"Harry," he immediately came back with.
Wendell seemed a little uncomfortable, but disagreed. "Not for this," he said before pausing again. "It wasn't until Monica and I were walking through your home, seeing the quality and sheer size of it, that it really occurred to me just how rich you actually are.
"Sure, being told is one thing. But, actually seeing the... produce... of that... Well, I can say I now completely understand."
"You know that the money I have―" started Harry, but was stopped when Wendell raised his hand in a stop gesture.
"Monica and I understand that, Harry," he nodded. "However, you and Hermione are not Sonny and Cher. Your love cannot and would not sustain you."
Harry gave a snort of amusement, which Wendell acknowledged with a slight grin, but his face immediately went back to a serious expression.
"Seeing that... home of yours," he continued, "Showed Monica and I that you'll be able to provide for our little princess far beyond what we will."
"Only monetarily," said Harry. "You provide her so much more, simply by being her parents and giving her your love."
Wendell nodded and said, "It's nice of you to say so. However, it is easy for us to see that you love her just as deeply as we. So that's a, how would you put it? A wash?"
Harry only nodded back.
"I know it's a personal question, Harry. But, could you give me some idea of just how wealthy you are?"
Harry immediately asked back, "Financially, you mean?"
When Wendell nodded, Harry replied, "I don't know the total amount because I've never really wanted to know. However, interest- and disbursement-wise from investments, I think the Potter accounts bring in about three hundred thousand Galleons per quarter; or, about one point two million galleons per year. At today's exchange rate, that's about six point four million pounds per year.
"At the moment I have Ted and the goblins looking for further investment opportunities; because, very little changes have occurred over the past fifteen years and the gold has been collecting dust in the family vaults. Gold, just sitting there, is doing no one any good.
"As I told Hermione - when she first discovered just how much, in general, I'm worth and she nearly suffered a panic attack on learning of it - money is not all that important to me as anything more than something I can use to hand to someone to get them to hand me something I want. Unlike people like the Malfoys, I don't keep score based on the bottom number of the balance sheet. I keep score by how much good I can do for someone else, when it's in my power to do so."
"Altruism at its finest," muttered Wendell.
Harry said, "Hermione calls it 'my saving people thing'."
Wendell sat back and looked at Harry a bit more shrewdly, "Is your... wealth... one of the reasons you feel you're going to get pressured to take on concubines?"
"Take on concubines; no," he disagreed. "And it's not about my wealth, either. It's about my House - a Noble and Most Ancient one. Money only matters in this when it comes to taking care of the needs of the concubine if the Concubine Bond Agreement becomes a contract.
"As I said before, concubinage in wizarding Britain is about bloodlines. The advantages, to the Alliance in this regard, is that we can use the protections built into the laws regarding concubinage to protect the witches concerned.
"A witch under a Concubine Bond Agreement or Contract... or Betrothal Agreement or Contract... is 'off the market', so to speak. Further, the concerned witch falls under the protections of both their own House and the House of their contracted groom.
"It's only for that protection I'm even willing to... listen to others on the matter. If they tried to force me to actually take on concubines; that is, actual contracts; I'd tell them all to go shove it sideways."
Wendell gave a little snort of amusement and seemed to think for a while.
Finally, he asked, "So your only interest is to protect them."
"Yes," Harry simply replied.
"If your only concern is to protect these girls and not to take advantage of them, then I think you should consider hearing out what they want to say."
Harry gave his own snort of amusement and said, "Up until about a year ago, I never thought I'd hear the father of any prospective bride of mine ever say something like that."
"A year ago?" asked Wendell.
"That's when I first learned about concubinage and how it might relate to my house."
Wendell smirked and returned, "And, I never thought I'd ever say such a thing to my prospective son-in-law."
_‗_
―==(oIo)==―
ˇ
After his meeting with Wendell, Harry continued with his intent to gather writing equipment to write his notes. He took it all down to the dinette.
He'd no sooner sat and began to write when he was joined by Hermione. She asked, "May I ask what you and Daddy talked about?"
"Concubine bond agreements," he replied. "He, too, thinks I can use them to protect the unattached heiresses of the Alliance."
"Daddy said that?" she asked, clearly shocked.
"He did," he smirked.
"Wow," she quietly exclaimed.
He just grinned back before returning to his writing.
"And, you're writing..." she asked.
"I'm writing notes with information about Pottermore to Sirius, Remus, Ted and Andi," he replied. "I'm letting them all know they're now listed as permanent guests and giving them both the floo address and password.
"I also intend to write Luna Lovegood a note to let her know, if she'd like, to join Neville in a compartment with him on the Hogwarts Express. But, I'm not telling her it'll be for her protection on the train. And I'll be including that information in the letter I send Neville."
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