Fandom: Harry Potter

Words: 594

Title: The idiots guide to...

Excerpts from 'Rituals of pureblood courtship for the hideously dumb and muggleborn' by King Mahon.

Once the suitor has announced courtship to his intended; he has no need to inform the parents or guardians. In fact, he only has to announce it if his intend it asks him to. He can inform of his intent to court verbally or through writing. Written, it has to be done in specialised ink to invoke the magic of the courtship...

If the intended is still receiving magical education, the suitor will normally speak with the parents of his intended first. This is to ensure that there are no betrothal contracts. Betrothals are normally carried out upon the completion of school, and the suitor would not want to accidentally incur the wrath of their intended's parents. There have been exceptions though. Orphans and in the very, very rare cases that the suitor and the intended have already had sex.

If sex has already been had, courtship is not necessary and only a formality. The suitor has every right to claim their intended, but they normally court to save the wrath of the family. To read of the 5 cases where sex has been had first go to page 297...

Gifts can range from large, sprawling mansions to small birds. The suitor will, though, most often try to display his wealth and influence to his suitor. This is especially important when there is more than one suitor – often the one with the most power, influence and wealth is successful and the others are rejected.

Suitors from the older families are often known, as their first or second gift, to eliminate the enemies of their intended. This is a sign that they are able to protect their intended. It is also a display of power, being able to get away with murder that is often gruesome and torturous.

An example of an old family that follows this display is the Malfoy's. They will kill off their intended's enemies first and then spend the next couple of gifts showing that they can provide for their intended. After they have shown that they can protect and provide, they will then send gifts that are special to their intended. These gifts can go on for sometime, ranging from one of each to thousands spanning over years.

The second last gift is one proving that the suitor proving that they can pleasure their intended and the last is a ring, but we will address that later...

At the end of a courtship, a ring is sent as a gift. The intended had two choices. Until now, they have had to endure the gifts, willingly or not. Once the ring is sent, everything is in the intended's hands. They can choose to accept and wear the ring or decline and send back the ring all the other gifts.

Once a courtship in entered into, the only way out of an unwanted courtship is through the rejection of the ring. This does not need to be done in person, as history had shown that when the intended rejects the ring in front of the suitor, the intended gets severely injured.

This author warns strongly against rejecting the ring in the presence of the suitor. In fact, this author recommends that you do not enter into a courtship with a Malfoy, as their gifts tend to be over the top and they don't handle rejection well...

Hermione had highlighted that paragraph and written a note next to it.

'Sorry, too late for you.'