Disclaimer: Like the Spanish Inquisition, no one suspects the house-elf.

Chapter 3: No One Suspects the House-Elf

August 11th, 1997

"Yes, thank you all for coming." The nervous voice of Lucius Malfoy rang through the room. "Due to the unforeseen events, we will have to cancel the reception. I'm sure you all understand."

The guest began murmuring to one another as they exited the wedding hall. In all honesty Lucius was probably better off if he kept the reception. The rumor mill was going to crucify him either way the next day.

Harry doubted that anyone else in the room noticed exactly how fearful Lucius actually was. Yes, everyone would have known about the inconsistency in Lucius's story and the actuality of the events of the evening. Anyone could have guessed that Lucius was nervous about the fallout to his political capital. But only Harry could notice Lucius's distress that his plan for Draco failed, and instead, Harry was involved in events that lead him out of his chambers.

"You," Lucius's sharp voice broke through Harry's thoughts. A Muggle-born witch with bushy curly brown hair, Harry's constant companion, responded to Lucius's call. "Take the girl to your Lord's chambers. Have her wait for your Lord there."

"As you wish, Lord Malfoy," was Sissy's only response. Sissy bowed to Lucius before she approached his new wife to lead her out of the room.

His wife's wide eyes looked around the room in shock, as she blindly followed Sissy. This entire day had to be one change after another for her. First she was about to marry her beloved, the idiot Draco, and become Lady Malfoy. But by the end of the day she married a complete stranger and became a nobody. Taking one last glance at her retreating back, Harry vowed to make this change as easy as he could for his wife. It wasn't like any of this was her fault.

As Harry turned and glanced around the room he quickly realized that the majority of the people had exited through the back room. They were all most likely idly gossiping about the recent turn in events for the Malfoy family as they left. Once the room was cleared, Lucius began pacing the room.

"How did you do this?" Lucius yelled as he stopped pacing in front of Harry.

"I have no idea what you are referring to," Harry said keeping his calm demeanor.

"How did you change the ritual?" Lucius began to scream at the top of his lungs. "How did you take the whore away from my son?"

Now Harry may have never met his wife prior to their wedding, but she was now his. Therefore, she was his to take care of and defend.

"You will not speak of my wife in that manner." Harry calmly and coldly informed Lucius.

Lucius took a step back, as if realizing for the first time since he stopped pacing exactly who he had been speaking to.

"Of course," Lucius hesitantly replied. "I dare say my anger got the best of me. What I meant to ask was why you chose to have the young girl for your own."

"For the last time," Harry stated in a cold voice. "I had no knowledge of the events that transpired resulting in my nuptials."

Lucius, his eyes still showing nervousness turned to a small short man. "What do you know of this mix up?"

"Lord Malfoy," the small man squeaked, "I performed the ritual properly. I followed the steps the correct way and I used all the proper ingredients. I can't tell you why it didn't work as planned."

"Really," Lucius said in a calm controlled tone. "Then why isn't my son enjoying his wedding reception right now?"

The small man started to shake. "I don't know…" the man whimpered.

"Well, let's start from the beginning," Lucius snarled. "How did you obtain my son's blood while he was at Hogwarts?"

"I sent a House-elf to collect in secret the blood sample," the man replied, unable to look Lucius in his eyes.

"Which one?" Lucius asked in a falsely calm voice.

"Dobby," the man whispered.

Harry controlled his features to ensure his face would not give away his surprise. That had to be the reason why he was now married. Dobby was fanatically devoted to him, and ever since Lucius ordered Dobby to only care for Harry, Dobby believed that Harry was his master, not the Malfoys.

"Dobby," the angry voice of Lucius Malfoy rang through the air.

"Yous be calling Dobby, Lord Malfoy?" The long eared elf asked as soon as he popped in.

"Yes, Dobby," Lucius replied in a more subdued tone. "What were your orders from Potion Master Avery in regards to obtaining my son's blood for a potion?

"Potion Master Avery asked Dobby to retrieve blood from his young master," Dobby said in a slightly confused tone. "Dobby did as he was told and obtained the blood of his young master for his potion."

"That will be all, Dobby," Lucius commanded before Dobby popped away. "It appears that the sample you were given was correct, Avery. Now how did this go wrong?"

"I don't know," the man, Avery, cried as Lucius snapped his fingers. Two men suddenly stood on either side of Avery and pulled the collapsed man back to his feet.

"Take his wand, and show him my hospitality in the dungeon." Lucius said with a cold sneer on his face. "Avery, we'll get to the bottom of this one way or another."

Harry made his face impassive once again, attempting to deflect attention from him as the room began to empty.

Lucius turned to Harry with a frown on his face. "I swear, if I learn that you had anything to do with this…"

But Lucius's threat was not meant to be finished as Harry cut him off. "You won't learn that I had anything to do with it because I told you I didn't." Harry quickly glanced around the room to ensure they were the only two people still present. "There is one issue I must discuss with you though."

"And what would that be," the hesitation was clearly reflected in Lucius's eyes.

"You confiscated my wife's wand when she arrived," Harry began in a very cold and different tone. "Now, this may have been acceptable to Draco, however, I would like to have the wand returned to her as soon as possible."

Lucius had the audacity to laugh in Harry's face. "It's a safety thing," Lucius sneered when he stopped laughing. "Your wife's wand was taken away to protect the members of this household. For all we know she is insane and a danger to us all. For the time being, I'll be holding on to her wand until we know she can be trusted not to harm us."

Harry had to bite back his initial response after he heard Lucius's silver tongued reply. Trust Lucius to be able to come up with a response that made some sense in response to him doing something that should be criminal. No wizard or witch should ever be separated from their wand.

Taking several deep breaths, Harry attempted to ignore Lucius's taunting smile. There were going to be many more battles waged between the two of them over the coming months. The issue of his wife's wand was not worth the effort. Harry could always find a replacement wand for her when Lucius's back was turned.

"There is nothing more for you here," Lucius's voice broke through Harry's thoughts about plans to obtain a good wand for his wife. "You should return to your chambers and entertain your wife." Lucius's voice took on an entirely too perky tone for Harry's liking. "You do know that if you do not consummate the marriage before sundown, your wife," Lucius spit out the word as if it were an insult, "will still die?"

Harry silently thanked Merlin for Lucius Malfoy's need to gloat in other people's pain. Had Lucius not mentioned this, Harry would have never known.

~*~

The moment Harry walked back into his chambers he could feel the wards which imprisoned him snap back into place. Lucius was desperate earlier to solve the matter of the blotched betrothal ritual or he would have never released the wards which kept Harry in his prison. It was a bit of a luxury to be able to access another part of the manor for a change.

Looking around the main sitting room/dining room Harry was unable to find exactly what he desired. All four doors off of the main room were closed and there was no indication which door had Sissy behind it. Staring at his bedroom door, Harry knew he had to speak with his new wife, of whom he suspected was waiting in his personal bedroom for his arrival, but first he needed to speak with Sissy about the changes in their lives. This unexpected marriage had now changed everything.

As if his thoughts had summoned her, Sissy walked out from behind the door which led to her personal room. The look on her face clearly reflected her thoughts on the matter of his brash decision to go through with the marriage ceremony. Harry couldn't help but wince and prepare for the lecture he knew he was about to endure.

"My Lord your actions this afternoon were completely foolish," Sissy's brisk, no nonsense voice clearly began. "I do not know what you hoped to achieve by going through with your unplanned marriage to this Pure-blood," Sissy spat the term as if it were a dirty word, "witch."

Knowing from his personal experience it was best to cut Sissy's tirade off before she got into a stride Harry placed a pacifying hand on her shoulder before he spoke. "Sis, you know I had no choice in this. If I refused to marry her she would have died."

"She is one of them," Sissy said in a low voice, her eyes never leaving Harry's face. "She wanted to marry Draco from what I was able to learn and if that man Avery didn't blotch the ritual she would be the future Lady Malfoy, not…"

But Harry had heard enough and raised a hand in a jester to silence Sissy. "Avery did not mess up the ritual." Harry knew Sissy would never betray his trust by telling Lucius what he had figured out during the interrogation of Dobby.

"Then how did that woman end up betrothed to you instead of Draco?" Sissy's curiosity was clearly reflected in her face.

"Dobby," Harry called out, without immediately answering Sissy's question. Her irritation was clearly pointed out to Harry when she flicked his ear.

"Yes, my Lord, yous be calling Dobby?" The young elf, and oldest friend of Harry Potter popped into the room.

"Thank you for coming so quickly Dobby," the elf blushed at Harry's compliment. "There is something I need you to do for me. This is of the up most importance."

"Anything for Harry Potter sir, my most young and perfect master," Dobby began to gush.

"If anyone asks you the name of your 'young master', 'young lord' or just simply 'master' or 'lord' you are to lie." Harry said very quickly. The look of recognition in Sissy's eyes told him she figured out exactly how Harry ended up married as well. "You are to tell them your masters are the Malfoys."

"Of course, Harry Potter sir," the elf immediately said before he seemed to hesitate.

"Is there something wrong, Dobby?" Harry asked knowing the House-elf most likely had a question but was hesitant to actually to voice his concern.

"Yes, Harry Potter sir, Dobby has a question about your most excellent order." Harry had to roll his eyes at the elf's wording. Sissy would be likely to yell at him for treating Dobby like a slave verses an individual later, but this was for Dobby's protection.

"What is wrong with it?" Harry asked in a controlled tone.

"It is just that Dobby wonders, sir, why Harry Potter, sir, does not want Dobby telling the world that Harry Potter is Dobby's master?" The elf's eyes were barely hiding the glistening tears that threatened to spill.

"Dobby," Harry began, the tone of his voice always tended to soften when he was dealing with the elf. "It is not that I do not want the world to know that I am you master. I merely want to protect you. I've told you this before; it is not safe to be my elf at this time. When things are safe, then you can tell the world you are my elf, but you can't regrettably until that time."

"Yes, sir, Harry Potter sir," the elf said before disappearing. Harry had a feeling that regardless of his words the little elf's feelings were hurt.

"I hope you know what you are doing," Sissy's voice the silence that fell over the room after Dobby's sudden departure.

"I know enough," Harry simply replied, eyeing the door to his room where his wife waited.

"I have prepared my room for your new wife to stay in," Sissy said simply.

"You did not need to do that." Harry immediately replied. "Where will you go?"

Sissy smiled, "I will share with Bella. Your wife will need her space now that she has been forced to stay with the likes of us."

"Sissy," Harry said in a warning tone. "We know nothing about her…"

"Precisely," Sissy cut Harry off. "We know nothing about her, so we shouldn't trust her."

~*~

Harry walked into the master bedroom with his head held high and his face expressionless. His wife was sitting nervously on the bed her hands clutched in her lap. Her fiery red hair was covering her face, blocking her eyes from his view.

Harry sat down on the bed next to her and took a deep breath before he began to speak. "I know your day hasn't turned out the way you planned. You were expecting to marry the man of your choice, your beloved. Instead you were forced to marry me. For that I am truly sorry. The only thing I can do for you is to propose that we both fulfill our obligations in this marriage, while still being free to do what we each please. That way you would still be free to be with the young Lord Draco."

After finishing his prepared speech, Harry finally looked up to see his wife's reaction. He had been expecting to see her joyous or excited at the prospect that he was willing to let her still see Draco. However, what he found was something he was not expecting. Her creamy skin had taken an extremely pale tone while her eyes widened in fear. Something was wrong with this situation.

Since his wife did not reply, Harry spoke once again. "Is this not what you want? I was under the presumption that you were in love with Draco."

"No," her voice choked out. "No, I've never directly spoken to Draco till the ceremony today. I don't know him let alone love him. I was forced here against my will, taken from my family to be married to a stranger."

Harry silently contemplated what the woman before him claimed. While it was no stretch of the imagination to see Lucius cook up some scheme for Draco to marry the Pure-blood witch of their choosing, the only thing Harry didn't understand was why her?

When word had reached the occupants of his household about Draco's upcoming nuptials, Harry had reached out to all of his contacts on the outside to learn as much information about the situation as possible. From what Harry could learn Ginevra Weasley was a Pure-blood witch who came from a very poor family.

There was no evidence that there would be any political or capital gain from a union between her and Draco. Yet, for some reason Lucius chose this witch to be his son's wife, so there had to be something that Harry had yet to see about her.

"You won't force me to be with him, will you?" Ginny's hesitant question broke Harry's train of thought. He could tell how scared she was by the subject manner by the way her voice trembled.

"Of course not," Harry snapped. "I would never force anyone to do something that was against their will, especially not my wife. If you do not wish to ever see Draco Malfoy while you are here, then he will have to go through my dead body to get to you."

Ginevra had initially jumped due to the tone of Harry's voice; however, by the time he had finished he could see that there was a small smile on her beautiful face. "Thank you," was his wife's simple yet adequate response.

"Yes, well," Harry began to change the subject. His embarrassment over this new subject matter was evident from his voice. "There is one last thing that needs to occur for the marriage bond to be complete. Unfortunately, we need to complete this requirement before sundown or…"

"I'll die," Ginny simply said as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

"Correct," Harry answered, unable to look his wife in the face. He had no idea if she had experience in what needed to occur, but he definitely did not. "We have approximately three and a half hours till sundown we could-" But Harry was cut off again, before he could finish his sentence.

"If it is all the same to you, I'd prefer to get this all over with now." Ginny said while Harry was still unable to look her in the eyes. "I'd rather not take any chances with the time restrictions, considering I would die if we got it wrong."

"Alright," Harry calmly agreed as he stood up, although his thumping heart betrayed his nervousness. As he reached his hand over to gently push his wife down to lay on the bed before him.

~*~

When it was all over the man redressed and left the room as calmly as he entered it earlier. Ginny had no idea how he could remain so calm about this whole ordeal. They just met mere hours before and now they were wed and bedded.

Not only that but he had made a proposal to allow her the freedom to be with Draco, the person her husband thought she loved. From the little that she knew about her husband he seemed like a nice enough individual, however there was plenty she did not know for sure about him.

When the minister announced earlier that day they were Lord and Lady Potter she nearly passed out. As far as she was aware there was only one remaining member of the House of Potter, Harry Potter, the Boy-Who-Lived and the person whose muggle living arrangements resulted in all the Muggle Raised Protection Laws.

Ginny was well aware that her speculation on her husband's identity could simply be the work of her over active imagination, since he could merely be a Muggle-born with the last name Potter. However, he was the right age to be Harry Potter, and quite frankly, what were the odds that there could be two muggle raised, magical Potters in the world with no relation? She may not be completely sure of her husband's identity but she had a pretty good idea on who he may be. The only problem was she never got a clear view of his forehead to know for sure.

As the door creaked open Ginny hastily wrapped a sheet around her body to protect her modesty. While it could be her husband returning, she could not be sure.

"My Lady," the voice of the young woman who brought her to her husband's chambers relaxed Ginny at once. The woman had been so kind to her.

"Your bedchambers are ready, my Lady. Please allow me to take you there and assist you in whatever you need." The woman had her eyes averted as Ginny quickly covered herself with her robes.

"Please, what did I tell you the last time we spoke." Ginny said with as much confidence as she could muster as the two of them walked out of the room, "call me Ginny."

"I'm sorry my Lady," the girl replied instantly. "But as I told you before, it is disrespectful for a person of my station to refer to you as anything other than my Lady."

"That is nonsense," Ginny practically snapped. She was not used to any special treatment and there was no way she was instantly better than the girl before her due to the fact she was forced to marry Lord Potter. "Well what do I call you? You never told me what your name is."

The woman stopped and turned to Ginny in front of a door across the sitting room from where they started. "My name is Mudblood," The woman said coldly.

"That is not a name," Ginny huffed. "That is merely a derogatory term."

"I have no other name," the friendliness was completely absent from the woman's voice. "When I came here Lord Malfoy called me Mudblood, and that is what I am known as."

Ginny numbly followed the woman into the room. She was shocked speechless at the blatant verbal abuse this woman constantly suffered. From her change of tone, the woman had to have known for a while how awful that name was.

"I took the liberty of drawing a bath for you," the woman began. "I thought it was prudent due to what needed to take place."

"Thank you," Ginny replied as she walked towards the door the girl indicated in the room.

"My Lady," the woman began hesitantly.

"Yes," Ginny replied turning back towards the woman.

"My Lord is a good and kind man." The woman stated looking down at her shoes. "He would never take advantage of anyone no matter what the situation was. Please do not look upon him unkindly due to the actions he had to take to complete your nuptials."

Before Ginny could form a response the woman had left her chambers and Ginny was alone to contemplate the aftermath of the day.

~*~

A/N: Well here is chapter 3. A big thank you to everyone who has reviewed and to zephy and swanpride for their awesome beta-ing. The next chapter will answer a few more questions that are left about this story's universe in general, such as where's Voldemort?

I've started a yahoo group to discuss my fics and Harry Potter in general since there have been some great discussions started by my reviews that I think a few people might be interested in joining in. Feel free to join: http://groups .yahoo .com /group/forias_corner/ Just remove the spaces in the url or go to my profile and click on the website info.

Foria

Next Chapter: Dreams, Conflicts and Rumors