Spring Equinox

Chapter 6

Half an hour later, they were all sitting in a large office at Gringotts, where a richly clothed goblin seemed eager to proceed, checking a large parchment. "According to your inheritance test, you are a Potter, of course, which also means that you are the heir of Gryffindor and Peverell, both merged long ago into the Potter line. There are other titles you may claim, though. From your mother you have inherited the Ravenclaw line, which was previously believed to be extinct. You can also claim the Slytherin title, gained by conquest, when you defeated the dark lord while still a toddler."

Despite trying to be brief, it still took them more than an hour to go over all Potter assets, and then Harry visited his vaults, accompanied only by Hermione. He took his Lord ring, as advised, and gave Hermione her Lady Potter ring. He also took the Lady Gryffindor ring to give to Ginny.

Once they finished their business at Gringotts, Minerva asked Hermione for the fastest way to reach her parents.

"I think we should take the Knight Bus, unless you can apparate us all."

Minerva shook her head. "I could take one or two with me, but six are just too many. Yet we shouldn't make your parents' address known either. We should just go somewhere else, close enough to walk there."

Hermione nodded her understanding. "I think we should transform our robes to something more appropriate in muggle environment," she added. "I think we should even buy some muggle clothing for the occasion. My parents are still at work and will not be home for another hour at least."

"I'm not sure I can do the transfiguration as I'm not sure what they should look like," Minerva said.

Hermione didn't mind. "I'll do it."

She first waved her wand at her own clothes, turning them into a nice outfit of the kind her muggle age-mates were wearing. She then repeated this for Harry and for each of the girls, giving each an appropriate set of garb, each different and suiting the wearer's personality. Minerva only looked at her work, noticing how Hermione paid attention even to the smallest details.

Finally, Hermione turned to Minerva. She looked pensively at her clothing before waving her wand again. Minerva found herself wearing clothes more modern than anything she'd ever worn, yet they fit her very nicely and even made her look a bit younger.

Minerva smiled at Hermione. "I think this is some excellent transfiguration work. It would have normally gained you at least ten points, but I don't think it's right to grant them here and now, especially since we've become family."

Hermione led them to one of the large department stores of London, directly into the women clothing department. She let the other girls roam around a bit while she took Harry to the men's department. Twenty minutes later they rejoined the girls, with Harry wearing some new, well fitting clothes of high quality. Hermione used the time to also call her parents and inform them of the expected visit.

The girls seemed to enjoy the shopping spree. Minerva looked a bit lost, though. Harry couldn't help her much, but he spotted one of the shop attendants. "Can you help my aunt find something suitable?" he asked her.

They left the store half an hour later, all wearing new clothes. Hermione had collected their old clothes and shrunk them discreetly while visiting the loo. They went into a side road, relatively clear of pedestrians, where Harry waved his wand, shielded by the girls. A few seconds later, the Knight bus materialized in front of them.

It was only a short ride, luckily. They dismounted the bus at a small shopping center, not too close to Hermione's house. They then walked for a few minutes and arrived to the house. Hermione noticed two cars in the garage, signifying that both her parents were already home. She used her own key to open the door.

"Mom, Dad, I've brought you some guests," she called.

"We're in the kitchen, dear," a female voice called back.

Hermione introduced the others as they came to the kitchen. "You've already heard about Harry Potter and you may have seen him at the train station. He is my best friend and much more."

Harry shook hands with her father, yet her mother hugged him, just as her daughter was usually doing.

"These are Ginny, Luna, Daphne and Susan. Despite being at different houses we have become much closer lately."

The girls curtsied. This made Hermione's father chuckle.

"Last, but not least is the professor who is escorting us..."

"You can just call me Minervea," the professor said, sparing Hermione the surname problem.

"And these are my parents, David Granger and Lisa Barlow."

Harry was surprised just like the others, except for Minerva. "They're not married?" Ginny asked, expressing everybody's feelings.

"No, dears, we only live together since graduating the medical school. We believe this is much better than formal marriage and the children are just as legitimate."

Hermione didn't care for this subject, though. For her it was just the way things were and there was something she considered more important to discuss. "Have you got my letters about the equinox celebration?" she asked.

"We've got no letter from you for over a month. We were starting to fear something happened to you, like in second year," Lisa said.

"No, I'm quite alright as you can see, but I thought you should have known about that. Well, I didn't really believe they would not be intercepted."

"Madam Umbridge stopped any letter mentioning the equinox celebration from going out," Minerva confirmed her suspicion. "Let me tell you a bit about it..."

The parents were appalled by what they heard. "So, this woman wanted the students to rape each other. That's highly illegal, you know."

"Not according to our ministry, so it seems. She even added a fertility potion to the red wine used to toast at the beginning of the celebration, as I discovered later. Luckily, the other professors found ways to neutralize it. Trying to counteract the lust potion was futile, though. As everybody needed to stay naked, you can imagine what that does to a group of teenagers." She refrained from going into details about the various potions, being quite sure it could only confuse Hermione's parents.

Hermione took over. "Knowing what was expected of me, I asked Harry to be my first, so that it won't be a traumatic experience. I knew he would be kind and gentle with me, unlike most others."

David frowned, but could find no fault in her logic.

"Then, when we acted as planned, something unexpected happened."

Minerva took over. "They were suddenly engulfed in a golden halo that burst into bright flashes as they reached their peak. That is a sure sign of a soul bond."

Lisa asked, "What's a soul bond?" as expected.

"A soul bond is a magical bond between two people that is stronger than any other bond. It is recognized as equivalent to marriage, although it is much more meaningful. There's no known way to undo it."

"You mean to say that my little girl is now a married woman?" David asked, sounding quite enraged.

"Definitely yes! You should also know that her husband is one of the richest men in England, though, and he loves her deeply, as everybody has been aware of for at least the last two years."

Both Hermione and Harry blushed at that, making the others laugh.

"Well, I still don't know how to tackle this," Lisa said. "Are you happy with this, dear?"

"Yes, Mom. We're both very happy. None of us expected to get married so young, but we are now content with it."

"So, these are your friends?" David asked.

"They're more then friends. You see, once the professor recognized the bond, she took me out of the celebration, but Harry had to stay. Each of these girls had formed a similar bond with Harry. They are all his wives as well."

That didn't sit well with David. "More than one wife is illegal, isn't it?"

"That's different in the magical world. While most only have one spouse, some may need more than one, or be forced by magic to have more, like in Harry's case," Minerva explained.

"It still looks wrong to me," David huffed.

"Please, Dad, it's not like Harry chose to wed any of us. I know he hadn't even thought of marriage. He certainly didn't plan on marrying a teacher!"

"A teacher?" David gasped.

"I'm sorry, I should have said it earlier, but I'm also married to Lord Potter since the equinox celebration," Minerva stated.

David seemed quite confused now. "I believe this needs some explanation," he said.

Minerva looked a bit uncomfortable. "You see, the staff was also present during the celebration and was supposed to take part in it. After escorting Daphne out, I saw Madam Umbridge walking purposefully towards Harry. I didn't know what she had in mind but I was sure that Harry wouldn't like it, so I reached him first and asked if he minded reminding me of my long forgotten youth."

"And that ended in another soul bond?"

"Not exactly. It only ended with a flash that normally signifies a wedding bond. It was later confirmed by a letter from the ministry, just like the others bonds."

David sighed as if defeated. He turned to Hermione. "Are you really sure you want to take part in this?"

"Dad, there is nothing one can do even if I didn't like it, but I really love Harry and I want to share my life with him. I don't mind to share with a few more wives either, as long as I have Harry."

The others nodded, as if agreeing with Hermione.

David turned to Harry now. "How do you feel about this?"

"I'm not yet sure about it. Last night was fabulous. In a way, it was like a dream, although a bit like a nightmare as well. I really didn't want anybody but Hermione, and even that only because she wanted me. I had no experience before, so I didn't even know if I could be good enough for her, let alone several more. Then, after bonding with Hemione, I was forced to stay. I didn't think of being with another girl, yet too many girls thought otherwise and I couldn't really refuse them. Not when the whole celebration was intended for copulating. They were all nice, even some who had usually been quite nasty. It so happened that I also bonded with a few of them. I still don't feel like I really understand all the implications."

"How many girls have you... been with?"

Harry looked confused. Hermione answered in his stead. "Harry shagged forty three girls, but only bonded with five, including me."

"And one old woman," Minerva added, as if to herself.

"Wow, man! How could you do it?" There was some admiration in David's voice.

Harry shrugged. "I wasn't even sure about doing it once, but the potions helped, I think, and each girl did her best to entice me."

There was some silence as everybody tried to understand what had happened. Lisa was the first to talk, addressing Hermione. "How do you know how many? You were taken somewhere else, weren't you?"

"Yes mom, I was in Minerva's office, but the bond lets me see through Harry's eyes, just as it lets him see through mine, if we choose to. Our minds are open books for each other now."

"I hope mine is not too confusing," Luna talked for the first time.

Harry smiled at her. "It's not too bad. It's like looking at a magnificent kaleidoscope, and I can stop if I get dizzy."

She sighed in relief. "Oh, good. I wouldn't like to cause you a headache."

They spent some time discussing the situation. Hermione's parents found the concept of soul bonds quite difficult to grasp, and the multiple marriage was even harder. What mattered most to them was Hermione's happiness, and she seemed to be quite ecstatic at being bonded with Harry. The boy didn't seem to know what to feel. He was mostly confused, yet it was clear to them that he loved their daughter dearly. They reluctantly came to terms with the change, hoping it would prove beneficial to their daughter.