Lord and Ladies

Headmaster's Office

They spent the rest of the afternoon in bed. After sleeping a bit, Harry was ready to cuddle with the girls some more, caressing, kissing and shagging them all once again, barely leaving some time for a really quick shower before dinner. Somehow, even thinking of being married to them seemed less frightening after such an afternoon.

Twinkle served them dinner. It was so delicious that it put to shame even the best meals at Hogwarts. "Potter Chefs are trained by the best," Twinkle told them proudly.

Yet they couldn't think solely of their food. All four knew they were going back to Hogwarts soon after dinner and were contemplating how the day spent together, along with whatever the headmaster would tell them, could affect their lives.

"Why did you have s*x with me the first time?" Harry asked. He already knew about Hermione, but none of the other had explained this.

Susan shrugged. "I've always admired you, yet being in different houses made it very difficult to try to get close to you. Besides, whenever I looked at you, you were with either Hermione or Ron by your side. I was angry at you when I thought you were trying to steal the glory from our champion, but I soon understood it. You really deserved to win the tournament."

Harry grimaced, remembering just too well what happened to Cedric merely two days earlier. Luckily, Susan didn't notice.

"When I came here, seeing you having s*x with Daphne and seeing Hermione naked nearby, I thought this was the chance I was waiting for, although not in exactly the way I had always thought about it. You proved me right, giving me the best first time I could have thought of, and it barely even hurt." She still blushed nicely at the thought.

Harry now looked at Daphne, expecting her to explain.

She gave it a bit of thought before speaking. "I also thought you were quite nice, yet being a Slytherin, I had no chance getting close to you, so I kept it secret. Besides, my parents told me since I was a little girl that I had a contract betrothal with someone and I shouldn't be too friendly with boys. I really don't know how this may affect them, especially since it seems that we're married now. I hope it wouldn't cause them trouble."

"But you weren't reluctant at all when you arrived," Harry noted. By now he had recalled most of the memories from the previous evening.

She smiled. "I was naked and horny, as were you. I had already witnessed the way you made love to Hermione. It was just natural to grab my chance, and damn the consequences."

The last word had a certain effect on Hermione. "Oh, did any of you use the contraceptive charm?"

The girls paled. "I didn't see my wand when I arrived, nor noticed it this morning, and I only took it when we changed into our school robes, before going for dinner," Daphne said. Susan nodded, as if saying the same.

Hermione sighed. "I didn't use it either. Let's hope we're lucky enough not to get pregnant before we finish school. We should really be more cautious, you know." She looked at the others, including Harry in her glance. He felt a bit uncomfortable at not thinking of that himself, yet it was his first time as well. He had no previous experience to guide him.

They weren't able to think of this much longer, as Fawkes arrived with a flash. They all finished eating, wiped their faces and their hands and stood up. Fawkes presented its tail, letting them grab tightly at it. A moment later, they were all standing in the headmaster's office.

"Welcome back!" Dumbledore greeted them. "I hope you enjoyed your day away from school. Please take a seat."

Four chairs were standing in front of his table. Harry sat down, with Hermione at one side, and the two girls at the other. He looked at Dumbledore, noticing that the man looked extremely tired, much worse than he had ever seen him, yet there was a certain twinkle in his eyes that hadn't been there just two days earlier.

Dumbledore looked at the four expectant faces. He hoped they wouldn't be too mad at him after hearing what he needed to tell them. "I know you expect a few answers, but please humor an old man and let me tell you this my way. I'd first like to tell you about what preceded your escapade."

He took a deep breath. Harry seemed uncomfortable – he already knew why; Hermione looked eager to hear some more and the other girls looked curious, not having the slightest idea what he wanted to talk about. "As you all know, things didn't go well during the third task of the tournament. We had to take two champions out of the maze. The other two, Mr. Potter and Mr. Diggory, reached the trophy at the center of the maze and grabbed it together, yet it didn't bring them in front of the judges' table, as expected. It brought them somewhere else, where Cedric was killed by a Death Eater and Harry was forced to take part in a very dark ritual, where some blood was forcefully taken from him and used in the resurrection of the dark lord known as Voldemort."

Both Daphne and Susan gasped. Although this had been rumored and even hinted at by the headmaster during the previous day's breakfast, this was the first time they heard this said so precisely.

"Voldemort then called his loyal and tried to duel Mr. Potter, intending to kill him, to show everybody that Harry was just an insignificant boy. He failed. Some quirk in the wands allowed Harry to stall the dark lord for long enough to grab Cedric and the cup and come back to school."

All girls gasped.

"I'll spare you some of the details for now. You already know that the Minister wouldn't hear any of that. He decided that Mr. Potter's story could not be true and Voldemort could not be back. He was wrong in both aspects. I've been contemplating the ways to solve this problem since he left."

Dumbledore sighed. "I've never believed that Voldemort was gone for good after that fateful Halloween. I was sure that Harry would have to fight him once again and the outcome could not be assured. I also hoped we had more time until then, allowing Mr. Potter have as normal a childhood as possible and giving him more years to get ready after finishing school. This is evidently not the case now."

Despite the good mood he had experienced since waking up, Harry felt his mood change for the worse. Well, he hadn't really expected that happiness to last. Nothing good ever did, for him. Dumbledore kept talking.

"As Mr. Potter is crucial in defeating Voldemort, I was thinking of how to enhance his powers in any possible ways. It was clear to everyone that Ms. Granger was very close to him. I suspected there was some deep love there, even if both were still unaware of it. She has already helped him a lot, giving him the benefit of her mind and memory, along with her undeniable talent at casting and brewing. I was sure that if they were given the right chance, they would discover their love and act on it. Such union would greatly enhance the powers Mr. Potter can use, but that was still not enough."

He now looked at Daphne. "I'm sure you're aware of having a betrothal contract since you were a baby, aren't you?"

Daphne nodded.

"As the headmaster of this school, I need to know of such contracts, if only to protect the children from doing anything that could have contractual consequences. That's why I know of the contract your parents signed with Mr. Potter's parents even before you were both born. While breaking it would have had no significant consequences, I thought that fulfilling it, even if a bit early, could give Mr. Potter a significant boost, about as much as uniting with Ms. Granger would."

Daphne looked pleasantly surprised, yet eager to ask a bit more. The headmaster lifted his hand, signifying that she could ask him later, but not at the moment.

"The Potter family also had a long standing alliance with the Bones. This alliance has never been cemented with a marriage, as whenever one family had children ready for marriage, the other had none that could fit. I found it interesting that now, when none of the elder family members is still alive, both families have appropriate candidates for that. Seeing that Ms. Bones also had a little crush on Mr. Potter, I thought it was worth a try."

Susan frowned. Her aunt was still alive, yet she was Bones by marriage, not by blood. She had never given it a thought before.

Dumbledore went on. "I had to act swiftly, as the other side would not wait for us to be ready before striking. I also knew that I could do almost nothing once you left school for the summer vacation. That's why you had an unexpected day away from school."

He grimaced as he continued. "I have to apologize for acting without first consulting with you or with your parents, but the time was too short and I had to get things moving before it became too late. You probably understand already that I'm the one who sent you to Potter Manor, using a certain spell that also separated you from your clothing. I think it's safe to say that you weren't bothered too much by the lack of clothes."

The four teens nodded, making a knowing smile appear on the old face. "I should also reassure you that I cast the contraceptive charm on each and every one of the ladies here, knowing that getting pregnant at his young age was not in any of their plans. You should cast it again in case you want to continue with that kind of entertainment, as it only holds for twenty six hours, at most." He was content at seeing the teens get less stressed.

He turned serious again. "To assure your privacy and the secrecy of this whole operation, I cast some redirecting charms. Any mail addressed to you reached me during your absence, so that nobody could trace it to where you were. It so happens that you did get some mail."

He took some envelopes from a pile on his desk, giving each girl two, while Harry got six. "You've got one letter from the Ministry and one from Gringotts each. Mr. Potter also got two for every bond he created with each of you. I suggest you open them."

Hermione was eager to open hers first. She glanced quickly and gasped, turning to Daphne. "You were correct in your explanations," she told her.

Harry was much slower, yet he already had the letter concerning Hermione open, as it was at the top of the pile.

"Dear Mr. Potter,

We are happy to acknowledge your soul bond with Ms. Hermione Granger, registered today at 18:53, making you both married to each other.

This bond also emancipated you, giving you all the rights and duties of adult wizards and witches.

We, at the bureau, are happy to congratulate you and your new wife and to wish you a long and fertile marriage."

He felt Hermione's hand holding his and pressing lightly, as if assuring him of her continuous support. He pressed back before moving to the next letter. Hermione moved hers at its side, noticing they were both identical.

"Dear Lord and Lady Potter,

Please accept our congratulations for your bond and marriage. You should also know that due to the change in your status we advise you to come at your earliest convenience to discuss the changes with your account manager.

On behalf of the whole Gringotts staff,

Sharpclaw,

The main Potter Account Manager"

Harry looked questioningly at Daphne, who sat at his other side.

"My letter looks about the same, except that it's only a marriage bond and they address us as Lord and Lady Slytherin," she said, looking a bit confused.

"And mine addresses Lord and Lady Hufflepuff," Susan commented.

Harry turned his eyes to the headmaster, as did the girls.

Dumbledore looked content. "Well, I expected that much. Let me explain a bit about your titles, though, as they are another reason for what I did. Harry, you know that you are the only remaining Potter. As your family has been a very noble one, it's head – you, in this case – is entitled as Lord. This is not the same Lordship as in Muggle nobility, though, but a separate, independent one. Yet your family holds more than one Lordship. The Potter are known to be direct descendants of Gryffindor. Some other families are also descendants, yet Potter is the only one that goes through the male line and stayed unbroken, making you the heir of Gryffindor, hence – Lord Gryffindor. As everybody knows, Voldemort claimed to be the Slytherin heir. By defeating him as a toddler, you also gained that Lordship. His resurrection doesn't count in this case."

He now turned to Susan. "You probably know that the Bones family is the only descendant of Huffelpuff, thus inheriting the title. You are Lady Hufflepuff, and your husband is by default, Lord Hufflepuff."

He now addressed them all again. "You may have noticed that during your medical tests in the first few weeks of first year, you were requested to give a few drops of blood. Those growing in Muggle environment are accustomed to giving some blood samples for various medical tests, and think nothing of it. Yet these samples are used to check various aspects of your magic and your ancestry by methods that are kept secret, only known to the Goblins. We usually find some interesting results, like children whose real fathers are not the ones they are known to be, or some magical ancestors of muggleborn students and some unexpected magical abilities, usually unknown even to the person under test. These tests have shown us that Lily Evans was a direct descendant of Slytherin, in an unbroken line, unlike the Gaunt line, which Voldemort is the last of, that was broken twice. This makes you, Harry, the heir of Slytherin in more than one way. These tests also revealed that Ms. Granger is the direct descendant of a line that was thought extinct. You all know that Rowena Ravenclaw had a daughter that died childless. What has been unknown before is that she had another child, a squib son. You, my dear, are the last of that line, making you Lady Ravenclaw."