A/N: So now we are at Chapter 2 of the Potter Bride. I really do appreciate the follows, faves, and reviews.
While I appreciate the constructive criticism, I find it funny how some readers have really violent reactions about the premise of the story. I mean I know the first chapter was vague and all, but seriously! Is one chapter supposed to explain everything already? Anyway, I hope Chapter 2 explains more details and gives a clearer view on the premise of the story.
Looking forward to your feedback. I love hearing your thoughts, both good and bad.
This story is actually full of drama and is slightly filled with angst. If you came from Seducing Hermione or Blind No More, my previously completed humor stories, then this story is not like that. I see this tale as a lighter version of the angst from Incomplete and way less dramatic than All Because of You. So if you just want to enjoy a light-hearted tale, then this one is not for you.
Now that we have that clear, on with the tale...
THE POTTER BRIDE
By: tweety-src-clt9
Chapter Two
Harry Potter was busy reading specific parts of his family's codex regarding marriage. Since Hermione is finally back in Britain and is sleeping in the Lady Potter's chambers, he had to dig deep on his family's conditions on marriage. He is certain that she would fight this tooth and nail so best be prepared. Frankly, he couldn't blame her because it was her freedom to choose that is at stake after all.
He was so caught up in his reading that as he opened the door of the lord's study to check on Winky and Kreacher regarding breakfast, he bumped into someone. They fell on the carpeted floor with him on top due to the collision. As the codex fell on the opposite direction, he gasped as he saw Hermione Granger whose eyes were briefly closed from the pain of slightly hitting her head on the floor.
"Ouch!", she groaned as she opened her eyes. Harry could only stare at the chocolate brown eyes and the beautiful face that he has missed for so long. Why did I ever let you go in the first place?
"Could you get off me please?", she whispered as she avoided his penetrating eyes.
"Oh! Sorry!", he immediately rolled off her as his mind was brought back to reality. He quickly stood up and was about to offer her a hand when his eyes froze. Hermione Granger is wearing nothing but a translucent red nightgown that barely reaches her knees and the neckline was low that he could easily see her cleavage. Given the sheer cloth, he has a tantalizing view of her nipples and her black cotton knickers. She slowly stood up and then stretched her neck and arched her back as soon as she was on her feet. Merlin! How could she have gotten so sexy in the past six years!
His eyes were so busy devouring every curve of her body that he didn't hear her speak until she threw a thin hardbound book which hit his shoulder.
"Ow!", he rubbed the area the book hit and looked at her face to see that she was glaring at him.
"Will you stop staring at me and listen!", she crossed her arms across her chest and immediately his eyes focused on the valley of her barely concealed breasts.
"Don't you even have the decency to stop ogling me?", she huffed. He looked into her eyes and he knew he was blushing. Great! Way to go in making a good impression, Potter, he inwardly cringed.
"I'm sorry", he looked down in shame while he mentally chastised himself.
"Could you please transfigure my clothes into something more decent and less revealing please? I don't want to go walking around in some strange place dressed like a hussy!", she demanded.
"You don't have your wand?", he pried.
"I haven't used magic for the last six years and I have my wand hidden away at home."
"Oh. Okay", he shrugged before summoning his wand from his invisible holster and transfigured her nightgown into a long thick full sleeved dress that was a bit large for her frame.
"Thank you."
"Of course. So, ah, how are, I'm sure you're hungry, Hermione", he said awkwardly.
"I'm still good. But I do want to talk to you about this bloody prophecy we are supposed to be in!"
"Okay. Sure. Please follow me Hermione", he gestured to the door he exited from and she nodded before following him.
Harry took a seat behind the large oak desk of the lord's study and Hermione took a seat on one of the stools across his desk. Her eyes did a quick evaluation of the room and he sat there patiently waiting for her reactions. He knew that she would be the one to break the silence due to her innately curious personality. When she cleared her throat, he stopped himself from breaking out into a fond smile. Despite being away from him for the last six years, some things just don't change.
"Could you please tell me, where am I? And explain as to how I got here for that matter? The last thing I remember is trying to escape from Malfoy and my other ministry ordained kidnappers and -", she started her narration in typical Hermione Granger fashion. When he heard the word kidnap however, he lost it.
"Excuse me! Kidnap? They bloody ordered Malfoy to kidnap you?", he interrupted her angrily. How dare those ministry bastards impose upon her like this!
"Well I was at my bookshop and then one of the customers who I assume were ministry aurors or something took me. I then find myself tied on a stool and Malfoy of all people begged me to bear your heirs because of some stupid prophecy!", she crossed her arms and scowled.
"I am so sorry Hermione. I tried my best to stop them from doing this", he sighed apologetically.
"You mean, you know about the ministry's plans about the prophecy?", she glared at him.
"I did my best to use my influence on the Wizengamot to stop them from making aggressive moves towards you but I never expected they would go through such lengths as kidnapping!", he explained.
"How can you influence the Wizengamot anyway? Wait! We're getting off track! Explain from the start please", she said calmly but her chest was heaving. Great! Now I have to face the wrath of Mt. Granger alone! I bloody hate those interfering manipulative ministry officials!
"Well you are here at Potter Manor, my ancestral home. A couple of aurors arrived here last night carrying you. They told me you were exhausted from the trip and wanted to stay here with me so that we can talk. I didn't suspect anything since everything looked fine. So, I carried you and let you sleep in the lady, I mean, one of the rooms". Good thing I caught myself in time before I revealed that she's actually sleeping in the lady of the manor's chambers!
"You didn't change my clothes, did you?", she demanded.
"I just transfigured your clothes into sleepwear and I vanished your bra to one of the drawers. I reckon its more comfortable that way", he shrugged.
"Fine. Carry on", she gestured for him to continue.
"Right so the ministry has been tracking you down ever since the first prophecy was revealed, but as Lord Potter, I used my seat in the Wizengamot to stop them from reaching you. I told them that it's bloody unfair for them to expect you to just come back here and fulfill a prophecy", he explained.
"At least we see eye to eye on this matter then", she gave a half smile.
"Of course! I would never force you to do something that you don't want to do, Hermione", he said sincerely.
"I know that Harry. Besides, the stupid prophecy is wrong! I know that it's impossible for me to bear your heirs and that shit they're saying, because you don't like me like that in the first place", she had a relieved smile on her face. He decided to not comment on her statement because he is not ready to reveal that he actually liked her like that. Hell! I am in love with you but I know that I lost my chance all those years ago.
"So how did the prophecies come into place and what do they say?", her question brought him back to reality.
"Well the first prophecy was made I guess, two or three days after you were gone. Ron and I were volunteering at Hogwarts for the repairs and what not. And then, as we were walking, we bumped into Trelawney. She suddenly had a creepy dazed look in her eyes and said the first prophecy in a mystical voice."
"Please tell me the specifics of this prophecy then. Maybe I can decode them and I'll be free from this nonsense".
"It goes like this. With the mastermind leaving the vanquisher, magic is in danger of peril. If the blood of the vanquisher and the mastermind fail to merge, the child of bravery and knowledge will never be born. If the vanquisher fails to capture the mastermind, the future of magic will cease to exist forever", he clearly stated.
"Okay. The vanquisher clearly means you. And I could be the mastermind due to my plans and ideas that helped us during the hunt and even before that. Although, I beg to disagree on the interpretation that we must get married or something. I mean our bloodlines could still join if for example, I had a child who would end up marrying a child of yours or something like that", she rebutted and Harry could actually see that her arguments have merit.
"While I agree with your argument, Hermione, I would have to disappoint you because the goblin prophecy is more specific."
"Well let's hear it then."
"Accio papers containing the prophecy!", he gestured with a hand and three separate parchments came floating about which he immediately caught. He handed it to Hermione for her to peruse. She took it and carefully read each parchment with that look of concentration that she's always had when she's planning something.
"A wizard of prophecy and a witch of intellect must join together in love. Their bloodline shall bear the future of magic. If the bond shall cease to exist, then the world of magic will fall into the hands of those they claim inferior but who they actually fear", Hermione read the Goblin prophecy out loud.
"Okay so again, this talks about you. But really Harry, there are a lot of witches of intellect all around. But this indicates though that it's the non-magical community that will be a threat to magic in the future", she deduced.
"Hermione, how could you say that there are witches of intellect all around?", he tried his best to control the sarcasm in his voice.
"Surely there are a lot of intelligent witches in this entire planet! Just have them take an IQ test or something and marry the one with the highest mark", she countered.
"So, if you are one of those who take the test and end up with the highest mark, will you then believe it's you?", he challenged.
"Well I am not taking a bloody test because I don't want to be in that pool of witches. Really, Harry! You have to fight for what you actually want!", she insisted. But what if it's you that I actually want?
"I haven't really dated anyone since the war", he admitted.
"There you have it! Date a Ravenclaw or any other intellectual witch of your choice and then the prophecy is fulfilled!", she said triumphantly.
"But only the Goblin prophecy gets fulfilled with that statement, Hermione. Besides, according to Trelawney, it's supposed to be the blood of the mastermind, remember?"
"Yeah well, whatever. I still insist on my interpretation. But I'll read the last two prophecies before cracking the code to this craziness. And after that, I'll go back to my simple comfortable life", she shrugged and looked at the parchments once again. Harry just sat in silence as he waited for her to read the last two prophecies, the one from the elves, and lastly, the ancient one. Since he knows the words of each prophecy by heart, he closed his eyes and thought of the last two prophecies before Hermione can react once again.
The warrior friend of a fallen elf shall make the defender of elf rights his lady. If this union fails, magic too shall in future fail.
Magic shall prosper for a long long time and shall survive two dark lords.
When the vilest dies at the hand of the savior, peace shall reign again.
But the greatest threat is yet to come. A threat that once was, thus magic hid.
The savior's blood and the one whose roots are of magic not, shall save the future.
If the bloodlines fail to merge, magic will no longer be.
"No! There has got to be a mistake!", Hermione was shaking her head as she switched her glances from the parchments and then to Harry.
"I am so sorry Hermione but even you can't argue about this. Interpreting one prophecy can have loopholes, yes. But if we look at it collectively, there is no denying it. You and I are the two people being talked about here", he said solemnly as he looked into her eyes.
"I do not believe this! While clearly, Trelawney's prophecy about you and Voldemort is true, it doesn't really mean all prophecies are correct. Besides, this is my life and yours on the line here!", she was angry now as she stood up and paced before his desk.
"Hermione, please come down. You of all people know that I wouldn't force you to do anything against your will", he reassured her. She sighed and eventually returned to her seat.
"Harry, there is no actual law in place, right? I mean a specific law that demands us to fulfill the stipulations of the prophecy?", she inquired in a sad tone.
"No. There is no law yet but I'm afraid that they might do that soon. I promise you though that I'll do what I can to stop that from happening. Your life is yours 'Mione. They should not demand things from you."
"But what about you, Harry? What's your stand in all of this?"
"Well, I'm quite alright with it, I guess. It's not as bad as vanquishing a dark lord and all that crap. Besides, I reckon spending the rest of my life with my best friend will be a happy one", he shrugged.
"What about love, Harry? Or the freedom to decide?", she sighed.
"Is spending the rest of your life with me really that bad, Hermione?", he looked into her eyes to see her reaction.
"Harry we've drifted apart. I haven't seen you for six years. Besides, you don't love me like that remember?"
"What if I said that I regretted my decision when I rejected you?"
"No Harry. That was six years ago. I am happy where my life is at. And you of course deserve the happiness that you are looking for. Therefore, we must think of a way around this."
"Can't we talk about that night, 'Mione?"
"No, it's too late for that. We should move forward and think of ways to solve our current problem."
Silence reigned for a time inside his large study. Both of them were lost in their own thoughts. It was clear from the way Hermione's eyebrows were knitted that she was thinking hard. Meanwhile, he was lost in thought during that one night in the tent where she tried to come on to him but he told her that he loved someone else. If only I could turn back time…
"I've got it!", she broke the silence and he had a fond smile on his face. Her excitement reminded him of the young brilliant Hermione, his best friend.
"Well?", he prodded.
"We pretend to date for a while. That way, the ministry feels secure that there is a chance for us to get together. But in reality, I will help you look for brilliant witches that can help you fulfill the prophecy. After a year or so, we'll just tell everyone that we're not compatible or something like that. Hopefully by then, you already have found a brilliant witch to be with you. If that fails, we can always fulfill the bloodline clause through in-vitro fertilization", she explained.
"In-vitro fertilization?"
"It's a non-magical method of artificial insemination. Basically, they inject sperm directly into a woman's body without the sex, and if it succeeds, the woman gets pregnant. In our case, if you find the witch that you'll love and the bloody ministry still cannot understand our situation, then I'll donate an egg cell, you donate sperms, and then we'll have the woman you're going to marry be the surrogate mother. That way, the prophecy gets fulfilled, you'll be happy, and I'll be back to my simple life!", she was clearly pleased with her plan since her chocolate brown eyes are sparkling.
"Oh. Ah, that's a brilliant idea, I guess", he said sadly.
"I know right? Told you we could figure this out. The bloody ministry is just so traditional that they can't look at other angles to a problem", she said smugly.
"Not all of us could be the brightest witch of the age you know?", he sighed.
"I no longer hold that title since I don't even use a wand now. Hmmm… So, what do you say Harry?"
"If it makes you happy, then, it's okay I guess", he shrugged.
"Great! Okay, so here's what I was thinking. We have to publicly show that we are dating now -", Hermione rattled on with her plans and Harry just stared at her not really bothering to listen. Maybe I can use this fake dating to get her to fall in love with me again?