FicWad

Chapter 11
A/N: Editor: The Resident

Naif waggled in front of Harry and the girls and waved at the right wall. "These paintings are your forefathers from eighteen hundred years ago," Naif said. "The large painting in the middle is a portrait of Patrick and Elanor Potter. Next to this painting on the right is the painting of their son, who married a member of the Malfoy family, her name was Annemarie."

Naif continued walking until they reached the hallway with huge paintings of classic sailing ships. "Here you see all the ships which were owned by the Gryffindor family in 1886. You see here clippers, barques, galleons, ketches and yawls. This yawl, a two-masted sailing craft was only used by Paul Gryffindor; he used to sail right after a fight with his wife." Naif smiled absentmindedly.

"Did you know him, Naif?" Ginny asked.

"Yes Mistress, I knew him. I was very young that time, and my father took me with him during several of his sailing trips with the yawl. I must say that in older age, Paul Gryffindor had many sailing trips," he smirked. "But that is the character of the female, I assume," looking at Harry. "Paul Gryffindor was not as strong as you, Lord-Baron, he had only one wife."

Harry smiled with a painful expression in his face.

Pansy and Ginny looked at each other and smirked.

"But the rewards, Naif, the rewards will let him forget all the pains in the world," Ginny said mischievously.

"Too many rewards will only hurt my head," Harry grumbled, and the girls laughed.

"Lord-Baron!" Hiphook's voice came from one of the corridors.

"Lord-Baron" yelled Hiphook.

"I am here, Master Hiphook. Is there something wrong?" Harry asked anxiously.

"Yes, my Lord. There is a problem with the Métier Delacour from the binding contract number 71-Z. They contacted the local branch of Gringotts in Paris, and renegotiated the contract. The local branch was of the opinion that justice was done, because Mr. and Mrs. Delacour offered a better deal," Hiphook said.

Harry looked hopeful. "Tell me that Métier Delacour ran away from home?"

"No, no my Lord," the Goblin said excitedly. "Their Head of Family, a certain Charles Delacour, who is also the Minister of Magic in France by the way, decided to give you something more valuable than the girl. The father of the girl also mentioned that he refused to give his daughter to a British barbarian for that price."

"More valuable?" asked Harry wearily.

"Yes, my Lord, and I agree. Charles Delacour, French Minister of Magic, decided to give you a slave instead. The name of the slave is Fleur Delacour, who is a quarter Veela by blood."

Thump!

Harry fainted.

Harry immediately felt the headache. He was lying on something very soft. He moved his head slightly and felt something like... breasts?

He opened his eyes widely, and the first thing he saw was a veil of red... red hair. His head lay on Ginny's chest, and it was very soft. He head lay between her breasts and he could feel through the material of her t-shirt that she was not wearing any bra. He saw Ginny smiling widely.

"Does that feel nice, Harry?" she whispered.

Harry could not keep himself from nodding.

"Ahum," Hiphook said.

Slowly Harry sat up straight and looked around. They were sitting in a tasteful looking salon with classical furniture, large and high windows with flower curtains.

"I am very sorry, my Lord, but there is more," Hiphook said with a large smile.

Harry grunted.

"Together with your new slave Fleur Delacour, they also transferred ten thousand Galleons to your account," Hiphook said happily.

Harry nodded. He was not interested in the money; they could stick it where the sun didn't shine for all he cared. He smirked.

"The Malfoy case was directed to me," Hiphook said slowly, looking wearily at Harry.

"The what? What has Malfoy got to do with me?" Harry asked with a sigh.

"Well, the Malfoys are an ancient family," Hiphook started. "You were responsible for imprisoning their Head of House, Mr. Lucius Malfoy. The Ministry confiscated their wealth, and the only ones left are Mr. Malfoy's son and his wife. They own nothing anymore, only their name. Mrs. Malfoy was forcibly divorced by you from her husband and sent away, and that leaves only their son."

"Their son is not a Malfoy," said Harry uninterested. "His father was not Lucius, and that was the reason for their breech of contract, right?"

"I hope that you can rectify that, my Lord," Hiphook said, staring intently at Harry, who frowned.

"But what has that to do with me?" Harry asked.

"Well, according to wizarding tradition, in this case you need to take over the role of Head of the Malfoy Family," said Hiphook nervously.

Harry stared at Hiphook for a long time. Ginny and Pansy gasped and kept looking at Harry, then at Hiphook.

After some minutes of staring, Hiphook stood up. "You need to function as their Head of Family, my Lord, until their son is old enough to take over his rightful place as heir of the family."

Harry's eyes narrowed. "And when will that be?"

"Well, normally when there is no Head of Family that would be when he is sixteen years old. But now we have a new Head of Family, he must wait until he becomes seventeen," Hiphook said.

"But their son is not a Malfoy," he said confused.

"Only you can rectify that, my Lord," Hiphook said grinning.

Harry nodded, and started to grin evilly. "As Head of the Malfoy Family," Harry said formally, "I adopt Draco into the Malfoy family."

"I have the form ready for you to sign, my Lord," a grinning Hiphook said. Harry signed the form immediately and the form flashed and disappeared from the table.

"As Head of House I can make decisions about the Malfoys, right?" Harry asked.

Hiphook nodded enthusiastically.

"Those decisions may not harm the family, my Lord," Hiphook said, looking innocent.

"No, of cause I would not wish to harm the Malfoys," said Harry with a straight face. "Can you tell me if Ms. Umbridge is still available for marriage?"

Hiphook nodded thoughtfully, and suddenly his face brightened. "That is brilliant, my Lord. You could be a truly great Goblin," he said.

Harry smirked.

"Use the money from the Delacour contract as a Bride price, start the negotiations for an arranged marriage between Dolores Umbridge and Draco Malfoy. They need to be married before the end of August. That way, Mr. Malfoy will have his adult status and he can take over as Head of the Malfoy Family."

Ginny and Pansy started to laugh loudly, and Pansy fell from her chair, rolling on the ground with laughter, and Harry looked smug.

"Well, my Lord. I'm afraid that is not all," Hiphook said.

"What do you mean, Master Hiphook? Is that not enough?" Harry said irritated.

"Oh yes, my Lord. That was masterful," Hiphook said. "But there is more. There was a marriage contract between young Draco Malfoy and a certain Ms. Chang. Ms. Chang broke the contract, though, and as payment, she was promised as a slave to young Draco Malfoy for when he came of age."

"What did she do to break the contract?" Pansy asked laboriously from her position on the ground.

"She had sexual intercourse, and that broke her virginity," Hiphook said. "An arranged marriage was arranged between Ms. Chang and young Mr. Malfoy, and she was supposed to stay a virgin until after the marriage. She broke the contract, and Gringotts decided to give her as a slave to the Head of the Malfoy Family. But the Head of Family was at that time not available, so she will go to the next Head of Family, and that is you, my Lord.

"My head," groaned Harry and fainted again.

When Harry woke up again with his head between the braless breasts of Ginny, his headache was gone and for a moment he wondered what had happened. Suddenly it all came back to him.

He'd arranged the marriage between Dolores Umbridge and Draco Malfoy, but he'd gotten a new slave, Cho Chang, his old school love.

"Hiphook?" Harry asked.

"Yes my Lord," the amused voice from Hiphook came from behind him.

"When does Malfoy receive the notices?" Harry asked.

"If I am correct, he has already received the notification that you are the Head of Family, and that he has been adopted into the Malfoy family. He will receive the notification of his arranged marriage within fifteen minutes," Hiphook answered immediately.

Harry smirked.

"A pity I can't see his face," Harry said.

"The Patil's, the Li's and the Lovegoods will arrive this evening for the negotiations my Lord," Hiphook smirked.

"This day of hell will never end. How late is it?" groaned Harry.

"It is seven-fifteen, my Lord," responded Hiphook immediately.

Harry could hear the door of the salon opening and footsteps approaching.

"What are you doing with my fiancée, slave?" a shrill voice came from the direction of the door.

Harry looked up, disturbed, and saw several people approaching him and Ginny. In front of the crowd walked Padma and Parvati Patil; Parvati's face was red of anger, so he understood that she was the one who'd been shrieking.

"Are you having problems with my slave, Parvati?" Harry said with his eyebrows up.

'Oh no, Har - I mean Lord-Baron, there are no problems at all," she said, staring daggers at Ginny. "We are here for the negotiations for the marriage contract," she said.

"How many slaves do you have, Lord-Baron?" asked Padma, disgusted.

"Not so many, Ms. Patil," answered Hiphook in Harry's place.

The door of the salon opened again, and Gidi entered, followed by two disgruntled looking women; Fleur Delacour and Cho Chang!

"Your new slaves, Master," Gidi announced loudly.

Everyone looked stunned at the two approaching girls.

Fleur and Cho walked up to Harry and stopped in front of him, both looking at the floor. None of the two were moving.

Harry became nervous and was wondering what the hell he should do. He glanced briefly at the Patil's, and then at Hiphook, who was watching him intently. Suddenly Harry got an idea. He knew that there was something special about harems, but he was not sure what. He remembered that Susan and Hannah had said some things, which had made him reconsider his position. And there was Master Hiphook standing, obviously waiting for a reaction from him.

"Master Hiphook, can you be so good to tell me and all ladies here what the purpose of a harem in the wizarding world is?" asked Harry politely.

Hiphook was grinning widely now and his eyes were shining yellow. He bowed to Harry and his grin deepened.

"Of cause Lord-Baron," Hiphook said with loud voice. Harry rolled his eyes at his antics.

"A harem is an economical unit. It is part of a polygynous house holding. In the past it was forbidden for male strangers to enter the location where the harem lives. Today those rules are not so strict anymore, but there are always guards and always family members present to monitor visitors.

"All members of the house holding are bonded to each other in one way or another. Mostly they are bonded by slavery or marriage contracts. Slavery can not be undone; marriage contracts can be made undone only by the Head of the Family of the girl. A slave in a harem is also called a concubine in the muggle world, except that she can never be freed.

"A harem is a hierarchical organization, which consists of an alpha wife, favourite wives, wives and concubines. The alpha wife is the one who gives birth to the first son. The favourite wives are those wives who are regularly visited by the husband, and the rest of the wives have the lowest rank. The concubines can be compared with slaves, and do not hold an official position in the harem.

"Sometimes a concubine can hold the position of alpha wife if she gives birth to the first born son, and the husband agrees to free the son directly after birth. After a concubine gives birth to a child, that concubine cannot be ordered around by the wives anymore, except by the alpha wife and the husband of course.

"The alpha wife maintains her position and this cannot be changed, unless her son dies. Then the next wife with a son will become the alpha wife.

"A new wife in the harem starts at the bottom of the pyramid, becoming normal wife. The ranking of the wives is defined by how long the wife has been in the harem. When a wife has a child, her ranking will go up.

"The women in the harem are not locked up in a room or house. They are a part of society, and many of them work at companies or institutions. There are cases where some of the women in a harem have started their own company.

"The wives in a harem share the property of the husband equally, except the slaves. For example, when a husband has five wives, all the members of the household share exactly one sixth of the riches of the husband."

Hiphook looked at Harry, then at the slaves, and then back at Harry. "Is this enough information, Lord-Baron?"

Harry nodded and looked grateful. "Thank you, Master Hiphook."

Gidi and Noosa were bringing refreshments for everyone, and when Harry touched the arms of Fleur and Cho, both girls looked up nervously.

"Blaar"

Blaar appeared in front of Harry.

"Can you bring these two fine ladies to our bedroom, please?" Harry asked the small elf pleasantly.

Fleur's and Cho's eyes widened and Harry understood what they were thinking.

"Pansy, can you be so sweet as to go with them and let them refresh themselves, please?" he asked.

Pansy looked at Harry with a smirk. "And miss all the fun?" she said.

Harry grimaced and eyed the people sitting around the table, helping themselves to tea and biscuits.

"I'm sure that Ginny will update you in detail," Harry said with a soft smile on his face. He looked at the two frightened girls. "It is not as bad as it looks," Harry said. "When everyone is gone and the business is all arranged, I will come and we talk... all four of us. Now go with Blaar and relax."

The three girls and Blaar left the salon and Harry looked at everyone at the table, eating, drinking and talking. Nobody paid him any attention, except Moody, Ginny and Hiphook.

Harry grimaced and mentally tried to prepare for the battle; he straightened his shoulders and started to study the people.

The Patil's were sitting closely together and they were not saying much. They were busy studying the rest of the people around the table. Harry saw immediately where the Patil twins had gotten their beauty from; their father. The man was small, but there was a notion of elegance about him. Every movement he made was graceful, never made sudden movements, but the eyes of the man saw everything. His wife was an oriental beauty with long, black hair falling down in a thick intertwined braid, and her skin was darker then that of her husband.

When Harry was looked at the parents of the twins, he could see that the father had not been born in India, but their mother was clearly not English. The twins were sharing a chair together. As usual when they weren't at school, they could not do anything without each other. Padma was definitely different from Parvati; she did not show girlish behaviour like her sister did in the Gryffindor dorm. The differences were much smaller when they were together. Both of the sisters were doing things, only together, and they shared with no one.

The Li family was also easily to recognize. They were the only Chinese people in the room, now that Cho was gone from the salon. Mr. and Mrs. Li were as small Mr. Patil, and both them were dressed traditionally. They wore beautiful, expensive Chinese robes, with what looked like golden interwoven thread.

Su Li was standing frozen next to her parents, and suddenly Harry felt her look straight at him. He had assumed that nobody of the company had noticed him, but for sure he was wrong. He saw her sharp green eyes on him, and he felt the shock of impact. She was truly intense, this amazing Chinese girl. Su Li wore extremely long hair loose over her shoulder and her hair reached to her knees. Harry knew that it had a special meaning. When a girl wore her long hair lose like Su Li, it meant that she was available and a virgin. Harry smirked... well... right! Su Li was as small as her parents, but she personally was something like a thunderstorm.

Finally, there were the Lovegoods. Harry knew that Luna's mother had died years ago in a magical accident, so only her father was here. The father looked as crazy as Luna normally acted, and the man was having a good time making strange remarks. He was frequently rewarded by strange expressions on the faces of the people around the table. Luna was standing next to her father, studying the ceiling intently. Harry did not see her eyes moving though, so it was very good possible that Luna was sleeping with her eyes open or that she was making a fool of herself on purpose. Harry refused to think that Luna was truly crazy; he suspected that most of her particular behaviour was an act.

Harry thought about what Hiphook had said about the harems. Who would be the favourites and who would be the alpha wife? Suddenly he thought of Pansy. She wanted to have a child and of course she was hoping for a male child. With the curse that would not be a problem, Harry thought.

Harry looked at Hiphook.

"Master Hiphook, I have a question for you," Harry said, still busy collecting his thoughts.

"Yes, Lord-Baron?" Hiphook said.

"There is a curse on the Weasleys, is that correct?" Harry asked thoughtfully.

"Yes, my Lord."

"And the same curse is also on me, am I correct so far?" Harry asked.

"Not yet, my Lord," Hiphook said.

"Why not?" Harry asked.

"Because there is no adult Malfoy available to cast the curse with a Gringotts employee," Hiphook answered.

"But I am the only adult Malfoy available, am I correct?"

"Yes my Lord. You are the only one available. Do you want to cast the curse on yourself, my Lord?" Hiphook asked with a smile.

"No, I have a better idea," Harry said.

"Oh, and what is the idea, my Lord?" Hiphook grinned.

"Is it possible to sell Narcissa Black as a slave, Master Hiphook?" Harry asked.

"Only when you violate an agreement can you lose your rights, like violating a magical contract or the law. It is not possible for you to just take away the basic rights of a person," Hiphook said.

Harry nodded. "I am looking for a way to cancel the curse, Master Hiphook. Do you know of a way to do that?"

Hiphook looked impishly at Harry.

"I cannot tell you that, my Lord. The only thing I can tell is that it is simple," Hiphook said with a big grin on his face.

Harry looked straight into the eyes of the Goblin for several seconds.

"What is the name of the curse, master Hiphook?" asked Harry simply.

"Meridian Console curse," Hiphook answered immediately.

"I, Harry James Potter-Black-Gryffindor-Bones-Malfoy, in my role as Head of the Malfoy family, declare that the Meridian Console curse on the Weasleys is cancelled," Harry said grandly.

A bright flash of light came from within Harry, and faded rapidly away.

"I, Harry James Potter-Black-Gryffindor-Bones-Malfoy, in my role as Head of the Malfoy family, declare that the Meridian Console curse will not be cast on me and my family," declared Harry again. He looked at Hiphook pointedly, who was grinning. "The punishment has finished."

"I will prepare the paperwork, you only need to sign it, Lord-Baron," Hiphook said.

Harry looked pointedly at a happily grinning Ginny. "You need to owl my parents about this, Harry. They and my brothers would love to hear that their curse has been lifted."

Harry nodded and looked at his company.

"Master Hiphook, when you are ready with the papers, I want to start the negotiations with the Patil family," Harry said loudly. "Does anyone have a problem with that?"

Nobody said anything, and the Patils were looking expectantly at Harry.

"The papers are ready to be signed, my Lord," said Hiphook.

Harry signed the papers, they flashed and they were gone. "The punishment is finished and you and your extended family will not be cursed," said a satisfied Hiphook.

"I have here the contract between you and Ms. Padma Patil." He was studying the parchment for some moments and looked up at Harry. "This contract is different then the rest, my Lord. This contract speaks about a dowry and a dower. A dowry means that the bride's family gives you money or valuables, and a Dower or mourning gift is a provision for support during life, should the daughter survive you," Hiphook said.

Harry's eyebrows went up. "A dowry, Mr. Patil?"

"Yes Lord-Baron, a dowry. According the contract, our daughter Padma will be married to you, but you must accept the dowry as well," he said with a smile on his face.

"And what is the dowry, Mr. Patil?" Harry asked icily. He suspected something sticky and awkward.

"My other daughter, her sister Parvati," Mr. Patil said slowly.

Great, thought Harry. Now we have nine wives and four slaves. What a disaster my life is. It was much simpler hiding somewhere with the Dursley's.

Harry turned to Hiphook. "Can I refuse, Master Hiphook?"

Hiphook shook slowly his head. "No, you can't, my Lord."

"Are there any more details, Master Hiphook?" Harry said with an even voice.

"No my Lord, those were all the details," Hiphook said, looking at his papers.

Harry nodded. "I pay you a Bride price of ten thousand Galleons, I supply your two daughters a dower, which I plan to do anyhow for all my future wives and slaves, I pay for the wedding and all relevant costs, is that acceptable to you, Mr. Patil?"

"Why should you pay us a Bride price, Lord-Baron?" asked a surprised Mr. Patil.

"That is what I did for all of my future wives," said Harry simply.

Hiphook frowned and glared at Harry.

"Don't tell me that I'm bankrupt, Master Hiphook?" Harry said teasingly.

"No, you are not, my Lord, but if you continue throwing money away like that, you might be."

"And when would that be?" asked Harry with raised eyebrows.

Hiphook sniggered. "After several thousands of years," he said.

Everyone laughed.

"Next one," said Harry.

"The marriage contract between you and Ms. Luna Lovegood," Hiphook said dryly.

"Ah," Mr. Lovegood said. "I want to have a Bride price, too," he said.

"Yes Mr. Lovegood, how much do you want to have?" Harry asked politely.

"I want to have one thousand Galleons minus, Lord-Baron," he said with a straight face.

"Excuse me?" Harry asked flabbergasted. "Minus?"

Hiphook grinned. "He does not want to receive, but he wants to pay," Hiphook said with a grin.

"Are you so eager to get rid of your daughter, Mr. Lovegood?" Harry asked stunned.

"Is that so wrong, Lord-Baron? She eats too much, she studies too much, she is grumpy in the morning and at night, she refuses to go with me on the hunt for rare magical creatures, and she makes sounds when she is on the toilet," Mr. Lovegood said.

"But she is your daughter!" Professor McGonagall exclaimed appalled.

"Be that as it may, Professor McGonagall, she still makes those revolting sounds when she - you know," Mr. Lovegood said... his face split in a wide smile. "I pay you a thousand galleons, and I will be free to do what I want with my laundry and my socks, I can eat whatever I want, I hate cooking and I never need to do that again... must I continue or do you get my meaning?"

Harry looked at Luna, who was still busy staring at the ceiling. She did not give any indication that she had heard anything.

Harry felt anger spread through his body, and he felt his eyes start to burn.

"Mr. Lovegood, leave your daughter here. Please, leave the castle immediately and never come back again. Leave your thousand galleons on the table, and leave my castle immediately," yelled Harry.

Mr. Lovegood was scared, and looked at Hiphook for support. Hiphook gave no indication of anything. Mr. Lovegood wrote out a draft, laid it on the table and left the salon without looking back.

When Luna's father was gone, Harry looked at Luna. There was still no indication that she noticed anything, but Harry was not fooled.

"I will treat you well, Luna. First you will learn how to be yourself again, and then you can flourish and grow as the beautiful woman you are," Harry whispered.

Slowly her head lowered and she looked at him with the tense expression in her eyes that she always wore.

"Is he gone?" she asked.

"Yes, you are free and protected, warm and comfortable and you own a castle," he whispered at her.

A smile appeared on her face. "Can I choose my room and my dog?" she asked loudly.

"Noosa"

The little elf appeared immediately.

"This is Luna and she will be my honoured guest. Please take care of all her things and see if you can get her a room to her liking and a dog. She misses all her personal items as well, supply everything she needs immediately," Harry said softly.

The little elf nodded rapidly. "Yes Master." She took Luna by her hand and led her out of the salon.

"That leaves the Li family," Harry said, looking at Hiphook pointedly.

"That was a great thing to do, Lord-Baron," Mr. Patil said.

"We need to take care of our family, Mr. Patil. When your daughters are married to me, they belong to my all-inclusive family," Harry said passionately.

Mr. Patil laughed and his wife smiled warmly.

"Lord-Baron," said Mr. Li with a powerful voice. "Can we be more informal with each other?"

Harry nodded immediately. "Of course, Mr. Li. My name is Harry," he said pleased.

"My name is Luan Li, this is my primary wife, Aci-Ent Li and my daughter is Su Li," he bowed briefly.

Harry bowed back. "It is an honour, Luan. How shall we proceed?"

Luan Li stood up and bowed deeply. "You pay me five million Galleons Bride price, and I give you a dowry. The dowry is my private library of fifty thousand books about Chinese magic and three thousand books about battle magic. My daughter Li comes with two personal slaves, a maid, and all her possessions. We, my extended family, insist on visiting rights, and the right of Li's second born son."

Luan Li bowed again and sat down on his chair, expectantly looking at Harry.

Harry grimaced.

"You mentioned your primary wife. Does that mean that you have a harem as well?" asked Harry curious.

"Yes Lord-Baron, I have a harem of fifty three women and one hundred sixty three children," Luan said emphatically.

"Maybe we can talk in the near future," Harry said.

Luan nodded shortly.

"Those Chinese books... are they written in Chinese?" said Harry.

Luan laughed heartedly. "They are, but I have the translation spells for you, Lord-Baron. Not only that, my daughter knows all the books about the battle magic, she can teach you."

Harry nodded and looked briefly at Su Li. The girl had not changed her expression, or her stance. She stood motionless next to her parents.

"You mentioned your extended family?" asked Harry.

"I only mean Aci-Ent, Su's grandparents, and her two older brothers. The rest I left at home," he grinned.

"I accept," Harry said with a bow to Luan.

Harry turned to a traumatized Hiphook. "Make it work," he said with a smile.