A night of love

Alliances

Harry and his wives were surprised when Pansy approached them a day after they returned to school. “Lord Potter, my parents asked me to offer you an alliance between house Parkinson and house Potter.”

“Why would they do that?” he wondered loudly.

Pansy smiled. “I’m sure your wives can explain this to you. After you understand it, I’d like an official audience with you, to establish the details of the alliance, if accepted.”

“Very well, Miss Parkinson. I’ll let you know soon.”

Back in their apartment, Padma explained it. “An alliance between two houses can take several forms. The simplest is a promise to stand by each other. Traditionally, that meant fighting for each other and supporting each other politically as well. I believe you have such alliance with Longbottom and with Bones, although renewing it each generation may be a good idea.”

“I already have alliances?”

“Yes. These are many generations old and the current heads of houses may not even be aware of them, but they may still be magically binding.”

“What other kinds are there?”

“Practically any kind you can think of, but the most common among purebloods, the one I believe Pansy is aiming for, is alliance by marriage. It means that the marriage bond between the houses is accompanied by promises of political and financial support, usually valid only throughout the lifetime of the heads of houses.”

“You mean she wants to marry me? Why should she even contemplate the idea?”

Both Padma and Hermione smiled at his outburst.

“First – you’re quite good looking. You are also kind and well mannered and very good in bed, as we’ve found out.”

“You didn’t tell anybody! Did you?”

“Of course not, but girls do notice how we act around each other and they tend to understand it even with no word spoken. And then, you’re also rich.”

“We are rich. Whatever I own is equally yours as well,” Harry emphasized.

“That’s exactly what she may like – having access to all that money.”

Harry frowned. “Does she really want to be sold to me for money?”

“No, I don’t think so. She may genuinely like you.”

“She had quite a few years to show it. I’d say she showed the inverse, badmouthing me and Hermione since first year.”

Hermione intervened. “I’m not sure she had a choice.”

“What do you mean?”

“She was betrothed to Malfoy. She had to act as he told her. It was magically enforced,” Hermione explained.

“That’s awful! How do you know it?”

“Girls talk, and I’ve been Parvati’s dorm mate since first year, you know. Besides, I’ve also heard Daphne talk with her in the library, where they thought nobody heard them.”

“Fine, so she likes me for my looks and for my money and she may have acted against her will since first year. What does it mean for me?”

Padma took over. “If you accept an alliance with Parkinson, they’ll support you politically, which may be a good thing, as politics is going to be your next fight and we shall need as many allies as we can find.”

“Do you suggest I marry her?”

“Not necessarily. Your alliance with Longbottom is not based on marriage, although one of your ancestors did marry a Longbottom, yet it was many generations after the alliance was already in effect.”

“What do you suggest, then?”

“Invite her here and let her fully explain her request. As she hinted at, the details may need some discussions and she clearly doesn’t expect to get everything she’ll be asking for. Even a limited alliance for one generation may help her, I believe.”

“How?”

“Her parents have not been death-eaters, as they are both still alive. They may have supported the dark side, though I can’t tell if it was due to their beliefs or their fear. Becoming your allies may give them the chance they need to become socially acceptable again.”

“And Pansy?”

“She would like to become your wife, I’m sure. She may even genuinely like you. Yet she may be content with just becoming a concubine or even a friend of the family, with or without benefits. It would boost her social standing considerably.”

“I already have twice the number of wives I thought I might have. I don’t need any more and I don’t think any of you would like me to add another wife to the mix, especially not Pansy.”

Hermione smiled lovingly at him. “Then don’t marry her. You can make an alliance any way you like and Pansy may also like it better to be someone’s only wife, if you make it clear that the alliance doesn’t need to be by marriage.”

Harry contemplated it for another day before inviting Pansy for an official audience with him and the ladies. As advised by Padma, they all wore their official robes. When Pansy arrived, she was also wearing her official Parkinson robes and looked serious and tense.

“Lord Potter, I’m here to formally request an alliance between House Parkinson and House Potter, but I think I should first apologize for my behavior towards you and your Lady since first year. You should be aware of the fact that I was then betrothed to the Malfoy scion with a contract that forced me to act as he wished, no matter what I thought, as Malfoy wanted to humiliate my parents for not having supported the Dark Lord during the first war. He used their temporary lack of funds, shortly after the war, to force the contract.”

This was quite close to what both Padma and Hermione considered as a probable scenario, although much tougher. “Your apology is accepted. We shall not judge you for what you did while betrothed to Malfoy, only on what you do from now on,” Harry said.

Pansy seemed a bit relieved. “Thank you, Lord and Lady Potter for your kindness. Now, if you allow, I’d like to present the alliance my parents suggested.” She took a parchment out of her pocket and presented it to Harry. It was quite long, written in a very formal language.

Harry took a glance of it and sighed. “Maybe we should all sit down at the table and try to understand this? I’m surely not accustomed to such documents, and I suspect none of you is.”

As they moved to sit around the table, some of the formality seemed to melt away. Pansy looked a little less stressed when they sat at the table and Harry ordered Dobby to bring them some refreshments.

“Didn’t that house-elf belong to Malfoy?” Pansy asked.

“Yes. He was badly treated and I tricked Lucious Malfoy to set him free. He seems to think very highly of me.”

“Did you bond him?”

Harry frowned. “Why should I? He seems to like being free.”

Both Pansy and Padma looked appalled. “Don’t you know that a house elf cannot live as a free elf? Without bonding to a master, he can’t replenish his magic, and once he uses it up – he dies,” Pansy told him.

“He seemed happy to be free. Besides, aren’t Hogwarts house-elves free?”

Padma answered now. “No, they are bound to the school and they absorb their magic from the students and the staff, yet most need to also be bound to the headmaster, or they may not live long.”

Dobby returned with the refreshments. Before he finished setting it on the table, Harry stopped him. “Dobby, do you like being free?”

Dobby seemed unsure of the right answer. “Dobby likes being free of nasty master,” he finally said, not really answering the question.

“I understand that, Dobby, but are you happy not having any master?”

Dobby looked at the floor while answering. “When Master Harry made bad master set me free, I hoped Master Harry would find Dobby worthy of bonding to him. I can see Master didn’t think Dobby worthy enough. Dobby can live some more in Hogwarts, as there is a lot of magic to use, but Dobby needs to bond to a master to live.”

“I’m sorry, Dobby. I didn’t know all that and I couldn’t really make you mine while living with my Muggle relatives.”

“Why? Master Harry already owns many house-elves.”

Harry was unsure about the answer. “I didn’t know then. I’ve found out only recently and I still need to learn a lot. I didn’t know you needed to bond.”

Dobby only looked sad.

Harry thought for a moment. “Well, Dobby, I think you earned the right to bond to me and to the Potter house, if so you wish. Do you want to bond with us?”

Dobby seemed to suddenly become too happy to speak. He just nodded his head enthusiastically and jumped from leg to leg, barely keeping in one place.

Harry turned to Padma. “How do we proceed?”

“Just say you bond him. Magic will do the rest.”

Harry put his hand on Dobby’s shoulder, hoping that would calm the little creature a bit. “I, Lord Harry James Potter, hereby bind Dobby the house-elf to me, my family and my house, also promising to set him free if ever he asks for it.”

A brief flash seemed to come out of the connection between the two, marking the bonding. Dobby managed to calm down, still seeming to fight his enthusiasm.

“I’ll call if I need anything,” Harry told him.

As his services were not needed at the moment, Dobby clicked his fingers and vanished, probably to celebrate his bonding in some way.

Harry tried to concentrate on the alliance again. Pansy explained. “My parents tried to stay neutral from the beginning. They actually left for Canada as soon as the troubles started in Britain. During the first war, their parents died, probably murdered, and most of their belongings were confiscated. When my parents returned, after the fall of You-Know-Who, they found out they were almost knutless, unable to resume the family businesses. I was still a baby then, but Malfoy offered to help, for a price. They were not aware of all the details until it was too late, and they were forced to stand by Malfoy, or at least – not oppose him. They lost most of their friends on the light side this way, making them more dependent on Malfoy. Now, with the demise of Malfoy house, they are finally free to choose sides, and they want to align with the light, as they always wanted, but were prevented from doing. If you agree, they will support you in any political debate, try to help persuade your opponents and always vote for you. In return, they want you to make it clear that they are on your side, making them acceptable to the rest of the light families, and protect them against any retaliation from the dark lord supporters, if there are still some alive. To cement the alliance, they suggest to seal it with marriage, although I doubt you can persuade your wives to add another.”

“You mean that they want you to marry me for political reasons?”

“That wouldn’t be the first time, nor the last for such things to happen,” Pansy said, shrugging.

“What do you think of it, not as a Parkinson, but as a young woman who may be forced to marry someone.”

Pansy smiled. “It’s not like you are a total stranger to me. I’ve seen you grow from a small frightened boy into the young man all girls at Hogwarts would gladly shag, including me. I know how you act with those you care for and how you protect them. I’ve heard about some other talents you have. I may not be in love with you, but I could certainly find nobody better even if I tried.”

As much as he felt flattered, Harry knew this was not the way he wanted things to go. He didn’t love Pansy even a bit, despite pitying her being forced to act against her will for many years. He didn’t even find her attractive, especially compared to his wives. She was probably alright for somebody else, but as he didn’t think he could love her, the idea of marrying her was unacceptable. ‘I agree, you don’t need to marry her,’ he sensed Hermione in his mind.

“As you expected, marriage is not really a good idea. It may cause me more problems than it can solve, and that’s probably as true for you. I don’t think you should sacrifice your chances to find love for this alliance, which can be just as binding with a magical oath.”

Pansy smiled brightly, looking almost beautiful. “You are so easy to fall in love with, Lord Potter. I think that marrying you could never be something I would regret, yet this doesn’t seem about to happen. Would you allow me to at least study with you? It would make the impression that we are friends and help me regain some status.”

He sensed Hermione agree. “That’s possible. Maybe this way I won’t always be the last to understand everything.”

Pansy now laughed freely. “Don’t be so sure, Potter. I do get good grades, you know.”

They arrived to the great hall together for dinner. Pansy moved to the Slytherin table after kissing Hermione’s cheeks, while the others took their places at the Gryffindor table.

“What did she want from you?” Ginny asked them as they sat at the table.

“She wanted us to forgive her behavior until now, as it was forced by her betrothal to Malfoy. She now asked to be our friend.”

“Hmm...” Ginny didn’t seem convinced but refrained from comment. Harry was sure that after finding of her brother’s betrayal, she didn’t feel she was in any position to give an opinion about other possible friends.

Parvati, though, had a few things to say. “I’ve heard several girls saying that you have a few more titles and you could have a different wife for each title. Besides Potter and Black, some say you can claim Gryffindor, Peverell, and possibly Slytherin. A few were saying that their parents are expected to send you offers for marriage contracts. Didn’t Pansy offer one already?”

Harry wasn’t glad to hear that. “No, Pansy only offered alliance.” He didn’t feel like going into details.

“You may expect some more. A few Slytherin families that tried to keep neutral will probably contact you, and many who may feel that you’re the rising political force now. The way you handled Dumbledore showed them how you treat betrayals. Nobody’s going to like being on the receiving end of your wrath.”

Luckily, nobody approached them during or after dinner with any offers. Only Neville came to ask, “Is everything alright? I’ve seen you talk with Parkinson and becoming very pensive since. Do you need any help?”

Harry smiled at him. “No, Neville, and thank you for your concern. Pansy only offered an alliance between her house and mine, and then Parvati told me I should expect quite a few more.”

Neville shrugged. “Everybody wants to join the victor. It may eventually be a good idea to accept as many alliances as you can, as long as you don’t take any undue obligations. You should know that the Longbottom house has an alliance with Potter since before anybody can remember. You can count on my support whenever you need it. Yet new alliances should probably be limited to one generation only, with an option to prolong them.”

“I fully agree with you,” Padma said, “but I think that Harry is also concerned about finding some more about house-elves and their bonds. Hermione as well.”

“Didn’t you know?” Neville seemed really surprised. He then shook his head and added, “I keep forgetting that you didn’t grow up in a magical environment, so you may be oblivious to things others take for granted. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you earlier.”

“That’s alright, Nev. I would have just panicked without Padma’s help. I still appreciate the intention.”