The Outdated Laws and the Outrageous Consequences
Sirius, drawn by Ron’s outburst, joined the little group downstairs. Hermione didn’t mind; she didn’t need anyone getting the wrong idea about the quality time she intended to spend with Theo.
The drawing room was quiet in anticipation while Hermione and Theo finished their late breakfast. Only Malfoy seemed mostly unconcerned about whatever the secretive duo wanted to discuss. He laid himself out comfortably across one of the sofas with his nose in a book. Hermione was a little impressed to see he was already near the back of Advanced Potion-Making, which they were only due to start this year.
Theo was nervous, not because he expected a bad reaction from her friends, but because more truths might come out today. He wasn’t brave enough last night to tell her everything … she was so devastated already, and he didn’t want to make things worse.
But it probably wouldn’t take long before Sirius or Draco deduced the extent of Theo’s worries. Hopefully they could come up with a strategy to keep her safe.
It was lucky Draco had joined them on his own … Theo shuddered at the thought of Lucius learning about Hermione. He could trust Draco not to do anything drastic, but if Lucius found out, he might target his sister nearly as fast as Thoros for the shame of her very existence.
“Alright,” Hermione sighed as she set down her empty mug and faced the room. “So, it turns out I’m not Muggle-born after all. I’m … I’m Theo’s twin sister.”
Hermione didn’t expect Malfoy to react first. He dropped his book, looked over at the two of them, and announced,
“Well, I sure as hell didn’t see that coming.”
xxxxxxxxx
It took a while for the dropped jaws, shocked comments, and mountain of questions to dissipate.
Hermione stayed pressed against Theo’s shoulder during the unfolding of the story. He explained to the room how he’d found out about Hermione, then Hermione quietly revealed how Remus Obliviated the Grangers.
“So, the only mystery is how I wound up with them in the first place,” Hermione said in a small voice. “I suppose they could’ve adopted me from a Muggle orphanage, but my parents were always honest with me. If they knew I was adopted, they would’ve had no reason to keep it secret, especially once they learned I was a witch.”
Harry asked softly, “You think they might’ve been Obliviated before, then? Maybe by the same person that changed your eyes?”
Hermione shrugged; she was trying not to break into tears again. Theo squeezed her hand.
“Minky took me to a house where she said she’d brought the baby, but I didn’t know it,” he said softly. “It was abandoned. Probably for a long time.”
Sirius looked thoughtful.
“I don’t remember Isabelle much; she was a year or two below us, and in Ravenclaw. She might’ve had a couple friends I knew, though … what d’you remember about the place?”
“I think it was in London. It was a small white house with a green door, and it was number twenty-seven, but I didn’t get a chance to see any other signs. All the furniture was gone. The kitchen was … funny. It had all these strange holes.”
“Holes?” Hermione inquired.
Theo opened her hand and drew on her palm. “Several holes in a cluster, like this. All over the walls.”
Hermione almost smiled.
“Plugs. It was a Muggle house.”
Ron looked baffled. “The house elf took her to a Muggle house?”
“Brilliant,” Sirius breathed. He ran a hand through his overgrown hair. “You two were born right around the peak of the war. Lots of wizards with Muggle connections escaped into their world since it was unknown territory to the Death Eaters. Besides, it’s nearly impossible to track a wizard who’s gone Muggle.”
“Maybe our mother’s friend went Muggle, then?” Theo wondered. “Father would’ve never associated with someone who wasn’t pure-blood, but I … I don’t think Mother was like that.”
Sirius had a funny look on his face.
“What colour was the kitchen painted?”
“Er … yellow.”
“Did the house have a large garden? And a porch with latticework and torches on tall sticks?”
“Yeah, that sounds right …” Theo remembered dodging a large stick-like apparatus while searching for his Portkey.
“Number twenty-seven,” Sirius mumbled. “I’m almost positive that was it. I had a friend, Marlene McKinnon. She was in the Order, but she’d been friends with a couple Slytherins at Hogwarts, and she convinced a few of them to join our side. She was killed in … early 1980, I think. Her mum was Muggle-born; I went to their house once when we … er, Marlene and I were seeing each other. I remember that garden, and I remember being proud of myself ‘cause I knew what a microwave was.”
“Perhaps Hermione went to her, then,” Theo guessed.
Hermione was quiet. Harry guessed what she was thinking.
“I’m sure you’re not the reason she was killed,” he said softly. “If she was in the Order she would’ve been targeted anyway.”
Sirius nodded. “Marlene was a right thorn in Voldemort’s side ‘cause she was the type of half-blood he wanted to recruit. She was Ravenclaw but, honestly, she must’ve been part Slytherin, too. She was cunning and spent a lot of time converting would-be Death Eaters to our side. It makes total sense that Isabelle’s elf trusted her with Hermione.”
Harry wondered if Marlene was another of the reasons that Sirius allowed the Order to help the Grey Slytherins.
“But … Marlene would’ve known she couldn’t keep you,” Sirius added with a sympathetic look at Hermione. “The target on her back would’ve been dangerous for you, too, so I reckon she chose to hide you in the Muggle world. She could’ve even found the Grangers herself and modified their memories and changed your eye colour to match theirs. I could definitely see her doing something like that.”
Theo pulled Hermione into a half hug as she wiped a stray tear away. Harry and Ron looked at the twins sympathetically, but Harry felt a flash of envy. Hermione might not have grown up with her own blood family, but she grew up with parents that loved her. Harry wished that instead of landing with the Dursleys, he could’ve ended up with some other family like the Grangers.
Draco had returned to his book a while ago, even though Theo suspected he was still listening. He knew the other Slytherin harboured some jealousy and would question Theo about why he hadn’t told him the truth sooner. If nothing else, Draco wouldn’t’ve made his future alliance with the Gryffindors more difficult by incorrectly calling Hermione Mudblood for the last year.
He knew he’d need Draco’s support, but Theo wasn’t sure yet how much the blond would be willing to contribute. At the moment he was just glad that the revelation about Hermione’s true parentage hadn’t sent Draco into a tradition-driven tirade.
“So, how come you so were worried about finding Hermione?” Ron asked Theo. Ron had quickly returned to his opinion of Theo as a “tolerable Slytherin” once he learned they were twins.
“It’s … it’s complicated, but I’m concerned because my father – OUR father – wants to find her. He’s not happy that she was kept from him.”
Sirius said confidently, “Well of course he’ll never find her here, so you don’t have to worry anymore. She can stay here ‘til Hogwarts, of course.”
Theo bit his lip. “I’d hoped so, but when Madam Tonks came to talk to me, she realised something I’d forgotten. Father isn’t Hermione’s legal guardian, but he’ll probably try to claim her before she’s seventeen.”
“Why?” Ron asked, baffled.
Harry looked confused too, but for a different reason.
“Hang on … Nott isn’t your guardian? But you wiped your parents’ memories, so d’you even HAVE a legal guardian now?”
“I do, and it’s the same as you, Harry,” Hermione explained, “Our primary guardians are Muggles, but we also need magical ones since Muggles can’t represent us in magical affairs. While we’re at school, you and I are actually wards of Hogwarts, and Dumbledore acts as our proxy guardian. I remember you saying your uncle didn’t want you to go to Hogwarts? He legally couldn’t stop you though, because your magical guardian permitted it – and you were already down for Hogwarts since your parents informed Dumbledore before their deaths that they wanted you to go to their school.
“Anyway, now that my … the Grangers aren’t … well, there’s still Dumbledore, anyway. And I’m not living in the Muggle world anymore, so I suppose he’s the only guardian I’ve got now.”
Harry wondered, “Could that be why Dumbledore had my Gringotts vault key, then? Since he’s my guardian in this world?”
“I expect so,” Hermione said. “I don’t think your aunt and uncle could’ve been trusted with something like that since they never could’ve accessed Gringotts anyway. Dumbledore was also responsible for you when the Ministry tried to expel you, and that’s why he turned up at your hearing; that wasn’t just because of … well, who you are. He would legally represent any Muggle-raised student.”
“That makes sense,” Ron twirled his wand. “Doesn’t explain why the Muggles had to give him permission to go to Hogsmeade though.”
“Because that wasn’t magically relevant,” Hermione lectured. “It was just permission to temporarily leave school. In matters of complex wizarding education or legal proceedings, a Muggle wouldn’t know the right thing to do because they don’t know our laws and customs. They couldn’t’ve given Harry permission to enter the Triwizard Tournament, for instance.”
“But Dumbledore HAD to allow it, because Harry’s name got into the Goblet whether we liked it or not,” Sirius confirmed with a nod. “And he was able to allow other things like for Harry to play Quidditch in first year. He’s also responsible for checking that Muggle-raised students keep up with their studies since Muggle guardians won’t understand things like OWLs and NEWTs.”
Harry’s brow furrowed in Hermione’s direction.
“So, Dumbledore’s your legal guardian in the wizarding world but it’s actually s’posed to be Nott?”
“He’s not her guardian now, thank Merlin,” Theo answered for her. “Since he believed her to be dead, Father didn’t file her birth with the Ministry. He has no legal claim on her since he doesn’t officially have a daughter. She’s a ward of Hogwarts at this moment, but all it takes is a visit to the right department and proof of relation – which could be done with a photo, since she looks exactly like our mother – and then Father legally owns her.”
“OWNS?” Hermione demanded with a wrinkled nose. “Nobody owns me–!”
Sirius chuckled at her, knowing how she felt about concepts like ownership.
“It’s not a slavery thing, Hermione, or like owning a house-elf, either. It’s just how the old laws identify legal guardians.”
“My father owns me, too,” Theo pointed out. “He chose for me to go to Hogwarts and has to give me permission to have a bank vault, leave the country, buy property, and other things like that.”
“But if Thoros … er– owns Hermione but can’t find her … there’s no problem, right?” Ron ventured. “So, why’re you so worried?”
Theo answered, “Because even though he’s a criminal, he can get the Ministry on his side. If he claims Hermione as his own and then declares she’s missing – which she IS, because her Muggle family has left the country – the Aurors’ll be legally obligated to track her down and personally reunite them.”
Hermione made a face at that. She had no desire whatsoever to meet Thoros Nott. It was a good thing she was nearly an adult by wizarding standards.
But she was concerned by the look on Sirius’ face as he explained, “The laws are REALLY strict about missing underage wizards. Tonks, for instance, could even be a criminal by association if she knew where Hermione was and didn’t bring her in …” he looked over at Theo with wide eyes. “Damnit … Thoros already had contacts at the Ministry, didn’t he? I bet that’s why the Auror tried to arrest Hermione yesterday!”
“Bollocks,” Theo cursed. “That was fast …”
Harry raised an eyebrow just as Hermione said, “But they wouldn’t’ve tried to arrest me if they just thought I was a missing teenager, would they?”
Sirius looked a little conflicted.
“Maybe the Auror got the order wrong …?”
“But Tonks and Moody heard about it too,” Harry reminded his godfather. “They wanted her for questioning.”
“So, they don’t know she’s a Nott–?”
“Father might’ve lied about her breaking some law to speed things up – he’d probably try anything just to get to her–”
“Doesn’t matter though ‘cause Hermione’s safe here,” Ron steadfastly affirmed. “Tonks’ll keep the secret, and we could make sure she doesn’t actually SEE Hermione if that helps – or we take Hermione to the Burrow–”
“Yeah, we can keep her safe NOW, but she’s still underage ‘til late September,” Sirius interrupted. “If nobody found her by September first, the Aurors would grab her from the Hogwarts Express and take her directly to Thoros.”
“And that’s the problem,” Theo explained to his disgruntled twin. “If Father legally owns you, he controls your whole life ‘til you’re of age.”
Harry’s eyebrow went up.
“Uh … does that mean Dumbledore controls our whole lives right now, then?”
Sirius grinned. “No, he’s just your proxy guardian since the position moves with the title of Headmaster. He’s got limited control over wards like you two, but Thoros would have total control over Hermione if he claimed her.”
“I’d like to see him try and force me to do anything,” Hermione said stubbornly with an unconcerned wave of her hand. “Nobody runs my life but ME.”
Harry and Ron exchanged knowing grins, but Sirius looked at Theo’s still-stressed face with a grimace.
“She’s the older twin, isn’t she?” he asked Theo dejectedly.
Theo nodded slowly. On the other sofa he noticed Draco’s brow furrowing.
Sirius cursed and pulled on his hair.
Ron was confused. “Why’s that matter?”
“The oldest pure-blood child is the heir to the family name, reputation, and fortune,” Sirius explained through gritted teeth. “And families like the Notts won’t allow a witch to be the heir, ‘cause her children will inevitably inherit her husband’s name and bloodline – or at least a merged heirship between the two families – and this technically ends her family’s bloodline.”
Harry frowned. “But Theo could still carry on the family name–”
“But not the heirship,” Theo explained quietly. “I wouldn’t inherit anything from the family fortune, properties, investments, or even the right to vote in the Wizengamot. It’s based on an old law: the family status and birth rights exclusively follow the firstborn, since our ancestors believed family magic only passed down to the first child. It’s outdated knowledge, of course, but the tradition stuck. It’s still normal today for the heir to ultimately become head of the family and inherit everything. It’s also why a lot of the older families only have one child.”
“Damn, that’s right,” Ron remembered. “But Dad’s ancestors didn’t pass down a lot of money ‘cause they didn’t care about the heirship – they split the family fortune among all the kids instead of just giving it to the first one, which is why there’s less now.”
“So that’s why you’re all blood-traitors,” Harry guessed with a facetious roll of the eyes. Ron nodded.
“Regardless, their approach sounds far more reasonable,” Hermione said resolutely. “But I gather Thoros isn’t nearly as open-minded?”
“I’ll always bear the Nott name, but our line wouldn’t be considered pure with my children since I can’t pass on the magical heirship,” Theo said quietly. “I’m the heir right now because you aren’t legally my sister. But as soon as Father changes that …”
A worried and dejected look crossed Hermione’s face. Theo squeezed her hand.
“That’s why I needed to find you first,” he admitted softly.
Across the room, Malfoy finally stopped pretending to read his book. He looked up from where he’d been lounging on the sofa and rolled his eyes dramatically at the confused looks on the Gryffindor boys.
“Thoros intends to kill her, Potter,” Malfoy said bluntly. “It’s what he would’ve done the day she was born, if her mother hadn’t sent her away. Having a female heir is practically his worst nightmare, so he would’ve just gotten rid of her, nice and easy.”
Ron leapt to his feet and growled at the blond, “How DARE you–!”
Malfoy shrugged and picked at his nails.
“I’m just telling it like it is, Weasley.”
“Unfortunately, Ron, he’s right,” said Sirius solemnly. “You guys know a lot of pure-blood traditions came from the Roman Empire, yeah? Women always had less power than their male counterparts.”
“But daughters in the Roman Empire could inherit from a father in equal shares to the sons,” Hermione argued.
“Maybe among Muggles, but like Theo said, wizards believed their family magic only moved along to the first heir. Now, even centuries later, I’ve heard of cases where a first-born witch among one of the old families will mysteriously disappear or die of some unspecified illness. Then the magical heirship passes down to the next oldest child … which is always a son.”
Harry’s mouth fell open as Ron sat back down, hard.
“That’s … no, they– they’d seriously–?!”
“Your family’s not like that, obviously,” Sirius said to Ron. “It’s another thing that makes you blood-traitors, ‘cause they’ve never made a sacrifice like that. It’s also why you Weasleys are lesspure,” he added with an eye roll. “Most of us don’t care about the whole magical heirship thing as much now, but the oldest families still do.”
Hermione pleaded with Theo, “Your – our father … he’d really …? But couldn’t he just pretend I don’t exist until I’m of age? Wouldn’t that be easier–?”
Theo shook his head dejectedly.
“The age doesn’t matter. If you were ninety years old when the truth of your birth reached the Ministry, you’d still become the legal heir automatically. The rules are built into magical law. Even if I’d already married and inherited the heirship, everything would immediately regress and transfer to you.”
“And that’s what Thoros is terrified of,” Sirius explained in a dull voice. “If anybody important discovers Hermione’s real identity then his whole bloodline is basically null and void. That’s how he’ll see it – the worst family tragedy he could imagine.”
“But if I can single-handedly ruin his family, then why on earth would he WANT to tell the Ministry about me?” Hermione demanded.
“Because you’re still a child,” said Sirius softly. “If he claims you now, he can choose who you marry, where you live, even whether you get to finish school. He gets total legal control, no questions asked. There’s no law preventing him from … taking drastic action,” He finished bitterly.
The colour drained from Ron’s face.
“No–! You mean … the law would LET him kill her?!” Harry gasped.
“Not that he’d have qualms breaking the law either way,” Theo said with a grumble. He still hadn’t let go of his sister’s hand. “But he’s the paterfamilias. His children are his legal property. The Ministry would be forced to return you to him, and they couldn’t do anything if he killed you. The laws are ridiculously outdated, but they’re still laws.”
Harry and Hermione exchanged horrified looks. Even after years of studying History of Magic, Hermione couldn’t believe how backwards wizarding society was. Using candlelight and quills was one thing, but the legal authority to murder one’s own children …
Meanwhile Harry’s jealousy had long vanished. He was so used to being the one hunted, the one with a death sentence, that he didn’t realise how difficult it was when the target was on someone else. He had no trouble understanding Theo’s determination to keep her safe.
For the hundredth time, the words of the prophecy rang in his head, and Harry wished more than ever that he knew how to get rid of Voldemort … surely the horrible Thoros Nott would go down with his master or at least be sent back to Azkaban where he belonged.
Anger ran through Harry’s blood as he fought back a physical desire to start fighting something. Perhaps Ron shared the urge, as he stood to begin frantically pacing the room.
“But … what if we got Hermione out of the country? She could go to France or something so he can’t find her …”
Or Australia. Hermione imagined the possibility for a few beautiful seconds.
But she shook her head resignedly. “I committed to helping Harry with this war, and I’m not about to run and hide just because things got a little difficult for me.”
“This isn’t a little difficult,” Harry immediately countered. “You’re in danger of being killed–!”
“And how’s that any different from our normal lives?” Hermione shot back. “I could’ve been killed years ago from a troll or a Basilisk or a Skrewt or a ruddy aeroplane, and You-Know-Who will try to kill me anyway because I’m your best friend! Right now, we know where the threat is coming from AND we know what he wants!”
“She’s got a point,” Sirius sighed. “There’s gotta be a way around those stupid old laws; we just have to find it before Thoros does.”
“He has a lot of connections … not to mention an extensive library.” Theo pointed out.
Sirius grinned. “So do we.”
Hermione’s expression changed rapidly.
“Wait … you have a library here and you nevertold me?”