The (Non-Marriage) Law

Family

He shouldn't have been surprised, though, Harry thought. Both his aunt and his cousin came to his wedding. Why should they not come for his birthday as well? Except it was something they had never paid attention to, that's why.

He stood up to approach them, just as they stood up, meeting him halfway. His aunt hugged him a bit awkwardly, and then stood back to properly look at him. "You look well," she noted, "yet a bit tired."

He smiled at her. "Living with three pregnant women tends to do that to me."

"I'd really like to learn how you ended up with three," Dudley said, grabbing Harry's hand, too anxious to let his mother start the interrogation.

Harry shook his hand and then sat with them on the sofa. He thought he should have stayed in touch with Dudley, yet he had been too distracted for that... Now both his cousin and his aunt seemed eager to hear his story.

"Well, you know about the war. A few months after it was over, the Wizengamot – that's like the Parliament – found out that too many wizards had died and if they took no action, the wizarding community may dwindle and cease to exist. They passed a law so that all women who are able, would bear at least three children within ten years, and each should get pregnant within a few months from the time the law took effect."

Petunia frowned deeply. Dudley seemed not to understand the implications.

"Most young women didn't comply with the law, therefore, after the set date, they were obliged to take a mate for impregnation only. They were allowed to give a list of preferences. Each eligible young man was assigned one or two women to impregnate, as more men died in the war than women."

Petunia seemed to understand the logic of the law, although she didn't agree with it.

"Yet you seem to have three," Dudley noted.

"I'm not the only one. A few others were also assigned three mates. It's not a big deal for most young men, you know. In my case, three of the women asked specifically for me and nobody else. I couldn't deny their wish, you know."

Dudley snorted at that. Petunia looked pensive.

"Hermione has been my closest friend since first year. It turns we were secretly in love with each other. Once we declared our love and kissed, we were engulfed in a golden haze that signifies a soul bond, that is much more than a wedding. I still wanted to marry her, so that her family would be able to take part in it – that's when you came to the wedding as well."

Petunia smiled at the memory. Dudley thought for a moment. "The other two were also present, weren't they?"

Harry smiled at him. "True. By that time I already met them both and started doing my duty as their mate. Soon enough we became a family. Then, when they got pregnant, I married them as well, in a small ceremony at the ministry."

Dudley frowned. "You didn't have to, so why did you marry them?"

"Well, I didn't want my children to grow without their father nor to be considered less than fully legitimate. Luckily, the wizarding laws allow more than one wife under certain conditions, and I meet those conditions. Besides, I fell in love with these two."

"What does Hermione think of this?" Petunia looked concerned.

"She knew and accepted them from the first moment. I would have not married them had she not agreed."

Petunia looked around. Harry's wives were clearly listening to their conversation, and Hermione was smiling understandingly, as if she expected this question. She turned back to Harry. "Don't you want to officially present your wives?"

Harry's smile brightened. He walked to Cissy and took her hand in his. "This fine lady is Narcissa Black, the lady of the house I inherited from my godfather. She may be a bit older, but she's just as much fun as my younger wives. She prefers to be called Cissy."

He then took Lil's hand in his. "Lady Leilani Peverell holds one of the titles I inherited from my father. She's very young, but the law still applies to her. She likes being called Lil."

Petunia nodded at each introduction. Dudley just stared. While having three women to shag was quite nice for a young man, having three pregnant wives, and soon enough – three crying babies – was actually frightening. He couldn't understand how Harry could be so happy about it. The mere idea scared Dudley.

Harry continued with the introductions. "These are my aunt, Petunia Dursley, née Evans, who raised me since I lost my parents, and her son, Dudley Dursley, who's about my age."

All wives smiled at them.

Dudley wanted to understand some more about what having three wives meant, and Harry told him as much as he thought appropriate. He then asked about Dudley's life and let Dudley tell him about the way he was trying to get better grades, to be able to go to college and do something useful with his life. None of them noticed when Lil bit her lips and grimaced in pain. Petunia looked attentively at her, but said nothing.

A few minutes later, when the next contraction came, Lil was unable to hold her pain. Harry immediately came to her side. "Is it time?"

"I... don't really know, but it hurts so much..."

Both Cissy and Petunia came to her side as well, while Hermione took control of Harry. "Go get her maternity bag. It's in the left wardrobe. It's a large blue and red bag with some flowers. Bring it here, along with light overcoats for Lil and for you."

Harry felt thankful for her instructions. While the older women were helping Lil calm down and take control of her body, he rushed to the wardrobe, found the requested items, and came back. Lil was being helped to her feet. Harry helped her put the overcoat on and then took her hand to walk with her to St. Mungos.

"Wait, I'm coming with you," Petunia said, grabbing her own bag and overcoat.

"I'm not sure..." Harry started.

"They'll let me in. Her mother isn't here, and none of your wives can help. I'll be there for her and for you." In a way, this was the Petunia he had always known – sharp, demanding and sure of herself, only this time he welcomed her.

"You stay here," she told Dudley. "Help them any way they need." Dudley nodded solemnly.

Lil had another contraction on the way, but it wasn't too bad. She just had to stand and let the pain subside before continuing walking. Petuina didn't comment when they reached what seemed to be an abandoned department store and didn't flinch when they passed through what looked like a cracked glass window and found themselves in the reception area of a hospital.

It seemed very busy, but as soon as they were spotted, a nurse came forward and led Lil to a room, where Lil was checked and then moved to a private delivery room, where Harry and Petunia could join her.

Lil was scared. Despite having read everything she could find about pregnancy and delivery, she wasn't ready for the pains. Even with the pain reliever potion and some numbing charms, it was still the most painful experience in her life. Her mind was also replaying some of the most frightening scenarios she had read about, disregarding the odds. Harry wanted to help her, but he didn't know how. It was quite a scary experience for him as well.

Luckily, Petunia kept her calm. While her own experience with Dudley had probably been one of the worst, almost costing her her life, along with the life of her child, it still ended well, and she knew that most other women had much better experiences. She sat at Lil's side, wiped the sweat from her brow, talked calmly to her, and reminded her to breathe or to push, as needed at the moment. Harry was just holding his wife's hand, wishing with all his might that it would all go well.

Neither Lil nor Harry could know, but her delivery went quite quickly, especially for a first one. Although she got a private room, Lil could still hear other women. One was crying, "Six hours and still nothing! Make it move!" This was really frightening, yet the noise around her made her less aware of the passing time. It was past midnight already. She was almost surprised when she was told it was time to push in earnest. A short while later, the baby was crowning, and a few more pushes brought out a baby girl, who opened her emerald green eyes, making Petunia gasp in surprise.

Harry was allowed to take his daughter and give her to her mother for the first suckling. He did so perfectly, and then kissed them both lightly and promptly fainted.

Two hours later, when he went back home, he only knew that his heart was overflowing with feelings he couldn't even name. Petunia, who was walking at his side, kept silent. A tear escaped her eyes when she thought that her sister was the one who should have been there all along.

Dudley was already sleeping on the couch when they came in, but he woke as soon as he heard the door opening. "I'm glad you're back. I was afraid I might need to accompany one of them."

Harry didn't seem to hear him. "I have a girl!" he said. "I have a girl..." He knew all about reproduction, s*x and babies – the books his wives made him read assured that – yet seeing his daughter born was a kind of magic greater than he could comprehend. "I have a girl..." was all he could think at the moment.

He still crawled silently into bed, making sure to let both Hermione and Cissy sleep undisturbed for as long as their bulging bellies would allow.

When he visited Lil that day, soon after waking up, he was surprised to see how the young girl, not yet fifteen, had turned overnight into a motherly woman, caring for her baby with so much love, that it almost made her glow. Yet he felt just the same. That little bundle with green eyes had suddenly become the most important person in the world for him, more important than even his soul mate.

Harry had less than a fortnight to get accustomed to being a father before he had to rush to St. Mungos again. Hermione woke up in the middle of the night with a sharp pain. Both his other wives were soon helping her get dressed and ready.

Despite his recent experience, Harry felt quite frightened, especially as he didn't have another adult to rely on. He still managed to help Hermione reach the maternity ward before her next contraction.

Unlike Lil's delivery, Hermione's was much slower. They arrived at three, yet by eight o'clock, there was no real change. Harry helped Hermione as much as he could. Soon enough, her mother joined him, having been informed by Cissy. This seemed to benefit Hermione tremendously. Less than an hour after her mother joined them, Hermione was fully dilated and the birth process started in earnest. A few pushes later, Harry was holding his wailing son. This time, he didn't faint.

"Have you thought of a name?" Jean asked the new parents.

Harry looked at his soul-mate and conversed silently for a moment. "We shall call him James, after my father," he told her.

Harry wasn't sure how he made his way home, as he could barely move after the eventful night. He only collapsed of exhaustion as soon as he reached the bedroom.