Quidditch League Fanfiction Competition Season 4—Round 11

Team: Holyhead Harpies
Position: Captain
Task: Write about a typical HP trope (arranged marriage between a pure-blood and a Muggle-born); Story must also start and finish with the same word

Word Count: 2,998 (Word Doc)

An Unexpected Arrangement

"Sirius!"

"Lily?"

"Move!"

"Say 'please.'"

"I don't have time for this. I need to—"

"Say 'please.'"

"Sirius!"

"Lily..."

"Just move. I don't have the time! I need to—"

"Well, I've got plenty of time. I could stay here all day…"

"Sirius."

"C'mon, Lils, don't look at me like that."

"Stop laughing, and let—me—through!"

"Don't hit me, Evans! I am, quite frankly, shocked. You're Head Girl! You're supposed to be a role model."

"SIRIUS BLACK, IF YOU DON'T MOVE OUT OF MY WAY RIGHT NOW, I SWEAR TO GOD, I WILL—"

"Hit me again?"

"Just move!"

"I'm still waiting…"

"Sirius!"

"I could wait here all day, I told you…"

"Alright, fine! Please."

Sirius Black gave a contented grin. "Please what?"

Lily narrowed her eyes. "Please move." It took every ounce of her strength to address him in what she assumed was a calm, civilised manner. "I am going to be late. I have no idea why you're blocking the portrait hole, and at this point, I don't really care what you're up to. But I have a meeting with the Headmaster, and if I'm late—"

"Dumbledore won't care," Sirius said with calm amusement, still refusing to move. Truth be told, he wasn't up to anything. He'd been loitering by the portrait hole in the hopes of getting Marlene McKinnon on her own once she returned from detention (which he may or may not have landed her in), and offer some form of apology—integrated with many a flirtation, of course. But then Lily had come storming round the corner, ordered him to move, and—well—Sirius did enjoy winding up the redhead.

She made it too easy.

"Dumbledore is a busy man!" Lily protested.

Sirius shrugged. "Not really, though, is he?"

Lily was glaring so hard that Sirius half wondered if she was trying to curse him with just her eyesight alone. "I could give you detention, you know," Lily said in a low, threatening voice.

"It wouldn't be my first, now, would it, Lily? Ooh, but do me a favour—if you give me detention, can you give Marlene detention at the same time?"

"Sirius! Please." Lily was begging now. "Please, okay? I've said it—you win. But please, please, please let me into the common room!"

"If you're so desperate because you're going to be late for a meeting with Dumbledore, why are you so furiously trying to get into the Gryffindor Common Room?

Lily had started to blush. "I need to get…"

"Your wand?" Sirius suggested.

"What? No, I have my wand," Lily said irritably, "and you're lucky I actually respect the school rules and don't use magic in the corridors."

"No," Sirius muttered, "you just punch other students."

Lily ignored him. "I need—"

But before either she or Sirius could say another word, the Fat Lady had swung open; someone was leaving the common room. And when they saw who it was, Sirius' face lit up with mirth, while Lily's blush significantly deepened.

"I'm not late, am I?" James Potter asked, looking with innocent confusion between Lily and Sirius—the latter who had finally stepped aside, allowing his best friend to exit.

"Oh, no, not at all. I mean, Lily was just throwing a tantrum because I was apparently keeping her away from her beloved."

"That's not what happened," Lily mumbled, refusing to look James in the eye, instead channelling her fury back to Sirius. "I was just—"

"Desperately pining for you," Sirius said to James. "She even punched me."

James looked at Lily in alarm, unsure whether he should be frightened or flattered. "What?"

"No!" Lily protested, but her attempt was weak. "I just… I didn't want you to be late. I thought you might have forgotten, and so I came back here to… to get you, so that we could, err, go to the meeting together, and—"

"Make out in the broom cupboards on the way."

"Sirius! I—that's not—that's not true," Lily assured James in a deeply flustered manner. "I just didn't want you to forget—"

"Ah, just a one-time thing," Sirius said. He slapped a hand on James' shoulder. "Sorry about that, buddy. Keep trying."

James just rolled his eyes, amused, shook off Sirius' hand, and indicated to Lily that she and him should walk away before Lily either punched Sirius again or burst into tears. Lily wrapped her arms around herself as she walked, thoroughly embarrassed and thoroughly miserable.

"He's an idiot, Lily, you've known that for seven years. Just… ignore him."

But Lily didn't say anything.

James looked down at her, a lump in his throat. "I should… probably have not told him about… err…"

The kiss.

"I was just, umm, really excited, you know? And I thought I could trust him. Which was an idiotic move on my behalf, I know. But I didn't… I don't"—his hand automatically went to the back of his head, nervously ruffling his hair—"expect anything, you know? I know it doesn't necessarily change anything between us, I know it was just a—"

"James, I don't want to talk about it now," Lily interrupted in a quiet voice.

"Oh, yeah, sure, of course." James dropped his hand.

Lily was conflicted. She had kissed James Potter. She had kissed him. After seven years of rejecting him, arguing with him, condemning him as the immature, arrogant toe rag that he was, she had surprised herself in a vulnerable, tender heat-of-the-moment, and kissed him.

And it had sent her emotions into a flurry, her heart into overdrive.

Now she was not so sure where she stood with regards to the boy she (though she was adamant to admit it), rather wanted to kiss again. She didn't know what their relationship was anymore. They weren't enemies (they never really had been), they weren't lovers, but they certainly weren't just friends. She needed time, that was all. But James' innocent desire to talk to her about it and Sirius' irritating and inappropriate interjections were only making her more anxious.

"He knows there were no broom cupboards involved," James said after a while, somewhat apologetic. "I didn't tell him any details, I swear. He just has a very vivid, very dirty imagination, and—"

James stopped. Because Lily had done something she'd never done before. Without a word, without even looking at him, she had taken hold of his hand.

And their hands stayed clasped all the way to Dumbledore's office.

James and Lily were in shock. All they could do was stare, mouths gaping, at the remarkably calm Dumbledore who sat before them.

After what felt like minutes, Lily closed her mouth, though she wasn't sure she had blinked once since the announcement. "P-Professor Dumbledore, I don't… I don't understand."

Dumbledore merely smiled. "Really, Miss Evans? I thought it was a fairly easy concept to grasp, and that I'd explained it rather thoroughly. Though perhaps that is my failing…" He gazed off out the window, chin resting on his interlocked hands.

"But this is," James began weakly. "This is unbelievable. This is—"

"This has happened before, Mr Potter. And I'm afraid it's happening again. Were it up to me, I would never condone it—would never consider it in the slightest—but this is the Ministry we're dealing with."

Lily had paled to the point where James was concerned she might faint. "But why?" she asked in a quiet, hoarse voice.

Dumbledore remained calm, his gaze returning to the Head Boy and Girl. "They are afraid."

"Of what?" James asked.

"Of the war."

Lily and James both gulped.

"Magical blood is being spilt every day. There are… several motivations for this new declaration."

"And they think it will work?" Lily asked in disbelief.

"The Ministry is desperate."

"But this is ridiculous!" James insisted, both he and Lily sobering up from their initial shock. "How will assigning spouses"—he scoffed—"end a war!"

Dumbledore, ever calm, merely looked at them both politely. "It is the Ministry's belief that, in arranging marriages between pure-bloods and Muggle-borns where possible, bloodlines will be strengthened, and prejudices discouraged."

Lily narrowed her eyes and spoke in a cool voice. "How so?"

"I am sure you are well aware," Dumbledore said, eyes twinkling, "that the Death Eaters' regime is motivated by the eradication of Muggle-born witches and wizards. That their ultimate aim is to have a solely pure-blooded community exist within the wizarding world. By uniting families of different blood statuses, and producing children of diverse magical blood, the Ministry feels the wizarding community—notably the light side—will be strengthened. That it will… eventually, outweigh the dark side by a considerable margin. And that 'pure-bloods,' as it were, will cease to exist. If there are no true pure-bloods in the future generations, there will never again be pure-blood supremacists. Or so, that is the Ministry's outlook."

"Oh, right," Lily said sarcastically, "so they're trying to prevent future wars before we've even resolved this one? And not only are we all being forced to marry someone against our will, we've got to have their children, either for said children to be slaughtered for things beyond their control—their enforced blood status—or raised in an army!"

James looked out the window in horror, face paling as much as Lily's had.

"That's certainly not how the Ministry have chosen to phrase it, Miss Evans, but ultimately, yes. That is their intention—though preferably without the bloodshed. I have, of course, voiced my disgust at the notion, but as I said, they are desperate. I'm afraid… there is nothing I can do."

"They've done this before?" James asked, visibly nervous. "That's what you said, right?"

"In times when bloodlines have dwindled, yes, the Ministry has intervened with new marriage laws. Though not for many centuries…"

"This is barbaric," Lily said furiously. "This is ridiculous. Prejudiced pure-bloods aren't going to shack up with Muggle-borns just because the Ministry decrees it. If anything, they're just going to kill their assigned partner! And you can't—you can't force people to reproduce. You can't—"

"I am quite in agreement," Dumbledore said, still as calm as before, despite Lily's growing fury. "But at this moment in time, it is merely my responsibility to warn you that this is the Ministry's next move. A formal announcement will be made soon."

"And there's no getting out of this?" Lily asked.

"Every pure-blood and Muggle-born over the age of eighteen will be assigned. So no, you, personally, Miss Evans, will certainly be involved. As will you, Mr Potter."

Lily and James both looked at each other. For perhaps the first time since the announcement had been made, they realised, simultaneously, that they were a pure-blood and Muggle-born, respectively. James offered a shy smile. Lily looked away, blushing.

"What if we were able to… choose?" Lily asked with a nervous gulp. "Our, err, partner ourselves. As long as it complied."

"I fear there would be too much conflict. It will be easier for the Ministry to handle it all themselves."

"But—"

"I can't change anything." Dumbledore's eyes flickered from Lily to James and back again, as though he too had just realised what had crossed both of their minds. Lily half thought she saw him smile.

Lily was feeling argumentative again. "How will they possibly enforce this? They can't expect people to just willingly go along with this! There will be protests, riots! They can't force anybody to do anything."

Dumbledore didn't blink. "Can't they, Miss Evans?"

Lily was taken aback. Her eyes widened and her voice dropped. "Are you implying they might use the Imperius Curse?" she asked in barely more than a whisper.

"I was implying the threat of Azkaban."

"They would rather lock us up than let us fight alongside them?" James scoffed. "Doesn't that defeat the whole point of this stupid new marriage law anyway? Wasn't the whole motivation to outnumber the enemy?"

"Oh, believe me, Mr Potter, there are many such flaws with the Ministry's new plan. Of which I have pointed out several times. I am sure, almost as soon as they put this plan into motion, they will see how terribly flawed it is and abandon it almost immediately."

"Yeah, and we're just the poor idiots who'll first get dragged into this and have to live with a partner and a baby we never asked for," Lily said darkly. "We're the guinea pigs! And we're going to have to live with the consequences of the Ministry's idiotic plan."

Something like laughter glittered in Dumbledore's eyes. "Perhaps you will change your mind once you're assigned, Miss Evans. Perhaps, in a sheer lucky twist of fate, you will be pleased with your assigned spouse."

Lily unintentionally glanced at James. Once she'd realised what she'd done, she looked hurriedly away, blushing once more. "That doesn't matter," she said quietly, staring down at the desk. "If I get married—even if I am assigned someone I might actually want to marry—I want it to be for love. If I have a baby, I want it to be for love, and not because the Ministry decreed it."

Not that Lily saw it, but James was staring at her, gentle awe on his face. Dumbledore, too, was smiling. "I couldn't agree more."

"I feel sick," Lily was muttering to herself, rocking back and forth.

James gently squeezed her hand. "It will be okay," he assured her. "It doesn't have to mean what it's supposed to mean. There's got to be a loophole—we'll find a loophole."

Lily looked up at James. He looked nervous, despite his attempted calm demeanour. "We?" she asked quietly, momentarily stopping her rocking.

James was still holding her hand, but he looked away awkwardly. "Well, I'm not really looking forward to having to marry and impregnate someone I don't want to. Statistically, we're both going to end up with someone we're not happy with. And we could… well, we could find a loophole. Together. Run away, change our names, flee the country…"

"You want to run away with me?" Lily asked, smiling shyly.

"I didn't mean… Not like that," James mumbled. "I just meant…" But he trailed off, not knowing what to say. Lily turned her head away to hide her smile.

It had been two months since the new proposed marriage law had been publically announced, and now it was the day the assignments would be released. The Gryffindor Common Room was packed full of anxious students waiting for the announcement—a list was to appear on the noticeboard at noon.

"God, this is ridiculous," Sirius Black snorted as he came to settle next to James. Lily dropped his hand immediately. "A load of fuss over nothing! I can't believe people are losing their minds over this."

"You're not at all bothered that in less than two minutes you're going to be assigned a wife?" Lily asked in disbelief.

Sirius just shrugged. "I never planned to get married anyway so it's not like it's going to complicate anything. It doesn't bother me—just so long as she's hot."

"And what if she's a troll," Lily said sarcastically.

Sirius looked thoughtful for a second. "I'll just be away from home a lot."

"And your child?"

"A child doesn't need parents—certainly not both, anyway."

"Sirius!"

"Oh, come on, Lily, they can force me to become a husband but they can't force me to be a loyal husband."

"You are unbelievable!"

"Oh, sure," Sirius scoffed, "because it's not like you and Prongs were just talking about how you're going to run off and elope to get out of this."

"We weren't!" Lily and James said together, both turning red.

"When I said 'run away,'" James desperately explained. "I didn't mean, like…"

He looked at Lily helplessly, and the redhead gulped. She hadn't considered the possibility until Sirius had just then voiced it. If she was already married…

Lily shook her head, trying to shake the thoughts away. She didn't want to marry James. They weren't even together! They had kissed once, yes, but at soon as Dumbledore had dropped the bombshell, both had known it was ridiculous to get too attached.

But that wasn't to say if James and Lily happened to be assigned…

And if they weren't, wouldn't she much prefer to run away and be married to him than anyone else she might be forced to partner up with?

A sudden flurry of shrieking let them know the list had appeared. Everybody clambered to get to the front, but Lily was suddenly frozen in fear. James found her hand again, gave it a gentle squeeze, and offered a reassuring smile. "Come on," he said.

Together, they approached the noticeboard, Sirius trailing behind them like he couldn't care less.

Some people were laughing, some people were crying, or yelling, or swearing, but as the three of them pushed their way to the front, Lily found herself feeling more anxious than ever. Some girls were backing away, shaking their heads in disbelief. When they caught sight of Lily, some of them even glared at her. With envy?

Did she have someone good?—Lily thought excitedly. Did she have James?

All too soon, the life-defining list was before her. Still with James' hand tightly clasped in her own, Lily scanned it for her name, not daring to release the breath she was holding. Her eyes flickered straight to the 'L's and when she saw no 'Lily Evans' written there she almost thought she'd been exempt from the matchmaking. But her heart dropped when she realised it was alphabetised by surname instead.

Lily's eyes settled on 'Evans, Lily,' and several things happened at once. Her mouth fell open in shock; James' hand went slack in her own; Sirius let out a howl of laughter.

Lily did not dare to believe it. It was not, to her huge disappointment, 'Potter, James' written beside her name.

It was 'Black, Sirius.'