Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter and would never dream of making any money off it. It all belongs solely to my idol. J.K. Rowling.
Chapter Twelve - A Nice, Relaxing Weekend
By Shadow of the Blue Moon
The next morning, Harry was greeted to the sound of birds chirping as he woke up and slowly stretched. Today's the day I'm definitely starting my exercise routine, he thought to himself. After a quick, hot shower – as even though it was only one week into September, the castle was starting to get cooler, due to the fact it was in Scotland, which was north of England – he put his new exercise clothes from Hong Kong on and made his way outside the castle.
Outside, a cool breeze blew off from the lake, and a giant tentacle poked out from the surface of the lake. Ignoring it, Harry started to run around the castle, which wasn't too bad for the first ten minutes or so. But after twenty minutes, he started feeling tired. After thirty minutes – and after he had made his way around nearly half of the castle, with the thought that his many chores at the Dursleys' and running away from Dudley must have made himself slightly fitter – then he definitely felt tired. After forty, he was ready to have a break, and after fifty, he had a cramp in his stomach and a strong desire to sit down and have a long rest.
No, I have to keep going, Harry told himself. Last ten minutes, and then I'm going back inside for breakfast. That should be enough for the first day. With that thought, he was able to make it back to the front doors, before sitting down and having a good, long drink of water from a water bottle the elves had been kind enough to provide him with. After a few minutes, he dragged himself up to his dorm, before almost collapsing on his bed.
"Where've you been, Harry?" Terry Boot, the boy whose bed was next to Harry's, said as he brushed his hair and looked at himself in the mirror he had on his nightstand. "You look really tired, maybe you should get in a few more hours' worth of sleep? It won't hurt anybody for you to catch a little more sleep."
"I've been exercising, and I've arranged to meet my friends at breakfast, so I can't have a few hours of sleep right now. Maybe I'll sleep earlier tonight instead," Harry said, before waving at the other three beds, whose occupants, Michael Corner, Anthony Goldstein and Oliver Rivers were still abed and wrapped in their sheets and quilts. "Are Michael, Anthony and Oliver still asleep? Won't they miss breakfast if they don't get up and get ready for breakfast soon?"
"Breakfast ends at ten a.m., instead of nine-thirty, on Saturday and Sunday mornings, due to all the people who like to have long lie-ins," Terry explained. "It also starts at six a.m., instead of seven, on Saturday and Sunday mornings, for those who, like you, like getting up early to do exercise. As long as Michael, Anthony and Oliver get up before nine-thirty, they should make it to the Great Hall to have some breakfast, even if they're definitely not going to be the first ones there. Lunch starts at twelve, and lasts until two for the people who like late lunches, and dinner is from five to nine instead for those who like early or late dinners on weekends."
"I see," Harry said. "We're allowed to wear our own clothes today, as it's a weekend, aren't we?"
"Yep," Terry answered. "But they have to be robes; you're not allowed to wear Muggle clothing at Hogwarts unless given permission to by a professor, as this is a 'magical learning environment', and therefore not part of the Muggle world. Traditionalists also say that Muggle clothing in the wizarding world should be banned, as it 'disrespects magical history', and Hogwarts – or at least, Headmaster Dumbledore – has apparently agreed that it should be banned at Hogwarts."
"That makes no sense," Harry said. "What about the Muggleborns, who don't have robes apart from school ones because they simply don't need other ones, and it's not on the list of supplies? Do they have to wear their school uniforms all year-round, whenever they're at Hogwarts?"
"Yep," Terry replied. "I know it's not very fair, considering that purebloods will have a wide variety of robes and wizarding fashion to wear, while Muggleborns won't." The two of them fell silent. Harry then got up and went over to his trunk, picking out a set of emerald-green robes that he had put under his school robes, at the top compartment. He then went into the first-year Ravenclaw boys' bathroom, and headed over to the shower. After he quickly towelled off, he donned his robes and made his way down to breakfast.
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Back at the Tonks' house, Sirius was having breakfast with Ted and Andromeda in their kitchen, while talking about the day that lay ahead of them. For Andromeda, she had a few appointments from those who wanted or needed a meeting with a Healer and were only free on weekends; and for Ted – or Edwards, which Sirius discovered was his full name – then he had a case for a client of his to work on as he now worked as a Law-wizard. He had apparently always wanted to be a lawyer, starting when he was in the Muggle world and was in Muggle primary, and now that he lived in the wizarding world he had become a Law-wizard instead.
"And I need to head to Gringotts," Sirius insisted. "Couldn't I use your Floo?"
"I suppose so, but the goblins need to approve it first," Ted said. "I've had quite a few dealings with goblins and Gringotts in general, as quite a few cases of mine have to do with money and gold, or otherwise some kind of valuable treasure or family jewellery. They don't take very kindly to wizards just turning up on their Floo, so they've blocked all wizarding Floos apart from the Minister and the Head of the DMLE, as well as a few trusted people."
"Then I'll write a letter, and ask to meet tomorrow," Sirius said. "Could I please have a few sheets of parchment and a quill after breakfast?"
"Of course you can," Andromeda said. "Don't forget to take your potions, though. You're looking a lot healthier, now that you've had a couple of nights' worth of proper sleep in a real bed, actual baths with soap and a day's worth of potions. And of course, don't forget to eat. You need to eat, and you can eat whatever we have in the kitchen."
"I will," Sirius said. "I'll be paying you back, of course. Just tell me the total cost of what I've eaten, and I'll repay you once I'm free."
"There's really no need," Ted said. "Just think of all the times you would have come to our house for meals if you had been a free man – for dinner, Christmas and birthdays and such like – and think of all the food you would have eaten anyway. There's no need to pay us back."
"I want to," Sirius said stubbornly. "Oh, and before I forget, 'Dromeda – I'll be officially bringing you back into the House of Black and re-establishing your family stipend for 2000 Galleons per year once I'm Lord Black. Ted, I'm officially recognising you as an in-law of the House of Black, and bringing you under its protection. I'm also officially recognising 'Dora as a daughter of the House of Black, and bringing you three and all your descendants under the protection. You'll also have access to family magics."
"Thank you," Andromeda said softly. "I've always wanted to be brought back into the House of Black."
"I'm going to be Disowning Bellatrix for being a Death Eater," Sirius continued, "and I'm going to recognise Harry as Heir Apparent – as Black magics insist on a male being Heir Apparent only – but 'Dromeda, you'll become Heiress Presumptive and Dora will become Heiress Secondary. I suppose I have to recognise Draco Malfoy as Heir Tertiary though, since I've never really met him and thus, can't form a positive or negative opinion of him, and 'Cissa's done nothing wrong to get herself and Draco Disowned. Oh, and I'm also going to be voiding Bellatrix and Rodolphus' marriage contract."
"For what reason?" Ted asked. "I've always wanted to know how the Black family's pureblood marriage contracts were like."
"I'm not sure yet," Sirius said. "But I'm sure I can find a reason to. The Blacks – including Bella's, 'Cissa's and 'Dromeda's mother and father, Uncle Cygnus and Aunt Druella – were very paranoid and always had lots of clauses, sections, subclauses and subsections written into any contract that they signed."
"I see," Ted said, before pushing his plate back and standing up. "Well, I'd better get going. 'Dromeda, are you coming? Sirius, we're sorry to leave you now, but we really have to go. If you need to contact me, contact me at Tonks & Thomas Corporation, a law company that I'm partner of with one of my best friends. The stationery is on my desk, in the study. You can use as much as you like, but I'd prefer it if you didn't use all of it."
"I won't use all of it," Sirius said. Ted nodded, before holding his arm out to Andromeda and the two Apparated away, leaving Sirius alone in the kitchen.
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By eight o'clock in the morning, Harry, Neville, Draco, Hermione and Luna were the only ones down for breakfast out of the ten friends, as the other five girls had probably gotten up later than usual and therefore, started their morning routine later than usual, and were thus taking longer to get down to the Great Hall for breakfast. "They'll probably be down soon, though," Hermione said. "Their hair can't take as long as mine to tame."
"You know you don't have to keep it bushy if you don't want to, right?" Neville asked Hermione. "There's a potion called Sleakeazy's Hair Potion, invented by Harry's grandfather, which is especially effective at taming bushy and messy hair and making it sleek. Ironically, Harry's grandfather's and his father's hair, as well as Harry's, is also some of the most unruly hair you'll ever see, which I suspect was why the potion was invented anyway."
"Really?" Hermione asked. "How could I get that?"
"But you'll have to use liberal amounts," Draco said. "I'm not an expert, but maybe you should try getting some kind of special hair conditioner and shampoo that's specially brewed for you? My mother has some of that, and she uses that when she needs her hair to look really good for things like Ministry balls and high-society events."
"How could I get that?" Hermione asked, and as she looked around at the three boys and Luna, each of them shrugged in turn. "Never mind, I'll ask one of the other five girls."
"What did you want to ask us?" Daphne said, sliding into the seat next to Harry. "Well, Tracey, Pansy and I are here, so you can ask us."
"Draco mentioned a special hair conditioner and shampoo that might tame my hair," Hermione explained. "I wanted to know where I could get some, so I could fix my hair. I really don't like how my hair's so bushy and hard to tame, especially when I need to go to something semi-formal or formal with my parents."
"Ah, I know what you mean," Daphne said. "I've got some for semi-formal and formal events. I can get you the forms to fill in and owl off to the correct address, they're always included in the back of Teen Witch Weekly when that company, Calming Curls, takes out an ad in Teen Witch Weekly. But until then, I can always lend you some of my shampoo and conditioner. It should work well enough, although once you've got yours then it'll be even better."
"Thank you," Hermione said. "I've looked almost everywhere where I live to find a shampoo and conditioner that works for my hair and can tame it into something better than my current bushy hair, but even the ones that promised they would 'tame untameable hair' didn't work for me."
"That's because of all the magic," Tracey explained. "And while we're on the subject of outward appearances, what about your teeth?"
"What do you mean by that?" Hermione asked.
"How your front two teeth stick out," Tracey said. "You do know that you can easily get them fixed in the wizarding world, right? I'm sure Madam Pomfrey would be happy to help you fix your two front teeth so they fit very well. That's why a lot of witches and wizards have perfect, clean, white teeth – because of spells and/or potions."
"I didn't know that," Hermione said. "When I was in the Muggle world, I was planning to get braces once all my baby teeth had fallen out, but I can't because I'm at Hogwarts for most of the year, and braces require check-ups every few months or so. Mum and Dad, who are both dentists – those are Muggle teeth Healers, since we don't have spells or potions – recommend check-ups every six to eight weeks for their patients who have braces. But I was planning to get them fixed once I'm out of Hogwarts."
"Well, I can always take you to see Madam Pomfrey after breakfast," Tracey said, and Hermione nodded frantically. "But eat your breakfast first, or you won't have anything to eat until twelve, or you want to come back down. You'll also need energy for the rest of the morning."
Hermione nodded again, and made herself a plate of breakfast and quickly polishing off, which Tracey also did. "Now can we go?" Hermione asked. "And does Madam Pomfrey have anything to fix my hair, just like she can fix my teeth? I wouldn't mind being able to fix it permanently."
"I'm sorry, but I don't think so," Tracey said. "Just that shampoo and conditioner, otherwise then I don't think there's anything. But yes, I'll take you now." Hermione nodded eagerly, before leaping up and almost dragging Tracey out of the Great Hall in her excitement to fix her teeth, which elicited chuckles from the remaining six of the group, as Hannah and Susan had yet to arrive. They were probably sleeping in late, just like many others.
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After breakfast, Harry asked Daphne to take a walk with him around the school grounds, as the first thing that they ever did together, just the two of them and without anyone else, whether adults or their friends. Daphne quickly accepted, and, their friends seeing that this was going to be the first "Haphne" date-but-not-a-proper-date, quickly backed off and said that they had a lot of work to finish and study, as they didn't have eidetic memories and needed to study so they would get good grades.
Once they were out on the school grounds, there was, yet again, a cool breeze coming off the lake. A few other couples had apparently had the same idea, and were strolling around together, hand-in-hand and talking. The two of them walked in silence for a few minutes, before Daphne asked, "So, what do you think about the girls in our year and even some in the year above, who are all crushing on you, some of them rather obviously?" Daphne asked.
"Nothing, other than that they're a nuisance," Harry said, shrugging. "I've noticed quite a few of them attempting to come up to me and trying to talk to me, but they're always deterred by others." He paused for a few seconds, but quickly said, "But don't worry, Daphne, you'll always be my one-and-only."
"Just because I'm your betrothed?" Daphne asked, raising one eyebrow.
"That, and also..." Harry hesitated for a moment. "Well, haven't you noticed that during the month we've known each other for, we've gotten a lot closer now?"
"I...think so," Daphne said. "I think it's because of the magic of the betrothal contract. When a contract is created in the magical world, magic is always involved in it. Relationship contracts, especially betrothal ones, are especially 'brimming' with magic. Ours has no escape clauses, so it's especially... how do I put it... well, it just makes us even closer. Mother Magic knows we can't escape, so she's making sure that we're at least happy and close with each other. Dad's actually looking into the nature of our betrothal contract, to see if any others existed and what happened to the two Houses involved. So far, he hasn't found anything similar."
"What do you think would be the likely outcome of the two Houses?" Harry asked.
"Nothing, except they'd be closer," Daphne said, shrugging. "Blood is very powerful and very useful in magic, and can allow you to do many things you couldn't do without blood. For example, you could set up wards to allow or block people even better than you could by keying their magical signature into the wards, or using them to power something very well. There is actually a Dark type of magic called Blood Magic, which teaches the ways of how to use blood."
"Well, I hope nobody uses it for harm, considering how powerful it is," Harry said. Daphne nodded agreement, and the two continued to talk for a couple of hours and just strolling around or sitting down under an oak tree, before going back into Hogwarts later to get some lunch and find their friends again as Harry, with the use of a Tempus Charm, found out that it was eleven-thirty. As the ten friends hadn't agreed nor decided where they would sit at lunchtime, Daphne chose to sit at the Slytherin table.
Once again, as the other members of their "friend group" arrived in a group from the library – Hermione beaming with perfectly straight and white front teeth – they had to be reassured that nothing bad was going to happen to them apart from Draco and Pansy, who were perfectly fine with sitting at Slytherin table. "We really have to fix this Gryffindor, Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff theory that Slytherins are evil," Daphne sighed. "Look, guys, think about it. One-fourth of the wizarding population are Slytherins or former Slytherins. Surely they can't all be evil Dark Lords that torture and kill for fun."
"That – makes sense, I suppose," Hannah said, confusedly.
"And just because the Dark Lord came from Slytherin doesn't mean that all Dark Lords are Slytherins and vice versa," Pansy added. "Take Gellert Grindelwald, for example. He wasn't a Slytherin, he wasn't even a Hogwarts student for that matter. He was a student at Durmstrang, before he was expelled for twisted, dark experiments."
"Durmstrang? What is Durmstrang?" Hermione asked, her interest piqued. "Is it another magical school? Where is it? How many magical schools are there all over the world?"
"Whoa, calm down, Hermione," Neville said. "Okay, so Durmstrang Institute is another magical school, which is located in the northernmost regions of either Norway or Sweden." As he saw Hermione about to interrupt, he put up his hand and went on. "The reason that nobody knows exactly where is that magical schools usually have Unplottable Wards, which means that it is impossible to see either on a map or in front of your eyes unless you have been told exactly where it is. People who visit Durmstrang also have their memories wiped about where it is, but they can describe it."
"And I think I can answer your question about magical schools," Draco said. "Over the world, there are eight magical schools. Hogwarts only accepts students from Britain, Wales and Ireland, Mahoutokoro School of Magic only accepts students from Japan, Koldovstoretz only accepts students from Russia and Beauxbatons Academy of Magic usually only accepts students from France, Belgium, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal and Spain, although it does accept students from other countries. The other four schools accept students from all over the continent they are located in, like Castelobruxo, located in Brazil, accepts students from all over South America."
"So could I go to say, Durmstrang?" Hermione asked. "And how do you know all this anyway?"
"During the last few years before I came to Hogwarts, my father and mother would constantly talk about sending me to other magical schools, rather than Hogwarts, which they have the right to do," Draco answered. "My father was never a supporter of Dumbledore, and as the Headmaster of Durmstrang was a family friend, he wanted to send me there. They would also talk about other magical schools, besides Durmstrang, just in case the Headmasters changed or other schools became better."
"And before Draco goes off into a tangent, no, unfortunately you wouldn't have been accepted at Durmstrang," Neville said. "While they accept students from all over the world, they refuse to accept Muggleborn witches and wizards as they believe they are unworthy of magic and must have stolen magic from purebloods to get the magic they have."
"This is nonsense, of course," Daphne cut in, "but since purebloods are afraid of losing their magic and becoming Squibs, they hate Muggleborns. That's one of the reasons that Muggleborns face such hatred and prejudice today, meaning that they must work harder than purebloods, who rely on their family name, to get good jobs and earn money."
"Yes, and we can't stop this, as to do so, you would have to prove that Muggleborns don't and can't steal magic, and it's impossible to prove a negative," Susan said. "My aunt has had to deal with a lot of Death Eater-related times when they have harmed Muggleborns just because of their blood status."
"Oh look," Neville said suddenly, clearly not paying attention. "The food's appeared now, we should start eating. And by the way, what has everyone planned for the several hours between the end of lunchtime and dinner in the afternoon, seeing as we don't have classes and have finished studying and our homework?"
"I'm planning to go flying," Harry said. "I know the school's broomsticks are horrible and we would have better luck with a twig, but I want to try it again. I'm also thinking of buying – and donating – some broomsticks to Hogwarts, as they probably haven't been replaced for about fifty years."
"That would be a good idea," Daphne said, hugging him. "Also, Harry, I've been looking into something about our studies. I've heard of this program called the accelerated program, you can do it in any subject you choose and can speed ahead in that subject by up to three years, depending on your level. If you are good enough in all subjects, you could finish your O.W.L.s by the end of next year and your N.E.W.T.s by the end of fourth year."
"That would be nice," Harry said, "but I don't know if I'm up to that level yet. Plus, I don't want to finish Hogwarts before you guys do, and if I went on the accelerated program and sped ahead in all subjects by three years, there would be three years' time without the nine of you, and since I'm wouldn't be of age even by then and haven't been emancipated, I can't do anything much except maybe attend Muggle school. And if I did, how would I explain missing about four years of Muggle school?"
"No, you can always just do it in one or two subjects, such as Transfiguration and Charms – your best subjects," Daphne said. "And then you would still spend seven years with us, and have free periods when we're in Transfiguration or Charms. It's just taking a few of your exams early. And about Muggle school, there's a fake Muggle school for witches and wizards that want to go to Muggle university after Hogwarts. You can put that school as where you've been for the past few years."
"There is?" Hermione asked. "I've been thinking a lot about it, as I'm part of both the wizarding and Muggle worlds now. I've been thinking that I would self-study for Muggle school, and sit my exams over summers, and after graduation then I would go to a Muggle university, preferably Cambridge as I've always wanted to go there."
"Then you should go, but think about it carefully first," Hannah said. "One of my elder sister's friends is a Muggleborn Ravenclaw, and she also wants to do the same, so over the past few years she's been studying like mad to catch up with all the Muggle stuff. You'd have to do that if you want to go, starting now, so you have to quickly make your mind up about this. I've already decided that I want to be a Healer, and that my future lies in the wizarding world, so I'm not going to take Muggle exams or anything."
"But of course, you would have a lot more options open to you in the Muggle world, if you chose to take your Muggle exams," Tracey said.
"Don't worry though, Hermione," Luna said. "We'll be here to help you along the way, through thick and thin, even if we get into arguments sometimes."
"Erm... okay, and thanks guys," Hermione said. "Alright, but we really should eat now. Oh, and Neville, I wasn't really planning to do anything this afternoon – except for maybe research about the wizarding world in general, and what witches and wizards do after graduation from Hogwarts. So basically, wizarding culture."
"I have a book that would probably help you," Harry said, making up a plate of lunch for himself. "It's called An Introduction to the Wizarding World, and it's available in Flourish & Blotts. Have you ever read it, or at least heard of it, or something similar to that?"
"No, I didn't have a chance when I went to Diagon Alley," Hermione said, also making up a plate of lunch. "That day, Professor McGonagall picked me up and took me to Diagon Alley. She gave me a bag of Galleons, stating that it was to help Muggleborns purchase school supplies in the wizarding world, and some extra to put in Gringotts. She also told me that I could transfer British sterling into Galleons, Sickles and Knuts, which would also gain interest like in the Muggle world, depending on how much was in there."
"I can lend it to you if you want," Harry said, beginning to eat. "It's very useful."
"I'm planning to just have a walk, or maybe play a game of wizard's chess with Pansy," Draco said. "I can teach any of you how to play wizard's chess if you don't know how."
"Maybe another time, but thanks," Harry said, and Hermione nodded agreement. After a quick discussion about the afternoon over lunch, they all headed to where they wanted to go to for the afternoon, which for them was the library yet again. It was quickly becoming their favourite place to go to, as well as the place they went to most often.
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That dinnertime, as they sat at the Ravenclaw table, they were joined by Cho Chang and a friend of hers, who slipped into seats near them. "Hi, guys," Cho said. "Harry, Daphne, I've been looking for you. It's been ages since we've last seen each other! Oh, and where are my manners? I'm Cho Chang – second year Ravenclaw and Daphne's second cousin, and this is my best friend, Marietta Edgecombe."
"It's nice to see you again, Cho, and nice to meet you, Miss Edgecombe," Daphne said. "These are our friends: Tracey Davis, Neville Longbottom, Hannah Abbott, Susan Bones, Draco Malfoy, Pansy Parkinson, Luna Lovegood and Hermione Granger. You might have met Tracey, Neville, Hannah, Susan, Draco, Pansy and Luna before, but I don't think you'll have met Hermione. Miss Edgecombe, I think I've seen you before actually. Does your mother happen to work as a Floo Regulator, and is she Madam Edgecombe?"
"Yes, that's her," Marietta said. "You can call me Marietta, no need for the formalities here."
"Then you can call us by our first names," Tracey said. "I'm Tracey Davis, by the way." One by one, the rest followed Tracey's lead, introducing themselves to Cho and Marietta. Once they had all been introduced, and the food had appeared, they began to talk.
"So what brings you here, Cho?" Harry asked. "Are you looking to ask anything in particular?"
"Nope, just hoping to catch up," Cho said. "Oh yes, and it's going to be my birthday in a few weeks' time, and Professor Flitwick has granted me permission to have a small birthday celebration in an empty classroom, and you're all invited. It'll probably be in the evening, lasting from about 6:00 to 9:00 p.m., and will be on either a Friday or Saturday night so you don't get tired for classes the next day."
"Thanks, Cho," Daphne said. "Where will it be? I mean, there are about a few dozen empty classrooms, which one will it be held in?"
"One near Ravenclaw Tower," Cho said promptly. "Sorry guys, but I do have to set things up, and I'm not going to carry things around half the school." She scraped the last few bites from her plate, before getting up and saying, "Well, I have a bit of homework to finish, so I suppose I'd better get going. Nice to see you, though."
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The next morning, while Harry exercised and many other people slept, Molly Weasley was sitting in her kitchen, sipping a cup of tea as she read back copies of The Daily Prophet to find out what Dumbledore was talking about when he mentioned the betrothal between Harry Potter and Daphne Greengrass. All he had said to do was to read the gossip column – not something she usually read, as usually all the people mentioned were high-society people that she knew almost nothing about, due to the fact that the Weasleys were not rich and important – so here she was, scanning copies starting from the first of August.
Currently, she had reached the twentieth of August, but there was still nothing very important. Quite a few mentions of how "the famous Harry Potter, the Boy-Who-Lived, is finally going to Hogwarts after ten long years of hiding!", but nothing about the Greengrasses nor a betrothal. But once she found the copy of the twenty-fourth of August and flipped to the gossip column, she almost exploded with rage.
THE HEIRS OF THE HOUSES OF POTTER AND GREENGRASS IN UNBREAKABLE BETROTHAL
Today's top gossip-worthy news is of course, the betrothal ceremony between the famous Harrison "Harry" Potter, Heir Apparent to the Most Noble and Most Ancient House of Potter, and Daphne Greengrass, Heiress Presumptive to the Most Noble and Most Ancient House of Greengrass, which many high-society, pureblooded members of Magical Britain and of Light, Grey and Dark families were honoured to be invited to, both the ceremony and the grand celebration afterwards.
This betrothal ceremony took place in Merlin's Church, one of the most famous churches in Magical Britain, with all the seats filling up to hold three hundred guests at the betrothal, while the after-celebration took place in Greengrass Manor. The celebration lasted for hours and was filled with plenty of fun, laughter and dancing, as a celebration should be like, and many people came away afterwards feeling very satisfied, happy and full of good comments about both the ceremony and the celebration.
But why would the betrothal, let alone the betrothal ceremony that formally recognised the betrothal, even happen in the first place? According to Lord Cygnus and Lady Isabel Greengrass, this betrothal was not created in this generation, but by the great-grandfathers of Mister Potter and Miss Greengrass. It came about as a few generations ago, both the Houses of Potter and Greengrass were nearly wiped out in the male line, and the Lords of both Houses at that time decided that if either of the Houses didn't have a male Heir, the Heir Apparent and Heiress Apparent/Presumptive would be forced to marry and be bound in an unbreakable betrothal.
This, of course, applies to Mister Potter and Miss Greengrass, as it is well-known that Lady Greengrass is unable to bear any more children and Lord Greengrass only has two daughters: Miss Daphne Greengrass, the bride-to-be of Mister Potter, and Miss Astoria Greengrass, the younger of the two sisters. Mister Potter and Miss Greengrass could not be reached for comment, but Lord Greengrass was happy to give us a quick comment on his feelings about this betrothal.
"While many other fathers in my position would be happy that their daughter was bound to the famous Boy-Who-Lived, I would certainly have to take a while to think about it," Lord Greengrass stated. "My daughter and young Mister Potter seem very happy with each other, but it really is too early to tell. However, just like any other father, I would have this to say to Mister Potter: 'If you dare hurt my daughter in any way, I will be coming after you with my wand in my hand, fire in my eyes and revenge in my heart'."
To conclude this article, this reporter would have one thing to state: Sorry, young witches of Magical Britain, Ireland and Scotland, it looks like that your dreams of grabbing the Boy-Who-Lived are just that – dreams, as he's apparently been taken even a few generations before he was even born.
"Argh!" Molly growled to herself. "This can't happen! Ginny has to end up with Harry!" She then cast Incendio at the fireplace, to make sure there was fire, before going over to the fireplace and tossing some Floo-powder from the pot on the mantlepiece in the flames. She called, "Albus Dumbledore, Hogwarts!" before waiting for the connection to work and sticking her head into the flames.
Soon, she had been connected and was currently staring at Dumbledore, who was sitting behind his desk. "Ah, good morning, Molly," he said. "What brings you here?"
"Information," Molly said. "Has Severus managed to brew the potion yet?"
"Alas, no," Dumbledore said. "Molly, you took the Potions N.E.W.T., you should know how difficult it is to create a new potion completely. There's Arithmancy, Herbology, Potions and sometimes a bit of Alchemy involved in making a new one. We must give Severus time. Was there anything else you wanted?"
"How you could have let Harry and Miss Greengrass formalise the betrothal?" Molly asked. "I thought you were his magical guardian, you should have been able to stop him."
"I should have, Molly," Dumbledore said, "not I could have, no matter how much I wanted to. Unfortunately, Harry had run away by then, and as the Greengrasses are Neutral and out of my control, I could not reach young Harry. In fact, I believe that the Greengrasses may actually have taken Harry out of Britain for the last week."
"Any reports?" Molly demanded, and Dumbledore sighed inwardly.
"Molly, it is far too early for me to say anything like that," Dumbledore said tiredly. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have paperwork to do." Before Molly could say anything, he quickly cut the connection, 'throwing' her back into the Burrow.
.
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That afternoon, Sirius Black was, as usual, doing nothing in the Tonks' house. While their house was very nice and a huge step up from his cell in Azkaban, it was starting to feel slightly like his cell again. He had learnt, over the past few days, that he didn't like to be "trapped" in one place for too long, as it reminded him of his cell.
Over the past few days, he had quickly settled into a daily routine, as well as learning the Tonks'. Andromeda and Ted both usually had breakfast at about eight, before Flooing or Apparating to their respective places of work. They would usually return home for lunch at about noon, before leaving again at one o'clock, so this would be the only meal with the four of them. Dinner, which was just Andromeda, Ted and Sirius, would be at about six to seven, after Andromeda returned home.
'Dora's, however, was different as she was an Auror. Usually, she would get up at about eleven in the morning to noon, before having lunch. The next few hours were her "lazy" and "downtime", where she would do almost nothing. At a quarter to four, she would Floo into the Ministry to start her shift, which lasted from four to midnight. At midnight, she would return home, eat a quick snack and promptly collapse into bed.
Suddenly, a snowy-white owl swooped into one of the house's windows. Sirius, quickly looking around to see if there was anyone first, opened the window and picked the owl up. It had the Gringotts emblem on it, signifying to all that it was a Gringotts owl. Sirius quickly untied the letter, before unrolling it and reading:
Heir Apparent Sirius Black of the Noble and Most Ancient House of Black–
We have agreed that you may now come for a meeting. This letter is a Portkey, and the phrase to activate it is "May your gold flow". It will take you into my office, and we may then discuss the finances relating to yourself personally and the House of Black in general. This Portkey will take you directly to my office, so you do not need to trouble with finding someone to cast a glamour upon you (as you are an ex-prisoner that has been released in secret, I suppose you do not have a wand). I hope to see you.
–Blackstone, Account Manager for the Noble and Most Ancient House of Black
"Great," Sirius said to himself. He rummaged around the house until he found a quill, a pot of ink and parchment, before quickly writing a note to the Tonks, informing them where he was going to be. If he got back before any of the Tonks did, he would remove the note and simply tell them that he had gone to Gringotts. However, if he arrived back later, then at least they wouldn't panic when they couldn't find him. Sirius then touched the letter, before saying, "May your gold flow." He then felt like a hook, situated somewhere behind his navel, was pulling him to Gringotts. Within a few seconds, he was then standing in Blackstone's office.
"Ah, Heir Black," Blackstone said, grinning at him from behind the desk. "I've been waiting to meet you for a long time."
An hour later, Sirius had almost finished with the meeting. Since there seemed to be many things that only the Lord of the House of Black could do – the many Lords Black being paranoid that someone would do something they didn't want – then there didn't seem to be much he could do. He had taken out some money, borrowed a wand of his ancestor's – it had been left in a small vault filled with old wands of the Blacks' – and had caught up on some things that he needed to know.
"Thank you, Blackstone," Sirius said, rising. "I'll, of course, be coming back in a week's time or so, once I'm officially free."
"Good," Blackstone said, before handing Sirius another sheet of parchment. "This is a Portkey which will take you back to your house. I hope to see you soon." Sirius nodded, and the two bid each other goodbye before Sirius disappeared with the Portkey.
.
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That night, as Harry and his nine friends sat down at Gryffindor table for dinner, they were accosted by Ron yet again, but this time it wasn't to annoy them. "Greengrass, Davis, Malfoy and Parkinson," Ron began as soon as he got there. There was a pause, and then he said in a rush, "I'mreallysorryforannoyingyouandcallingyouslimysnakes." With that, he then ran off quickly to the other end of the table and sat down with his best friend, Stephen.
Once he had departed, the twins joined the ten of them, who were all talking about Ron's attempt at an apology. "Hello, all," one began.
"We, as messengers from the Elder House of Weasley–," the second twin continued.
"–would like to formally apologize to all of you–," the first twin said.
"–especially Mister Malfoy, Miss Greengrass, Miss Davis and Miss Parkinson–," the second twin said.
"–for the rude behaviour of the second-youngest scion of the House of Weasley," the first twin finished. "And by the way, I'm George, if you can't tell us apart yet."
"Thank you," Draco said. "On behalf of myself and my betrothed, we accept the apology from the Elder House of Weasley."
"And on behalf of myself and my best friend, Heir Presumptive Greengrass, we too accept the apology from the Elder House of Weasley," Tracey said. "Now that the formalities and apologies are over, let's enjoy dinner."
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Hey guys!
I'm sorry for not updating in so long again (it's been exactly one month since my last update), but thanks for the reviews, favourites and follows! Tests are finally over, especially the language ones (definitely not a strength of mine) so I'm finally free! Also, the next chapter is going to be a "throwback" chapter (maybe about the beginning of Voldemort's life, since that's kinda when the "chain of events" that led to Harry becoming the Boy-Who-Lived started) I probably won't be posting until 2018, since Christmas is in a few days. A FEW DAYS! I can't believe that 2017 has gone by so quickly!).
I also want to thank you guys for supporting me as I wrote the first few chapters of my fanfic (hey, Christmas is a time for giving and thanks, right?), especially my friend in real life, ttdbzgumball, and a fellow fanfic author that I've never met in real life but is really nice and writes great stories, DarkSuspense. So... Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year, and I hope to see you guys (reviews, messages, whatever) in 2018!
Shadow of the Blue Moon x
Chapter Word Count (rounded to nearest 100): 7,300