04

If Harry's coming out as Lord Gryffindor had made an impact on the Hogwarts rumor mill, it was nothing compared to Draco Malfoy suddenly becoming Lyra Malfoy. Only the general apathy of the other houses about her as a person saved her from being hounded by questions, but among each another, people talked about little else.

The reason – the marriage contract and how it worked – had been made public knowledge as well, though the other party of the contract was for now kept secret. However, that did not stop people from guessing, and it amused Harry to no end that most people discarded him as too outlandish a guess – even with the Lord Gryffindor thing from just last week.

"Good morning," he said, sitting down next to Luna at the Ravenclaw table, Ginny on his other side. It was still early, so there was quite a bit of space left at the tables.

"Good morning, Harry," Luna replied. "And good morning, Ginny."

"Hi, Luna."

"When will you make the contract public?" Luna asked.

"With Ginny?" Harry asked, confused. "That's about as public as it will be, with her being Ginny Gryffindor now."

"No of course not, silly," Luna said. "I meant the one with Malfoy."

Harry choked on his food, and quickly received a helpful pat on the back from Luna.

"How did you know that?" Harry asked, realizing too late he could have played off his reaction as shock at the suggestion.

"I didn't," Luna said, with a straight face. "But, I could make a guess. Whenever something crazy happens at this school, you seem to be in the middle of it, Harry."

He snorted. "If that isn't the truth."

"But you have a handle on it now, right, Harry?" Ginny chimed in.

He nodded. "It's not as bad as it was previously."

"So, what else can we expect?" Luna asked.

Harry tried to keep his face neutral. "What do you mean?"

"There's still too many bibbering humdingers around you, Harry. That's a dead giveaway."

"I might as well tell you now," he muttered. He wondered whether Luna was really just that perceptive, or if there was perhaps some truth to her creatures. Or maybe something in between. "I have… several more Lordships that aren't widely known yet. People know that I am Lord Potter and Lord Gryffindor, but I am also Lord of Slytherin, Gaunt and Peverell, and Heir of Black."

Luna's eyes widened. "You're Lord Peverell?"

"I take it you know what that means?"

She nodded. "According to the Lovegood-Peverell alliance, the Lovegoods can demand marriage into the Peverell line on the condition there is no Lovegood blood in the last two generations of Peverell. In addition, you cannot set up a contract with the Peverell title without permission from the Lovegood Head of House if they can demand marriage. Is that why you're trying to get to know me?"

Harry nodded. "It played a part. I also wanted to know you because you're Ginny's friend, but I knew I would have to bring up the alliance at some point."

Ginny snorted. "That isn't what you told me."

"Oh?" Luna immediately chimed in. "So what did he tell you then?"

Ginny hesitated for a moment, before clearly realizing that she'd ran her mouth and couldn't tell Luna what Harry had told her without revealing the time travel.

"I admit that I had an… ulterior motive," Harry said. "Or ulterior reasoning, I suppose. But that's not something to discuss during breakfast – or at least, not something to discuss during breakfast in the Great Hall specifically. We'd need more privacy for that. Maybe next weekend?"

"Sure," Luna said. "And I'll owl my father that you're Lord Peverell, then he knows there might be a contract coming his way."

Harry opened his mouth to reply, but no words came, and he realized he just didn't have a clue what to say. Before he had the chance to close it again, Ginny fed him a bite, to his surprise. After chewing, he grinned at her and decided he could feed her, too.

"What is this room, actually?" Lyra asked, as the group – today, it consisted of Harry, Ginny, Lyra and Parkinson – entered the Room. There wasn't really a goal for today, only that Harry wanted his three future wives – provisionally, in Parkinson's case – to get along with one another better.

"This is the Room of Requirement," Harry said as he took a loveseat with Ginny. "If you walk back and forth in the hallway three times, while thinking of a certain room, it will form into what you imagine. If you ask me, it is the single most amazing room in the castle. And it is also relatively unknown, so this is a good place for Gryffindors and Slytherins to meet up without attracting unwanted attention. Not to mention that once we are actually inside, other people cannot enter it except if they know what room to ask for."

"That's amazing," Lyra said, now inspecting the room around her more closely. "When do you want to go public with our marriage contract, Harry?"

"I was thinking once we have resolved the Parkinson contract," Harry replied. "Parkinson can hardly claim Lady Slytherin without me claiming Lord Slytherin, in particular if you keep in mind that the last person boasting about being the heir to the Slytherin title is Voldemort. And I know the two of you come from families that support him, but I doubt either of you gets very enthusiastic from the idea of marrying that snakeface."

"Snakeface?" Parkinson asked.

"Oh, I forget you've never seen him," Harry said.

"You have?" Parkinson demanded before he could continue.

"In first year," Harry said. "The short of it… Remember that the third floor corridor was out of order, and that Quirrell… 'abruptly left' at the end of the year? The truth is that something was hidden in the third floor corridor, and Voldemort, who was possessing Quirrell, was trying to steal it. I ended up stopping him, but Voldemort's face grew out of the back of Quirrell's head. Not a story to tell during mealtime…"

Parkinson made a face of disgust. "Not exactly, no."

"Anyway, that's how I know what he looks like. To give an idea, he has red eyes, no nose, and from what I could tell he is be completely hairless. Oh, and no lips."

"Yuck," Lyra said. She eyed Harry speculatively. "You know, I'm starting to think more and more that I get the better side of the deal this way."

"Well," Harry replied dryly, "I would prefer not to die, so I hope you're right in that."

Ginny seemed to want to say something, but Harry raised an eyebrow. Moments later, a blush crept up her cheeks. She'd been about to make a comment that hinted towards time travel again, then. Perhaps they'd need to talk about that. Harry wasn't exactly ready to tell the Slytherins about that yet, even if he planned to do so eventually.

Both of those Slytherins seemed to have missed the little by-play, luckily.

"We were talking about going public with the contracts," Parkinson said, bringing them back on topic.

"Yes," Harry replied. "As I said, I want to go public once our contract is done. There is a good chance you father doesn't want to keep things under wraps, or he might simply tell his allies, who will then tell it to others again, and so on, and there is little use keeping a contract with one Slytherin a secret when the other comes out in the open already. And everyone knows what Lyra's contract is about, they just don't know who the other party is, so it's not like it needs to be explained start to finish.

"As for the people who already know, right now Ron and Hermione are kept up to date, but they are a little less involved, mostly just because there are no contracts that include them, and I've spent the majority of my free time this school year on the contracts and building the relationships that come with them.

"I've also informed Lyra of this previously, but I believe I hadn't made you aware yet, Parkinson, that I have two more titles. You know of the Potter, Gryffindor and Slytherin titles, but on top of that I also have the Peverell and Gaunt titles. For the Peverell title in particular, a third year Ravenclaw named Luna Lovegood has first right of refusal, meaning that I am obligated to offer a contract with the Peverell title to her and her family before I can explore other options. She seems amenable to entering a contract with me, and she has somehow guessed that I am in the contract with Lyra, and doesn't seem to mind. So expect her to join our group at some point."

"What about the Gaunt and Potter titles?" Parkinson asked.

"I don't know yet," Harry replied honestly. "The contract with Lyra was of course set in stone, even before I knew how it would work out I already knew it would have to happen in some way. Beyond that, I didn't know anything for certain. Ginny was my first choice for Gryffindor, and she immediately agreed, as I will admit I expected, and I knew Luna was likely for Peverell, but Slytherin, Gaunt and Potter are completely up in the air. You ended up being a prime candidate for the first of those, but for the other two I am still looking who is interested.

"And then there is of course the Black heirship that I currently have, for which I have my eye on someone that I only know the existence of, and none of you have met her either. There are – of course – political reasons that she is of interest to me, but I would like to keep everything else to myself for now."

"Waiiit," Parkinson said slowly. "Isn't Sirius Black the current Lord Black?"

"You too?" Harry asked, surprised. "I would have thought that it was common knowledge in your circles that he was framed by Pettigrew. Well, he was."

"Framed? How did that get through the trial?"

"It wouldn't have. If he'd had one. But Crouch didn't bother with one, just threw him into prison, and Lord Malfoy – no offense to you, Lyra – has blocked attempts at getting Sirius a trial since he has broken out. As far as I know, the only people who know of Sirius's innocence but are not Voldemort sympathizers are the people in this room, Ron, Hermione, Professor Lupin and the headmaster."

"Why would my father block a trial?" Lyra asked, frowning. "I mean, I get that he wouldn't like it if Black would be proven innocent, but I don't see how that's worth the effort."

"The Black Lordship," Harry said. "He knows that Sirius has named me the Black Heir, however your father could contest the claim for your sake through your mother's heritage. It's also why he will do anything needed to stop your aunt Andromeda from being welcomed back in the family, which, I will admit, is helped by Sirius hating everything that has to do with his Lordship. As older sister, Andromeda would have a better claim than your mother, in turn meaning her daughter Nymphadora could just point out that if Lucius believes that you have a better claim over the Lordship than I do, then she has an even better one.

"And…" Oh, to hell with it. He was going to have to trust those two anyway, if he was to marry them. "There is someone who, again through the same argument, would have a better claim than Nymphadora. An unknown daughter of Bellatrix, about our age. She is who I have my eye on as future Lady Black. And Lucius doesn't know about her."

"I thought Rodolphus Lestrange was infertile," Lyra said, frowning.

"Brace yourselves," Harry said. "This one is going to shock you. As far as I know, Rodolphus Lestrange is indeed infertile. Bellatrix's daughter was illegitimate. The girl's father is none other than the Dark Lord himself."

"The… the Dark Lord has a daughter?" Lyra exclaimed.

Ginny's reaction followed a moment later – it seemed she needed that moment to get over her shock. "You want to marry You-Know-Who's daughter?"

Parkinson stared at Harry for a few seconds, then a grin broke out on her face. "You have balls, Potter. I like it. Pursuing your mortal enemy's daughter." She barked out a laugh. "I can already imagine, if you meet him… 'Hey, you want to know what your daughter is like in bed? I could tell you, 'cause I fucked her.'"

Ginny started chuckling, which quickly turned into full-blown laughter. "Merlin! That's amazing. Okay, I'm convinced, Harry. Court and bed that girl as soon as possible. That was great, Parkinson."

"And here I thought it was normally the men who made and enjoyed remarks like that," Lyra said.

Parkinson snorted. "Then consider this one of your lessons on how to be a girl, Lyra. Our minds are just as dirty, we're just better at only showing it to the right company."

That passage seemed to have truly broken the ice, and the rest of their time in the Room of Requirement was spent simply on getting to know one another better.

"I'm sorry, guys, but I just have a lot to do," Harry said, awkwardly scratching his neck. He got it, he really did, however the truth was that he had become a far busier person with everything he needed to do since traveling to the past, and as a consequence, he had less time for Ron and Hermione. "Why don't we go to the library and make our homework together?" he proposed. "I can tell you a little about what I've been up to during that."

Unsurprisingly, Hermione was immediately enthusiastic, but Ron needed a little more convincing. However, ten minutes later they settled themselves on an empty table in the library. Harry immediately cast a muffliato.

"What was that charm?" Hermione asked quietly.

"Special silencing charm," Harry said without regard for getting kicked out for talking. "We discovered it in sixth year, the first time around. I put it up firstly because now Madam Pince won't hear us even if we talk, and secondly because I don't want to risk being overheard."

"Why don't you want to be overheard?"

"Because I want to be able to mention time travel without having to worry," Harry said. "I would be lying if I said that wasn't the big reason I'm spending less time with you two. Thing is, I just have so much that needs to be done. Ginny already knew me a little bit, and I know her pretty well from the future, but Lyra, Pansy and me didn't really know one another in either timeline, except on the casting end of our wands, and Luna doesn't know me either in this timeline, even if I know her pretty well. I can't just sign a contract and then ignore the girl I signed it with. And that means that, where I previously only had to divide up my time between the two of you – and we were normally together, anyway – I now have to divide it up between the two of you, and those four girls, and I even have to get to know three of them, meaning I need to spend even more time on that.

"On top of that, I need to stay up to date on several other things. For example, I need to find time throughout the year to work on defeating Voldemort. I know what to do, and how to do it, but that doesn't change that I'll have to sneak out of the school to get it done. And while I have the utmost respect for Dumbledore, I do not want to tell him that I am a time traveler, because I'm certain he'd want to make his own plans with my information, and that could mess everything up.

"So – I'm sorry. I try to spend time with the two of you when possible, but the reality is that I quite simply have a lot more to do than in the three years that you've known me. I do want you to know that I consider the two of you to be my best and most reliable friends, and I don't want that to change. Not now, not ever. Even once I have seven wives, you are still the first two people to have ever cared about me, and were even willing to rush headlong into danger because you trusted me."

He glanced back and forth between the two. "I was monologuing too much, wasn't I?"

Hermione suddenly started giggling. "That's okay, Harry. You had to get it off your chest, didn't you?"

"Yeah, I guess I did," Harry agreed.

"We'll be there for you, Harry," Ron said.

Harry smiled. "Thank you. As I said, I hope to continue spending time with the two of you, but it can't be all my time anymore. Perhaps you could make some friendships outside your current circle as well, with that extra time you have because you're not spending it on me. We've always been rather focused on our own trio the last time around, but I bet Ron would get along well with Seamus and Dean, and Hermione, I'll eat my sock if you can't become friends with some of the Ravenclaws, like Padma Patil."

Harry thought about that for a moment. "Or, if you prefer, you could get to know Ginny and Luna better, and I could introduce you to Lyra and Pansy – or, I guess, introduce you on better terms."

Understandably, the two looked a little hesitant at that.

"Think about it," Harry said. "But also keep in mind that we quite simply got off to a bad start with the Slytherins in our year, and that both of them were willing to at least drop blood purity in their politics, which means they're also willing to try and abandon it in their behavior. Let's do some of our homework first."

"I think that's a good idea," Hermione agreed.

"Come in," McGonagall's voice said.

Harry entered her office and sat down on the chair in front of her desk.

"Mr Potter, good afternoon. What can I help you with?"

"Good afternoon, professor. As you know, I've been… doing some Lordship business this year."

She nodded.

"Some of that, so far, hasn't been public knowledge. One of those things is that I am the other party in Malfoy's already famous marriage contract."

"What?" McGonagall exclaimed, almost falling out of her chair.

Harry couldn't help it. He snickered.

Which meant he got a 'that was not a funny prank' look.

"That wasn't a prank, professor, I swear. It's just, your reaction was so funny."

"You are truly in a marriage contract with Miss Malfoy?" McGonagall asked, for confirmation.

Harry nodded. "And, as a matter of fact, the potion she drank was invented by my mother. I discovered the recipe in the Potter family vault last summer, the same day I discovered the contract."

"So… it could have been you who drank it instead?" McGonagall asked. It appeared she did not enjoy that possibility.

"I think the best answer to that would be 'yes, but no', professor," Harry replied honestly. "Perhaps in theory, however as you no doubt know already, I am also Lord Gryffindor, and in addition the contract between me and Lyra doesn't make her Lady Potter, so I would have to marry someone for that title anyway. Of course, that one could have been the other way around. But the entire thing was never an issue because Lyra preferred men anyway. She pretty much immediately offered to drink the potion herself.

"And on top of that, I have… several more titles. One of them is the reason I wanted to speak to you. The marriage contract with Lyra presented an issue, because she'd already been betrothed to Pansy Parkinson, and by taking the potion, she couldn't marry Pansy anymore. So, rather than spending a lot of money on an expensive buy-out of that betrothal, I offered to match her contract with Lyra, and give her the title of Lady Slytherin."

McGonagall gasped. "Lady Slytherin? And… you offered Miss Parkinson a betrothal contract? No offense, Mr Potter, but I was under the impression you got along with neither Miss Parkinson nor Miss Malfoy."

"In the past, I did not," Harry admitted. "But I've learned a lot about the expectations of a Lord over the summer, and I have asked both to forgive me for my many breaches of etiquette, which were a significant cause of conflict between us, and they have granted that. We've been getting along far better and even, dare I say, well. Also, last time Ginny was with me when I met them, and while it was a little tense at first, she and Pansy got along… I'd almost say scarily well. Once they put aside their differences, they were frighteningly similar.

"As for the Slytherin title itself… any Parselmouth can claim it, professor. It's considered a familial trait, even though I seem to have gotten it from Voldemort instead. But, then, if the Slytherin Lordship was claimed through standard inheritance, I would have gotten it through Right of Conquest anyway."

McGonagall spent several seconds just staring at him. "Well," she finally said, "I am glad to hear you are getting along with your peers from other Houses better. But I assume you came here to ask something."

Harry nodded. "As I said, I offered Pansy a marriage contract, but her father, Lord Parkinson, wants to discuss it with me himself. So I would like to ask permission to leave the school for that this Saturday. I'll be accompanied by Lyra and Pansy."

"What about an adult to help you look over the contract?" McGonagall asked.

"I'll be fine," Harry said. "I also negotiated the contract for Ginny myself, and me and Lyra also finalized our contract without input from anyone else. If I don't like the clauses that Lord Parkinson wants to add to the contract, I can always buy the old contract out instead."

"Very well. You can leave through my floo on Saturday. Don't sign anything you shouldn't, Mr Potter."

Harry smiled cheekily. "I'll keep that in mind, professor." He gave a little wave and left the office.

"Leaky Cauldron," Harry called before stepping through the floo. On the other side, Lyra and Pansy were already waiting. They'd left through Snape's floo, but everyone agreed that Snape should be informed of Harry's participation as late as possible.

He took Lyra's hand in his and placed a kiss on it. "Acting Lady Malfoy." Then he switched to Pansy and did the same. "Miss Parkinson."

"I swear, Potter, when did you become this charming?"

Harry faked a gasp. "Are we back to last names, Pansy?"

She punched him in the shoulder. "You're incorrigible."

"Huh, thanks. I was always under the impression that a relationship needed to be at least several months old before the girl would tell the boy that. Apparently, we're ahead of the curve." He grinned at the two exasperated looks. "Sorry, I couldn't help it. Where are we going?"

"Parkinson Manor," Pansy said, turning to the floo.

"Well, ladies first," Harry replied. After Pansy left, he turned to Lyra. "That includes you, Lyra."

She rolled her eyes. "I know."

Harry stepped over and gave her a lightning quick embrace. "Come on, let's not dawdle."

Lyra flooed away next, and Harry followed her shortly.

He exited into an atrium, where they were greeted by a man about fifty years of age – though a muggle might have judged him around forty, instead. Harry bowed immediately. "Lord Parkinson."

The man bowed in return. "Lord Potter-Gryffindor-Slytherin. Welcome to my home."

"Thank you for inviting me, Lord Parkinson. It is an honor."

"The honor is mine, Lord Slytherin. Please, follow me to the parlor."

Pansy walked alongside her father, with Lyra and Harry just behind.

"What was that about?" Lyra whispered.

"What?" Harry asked.

"The… hug."

"I like you," Harry said. "No matter how strange that is to realize."

"Thanks," Lyra said, a little awkward. "I kinda like you as well. It's… almost as if you're a different person this year, you know. And I mean in a good way."

Harry smiled at her. "Thanks, Lyra." He reached out and squeezed her hand, making her blush slightly. Moments later, they entered the parlor.

"Please sit down, Lord Slytherin, acting Lady Malfoy, Pansy. Mippy, some refreshments please."

Some snacks and drinks appeared at the tables right next to the chairs they occupied. Lord Parkinson immediately focused his attention on Harry.

"Lord Slytherin, my daughter has informed me of the situation you, she and acting Lady Malfoy find yourselves in. I must say, you are… intriguing me. May I ask why you were so insistent that Pansy and acting Lady Malfoy were included in this meeting?"

"For your daughter, the reason is very simple," Harry replied. "It is her future that will be decided, so in my opinion, she has the right to be involved every step of the way. For acting Lady Malfoy, I wanted to include her for several reasons. First, it is the contract with her that will be annulled, and second, both Pansy and I know her better than we know each other, meaning she might be able to provide valuable insights for us."

Lord Parkinson nodded. "And what do you seek from the contract?"

"For most of it, I am willing to simply adapt the Malfoy-Parkinson contract to an equivalent Slytherin-Parkinson contract. The only extra clause I insist upon is that Pansy will not support blood purity, and will do her best to distance herself from such views in her day-to-day life. To be clear, I do not require that the rest of her family – including you – does so, this is only for Pansy, because she will be Lady Slytherin to my Lord Slytherin if the contract goes through, and I do not wish my titles to be associated with the topic in any form.

"In addition, I am willing to explicitly add to the contract that I will support the integration of muggleborn into the magical world to a higher degree than currently, as I am well aware that issues do exist in that area."

"And these clauses are already in the provisional contract you drafted with my daughter," Lord Parkinson said. Harry nodded. "I support the additions she has made, but I want to add one more clause, namely that you will ensure Pansy can provide at least two heirs for the title of Slytherin."

Harry's eyes grew. It wasn't exactly common that the family of the bride insisted on a clause of that kind. However, he could see the reasoning. If Harry had no children with a wife, he could always name a child from another wife heir to the title that childless wife had. On the other hand, Pansy – even though she would become Lady Slytherin – would still have connections to the Parkinson family, it being her birth family, and that would be the case for her children as well. Meaning that the Parkinson family could exert influence on the Slytherin title, but only if it went to Pansy's children. On top of that, the requirement would in this case be placed on Harry, not on Pansy, meaning Harry would be blamed if no Slytherin heirs were born, rather than Pansy.

"I accept that," Harry said. "And if this is the only clause you wish to add, I see no reason to add a compensation clause from my side. If I may say so, Lord Parkinson, your daughter showed a very keen political mind when we were setting up the provisional contract. I expect she will live up to her new title."

And a new title it would very soon be, because Pansy intended to immediately take up her position of Lady Slytherin, just like Ginny. Harry suspected it was some sort of rivalry forming between the two, and he was currently trying to figure out if he should be worried about being caught in the middle.

"I am proud to hear that," Lord Parkinson replied. "I propose we go over the contract one final time to ensure neither of us missed anything."

Harry nodded in agreement.

About half an hour later, they reached the end, with no adjustments made. Lord Parkinson signed first, then Harry took up the quill and set out to write his own, now very long, title.

Harry James Potter

Lord of the Noble and Ancient House of Potter

Lord of the Noble and Most Ancient House of Gryffindor

Lord of the Noble and Most Ancient House of Peverell

Lord of the Noble and Most Ancient House of Slytherin

Lord of the Ancient House of Gaunt

Heir to the Noble and Most Ancient House of Black

He snorted as he looked the list over, wondering if he should add 'Boy-Who-Lived' or a variation to it. Perhaps one day, if he felt passive-aggressive for some reason.

With the contract signed, Lord Parkinson sent it off to Gringotts, and afterwards the three said their goodbyes. Pansy, once again, was the first to depart, leaving Harry and Lyra in the atrium, from where they'd floo directly back to Hogwarts.

Harry grabbed her hand again.

"What is it?" Lyra asked.

"Just wanted to say goodbye properly," Harry said, pressing his lips on hers. "See you tomorrow morning at breakfast."

The last thing Harry saw before turning to the floo and traveling back to Hogwarts was Lyra bringing her fingers to her lips in a daze