Warnings: AU and genderbend

'My name's Ron Weasley.'

Harry Potter stared at the boy's outstretched hand, debating whether to take it. The Weasleys were an influential Light family, and they would be useful to have as friends and allies. On the other hand – a sharp jab to his side made up his mind for him.

'Harry Potter and Delphine Malfoy,' he replied, shaking the other boy's hand.

The boy's demeanour became cooler and less friendly and the sound of the second name, but he didn't rebuff the duo.

'A Potter and a Malfoy together? Rather unusual isn't it, given your traditional associations?'

'Not at all,' was Delphine's cool reply. 'Harry and I have belonged with each other for a very long time.'

The first time the two of them laid eyes on each had been in Diagon Alley. They were barely five, out for a day out with their respective parents. Not yet old enough to understand the traditional rivalries between the Malfoy and Potter families, Harry had fallen in love with the blonde-haired angel at first sight.

Delphine hadn't been much better. The moment her parents' eyes were turned elsewhere, she had escaped their grip and made a beeline towards Harry.

It had taken their parents the good part of the day to find them again, but by the time they did, the two had already decided that they were going to spend their life together.

As Lucius Malfoy moved to apparate with his wife and daughter, Harry boldly stepped towards him. 'She's mine now,' he announced for everyone to hear.

Lucius had simply looked down at him, amused. 'Is she now?' he had asked mildly.

Before the boy could reply, an angelic voice had piped up from Lucius' side. 'He's right,' Delphine had said, supporting her new best friend. 'We're going to be best friends forever, and get married just like you and Mommy, and Mr and Mrs Potter, Daddy.'

Lucius had bent down to ruffle Delphine's hair, never taking his eyes off Harry. 'If that's the case,' he had said, deadly serious, 'you must vow to protect her with your life, Mr Potter.'

Harry had nodded eagerly. He had been raised by the Marauders and Lily Potter – he knew very well that no one was to touch what was his.

As the trio disapparated, the two sets of parents locked eyes, each having come to the same realization. Regardless of their affiliations, they were now going to be forced to associate with each other. Denying their children the pleasure of each other's company would result in an unbearable home atmosphere.

To everyone's surprise, Narcissa Malfoy and Lily Potter had soon become fast friends. Harry and Delphine were thrilled about this, because it gave them more chances to meet each other.

By the time they turned ten, Harry knew where his heart lay. His father had given his heart to his mother when they were eleven – he had started earlier. He had never gotten over his initial fascination with Delphine.

The blonde-haired, grey-eyed child was growing all the more beautiful as she grew up. Already, she was turning heads whenever she appeared in public. Harry knew that Lucius had received several courting offers for her, and though he had turned all of them away, the thought of Delphine being tied to anyone else was unacceptable to Harry.

But Harry was, at the end, the child of Gryffindors. Before he convinced his father to let him send Lucius Malfoy a courting offer, there was something he had to do.

'Delphine?'

'Yes, Harry?" she asked, blonde hair flashing in the sunlight.

Delphine Malfoy had fallen as deeply in love with Harry as he had with her. She knew she was beautiful and desirable. As the only daughter of a powerful pureblood family, it was expected that her father would have a number of offers for her. But she was determined to have none but Harry. And so, she had made certain that her father refused every offer while she waited for her Harry to step up to the plate.

'Would you – mind terribly if I sent your father a courting offer?' Harry asked, twisting his hands nervously.

Delphine threw her head back, a musical laugh escaping her throat.

'Not at all,' she laughed

Narcissa Malfoy and Lily Potter watched their children running on the grass-covered grounds. 'We're going to be related soon,' Lily said, turning to Narcissa.

'Lucius won't be terribly happy,' came the reply, 'but if he hadn't guessed this outcome from the day they met, he's less intelligent than I thought.'

The two women shared a knowing glance, before returning to watching their children.

And so it was that a betrothed Harry Potter and Delphine Malfoy entered Hogwarts.

'Which house do you think you'll be in? All my family's been in Gryffindor, and I don't think Ravenclaw'll be that bad, but can you imagine if I'm in Slytherin? I think I'd just take the train back home.'

At Ron's statement, Delphine bristled in anger. She doubted it had been aimed at her – he didn't seem cunning enough to do something like that so subtly – but as a girl from a family who had been in Slytherin as long as the Weasleys had been in Gryffindor, the comment still stung.

Harry squeezed her hand as a warning. They both knew Delphine had a quick temper, and would undoubtedly end up saying something she would later regret. As much as she would deny it, she was just as eager as Harry to befriend the boy in front of her. He amusing and genial, and best of all, not at all the typical snobbish pureblood – nothing like the type of people her father was friendly with.

'Slytherin isn't all bad,' Harry began. Before the boy could say something about Voldemort and his Death Eaters, he continued on. 'Sure, Voldemort and most of his Death Eaters were Slytherins, but so were some of the best Healers and Ministers we've ever had. It's the entire ambition part of that house, I think. They know they need to be competent if they want to make it to greatness and fame. Besides, the most traitorous Death Eater of the lot was a Gryffindor – Peter Pettigrew.'

Ron Weasley had never heard that part of the story of Peter Pettigrew, and he was loath to believe it now. 'There's no way that's true!' he proclaimed, eyes wide.

'It is,' Delphine finally chimed in. 'He was one of Mr Potter's best friends. We've heard the story of how one of the best men they ever knew became a no-good Death Eater a million times from Mr Potter, Sirius and Remus.'

'What about your father? Wasn't he one of them too?' Ron asked, still slightly suspicious.

'Mr Malfoy was under the imperious,' Harry replied. 'My father made sure of it before I sent in my courting offer.'

'Well…maybe Slytherin's not all that bad if all that's true,' Ron conceded. 'But I still wouldn't want to be in that house! Can you imagine the reactions of my family? They'd kill me!' It seemed that all it took to overcome a Weasley's natural dislike towards Slytherin was Harry Potter's word.

'Wait a minute,' Ron continued, goggling at them. 'You're betrothed already? Aren't you a bit young?'

Harry and Delphine shared a tender smile. 'Falling in love at first sight is sort of a tradition in our families,' Delphine answered. 'Our parents fell in love with each other when they started Hogwarts. We just started a bit earlier.'

'How much earlier?'

'Well…sort of at five,' Harry replied sheepishly.

'Bloody hell! An –'

A voice interrupted their conversation. 'Have you seen a toad around – oh! Another girl! You're the first other female I've seen on this train!' The owner of the voice was a bushy haired, buck toothed girl. 'I'm Hermione Granger. And you all are?'

As Harry made the introductions, Delphine took a good look at the girl. She was undoubtedly muggle born, but knowing Lily Potter meant that she held no prejudice towards her. No, what she was noticing was the undeniable fact that the girl had potential. She could become a great beauty just like Delphine, but she doubted herself too much right now to think of anything but the knowledge in the books she started spewing at hearing the last names of the three children in front of her. But that was okay. Delphine would make sure that she reached her full potential – and having a girlfriend would be brilliant as it was.

She quickly interrupted Hermione's speech, throwing her a friendly smile. 'I think we're going to great friends, don't you? We can make sure to keep these two in line.'

As Harry and Ron spluttered in indignation beside her, Hermione tentatively returned her smile. Delphine nearly clapped in glee – Hogwarts was already brilliant, and they hadn't even reached the castle yet!

Harry simply sat besides her, content in her happiness. Delphine had decided that Hermione was her new best friend – he thought Ron was rather brilliant himself. The boy seemed to be Sirius reborn – mischievous and cheerful, undoubtedly on the way to becoming the joker of their little group. As the first descendant of the Marauders, Harry had a duty to keep the teachers on their toes at all times, and Ron would be his perfect partner-in-crime.

'Granger, Hermione.'

'Ravenclaw, maybe. No, that's not the place for you…you're definitely a GRYFFINDOR!'

'Malfoy, Delphine.'

'Hmm…interesting. I've not seen someone so interesting since young Sirius Black. Your parents were both Slytherins, but not you. Young Mr Potter has been quite the impact on you. You'd do well anywhere but Slytherin, but because of the people there, you would flourish best in…GRYFFINDOR!'

This pronouncement resulted in a number of whispers and murmurs around the Great Hall, but Delphine simply smiled on her way to the Gryffindor table. This way, she would definitely be with Harry and her new friends.

'Potter, Harry.'

'Just like your betrothed, aren't you? You'd do well in any of the four houses, but you're a true child of your parents…better be GRYFFINDOR!'

'Weasley, Ron'

'Well, that's not a challenge at all. Another Weasley, another…GRYFFINDOR!'

As Ron joined them, the four friends quickly huddled together. Hogwarts had no clue what had hit it.

That first year had not been extremely interesting. It was a year of getting to know each other, of becoming comfortable with their new friendships. Before the year was over, Delphine and Hermione were inseparable, and Harry and Ron, along with Ron's twin brothers Fred and George, had formed the new generation of Marauders.

Second year was so much more fascinating. It was then that the four friends inadvertently discovered the Chamber of Secrets. Of course, Harry and Ron made their way down to the Chamber, aided by Harry's ability to speak Paseltongue. He had gained the ability due to his distant relationship to Salazar Slytherin, and made sure to keep it quiet.

Neither Delphine nor Hermione had been pleased to hear that the boys had done something like that without them, but Harry had promised her father that he would protect Delphine. He wasn't about to let her get involved in something like killing a Basilisk. (Of course, he had Ron had been forgiven as soon as the girls heard what Slytherin's monster actually was, both of them deciding to worry over the two boys instead of berating them.)

Third year had been more terrifying than anything. Peter Pettigrew had escaped from Azkaban, and the Ministry had placed Dementors around Hogwarts for Harry's protection. Harry spent much of the year worried about the possibility of Pettigrew getting to Delphine. Not even the Dementors causing him to faint in the first Quidditch match of the season could prevent his panicking. When the rat still wasn't caught by the end of the school year, Harry seemed set to worry his summer away until Lucius and James reminded him that Delphine had their protection too now that the duo were home.

Fourth year saw the Triwizard Tournament return to Hogwarts. Somehow, despite the age line, Harry's name made it into the Goblet of Fire, coming out as the fourth champion. This time, it was Delphine's turn to worry. Harry made it past dragons, mermaids, and Hagrid's giant maze to reach the Triwizard cup first, but the cup was a Portkey, taking him straight to Peter Pettigrew. However, thanks to his training in duelling under his father and Lucius Malfoy, he was more than prepared to duel the traitor, winning just as a rescue party came looking for him. It was soon revealed that Pettigrew was responsible for entering Harry's name in the Goblet of Fire under a fourth school. He had been working with another Death Eater, Barty Crouch Jr, who had escaped Azkaban with his father's help. Crouch was soon recaptured, and both he and Pettigrew were sentenced to the Dementor's Kiss.

Even after all that he had faced during the year, Harry wouldn't have changed his fourth year for anything. The second he returned to Hogwarts, Delphine had wrapped him in her arms and kissed him for the first time. It had been a simple peck on the lips, but for the two of them, it had held all the meaning in the world.

The next two years had flown by, both Harry and Delphine being made Prefects for Gryffindor. They fell deeper in love with each other each passing year. By the time the summer before their seventh year came along, they knew that wanted to be married as soon as they graduated. Their school letters for the year held within them the Head badges. Had it been any other summer, and the two would have been thrilled at the chance to rule the school. But this year, with the date for their bonding decided on June 30th, they couldn't have cared less.

Delphine had chosen the date, 30th June, two weeks out of Hogwarts. It was perfect for them, she claimed. The mid-point between their birthdays, this way Harry wouldn't have an excuse for forgetting their boding anniversary. Their mothers had jumped at the idea - it gave them enough time to plan the ceremony, and they supported Delphine's desire to make sure her bonded never forgot their anniversary.

The feeling of Delphine's lips on his quickly jolted Harry out of his memories.

He wrapped his arms around her, returning the kiss with equal passion, pushing her against the wall behind them. Delphine's leg curled around his waist, certain that they wouldn't get caught in the abandoned corridor. Harry trailed his fingers down Delphine's leg, reaching under the skirt she wore, tongue entwined with hers.

He was an extremely lucky man – he had brilliant friends, a number of wonderful adopted families, and best of all, the love of this beautiful, gorgeous and tempting goddess. He sent out his gratitude to Merlin and Morgana before turning all his attention on the woman in front of him.

Written for:

The Weasleys' Wizarding Wheezes Competition, Pygmy Puff

Diagon Alley Challenge, Ollivander's Wand Shop

Musical Terms Challenge, Innig

Key Signature Competition, C Major

The Black Children Challenge, Sirius Black

If you dare challenge, Prompt 326. Magical Effect

OTP Bootcamp, Prompt 11. Fascinated