A/N: Anything in italics means it's a quote. Beauty and the Beast is the most used however the ending quote is by Colleen Hoover. This is for Misaki Kinomoto's birthday. I've just gotten around to posting it on here.
"So much for Happily Ever After, I can see it now! A Rita Skeeter novel called The Life and Times of Harry Potter! The blurb would say 'Far off places, Daring sword fights, Magic spells, A Prince in disguise!' yeah, but so far I haven't found my Prince. And it's sad really that a Disney movie sums up my life just with rose tinted glasses." I muttered to myself as I walked through the castle corridors. I was on my way to meet Hermione, my only friend at the moment, in the library. I was glad to finally be alone as everyone had been mocking me for being a supposed cheater. I scowled as I reflected on how my life had been going. I almost wished it was a Disney movie. And to be sure getting my letter to Hogwarts was a dream come true. It was a way out from the Dursley's, yet now it was more like a nightmare I couldn't escape from. I shook my head as I carefully picked my way through the corridor that I knew for a fact Fred and George had booby trapped. I was almost to the library when I heard someone shout my name. I froze and gave a tired sigh as I pirouetted around to see who it was.
"Malfoy." I ground out. I was sure that I was going to barely avoid a fight. Nothing good ever came out of seeing Malfoy. Malfoy stood there for a moment looking uncertain and ready to bolt. This gave me pause. Malfoy was the one who stopped me after all, why was he frightened? I had just started to turn back around when Malfoy began to speak.
"Potter what are you doing for the first task? Please tell me you have some way not to die."
"What do you care if I die Malfoy?! I bet you'd be perfectly happy if I did! Besides what do you even know about the first task? Trying to get information you don't have? I won't be the one to tell you what the first task is and ruin it for everybody else." I shouted at him. I turned around to storm off to finally go to the library when Malfoy's panicked words made me stop short.
"I know how to get you past the dragons safely." He rushed to get out. Frozen to the spot I thought 'What did Malfoy just say?'. Before I could even form a more coherent thought or speak Malfoy continued on.
"It's true Potter! I know all about the dragons and how to get past them! Look! This is how you can get past them with no trouble at all. You won't even get a tiny burn with this." Malfoy pleaded almost desperately. My heart was pounding in my ears. Malfoy knew of a way to get past the dragons when even Hermione didn't? Was Malfoy to be trusted at all? I quickly turned back to Malfoy and saw a ring in his hand. 'What is Malfoy playing at?!' I wondered. The ring was certainly beautiful, but it was a ring for Merlin's sake what was it supposed to do? Look pretty on my finger and distract the dragon with something shiny? As if that would work. I decided to humor him anyway and took a closer look at it. The ring was aged silver with a waved line of black through it. Inside the black portion were 3 tiny black diamonds and the silver bunched up around the black portion. It looked almost like claws. Malfoy must have seen the disbelief on my face because he began speaking again.
"It's a Malfoy family heirloom. You may not know that the Malfoy family originally came from France. A bit of history; Magical France is mostly made up of Veela's or part Veela's like that Delacour girl. There are as many witches and wizards there in France as there are werewolves here in Britain. To say that is a minority. As such the Malfoy family married Veela's; it's where our white blonde hair comes from. One of my ancestors was an artesian that made rings. He crafted this very ring for one of his sons that was courting a Veela. This ring has numerous protections on it including protection from fire. This Malfoy had gotten the Veela that was marrying his son to use her fire to heat and even melt the ring as he cast protective magic's at it. As a result of that fire the ring protects its wearer from Veela fire and any fire weaker than that of a Veela. A Veela's fire Potter, is as hot as a Dragons-if the Veela was a Pure Veela. Which this particular Veela was. Veela's and dragons are enemies which is why the fire is the same temperature. So even if the dragon breathes fire on you, you won't suffer any burns at all. At most the only thing you'll feel is slightly warm." When Malfoy finished he looked slightly winded. I shook my head. Not only was it a lot to take in but Malfoy helping me for free? I wasn't buying it, especially since he stated it was a Malfoy Family Heirloom.
"So what's the catch Malfoy? You can't just be offering it to me without you getting something in return. What is it that you want?" I was getting slightly impatient. I was late meeting with Hermione now and if this really worked I had to have it, but the question was how could I afford it? Knowing Malfoy certainly not. With a determined glint in his eyes and a blush on his cheeks Malfoy puffed up and stated,
"I just want one thing Potter. I want you to allow me the privilege of courting you." I blinked at Malfoy as I tried to figure out what he just asked me and if I should accept it. I didn't have anyone to ask and I was sure this was some Pureblood thing that I was once again woefully ignorant of. Malfoy began to droop and the devastated look on his face made me blurt,
"But what are you talking about Malfoy? Courting? What is that?" A stunned look blossomed on Malfoy's face as he blinked at me a few times before he coughed and turned a brilliant red.
"Uh… well, courting Potter. How can you not know what that is?"
"Not all of us were raised in the wizarding world Malfoy. If I ask you about something it's because I obviously don't know what it means! So stop it and tell me what the bloody hell you're talking about!" I screamed in frustration at him. I had to have a better way of getting past the dragons!
"You really don't know? You're not just trying to make me look stupid? Oh uh well then. Courting. Basically it's a wizarding tradition. By asking you to allow me to court you I'm asking you if it's okay for me to allow you to get to know me better or to prove my worth to you before I ask for your hand in marriage. And yes Potter before you ask me anything else men can marry in the wizarding world. It's perfectly acceptable. Even for Pureblood families that need to produce heirs. Generally what happens in that case is that the men blood adopt a child. Which basically means you make them your child, even though they weren't born to you. Usually they're orphans. It's why there are not any wizarding orphanages." My head was reeling by this time of course. So much information to handle! And it looked like Malfoy wasn't done yet.
"Basically there are 4 stages. The first is courting and it usually lasts for a year. In that year I send you gifts and letters and maybe take you out on dates although it's not usually done until the Betrothed stage. Then you have the Engagement Stage and then finally the Ceremony or Marriage stage. At each stage a ring is given to the submissive partner. Um which would be you seeing as how I'm the one initiating the courting rites in the first place. So this ring I'm giving you now would be the Chercher ring or the courting ring. I want you to have it, but that means you have to except me as one of your courters. You can have up to ten, one for each finger, but in the end you can only chose one of those ten to be your husband. Since you don't have any rings on your fingers I assume you've not gotten any proposals or you've turned them all down, which is the one I find most likely seeing as you're now past thirteen. But I have enough money and prestige in the wizarding world to give you anything you could need or want. You say it and it's yours. I'll never hurt you and I won't use you. I don't need to use you to get what I want or need so you don't have to worry about that. Oh and if you did have other suitors and decided to drop me out of the running you'd have to give any rings I gave you back seeing as they'll all be family heirlooms, but you can keep any gifts I give you. It'll be the same for any others as well."
My head was spinning so fast I could barely breathe. Malfoy wanted me to basically tell him he could marry me?! Malfoy actually wanted to marry me! And he thought I'd have a lot of courtships going on? What was the world coming too? Malfoy was looking pale. I thought that I might regret what I was about to do, letting my Gryffindor side take control, but Malfoy seemed so genuine and well it was Malfoy. He could answer all the questions I'd ever wanted answered about the wizarding world. And maybe, just maybe, I could make him a better person. Because if he wanted to marry me or court me then he'd have a few things to do.
"Alright then Malfoy. Here's what's going to happen. I'll let you court me if you promise to the following. You have to give Hermione, Fred, and George a chance. They're my only friends. No calling Hermione mudblood, my mother was muggleborn too you know. No talking or rubbing it in the twins faces that they don't have money. I don't have any in the muggle world so I know how they feel when someone mentions it. Any other friends I have, you'll give a chance too. I'm not asking for miracles; just give a chance to those you otherwise wouldn't. If you can't you better be able to convince me why you can't. If you're angry at me you need to walk out of the room. I have a bad temper I know, but I don't want either of us to be tempted to hurt the other. Because I swear I'll kill you if you touch me. I also want you to answer my questions and Hermione's as fully as you can. There's a lot that neither of us knows about the wizarding world and we want to know. Fred and George feel the same, except they live here and they can't tell us things about the Pureblood views because they weren't taught them. And lastly, you have to be penitent with me. No pushing me into anything I'm not ready for. Got it?" I glare at Malfoy. I'm sure this has to be a joke. He won't accept these conditions if it's just a joke. It's much to involve for a joke. I can see he's turning red rapidly. I knew it.
"Potter! How dare you think that! That list tells me that you don't believe me! I've wanted to court you since before I met you! I admit at first it was because you were the boy-who-lived and I wanted to have a powerful partner! But then I met you and you refused my hand! I was divested! I thought I'd lost all chances. I was never mad at you, it was always Weasley I was mad at. His family keeps ruining my family' chance at happiness in love. We may have all the money in the world, but we never have been able to marry who we really want too. The reason why the Malfoys and the Weasleys have a blood feud is because my father was supposed to marry Molly Weasley. I admit my father financially ruined Arthur Weasley and the Weasley family because of it, but that was before he knew she was pregnant the first time. He regretted it after that, but he still can't stand Arthur Weasley. I saw you with Weasley and I had to try and get you to be my friend, but it backfired on me! I thought I lost you and then you get into the tournament and he wasn't speaking to you and I thought I'd have a chance finally! And now you don't even have the decency to believe me?! I want to court you because I love you!" Malfoy gaped as if he couldn't believe that he had said the last part. I was stunned. Malfoy loved me?
"But why do you love me? I'm nothing but a no good freak!" I blurted out before I could stop myself. I winced. I never wanted anyone to know about how the Dursley's treated me, even though the Twins knew and Hermione highly suspected. No one else seemed to care so I must deserve it, right? Malfoy spluttered and advanced towards me. I squeaked and backed up into the wall. Apparently I had been standing right in front of an alcove. Malfoy cornered me and pressed his lips to mine. My brain decided to shut down as he pressed up against me and continued to kiss me. He broke the kiss and backed up slightly as I tried to remember how to breathe. His eyes were sad but his lips were pressed into a determined frown.
"You are not a freak Harry James Potter. You are an attractive, powerful young man. And I want you. I don't want a meek and obeying partner. I want someone who's going to fight beside me against our enemies, I want someone who will stand up for me, and someone who will match me scathing word for word. I want someone who won't wilt under my own impressive temper. And you match all of those qualities Harry. The way you stand up to Professor Snape when he hounds you, the way you do what you believe is right. I want all of you. Just the way you are. I know you won't let me get away with hurting other for no reason. To be honest with you, my biggest fear is ending up like my father. I know you won't let me do that. Please Harry, give us a chance. Yes, we'll both be going into this for our own selfish reasons, but maybe, just maybe we can really love each other and make this work in the end. After all, between the courtship stage and the ceremony stage there is plenty of time. It takes at least four years if not seven to complete them all according to Pureblood standard. We'll fight and have our disagreements, but let us try this Harry. See if we can make it work. After all, you can refuse to advance to a stage or you can tell me then that the courtship is over. You may even cancel up until the day of the wedding ceremony. So what do you say?" Malfoy was gazing down at me with truth in his eyes. There was no deceit about him, no danger. I was really very good about sensing danger and this time my gut wasn't sending me any signals. So what the bloody hell, maybe I can finally know what love is.
"Once upon a time, in a faraway land, a young prince lived in a shining castle. Although he had everything his heart desired, the prince was spoiled, selfish, and unkind." I muttered. It seems this really was a Disney movie after all.
"What?!" Malfoy cried incredulously.
"Oh you heard that? Um nothing, it's nothing just a line from my favorite movie." I told Malfoy and I felt the blush creeping up my cheeks. Steeling my courage I straightened as much as I could, not that it did much for our height difference anyway, and said in a firm tone,
"Alright. So does this make us boyfriends?"
"No, it makes us Chercher's. And call me Draco from now on please." Draco told me as he looked quite puzzled. I ducked my head and murmured,
"I'm late to meet Hermione. She's going to be spare with worry. So if you'll excuse me." I tried to slip out from Malfoy's grasp, but he gently grabbed my arm and muttered,
"Let me walk you there." I started and exclaimed,
"But it's right around the corner!" He grinned at me unapologetically and said,
"But I must apologize to Ms. Granger for keeping her waiting Harry. It's impolite to leave a lady waiting, especially if she is your Chercher's best friend. And I know she'll probably have questions you can't answer and besides that I need to start making amends with her for our past grievances. If this goes anywhere I've got to at least be able to be polite to her and at most befriend her so you'll never have to choose between us."
"Well aren't we thinking far ahead Ma-Draco." He smirks at me as we enter the library. We're lucky that no one is in the library at the moment and we can sweep by Madam Pince to find Hermione tucked away at her usual table near the Charms section. I sigh and get ready to face the Spanish Inquisition. Dear Merlin help me.
"So let me get this straight. Malfoy, excuse me Draco, has secretly been in love with you all this time and it's only because of Ronald that he's never been nice to us?!" Hermione demanded. Draco nodded and I said,
"Pretty much yeah Mione." She turned on me with a furious glare and harshly exclaimed,
"And you accepted this?!" I gulped and shakily answered,
"As the years passed, he fell into despair and lost all hope. For who could ever learn to love a beast?" Her shoulders drooped and he face softened as she launched herself at me from across the table.
"We don't like what we don't understand, in fact it scares us, and this monster is mysterious at least..." She paused as she gazed into my eyes with tears shimmering in her own, then continued,
"I just don't want you to get hurt Harry. I love you too much to allow it to happen. But if you're sure this is what you truly want then I'll support you. I always will no matter what. I hope you know that." I pulled her back into a hug and tried not to sob in her arms. I truly don't deserve anyone like Hermione. She's steadfastly loyal. Always ready to jump to my defense and willing to deal with me when others are terrified to come near me. My temper has never scared her. Perhaps because hers is as bad as my own once you ignite it. I smile at her as we pull away and she turns towards Draco and smiles at him stating,
"I give you my blessing, but hurt him Draco dear and they'll never find your body." I laugh at the look on Draco's face and Hermione turns back around to face me with a smug look upon her face.
"Now let's get to work Harry! Even if you now have this ring, which I don't see on your finger, we still need to plan out how to summon your broom and any emergency situations how to handle them if they come up. Also we're behind on our homework." She simpers as she flounces back towards her seat.
"FLY?! You were planning to fly?! Against a dragon?! Harry that's suicidal!" Draco cried out in shock. Hermione and I look at Draco in shock at his outburst as Madam Pince swoops over and yells at us to keep our voices down. Draco flushed slightly and franticly whispers,
"Look Harry you can speak Parseltongue. So why the bloody hell aren't you going to use it?" I look to Hermione and she looks as confused as I feel. Neither of us really understands where Draco's going to this. I feel vindicated that I'm not the only one to not understand why my being able to speak to snakes is supposed to magical help me with Dragons.
"Oh honestly Harry! Dragons are serpents. Just bloody big ones, with wings. Trust me I should know. I am after all, named Dragon. Naturally I would know about what I'm named after. Well that and who, but still." Draco huffed out in exasperation almost as if he had had to defend himself for knowing this before. I still just don't understand. Did Draco just say that dragons were really big snakes? I mean it can't be that easy can it? It just can't be not with my luck anyway. I have to do a double take when I notice Hermione nodding towards Draco as if it all makes sense.
"My luck." I deadpan. Hermione's eyes then persist to widen as she adds in that factor. She gulps and then whispers hoarsely,
"You better be extra polite Harry." I roll my eyes and shoot her a 'no duh' look. I shrug my shoulders as I say to Draco,
"Well what's the worst that could happen? I'll give it a shot and use my broom as backup. After that I'm shite out of luck. I mean my luck can be pretty bad most of the time, but most things come out alright in the end. Hopefully they will this time too." I smile widely at Draco as I hear Hermione stifle a giggle. Draco does not look amused, but it makes me laugh so really where's the harm?
I'm heading down to another dinner as an exile when someone grabs me around the waist and pulls me into an alcove. I mean really, how many of these things are there in Hogwarts?! A hand goes over my mouth, but I'm not really worried. I can smell the cologne that Draco wears and since he's the only one who wears it I can worry later. Hmmm I wonder what it actually is? Hoping not to seem foolish I sniff the air. There's a citrusy smell, the outdoors, woods maybe, definitely moss, and strangely enough leather.
"Are you sniffing me Harry?!" Draco exclaimed quietly. I nod seeing as his hand is still on my mouth. I wonder what he'd do if I licked his hand? Probably scream like a little girl. He seems to notice that his hand is stopping me from breathing properly and removes it.
"I was just trying to figure out what your cologne is. It smells quite brilliant that." I mumble back to him. I'm acutely aware of his warm arm wrapped around my waist and his hand resting on my hip. This is a very intimate feeling, being this close in a darkened hallway near others. A tete-a-tete as it were. Especially with the position we're in. I feel odd. It's almost like the feeling I got with Sirius or even when I'm around Professor Lupin or Snape. I wonder what it is that I'm feeling. I feel it most when I'm in Hermione's arms or near her though.
"What are you thinking about Harry?" Draco quietly interrupts my musings. I wonder whether I should tell him or not.
"Well I feel odd. I don't really know how to describe it. I feel warm and strangely happy. I feel like I'm with my Godfather, or Professor's Lupin and Snape. But most of all I feel like I'm with Hermione in her arms or just near her. I'm not sure." I tell him. I feel him lay his chin on top of my head as he shifts back against the wall. Both of his arms are wrapped around me now. He hums to himself and then says,
"You feel safe Harry. That's what you're feeling. Hermione was my biggest clue. She's always fighting for you and protecting you, even when you don't want her too or even need her to do so. I suppose your Godfather makes you feel that same. As for Professor Lupin he taught you the Patronus Charm and it save you. Professor Snape, well I'm not sure why he makes you feel safe, but it stands to reason that what you're feeling right now is the feeling of safety. That makes me happy Harry; to know that you feel safe with me, even though I basically kidnapped you on your way to dinner." He chuckles at the end and I pipe up,
"Why are you keeping me away from dinner Draco? I'm actually kind of hungry for once." He turns me around and gets down on one knee. I'm confused what is he doing? He looks at me seriously and locks eyes with me.
"Harlan Jameson Potter, I Draconian Lucius Malfoy would be honored if you would accept this ring, as a token of my love for you, and as the courtship ring, to allow me the honor of courting you for your eventual hand in marriage." I blink at Draco, but I nod and reply uncertainly,
"I will accept the courtship ring?" Draco's face lights up and I know I've said the right thing. This must have been part of the courtship things that I don't know. Hopefully Draco will see fit to teach me everything I need to know since I know nothing. Draco smirks as he leans in closer to me and says,
"It's called English Leather Cologne. Enjoy your dinner Harry." He walks away and I'm left standing in the little alcove feeling alone and desperately cold. What happened to all of the warmth that was just here? I sigh forlornly and go off to find Hermione. I hope she's saved me some dinner. Knowing her it's probably more than I can eat, but at least she only gets me things I like. She just gets too much of what I like.
That night I sat up in bed reading a book that Draco had slipped me after dinner. Hermione was curled up beside me reading along. We did this often and no one had ever found out. The both of us would wait until all the others had fallen asleep and then she would sneak in the room. We both loved to read, but with Ron as a friend it was almost impossible to do so. So we decided to read when everyone else was asleep. It worked well for the both of us. Sometimes we read in the night and sometimes since we were both such early risers we would just read in the morning. Hermione would got to the library and get books and then we would read them together. Both of us had looked up charms, both wanting to know how I could have survived that night. We studied history which was much more interesting than what Binns taught. We knew about potions and how integral they are to the wizarding world. We had begun to read about the animagus transformations way back in first year and we decided that with the tournament this year we were actually going to practice it. We both were working on the potion to show us our forms. But this night we were reading a book about common Pureblood etiquette. We both had been horrified to learn that we had committed almost every do not in the book. Or at least the ones we had already gotten to. For me turning down Draco's hand at friendship in first year was what had started to alienate myself from the Purebloods in the school. For Hermione it was when she had flaunted her knowledge in every subject. The Purebloods had a thing were each one had one subject that they excelled in based on family magic or magic they receive at inheritance that allows them to base in that subject. By Hermione showing everyone up in every subject she was snubbing the Purebloods because she wasn't letting anyone else shine. That was the way Hermione grew up though, wanting some form of recognition for her talents and to get that recognition she had to be the best at everything or she would be ignored. So they had both in effect snubbed the Purebloods and made it seem as if they were telling them they couldn't be a part of their circle of friends. They both felt horrible and extremely embarrassed. I wasn't too thrilled to learn that I had alienated half the school and that was the reason why everyone constantly turned on me. Well it explained a lot. Truly it did. Hermione looked at me and I knew we'd be talking about this later, but seeing as it was midnight it was time to get to bed.
"Goodnight Harry." She whispered as she gave me hug. I smile back at her and gripping her tight I reply,
"Goodnight Hermione." She smiles as she slips out the door.
The next day was the day of the task. I shuddered as I walked down to breakfast. It definitely felt like I was walking to the executioners block. I was grabbed around the waist and drug towards an unused hallway. I sigh as Draco manhandles me.
"You know, when I said I'd give this relationship a try I never said you could manhandle me." I tease him. The blush that lights his face is well worth the manhandling. I laugh and feel better than I have all week. Between Hermione and Draco and the Twins they won't let me be alone for long. I shift awkwardly from foot to foot and feel my nerves hit me full force. I feel nauseous and my hands start to tremble. Then I surprise myself and Draco. I launch myself into his arms and shudder against him. I don't want to face a dragon! I'm only fourteen for Merlin's sake! I sob into his chest, he's so much taller than me it's really not fair, and his arms wrap around and we sway on the spot. I don't want to do this. Not at all. Not ever.
Standing in the tent with the others is killing me. My stomach is rolling and I just wish I had Draco, Hermione, or the twins here to hold me. I can't do this! I can't! I jerk when I hear,
"Psst…" I stumble over and whisper,
"Hermione?!" I hear her sigh and I can hear the tremble in her voice,
"Oh Harry! Just remember the key is to concentrate or bugger this!" And she knocks away the tent fabric and jumps into my arms. I hold tight to her taking the comfort we both need as a flash of light startles us both badly. We blink owlishly and I want to weep. Rita Skeeter walks in exclaiming about young love. Everything blurs after that and then I'm standing in front of the Dragon I'm supposed to battle. It's huge and dark and I'm terrified.
"Lady Dragon Mother I beseech you. Please allow me to take the fake egg that is in your nest." I blurt out. I'm not even sure if it's in Parseltongue or not, but when the dragon lowers her head towards me I know it has. Her voice is deep and makes the ground shake.
"Yes. Take it and only it. Leave." I stumble forward and grab the golden egg and run out of the arena. I dive into the medical tent and I'm glad when Madam Pomfrey mother hens me and forces a calming draught down my throat. I gasp as she pushes me out of the tent and get my scores. Then I run all the way towards the castle not waiting on anyone. Before I can get to the tower though two sets of arms catch me and scoop me up.
"Woah there Har-Bear," One twin starts,
"We know that you're scared but wait a second," the other said,
"Hermione and Draco are on their way." I sob and finally break down completely as Hermione and Draco fling themselves at us. I cling to them and just let it all go.
After I had finally stopped crying and the others reassured me that it was perfectly okay and normal to cry after that (and I did feel better that Hermione was crying right along with me) we decided that a trip to the kitchens was in order. Hermione ordered us all hot chocolate al la Professor Lupin and we all sat, sipping at the hot drink and nibbling on biscuits. I hadn't eaten anything before and I wasn't really hungry but I knew that Hermione wouldn't calm down until I had eaten something. And they were helping to settle my stomach. It was quiet. We were just taking comfort from each other's presence. It was nice. It felt almost as if we were a family. I sighed and slumped further into Draco's arms as Hermione tightened her grip on my knee. Fred and George moved closer towards us. None of us has recovered any color to our faces. We're all still pale and shaky. I see the twins swap a look out of the corner of my eye and Fred starts to speak,
"So Draky-Poo. Har-Bear tells us that our Mum was supposed to marry your Dad? Can you explain it any better to us? We've always wanted to know why Dad and Mum refused to teach us the Pureblood ways. Maybe this will finally be the answer we're looking for." Draco looks decidedly uncomfortable as he pulled me closer.
"Well as you know or perhaps not, all purebloods usually have a marriage contract or betrothal set up at a young age. Sometimes even before the child is born, of course after the genders are found out. So the Malfoy family decided to betroth their son to the Prewett family's only girl. Both my father and your mother knew about the marriage. The years at Hogwarts are commonly used between these contracts to do the courting stages. Your mother went along with the courting and never gave any indication that she was going to break the betrothal. Father was in his last year when your Mother came back from Christmas holidays married to Arthur Weasley. He was incised naturally. His bride to be had basically told him he wasn't good enough for her and married a man below the Malfoy family's standing. It was a slight against the whole family because the contract was still in effect. So my father decided that he had to have revenge for the tarnish against his name. My father as you know is big into the political side of things. So he devised a plan. He dug through all the laws pertaining to contracts and waited to spring his trap at the next Wizengamot session. When Arthur's father walked in and sat down he never knew he was going to lose everything because of his son.
'So my Father waited until the gathering was asked if anything else needed to be brought to attention before the council. He stood up and proceeded to tell the tale of how his family honor had been slighted and he wanted to have it reinstated. The council was naturally sympathetic as he was a fellow Pureblood, just into his head of family status. They thought it was by one of the heirs telling him that he wasn't a good leader or something of the sort. So Septimus Weasley told him to go ahead and ask for his recompense and it would be granted. So Father stood before all and told how he was in acting the spousal theft clause of the betrothal contracts. Since he had given gifts to the woman he wanted every gift back because of the price spent on them. He wanted the bride price paid by the family that stole his bride to be. He wanted their family seat on the Wizengamot because they had destroyed his honor as a brand new Lord. He wanted to be paid back for the manor home he had built and gifted to his bride to be and he wanted the fine for theft of a Lord's bride to be paid. He also said as per the guidelines of the contract the moneys had to be paid in full by the wedding date that had been set. Which was for graduation barely 3 weeks away. The whole room was in shock, but it caused an uproar when he stated that his bride to be Molly Prewett had been stolen away by none other than Arthur Weasley. And thus the Weasley family lost everything and Septimus hasn't spoken to Arthur Weasley since." Here Draco stopped and took a few deep breaths. He had slightly rushed through it as if it bothered him greatly to tell the story. I supposed he was uncomfortable because he had to tell the twins the reason why they didn't have anything. He then shakily began talking once more,
"When father found out three weeks later that your Mother had given birth to William the day before graduation he wanted to take it all back. He hadn't known that your mother was pregnant and he had expected for the family to gain money back before children came into the equation. He also didn't think that all the money that the Weasleys had would go to pay him back. He truly never realized how much wealthier his family was over the others. Of course he was also extremely grateful he hadn't known about the pregnancy until after he had exacted his revenge. He could have ruined the Prewitt family as well. Molly had gotten pregnant outside of the contract. No sex before marriage is the biggest law there is. Had he known that she had had sex he could have ruined her family too because of her unfaithfulness. In fact he would have had to too to get his revenge on Arthur. So he's felt awful about doing that to your mother and the children ever since, but not about doing it to your father. I'd ask your mother about it to be honest if you want to know her side. My father and I have both wanted to know about why she did it." Draco finished quietly. He was gripping me almost too tightly, but I just sat there and let him. Hermione had her head in my lap by this point and I was playing with her hair. The twins were sitting there with their heads against one another and looked to be in deep thought. We spent the rest of the time until curfew in silence, not quite uncomfortable, but the kind of silence that family and friends can sit in and just take comfort in knowing that someone else is there with you.
That night as Hermione and I lay reading she looked up at me and asked quietly,
"Harry, are you sure about Draco? I mean he is the boy who we always fought with. Who called us mean names and fired hexes our way; even if it was just supposed to be at Ronald. I mean I punched him for goodness sake!" I smiled down at her and said,
"There's something sweet and almost kind, but he was mean and he was coarse and unrefined. But now he's dear and so unsure, I wonder why I didn't see it there before." She smiled up at me and nodded. She settled back down against my chest to continue reading as she whispered,
"I suppose that does sound like him. I can understand how it sums him up. It's how I feel about him now too."
The weeks passed as we all tried to figure out what the awful screeching coming from the egg was. Ron had tried to befriend me again after the 1st task but I turned him down. I had Draco, Hermione, Fred, and George. They stuck by me through it all. I didn't need a friend who was only my friend when it was easy. Who didn't trust me enough to believe me when I said I didn't put my name into the Goblet. The five of us were fine without him. I knew that if I let him be my friend again that he would fuss about Draco and I courting at any rate and I didn't want to have to deal with that at all. Naturally Ron blew up at me and called both Hermione and I nasty names when she jumped to my defense and of course the twins got back at Ron for it over the next few weeks. I think they were more upset about Ron calling Hermione a whore than about Ron calling me a no good attention seeker. But then again I punched him straight in his mouth. I'm proud to say that he lost a couple of teeth and had to spend an uncomfortable night in the infirmary. It was well worth the weeks' worth of dentations I got. I just wished I could do the same to Rita Skeeter.
It wasn't until Cedric gave me the hint to go to the Prefect's bath that I figured out what the next task was. I went and got Hermione, Fred, George, and Draco (after I had tracked him down) and we all agreed to meet at the Prefect's bathroom that night.
When the four of us got there Draco was waiting for us. I said the password and we all snuck in. Fred and George sat on the edge of the bath with their feet sticking in the warm water. Draco was perched against the wall watching us as Hermione and I were in the water. It took us a few minutes to figure out to open it under the water. When we did Hermione and I shared a glance and ducked under the water. When we were there we heard the most beautiful voices singing to us. They sang,
"Come seek us where our voices sound,
We cannot sing above the ground,
And while you're searching ponder this;
We've taken what you'll sorely miss,
An hour long you'll have to look,
And to recover what we took,
But past an hour, the prospect's black,
Too late it's gone, it won't come back."
Hermione and I popped back up and looked at each other with disbelief written all over our faces. The others exclaimed and wanted to know what we'd heard. We both shook our heads and then Hermione said,
"I think that they're going to take something that Harry loves." Draco stepped out from the wall and shook his head slowly.
"Tell me exactly what it said." He demanded in a somber mood. Hermione quickly repeated it back to Draco and he shook his head with a sinister look on his face. He looked me straight in the eyes and clearly stated,
"Not something. Someone."
We spent the rest of the weeks until the second task in disbelief. We were wary of everything and everyone. We hardly spent a minute outside of each other's company. It was during this time that our courtship came out. Draco constantly had me pressed into his side. Hermione was always pressed in between the twins. A shadow was hanging over us and I lost plenty of sleep. Hermione and I ended up spending every night in Fred and George's room. We couldn't stand it. All of our grades slipped even Hermione's. Dumbledore, Ron, Ginny, everyone in Gryffindor besides Neville, basically the whole school besides Neville, a third year girl named Luna Lovegood, Fleur, Krum, and Cedric all turned against us once again; because this time it wasn't just myself that was being shunned. It was Hermione and the Twins for siding with me and Draco for abandoning his 'house pride' as well. No one said anything against the three other champions', but Neville and Luna became outcasts with us and quickly became intergraded with our little group. Luna had such a unique view on life that she often brought a smile to my face and irritated Hermione because she couldn't figure out what Luna was on about. We all quickly figured out that Luna wasn't talking about things that were real even just to her, but was instead talking in code. It bothered Hermione to no end because she couldn't figure out what Luna was trying to say. Neville had interesting things to add to everything Pureblood that Draco was teaching us as did Luna. Since the Longbottom's and the Lovegood's were on opposite sides of the pureblooded faction from the Malfoy's it was interesting to learn the subtle differences between them. They too however fell under the same anxiousness that the rest of us were feeling and it took far too long to get to the second task for all of us.
We were almost weak with relief when the day had finally come, but that didn't last long. I went down to the great hall with Hermione by my side. She left breakfast early that morning to go and get a blanket for me after the task. I didn't really want her to leave, but I let her go because Neville had asked me if I had seen Luna this morning. I became frantic when I noticed that Luna was missing. I couldn't spot her at the Ravenclaw table and I knew that she wouldn't miss this morning. She had taken to eating between Neville and I at breakfast because she too had become scared of the possibilities of one of us being taken. I had thought they would take Draco or Hermione but Draco was sitting right here with his arm wrapped around my waist and Hermione had just left for the tower. I felt tears rolling down my cheeks as Neville turned a sickly white. Draco pulled me into his lap and pushed my head into the crook of his neck. I threw my arms around his neck and whimpered as he brushed his fingers through my hair telling me that it would be all right. That Luna was going to be fine and that Luna trusted me. That I wouldn't let anything happen to her and if she was hurt in any way then Draco would use every bit of influence he had as the Malfoy heir to punish those who had thought to take her from us. Whispers ran rampant, but when I raised my head I was selfishly glad to note that Fleur looked sick and Cedric looked clammy. So they had figured out who had been taken from them too. Krum looked as impassive as ever, but I knew he was upset as well by the tense set of his shoulders. He was just like his cousin, Professor Snape in the fact that he didn't show emotions. And that certainly had been a shock to learn that Professor Snape was Krum's cousin, but that he also approved of Draco and I. He had told me that Draco calmed me down and brought out more of my Mother in me instead of my father. And Professor Snape had been much kinder to me since I had agreed to let Draco court me. But I steeled my back with determination in my heart as I followed the other champions out the doors to the Great Hall and down to the water's edge.
I glanced into the stands when they were full of students and almost had another panic attack when I saw Draco's pinched worried face, Neville's green one, and the grim casts to the Twins' unsmiling faces. They had taken Hermione.
They were going to pay.
When the gong sounded to announce the start of the task I drowned the gillyweed potion that Neville and Draco had managed to figure out and get from Professor Snape. It tasted horrible, but I dived into the water and shot down holding my breath until the potion took effect. I was determined to waste no time. I was not going to let them get away with taking not only Luna, little Luna, but Hermione as well. I viciously attacked anything that dared try to slow me down. And I managed to make it the center of the merpeople village in record time. I saw Luna, Hermione, and a little girl that looked like Fluer all in a row with another older Ravenclaw girl. Chang I think, she was one of the ones that had been harassing Luna. I undid Luna's bindings and went on to undo Hermione's and the bindings on Fleur's treasured person. I slashed at the merepeople when they tried to stop me and took all three of them back to the surface.
Our arrival above water was met with stunned silence and I quickly downed the reversal potion. The judges weren't happy that I had rescued two other hostages, but Fleur dived back into the water and cried in relief when she saw the little girl. She thanked me profusely as Luna looked scared and tiny and Hermione looked lost. I pushed them both up onto the platform and felt Draco and the Twins haul me up. I stood up tall and looked Dumbledore dead in the eyes as I was dripping water everywhere.
"You'll pay for this. On my honor as a Potter I swear it." I stated quietly, but deadly. The whole of the stands were silent. A Ruby red hue descended on me and covered me in a warm embrace. It was then that Draco silently came up to me and draped a warm blanket around my shoulders.
"That was your family magic Harry. It accepts your words. It will lend you the magic you need to accomplish your mission." I glanced over to Neville who had Luna wrapped up in her own towel holding her tight, to the Twins who had Hermione squished between them trying to warm her back up, to Fleur who cuddled the young girl close to her with tears streaming down both their faces, and finally up into Draco's hard steel grey eyes. This was my family and I knew then that I would give my all to protect them. It never once accrued to me to think about adding Draco to that little family. It was a natural inclusion. I took comfort in Draco's lean body and strong arms that wrapped around me to try and stop my shivering. The Twins brought Hermione over and Neville lead Luna over and we all just stood there huddled together seeking the solace and reassurance that only the proximity to each other could give us.
We never left the library anymore. All of our spare time was spent there. Searching and searching for the perfect way to get back at Dumbledore for what he had done. Taking Hermione and Luna was the last and only straw. We went through several reams of parchment, dozens of quills, and at least a quart of ink drawing up plans. The tournament was inconsequential at the moment especially as we hadn't been told what it was only when. We were there from the time curfew was lifted to the time curfew was enacted. We ate on our way to the library not wasting any time to eat in the Great Hall. We finally found a way. In fact it was Draco who found it. I remember the way he beamed at me as he said,
"I've got it! Here's what we're going to do. According to the ancient by-laws of Hogwarts an heir can get rid of the Headmaster if said Headmaster works against or to harm an heir. Since Harry was given the Sword of Gryffindor by the School's Familiar Fawkes, because the phoenix belongs to the school not Dumbledore himself that means that Harry possess the most blood of Gryffindor's alive. Which also means that he's the heir to that line so he can get rid of Dumbledore and replace him with whoever Harry deems fit; this also works well because Dumbledore did nothing to get Harry out of the tournament when there was a period of time that the names could be redrawn in case any participants had been hurt between the entering of their name and the drawing of the champions." I launched myself across the chair I was sitting in and hugged Draco to me tightly. It was the perfect revenge against the old man who had messed with my family.
We waited until that evening to enact our plan. I'd told no one who I was going to choose to replace the Headmaster, but I hoped that the person wouldn't mind. I was nervous, but Draco was holding me close the whole time and Hermione, Fred, George, Luna, and Neville were never more than five feet from me. I shakily smiled at Draco as we sat in the Great Hall eating for the first time in months. There were whispers floating around at our sudden reappearance, but not much mind was actually paid to us. It made everything all the more sweet. As the first student stood up to leave dinner I stood up and the others rose with me just as we had planned. I turned towards Dumbledore and looking him once again dead in the eyes I stated,
"You have betrayed the sacredness of the position you hold. You have tried to harm an heir of the founders. You have been found not worthy of your position as Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and as such I beseech the Lady Hogwarts to remove you from these hallowed halls. If it pleases the Lady Hogwarts I would ask that the Headmaster position be given to Head of house Slytherin Severus Snape in the betrayer's stead." The black magic of Hogwarts rose up and surrounded Dumbledore and in a flash of magic he was gone. The magic settled over Professor Snape and his robes changed from that of teaching robes to robes that bore the Headmaster Crest of Hogwarts. The school had deemed Dumbledore unworthy and Snape worthy. Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry had a new headmaster.
Headmaster Snape was less than pleased to have been surprised like he was. He couldn't say that he wasn't happy that he was no longer under Dumbledore's influence and that he was now the Headmaster and no longer had to be the spy for the school, but he told us next time we had better tell him or else. We all laughed and enjoyed Headmaster Snape's retelling of the Professor's varying reactions.
It was a few weeks until I learned what the last task was. It was a maze. Somehow I had a bad feeling.
Draco and I had gotten closer and I was looking forward to going home with him over the summer. He planned to have us all over this summer he said. His mother had already approved of it and she was thrilled to have company and to meet me in person. She had been so excited to help Draco pick out gifts for me even though Draco told me he was supposed to be the one picking out the gifts. He just couldn't deny his mother this little bit of happiness. And he said he thought he made up for it at Hogsmeade with all the things he bought me there. I rolled my eyes in exasperation as I thought about all of the expensive but very nice gifts I had been given by not only Draco but his mother. Like Draco I couldn't deny the woman her pleasure. She had wanted more children, but Lucius apparently refused to allow her to have any more. So I agreed with Draco and let her spoil me with the courting gifts. I thought it the least I could do.
It was finally the day of the Third and Last Task. I was on edge the whole day. Draco was constantly at my side and kept pressing me up against him because I was so nervous. He murmured in my ear about how it was all going to be okay and how after tonight we could just focus on our relationship more. Hermione, Fred, George, Luna, and Neville all stayed close by, but not too close. They let Draco and I have as much privacy as possible while being in the same room. We all wanted to be together, but we all also wanted a bit of privacy to be with our own significant others. For my part I just curled into Draco for most of the day waiting with our hands laced together for this all to be over with. I planned to get this over with, jump into Draco's arms, and for all seven of us to have our ritual hot chocolate in the kitchens. If only it could have turned out that way.
I remember walking down to the Quidditch Pitch to start the beginning of the end. I was walking by myself as they had called all of the champions to go down to the pitch. I was almost there when I felt arms wrap around me from behind and I smelt leather. I smiled as I tipped my head backwards to see Draco's shaken face. His eyes were a dark grey as he turned me around to face him. He opened his mouth and said,
"I love you Harlan Jameson Potter." And then he kissed me.
It was our first and only kiss.
The task hadn't gone anything near what we had planned. Cedric was dead. I was sobbing into the dead quiet that surrounded the pitch. I heard Draco's voice cry out,
"Harry!" and then I heard Hermione's squeal of terror along with Luna's sobs. It was then that Moody hauled me up and began to drag me off away from the crowd and Cedric's sobbing Father. Moody had taken me past the bleachers and I was just going along with him. Didn't see any point in fighting I was grateful to be away from all of those staring eyes. But the slight peace was short-lived.
"POTTER!" I heard someone scream at me. I tried to turn around in Moody's grip as he was still dragging me off who knows where. It was Ron. He was charging down the path towards us and he had gotten the stands attentions turned our way. Moody was still trying to drag me away as Ron brandished his wand. In the commotion that had started in the stands I didn't hear what spell he said. But when I saw that sickly green light headed my way I knew. I knew I was going to die. It didn't matter that Moody was dragging me away even as the spell headed towards me. He didn't know that I was about to die so preoccupied with getting me away from the crowds. I felt nothing in that instance. I was not afraid. I was not hurt. I was not angry. I just was accepting of my fate. The same spell that had killed my mother in front of me would now kill me. The killing curse was almost upon me when I saw a flash of white blonde and Slytherin green.
My heart stopped. I couldn't breathe. I fell to the ground a limp weight. Moody stumbled and let go of me. He started to convulse and the stands had gone silent again. Then I heard rushing in my ears. My eyes filled with tears and I sat there on the ground as the aurors subdued Ron. I thought I was going to die. And once again someone else took my place. My Draco, my beloved Draco was dead. And wasn't it sad that even though I'd felt affection for him this past few months it took him dying for me to realize that I loved him? That I had already started to plan and dream about how our life would be once we graduated from Hogwarts? How Fred and George would shoot off fireworks at our Wedding. How Hermione would fuss over me and the state of my clothes before I bonded to Draco? How a big black dog would sit in the front row as we said that we would always be there for the other? How you would give me away to Draco? How we'd kiss and seal the first stage of the bonding. How proud you'd look at me as I beamed up at you? How Padfoot would bark and jump on us licking us in the face? How Hermione would throw herself into our arms sobbing in happiness? How Fred and George would clap us on the back and make rude comments about our bonding night to try and embarrass us? How happy I'd have been? How Narcissa would place kisses on our foreheads and elbow Lucius in the ribs to make nice? How we'd be one big happy family?
Now I'd never know. I'd lost everything I never thought I'd ever want. No more jokes with the twins about Draco's sweet tendency to flush at their crassness. No more study sessions with all of us about the history of the Purebloods. No more nights curled up in the kitchens with hot chocolate just enjoying spending time together. No more quiet nights with Hermione and Draco arguing over some point about Transfiguration. I'd never get to have my happily ever after. But then that's my lot in life. I remember that you told me that life wasn't fair and that you enjoyed the time we had together, the time you had to teach me, but that it was now time for you to move on.
I'll never forget that, because you were right. And I know you weren't trying to teach me a lesson, but you did. Not everything is going to go my way and not everyone gets a happily ever after. Life is real and sometimes it's ugly and you just have to learn how to cope. I'm going to accept it with a dose of your indifference, and move on. I'm going to move on. I'm going to kill Voldemort and I'm going to spend the rest of my life remembering Draco and what we had.
I love you Uncle Mooney,
Harry