The Hogwarts Express ride home was difficult for Harry to truly appreciate. The specter of Voldemort looming large in his mind. His world changed drastically over the past two days, Harry suddenly wasn't safe enough at the Tonks residence, and he was to be moved to an old Black property Sirius owned. Harry didn't know where it was, barring that it was in London somewhere, and had been told that was part of the precautions they took.
Harry was familiar enough with the Fidelius, and realized why Dumbledore thought it would be sufficient protection for Harry. Short of the wards that protected Hogwarts, it was the next best thing. Harry could deal with not living in the Tonks house, his family was moving with him, so while the walls would be new, the feeling of home hopefully wouldn't be. What worried him though was what this meant for everyone surrounding him.
Dumbledore thought not only that Harry was a target for Voldemort that required protection, but that the Tonks were as well. This worried him a bit, because he knew how capable they were.
Nymphadora had been stated as some kind of auror prodigy, her abilities far outclassing anyone of similar levels of experience. Andromeda, while primarily a charms mistress, was formally trained in dueling by the Black family, and was supposedly at least of similar skill to her now-disowned sister who was one of Voldemort's top lieutenants in the first war. Ted admittedly was not known for his dueling ability, but the man was a medi-wizard of incredible skill and had probably dealt with more curses than anyone else Harry knew.
The thought of a statement he made in his mind rattled through his head. The FIRST war. Harry blanched as he recognized he was present at the first spark that would ignite the flames of war, as Voldemort would begin his assault on the people of Magical Britain.
"Whatever you've got running through your head Harry, stop it, you're hyperventilating." Daphne said, snapping her fingers in front of his face.
Harry looked up, snapping out of his trance and noticed how much his chest hurt… had he really been breathing that hard?
"It was rather worrying, Harry." Luna added, concern evident on her face as she looked over to him.
Harry glanced around at all of his girlfriends, seeing a consistent look of worry across their faces. Harry side, taking a moment to calm himself down. "I'll try and calm down a bit, Padma, do you want to try the calming charm again?"
Padma nodded, flicking her wand toward him as Harry felt his anxiety numb itself. It would come back, but for the moment he could focus on something other than it.
"So girls, what's the plan for this summer?" Daphne asked, pulling the conversation away from whatever was on Harry's mind.
"I'm talking my parents into signing that marriage contract with Harry." Padma said boldly. "I know he's going to need me here over the summer, so I'm going to do what I can to make it happen. I'm pretty sure that the only way that they'll allow that is if we sign one."
Harry flushed at this, and his heart rate skyrocketed, it was likely only the calming spell that kept him from hyperventilating again. "Are you sure about that Padma? I know it might be traditional for those things to happen around this time, and I do love you, but we're awfully young."
Padma smiled at him, taking his hand in hers. "Just signing the contract doesn't mean we have to get married. The specific one I've had drawn up is more along the lines of a muggle proposal. We are expressing an intent to get married, and the contract just outlines what we expect out of the marriage."
"What was in the one you showed me before the third task?" Harry asked, he hadn't read over it, he wasn't even sure if it was real.
"Not a lot, it was a basic one. I hadn't expected to actually think about signing that one, since our situation is pretty different from standard. That one just defines who is taking whose name, I'll be taking yours, although I'm not sure which of yours you'll want me to take. It also has a section for a dowry or bride price, whichever would be more appropriate, as well as deciding on how soon the wedding would take place, and an agreed upon time frame for a couple to begin attempting to have a child." Padma said nonchalantly.
"I'm still totally unaware of all of this. The pureblood etiquette training I went through before really didn't handle any of that." Harry said, aware of his own lack of knowledge on the subject.
"That's fine, I don't want to take advantage of you, and I've made that very clear to my parents that they need to make sure the contract is fair to you, even though I'm sure Andromeda and Sirius would check over anything before you signed it. Realistically though, when it comes to negotiating this kind of thing, my family is really punching up. You're not totally aware of it, but you're a major figure who probably could negotiate for any woman in the wizarding world you wanted for your bride. Heir to the Potter family alone is noteworthy, but you're also currently heir Black, which is arguably even more impressive." Padma said with a sigh.
"Yeah, I remember Alice Runcorn mentioning that her father wanted her to try and get in with us to be a marriage candidate." Daphne said with a small eye roll. "I'm exceedingly glad I didn't have to play that game."
"I don't think you would need to worry given the Greengrass name, that alone probably guaranteed a decently wealthy suitor. The fact that you're gorgeous made it better." Susan mentioned.
"Perhaps, but I nabbed the best looking, sweetest guy in the school and he didn't even care about the last name." Daphne said, leaning over to kiss Harry on the cheek.
"Actually, on the topic of contracts, how do you all intend to handle your families with Harry? Luna and Susan don't have anyone else to carry on their family names, and they're apparently important." Hermione mentioned.
"Well, my plan was simply to keep my last name, and any child that Harry had with me would eventually just inherit the Bones name and everything that went with it." Susan said, before turning to Luna. "What about you?"
"The same, although I'll admit that outside of my house and the Quibbler there isn't much left in the Lovegood name." Luna said.
"That kind of thing is years away though, worrying about it now won't really get us anywhere. Witches and Wizards break 100 years old all the time, and even if we retire in like our 80s, that's still over 60 years we have to think about divvying up house resources and the like." Daphne said.
Harry sighed, thankful that that conversation was over. He loved his girls dearly, but talks of marriage and children and inheritance were too much for him to handle right now. He was primarily worried about surviving to make it to adulthood.
The thought washed over him again that that wasn't a guarantee, and he could fill the anxiety building up again. Susan's hand grabbed his, pulling him back to the present. "It is okay, Harry. We're just teasing you a bit." Susan said, somewhat incorrectly guessing what was making him so nervous again. He appreciated the effort, and gave her hand a squeeze.
"Thanks Susan. Look, when it comes to the marriage stuff and everything, I love you all, and I want to have these talks with you someday, but I'm not ready for it now." Harry said, trying to get it off of his chest.
"The only one of us who is pushing the marriage contract thing right now is Padma, and her circumstances are different from the rest of us." Daphne said, trying to ease Harry down. "We're happy to wait until we're older, I certainly don't have any plans to be Mrs. Harry Potter before I graduate."
"I think I would also like to wait until graduation at the earliest." Hermione said, speaking up for the first time this conversation. "My circumstances are different, and while I know I love Harry with all my heart, marriage isn't a huge pressure for me, not in the same way it is for the others."
"I'd marry Harry tomorrow if he wanted, but I won't push him. I know he loves me." Luna said with a smile, getting up to sit in his lap. "See? I fit right here, it's where I am supposed to be." Everyone laughed at Luna's antics, and Harry pulled her in for a kiss before letting her lean back against his chest.
The carriage sat in comfortable silence for a few moments, everyone trying to cool down from the marriage conversation. Susan spoke up, breaking the silence. "I think aunt Amelia wants me to stay with Harry this summer."
"It makes sense, if Harry is a target for Riddle, then we're also targets because of our closeness. Father is moving the family to a home under the fidelius this summer. I suppose I might ask if I could also go with Harry." Daphne said.
"They've already talked to you about that kind of thing?" Harry asked, somewhat shocked by the news.
"Well, according to the DMLE, I would likely be a major hostage target anyway. I'm close to you, and am the niece of the head of the DMLE. The DMLE head has to stay in a government approved house with guards, and that means that it can't be under a fidelius. With you, I could be, and just Sirius and Andromeda living in the house makes it decently safe." Susan said.
"Have any of the rest of you heard about this?" Harry asked.
"Professor Dumbledore mentioned that he wanted to speak to my parents about alternative living arrangements this summer. I suppose that must be it. I will be there for you Harry, I promise." Hermione said, grabbing his hand and giving it a squeeze.
"I haven't been told anything." Luna said, looking up at Harry. "I suppose I wouldn't be surprised if I was asked to go into hiding as well. Even outside of my association with you, father has been an opponent of many former death eaters in the past, they may come for revenge."
"I wasn't told anything, likely because they think I'll stay in India. I'm not leaving Harry alone though." Padma said with a confident smile.
"I wonder how Harry would deal with having all of us under one roof with him?" Daphne pondered. "Imagine him walking in on one of us as we are getting out of the bath."
"Or us finding him in the morning after an… interesting dream." Padma added.
Harry couldn't help but flush. He'd already been intimate with all of them but Luna, so he shouldn't be so easily teased with it, but he still was. "I thought it was supposed to be the guy who was this suggestive all the time." Harry said, trying to maintain his composure.
"Generally yes, you don't though, so we need to pick up the slack." Daphne said with a smug tone.
"There's also six of us now, you're outnumbered and outgunned." Padma said, leaning over and kissing him.
"Don't be sad Harry, it's a good problem to have I think." Luna said, wriggling herself into Harry's lap some more. "Seeing all the fun the girls have, maybe I should try it sometime soon."
"Don't let them pressure you into doing something you're not comfortable with Luna." Harry said seriously.
"Oh, I'm not pressured. I've thought about it a lot. I know I want it, I am just unsure if I'm totally ready. Perhaps if we spend more time together over the summer, I will know for certain." Luna said, cuddling into his body more. "If nothing else, I do definitely want to fall asleep in your arms."
"I wonder if Andromeda's stance on us sharing a bed has changed since the world cup." Susan wondered aloud, sending Harry red once more.
They laughed at his embarrassment.