Ah Harry." Dumbledore greeted him from his desk as he finished writing something on a piece of parchment, "Mr Weasley, Miss Granger, I am pleased you both came along with Harry, as there are some things which you need to be informed of. Allow me to draw you both a chair."
The Headmaster did precisely that, conjuring a pair of squashy armchairs with a couple of careless flicks of his wand on either side of the chair already present in front of his desk. Harry was gestured towards that one, while Ron and Hermione sat in the other two.
"Now then, to start with Harry, your statement from Gringotts arrived." Dumbledore said, "I have, you understand, had a mail-diversion ward placed on Privet Drive and Hogwarts so that any malicious letters, fan mail and any other letters addressed to you from people you don't know are diverted to me."
"Thank you for that sir." Harry said, shuddering at the thought of a deluge of fan mail from unknown people, but… "Could you alter them so I can get statements from my Account Manager though? It would be a bit inconvenient for both of us if I have to have to pick them up from you all the time."
Dumbledore chuckled. "Quite so. I have since altered the Hogwarts wards thusly and will take care of your relative's wards when I visit them the day after tomorrow. In the meantime, here is your statement."
He passed to Harry a thick parchment envelope with his name of it and held shut with the Gringotts seal. Harry took it and placed it on his lap before returning his attention to Dumbledore.
"Moving on, might I enquire how much you have told your two friends here about your…situation?" Dumbledore asked tactfully.
Harry gave the Professor a rundown of what he had told Ron and Hermione, which he had to admit, was a series of tantalising hints and shadowy maybes.
"That was rather well done, Harry." Dumbledore observed once he had heard everything, "Doubtlessly frustrating for Mr Weasley and Miss Granger, but you did, I believe, tell them what little you could without being a Secret Keeper."
"Professor, Harry said that he wouldn't tell us what he could before we were told what he couldn't tell us." Hermione piped up, "Why is that?"
"Ah, an excellent question Miss Granger." Dumbledore said with a smile, "Part of the reason is that without the necessary background knowledge, what Harry has held back from telling you has little context and will be hard to understand. The main reason Harry has not told you what he can, however, is that he fears losing your friendship, Miss Granger."
This earned Harry a pair of smacks on the arm from both of his friends along with a glare from Hermione.
"Now then, Miss Granger, please read this piece of parchment and then pass it to Mr Weasley." Dumbledore passed a small piece of parchment to Hermione, who scanned it rapidly and then gasped once she finished it.
"Merlin!" she looked at Harry, a mix of pity and comprehension in her eyes. She absently passed the scrap of parchment to Ron who's eyes bugged out when he read the parchment.
"Bloody Hell!" he shouted.
"Ronald!" Hermione scolded.
"Hermione, I think that when your best mate pinches You-Know-Who's bloody Noble Title after kicking his arse three times in a row, worrying about swearing is a little daft!" Ron told her heatedly.
"But I don't understand!" Hermione ignored Ron and turned to the Headmaster, "Harry's only defeated You-Know-Who twice, once as a baby and once in First Year. The diary wasn't him, so why did the law invoke itself?"
"Evidently it was Voldemort, Miss Granger." Dumbledore replied calmly, ignoring Ron's muffled yelp at the name being uttered, "The magic that detects this sort of thing, Sovereignty Magic, is never mistaken. We should assume that there was something that we do not know about the diary that allowed the memory of Tom Riddle to qualify as Voldemort for the law to invoke itself…which caused another law to invoke itself."
"Another one?!" Ron exclaimed. One ancient law being invoked on someone was as rare as hen's teeth, but two? On the same person? It was nigh unheard of.
"Er…yeah." Harry said with a flush, "You see…I was already going to be the Head of the Most Noble and Ancient House of Potter, as well as the Head of the Most Noble and Most Ancient House of Peverell. Getting the 'Lord Slytherin' title activated the Bloodline Legacy Continuation Act-"
"-Meaning that Harry here is required, by ancient law, to wed three witches, one for every title he holds." Dumbledore smoothly interjected himself into the explanation, "He cannot get out of it and the consequences for ignoring it are…unpleasant, to say the least."
Hermione's mind had frozen. Harry, her best friend, had to marry three times? She was…unspeakably angry. Not with Harry or Professor Dumbledore, but they were all she had to take her anger out on, so she opened her mouth to start a tirade, when Harry raised his hand in a 'stop' gesture.
"Before you start 'Mione, remember what I told you before we went to visit Hagrid; I have tried to find a way out of this. I do not want it and did not try to get it. Short of me dying, I am stuck." Harry said before he settled back and watched Hermione carefully.
The bushy-haired witch closed her still open mouth with an audible 'click' and began to think. Harry didn't want to get married three times. He had told her several times in the last day how he had attempted -and failed- to find a way out of this situation. She really couldn't be angry with him.
"Professor, why is such an antique and out of date law still on the books?" Hermione asked coolly.
"Because, alas, the only way to remove it is with Merlin's own Keystone, which he hid somewhere shortly before the fall of Camelot." Dumbledore replied, "Before the Keystone, only a founding member of the original Wizard's Council could add or remove laws to the Sovereignty Magic. Without one of these, I am afraid we are rather stuck with them."