh, shh..." Harry said soothingly, taking a moment to gently rub Luna's back. "I'll never turn you away, Luna. Even if I never developed romantic feelings for you – if that had somehow been sterilized out of me – I'd still value your friendship a lot."
Carefully untangling her from him so he could look her in the eye, Harry quickly added, "I've always liked the things about you that everyone else insists on calling 'strange'. I love your sense of wonder and your respect for the world itself. I love how you've always seen me as a person, seen past everything that was built up around me and becoming friends with the person underneath. Thank you for that. I'm so, incredibly grateful for it."
Luna blinked her tears away, a smile building up on her face again. "Oh. I'm glad I was there, then."
"And so am I." Harry said, returning her smile in a reassuring way. "I'm afraid, thanks to my upbringing, I don't know a lot about love. But I really have treasured the time we've spent together, and I think that can easily turn into love, if we go about it the right way. And I know...with this path in front of me, I can't go down it alone."
"Gwen's there for me, and I'm grateful for that, but that's one kind of love, and I don't want to stress her out too much." Following an instinct inside of him, Harry reached out and brushed free strands of hair away from Luna's face. "You don't have to do anything if you don't want to, but I'd be grateful and very happy to have you as a part of my life."
"...I'd love to be a part of your life." Luna said softly. "Luna Peverell. I think that sounds kind of nice." She smiled brilliantly. "Yes. I like that." After a pause, she jumped forward and kissed the surprised boy on the lips.
Harry stood frozen for a moment, but then he gently wrapped his arms around Luna's shoulders and pulled her closer, deepening their first kiss together.
End Chapter
What do you think? I actually felt a little touched when I wrote the scene between Luna and Harry. I hope you all enjoyed it as much as I did! Don't worry, Tracey and the other girls will have their own moments later on.
Read and Review please!