Where do you go out on a date with the Queen of the sex vampires?

[LordDresden2]

I think there is some confusion here between Anna Ashe; who was killed by the Skavis (Pricilla) in White Night, and Hannah Asher who we remember as the super skilled fire wielder and also a Denarian from Skin Game; who we thought died under a couple tons of molten rock, but apparently not. 

It was Lara who manipulated the campaign to kill minor magical talents into being; to pit House Skavis and House Malvora against one another, even though it was the head of House Skavis who actually ordered it and sent his heir apparent to carry out.  This makes Lara ultimately responsible for the deaths of Anna and the other women killed by Skavis and Malvora. 

It is a bit confusing because we don't really know the details, we know that Lara only weakly contested Harry's accusations that she was responsible by pointing out that Lord Skavis had promoted a similar plan a century earlier.  She never said, "I didn't do it."

Exactly.  Whenever I catch myself thinking of Lara as a 'good girl', even loosely, I remind myself that we can always ask Anna Ashe for a character reference-wait, no, we actually can't, can we?  And there would have been a lot more dead minor practitioners except that Thomas ran interference.

From Lara's POV it was a triple-win:  it set Malvora and Skavis against each other, it reinforced her own control over the Court, and it possibly weakened the White Council in the future, at least potentially, by removing the women who might potentially give birth to possible Wizards.

[Dina]

I think there is some confusion here between Anna Ashe; who was killed by the Skavis (Pricilla) in White Night, and Hannah Asher who we remember as the super skilled fire wielder and also a Denarian from Skin Game; who we thought died under a couple tons of molten rock, but apparently not. 

It was Lara who manipulated the campaign to kill minor magical talents into being; to pit House Skavis and House Malvora against one another, even though it was the head of House Skavis who actually ordered it and sent his heir apparent to carry out.  This makes Lara ultimately responsible for the deaths of Anna and the other women killed by Skavis and Malvora. 

It is a bit confusing because we don't really know the details, we know that Lara only weakly contested Harry's accusations that she was responsible by pointing out that Lord Skavis had promoted a similar plan a century earlier.  She never said, "I didn't do it." 

I think Harry would be disturbed that he truly enjoyed Lara's company, but not because of any one or several deaths she has caused.  Harry knows that Lara must be responsible for hundreds of deaths in her lifetime.  Harry has often pretended that the only reason he is attracted to Lara is because of her White Court mojo, but being forced to recognize his attraction is deeper than that; and I'm not talking about true love, the fact that Harry genuinely likes Lara and likes spending time with her would be disturbing to Harry. 

Harry has always been hard on himself.  Harry would question if enjoying spending time with a monster; a beautiful, intelligent, charming, fun loving and polite monster, but a monster none the less, would mean that he is losing his battle to remain himself and not give in to the pressure of the Winter Knight's mantel or give in to Mab's schemes to mold him.  I think Harry would worry that he is taking another step into becoming a monster himself.

True, I was mistaken. I wish they were not so many similar names. We also have other Anna (Valmont) and Ana (Anastasia) Luccio.
And I agree with the rest of what you said.

[Mira]

Harry has always been hard on himself.  Harry would question if enjoying spending time with a monster; a beautiful, intelligent, charming, fun loving and polite monster, but a monster none the less, would mean that he is losing his battle to remain himself and not give in to the pressure of the Winter Knight's mantel or give in to Mab's schemes to mold him.  I think Harry would worry that he is taking another step into becoming a monster himself.

Yes, unless of course he is successful in manipulating that monster, which he has some success at.  He did manipulate Laciel's Shadow, renaming her Lash ultimately sacrificing herself for him.  Now he did pay a price for that with the original.  I think having Lara as a girlfriend eventually a wife is like keeping a domesticated tiger in your house.  It might be cuddly, beautiful, even fun, but at the end of the day, it is still a tiger.  A fact of life is, tigers can and do eat people if hungry enough and given a chance, it is their nature.  Because of her Hunger demon, Lara sees all humanity as kine, the fact that Harry is a wizard, Winter Knight, and her half brother's half-brother, doesn't change that..  Oh creepy thought, though not related by blood, but as half brother to her half brother, is Harry also her brother?     

[Dina]

Yes, unless of course he is successful in manipulating that monster, which he has some success at.  He did manipulate Laciel's Shadow, renaming her Lash ultimately sacrificing herself for him.  Now he did pay a price for that with the original.  I think having Lara as a girlfriend eventually a wife is like keeping a domesticated tiger in your house.  It might be cuddly, beautiful, even fun, but at the end of the day, it is still a tiger.  A fact of life is, tigers can and do eat people if hungry enough and given a chance, it is their nature.  Because of her Hunger demon, Lara sees all humanity as kine, the fact that Harry is a wizard, Winter Knight, and her half brother's brother, doesn't change that..  Oh creepy thought, though not related by blood, but as half brother to her half brother, is Harry also her brother? 

No, he is not her brother but I do remember they talking about rescuing "our brother" and then the idea of them together became creepier. Still, there is really no reason. They are not blood related and they did not grow together, so they are not siblings in any way. It is just that the "our brother" sounds bad.

[Mira]

No, he is not her brother but I do remember they talking about rescuing "our brother" and then the idea of them together became creepier. Still, there is really no reason. They are not blood related and they did not grow together, so they are not siblings in any way. It is just that the "our brother" sounds bad.

Yeah, I understand that they aren't related by blood, but it is still a little creepy and feels a wee bit like incest.  However that is a digression from my original point, no matter how great they get along, Lara will always see Harry as a food source.  Unless Harry found a way to kill her Hunger demon, which I am not sure she'd go along with, there is no getting around that fact.  It could be that Mab isn't looking for an alliance with the White Court but rather just another leash to keep her Knight in line.. Harry gets out of line? Mab orders Lara to go a little heavier on her munchies.

[peterwiggin94]

I hope the fact that Lara and Harry share a brother, but aren't technically related, is a source of joking or tension in 12 Months. Lara grew up when the Hapsburg chin was still a good thing and she's had way more incestuous sex than with her half-brother's half-brother (thanks Papa Raith). She almost certainly won't be bothered by this relationship to Harry but he probably will.

[vincentric]

If you think Harry will have trouble adjusting, just imagine how much mileage Jim can get from Thomas's reactions if he is ever freed. Thomas and Michael would be 1a and 1b for best man or would you make Thomas the ring bearer?

[Dina]

One of my first reactions after reading Mab saying they have to marry was..."oh, Eb won't be happy". I honestly think he may try to kill Lara. Perhaps he even succeeds, making more drama for Harry (and Thomas when he is freed). But really, it is really cruel to make Harry (Eb's grandson) the son in law of his mother's killer. Seems excessive, even for Mab.

[vincentric]

One of my first reactions after reading Mab saying they have to marry was..."oh, Eb won't be happy". I honestly think he may try to kill Lara. Perhaps he even succeeds, making more drama for Harry (and Thomas when he is freed). But really, it is really cruel to make Harry (Eb's grandson) the son in law of his mother's killer. Seems excessive, even for Mab.

Got to disagree here. The hero marrying the daughter of the villain that killed his parent(s) is fairly common in fantasy. It's jarring here, because Lara is not a damsel to be rescued but a mature power in her own right that had an equal role in taking down said villain. The key being, we don't know if she'll reform to the hero's morals. She'd have to do quite a bit to earn redemption, but if she really did seek it, she could have 300+ years as Harry's wife if they both survive.

[Dina]

Well, we agree to disagree then. I think it is cruel but perhaps Mab or Lea are planning for Harry to get even more of a revenge of Raith for killing Maggie.

[Regenbogen]

If you think Harry will have trouble adjusting, just imagine how much mileage Jim can get from Thomas's reactions if he is ever freed. Thomas and Michael would be 1a and 1b for best man or would you make Thomas the ring bearer?

I don't think Thomas will be back so soon. He probably won't see the wedding. But Michael has to be best man! I am so looking forward to Michael talking to Lara.

One of my first reactions after reading Mab saying they have to marry was..."oh, Eb won't be happy". I honestly think he may try to kill Lara. Perhaps he even succeeds, making more drama for Harry (and Thomas when he is freed). But really, it is really cruel to make Harry (Eb's grandson) the son in law of his mother's killer. Seems excessive, even for Mab.

O yes. Eb trying to kill Lara came to my mind, too.
And I agree, it is cruel. But I think, Mab didn't mean to be cruel. For her this has purely practical reasons and in her opinion, Harry should get over his useless human feelings and do what is needed.
I think she puts him in a position inside the white court on purpose for several reasons. Some of them being access to the knowledge in the Raith library, being close to the court which was targeted by Nemesis to find out Outsider influences and what exactly Nemesid did there and why, and many more.

I like the idea of Harry and Lara enjoying some time together. I actually think Lara would be surprised and interested by the Field Museum. They could also visit some historical museum so Lara can relive a few of the days of old. It would be so novel for her, because I do not think any other man wanted to do with her. Of course, dinner and wine will still be required.
Again, I do not think Harry could ever love her, she is too much of a monster. And she is probably still angry about Thomas.

The Field Museum also came to my mind. And yes, there won't be love, but I can imagine it could become a partnership of convenience for common goals. Lara being involved in the Oblivion War and working with Harry against Outsiders. Also working with Harry to find Justine and safe the child (if it even exists, but if it does, I can imagine Lara taking care of her nephew or niece) and safe Thomas.

[Mira]

   There still is the issue of "true love" to get around.  Was what Harry and Murphy had true love?  And if is was, is Harry still protected?  I also don't think undoing that will be all that simple, though it sounds simple.  I don't see it working out between Harry and Lara, yeah, there is attraction and they share a lot of points of view.. However there are some opposing view points between them that I think will just be a bridge too far for both of them.  I really think this will be one of those rare times when Mab's chess moves might actually backfire on her because of the push back she will get not just from Harry but Lara as well.

[Regenbogen]

   There still is the issue of "true love" to get around.  Was what Harry and Murphy had true love?  And if is was, is Harry still protected?  I also don't think undoing that will be all that simple, though it sounds simple.  I don't see it working out between Harry and Lara, yeah, there is attraction and they share a lot of points of view.. However there are some opposing view points between them that I think will just be a bridge too far for both of them.  I really think this will be one of those rare times when Mab's chess moves might actually backfire on her because of the push back she will get not just from Harry but Lara as well.

I agree in part.
I don't think, this will backfire at Mab, because she will have planned for all consequences. And no matter what will happen, she will win something of it.
And for the true love part:
I imagine a conversation between Lara and Mab.
Lara: "Your Knight is protected by the true love curse. The marriage cannot be consumated without him losing it. Please order him to do so."
Mab: "I don't care about your minor problem. I have granted your favor. If you are not content, so do something about it yourself. Or are you not as capable as I thought?"

And I think Harry will be highly motivated to find a way to deal with the Hunger demon. If not for himself, so for his child. Maggie will be in grave danger being too close to White Court Vampires in the future. And he has to somehow free Thomas without his Hunger consuming him.
I believe Harry will either invent a spell or an amulet or a potion to make the Hunger sleep. Or an amulet AND a potion. The amulet or spell for protection against the Hunger. For himself and Maggie. And the potion for the Whampire themselve. To make the demon sleep, as Lea did with the Red Court demons in Susan and Martin in Changes. Somehow it must be possible to do so.
This could be useful for the future.

We don't know yet, if Harry will loose the true love protection or not. But we know how it can be done: have sex with someone. And the other method is still just theory: the marriage vows.
But it is a strong theory supported by the short story "Something Borrowed" (correct title?) when Jenny Greenteeth tries to marry Will Borden. So the marriage vows are supposed to be a powerful magical binding.

And I do think, the true love protection is hard to get, but easy to loose.
 

[g33k]

...  And there would have been a lot more dead minor practitioners except that Thomas ran interference ...

There actually were quite a few more dead practitioners; we know from Elaine & the word-of-mouth via the proto-Paranet that the "cull the minor practitioners" plan had been enacted in multiple cities before they brought it to Chicago, where Thomas twigged quickly (then left clues for Harry).  We don't really know how many cities, how many dead; I presume more than we're told, because the Paranet was very "proto".

[Avernite]

Got to disagree here. The hero marrying the daughter of the villain that killed his parent(s) is fairly common in fantasy. It's jarring here, because Lara is not a damsel to be rescued but a mature power in her own right that had an equal role in taking down said villain. The key being, we don't know if she'll reform to the hero's morals. She'd have to do quite a bit to earn redemption, but if she really did seek it, she could have 300+ years as Harry's wife if they both survive.

Eh...

the Demon being what it is, I have my doubts Lara could be redeemed without booting the Hunger. In which case she might live a good few years, but she'd need some supernatural boost to be 300+.
Something like becoming the next Winter Queen after Mab? The Knight is to some extent consort of the Queens of Faerie, too, which a wedding would fit quite adequately.