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She was trying to be patient, but dealing with Ginny's fatalism and hopeless infatuation with Hermione's best friend was the last thing she wanted to think about. With her own thoughts and feelings as unsettled as they were, Hermione would have preferred a quiet, solitary room to herself to think and deal with everything which had happened. Not for the first time, she wondered why she was not in her own room—the house certainly had enough to provide everyone with their own privacy.
"Of course, you don't care, do you?" Ginny spat bitterly when the silence had become oppressive. "You have never looked at him as anything other than a friend."
Hermione was just able to check her reaction to Ginny's statement, knowing in her own mind exactly how untrue it was. Still, she felt somewhat ashamed of her thoughts about the young girl—this was a shock for her, and Hermione knew she had not exactly been supportive.
"No, Ginny, I certainly don't know how you feel," Hermione replied, hearing the lie in her own voice but denying it all the same—her friend did not need to know of Hermione's feelings. "But Ginny, you knew there was no guarantee he would ever return your feelings. You've set yourself up for this by refusing to get over this obsession."
Abruptly sitting up, Ginny glared at Hermione, tears glistening on her cheeks and an expression of utter desolation etched upon her face. "I know," she responded quietly. "But as long as he was unattached, there was always a chance… I could still hope…"
Reaching across, Hermione took one of Ginny's hands and squeezed it in a friendly, commiserating gesture. "I understand. It's got to be hard, Ginny, but you need to let it go. Maybe now you can just be his friend without this infatuation getting in the way."
"I tell myself that," Ginny responded, lowering her head, "but I can't help but hope…"
"What is there left to hope for?" Hermione said, confused again over this hope to which Ginny continued to cling. "Harry's betrothed now, Ginny—a magical betrothal. As I understand it, there's nothing you or I or anyone else can do to break it."
The little redhead glanced up with a faint smile on her face which was incongruous with the tears which continued to sparkle on her cheeks. "Actually, there is a way to break it, but that takes the agreement of both heads of the houses, which I doubt they would ever do—politically, this betrothal is far too important for Harry, the Delacours, and potentially our entire world. This could bring the French into the fight against You-Know-Who, which we badly need with Fudge at the controls."
This was a condition of which Hermione had not been aware, but she still failed to understand how Ginny could still hold out hope to be with Harry when there was little to no chance he would ever be free of the contract.
"You mean I finally knew something the great Hermione Granger didn't?" Ginny exclaimed with a small giggle.
A mock glare met her declaration, which only caused the girl to descend further into her mirth. Hermione would have been happy that Ginny was able to laugh, if she had not detected a hint of hysteria in her voice.
"I imagine there are many things about the magical world and Pureblood traditions I don't know," Hermione responded, mock sternly. "That doesn't explain why you still hope to be with Harry even though he's essentially engaged."
The laughter stopped and a pensive looked stole over Ginny's face. "I guess you wouldn't know this either… You know the magical world is somewhat… behind the Muggle world, as far as traditions go…"
At Hermione's impatient nod, she continued, "Well, in the magical world, there are no laws that state a man can only have one wife…"
A shocked Hermione stared back at her friend, her mouth open and working soundlessly.
"It's more like the lack of a law, actually. Although multiple marriages are not exactly common, they do still happen on occasion, especially among old Pureblood families which are in danger of dying out. The thought is that by having multiple wives, a man can father more children, expanding the blood line and preventing the possibility of only having one child and risking the line dying out."
Hermione was aghast, although a part of her was curious. "Really?"
Nodding her head, Ginny chuckled at Hermione's reaction. "Apparently, your reaction is very common among Muggle borns. For some families, such as the Zabinis, the problem is not serious—Blaise has several uncles, great-uncles, etc, all who have families of their own, making it unlikely Blaise will ever be involved in a multiple marriage. However, the Malfoys, although they may still have some relatives in France, do not have that luxury. Draco is the last scion of the Malfoy family in England, making him a prime candidate for eventually having more than one wife."
"As is Harry," Hermione breathed, understanding what her friend was saying.
Ginny nodded vigorously. "Yes. The Potters were a larger family at one time and are related to several other families if you go back far enough—the Longbottoms and my own family, for example. If he had been brought up by his parents, Harry would have been taught by his parents that he may one day be a part of a multiple marriage. In fact, if he had lived, James might have eventually had more than one wife, as he had no siblings either."
"Not if what I have heard of Lily was true," Hermione murmured, feeling certain the headstrong witch would never have put up with another wife for her husband.
Giggling again, Ginny nodded her head. "You're likely right. The first wife has to agree to the second marriage, so Lily could have vetoed any subsequent marriages."
"What if there are multiple marriage contracts?" Hermione asked.
"Then the first one has precedence, and any subsequent ones must be ratified by the first wife before they can become active. However, that would never happen, as the father would have to negotiate both. Why would he create two when there is no guarantee the first wife would agree to the second contract?"
"For the political connections?"
"Possible, but there still is no guarantee. And negotiating such a contract would have inherent risks—the second family might be offended by their contract being cancelled, especially if they were not notified of the first contract's existence. It hardly ever happens."
As she thought about it, Hermione wondered if Ginny was thinking this through properly. It certainly seemed as though there was a possibility there, but there were so many variables.
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