Chapter 43 What are Friends For
It was lunchtime before Harry had a chance to talk to Ron and Hermione in private. All day long he'd be subjected to whispers and stares - though thankfully the bizarre innuendos he'd endured after his marriage were missing this time. No one seemed certain what to say to him now, and so resorted simply to gossiping behind his back rather than confronting him directly. The only pleasant moment he'd had all morning was when he'd learned that Charlie had remained behind at Hogwarts to help Hagrid out with a special project down in one of the main stables. Ron and the other Gryffindors had gotten the former student to promise to join them later in the week during Quidditch practice for some extra coaching.
Rather than return to the Great Hall for lunch, Harry, Ron and Hermione retreated into Gryffindor Tower, locking themselves in the sixth-year boys dormitory with some food courtesy of Dobby. Alone and warded behind a privacy charm, Harry sat on Ron's bed and told his two friends about all the things that had occurred in the last few days, finishing with the story about the Malfoy proposal and the trouble with Remus.
Both Ron and Hermione had asked hundreds of questions, wanting to know every detail he could remember about the Winter Lands and the battle he'd fought. And Hermione had been in positive raptures over the description of the Capstone, the Well of Despair and the spells Harry had used to move and seal it. She took copious notes, intent on some new research project that Harry just couldn't bring himself to get excited over.
"What I don't understand is why Sirius has to marry Draco?" Harry complained after the three of them had hashed out the details of the story in greater depth. "Shouldn't he just be able to say no?"
"Not without a good reason, mate," Ron told him.
"How about he just doesn't like the git?" Harry exclaimed. "That seems a perfectly good enough reason!"
"Doesn't work like that," Ron shook his head. "When you're talking about old pureblood families like the Malfoys and the Blacks, things like emotion have nothing to do with a marriage. It's a business arrangement - like the merging of two companies. There has to be strong legal reasons for the marriage to be denied."
"So what you're saying is that Lucius Malfoy could have insisted that Ginny marry Draco and there would be absolutely nothing she could do about it because your dad would be removed from his position as Head of House?" Harry demanded.
But Ron shook his head in denial. "No, of course not. First my Dad wouldn't care if he lost his position as Head of House. If that happened, Bill would become the Head of House and he'd immediately rescind the position and give it back to my dad. But that wouldn't happen any way. My family doesn't have a Conscriptus, and even if we did, it certainly wouldn't have an open alliance with any family that would force a marriage that any of us didn't want."
"A Conscriptus?" Harry flopped back onto the bed that the three of them were sitting on, and he stared morosely up at the canopy above them. "Why do I get the feeling that this is another one of those Wizarding things I should have read about in 'Hogwarts, A History'?"
"It's not mentioned in 'Hogwarts, A History'," Hermione frowned and Harry glanced curiously over at her. The girl looked a bit vexed and was staring at Ron with an irritated frown. "What is a Conscriptus?"
Ron's eyes widened and he laughed. "You don't know?" Even Harry had to sit up at this. Wasn't often Hermione was lacking a piece of information.
Hermione's glare hardened and she punched Ron in the arm. He was laughing too hard to notice. "Ron!" she protested.
"Fine," Ron grinned. "A Cognatus Conscritpus. It's a magical document. It's typically only found in the older pureblood families. It declares the line of succession as well as lists out alliances with other families and rights and duties the families have to one another."
"Like some sort of legal contract?" Hermione clarified.
Ron nodded. "Our family used to have one a long time ago. That's actually why we have a standing feud with the Malfoys."
"Really?" Harry asked intrigued. He knew that Arthur and Lucius hated each other, but he had always assumed it was because Lucius was a Death Eater.
"My grandfather had a sister named Elenaor who was extremely beautiful," Ron told them conspiratorially, as if enjoying the chance to relay some secret family history. "According to the stories I heard, Abraxas Malfoy, Lucius Malfoy's father, fell in love with her and proposed. But if you think Lucius is bad, Abraxas was about ten times worse than him. My great grandfather refused the marriage, which was considered a terrible insult. The Malfoy family had a great deal more money and power than our family, and there were no grounds based on the Conscriptus to refuse such a valuable alliance. My great grandfather was removed as Head of House, and my grandfather became the Head. A new Head of House has a short period of time to break or change the family Conscriptus - which is exactly what my grandfather did. He broke it entirely, removing our family from the old alliances. The Malfoys never forgave us. It's one of the reasons why they call us 'Blood Traitors'."
"But what exactly is this Conscriptus, and do all the old families have them?" Harry asked uncertainly. "Do the Potters?"
"I doubt it, mate," Ron assured him. "You don't have any tattoos that I've ever seen on you."
"Tattoos?" Harry frowned.
"Yeah, the family crest," Ron replied. "It's usually found on the right shoulder blade of the Head of House. There's another version of it that marks the designated Heir if there is one."
Harry suddenly remembered the rose and serpent tattoo he'd seen on Severus' back that very first night they were married. He wondered if Sirius had something similar on his back.
"I thought the Potters were an old family," Harry stated. "We have all those votes in the election."
"That doesn't mean you have to have a Conscriptus," Ron replied, glancing with mirth at Hermione who was busy writing what he was saying down on her parchment. Harry guessed that in a matter of hours she'd probably have researched the subject to death and would know more about it than all the purebloods in the school put together. "Many of the more progressive families did away with them generations ago. It has nothing to do with the election. The Conscriptus is strictly a mechanism for designating heirs and forming alliances between families. They state who a family member can and cannot marry."
Hermione looked up at that, a curious gleam in her eyes. "The Muggle nobility of Europe used to keep detailed books to determine good marriages - by keeping track of who was related to whom, it helped prevent marriages between people with too many close blood ties. It sounds like the Conscriptus is a version of that."
Ron nodded. "It's even more important in the Wizarding World since there's often non-human blood mixed into the issue - some of the oldest pureblood families want to make certain that nothing creeps into their bloodline to taint the family tree."
Hermione snorted in disgust. "Merlin forbid you marry into a family that might have produced a squib or something. Or worse yet a family with a Mudblood somewhere in the background."
"So you're saying that the Malfoys and the Blacks have one of these Conscriptus, and because of it Sirius has to marry Draco?" Harry clarified.
"The Conscriptus would state what sort of marriages would be considered acceptable in both families. Since Lucius married Narcissa Black we can assume that the Conscriptus in both families states that there is nothing to prevent such a marriage, and that the families no doubt have some sort of alliance between them spelled out in the Conscriptus. Unless Sirius changed the Black family Conscriptus when he became heir, then the alliance still stands and he has no legal grounds for refusing the marriage."
"Well, how do we know he didn't change the Conscriptus?" Harry demanded.
"Because he inherited while he was locked up in Azkaban," Ron told him. "You have to go to the Department of Bloodline Inheritance to change a Conscriptus - something Sirius can't do while he's on the run from the Ministry. He's stuck with whatever nonsense his parents agreed to."
Something occurred to Harry. "Well, how do they expect Sirius to marry anyone while he's on the run?" he exclaimed, thinking he'd found a loophole. "Wouldn't it be illegal for the Malfoys to meet with Sirius for the wedding -they'd be harboring a criminal?"
"No," Hermione sighed, and shrugged when both boys looked at her. "I researched marriage ceremonies right after you got married Harry. I thought the words Dumbledore used were interesting. Draco and Sirius can actually marry by proxy. They don't even have to be in the same country."
"Well, what about the. . ." Harry broke off, uncomfortable about mentioning the subject he was thinking of. There had been so many jokes about his own marriage and wedding night, it still made him red with embarrassment just to think of it. But the one thing he had figured out, and had been brought home repeatedly to him, was that his marriage was considered valid only because everyone believed that Severus had insisted upon consummating it. "You know," he made a vague motion with his hand.
"Sex?" Hermione guessed, only to have Ron exclaim, "Hermione!" in protest of the word.
Hermione rolled her eyes. "Honestly! Consummation - is that a better word?"
"Much!" Ron said in irritation.
"Well, what about that?" Harry pressed.
"Actually, Harry, once Draco and Sirius were married, Draco could no longer be forced to testify against him," Hermione told him. "You can't be forced to testify against your spouse. Draco and Sirius could meet in secret and no one could do anything. Or there's even a more bizarre solution, though I don't think anyone practices it any more, but consummation by proxy is still technically legal."
Harry and Ron both stared at her in horror. "You're kidding?" they said in unison.
But Hermione just shook her head. "There was a time here in Muggle Scotland when the English nobility had the right to bed every new bride on her wedding night before her husband did. Marriage customs have always been rather weird."
Both Ron and Harry exchanged looks of shock, not knowing precisely how to respond to such a thing. It seemed bizarre in the extreme. "Well, who would they get. . .you know for the proxy thing?" Harry asked.
Hermione just shrugged. "Oh, it could be anyone with a close family tie. Actually I hate to say this but either you or Snape would be the most likely candidate."
"Ewww!" Harry shrieked and leaped off the bed, moving away from both of them. "Tell me you're joking!"
"Honestly, Harry," Hermione sighed. "I'm not saying either of you would have to agree - you don't. I'm just saying you would be likely candidates. I also said it isn't commonly practiced any more. The subject is never likely to come up."
"Then why did you mention it?" Ron shuddered.
"You asked!" Hermione exclaimed. "You two are impossible!" She gathered up her notes and books. "It's time for Hagrid's class. Let's go. We can finish this conversation later."
The three of them bundled into their heaviest cloaks and headed downstairs to the common room. As they passed through the warm common room a group of young girls who were sitting off in a corner all started giggling uncontrollably. They were watching Harry intently and when he glanced at them, they all looked away and burst into giggles once again. Harry just sighed and rolled his eyes in irritation. Ron smirked and shrugged and they left the tower behind.
Despite the cold and the heavy blanket of snow on the ground, Care of Magical Creatures was fun that day. Charlie was there, helping Hagrid with his latest offering - a rather large litters of two-tailed crup puppies. While the class was playing with the puppies, Hagrid explained that they were all forbidden to go into Stable number 4 due to a top-secret project Charlie was helping Hagrid with. Of course not a moment later Hagrid told the entire class that the top-secret project was in fact a baby unicorn that had become separated from its herd. He went on to explain that the centaurs were trying to locate the herd so that they could return the unicorn to its home, and in the mean time it was being well guarded by not only Charlie but also three Thestrals that had been wounded recently in a storm. Apparently Thestrals and Dragons shared similar qualities and required similar healing techniques, which Charlie was well versed in.
Hagrid was quite horrified when he realized he'd just spilled all his secrets and promptly swore the class to absolute silence. Despite the lure of the unicorn, few people wanted to tangle with Thestrals and agreed with the request.
Throughout the class, Harry found himself watching Draco Malfoy. He still seemed despondent, unusually silent despite the fact that he rarely missed the opportunity to mock Hagrid. He pretty much ignored everyone present, only responding when Charlie carried one of the crup puppies over to him and handed it to him. Rather than the expected tantrum Harry would assume the blond would throw, Draco took the puppy and played with it, actually speaking briefly to Charlie though Harry couldn't hear what he said.
After Hagrid's class, they all trekked back up the wooded hillside to the castle where they headed to the Transfiguration classroom. There a surprisingly waspish McGonagall kept them for all of five minutes, before dismissing all of them to the library to work on a research project. They were to research how to transfigure a handful of peanuts into a full set of living room furniture. Harry guessed that McGonagall was one of the people who had been affected by Remus' mood, but he was grateful for the free period.
While the majority of the students grabbed the required research material from the library and then returned to their common rooms, Harry, Ron and Hermione ensconced themselves in a quiet corner of the library at one of the reading tables. Along with the required transfiguration texts, Hermione also grabbed several books on the subjects of Cognatus Conscriptus as well as the 'Complete History of British Capstones', and 'Wingardium Leviosa, the Limitations', and 'Understanding Werewolves'.
Once seated, she threw up a privacy charm so that they could continue their conversation.
"Malfoy sure seemed to be in a bad mood," Ron remarked.
"You think he knows everything that happened?" Harry asked.
But Ron just shrugged at that. "Maybe - his father might just have told him he was arranging a marriage for him. He may not even know who it is to."
"And Malfoy just has to go along with that?" Harry frowned. "He has no say in this at all?"
Ron shook his head. "I'm sure glad we don't have the same problem in my family. Imagine letting your parents pick out your future spouse - it would suck not having a choice in the. . ." He paled suddenly as if realizing exactly what he was saying. "Oh, sorry, Harry. I didn't mean. . ."
"It's alright," Harry just waved off his apology as he glanced down at the wedding ring on his right hand. He'd almost stopped noticing it over the last few months, but today it felt unusually cold and heavy. He really wasn't looking forward to returning to his quarters, not with the mood Severus was in. It felt almost like he was right back where they were in September, and he didn't like it. He couldn't help but wonder if some of Severus' bad mood had to do with the dream Harry had experienced the night before - the whole thing just lent a weight of embarrassment to the situation that he didn't really know how to deal with.
"What about children?" Harry asked suddenly, a new thought occurring to him. Both Ron and Hermione looked at him in surprise. "You know an heir - wouldn't the Malfoy family be interested in continuing the bloodline? Why would they marry Draco to a man if continuing the bloodline were so important to them? Wouldn't that pretty much end any hope of a legitimate heir that way?"
Ron and Hermione exchanged looks and glanced oddly at Harry. "Harry," Ron began carefully. "Didn't anyone talk to you about . . .you know, that sort of stuff?"
Harry blanched at the question. "Yes," he protested, feeling his face turn red. "I'm not asking about. . . you know . . .sex. . .I'm just asking about an heir. Everyone talked to me, and I don't want to talk about it again!"
Both of them looked surprised, their eyes widening. "Everyone?" they pressed.
Harry rolled his eyes miserably. "Yes, alright, everyone. Bill cornered me the next day, and yes there were shadow puppets involved, and I think I'm scarred for life. And then Charlie drew me aside and I got more details than I ever wanted to hear." He shuddered at the memory. "And then the twins decided to talk to me - though I'm pretty certain they were just pulling my leg. At least I hope they were - the bit about House Elves was just gross, and I hope anatomically impossible." Ron and Hermione looked horrified at the thought, though each was trying not to laugh.
Harry just glared at them. "Oh, it gets worse," he assured them. "Percy decided to talk to me too."
"Percy!" Ron gasped in shock.
Harry just nodded and grimaced. "Of course he ended up running screaming from the room before he could get too involved in the discussion. But then your parents decided to sit me down to talk to me."
"Oh my god!" Ron paled in horror. "Together?"
Harry nodded and squirmed in his seat. "It was awful. Your dad kept saying things like 'when a boy and girl like each other', and then your mum would hit him across the back of the head and say 'two boys, no girl', and your dad would get all flustered and confused and then start talking about girls again, only to have your mum hit again. It went on and on like that for about ten minutes before they both just smiled at me and said they hoped I understood everything now."
"Oh, Harry," Ron exclaimed in sympathy. "I'm so sorry! That must have been terrible!"
"It gets worse," Harry sighed.
Ron and Hermione looked stunned. "Worse?''
"Right after that Sirius tried to talk to me," Harry explained. "But somehow he kept getting sidetrack and would start ranting about Snape. And then he told me that he was pretty certain both my parents wanted me to enter a monastery so there was no point in me even thinking about such things. But the really awful part was that somehow word of the subject made its way back here to Hogwarts."
Ron and Hermione looked absolutely flabbergasted at this point. "Who?"
"McGonagall," Harry whispered in horror and both of his friends gasped. "Remember that day we went down into the Chamber? Well after we got back, she called me into her office for a private chat. It took me several minutes to figure out what she was trying to talk to me about - I don't know who was more horrified. She started using these gigantic words that I didn't understand, and then finally just stammered and stuttered for several minutes. In the end she just handed me a cookie and sent me on my way."
Harry shuddered with the memory. "And then Hagrid bumped into me on the stairs, and slapped me on the back and said, 'I understand you need some talking to about the birds and the bees', and then he proceeded to explain the subject to me in minute detail. If you ever need to know about the mating habits of birds or bees, I'm your man. And I mean ACTUAL birds and bees. It was disgusting."
Both Ron and Hermione were laughing now in disbelief torn between mirth and horror. Harry just sat there and endured their laughter in silence, feeling rather put upon by the world. "Are you done mocking me now?" he demanded when their laughter finally died down.
"Harry, didn't any of them tell you anything useful?" Hermione asked.
Harry shrugged his shoulders. "I guess Charlie's talk was okay," he admitted. "But none of them said anything about children or heirs. They were just trying to explain. . .you know, the mechanics of it all."
Ron snorted in laughter. "Bill's shadow puppets should have cleared that subject up for you."
Harry grimaced with the memory.
Hermione just shook her head, and tugged on one of her brown curls thoughtfully. "Alright, no mechanics," she promised. "Just information. There's a magic spell that allows two wizards or two witches to combine their DNA and implant it in a squib surrogate mother."
"Wait a minute," Ron interrupted, scratching at his head. "What's DNA?"
Hermione and Harry frowned at each other. "You know genetic material," Hermione explained, only to receive a blank look from Ron. "Well, what else do you call it? Sperm, ovum, egg, gamete, seed-"
"Hermione!" Ron shrieked and glanced around the library in horror. While there were several other students sitting at the other tables, the privacy charm was still in effect and no one looked up at the sound. His face turned nearly as red as his hair as he leaned forward and whispered to the two of them. "Essence!"
"Oh, honestly!" Hermione huffed in disbelief. "Essence, what a ridiculous term!" She rolled her eyes and turned back to Harry. "They combine their DNA and use a squib surrogate mother to carry the child to term."
Ignoring the fact that Ron was currently banging his head against the table in mortification, Harry asked, "Why a squib? I thought the old pureblood families wouldn't have anything to do with squibs?"
"See, that's the interesting part of all this," Hermione grinned. "No child born to a squib surrogate mother has ever been a squib themselves. They're all born magical. In fact some of the old families insist on squib surrogacy every couple of generation whether they need it or not just to make certain the magical line stays strong. There's been a lot of research done on the subject, and apparently the very process of conception insures the magic in the child."
Harry thought about that for a moment. He hadn't given the subject a lot of thought, but he had always imagined that at some point in his life he would want to have children. He'd assumed, that when he'd married Severus, his chances for that had died - at least having children of his own. He wasn't opposed to adopting. But now Hermione was saying that not only was it possible, but actually common practice in the Wizarding World for two men to have a child together. He wasn't really certain what to think of the subject now. A child with Severus Snape? It didn't seem likely. Severus had mentioned something about designating an heir eventually, but Harry had assumed he meant one of his nieces or nephews, not a child of his own. He doubted the man would even consider the topic.
"It must be hard to find squib women who would be willing to do something like that?" Harry remarked. Squibs as far as he understood were not well thought of. While the men and women of the Winter Lands did not have a lot of magic, Alrik had made a point of telling him that they were not in fact squibs. In fact the only squibs Harry had ever met were Filch and Mrs. Figg.
"Not as hard has you would think," Hermione corrected him. "Actually this is one place where women have a huge advantage over men. For the most part things in the Wizarding World are pretty equal between the sexes, but in this one thing men are really at a disadvantage, so much so that some parents when they discover their male child is a squib, feed them a permanent gender changing potion and pretend they were female all along."
"Why?" Harry asked in shock, finding the very idea of switching gender rather creepy to imagine.
"The process of carrying a magical child for nine months gives the squib woman a boost of magic," Hermione explained. "After she gives birth, she's no longer a squib. They don't necessarily become powerful, but they have enough magic to perform common spells. Most squib women jump at the chance to be a surrogate mother - it's a win-win situation all around."
"Can we please stop talking about this now?" Ron begged from where he had his face planted on the table. He sat up and glanced at the clock near the main library door. "It's tea time! Lets go back to the common room and talk about Quidditch." He looked so eager that both Harry and Hermione caved and agreed. Ron snatched up his books and raced off ahead of them.
"Honestly," Hermione said in exasperation as she and Harry gathered up their belongings at a more leisurely pace. "Considering all the children the Weasley family has, you'd think Ron would be more open about discussing these subjects."
Harry grinned at her, knowing that there were some things that the two of them, being Muggle born, would always have in common. "I think it's more the fact that you're a girl and he's been told not to discuss certain subjects in mixed company that's the problem. He's plenty crude around the other guys."
Hermione just shook her head. "We're never getting out of the hand-holding phase, are we?"
Harry laughed, and nudged her with his shoulder as they walked. "Oh, just keep talking about sexy things like DNA and genetic material and he'll be putty in your hands before you know it."
She smirked and nudged him back and the two of them followed the tall redhead back to the Gryffindor Common Room.