Chapter 256

"Because there will be a lot of pressure to keep the Noble and Ancient House of Bones from being extinguished, Susan will marry via a Betrothal Agreement/Contract. In it there will need to be what is known as a Line Continuation clause. That is, as I mentioned earlier, a clause which will stipulate either the first or second born son will carry the name Bones.

"Now, here's where I get a little insensitive and misogynistic. Sorry, but it's necessary to explain the 'whys' and 'wherefores'.

"Because Susan is a pureblood from a family that traces her heritage back twenty plus generations, she would be a valuable commodity; her family could demand a very high bride price for her. She is healthy, well-educated, attractive, of incredibly good stock, and... shall we say... of suitable shape to bear and rear children. As such she would normally demand such a high bride price."

"Harry!" Hermione exclaimed. "I don't know whether to be either horrified or disgusted with you for that."

"I warned you I was going to be insensitive and or misogynistic," he said.

Once he saw her accept what he'd said, he continued, "Now comes the counter argument to that. Because Susan is of a Noble and Ancient House the likelihood of her House having precedence is quite high. That means the Line Continuation clause will very likely have it that the first male child born of the union of her and her husband will carry the name Bones. That then means that the husband's family name will be put off until another child is born.

"As such there is a risk, though it is small, that the husband's family name will not be carried on through their children. Therefore, for the family of the husband, her value as a bearer of children to carry on the family name of the husband drops; which has a commensurate drop in her bride price."

"Th-that's horrible!" she exclaimed. "You make her sound like a... a... brood mare!"

"I know," he sadly replied. "However, I've no doubt Sue has been raised knowing that is a high likelihood for her. But, it's also not the worst of it."

"What can be worse than that?" she asked.

He sighed and replied, "Remember when Sirius talked to you about the risk of you being sold off as a sex slave?"

She shuddered and warily nodded.

"Sirius also explained to you about concubine bonds," he explained. "If Sue cannot attract a husband willing to forgo their family name for their children, she may willingly choose to enter into one.

"And, no; I don't mean as a sex slave. I mean, she becomes a concubine to the husband of another union. In return, none of her children are recognised as heirs of the husband's House, but will be recognised as heirs of the House of Bones. And that way Susan has met her familial obligations to her House to continue the line."

"Oh, my God!" she exclaimed. "That's horrible!"

"Not necessarily," he disagreed. "I have a feeling that's exactly what's going to happen and I think I know with whom."

"Who?" she asked.

"Neville," he immediately replied. "Though, I'm not so sure now."

"Why and why not?" she asked.

"Augusta Longbottom was raised as a pureblood of reasonably high standing in a House of traditionalists. To her, things like Betrothal Contracts, Concubine Bond Contracts and Line Continuation clauses are not unusual. However, I don't know how Frank and Alice feel about such things.

"Now... this is strictly between you and me... I know Hannah Abbott is determined to snag herself one Neville Longbottom. She has an older brother who is the Heir of the House of Abbott, so she doesn't have to concern herself with Line Continuation clauses.

"Though Neville probably doesn't see it yet, it's easy for me to see he's very welcoming of Hannah's moves towards him. Unless someone or something steps in to disrupt things, I'm pretty certain those two are going to marry soon after they graduate.

"I also know that she and Susan are very good friends. And, if what I've been picking up from the pair of them from their body language is anywhere near close to being one hundred percent accurate, Hannah or her family... with Susan's complete blessing... are going to suggest to the Longbottoms Neville also take on Susan as a concubine."

"Really?" she asked, surprised.

"Yup," he replied with a firm nod. "I do not think Neville will be against that concept. As a pureblood and wizarding-raised by his grandmother, the concept will not seem odd to him. Plus, I cannot see him in any way mistreating her. He's just not the sort and knows it will be to enable Susan to see her House continue.

"I know Frank won't have a problem with it. If anything, he will see it as providing aid to an allied House. But, Alice might."

"You think, because she's a woman, she'd be against it?" she asked.

"No," he replied. "I think, because she's a halfblood who spent a good deal of her childhood in the muggle world, she'll be against it. However, I also believe she can be convinced it's a good idea. She'll just need to be stepped through it, as I've done with you."

Again, Hermione was nibbling her lower lip and clearly thinking hard about whatever it was she was thinking about. Eventually, she asked exactly what Harry was leading her to ask. "And, what about you?"

"What about me?" he asked, though he had a pretty good idea what she meant.

"Would you... consider accepting someone in a Concubine Bond?" she asked.

"With a number of conditions, yes," he replied.

Frowning she asked, "What sort of conditions?"

It was obvious to him she was a little angry with that response. However, he wasn't going to let it faze him. This was too important a topic.

"First, is the obvious one," he replied. "You and I are in a Betrothal Agreement. Though it's not legally required, your opinion would strongly influence that. If you and I marry then, without your consent, I'd never do it. And I doubt I'd ever do it before we were married or otherwise decided we would not."

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