Lord and Ladies

Solicitor

Harry went to Gringotts the next morning, alone. His wives didn't join, so that their marriage would stay secret as long as possible. He also used a 'notice-me-not' charm to keep away attention on the street, as advised.

Half an hour later he returned with a small parchment in his pocket.

"So, who is your solicitor?" Susan asked first.

He handed her the parchment, saying nothing.

Susan read it twice. "Andromeda Tonks? I think I met her daughter at the Ministry. She's just started auror training. Auntie thinks she may turn out a very good auror."

"She's Narcissa Malfoy's sister," Daphne said, seeming amused.

"What's so funny about that?" Harry asked.

"I overheard this story even before I went to Hogwarts. Andromeda Black had been promised to Malfoy since she was a baby. During her Hogwarts years she fell in love with Ted Tonks, a muggle-born, and they eloped as soon as she reached seventeen. Her family disowned her and Narcissa had to step in and marry Malfoy, once she was old enough. Unlike her sister, she didn't have the nerve to disobey, although she had a crush on somebody else. Draco doesn't even know her, maybe is not even aware of that history, as he had never met this aunt and she's not mentioned in pureblood circuits."

"So, you think we can trust her?"

"I'm sure we can. I've heard she's very sharp and she has never lost a case. She'd probably like to put a stop to Malfoy domination at The Prophet."

There was no address on the small parchment, only a phone number. They used the back door, leading directly into Muggle London. Harry had no problem using a public phone booth, with Hermione cramming at his side. The other two had no room to join them and wouldn't know how to use the telephone even if they had.

"Tonks residence, Ted speaking," the voice on the phone answered.

"Hello, my name is Harry Potter and I've just found out that your wife is my family's solicitor. May I speak with her?"

"Of course, Harry. We were waiting for your call since... Well, let me call her."

A moment later, a female voice was heard. "Andromeda speaking. Can I help you?" It was clear that Ted didn't tell her who called.

"My name is Harry Potter and I've just found out that you are my family's solicitor. I'd like to meet you and discuss some matters that I'd like to act upon. May I come to your office?"

"My office is at home. You can come today or tomorrow, as I have nothing scheduled yet."

"I don't know the address. Is it accessible by Muggle means?"

"Of course it's accessible. Most of my business is with muggles. Now, write down the address." She dictated the address slowly. Hermione wrote it down and Harry read it loud again, to make sure.

"How may I best reach your place?"

"You can take the underground. We live only a few minutes' walk from the station, but it's a long ride and you have to change twice. You may find a taxi faster."

"Thank you. I think I'm going to look for a taxi in a few minutes."

He could hear her amusement. "I'll be ready for you, Mr. Potter."

They had to walk a bit and leave the side streets before they could find a taxi. As they gave the driver their destination, he looked skeptically at them. "Are you sure you have the money for that? It's a long ride, almost out of London."

Not wanting to show off, Harry asked, "How much will it cost?"

"The exact sum depends on the traffic, but it can easily pass seven pounds."

"Well, if we all take the underground, it will be almost the same. We can pay it."

Riding a taxi was nothing new for Hermione, but it was for the others. Harry had some experience riding in his uncle's car, yet the girls had never used a car either. Both Susan and Daphne were fascinated and paid utmost attention to the ride and the view. Hermione found it a good occasion to cuddle into Harry, who found this more interesting than the urban view through the window. They all kept quiet, though, not wanting to attract undue attention.

When they finally arrived, Harry let Hermione handle the payment, as he wasn't sure he knew how to handle it. Seeing her add ten percent to the official price, he was glad that he didn't take it upon himself, yet he made a mental note to ask her later about it.

Andromeda seemed surprised when she opened the door to find four teens waiting there. "I thought you'd come alone," she said.

"I'll explain in a moment, once we're indoors," Harry said.

"Well, welcome in," she waved them all in and closed the door.

"Mrs. Tonks, let me introduce my wives, Lady Hermione Potter-Ravenclaw née Granger, Lady Susan Potter-Hufflepuff née Bones, and Lady Daphne Potter-Slytherin née Greengrass. I'm Harry, Lord Potter-Gryffindor-Slytherin-Peverell, and also Lord Hufflepuff and Lord Ravenclaw, due to my wives."

Andromeda looked overwhelmed, but recovered quickly. "Nice to meet you all. I'm Andromeda Tonks, née Black, but you may call me Andy, and that slob of a husband of mine, who's reading the newspaper over there, is Theodore, Ted Tonks. My daughter, who doesn't like her first name, is currently at work. She's an auror in training."

Ted turned his head to the teens and smiled at them, adding a wink. It was evident even to Harry that the Tonks loved each other dearly and were only teasing. This put them all at ease.

"Now, I assume you didn't come here just to make a social call. Let's go into my study to discuss things. Ted, will you be so kind to bring some tea and biscuits when you join us?"

Ted sighed as if this was a very difficult task and then stood up from his couch and stepped to the kitchen. A moment later, he came into the study with a tray on which he carried a kettle, six glasses and all the other stuff needed, and set it on a side table, smiling at his wife. He then took a seat at her side and turned serious.

Andy served the tea, showing her high-class origins, and then sat back down. "You should know that we're partners in business as well. While I serve as the public face of our business, at least in the magical community, Ted is the brain behind me. He's the best lawyer you could find, in either muggle or magical communities."

Harry smiled at the couple. "Good to know there's more than one person to take care of my business. It looks like I'm going to give you quite a bit of work in the near future."

"Care to explain?" Andy asked.

"My immediate need is to take control of The Daily Prophet. It is currently controlled by the Ministry through Malfoy, yet he only holds few shares. He can only act that way due to my shares and my godfather's shares being dormant for many years, and other shareholders losing interest. I believe we can regroup many of the shareholders, the majority, to support a change of policy, parading the truth and not propaganda."

"Who is your godfather? I'm not sure I've ever been informed."

"I believe you know him. Sirius Black is my godfather." Andy gasped, but Harry didn't let her react, as he continued, "Sirius has never betrayed my parents. The secret keeper, who sold them to Voldemort, was Peter Pettigrew, whom Sirius was accused of murdering. Peter is still alive, though. He is an unregistered rat animagus. I've seen him just a few days ago, after the third task."

By now, Andy regained control. "Well, I'd like to hear about that later. For now, it's enough if you can get a letter from him, assigning his votes to you. Even without additional allies, that may be enough to change the paper's policy."

"But we do have other allies: Bones and Greengrass – of course, as well as Longbottom, McGonagall and Dumbledore. Probably even some more. As I don't want my position to become known too early, I need you to act on my behalf and organize this."

They spent some time discussing the details and formulating an action plan. It assured that Harry would get control of the Prophet withing a week or two, at most.

"What do you want to change, once you have control of the newspaper?" Andy asked.

"First of all – it must stop publishing fabricated or modified stories. It should stick to the truth and describe it without presenting an opinion, except in the articles properly identified as personal opinions, and even those should have a sound basis. Then – once this is established – I want to start investigations on all top officials, to see if they get bribes or are improperly influenced by others, as well as if they are competent enough in their jobs. I'm sure that such an investigation would discover very interesting facts."

Ted smiled broadly. "I think I'm going to like working with you. What next?"

Harry turned more serious. "The current minister has taken two very bad decisions that involved me personally, when he discarded my words concerning Sirius, last year, and concerning Voldemort, a few days ago. I want to do all I can to get Sirius a fair trial, which he had never got – and canceling the 'kiss on sight' order, given by the minister, should be the first step. I believe Sirius will be found not guilty of any of the charges, if given a proper trial. Once that is done, we must make sure that the Ministry, no matter who heads it, prepares for war with Voldemort and his followers, or even better – stops him on his tracks before it escalates into a war."

Some more time was spent discussing these issues. They were unable to make a detailed plan before having control of the paper, as they lacked some information, but they could still make a skeleton plan and a rough timetable. "We need the whole Ministry affair acted upon before we return to school," Harry emphasized.

It was already lunch time when they finished. "Please stay for lunch," Andy asked them. "We haven't discussed anything concerning your marriage, and I'm sure I need to know at least a bit so I can act more wisely.

Harry wasn't sure if she was just curious or really needed to know, but he decided to trust her. If his parents had trusted her to be their solicitor, he hoped he could do that as well.

Both Susan and Daphne were surprised when Andy took some frozen stuff from her freezer and put it in the microwave oven, ending with a perfectly tasty hot meal in a matter of minutes. This seemed very magical to them. Andy also took some fresh vegetables and quickly made a salad, to accompany the main dishes. Hermione wasn't surprised, of course.

"Care to tell us how you four became married?" Ted asked, once they sat at the table.

"It was actually initiated by Dumbledore. Although I don't like the way he meddles with my life, I must say that I'm content at least with this part, as I now have three marvelous wives," Harry said, smiling lovingly at the girls.

Andy frowned. "What do you mean by 'he meddles with your life'? I don't like the sound of it."

Harry didn't think it was the right time to elaborate. "I'll go into it some other time, if you don't mind. There are other subjects that are more pressing."

Andy nodded, while Ted looked pensive. She then asked, "Well, care to give some more details?"

Harry wasn't sure how much he could say, not wanting to anger his wives. Hermione sensed his concern and decided to tell it herself. "The day after the third task, just before dinner, the headmaster asked both Harry and I to come to his office. As soon as we reached a deserted corridor, we were whisked to a place – we later found it was Potter Manor – only we arrived there naked. This made us confess our love to each other and act on it. We then saw Daphne, who seemingly arrived in a similar way. She told us we were now married or even soul-bound, which we later found to be true. Daphne took over, and soon there was another flash as she married Harry. Susan arrived while they were occupied and eventually acted the same way, ending in another marriage flash. The headmaster let us stay for the whole day and then sent his phoenix to take us back, where he confessed to be the one who sent us there, hoping for the result we got."

Daphne took over. "He then explained that he had previously hoped Harry would have more time to get ready before Vol... Voldemort returned, but with the Dark Lord returning already, he had to act much faster, and by having Harry marry the three of us, his powers were enhanced. Besides that, we now own Hogwarts, making the Governors irrelevant. This greatly enhances our political power. We can now make all changes in school, and he assumes we shall work in tandem with him."

"He also expects us to take all the relevant seats in the Wizengamot, thus changing the political balance and dictating a new agenda," Susan added.

Andy seemed a bit overwhelmed. "Oof! That's quite a list of tasks to do, and I assume you want our help in them all."

The teens nodded. She smiled. "Well, I can now see why you said you needed more than one. I suspect we may need to hire some help as well, if everything goes as intended."

Harry nodded. "It may be so, but right now, our first and most important mission is to regain control of the newspaper. Please let us know when the shareholders meeting will take place. We may want to watch it, undetectable by the others, but you should be the one to set the new rules and make sure they are followed."

Andy frowned. "Are you sure about that? None of the charms that make you invisible is perfect, and people could notice some shimmering. I'm willing to cast the charm for you, but it may still prove unwise."

Harry smiled at her. "I have my own means, yet we could use your help as well, as I'm not sure it may suffice for all of us."

Andy nodded. She wasn't sure what the future might hold for her, but she was glad to be able to do something useful about it, and working with Potter was surely going to be interesting, at least.