Disclaimer: All places and characters belong to JK Rowling and no money is being made from this story.
Chapter 1:
The Great Hall was filled with a cacophony of voices and sounds as students reunited themselves with their friends and the delicacies that Hogwarts provided. The spring holiday had been a short but needed break. Draco glanced around the Great Hall and was struck with just how happy everyone looked. It was mere months since the threat of Voldemort had nearly closed the school, and yet, looking at the student body now, you would never was the good thing about children, they were adaptable. Even the first years in his own house looked young to him now. Everyone seemed to take the radical changes to their lives, and the world, in stride.
Draco sat between Pansy and Blaise with Crabbe and Goyle squished on the bench across the table. After Dumbledore's predictable welcome back speech, the student body began eating with a vigor matched only by the incessant gossiping.
"You think they'll lift the ban on quidditch?" Vaisey, a lackluster chaser in Draco's opinion, called from across the table.
Draco shrugged but adrenaline was already shooting through him. There were few things that excited him more than quidditch.
"There's no reason not to." Pansy responded, flipping her hair over her shoulder.
Crabbe and Goyle nodded but said nothing, speaking would have required that they stopped eating.
"I bet - ," Blaise started but was cut off when the doors to the Great Hall suddenly swung open. The heavy doors crashed against the stone walls and Draco was irrily reminded of Mad Eye Moody's similar entrance. A single Wizard stode out of the darkness and into the hall. Unlike when Mad Eye had stumbled into the welcome feast three years prior, this wizard's gait was purposeful, his entrance almost calculated. Draco couldn't quite put his finger on it, but something about an unknown wizard entering the Great Hall in the middle of dinner seemed odd, unless he had some ulterior motive.
"There's no empty chair at the head table." Blaise continued, as if that was what he was going to comment on from the beginning. Before anyone else had a change to speculate, the wizard was already revealing his hand, and wand.
The tip of the wizard's wand glowed blood red as he quickly trased wards in the air. Draco's heart nearly stopped, was that sequence what he thought it was?
Magic seemed to ooze from him has he finished moving he wand and said, "As Lord of the house Casimir by the rite of Damsel Courtian I claim the magic, body, and hand of Sir Harry Potter." As soon as the words were out of his lips he lifted a circular gold necklace from his cloak. "Harry, come forward and take my hand."
Draco felt his insides go cold as he worked to school his face into a mask of indifference. A quick glance around the great hall showed students torn between looks of confusion and horror at the wizard's declaration. Those of muggle born descent naturally had no idea of the significance of his words, nor did they have a clue of what his short, but impassioned speech would set in motion.
Draco found himself staring, as everyone else in the hall was, towards the boy who lived himself, who seemed frozen in his seat an unreadable expression on his face. From the moment he walked through the doors of Hogwarts this boy had faced down challenges that would make a lesser wizard crumble, and even before that, if you took into account his defeat of the Dark Lord as an infant. Speaking of said Dark Lord, Harry had taken on perhaps the greatest Dark Lord of all time, more than one time, and had miraculously lived to tell the tale every time.
His badge of Gryffindor honor, and notable history, would likely stop Harry from feeling scared by the sudden appearance of a virtually unknown person claiming his life. It certainly could not have been the first time someone had tried to claim Harry's life both in the literal sense of death or even in the romantic sense. As savior of the wizarding world there were people falling over themselves for a drop of his affection, or a moment of his time. Draco frowned, while Harry was likely not frightened by the wizards declaration, he should be scared. One look at the head table showed his own horror mirrored on nearly all of their professors faces.
This was different than asking him out on a date, this was even different than demanding him out on a date, Lord Casimir called on his rank by right of magic to formally request a courtship bond. By approaching Dumbledore, publicly acting as Potter's magical guardian, Lord Casimir was completely within his right. Perhaps the worst part, Draco was sure that Harry had absolutely no idea what it meant.
In modern society, dating is loose, informal affair where two people could get to know one another, start, and end the association at will. However courting in the wizarding world is a highly structured activity, with very specific formal rules. There are steps, traditions, gestures, rules all bound and forced by magic. A courtship bond was like a maze wrapped in an unbreakable vow ending only when a different vow, a marriage vow, was made.
Though largely out of favor now, historically the courtship period of any association was considered paramount, and would literally make or break reputations and families. The Damsel Courtian rite was archaic, and such a public confrontation could not have happened in years. Draco once again glanced around the hall. Only a Lord holding the title of head of house could make a claim, and unless the claim was dishonorable, it could not be disputed. Even the ancient and sexiest society of old would not want Lords to have the ability of forcibly bonding or taking control of people against their will so of course, there was a way out of this, but it would be nearly impossible especially since Potter and Dumbledore had no preparation, or knowledge of the ritual in the former's case.
A Lord of equal or greater standing could challenge the claim and act as the damsel's champion. The Damsel Courtain was only used to try to gain control of someone of strong social standing, so if another Lord could stand champion, the situation would not be born. This is where Harry was in trouble. Dumbledore was undoubtedly one of the most influential and powerful wizards in the world, no would deny him that, but Draco could tell by looking on his right hand that he wore no Lordship ring and would not be able to counter the claim. Harry was heir to the head of both house Potter and house Black, and in a few short months, he would hold the honors that title would bestow upon him. However, as he was still sixteen, Harry was still magically and legally considered a minor. If he could claim the titles he could be his own champion, but even then, he would have to fight the claim.
Draco involuntarily found his eyes raking around the room. While there were many influential families present, the specific criteria left no one to stand for Harry. Oh, Draco was sure that if they could any number of people would want to stand for him, but that person would not only need to already hold the title of head of household but know the Damsel Courtain rite's intricacies to make sure they did not die in the process.
Draco's thoughts were moving so fast he felt like time was moving in slow motion. Had Lord Casimir really just issued his claim moments before? He saw Harry stand and it took all his willpower for Draco stopped himself from protesting. Legally Harry had to accept the claim; there was no one to stand for him. He did not know why it bothered him so much. There was no love lost between the two of them. They had bickered and fought all six years they had known each other, and Harry was responsible for the death of his Father mere months before when Harry had amazingly overthrown not only the Dark Lord but all those in his inner circle. He should not care about what fate befell the scrawny form of his self-proclaimed arch nemesis. It just did not seem fair.
There was something truly frustrating about seeing someone give so much of themselves to all those around them, and instead of being able to live his life once he had completed the herculean task presented to him, the rest of his life and identity was being snatched from him. Harry had always done the impossible, saving himself and all those around him, only to find himself in a situation where he was not even given the opportunity to save himself. He wasn't even granted the opportunity to try.
Draco stared across to the Gryffindor table willing one of them to stand.
"Bloodly mudbloods and blood traitors." Blaise muttered. Draco silently nodded to the boy next to him. There were no Lords among the lions who could stand as champion for Harry. There was not anyone in the hall who could. Well that was not completely true. There was no one in the hall that Draco could watch stand for Harry, but the irony of it all almost made Draco laugh out loud.
At the death of his father by Potter's own hand, he had become the head of house Malfoy. Draco tapped his right hand against his leg feeling the ring resting on his fourth finger. He could stand now and he, Draco Malfoy, could try to save the savior of the wizarding world. Try being a keyword. Even the mere thought of what that action would mean made Draco want to run from the hall. His strength had never been in the form of confrontation or brave bold acts. He worked and moved in the shadows and was actually in many ways grateful Harry had overthrown the Dark Lord, if only to spare him the indignity his cowardice would surely have brought him had he followed in his father's footsteps and served in the Dark Lord's ranks.
Harry's footsteps sounded like the pounding of a drum as he slowly made his way to the front of the room. Damn it! There was not time! He had seconds to move, seconds to act. Why should he risk his skin? Why should he try to save the boy who had driven him crazy and constantly bested him despite all Draco did?
But there was no one else.
Before he could talk himself out of it Draco stood up quickly from the table and dropped his wand from his sleeve into his hand. Before he could utter the spell on his lips Pansy grabbed hold of his robe.
"You intend to do this?" She said breathlessly, so quietly Draco was not sure if he had heard her speak, or if he imagined the words.
Without answering the real or imagined question, he stepped back away from the table and turned to face the Lord Casimir. Draco only somewhat succeeded in stopping his voice from shaking as he clearly spoke, "Expelliarmus!" There was a dazzling flash of scarlet light and the necklace, which truthfully looked more like a collar, went flying out of Casimir's hand. A splattering of laughter and whispers swept through the room at the look of horror on Casimir's face. Dumbledore looked thoughtful, but Draco did not dare get distracted from the task ahead of him.
Almost involuntarily, he felt his hand inscribing the needed wards in the air with his wand. Similar to the once Casimir had used moments before. Draco murmured the words his father had drilled into him and he tried not to think. Is this how people feel when they do heroic things, light headed and nauseous?
As he finished the final downstroke of his wand a thrumming sounds seemed the seep from him and fill the room around.
"Oh my goodness your challenge was accepted!" Pansy said once again trying to grab hold of Draco. "You're magically bound to –."
"Stay back!" Blaise interrupted her, swatting away her hand. "He's not done and well..." Blaise's words trailed off once again.
Draco let his characteristic smirk slide across his face. He rolled his shoulders back and strutted to the front of the great hall. He hid all of his fears behind the Malfoy mask his Father beat into him through countless hours of lessons and punishments. He had been bred and born to be a purebred lord and wizard. Who was Lord Casimir compared to Lord Malfoy?