DISCLAIMER:- HARRY POTTER IS PROPERTY OF JKR. I DO NOT OWN IT...

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CHAPTER 03

It was nearly twelve o'clock. Daphne lazily walked to her fireplace – not that she was eagerly looking forward to meeting her friends, but she was going there merely to keep her promise. They were gathering for the first time after they received those horrible letters two days ago, and Potter hadn't even made an attempt to communicate with her family. Needless to say, her parents were over the moon when they got to know the news. He was the saviour of Wizarding World, famous and rich; what more did they want?

Daphne was getting more and more frustrated as she felt like she was being neglected, especially by the arrogant, Half-Blood ex-Gryffindor. Even Marcus Flint hadn't treated her like this when she had been betrothed to him. He was on holiday with his girlfriend when their parents had signed the contract and the next day he visited her, leaving his love at the Mediterranean holiday house. She knew she was not the only woman in his life, but that was not a huge issue. After all, marriage was just a duty, a duty to keep the bloodlines pure and a duty to produce an heir. Love and other feelings were not that important – duty came first. She hadn't loved Marcus and nor had he loved her, but they respected each other. Their engagement broke due to the new law, when Potter came onto the scene. She didn't love Potter, and she knew he didn't love her either; but at the very least he should have respected her by communicating with her parents without delaying. Cursing under her breath, she grabbed some Floo powder and disappeared into green flame.

Four ex-Slytherin dorm mates planned to meet in the new dine-in section of 'The Leaky Cauldron', which was built right after the second war. They didn't want to be together on the day they received letters. They knew it was not going to be a pleasant surprise and being ex-Slytherins they didn't want to have their emotional breakdown in front of others. Therefore they decided to meet after two days, giving them all ample time to handle their emotions and display less vulnerability.

Daphne was the last to arrive. Pansy, Millicent and Tracy were at their usual table. When Tracy waved at her, she responded by slightly raising her hand. By the first glance, she knew Millicent and Pansy were not in a very good mood – Pansy was far worse than the other and it was obvious she was pretending very hard to act normal. She greeted her friends and took her seat.

"So?" Daphne raised her brows. "Who is it?"

"Neville. Neville Longbottom." Tracy replied, blushing.

"Weasley..." Millicent muttered.

"Weasley..." Pansy mumbled.

"How come both of you got the same person?"

"Don't be ridiculous Daph, Millie got George and Pans got Ronald..." Tracy replied. Daphne looked at Pansy with a shock and gave her best 'you're screwed' look.

"What about you, Daph?" Pansy asked, ignoring Daphne's shock.

"Potter." She scowled.

"Not bad. He is famous and wealthy."

"I don't know Tracy; he hasn't contacted us yet."

"Weasley's parents contacted both mine and Millie's parents. That's all."

"Neville's grandmother came up with a strict contract. My parents accepted it, what else we can do when I'm a Half-Blood? But Neville is a true gentleman."

"Did he contact you?"

"Yes, he came with his grandmother. He doesn't like the law, but he thinks two of us can survive." Tracy blushed. "... and I believe him." she muttered, turning very red.

"Whoa! Someone's got a thing for the snake slayer!" Daphne teased her.

"At least one is happy." Millicent said. "Longbottom is not bad, a well-respected war hero."

"What's wrong with George?" Tracy asked. "He is a respected war hero too. He's got a very successful business in Diagon Alley. Handsome, regardless of his missing ear and I heard he's not the prankster he used to be – maybe he's grown up."

"That has nothing to do with growing up. He's not been himself since he lost his twin." Millicent said. "I mean… his parents told my parents that. He hasn't contacted me yet."

"Well, why don't you go and pay him a visit? His shop is only a couple of buildings down from here."

"No way! I don't think it's appropriate –"

"Millie, you're going to marry this person and have a child soon, so what's wrong with visiting him? Tracy questioned. "Plus, it's just a shop, dear, and anybody can go there without a real purpose. You don't have to buy anything, and I can come with you if you want. Remember – if the mountain won't come to you, you must go to the mountain."

"Merlin, Tracy! How could she do that? I wouldn't go after a man who ignores my existence." Pansy exclaimed.

"Well, Pans! You don't have to go anywhere; he's already here." Tracy replied, gesturing to the person who had just emerged from the nearby fireplace.

Sending shivers down Pansy's spine, Ronald Weasley scanned the area before approaching an empty table. He clearly saw them but ignored their presence as usual. When their eyes met, Pansy saw hatred in his eyes and nothing else.

"Pans, I think you might need to get used to that." Tracy said, watching as he was quickly surrounded by his fans and admirers. "He is very handsome indeed. I was surprised when he becameWitch Weekly's most eligible bachelor last month but now I know whom he got his votes from."

"There's nothing to be surprised about. He is a famous Quidditch player, so he's got fans everywhere." Millicent joined in.

"I thought he was an Auror." Pansy said bitterly, who had never been a fan of Quidditch.

"No, he works in Gringotts." Daphne was positive.

"Girls, girls, he is a trained Auror working for Gringotts. I can't remember the exact job, but it has something to do with security. It's shift work, so he's got plenty of time to play Quidditch. He plays for the Chudley Cannons as Keeper when Oliver Wood is out of the country, which happens more often these days. So you can see him in the pitch more often than in Gringotts." With one breath, Tracy put her friends out of their misery.

"How do you know that?"

"Witch Weekly, last month's edition. There was an article about him."

Pansy could remember the article she had purposefully skipped without even skimming through. Who would have thought then I was fated to be with him, she thought as she exhaled heavily. The nearest Floo activated again and this time famous Hermione Granger stepped out of the fireplace, closely followed by none other than Neville Longbottom. She smiled and walked toward her best friend, who excused himself from all his admirers and got up to greet her with a big friendly hug.

"Tracy, are you not going to talk to your fiancé?" Pansy asked with her Slytherin cunningness, to make sure everything she had told them was true.

"He'll come after he finishes with them." She replied casually, and it didn't take too long for him to visit them.

"Tracy." He greeted her.

"Neville." She responded, blushing.

"Greengrass, Parkinson, Bulstrode." He greeted them with a brief nod, and they all nodded back in acknowledgement.

"I thought you were with Professor Sprout today?"

"Yes, I was. Then I got an urgent Floo call from Ron, asking to help sort a couple of important matters. With Harry's absence, I had to come and help them."

"Where's Potter?" The words slipped from Daphne's mouth before she could even think them through.

Neville gave her an odd look. "I don't know." He paused, and then continued. "Why don't you ask them?" he said, looking back at his former housemates.

Daphne looked at him with horror-filled eyes. "Them?"

"Yes, Greengrass, them. You have a right to know more than I do, and they'll let you know without a fuss." He gave both Pansy and Daphne an interesting glance. "And anybody who wants to have a good relationship with Ron and Harry should approach Hermione and be friendly with her first. They listen to her and will do anything for her. And, to be honest, I don't know where Harry is living these days, but he's definitely not at the Burrow or at Headquarters."

"What is the Burrow?" asked Pansy. "It sounds like a rabbit hole to me."

Neville glared at her. "It's the Weasleys' house. If I were you, Parkinson, I would stop the unnecessary sarcasm and start taking things seriously." With a warning look, he proceeded. "You need Hermione's help more than Greengrass does, because Ron is not a forgive-and-forget kind of guy. He's a very good man but hardly forgives, and he needs a lot of time to come around."

"Who has she got? I mean, who has Granger got?" Daphne tried to change the subject after seeing Pansy's discomfort. "It's so we know if we could help…"

Neville scowled. "Malfoy."

"What?! Draco? He is every witch's dream wizard!" Tracy exclaimed while the others gasped.

"Does it look like to you like it was one of her dreams?" His brow furrowed. "Maybe it's the dream of every Pureblood witch, but it's more like a death wish for a Muggle-born." He looked back at Hermione. "To me, she looks like an animal ready to be sent to the abattoir." He sighed. "I just want you all to know that my friends sacrificed a lot for this war, and they deserve to be happy. I honestly don't think they were matched up with the best partners – but at least if both parties try to make it work, their lives won't be a living hell." He looked at them carefully to see whether they had understood any of this. Apart from Pansy, who appeared to be in shock, the others nodded and seemed to agree with him.

"Tracy." he said, looking at his fiancée. "I need to get going, but if you are free tonight, will you be able to have dinner with me?"

"Sure." She muttered, blushing heavily.

"Thank you very much!" He smiled. "I'll owl you soon with the arrangement." He said gently kissing her and headed back to his friends to bid them goodbye.

Pansy watched him leaving with an empty look. She knew he was right. For seven years, she encouraged Draco in bullying Harry and his friends, and she never missed an opportunity to pass harsh and very bitter comments about them. Countless times she had mocked Weasley for his poverty, social status, behaviour, appearance and the like. She never thought even in million years he would become a powerful wizard in society. Making her every assumption wrong, he became a powerful and well-respected Wizard than the Parkinsons, and although he was not rich like her, he was wealthier than he was in his school days. Now the pay-back time had approached, and she was fated to pay for her childish actions with her life. She knew one thing for sure; he hated her more than she disliked him, and their marriage would never be a happily ever after.

oOOo

Hermione Granger was busy as usual. She left her lunch untouched, and she had her face buried in yet another legal document. She could feel Ron's distress, although he was pretending to be very normal. He had grown up and became mature enough to move on by leaving the silly school rivalry behind. Although he was not friendly with ex-Slytherins, he had become civil to them. Then, making his life miserable, this marriage law came into action by betrothing him to the one woman he hated most after Bellatrix Lestrange. He cursed and turned the page he was reading, making Hermione sigh. She sensed someone had approached them and stood there to get their attention; she ignored the person, thinking it was one of Ron's numerous fans.

"E-excuse me, Granger."

Hermione was surprised to find very nervous Daphne standing next to her.

"Yes, Greengrass?"

"Er... Do you... do you know where Potter is?"

She exchanged a quick, meaningful glance with Ron before answering Daphne. "Yes, I do. He is staying with his cousin."

"Would you mind asking him to contact me when it's possible?"

"Sure I can. His mobile phone is switched off, but I can –"

"Mione." Ron interrupted her.

"Oh! Sorry, I forgot! Harry's muggle communication device is deactivated. I –"

Ron interrupted her again. "I got Dudley's number from Susan." He said drily and passed a small metal object to Hermione.

"Thanks, Ron." She hurriedly copied down the group of numbers appearing on the glass panel before returning the object back to Ron. "I got his cousin's communication ID. I'll ask him to pass the message and send you an owl with his reply. Sorry Daphne, his uncle and aunt don't like owl post and their fireplace is blocked, so we can't communicate with him by wizarding methods." She smiled apologetically.

"That's alright Gra – Hermione. Thank you very much for your help." She thanked her with an honest smile. "And thank you very much, Ron." She added.

Ron snorted, and Hermione treated her with a pleasant smile. "I'll let you know as soon as I hear from him." She promised.

oOOo

"Can I help you?"

As soon as she stepped inside, Millicent knew she had made a very foolish mistake by agreeing with Tracy and visiting Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes. The shop was huge and packed with hundreds of people. All she wanted was to get out of the place as soon as possible before the owner noticed her, but her plan went horribly wrong when the owner appeared in front of her, blocking her way. She couldn't even find Tracy and the blood drained from her face.

"Er... Thank you. I-I'm alright."

"Okay, let me know if you need any help."

"Sure, thank you." She was about to turn around and walk out quickly when she heard him speaking to her.

"Millicent. Millicent Bulstrode, right?"

She stood there in shock, speechlessly, without knowing what to do – then she nodded slowly.

George smiled. "Now you can tell me the real reason behind your visit."

She blushed. "Er... I... er."'

"Would you like to have a chat?"

She nodded again.

"Then come this way." He led her to his office and offered her a chair. "Please sit down. Would you like something to drink?" She shook her head.

"Alright then. Now tell me, Millicent – why are you here?" said George, watching her carefully. She was plump, but not obese like she had been when she was in school. She had developed unique, distinguishable feminine features and had started to take care of herself better. He could remember once she resembled Goyle or Crabbe more than she had an actual girl, and now she was not that ugly, nor very beautiful, but plain.

"I'm sorry." She muttered.

He was surprised. "Why?"

"Because of this new law you are stuck with me, although you are in a position to have a beauty queen as your wife if you wanted to."

George chuckled. "Who told you that the success of a marriage depends on the physical beauty of one's partner? No, Millicent, it depends on things like love, care, trust, honesty, mutual understanding and compromise. I think you know the story of my brother Bill and his wife. Their marriage is a very successful one regardless of his looks. I don't go after looks Millicent; I never have."

She looked at him with a special appreciation. "A lot of people are very unhappy with their partners. Sorry; I thought you were one of them."

"Most of them are unhappy because they all have dreams, high expectations and hopes. So when they were assigned with someone whom they believe is not up to their expectations, they feel extremely unhappy. I don't have high expectations, and my dreams and hopes died along with my brother. Since then, all I've wanted is the success of this business because that was what Fred wanted. I never ever thought of marrying, but I guess I have no choice now this law has turned up. I know we don't love each other, but at least we can try our very best to make it work – we don't have any other option."

She nodded with a smile, feeling more comfortable and stress-free than before.

"I'll come and meet you as soon as our contract has finalised – till then, if you ever want to have a chat again, you know the place to find me." He said with a pleasant, encouraging smile.

oOOo

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