Bonus 1. Part 2

Bonus 1. Part 2

***

Harry walked in, though rather piled into the heir's apartment, where he collapsed into the nearest chair, not reacting in any way to his son, who almost instantly climbed into his lap. It was only when Jonathan was settled that he exhaled softly: - I'm sorry, son, that I don't pay you enough attention.

-Johnny shook his head, "Just next time, you'll spend two weekends in a row with me and help me build a city out of sand.

- Harold smiled faintly; his son had loved to play with wet sand since he was a baby. And building castles and even entire cities was his favorite pastime and game. He involved everyone in this game: his father, his mother, his aunts, his uncle, his grandparents (the Delacours and the Blacks), his great-grandparents (his grandmother Fleur and Flamel), and everyone, even his godfather Severus Snape. So there were already whole labyrinths of assorted structures on the beaches of their community's block that magic had preserved. At first they were potholders, but Potter Jr.'s skill grew, and now he had masterpieces coming out of his hands. And he almost never used magic, except to save it. And he didn't need any other games, or any of the brightly colored magic toys his peers loved so much. He dreamed of becoming an architect, a Muggle one at that, and gave himself wholeheartedly to his favorite occupation, while, little by little, with the help of his father and the permission of the community members, magically transforming an ordinary Muggle neighborhood of mansions with the same type of houses into a magical one with interesting architectural and landscape solutions.

John was the pride of his parents. Especially from the fact that nothing related to landscapes or architecture in the entire community was decided without his involvement. The Frenchman's fine taste in art was appreciated by all.

- Certainly," Harold promised eagerly. He loved to watch his son conceive of another masterpiece and help bring it to life. So Potter rested and relaxed, and at the same time spent time with his heir.

Johnny was delighted at his father's promise, but immediately grew sad, quietly asking: - Dad, why is the godmother so sad and you so gloomy?

- Harry grimaced. He didn't want to tell his son about the delicate situation his friend had put him in. Still, he wasn't used to lying to John. He was a bright boy, and perhaps because of that, his family had never made any allowances for age or kept adult problems from him. They always tried to answer his questions as truthfully as possible. It was just that he had to explain what the adults understood in half-words. And in his own language: the language of children who did not know the abstruse words and did not understand the difficulties of adult life. So Harold sighed, and, careful to choose his words as carefully as possible, answered, trying to convey to his growing son the essence of his problem, at least on a level of feeling: "Your godmother is in a difficult situation. The laws and magic of her kind require that she must be married before her next birthday. Time is limited, and she has no worthy suitors. She has asked me to marry her as the only man she trusts..."

"But mother..." the boy, who was listening intently, immediately exclaimed frightened.

His father ran the back of his fingers across his cheek with tenderness, and John calmed down: "Don't worry, son, your mother is the only one for me," Harry smiled. - And your godmother in no way wants to break up our family. She wants to join our family. To be a second mother to you. Only because she's afraid of an unhappy marriage.

- Would it be good or bad if the godmother joined our family? - Johnny asked naively, because he didn't know how to respond. On the one hand, he loved the godmother and considered her part of the family. And he wouldn't mind at all if she came to live with them, was more accessible. On the other hand, he'd always been afraid that once Mom and Dad fought, they wouldn't make it up again. That's why John didn't want to change anything in their family life. He didn't want a godmother or an unborn sister for fear they would ruin his world. He had already talked to him about his sister, but about his godmother...

I don't know, son," Harold exhaled. - Maybe in some ways it's good, but in other ways it's bad. Or at least, I guess I'm just not ready to call Daphne my wife. - Both Potters were silent for a long time after that. The older one waited for the younger one's reaction. The younger one was trying to comprehend what the older one had said. He thought for a long time, trying to imagine what would happen if his godmother became his father's wife.

Two moms is good, but... -She's a good one. As long as she doesn't try to replace you and me with my mother, I don't mind.

- Lord Potter chuckled: The children's mindset, and that of his son in particular, amazed him. Pure, kind, naive... He was only truly sorry that John could not yet understand all the subtleties and nuances...

- Yeah, it's a good one, but..." Harry ruffled his bangs tiredly and unraveled the tight ponytail of long hair that his mother-in-law had been trying to kill for years. The blood rushed pleasantly into the hitherto constricted parts of his scalp, allowing him to relax. - I think I need to look for another way out. And I'm not finding one yet, so I'm gloomy," he explained to his son additionally.

- Can't Uncle Dudley or the godfather help you? - Johnny asked. He knew his father sometimes consulted a cousin, a friend, or his own godfather, Siri's grandfather.

- It's personal to your godmother. She asked me to keep it to myself," Potter Sr. shook his head, regretfully.

Johnny thought again and suggested, some time later, an original solution: -You said that any mage could be accepted into the clan. But what if we accepted the godmother into our clan? Then she would no longer be subject to the laws of her kind, right?

Harold wondered, "How do you know all these intricacies? Did Bellatrix teach you? - he asked suspiciously.

Now the boy shook his head, easily surrendering his "informants" to his father: "No. Granny Walburga.

- You're a little young to learn that," Harry grinned and smiled, mussing his son's hair, mentally figuring out how he could check the degree of influence of Walburga's portrait on the Potter heir. The portrait had moved to Barbados with Lord Black. Sirius's mother did tell him how to remove her portrait from the wall in the London mansion. They sort of agreed and reconciled, after the Lord brought a decent girl into the house. Of course, dignified she became after Harold's conversation with the godfather's mother. Walburga liked Potter's influence on her son too much. She was too fond of Potter's influence on her son, she thought, since the Blacks were getting ready to marry, and no one had spoken to the portrait for any reason at all, so she was free to talk to a sympathetic John on the sly. And influence him... - Until you start to understand what you're being told, at least," Harry added after a moment's thoughtfulness.

John was at once Potterishly indignant:

- Hey, I get it! And I'm an adult! - And he looked like a ruffled sparrow.

Harold couldn't stand it and laughed: "Of course, of course, son..." The mood rose steadily. After all, not only had the son cheered Lord Potter up, but he had also suggested where best to look for a way out...

***

Not two weeks after Daphne's departure, Fleur notified her spouse, through the see-through mirror, that it was time for him to prepare for a second wedding. There was no dialogue. No argument, either. There was simply no chance to prove or oppose Lord Potter: Fleur knew her husband too well, so she immediately delivered an ultimatum. He only had time to say goodbye, quite sincerely, that he hated them. That was all. The connection with France was severed...

Unfortunately, or perhaps fortunately, his friend, Severus, was present at that moment on Harold's side of the conversation. So as Potter collapsed in his chair and clutched his head for the next two weeks, his son's godfather carefully shoved an entire bottle of whiskey under his nose and said, mockingly but sympathetically, "I told you she'd make you a wimp sooner or later..." "Sev, Fleur is pregnant and completely insane," Harold grunted as he finished half the bottle of whiskey. - That's what happens when a wale carries a girl under her heart, an heiress of the blood. Daphne has somehow managed to convince her now, but she will regret it later.

- Are you sure? - With a skeptical snort, Severus raised an eyebrow in doubt with a crowning gesture.

- I know my wife," Harold reminded him with a squint.

Snape grinned merrily, leaning on the table and chugging the same whiskey in his glass that he had managed to pour from the now almost empty bottle in Potter's hands. "You've already married one of the most beautiful girls in Europe, and now your second wife could be another of the most beautiful girls in Europe. They are both yours. And you're still complaining and doubting..." "You remind me of Sirius now," Harry grumbled coldly and venomously. He of all people should know how bad tempered beautiful, even sweet-looking women can be. He'd gotten along with one in the weeks before she'd left, but what would he do if he had two? - He would have laughed at my situation, too, and teased me.

- Hey, don't compare me to that flea-ridden, mangy dog! - Severus' indignation was not very sincere, mentally smiling as he managed to amuse his friend.

"That dog will soon marry your wife's little sister and become your brother," Harry snickered, mentally imagining the two school enemies trying to get along at their wives' parents' family dinners. It must be the most entertaining moments!

- All right, Potter, you don't seem to be in the mood," Snape pretended to be offended, actually planning only to leave his friend, who had changed him so much, to think about the situation and find a way out or to accept it. - I'll go...

- Hey, sympathy? How about a pile of advice? And mock at my idiocy, as you like, after all? - Harold was genuinely surprised and indignant, not wanting to be left alone.

Severus, smiling, shook his head and snorted goodbye: - "You're a Potter. You'll get out of it.

***

A month later..." So, Potter, open the bachelor party. What shall we drink the first glass to? - Lord Gont saluted merrily with a vocal of wine to his actual mate. He never thought he'd ever participate in an event like this, and yet... Still, the former enemy had enough friends. He didn't think twice about who to invite to the party and who not to, so he invited them all at once. And so it was now. And though Lord Gont was a busy man, he didn't dare miss such fun.

- To my son, Jonathan. Thanks to him, I'm not likely to get a second wife," Harry grinned slyly, saluting Gont with a glass in return. The married and unmarried friends who had been hastily gathered from halfway around the world fell silent with interest.

- What do you mean, Potter? - Still somewhat resentful of Harold (for choosing Krum, not him, as godfather to his son), Draco kept his distance. His resentment was only compounded by the fact that when Victor had refused, believing that he was a lousy father because of his athletic career and constant absence, Potter had offered to be godfather to Severus instead of him. Still, he did not want to cut ties with the leader of the Pied Pipers. He hoped to be godfather to Potter's daughter. So the idea of his friend's new marriage to the Ice Queen did not appeal to him. What if Fleur broke it off with Harold?! No one had bothered to tell Draco the details of how it had turned out that Potter was getting married again. That's why he was asking, hoping the wedding wouldn't happen.

- Malfoy, you're like always..." laughed a satisfied Harry. - "Men, if I tell you what I'm up to, we'll be collectively quartered by our ladies tomorrow. Me for the idea and you as conspirators. So let's just have fun tonight and tomorrow, okay? - The strictly male group looked at each other and unanimously agreed with Potter: better to relax and enjoy life than to try to save ourselves from our own wives.

The event threatened to be fatal...

***

The guests gathered for the lavish festivities at Potter Manor watched mesmerized as live magic swirled around the bride and groom, standing on opposite sides of the Potter family stone and joining hands over it. The vows, spoken in unison, echoed and reverberated beneath the vault of the great ritual hall, giving them greater meaning, lending greatness to the words. The ancient magic ritual was being performed before the eyes of the guests to bind two souls, two hearts... But now the ritual had entered its final phase and the magic suddenly concentrated around the bride, completely hiding her from the guests and the groom.

Daphne was the first to finish reading the words of the vows and was very surprised to hear the groom continue speaking. The guests were alarmed, realizing something was wrong, since the newlyweds were supposed to finish their vows at the same time, but... Harold finished in five or seven minutes. At the same moment, the magic washed over Daphne, soaking into the birthstone. And the guests arose in one voice...

- Well, this is it," the master of the manor smiled as pleased as an elephant, immediately turning to his bride: "According to tradition, immediately after the ritual vows, I must give you a gift, dear. And I give you this mirror of goblin work. - He did materialize from somewhere a small mirror, the size of the oval of a maiden's face and with a comfortable handle. - Welcome to the Potter clan, sister," he smirked wickedly as Daphne looked at her own reflection, almost dropping the mirror. She saw herself in it, only with darkened hair, a sharper nose and higher cheekbones, and brown eyes, the iris of which was now surrounded by a green rim, and the iris itself appeared with green streaks and light green spots. Potter, on the other hand, continued to speak while she stared at her new self: - Now you can get married whenever you want and to whomever you want, if you want at all. My kind of magic has no rules about that, thank Merlin. There are a few "BUTs," though. First, I am now the head of your kind, and there are some things you'll have to obey me until you decide to join your potential mate's kind, if you choose, of course. Second, your descendants can now inherit our line, but only if there are no surviving descendants of mine. Thirdly, your descendants may inherit both Greengrass and Potter magic in your line. It will all depend on their magical potential. However, if they inherit the Potter bloodline magic, they will also bear the surname now of our common bloodline, which is Potter. There is no other way. No matter whose children they are, if the magic of my bloodline awakens in them, I or my heirs will have the right to take them for upbringing. I hope you understand that. I, as the head of my kind, had to make sure.

And fourthly, yes, I switched the vows, and now you're my sister, as if my late father had a bastard daughter by a Greengrass woman," Harold admitted guilt on all counts and immediately proclaimed solemnly, "You are now Daphne Potter. Brown hair is a family trait. But your eyes are green because my blood and magic were used in the ritual," he added, trying rather to explain to himself why Daphne had the most striking feature of his mother's appearance: her eyes. - However, in order for you and me to become not brother and sister, but husband and wife, you can say another very short vow on the same stone. It's an insurance policy for emergencies," he warned. And then he threw up his hands: "I'm sorry to deceive you, dear sister. But I couldn't do what you and Fleur had in mind. I have a wife and I love her dearly. She is the only one for me. I wish you'd remember that, Daphne," he asked firmly and convincingly as he finished his speech.

Daphne in her wedding dress, standing at the Potters' birthstone, was silent for a long time in the deafening stunned silence that reigned in the ritual hall. In that silence, she carefully placed the mirror on the ritual stone, and then, with a long swing, slapped Harold across the face with a savory slap that he did not block. And then, after standing for a few moments, Daphne threw herself on Lord Potter to squeeze him in an unexpectedly strong embrace for such a dainty person, whispering endless thanks to her brother now. And the guests burst into applause...

When Daphne Potter finally let go of Harold, he received another painful slap on the other cheek and from his wife. The latter, however, immediately engaged the trickster in a passionate kiss, which again caused a reverent and respectful silence among the guests. And only one frustrated and desperate voice came out in the silence: "Mom, Dad, not in front of the guests. Not again!

end of