Spring Equinox

Chapter 14

The vacation planning soon became even more complicated. When they reached their apartment that evening, Minnie surprised them as well. "I'd like us to visit my family manor during the summer. I've inherited the McGonagall estate, as my late husband was an only child, and I need to visit there at least twice a year to make sure everything is fine. The house elves are very loyal and efficient, but they may not be as smart as I'd like them to be."

"You own house-elves?" Hermione gasped in surprise.

"Of course, dear. You now own quite a few as well. The Potter estate has a few tens of house elves running it. I think you should pay them a visit, at least."

Hermione was so surprised she could hardly breathe. Harry looked surprised as well. "Did you know?" he asked his other wives.

Daphne shrugged. "Sure. It is common knowledge. I didn't think you didn't know it. The Weasley never had house elves. Lovegood had two old ones who eventually died and were not replaced. Bones have a few and so do my parents, but the Potter estate is much larger, so I expect there to be many more house elves."

"Can we set them free?" both Harry and Hermione asked as one.

"No!" Minnie, Daphne and Luna said. Daphne explained. "House elves depend on their masters. They derive their magic from their masters. If set free, they lose their magic and die."

"But Dobby seems to be fine," Harry commented.

Daphne frowned. "Who's Dobby?"

"Dobbby used to be Malfoy's house elf. At the end of second year, I tricked senior Malfoy to set him free. He's at Hogwarts since."

"Did you offer to take him as your house elf?"

"How could I? I was staying with my magic-hating relatives. I couldn't bring him there!"

"You could send him to the Potter Manor."

"I didn't know it even existed. I also thought Dobby liked to be free."

Daphne sighed. "Maybe he does, and living at Hogwarts allows him to live for a while without a proper master, but I believe you should make him an offer and see if he likes it."

"Fine, I'll ask him."

"Ask him now, it's better," Daphne insisted.

Harry looked at his other wives. They all seemed to agree with Daphne.

"Dobby!" he called.

Dobby appeared with a soft pop. "What can Dobby do for the great Harry Potter Sir?"

Harry couldn't refrain from smiling at the sight of the enthusiastic house elf. "Dobby, you may have heard that I got married. I'd like you to meet my wives, if you don't mind."

Dobby became even more excited as his eyes filled with tears. "If Dobby don't mind? Dobby is honored to get to know the family of Great Harry Potter Sir."

Harry didn't let Dobby get into babble mode. He presented his wives and they each shook hands with Dobby, making him feel even more honored.

With the introductions over, Harry moved to the main subject. "Dobby, my wives have just taught me about house elves, making me aware of some things I didn't know before. I want to ask you a few questions now. Will you answer them truthfully?"

"Sure, Harry Potter Sir. Dobby feels honored to just be in the company of such a great wizard."

Harry suppressed his will to correct Dobby. That would have led nowhere. He had to keep his goal in mind. "Are you happy now, being a free elf?"

Dobby seemed unsure about the answer. "Dobby is happy to be rid of nasty master and be free to do as he wishes. Dobby would like a good master, though. Dobby can't live long as a free elf, without a master," he finally said.

"Would you like to join my family?"

The question confused the elf. "Dobby can't join a wizard family. Dobby can serve a family, bond to a family."

"Dobby, if you bond to me and my family, you will be a part of the family. You will not become a wizard, but you will be a Potter. Do you want this?"

Dobby only nodded, unable to say a word.

"How do we proceed from here?" Harry asked, unsure who would even know.

"Just state that you bond him to you and your family," Daphne said. "No special ceremony is needed."

Harry turned back to Dobby. "Are you sure you want to bond with us?"

Dobby seemed to regain his ability to speak. "Yes, yes, yes! All I ever wanted was to serve the great Harry Potter Sir and his family."

"But Dobby, once you become my house-elf, you should call me Harry, like everybody else. Can you do this?"

Dobby looked at Harry with his big eyes shining. "Dobby can call his master Harry if so requested." Harry could see Dobby's lips move soundlessly, as if adding 'by the Great Harry Potter Sir.'

Harry lifted his wand and put his other hand on Dobby's shoulder. "I hereby accept Dobby the house elf into service for House Potter and bind him to me, Lord Harry James Potter, and to the family for as long as he wishes. I promise to set him free if he ever asks for it."

His hand and Dobby's shoulder seemed to flash once, making it magically accepted. Dobby also seemed to become a bit taller now.

Dobby bowed his head, but could not hide the tears of joy in his eyes. Harry wasn't sure what to do next, but Minerva was.

"Dobby, you know Tibby, my house elf. Don't you?"

Dobby nodded. "Tibby always speaks highly of mistress."

Minerva smiled. "Well, Tibby already knows what I expect of her at the end of term. Tell her you need to do the same for the rest of the family. She'll explain it to you and you may work together, if that suits you. We shall let you know where to move our things when we decide on our summer schedule. That would be all for now."

Dobby bowed deeply and then vanished with a big smile.

Breakfast before boarding the Hogwarts Express at end of term was usually very noisy. When Harry and his wives reached the great hall that morning, they heard nothing. As they opened the doors they saw that everybody was reading the newspapers. Some lifted their eyes at Harry and continued reading immediately. As they sat down at the Gryffindor table, Minerva came and put a newspaper in front of them.

"Voldemort dead! All death-eaters who escaped Azkaban recaptured!" was the headline, printed in such large letters that only "Continued on page 2" could be printed under it.

The article gave more details. "A loud scream of agony woke up the citizens of Little Hangelton yesterday morning. Some informed the police. Others looked out and were surprised to see a derelict manor house at the edge of town. A few older souls remembered the Riddle Manor in which a rich family lived until it was found dead, about sixty years ago. Nobody had noticed it for a few years, yet it was very evident now and the scream came from within it. The muggle police informed the aurors who came to investigate, finding many of the death-eaters who escaped Azkaban residing there, as well as some who were not previously known to be death-eaters. The dark lord's wand was found on his night-table, but only a puddle of blood, an old bone a the remains of a hand could be found in his bed. Bellatrix Lesterange, one of the escapees, was found mourning at the bed. After interrogation, the aurors found that the dark lord, known as Voldemort, had probably had his resurrection ritual reversed, causing his body and soul to disintegrate during the night. They were unable to find the cause, though. Some probable causes may be a fault in the resurrection ritual, which eventually caused its reversal; another botched ritual causing this unexpected result or a counter ritual done by somebody else."

A list of all people arrested in that house followed. Harry looked at it and smiled. All the inner-circle of Voldemort followers appeared in the list – all those he had seen in the graveyard two years earlier – and some more. All were promptly interrogated under veritaserum and all incriminated themselves and others in ways that would guarantee life sentence in Azkaban, or worse.

Harry glance at the Slytherin table, noting that quite a few students were missing, most notably – Malfoy, Crabble, Goyle and Nott. He then glanced at the head table and was surprised to see Snape in a good mood, for Snape – that is.

Minerva was sitting in the headmaster's office. Albus was looking at her.

"I've never seen you so fresh at the end of term, Minerva. You also look very calm, not at all like I got accustomed to see you."

She smiled. "Thank you Albus. I really feel that way, and much better even. Bonding with Harry proved to be very good for me."

"It seems to be. You even look younger."

Her smile widened. "I am younger now." She waved her wand at her face, muttering, "Finite!" The glamor charm finished and Albus could see Minerva younger than he remembered seeing her when she started working as a teacher. His surprise was evident. "How can it be?" he mumbled.

"That's what Harry's magic did for me," she said happily. "Now, I also need to inform you that I won't be able to resume my position at school next term. You'll have to find another transfiguration teacher and a new head of house for the lions."

"Why do you want to quit? I'm probably going to retire in a few years and I expected you to follow me," he said.

"Well, Harry did more for me than make me younger. I'm pregnant, Albus. I won't be able to keep teaching for the whole year, and once I have my girl, I want to be a devoted mother for her, unlike some mothers we both know."

Albus overcame his surprise nicely. "Yes, that is understandable. Where will you stay, though?"

"I intend to stay in the family apartment here, as is my obligation to my family. I may even consider giving some supplementary lessons to a few bright student, as long as my condition will allow."

"Well, Minerva. Hogwarts will not be the same without you. Have you thought about who could replace you for transfiguration?"

The mirth in her eyes shone. "I believe Miss Fleur Delacour may show interest, although her youth and her beauty may cause some problems with the male population."

"I'll contact her," he promised, with a glint in his eyes. The old headmaster was not above some mischief of his own.

Minerva looked at the clock. "I think my husband is waiting for me. We need to catch the train, you know."

"Then, goodbye for now, and I wish you a very happy vacation."

It was the first time they were riding the Hogwarts Express as a family. A compartment was opened in the front of the train, dedicated to the owners' families, and Harry was happy to find that it contained a small apartment in there, including a bedroom, a sitting room and even a kitchenette. He invited some friends to join them there. Neville came with Hanna, the Weasley twins arrived with their girlfriends and Ron came with both Lavender and Parvati. "They want to share me, after I learned how to satisfy them," he said, looking quite proud.

Harry decided to first stay with the Granger family. Their house was large enough, they already met the family and they had been very accepting of the situation. It was safe to start there. Both Granger adults were waiting at the station. "We took both cars so we can accommodate the whole family," they explained after hugging Hermione and Harry tightly.

It was quite different than the previous visit. After arriving to the Granger house, the first problem to tackle was the lodging arrangements. Although they could occupy two or three rooms, they all wanted to stay together. Hermione could easily enlarge the bed to accommodate them all, but she didn't yet know how to enlarge the room without changing it external size. "Let me do this," Minerva told her. "I'm only afraid it may affect your electrical equipment."

"I don't think you have to worry. As all electrical cables go inside the wall, where you make no change, it should work fine. I've already shielded the computer, so it should not be affected either," Hermione assured her.

A few minutes later, the room was much larger than the whole floor and also included a large attached bathroom and seven wardrobe closets. The only problem was that the light fixture was now too small for such a big room. Hermione brought higher wattage bulbs for the light and planned to buy some additional standing lamps for better illuminating the room.

Living in a Muggle house (except for the magical modifications) was a new experience for most of Harry's wives. Even Minnie had very little experience in Muggle environment. Harry, Hermione and her parents had to explain the function and the use of almost everything within the house, starting with the electric lights and the plumbing and then explaining about hair dryers, shavers, radio and television, in front of which they spent most of the evening.

"Time for shopping!" Hermione announced the next day. They all needed some more muggle clothing, and Hermione intended to buy some more lamps for her enlarged room. Her mother, Lisa, was just as eager to go shopping. She was sure that Minnie, whom she no longer considered an old woman, would need some advice. Only David and Harry showed very little enthusiasm. While having six willing women in bed was a kind of male fantasy, going shopping with that number of women was certainly classified as a nightmare.

"I'll keep you company," David promised to Harry.

It wasn't too bad though. The women kept each-other company, leaving the men alone most of the time. Harry enjoyed talking with David, visiting some electronic shops and just having a new father figure. They only needed to help carry the packages back to the cars.