Yuletide Blessing

Love is Good

Luna passed at their table during dinner. "May I come to visit you? I don't need to go through the Gryffindor common room, as I can use your other door."

"We have another door? Well, you can use it, if only we can find it," Harry agreed.

Back in their apartment, Harry tried to find the other door, failing miserably. Hermione was unable to find it either. Half an hour later, they heard a knock coming from what seemed to be just some wall panelling. As Harry touched the panelling, a faint glow delineated the outline of a door and a handle appeared. He opened the door to find Luna there.

"How did you know about this entrance?" he asked.

Luna shrugged. "I just knew." She looked around. "It doesn't seem big enough."

"Why do you say so? I find it more than enough for our needs," Hermione said.

"It won't be enough once the three other wives join you, but maybe that will only happen after you graduate. I'm not sure."

Hermione felt a bit threatened. She had just got married. She wanted Harry all for herself, yet she knew that if he needed to wed a few more, she was sure to help him find them. She'd always put his needs before hers.

"Why would I want more wives? Hermione is all I ever need," Harry said, making Hermione's heart swell.

Luna sighed. "You may only want Hermione, but as the heir of three of the founders you need a wife from each of these houses. Hermione, being Lady Hufflepuff, can't probably be the Gryffindor wife you need."

Harry looked confused. "Why do I need these wives at all?"

"Didn't the goblins tell you anything about your positions?"

Seeing his bewilderment, Luna sighed. "Well, Hogwarts cannot be held by one person or even a couple for more than a generation. If the owners have no known heirs or not enough of them, then control is passed to a board of governors, as it has been for many generations. You must have an heir for each house if you don't want the politicians to regain control of the school."

"I may have more than one heir with Hermione," Harry said, blushing nicely. He already knew what needed to be done to produce heirs. He actually liked it, but not talking about it with others.

"That may not be good enough. I'm not completely sure, but I believe that you need to keep the lines separate, meaning a different mother for the different heirs. I may be mistaken, though." Luna sounded as airy as usual, yet still firm.

Hermione thought quickly. They could ignore this, and let the school continue as it had for many generations. Knowing Harry, he would opt for making the school much better, an idea with which she fully agreed. Yet it meant more wives...

"You need three more wives, preferably one from Gryffindor, one from Ravenclaw and one from Slytherin," Luna said, trying to make it clearer.

Harry, still confused, asked, "How soon do I need them?"

"Oh, not too soon. You should have them while you are still fertile, though, to be able to beget children, so you shouldn't wait for old age."

"Then why do you tell me now?" he insisted.

"I thought you needed to know, otherwise you might reject a perfectly good candidate just because you didn't know. Besides, would you consider me for Ravenclaw, once you decide to find additional wives?" Luna was as blunt as usual.

Hermione didn't know if it was infuriating or funny. She felt the urge to laugh at the girl's lack of subtlety and to hex her for wanting her husband, yet she did neither. She just took a deep breath to calm herself and asked, "Why do you think you may be suitable as the Ravenclaw wife, supposing Harry chooses to go that way?"

Luna shrugged. "Well, I'm a Raven, I'm not too ugly and I think I'll be a good shag. I know Cho and Padma may be just as good, but I'm the only blonde, and they say that men like blondes."

"Don't you think love should also be considered?" Harry asked.

Luna rolled her eyes, reminding him of Hermione. "Would I come here and anger your newly wedded wife if I didn't love you?"

She didn't expect an answer. "Just think of what I said. It may take some time before you are ready. I know it will take a few years before I am ready. I wish you both goodnight."

She left just the way she had come in, closing the door behind her, leaving the two lovers speechless. Harry still noticed as the handle faded away, leaving no sign of that door.

It took Harry some time before he asked, "Do you think she's right?"

Hermione looked pensive. "I'm not sure. We may need to check the Hogwarts Charter and maybe a few more documents. 'Hogwarts – A History' doesn't say anything about this."

"Do we even need to bother? If we set the right course while we live, it should go well for several generations afterwards, I believe."

"Would you trust it to the future politicians?"

Harry looked unsure. "They would be Hogwarts graduates, won't they?"

"Of course, but even having the best education doesn't guarantee the results."

Harry looked stubborn. "I love you. Why should I even consider additional wives?"

Hermione smiled, glad to bask in his love. "Maybe you don't need to, at least for a while. As Luna said, this is not really urgent. Now, don't you want to make this wife of yours happy?" She moved her body teasingly.

"I sure do, my love," he said, stepping forward and engulfing her in a hug.

Although they didn't talk about it any more, Harry started thinking seriously about what he had been told. Assuming Luna was right, and he didn't have any reason to doubt her too much, then he should choose some more. He didn't feel like any of the Gryffindor girls he knew could join the family. The only one he could stand, among the ones his age or younger, was Ginny, yet she was still too much of a fan-girl and too possessive to share. Supposing he needed one from Slytherin... Only one seemed attractive and smart enough for him to consider, not that he knew many, yet she was as improbable as could be. Daphne Greengrass was attractive and beautiful and smart – almost like Hermione – yet she was also known as 'The Ice Queen' due to her cold demeanour, keeping all boys and young men at bay.

His thought returned to Luna. She was still looking mostly like a little girl, a child, yet he could see signs of the future woman lurking within. She certainly wasn't standard, that was sure. She really had a nice face, very nice hair and was very smart. Given another year or two, she was probably going to be quite attractive. She deserved to be given a chance, if only due to her pointing at the need for additional wives, something he would have not been aware of otherwise.

Unknown to him, Hermione was also thinking about that same problem. She couldn't find the Hogwarts Charter in the library, so she assumed it was not meant for the general public. She assumed that Dumbledore had access to a copy, but as they had both started doubting the headmaster's intentions, and as they hadn't told him of all the titles yet, asking him was out of the question at that stage. Once she understood that she would not be able to read it, at least not until the end of term, she started looking for appropriate candidates, assuming Harry really needed any additional wives.

She watched all third and fourth year girls of all four houses. Soon enough she came to the conclusion that Luna was correct about the Ravenclaw candidate, at least. Cho seemed a bit too old, despite being only a few months older than herself. While Hermione was content to spend her time with boys in her own year, Cho seemed to prefer older boys, making her unsuitable. Padma, whom Hermione considered a real beauty, much more so than Cho, didn't show much interest in anything except learning. Even during the Yule Ball, Hermione had overheard her talking with her dance partner about lessons. None of the other girls seemed to be a better candidate than Luna. She was still too young, but Hermione could clearly see her turning into a very attractive young woman.

She didn't know any of the third year Slytherin girls, and none looked even slightly attractive, making them unsuitable. Fourth year girls looked much more attractive, except for Millicent. She actually pitied the big girl, who tried all she could to become accepted, yet failed miserably. Pansy was cleaning up quite nicely, yet her close association with Malfoy made her unsuitable. Then there were Tracey and Daphne. Both were quite nice looking and acted politely, never joining Malfoy's group. Daphne looked haughty and inaccessible, yet the few time Hermione had a chance to talk with her, Daphne seemed quite nice. She wasn't so sure about Tracey. The girl was just as nice to look at, but she lacked the confidence evident in Daphne. It could change as she matured, but Hermione doubted it.

She couldn't say that she was comfortable with the idea of any Gryffindor girl joining. Lavender and Parvati were clearly too slutty to be considered, even if most of their tales were invented. That left only the third year girls, and only one stood apart – Ginny. She liked the girl for her fierceness, her quick brain and her loyalty, yet Ginny had a quick temper, not quite suitable for what she was considering, and didn't seem to like sharing. To boot it all, she was also a fan-girl. Harry could not be happy with her joining, of that Hermione was sure.

Well, she was in no hurry. She could still stay Harry's only wife for a few more years, at least until they graduated. By then, she might find out that he didn't need any more wives, or find some better candidates, who were currently too young to be considered.