5 Australia

With a wedding date set, Harry had no urgent programs for a few months. Hermione had.

"I want to go look for my parents as soon as possible," she told him once they returned home.

"Fine. What do we need to do, then?"

"Harry, you need to do nothing. It's all my responsibility, and I am the one who needs to act. You can stay here and cuddle with Daphne or try to decide if you want to wed Ginny as well. This only concerns me!"

"My dear Lady Potter. Do you think that marriage is only about having fun together? We are a couple now, and whatever concerns you concerns me as well. I'll help you and protect you in any way I can. I may need your instructions at times, but it's no longer your responsibility. It's our responsibility, and we are going to handle it together."

Hermione didn't like being scolded, yet she felt really proud and grateful for Harry acting that way. It clearly showed that he cared for her and loved her more than she had previously allowed herself to hope. She still felt like she was living in a dream, her marriage and her pregnancy looking like something that didn't really concern the buck-toothed girl who came to Hogwarts. She needed to remind herself that she had grown since then, losing the buck teeth and changing quite a bit. She still found it hard to believe Harry's compliments, telling her she was the most beautiful woman he'd ever seen.

She simply hugged Harry and buried her face in the crook of his neck.

..

It only took them a few days to get ready for the voyage. Not wanting to attract too much attention, they opted for muggle travel. Harry was even looking forward to his first aeroplane flight. Despite the price difference, he bought first-class tickets. It wasn't too expensive, considering that he wanted to pamper his pregnant wife as much as he could.

In a way, this voyage also served as a belated honeymoon. While Hermione wanted to find her parents and present her husband to them, this was also her first vacation since her fifth year and her first vacation with Harry. She just couldn't ignore it, especially since she knew that she wouldn't have much chance to spend some quality time alone with him once they had to return home and start preparing for Daphne's wedding.

They normally started each day with some lovemaking, setting them in a good mood for the rest of the day. They travelled or searched until mid-afternoon, when they went to a hotel or motel, refreshed themselves and got ready for the evening, which included, whenever possible, a nice restaurant and then a theatre or cinema. When staying in remote places, they made do with watching some television instead. Once back in bed, they made love until both were too tired to stay awake any longer.

Despite the leisurely pace and the additional activity, five weeks after arriving in Australia, they found Hermione's parents, who were still travelling due to the compulsion set on them by their daughter.

"We need to intercept them at their next stop. I know the hotel where they made a reservation for the next night. I finally got the data of the transactions with their credit cards, you know. We can go there and wait for them," Hermione said, barely able to talk intelligibly in her excitement.

"Of course, dear. We can do it," Harry agreed.

And they did. At first, after Hermione managed to get her parents alone and cast the spell, they turned very suspicious, asking multiple questions just to make sure the young couple was really the people they claimed to be. Then, they admonished her for acting recklessly and not confiding in them enough to discuss the matter before acting. Eventually, they calmed down, hugged Hermione, and then turned to Harry and hugged him too.

"Has he proposed already?" her mother asked.

"He did much better than that. He married me, although we were unaware of that until a few weeks ago."

Her mother raised a brow. "Didn't you know when you had a wedding?"

Hermione smiled, understanding the confusion. Hadn't she felt just as confused not so long ago? "I didn't have a wedding or any other ceremony. It turns out that when we were disguised as an old couple, we both thought we'd like to eventually become one. That thought, maybe with the addition of some words we may have said, combined with our magic and wed us. Our wedding was recorded by the Ministry and by Gringotts, but we stayed unaware of it until somebody told us."

"So, are you happy about it?" her mother insisted.

Hermione's smile could be answer enough. "I sure am! The one who told us about it also reminded us that we needed to consummate it, or our magic might be affected. We've been happily doing it since."

Her father grimaced while her mother laughed. "So, when are you planning to enlarge the family?"

Hermione didn't hesitate. "In less than seven months. You see, it happened the day after the battle, so neither of us thought of contraceptives. When we finally remembered them, it was already too late. We're both very happy with this, though."

That seemed to be too much for her parents to digest at once. Her mother just hugged her tightly for a moment and then released her and scanned her midsection very attentively.

Her father just sat, looking a bit shocked.

"You're not showing yet. Are you sure you're pregnant?" her mother finally asked.

Hermione's smile widened. "Very sure. I'm just too thin after being on the run for most of a year. I had no time to regain my proportions before getting pregnant. Now, it looks like all that I eat goes to the baby, although I eat almost twice as much as I used to."

Her mother chuckled. "That's quite normal. Don't you have morning sickness, though?"

"I had it for a bit, but the potions I got took good care of it. How did you feel when you were pregnant with me?"

It looked like the women were going to spend some time on pregnancy stories. He glanced at Hermione's father, who made a small hand motion, indicating they should move to the balcony.

Harry stood up as if to stretch his limbs and moved to the balcony. Her father followed a few seconds later.

"I'm sorry, sir, but it looks like Hermione forgot to introduce you," Harry said.

The man smiled. "That's understandable, everything considered. I'm David Granger or Dave – as I prefer, and my wife is Jean. Well, we're still going as Wendell and Monica Wilkins. We may need to keep these names until we return home since all our documents have these names."

Harry smiled back. "Yes, Hermione told me about it. I was reluctant to accept this, though. I grew up as an orphan, you know."

Dave sighed. "Well, she explained her motives well enough. I can't really blame her. In her position, I would have probably done the same."

They were silent for a moment, and then Dave asked, "Well, now that you're expecting to become parents, what are your plans?"

Harry shrugged, not quite sure what to tell. "I think we first need to finish our magical studies. The school will reopen in September, and all those who should have graduated were invited to return for their last year. That includes us, of course."

"But do you have where to live? Can you support yourselves?" Dave sounded very concerned.

"I have inherited a few places we could live in. We only stayed in one until now, and we've not checked the others yet, but that should be no problem. At worst, we could sell one and buy a more appropriate house." Harry couldn't understand the expression on Dave's face.

"How many?"

"I'm not sure. There's Grimmauld Place, which was the Black ancestral home, where we currently stayed. It's quite large but not welcoming and the neighbourhood isn't very good. Then, there's the house where I lost my parents. It should be good enough for a family with two children, maybe even more, but it's currently a monument for them, and I don't quite like the idea of living there. Another possibility is the Manor. I've not seen it yet, but it has about thirty bedroom suits, as I was told. It should be large enough for our family but is probably too large. The list had quite a few more houses and some apartments. Some of these places are not even in Britain, but I don't remember the details. It was shortly after the war, and I just couldn't concentrate well enough. We'll need to check again after we return."

It took Dave a moment to digest the information. Normally, he would have been suspicious of someone telling him about having several houses, but the lad sounded confused, maybe even apologetic for not having better information. He also knew from Hermione that Harry was a very modest boy. He wasn't bragging, that was sure. Well, he'd have some time to come to terms with that information.

"So, you have quite a few places you could live at, but do you have any savings or any income? Keeping a family costs money, you know."

Harry looked even more confused. "My account manager gave me a thick dossier. He said that was the short-form report. I hadn't looked through it yet. He said it wasn't urgent since my investments were doing well, bringing me a few thousand each week. He said it was more than enough to keep a family, but I really don't know."

"Pounds?"

"No, Gaelleons."

That silenced Dave completely.

..

Hermione had only a slightly easier conversation. Well, at first they talked about pregnancy, with Hermione mainly listening. Then, Jean asked, "Where are you going to live now?"

"We stayed at Grimmauld place, where Sirius used to live, before coming here. We could stay there a bit longer after returning. Then, we're going to be back at school, catching up with what we should have learned this year. After that… I'm not sure. Harry has inherited quite a few houses and apartments. We'll have to see what fits us best."

"But can he support you and the child?"

Hermione smiled. "That's not a problem. We had no time to check the details, but his daily income from his businesses and investments is larger than what you earned in a month at the clinic. He can easily support even a few wives if he likes."

She knew immediately that it was a mistake, but she couldn't take her words back.

"Do you think he'll take any additional wives?"

Hermione sighed. "He probably has no choice about it. Since he's a Lord of several houses, he needs to take a wife for each, to keep the lines separate. I'm his Lady Potter, but he may need to get another to become Lady Black. I'm not sure if that's enough."

"And how do you feel about it?" Jean inquired.

Hermione shrugged. "When I first heard about it, I was appalled. Then, as I thought some more about it, I found it quite logical, considering how the magical world does things. Assuming we can find someone who can become my friend, it may turn normal to share our man. I'm still not sure I like it."

"That sounds to me like you're talking about something much more than merely a theoretical possibility. Does Harry have any plan to marry another too?"

Hermione needed to think fast. Her parents liked Harry, and she needed to make sure they would keep liking him, no matter how many wives he took. "After the battle, we found out that his parents made a contract for him with another girl, a few weeks younger than him. She's actually the one who told us first that we were married. I've known her for years, but not very closely. She's a very nice girl from an old family, like Harry's, and she helped us both very much during the funerals and after each. We've become very good friends since, and I now believe we could share and still be happy."

Jean frowned. "How does she look?"

Hermione had already seen enough of Daphne to know exactly. "She's about the same height as me with blond hair. Her skin is whiter. She has slightly larger breasts than me but a very similar figure. Her face is considered very beautiful, but Harry considers me more beautiful than her."

"Has he seen her naked?"

Hermione shrugged. "Almost naked. She only wore very small knickers at night, when we all slept in the same bed."

"He already slept with her?" Jean sounded furious.

Hermione shook her head. "No sex. We only slept. She wants to save her virginity for the wedding night, but she tried almost everything else."

"And you're OK with that?"

Hermione shrugged. "As I told you, I wasn't, at first, but I found it can be good for all of us, so – yes, I'm OK with it."