A/N: Hey everyone and welcome to another short, this one is for Calamity!
For those of you interested in my other works, I currently have three stories in progress with the pairings of those being Harry/FemVoldemort, Harry/Delphini and Harry/OFC
As usual, a big thanks to my Beta's and Discord Staff - Alec, Alpple, Babo, CalamityXx, Champ, DorianGray, O'Neill, Seventh Son, SinisterFox and Xevier!
Feel free to join my Discord for updates, a chance to request your own short story and information; link on my profile. Without any more rambling from me, I hope you enjoy the story!
(Sorry if you don't like this!)
(If you're here from Guarder, there'll be news about that in tomorrow's PoL update!)
December 25th, 1993
July 31, 1999
Harry's Birthday
"What're you doing in my office, Miss…" Harry trailed off, not knowing the name of the young woman who'd somehow ended up in his office at the Ministry but still looked vaguely familiar to him.
"Greengrass, Daphne Greengrass — we went to Hogwarts together Potter, is your memory that shot without Granger by your side?" Daphne sneered at him from her seat behind his desk.
Harry wouldn't be taking that sort of aggression from anyone and promptly marched over until he was standing before the girl.
"Well, Miss Greengrass, I'll have to insist you schedule a meeting rather than show up unannounced," Harry spoke louder when the girl made to retort, "Unfortunately I only came back to grab a few things from my desk before returning home — so I'll be escorting you out and then you can schedule an actual meeting via Miss Goldhorn."
"No," Daphne returned, crossing her arms over her sizable chest while glaring at a document that he'd not noticed resting on his desk; one that certainly didn't belong to him or his office based on the Greengrass family crest at its top.
"That wasn't a question, that was me telling you that you'll be leaving on account of today being my birthday and as such, a day off; my being here at all was merely a formality for Kin— Minister Shacklebolt," Harry followed his words up by moving closer to the chair Daphne was sitting in and resting his hands on it, applying the slightest of pressure to make the girl relinquish the seat she'd improperly claimed.
Daphne didn't move in response to his trying to get her to, at least not completely. She lifted one arm to grasp out at the parchment on his desk and with a perfectly manicured hand, she held it out to him with the same glare she'd had on since his entrance.
Wordlessly, Harry took hold of the offered parchment and stepped away from Greengrass. He'd glanced over the document while ensuring the girl wouldn't be looking through his possessions, for he figured it was a distinct possibility that Malfoy had sent her.
Even if the boy had claimed to be 'changed' and 'good' after the Battle of Hogwarts; Harry wasn't fool enough to think the animosity between them would ever disappear.
"Oh for Morgana's sake — skip to the bottom, you daft buffoon!" Daphne snapped out at him impatiently, meeting his sharp look with one of her own.
Harry didn't do as she said until she finally glanced away, taking a minor victory at her doing so only to have that brief feeling quickly dashed with what he saw written there.
-Until such a time that the Ancient and Noble House of Potter has an Heir within ten years of age of a daughter of the Ancient and Noble House of Greengrass, an outstanding contract for marriage will be filed with Magic itself acting as a witness to this arrangement with the blood of both families as a binding.
Should this marriage fail to be consummated after a sufficient ceremony and upon the activation of this contract within two years of both involved reaching the age of maturity — that being 17 — both involved will be seen as cheating Magic with a penalty of the loss of that very gift from themselves along with any children they should have even if with one another after the passing of said second year.
This document is hereby signed and enforced by the Head's of both House's;
Fleamont Potter
Cygnus Greengrass
Harry looked up from the parchment feeling his palms begin to sweat while his nerves tightened his throat. Those feelings didn't last long before he'd clamped down on them, realising panicking would only make the situation they found themselves in worse.
With a steadying breath and subtle drying charm on his palms, he glanced towards the justifiably angry witch still in his seat.
"Is there anything we can do to cancel this? I'd rather not end up marrying you, no offence intended."
"You think I'd enjoy being stuck with you, Potter?" Daphne finally stood up from her seat and moved right in front of him, her chest practically bumping his while she stared him down, "I've not even shown you the other parchments that act as companion pieces to this one, nor will I, considering the contents of them. Suffice to say nothing short of death…" she let that hang on the hair for a few seconds, "will stop us from being forced into marriage because of a contract that your ancestor initiated."
Harry suddenly felt a bit less confident with the girl's closeness when he heard her last remark… she wouldn't be foolish enough to murder him in his own office in broad daylight, would she?
He shook off that fleeting feeling of worry within seconds; he was the Boy-Who-Won, the man who'd vanquished the Dark Lord and survived multiple killing curses. A blonde witch only slightly older than him was nothing.
Well, maybe not nothing, she was rather fit with large accentuations on her feminine form... but compared to Voldemort she lacked any sense of danger beyond an icy glare.
Daphne took his pause as if he'd mistook the meaning of her words and laughed while running a finger down his arm, over his chest until it settled just above his navel. She then leaned in since they were of a similar height and whispered into his ear; her tone seductive, "Is the saviour of the wizarding world afraid of a Snake?"
Harry looked ever so slightly down, breathing in the very air she'd exhaled while standing his ground and when he spoke, the closeness of their mouths had them almost kissing with the expressive nature in which his lips moved.
"You must've forgotten I'm a Parselmouth, Daphne."
August 30, 1999
One day before Daphne turns 19
"Tell me again why Greengrass waited until your nineteenth birthday to bring up the contract mate?" Ron asked while stuffing his mouth with sweet rolls at the reception of the wedding he'd finally had to go through with.
"Because only a few days earlier her father had died in his sleep and left the whole Greengrass estate to her — try imaging the shock you'd feel if after the death of your last parent and while still in a stage of mourning, you'd learned that you'd already been engaged to somebody your whole life. She told me a few months down the road that it made all her previous dates turn to ash… or at least the few good ones she'd been on," He'd heard all about the dates she'd been on.
A majority of them were absolute rubbish while the few that weren't were nothing to write in a journal about; most anyone who'd dated her only wanted her for her looks and as a result of that, she'd gradually built up a shell around herself. Thank Merlin he'd broken it due to the very unique circumstances that'd bound them together.
"Blimey Harry! Thank Merlin she'd not missed it, you'd have lost your magic!" Ron looked incredibly nervous at the thought and poked out at Harry to see if his friend was still paying attention to him.
Harry frowned at the attention and slapped Ron's hands away, the latter boy laughing as he retreated to his seat.
"I still can't believe she didn't try to ice you in your sleep!" Neville said loudly, drawing glances from those passing by while Ron slapped him upside the head, following those occurrences he tried to make amends to what he'd meant by adding in, "Not that she's horrible, you know what I mean Harry — Daphne's lovely! I just, well… you know how she was those first couple of weeks! Especially when you'd have us over while most of her friends shrugged her off! I'd have thought I'd wake up one day and see that you'd gone missing."
Patting Neville on his shoulder after the boy's words, Harry couldn't help but think about them.
He understood exactly what his friend meant, even if the wording had been a bit off.
Getting to know Daphne had been an uphill battle; one that he couldn't afford to give up on unless they both wanted to live long, unhappy lives following the consummation clause of their marriage. Thinking about that barbaric clause still made him feel awkward, though whether that was because of the lack of time that'd gone by since learning of it or if it were due to 'it' happening tonight, he wasn't sure.
All he knew for certain was what'd transpired in the four weeks that'd led up to his marriage; Merlin that'd never be something he'd get used to… marriage.
Neville had been right about the first two weeks and Daphne's attitude, that was for sure.
Harry had tried to seize the papers she'd put on his desk that first day for inspection by a lawyer that he explicitly trusted — Percy Weasley as it turned out; the man had built up his reputation while at the same time returning to his family, but that was a story for another time. Daphne flat out refused his taking of the papers, going so far as to recite a little known article that the Sacred Twenty-Eight could call into effect for certain immunities should he try to use his power as Chief Auror.
That'd resulted in a stalemate with neither of them willing to budge due to the importance of the issue that tied them together.
Naturally and after sufficient time had passed, Daphne declared as a result of impatience and the unwillingness from either of them to budge that she'd be moving into his home and out of Greengrass manor. He'd attempted to shoot that down the moment she'd said it, but she told him they 'could make it work', that they had to for their families and themselves. Harry had a feeling her doing so was far less altruistic than it sounded and while he agreed reluctantly to her declaration of moving in with him, he made her agree to visit Percy with him that very evening before leaving the Ministry.
A few hours after doing so and with the papers being proven legitimate, Harry had found himself living under the same roof as a Slytherin witch that he'd barely spoken with throughout seven years of Hogwarts. As a testament to her Pureblood upbringing, she felt more comfortable in Black Manor than he did — he knew as much based on how she acted with his house-elves as well as the way she'd strutted about.
Daphne showed a stunning familiarity with the home too, which only added to the unease he felt in her presence even after Percy's review that she couldn't do anything against him that would threaten his well-being.
For two weeks, they would spend every meal together at the dining room table while having friends visit throughout those fourteen days for any attempt at support they could provide despite the incredibly bleak outlook. Or as Neville had given away, Harry had friends visit while Daphne only had her younger sister Astoria or her sole 'friend', Tracey.
Harry frequently had himself snapped at by the girl due to the acquaintances who'd given up on her after hearing about their engagement — she'd expected some to leave, she'd told him in a moment of weakness with tears running down her porcelain cheeks; she just hadn't expected all of them to leave.
He was Harry Potter! Surely some of the people she'd interacted with would at least stay close to use her, and by proxy, him. But no, they all distanced themselves due to the absolute fury and animosity they felt towards Harry for all the family members he'd chased down or killed in the line of duty.
Once he'd gotten that Daphne was alone, isolated and without more than one friend who wasn't immediate family, Harry understood her aggressive behaviour.
She was expected to continue a house on the verge of extinction, to manage the three businesses her family were responsible for, to look after her younger sister with an illness that had no cure while the girl was still a minor and added on to all that was a marriage she hadn't wanted to a man she didn't yet love.
Yet.
That one word was what he'd added after the girls break down towards the end of week two and for all of week three, Harry had done his best to make her life easier. He went so far in his efforts that he'd dropped his weekly Quidditch match with his mates to spend more time with her, took her out to a fancy (or as fancy as one could be) restaurant in the Wizarding World and introduced her to a few female friends of his so she'd feel more at ease in the time spent while at his home.
As it turned out, Daphne's 'tough' exterior was exactly that — an exterior to hide the truly polite, well-mannered, beautiful albeit still aggressive young woman that she was.
Week four's turn around showed him that and much more, as she'd switched from scowling at the sight of him to actively seeking out his company as soon as he returned to Black Manor from his work.
Last night; the night before their marriage, she'd all but forced him from his own home with Hermione, Katie, and her friend Tracey. He still couldn't believe that Daphne had been so willing to spend time with girls that most Purebloods frowned at.
When he finally returned three hours later at the behest of Hermione via a Floo call, Harry found himself escorted along to the dining room by one of the Greengrass family house-elves.
Upon reaching the destination, he was greeted by Daphne at the opposite end of the large table. She was dressed in the finest gown he'd seen her wear; one that had an open back, generous dip for her cleavage and fine glittering scales sewn into the fabric. Moving on from her choice of clothing, her hair had been worn loosely, showing the natural waves that rolled through it.
Her makeup hadn't been done nearly as much as girls he'd seen at Ministry gala's either, the little she wore only accented the beauty she'd been born with.
Harry's lack of speaking at the time made her feel self-conscious and she'd looked away from him while rubbing at her left arm.
He'd never forget the way in which she'd asked him to take a seat — that being in the softest, most vulnerable tone he'd ever heard from her. Harry didn't know why until she'd revealed to him that she'd made the food they'd be eating and she'd planned the finishing touches to their wedding that very night.
Obviously, he'd ended that evening by sweeping Daphne from her feet and into his arms, where he'd snogged the tearfully happy woman until they were both red in the face.
That wasn't the maddest thought either… he'd married the girl only an hour earlier and soon enough, he'd be finalizing the contract with her.
"Harr-" Neville was waving his hand in front of Harry's face while Ron was making remarks that all the week's events leading up to the marriage that'd just transpired had finally driven him mad.
Neither boy would get a response from Harry, nor would any of the well-wishers who'd yet to make it to him at all with their gifts or invitations to other events; the reason being the newly named Daphne Potter.
She'd made her way over to him, silenced Neville with a flick of her wand and grabbed Harry by the front of his shirt with a closed fist.
"You ready, Potter?"
He'd expected her breath to be heavy with alcohol, but the few inches that separated their faces betrayed nothing but the sweetness from the cake she'd eaten while chatting with the other women at the party.
Harry wouldn't mind tasting it again.
Standing up on shaky legs, he nodded and looked at the deviously smirking woman that'd somehow become his wife in under four weeks.
Daphne pulled him close and kissed him in full view of all those nearby, ending it by pulling his lip with her teeth until he felt a slight pinch from her finally letting go. That action only served to send blood rushing south while Daphne licked her lips.
"Apparate us home," her tone conveyed no sense of comedy, only seriousness.
He looked around at all the guests, some of them as important as the Minister of Magic while some were only recently graduated Hogwarts students; such was the range of attendees at the wedding of their Saviour.
"I can't, we haven't spoken with all the guests let al-"
Daphne pushed herself flush against him, running one hand down his chest until it slipped into the very top of his dress robes before stopping dangerously close to an appendage that was yearning for attention.
"I. Don't. Care," she pressed her face against his neck and bit it softly, swiping her tongue across the agitated skin before pulling back to look into his eyes, her visage dark with promises of unspeakable actions to come as she spoke two final words, "Home, now."
Harry did what any sensible Wizard would do and wrapping one arm around his wife, he said a hasty goodbye to the people close enough to hear as he apparated them directly to the bedroom they'd never before shared.
"Are you su-" Daphne silenced him just as she'd done to Neville and followed that up by pushing an off guard Harry directly onto the King-sized mattress behind him.
Another wave of her wand and she was bared to him in all her beauty.
"Husband," her breathy voice called to him as he'd imagined a Siren's would while her hands roamed across her nakedness, enticing him to act.
Just as any sailor would, he jumped towards the woman who'd become his Goddess from this day on.