"So you see Miss Tattler, we have no choice but to freeze your bank accounts for the time being and hand the running of Quality Quidditch Supplies both in Diagon Alley and in Hogsmead over to your father's business partner, Mr McLaggen." I grimaced at the mention of Cormac, who made several passes at me every time we met and one Valentine's Day sent his house elf dressed as Cupid to serenade me. His chiseled physique and shiny blonde hair were lost in the shadow of his arrogant personality and I often pitied the poor witches who were taken in by his face alone and found themselves being treated to 'The 101 Fantastical Saves Of Cormac Mclaggen' over dinner.
"So when can I have them back? Surely Daddy's will has been read by now?" I pushed a wisp of dark hair behind my ear and tried to still my tapping foot. My lawyer paled and readjusted his tie, clearing his throat repeatedly.
"The thing is, Miss Tattler, is that your father left no will. It's not uncommon for this to happen in these circumstances; your father was a relatively young, healthy man with no significant medical complaints, he had no reason to think he needed a will just yet. In such circumstances, you must follow Ministry procedures to obtain your inheritance." His weak smile withered and died under my stony glare. I clenched and unclenched my hands on my lap and took a deep, calming breath.
"What procedures would these be? And where exactly would you expect me to stay during this time, as you've denied me access to my Gringotts vault and seized my house?" I shifted slightly in the hard wooden chair, smoothing the wrinkled, black material of my skirt over my knees and resisted the urge to rub my tired eyes.
"As you are without any other live male family members and your father left no will, to release your assets and receive your inheritance you will be matched with a Ministry-approved candidate who has failed to enter into a magical bond before the specified age of 25. You must marry within six months, at which time your assets will be released conditionally, and remain married for a minimum of five years or your money will be absorbed by the Ministry and your properties auctioned off; alternatively, producing a male heir before the five years are completed will guarantee immediate full release of all assets. During the next 6 months we will expect you to stay with your prospective husband in his home and inform us of your decision to marry or not to marry when you have made it." I gaped at him, my shocked brain unable to string my thoughts together.
"Married? In 6 months?! To who?" I gaped at him, my breath coming in shallow gasps as my body remained paralyzed, rigid with shock. In the past week I had been subjected to horrors I wasn't prepared for; my father's funeral, coupled with the soul crushing grief of my Grandmother who had maintained a stiff upper lip for the entirety of my life, had left me numb and feeling more alone than I ever had before.
"You'll receive a letter in a few days when a candidate has been chosen for you. You'll then be expected to vacate your house and take with you no objects or possessions of significant value." His smile was sympathetic but his firm tone left me with no doubt that there were no loopholes I could wiggle through here. I forced a smile onto my face, shook his hand and strode out of the sleek office, my heels clicking steadily on the marble floor.
At home, I collapsed into a plush armchair in the informal lounge, my vacant gaze not seeing the rich mahogany paneling and expensive furnishings I would soon have to give up. My brain whirred, trying to take in the knowledge that soon I would be married to a complete stranger, having to give up my role as the darling of wizarding London's high society and settle down to be a homemaker, something I had been so opposed to for so many years but would now have to embrace.
That, or face both bankruptcy and homelessness.
4 days later and 400 miles away from the swanky Ministry office, Miriam Wood was sat at her kitchen table, enjoying the early morning silence and a sweet cup of tea when a Ministry owl swooped in through her window and dropped a letter into the sugar bowl. The purple ink glared up at her from the parchment, Mr Oliver Wood written with just a little too much flourish. Glancing at the clock, she noted that her son would already be at training; his recent movement up from the reserves to be the new Keeper for Puddlemere United meant he was spending less and less time at home, sometimes sleeping at the stadium between intensive practice sessions in the run up to the start of the season. Faltering hands picked up the heavy parchment and broke the purple seal.
Dear Mr Wood,
It is with great pleasure that the Department of Magical Co-operations can announce they have found a marital match for you following your failure to enter into a magical bond with another before your 25th birthday, a legal requirement of all magical persons put in place in recent years. Miss Georgianna Tattler has been notified of the match and will be arriving at your residence shortly. Should you chose not to fulfill the requirements of your binding contract you will be fined 2,000 galleons and will be re-entered into the Ministry system for another match. The Department would like to remind you of the importance of producing a new wizarding generation following the significant loss of witches and wizards during the Second Wizarding War and of the significance the Ministry is placing on promoting inter-blood-status marriages to prevent the rise of pureblood mania.
Please find attached the conditions of your contract and a brief history of your prospective partner.
Kindest regards,
Padma Patil
Undersecretary, Department of Magical Co-operations, Ministry for Magic.
With shaking hands, Miriam lowered the parchment to the table, resisting the urge to fling the offending document into the fire. She smiled wryly as she imagined her son's reaction to such an order and then sighed heavily. Pulling out the second sheet of parchment, she found attached to it a photo of the girl who would shortly be deposited, seemingly against her will, on her doorstep. The picture showed a young witch with waist-length black curls laughing at something out of the shot, blue eyes gleaming as she tossed her head back in carefree, exuberant joy and a dimple formed in her left cheek. Perfect alabaster skin glowed in the flash of the camera and diamonds sparkled at her ears and throat.
Name: Georgianna Elizabeth Tattler
Age: 20
Birthday: 14th February
Permanent residence: 141 Azule Court, London, England
Personal history: Born and raised in London by a Pureblood father and Muggle-born mother, attended Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, now parentless following the recent death of her father in a Floo accident while her mother was killed during first war due to her association with members of the Order of the Phoenix. All assets have been frozen and property seized in lieu her of contract with the Ministry. Heiress to small chain of Quidditch supply shops, with commercial properties in the United Kingdom and wider Europe.
Leaving the picture on the table with the letter, Miriam went to prepare the guest suite.
On the same morning, I threw my own letter as far from me as I could and let out a scream of frustration that echoed through the empty halls of my house. Oliver Wood had been in his 5th year when I had started Hogwarts and had probably never spoken a single word to me, let alone known my name. His obsession with Quidditch was infamous even to us in the lower years. I remember him vaguely as having thick brown hair closely cropped to his head so it wouldn't get in the way while he was playing and a deep voice that could be heard easily from the other side of the pitch.
Reluctantly, I heaved myself off my bed and pulled a large suitcase from my cupboard and began packing my clothes. A second sheet of parchment detailed what I could and could not take with me had arrived with my letter, and to my dismay I found my mother's necklace on the list. A ruby carved into the shape of a heart and hung on a delicate gold chain, I hadn't taken it off since her death. Wrapping it carefully in a velvet pouch I tucked it into my jewellery box and prayed it would still be there when I returned. Throwing clothes haphazardly in the direction of my suitcase I wrapped the picture taken at my christening, the last one where we were all together as a family, in several tshirts and placed it on top of the full case. Forcing the lid closed, I glanced once more around the large room, skimming my eyes over the white and gold décor and the luxurious four poster bed that dominated the space and closed the door on it all.
Less than half an hour later I was curled up on a brass bed on the Knight Bus, watching the sun set slowly over the ever-changing scenery. Realising I was now living on the contents of my personal bank account alone, being denied access to the family vault and the business profits, I refused the hot chocolate and toothbrush offered and focused very hard on not being sick. Across from me a middle aged witch with a heavy, square jaw and rigid blonde curls complained loudly to the spotty conductor about budget cuts at the Daily Prophet. I stared tiredly at the bejewelled glasses that perched precariously on the bridge of her nose and counted no less than 17 missing stones.
"Next stop, Castle Rock Lodge." The conductor yelled as the bus lurched forward once again with a loud bang and I was flung against the bed post, my suitcase sliding out from its hold and skidding the length of the bus, bursting open and showering the flustered conductor with my clothes.
"Sorry!" I gasped as I hastily dodged between beds and stuffed my things back into my case while the blonde woman snorted derisively into a bag of pumpkin pasties. I glared darkly at her as I retrieved a particularly lacy bra from under her bed and took the matching pants from the blushing conductor. The bus jerked to a stop and doors burst open and I escaped onto the pavement.
"Thank yo-" I turned but the bus was already halfway down the road, hedges jumping out of its way as it swung around the corner. Scanning my surroundings, I realised the only house around was at the end of a very very long drive. Lights twinkled at me from a distance and I shivered. The pretty lace shift dress and leather jacket had been a wonderful idea that morning in my central London home but in the rural Scottish countryside I felt flimsy, underdressed and far too exposed to the bracing wind so unusual in September. I began the long trek up the drive, lighting my wand the keep from tripping in the fading light.
"Do you think she found us okay? I mean I can't see how she could have confused the house, it's the only one around for 7 miles, but what if she's lost? The poor thing, I bet she wasn't expecting it to be so cold, coming from London." Miriam's babble floated meaninglessly around Oliver's head as he sat glaring into the fire, pretending to be working on Quidditch plays.
"Will you stop fussing? I don't care if she doesn't get here until next week, I'd rather she didn't come at all." He growled, brows furrowed.
"Don't be so silly dear, you know she hasn't got anywhere else to go. I'm sure she's a lovely little thing…" She tailed off, glancing again at the photo propped up on the mantle. The clusters of diamonds adorning her couldn't be missed, and for a second she could see why her son had reservations. His intense rage when reading the Ministry letter had been something she had never witnessed before and she frowned at the moody figure slumped in his father's armchair.
"She's bound to be some spoiled, demanding socialite who simpers a lot and attends balls regularly. Merlin knows why they think we're a match, they should have carted her off to that MacMillian bloke, the one who follows the Minister around like a puppy, he seems far more up her street." Miriam smiled absently at her son, not really listening to his grumblings as she peered out the window down the drive.
"I think I see a light! You should walk down, Oliver, and see that she's alright."
A/N: For those of you already following this story, I should explain that I've been reading back through the published chapters and decided to go back and re-edit them, correcting mistakes and filling in some details that have lead to holes in my plot later on. There will be no major changes to the story.
For new readers, welcome and I hope you enjoyed it! Feel free to leave a review, I enjoy getting those a lot :-)
