Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter and would never dream of making any money off it. It all belongs solely to J.K. Rowling.
Chapter Four – Betrothals
By Shadow of the Blue Moon
The next morning, Harry rose at six o'clock to get ready for the day. He had already packed last night, but he wouldn't be visiting Diagon Alley as much due to the fact that Greengrass Manor wasn't very close to Diagon Alley, he'd have to finish buying anything he thought he might need. Even though there were Portkeys, Apparation and the Floo in the wizarding world, meaning instantaneous travel, he'd still have to 'bother' the Greengrasses to go to Diagon Alley as Greengrass Manor was out in the countryside.
But first, he'd be having breakfast and paying the bill. After finishing his packing, with everything either in his trunk or on his person, he dragged his trunk downstairs. Tom was, as usual, already making breakfast, as he was used to Harry rising early and eating early. "Good morning, Tom," Harry said. "I'd like to check out today. Here's my room key, and I think I've stayed here for eleven nights. How much is that?" He put the room key onto the counter, and took out his money pouch.
"That'll be fifty-five Galleons, please," Tom said. "Do you want breakfast before you leave, or will you be having breakfast somewhere else?"
"I'd like to have breakfast here, please," Harry said, taking fifty-five Galleons out of his money pouch and placing them on the counter. "I'll have toast with butter, please. Also, would it be possible for me to leave my trunk behind the counter until around two in the afternoon? I have business to attend to, and as I don't want to be dragging my trunk around all day, I'd like to leave it here. I'll be back to pick it up at two." Tom agreed, and Harry finished his breakfast before going back into Diagon Alley.
That morning, he spent the time wandering around Diagon Alley. Since he had decided to start his subscription to the Daily Prophet on September 1st, he bought himself a copy of that day's Daily Prophet. Once he was done reading about that day's news – a new book coming out, a possible affair between two people, a Mister White and a Missus Landringham, both of whom were supposed to be happily married – he decided to pass the rest of the time at Flourish & Blotts, and maybe buy a couple of new books.
Flourish & Blotts was, as usual, full of people. This time, Harry bought only two books, both of which were Muggle storybooks. These were clearly written a long time ago, as the language was a bit odd, but the books still appeared like new. Once he had paid for them, he walked back to the Leaky Cauldron. He would have lunch there, and then pick up his trunk, before Flooing to Greengrass Manor at two. If there was still time after lunch, he'd try to go and find 'thank you' gifts for the Greengrasses.
.
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At two o'clock in the afternoon, the fireplace in Greengrass Manor flashed with green flames again, revealing a trunk, which came tumbling out and landed with a loud bump on the floor. Following it was its owner, Harry, who landed on the floor as well, at the feet of someone. Looking up, he realised that instead of Astoria, or 'Tori' as she liked to be called, he had landed at the feet of Isabel. "Hello, Harry," Isabel said, helping him up. She flicked her wand and the soot on his clothes disappeared.
"Hello, Isabel. Thanks for meeting me," Harry said. Isabel nodded, and then led Harry and his trunk up to the third floor of Greengrass Manor. There, she led him through what Harry thought was practically a labyrinth of corridors, all with many doors that looked similar. Finally, she stopped in front of a door that looked just like all the others, except that it had a sign proclaiming this room to be 'Harry's Room' hanging on it and a green welcoming mat in front. She opened it and ushered Harry inside.
"These will be your rooms," Isabel said. "If you ever want or need to stay with us, these will be your rooms as well. Just settle in, unpack if you want, and come downstairs when you're done. We'll be in the lounge, same as last night, so just call for Pinky and she'll show you the way if you don't know it. I know it can be slightly confusing to those who have just moved in, or those who are simply here for a short period of time." She then exited the room, closing the door behind her and leaving Harry alone.
Taking a step so he could look around properly, Harry saw that it was somewhat similar to a Muggle hotel suite. When you stepped in, there was a short hallway that led you to a small sitting room/kitchen with three armchairs surrounding a coffee table, and a proper, if rather small, kitchen. It wasn't as good as the one in Harry's trunk, of course, or even the kitchen back at No. 4 Privet Drive, but it still worked and was good enough, considering it probably wasn't used very often, if ever.
Beyond that, there was a door that led to the bedroom. There was a double bed with clean white sheets on it in the furthest corner from the door, taking up about a quarter of the space. A nightstand stood next to it, with an empty water jug and water glass on it. On the opposite wall from the bed, a wall-length wardrobe stood, holding quite an amount of racks, drawers and hangers. There was a pair of slippers inside the wardrobe, which Harry set out next to the bed so he could wear them that night.
On the wall opposite the door between the sitting room/kitchen and the bedroom, there was a bathroom. This had its own bathtub and separate shower, which were next to each other, along with a toilet and a marble sink with a countertop. There was a place to put towels on, which had four fluffy white towels so far. A toothbrush, toothpaste and a glass was sitting on top of the sink countertop, along with a bar of soap. A mirror was above the sink, so you could see your reflection as you washed your hands.
Once Harry was done exploring, he tidied himself up – brushed his hair, cleaned his glasses, straightened his clothes and so on – and, feeling slightly strange, called, "Pinky!" into the air. Immediately, Pinky – the Greengrasses' house-elf – appeared with a Crack! in front of him, and bowed. "What would young Master Harry like Pinky to do?" she asked. "Would young Master Harry like Pinky to show young Master to the lounge? Mistress Izzy, Mistress Daffy and Mistress Tori are in the lounge."
"Yes please, Pinky," Harry said. Pinky then quickly set off for the lounge, and after going through the 'labyrinth' again, he finally reached the lounge.
"Good afternoon, Harry," Isabel said, when he stepped through the lounge door, looking up. She, Daphne and Astoria were sitting around a large table, which was covered in pieces of parchment, books and quills. Daphne and Astoria were both reading books, while Isabel was writing something on a piece of parchment. Once the two younger girls heard their mother greet Harry, they both looked up and followed suit. "Come sit down at the table. How's the room? Is it to your liking?"
"Yes, thank you," Harry said, pulling up a chair and sitting down opposite Isabel. "Thank you for inviting me to stay."
"Oh, it's no bother," Isabel said. "Now, as you've arrived, we thought we might make a start on planning for the betrothal ceremony, which I'm sure we discussed last night, after dinner and just before you left. It's a rather important matter for both House Potter and House Greengrass, and as many people will be invited, this is even bigger. We're currently aiming for the betrothal ceremony to happen before you and Daphne start at Hogwarts, so we're currently thinking it should be the weekend before."
"It's the twenty-fourth and twenty-fifth, if you're wondering," Astoria called out.
"Yes, thank you, Astoria," Isabel said to her youngest daughter, before turning back to Harry. "That gives us about three weeks to organise it, meaning we'll have to work hard to get this all done. I wouldn't be surprised if some people couldn't come and declined our invitation, due to the extremely short notice. I think we'll have enough people there, though, to make this a 'big event'. Plus, many people will want to see you, as this is the first opportunity they've gotten in ten years."
Harry blinked. "That sounds reasonable," he said. "What do you want me to do?"
"Well, we've already started on the planning," Isabel said. "Usually, a big social event like this would be planned by the ladies, in the ladies' parlour, but as you're involved, we'll be planning it here. I'm currently writing down a list of people that are too important not to invite, as well as a few people that must be invited, such as our family members and close friends. If you have anyone you particularly want to invite, just tell me. Of course, we've invited all the members of the allied Houses."
"Basically, reading books that have anything to do with ceremonies in general," Daphne said, looking up from her book.
"Now, as you've never had any experience with anything like this, you'll be starting off with some basic learning," Isabel said, holding up a slim book titled An Introduction to Wizarding Ceremonies and handing it to Harry. "You're to read this, and pay attention to the part about betrothal ceremonies. I won't be testing you on this knowledge, but I'll assume you know it. That will save time, as we won't have to explain things to you along the way. After you're done, come to me again."
Harry nodded, and, taking the book, began to read. According to the book, betrothal ceremonies were a normal step in the 'road' leading to marriage in contracted relationships – relationships that were already arranged through a contract. They made the betrothal official with the Ministry of Magic in whichever country the future spouses were a citizen of, as well as binding, unless there was a clause in the contract that stated there were escape routes for either or both parties, even after the betrothal ceremony had occured.
This ceremony wasn't 'just' a ceremony, either. There were no limits to how old or young the participants were, as long as they could both walk up the aisle by themselves and perform the 'bonding' part – an exchange of blood, showing that they both accepted each other would be part of each other's lives for as long as they lived. This was also a sort of 'pre-marriage', and could be performed any time before the wedding, even an hour before if you suddenly wanted a betrothal contract before you married.
Harry also learned that he and Daphne were around the 'desirable' age, Hogwarts age, to perform this. Nowadays, only those of a very traditional family wanted this to happen when their child was still a child, while those of a more modern mindset preferred to perform this ceremony when their child was a teenager, if they still wanted to have a betrothal contract. Some wizards and witches, especially Muggleborns, didn't use betrothal contracts nowadays and instead just married without one.
At four o'clock, it was time for afternoon tea, which they ate while discussing other matters. "It's time to relax now, then we'll get back to work later," Isabel said firmly. "That means we'll not even think about the betrothal while we're having tea." At four-thirty sharp, though, Pinky came to take everything away, and the four got back to work. Sometime around five, Cygnus came in and welcomed Harry to the house, then headed to his study to do more 'work'.
At eight o'clock at night, Isabel deemed that they had 'done enough work for the day', and the four of them, plus Cygnus, ate dinner together, which was just as delicious as last night's. After that, Daphne and Astoria were told to go and prepare for bed, and Harry chose to go as well after chatting with the older Greengrasses for a while. As he lay in bed and drifted off, he smiled as he realised he finally had a place to call 'home'.
.
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The next day was yet another 'work day' for the three Greengrass girls, plus Harry. While Harry had been merely learning all he could about betrothal ceremonies and what was going on social-wise with the upper echelons of magical British society yesterday, the girls hadn't been doing that. Isabel had spent yesterday making lists of people to be invited, booking the venue, and planning the after-ceremony party, while Daphne and Astoria had been helping plan the after-ceremony party as well.
"Why not plan the ceremony first?" Harry had asked.
"Because we don't get much say over that part," Isabel replied. "The ceremony is to be kept 'traditional', meaning that it's already planned out. We only get a say about where it's to be held, who sits where and what runes we want. Most of the runes have already been decided, but we get to choose some of our own, as well. I've booked the venue – Merlin's Church – and we'll only be deciding who sits where once everyone we're inviting has replied in the affirmative. That won't be for at least a week, though."
"I see," Harry replied. "So, what have you decided on for the party?"
"Well, the party will be held here, at Greengrass Manor," Isabel said. "The theme will be similar to a wedding, and we've already arranged to 'rent' more house-elves, as we simply won't have enough, even with us calling all the house-elves from all the Greengrass properties to Greengrass Manor. We've decided that us five, Minister Cornelius Fudge and his wife, Chief Warlock Albus Dumbledore will have to be at the top table. Each table can seat twelve, meaning that four others will be seated at the top table with us."
Harry made a face at that. "Must Dumbledore be at the top table with us?" he asked. "I have no desire to be anywhere near the man."
"Yes, Harry," Isabel said firmly. "As Supreme Mugwump of the International Confederation of Wizards, Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot and Headmaster of Hogwarts, as well as being a holder of the Order of Merlin, First Class, due to his achievement of defeating the Dark Lord Gellert Grindelwald, he's too important not to have at the top table. It would be a public slap in the face for Dumbledore, as he's also your 'supposed magical guardian', as you put it. Why the 'supposed', though?"
"Because he hasn't been acting like one," Harry said. "He's been the complete opposite, which is why I just don't want to be anywhere near him unless I must."
"Well, this time is a 'must', I'm afraid," Isabel said. "Don't worry, the tables are just where everyone will be sitting during the formal part of it. During the actual party, you'll be free to move about if you want." She reached over and passed Harry a sheet of parchment, with a paragraph written on it. "However, that's just the party. This is the important part: the ceremony itself. I need you to memorise this speech, and Daphne, you'll need to memorise the other part." She passed Daphne a sheet of parchment.
Harry looked down at the sheet of paper, upon which was written: In the name of Merlin, I, Harrison James Potter, promise that I will one day take thee, Daphne Isabel Greengrass, as my wife, according to the ordinances of Merlin and holy Church. I will love thee even as myself. I will keep faith and loyalty to thee, and so in thine necessities aid and comfort thee; which things and all that a man ought to do unto his espoused I promise to do unto thee and to keep by the faith that is in me.
"We haven't got a detailed plan yet, but we do have a general plan," Isabel said once Harry and Daphne were both finished reading. "You two will come down the aisle together, stopping in front of the altar and turning to face each other. Harry will say his speech first, then Daphne, before both of you prick your fingers and let seven drops of blood drop out into a bowl. Then, place your fingers back in, take back seven drops of blood magically, and exchange rings. Then, it will be over and you two walk back down the aisle."
"That sounds like a wedding," Daphne said. "Well, without the blood-exchanging part and with a priest to read out something."
"It's basically a pre-wedding, so I suppose it should be sort of similar at least," Isabel said. "That's where the two people involved promise each other that they will marry one day, even if it's years or decades later. However, there are some aspects of weddings that are left out in the betrothal ceremony, or parts that are added in the betrothal ceremony that aren't there in weddings." She then produced a small stack of books, sorted them into two stacks, and handed a stack each to Harry and Daphne.
Harry lifted the book that was on the top of his stack. A Basic Guide to Runes, the title said in fancy lettering. He took a look at the other books in his stack, all about runes. The book at the bottom was titled, Runes for Betrothal Ceremonies, giving Harry the biggest clue as to what these books were for and why Isabel had given them to him. Looking up at Isabel, he asked, "So these are books about runes, to help us plan what runes we want, out of the ones that we can choose?"
"That's correct, Harry," Isabel said, sounding pleased. "We're allowed to choose seven runes of our own, as seven is a magically powerful number, so I'll let you and Daphne choose three each and we'll all decide on the final one together. When you've decided on the three that you want, tell me, and I'll write it down on this piece of parchment and put it in the 'ceremony' section. Same goes for you, Daphne. Astoria, keep on planning the after-ceremony party. What have you decided on so far?"
"Well, the main theme will be betrothals and weddings, of course," Astoria said. "As you said, it'll be held here, at Greengrass Manor. We've decided that the important people can Floo here, but everyone else can either Apparate or take the Knight Bus to just beyond the wards and walk here. We'll have to give them all the Apparition co-ordinates, and give the people in the first group the Floo password. We'll have to key them all in to the wards temporarily, as well as adjust the wards so they can't get upstairs or anything."
Time flew by as Harry immersed himself in the books Isabel had given him. Soon, he had chosen the three runes he wanted: happiness, love and prosperity. Once Daphne had chosen hers, the four of them – Astoria demanded to be included – chose the final one, which was luck. An odd choice, but it worked and none of them could see why not. It wasn't usually added to the runes in betrothal ceremonies, which was why it was an odd choice.
But by the end of the day, they had managed to finish a lot of things: what the runes should be, who was to be invited, the menu for the party, a more detailed plan for the ceremony and the party and who the priest for the ceremony would be (a distant relative of Daphne's with some experience in betrothal ceremonies, who only agreed to do it because he wanted to meet Harry). As they were done with a lot of it, Isabel said that the three of them – Harry, Daphne and Astoria – could have tomorrow off to relax.
"You can go wherever you like, as long as you three stick together and are back by five," Isabel said. "Pinky can Side-Along Apparate the three of you there and back."
"Let's go to Diagon Alley!" Astoria squealed. "Mum, can we go to Diagon Alley? I heard they have this season's style of robes in Madam Malkin's. They're not that expensive compared to the boutiques in Paris or New York, so I'd rather get them at Madam Malkin's. Daphne, you want to go to Diagon Alley too, don't you? We could also meet up with Tracey and Susan, and maybe Neville and Hannah and Luna, if their parents agree and Mum lets us." She turned to her mother with puppy-dog eyes.
"Of course you can meet up with your friends in Diagon Alley if you want," Isabel said. "Harry, is that fine with you? Tracey Davis, Susan Bones, Neville Longbottom, Hannah Abbott and Luna Lovegood are all Daphne's and Astoria's friends, so if their parents agree then you can meet them tomorrow on your 'outing'."
Harry shrugged. "That's fine with me," he said. "I've already met Susan and Neville, and I like them both. I look forward to meeting Misses Davis, Abbott and Lovegood."
Daphne frowned. "We'll have to Floo-call them first," she said. "I'll call Tracey, and she can ask her parents. Mum, can you come with me in case Tracey's parents want to know more details?" Isabel nodded, and mother and daughter went off to the Floo room. Meanwhile, Astoria headed upstairs, presumably to her room, and Harry decided he would find something to eat in the kitchens first. Then he, too, returned to his room to prepare for bed.
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The next day soon dawned, and Harry rose, stretching and smiling at the same time. It seemed like the two days he had spent here, at Greengrass Manor, had passed by faster than two hours at the Dursleys' had. It was a lot more fun here, there were people that cared about him here and he was treated much better here. Plus, today would be especially fun – he hoped – as it was a trip to Diagon Alley with his betrothed, his future sister-in-law, and several friends, two of which he hadn't seen for a week.
As Harry was thinking about it and preparing to go out, someone started knocking relentlessly on his door, only stopping it to reveal Astoria, who quickly said, "Everyone'll be joining us today, hope it's okay with you, Mum said to tell you not to disturb Dad, see you in the Floo room at eight, Pinky'll bring you breakfast soon, bye." With that, she was gone. Soon after she had come and gone, Pinky turned up, holding a large tray with two slices of toast, bacon, eggs and a Butterbeer.
"Your breakfast, young Master Harry," Pinky said in her high-pitched voice, bowing. "Pinky will put it on coffee table." She popped away, and when Harry emerged from his bathroom, having just finished showering, he saw the tray was sitting there. He ate his breakfast – it tasted pretty good, as usual – before getting dressed for the day. He put on a set of casual green robes, with a white shirt and black pants underneath, and took his money pouch before going downstairs to the Floo room.
"Good morning, Harry," Daphne said once he entered.
"Good morning, Daphne," Harry said, just as Pinky and Astoria entered, with Pinky trotting along behind Astoria.
"Hi, Daphne! Hi, Harry!" Astoria said excitedly. "Isn't this trip going to be fun? I can't wait to see everyone again! We haven't seen them in so long! I wonder what they've been up to. Do you think Tracey brought us back anything from France? Ooh I hope she brought us chocolates. I love chocolates from France." Without waiting for an answer from the two older kids, she turned to Pinky. "Pinky, you do know that you're taking us to Florian Fortescue's Ice-Cream Parlour, in Diagon Alley, right?"
"Yes, Mistress Tori," Pinky said, holding out her hands. "Hold onto Pinky's hands and I be taking you." They reached for Pinky's hands, with Harry and Daphne on one side of Pinky, and Astoria on the other. That meant Harry was between Pinky and Daphne, like a long chain. "Ready, Mistress Daffy, Mistress Tori and young Master Harry?" Everyone replied in the affirmative, Pinky nodded. With a loud Crack! like house-elves always made when Apparating, she Apparated them away.
Harry felt Pinky's and Daphne's hand twist away from him and re-doubled his grip so he wouldn't lose them. The next thing he knew everything went black; he was pressed very hard from all directions; he could not breathe, there were iron bands tightening around his chest; his eyeballs were being forced back into his head; his ear-drums were being pushed deeper into his skull. Then Harry took several large gulps of air, and found that he was outside Florean Fortescue's Ice-Cream Parlour.
"Are you okay, Harry?" Daphne asked. "Side-Along Apparation can have a very strange feeling, especially for the first time, and sometimes people vomit when they first try."
Harry nodded, showing he was fine, and sat down in a chair. Taking several deep breaths, he found that the feeling of being 'squashed' had gone away, and so had the urge to vomit. Looking back up, he found that Daphne, Astoria, Neville, Susan and three other girls he didn't recognise were sitting or standing nearby, staring at him. He supposed the three 'new' girls must be Miss Tracey Davis, Miss Hannah Abbott and Miss Luna Lovegood, as Astoria had mentioned them maybe coming along yesterday.
One of them had wavy brown hair that tumbled halfway down her back, which was held back from her face with a silver headband. She had blue eyes that were slightly lighter than Daphne's, although at first glance they were the same shade, and wore casual green robes, with a white shirt and a black skirt underneath. She also wore a silver necklace with the Slytherin snake on it, and black boots. "I'm Tracey Davis," she said. "Call me Tracey, if we're going to be friends we should be on a first-name basis."
The one standing next to her, although slightly behind Tracey, had wavy dirty-blond hair, which although it wasn't as long as Tracey's, it was nearly the same length. She had pale silvery eyes, and wore earrings that were shaped like Dirigible plums. She had a necklace made of Butterbeer corks around her neck, and wore a set of casual sky-blue robes. Underneath, she wore a green shirt and a white skirt, and what appeared to be normal school shoes. "Luna Lovegood," she said dreamily. "It's nice to meet you."
The last 'new' girl had blond hair that went a little past her shoulder blades, and dark blue eyes that were nearly violet in colour. She wore tiny diamond earrings in her ears, which were barely noticeable unless you looked closely at her ears, and a set of casual purple robes. Unlike Tracey, Luna and Susan, she had no necklace around her neck, like Daphne and Astoria. She wore a blue shirt and a black skirt under her robes, and black boots. "It's nice to meet you," she said. "I'm Hannah Abbott, but call me Hannah."
"It's nice to meet you, Tracey, Luna and Hannah," Harry said. "And it's nice to see you again, Neville and Susan."
"Well, now that we've finished our introductions, what do you think about eating ice-cream? I know it's a bit early in the morning to be having ice-cream, but I heard that Florian Fortescue's got a new flavour that only came out yesterday, and it's half-price today as it's a weekday and not many people come on weekdays, mostly weekends," Neville said. "Plus it doesn't hurt that I'm craving Fortescue's ice-cream, as I haven't had any for a while because Gran says I shouldn't eat too much ice-cream."
Everybody laughed at that. While the group was starting to head into Fortescue's, Pinky tugged on Harry's sleeve. "Young Master Harry, Pinky will be going now. Pinky will be back when you call," she said. Harry nodded, showing that he had heard, before following the group into Florian Fortescue's. There, the seven other eleven-year-olds were gathered around a copy of Fortescue's menu, showing the types of ice-cream and the prices of different sizes, as well as some special deals.
After the group had ordered the ice-creams they wanted, with over half the group choosing Fortescue's new ice-cream – Chocolate & Cream – they sat down outside to enjoy their ice-cream. Harry himself was one of those that had ordered Chocolate & Cream, and he thought it was pretty good. Fortescue's ice-cream tasted better than any ice-cream he had ever tasted back in the Muggle world, during the few times he had been allowed ice-cream.
Once everyone had finished their ice-creams, they went around to the different shops. At one point, they split up so that Daphne, Astoria, Luna and Hannah could go to Madam Malkin's, while the boys and Susan went to Quality Quidditch Supplies. There, Susan spent a lot of time staring at the latest broom, the Nimbus 2000. "It's supposed to be the fastest broom on the market," she said excitedly. "Auntie won't let me have it though, as she says it's too dangerous for me to be racing about by myself."
By the end of the day, Harry was sorry to leave his new friends. They went back to Fortescue's, where Susan and Hannah were picked up by Hannah's mother, Neville was picked up by his grandmother, Luna was picked up by her oddly-dressed father and Daphne, Astoria and Harry were picked up by Pinky. Before the first of the adults arrived, Susan asked if everyone was fine with sitting together on the Hogwarts Express. Everyone said it was fine, and they agreed whoever got there first was to save a compartment.
Once the three children arrived back at Greengrass Manor, they found Cygnus and Isabel in a good mood. When asked why, Isabel replied, "Everyone's replied to their invitation already, meaning we'll have more time to plan. Most people have answered 'yes', as there are some who simply couldn't make time for it, so we'll only have to make slight adjustments to the plans we've already made. Of course, tomorrow will be a planning day, so I hope you enjoyed your day out."
"We did," Harry replied, and Daphne and Astoria agreed with him. The five then had dinner together, as they usually did, before heading back to their own rooms. When Astoria complained that it was much too early to go to sleep, Cygnus and Isabel told them they would find it much easier to fall asleep than they thought. Harry realised this was true, as he fell asleep almost immediately when his head hit the pillow. That night, he was so tired from his day out that he didn't have any dreams.
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The next day, Isabel informed them that it would be a longer work day, as while many had replied to their invitations, some had yet to reply, especially those who were overseas or those that lived far away. They would have the morning off, then an early lunch, and start work after that. "We have quite a lot to plan," Isabel informed them. "This is the first big social event that you've been seen at for ten years, and with three hundred guests, give or take, we'll have to plan everything to make sure it is perfect."
"What're we gonna plan first?" Astoria asked.
"The seating," Isabel said, pulling two large sheets of parchment from a stack. One was a list of names, with some that were scored out, and the other was a map of the church they were going to perform the ceremony in. There were ten rows, which held thirty seats: fifteen on the left of the aisle and fifteen on the right. "We, as Daphne's immediate family, will be in the front row," Isabel said, tapping the map. "It's customary to have family and friends in the front row, too."
"Right, so Tracey, Neville, Susan, Hannah and Luna," Daphne said. "And their immediate family or guardians, of course."
"So the Davises have four, as Tracey has an elder brother, two for the Longbottoms, two for the Boneses as it's just Madam Bones and Susan, five for the Abbotts as Hannah has an elder brother and sister, and two for the Lovegoods," Harry said. "That's eighteen seats if you count Cygnus, Isabel and Astoria, as there's fifteen of them. That's enough to give them a half-row to themselves. Do we have anyone else that I don't know about in their families, or is that everyone in their immediate family?"
"That's all," Daphne replied. "That means we have twelve more seats, which is annoying as there are thirteen Heads of Departments. I haven't counted the DMLE, as Amelia's already been counted. Plus, Mum will insist we need the Minister in the front row and his Senior Undersecretary, so if we count those two, we'll have twenty seats filled. We can't have any close relations either, as they'll be offended if we only put some in and not all of them, and the next family gathering will be very awkward."
"What about the Wizengamot elders?" Astoria asked as Isabel wrote the names of the people in the front row onto the map. "They're not that bad, and there are only nine of them, so they'll all fit into the front row. The rest of the Wizengamot can sit somewhere else, as there are forty-three members and won't fit into the rest of the front row. Then, we just need to fill one more seat to make thirty, and the front row will be sorted." She reached for the list of names, and asked, "What about Dumbledore?"
"What about him?" Harry asked.
"Well, he would be a good idea for the front row," Isabel said. "He's Chief Warlock, Headmaster of Europe's premier wizarding school, Grand Sorceror and Supreme Mugwump of the ICW. He's also an Order of Merlin, First Class, holder and he's known as the defeater of Grindelwald, the worst Dark Lord in history. He's probably the most powerful man in Britain, both magically and politically, and one of the most powerful in the wizarding world. It would be rude not to put him in, even if you don't like him, Harry."
"Fine," Harry said, sighing. "That's at leas the front row sorted. What about the other nine rows?"
"Well, the Heads of the various departments in the Ministry will have to be placed there, as well as the more powerful members of the Wizengamot," Isabel replied. "There are members like Lucius Malfoy, who while doesn't have a Seat in his own right, is in control of the Seat of the House of Black and is the 'leader' of the Dark faction. He, for instance, will have to be placed in the second row, and a seat left for his wife, Narcissa, as the two of them have both replied in the affirmative."
"And I think for the third row, we should put some relatives," Daphne said. The four continued discussing who was to sit where, until they had agreed on where everyone was to sit, and Isabel wrote all of the names down on the map. Then, they turned to discussing the party afterwards, which was what Daphne and Astoria were in charge of. Yet again, they had to decide who was to sit where, as there were smaller tables this time, although there were more tables.
At eight o'clock, when Astoria was choosing clothes for Harry and Daphne to wear at the after-party and Cygnus was in his study 'hiding from the preparations', Isabel drew Harry and Daphne aside. "Now, I know that you've been very busy and there isn't much time to do other things, but I think it would be best if the two of you got together to practise the speeches. We'll have a practise ceremony when we've sorted everything out, but I think that practising the speeches together would be a good idea."
The pair agreed, and once Isabel had gone to see what Astoria's final decisions for Harry and Daphne's outfits were, they arranged a time to meet to practise their speeches together. They planned to meet in Daphne's room tomorrow night, once they had finished work. Hopefully they would be done with the bulk of the planning by tomorrow night, as Harry was growing very tired of all these arrangements. They helped Astoria with the final decisions, then bid each other goodnight and headed to their rooms.
.
.
Without Harry even noticing, the twenty-fourth soon arrived. The night before, Isabel sent Harry and Daphne off to bed at eight, while she, Cygnus and Astoria would continue working to double- and triple-check the plans, so they were very well-rested. On the day of the ceremony, everybody was up by seven, as Isabel insisted on getting up at that time, even though the ceremony was only at two in the afternoon. Isabel seemed particularly nervous, even though it wasn't even her that was going to be in the ceremony.
While the five of them were sitting down to breakfast, Isabel suddenly remembered that she had arranged for Harry and Daphne's group of friends and their families to come to Greengrass Manor at eight-thirty and immediately dashed off to find a room that they could all get ready in. In the end, after she had spent quite some time debating between two rooms, she decided on using the largest spare guest bedroom, which would probably be able to accommodate everybody. If not, they could use the room beside it as well.
At eight-thirty sharp, Tracey and her parents arrived through the fireplace. There were three of them, as Tracey's brother, Thomas, had chosen not to come: Lord Robert, Lady Naomi and Tracey. Upon arrival, Robert immediately headed off with Cygnus, while Naomi and Tracey followed Isabel to the 'dressing-room'. There, Astoria was already helping Daphne with her hair, so it would be easier to deal with when putting Daphne's hair up after they had decided on the hair style.
Eventually, after a very long discussion between Isabel, Naomi, Tracey and Astoria, they managed to decide on Daphne's hair style. Isabel would be working on Daphne's hair, while Naomi did Astoria's. As Harry's hair didn't need to be put up into a style like the girls' did, he was just given a brush and a large bottle of Sleekeazy's Hair Potion and told to make his hair tidier. According to the bottle of Sleekeazy's, it would tame his unruly hair into something smooth and sleek and easily manageable.
Once Harry reappeared out of the bathroom, his hair now nice and smooth, Luna had appeared. "Where's your father?" Isabel asked when she saw that Luna was by herself.
"Oh, he's at home," Luna said. "He has to finish this month's edition of the Quibbler. Don't worry, though, he's left some space for the ceremony."
Once Naomi was finished with Astoria's hair, she came over to Harry and pulled a clear potion from her robes. "This is for your eyes," she said, holding it out to Harry. "It gives you perfect eyesight for twenty-four hours, which is more than enough to last until tomorrow, when you'll have to go back to wearing eyeglasses. Isabel and I thought it would be perfect, as you look much better without your glasses. You can take it now if you like, as you only need it for the rest of today."
"Thanks," Harry said, taking the potion bottle. "Is there a permanent solution, though?"
"Well, if you want a long-term solution there's always spells," Naomi said. "You can get them done at St. Mungo's, and afterwards you can see perfectly for the rest of your life. Of course, you can always take permanent potions, or get Muggle contact lenses, but those are more tricky. Potions don't always work, and Muggle contact lenses are both inconvenient and hard to find in the wizarding world. I can help you get an appointment with a good Eye Healer at St. Mungo's if you'd like."
"Thanks, but I'll have to think about it," Harry said.
Soon, Susan, Hannah and Neville had arrived with Neville's grandmother and Hannah's family. "My aunt's busy with work, but she'll be at the ceremony this afternoon," Susan told them when Daphne asked her where her Aunt Amelia was. "She says she's got some urgent parchmentwork to finish for a case." As the room was getting rather crowded, Isabel called Harry and Daphne over and handed them a set of black robes with runes inscribed all over them each.
"Go and get changed into these," Isabel said, holding them out. "You can wear whatever you like underneath, as you just need to wear these for the ceremony. Afterwards, we'll be coming back here, and then you can get changed into your dress robes. Harry, I assume you have proper dress robes for the party?" When Harry nodded, she continued, "Alright, so that's one problem sorted. Oh, and if you see Astoria, tell her to get changed as well, and then come and find me. I haven't seen her in about an hour."
The pair found Astoria gossiping with Tracey in the living room, told her what Isabel had said, and then went off to get changed in their respective rooms. Harry had finished getting changed into his runed robes, with a black shirt and pants combo underneath, when there was a knock on his door. When he opened the door, he found Daphne standing there, holding a set of floaty, periwinkle-blue dress robes and a pair of silver dancing shoes.
"Hi, Harry," she said. "I've come to see what you're going to be wearing at the party tonight. Where are your dress robes?"
"Oh, they're here," Harry said, pointing to where they were lying on an armchair. "Are those blue dress robes you're carrying the ones you're going to be wearing at the party?"
"Of course," Daphne said, looking around for a space to put down her dress robes. Finally, she decided to put them down on a spare chair, put the shoes next to the chair, and went over to have a look at Harry's black dress robes. "Also, are those the only dress robes that you have, or do you have others as well? And do you have any accessories that are a similar colour to my dress, so we can match? Maybe a blue bow-tie or something, or even a pair of dark blue shoes?"
"I've got navy-blue and bottle green dress robes as well," Harry said. "Madam Malkin said that those colours would suit me, so I don't think I have any that are periwinkle-blue like yours. And I've only got a white bow tie, I'm afraid, and no blue accessories that would match your dress. I also haven't got any silver shoes, nor blue shoes, but I do have a similarly coloured shirt. You can come and have a look at it, if you want." He gestured towards his bedroom.
After rummaging around in his wardrobe, he managed to locate the shirt, which was similarly-coloured, and a pair of dark blue shoes, to his surprise. "It's alright, Harry," Daphne said. "I'll just call for Pinky to change the colour of your shirt and shoes so they match. Don't worry, we can change the colour back to how your shirt and shoes are, once the party's over. Pinky!" And soon, Harry found himself the owner of shoes that matched her dress (the shirt barely changed colour).
.
.
Lunch was a brief affair, just a bowl of tomato soup each and some garlic bread to go with it. Nobody really felt like eating a lot, as there would be a party in a couple of hours, and anyway, everyone was still busy. According to Daphne, the party would last until ten or eleven at night, and as everything involving high-ranking officials did, there would be lots of glasses of champagne and wine and drunk people, who would occasionally do some very silly things.
"But you've got to watch out for some people though, as it's not just laughter and fun all night," Daphne warned. "Dolores Umbridge, the Senior Undersecretary to the Minister, is particularly nasty. Nobody can stand her, really, and I don't think the Minister can either. However, she has a lot of blackmail material on a lot of important people, so she's managed to rise through the ranks quite quickly. Rumour has it that she's even got something very big on Albus Dumbledore, and more on the Minister."
"Okay, so avoid her as much as possible," Harry said. "Anyone else that you think I should watch out for?"
"Albus Dumbledore, I suppose," Daphne said. "Very powerful man, but, as you've told us, very manipulative and interfering. Lucius Malfoy, the leader of the 'Dark' side politically and the leader of the Darker Houses of our society. He's a Death Eater, but he was never convicted, as he was one of those who claimed they were under the Imperius Curse. He also has the ear of the Minister, or, as many like to put it, he's the one who tells the Minister what to do."
"Is there going to be an equal mix of Dark, Grey and Light families?" Harry asked.
"Well, it'll probably lean heavily towards the Light, as that's where House Potter currently stands," Daphne replied. "There aren't a lot of Grey Houses, but the ones that are important are invited, as well as some others. The Dark Houses are very politically powerful, as they were more prepared after You-Know-Who fell, and managed to get themselves or their puppets into important positions. However, not all of them are Noble, or even Ancient."
"I see," Harry said. "What makes a House Noble and Ancient, anyway?"
"Well," Daphne said. "As you might know, the Noble and Most Ancient Houses are descended from the twelve knights of King Arthur's Round Table. Arthur, as you might know, did not have any children, as Guinevere ran off with Launcelot and Arthur never re-married. However, his twelve knights all took magical wives and that's basically how the twelve Noble and Most Ancient Houses appeared. They can trace their ancestry back the furthest, which is why they're Most Ancient.
"Next, the Ancient Houses. These can trace their ancestry back quite far, although the trail stops about five hundred years after the time of King Arthur in most cases, so about a thousand years back, or the same as Hogwarts. Elder Houses can trace their ancestry seven hundred years back, Minor can only trace theirs back three hundred years and Lesser can trace their ancestry in the wizarding world back for at least three generations, as it takes that long to prove the bloodline can 'hold' in the wizarding world.
"Finally, the Noble Houses. Houses are only Noble if they have a seat on the Wizengamot, or if they have a noble ancestry in the Muggle world. However, the latter one is much rarer than the first one. If a Noble House dies out, they are replaced by a non-Noble House, who will instantly become Noble. That's how the Dark side has so many seats – they were prepared to argue for them after You-Know-Who was defeated. The Noble status can only be taken away if something like treason is committed, or your family dies out."
"Well, that's a lot of information to take in," Harry said. "I wonder why it isn't provided in those books that I bought from Flourish & Blotts?"
"Probably because those books are written for Muggleborns and those that are Muggle-raised," Daphne said. "They don't need to know that, as they are very unlikely to be ennobled or gain a seat in the Wizengamot due to their family name. However, those who have Orders of Merlin are also seated on the Wizengamot, but very few people earn those. I think there's been less than ten in the last two centuries, especially the Order of Merlin, First Class."
"I'm sorry to interrupt you two, but it's nearly time to go," Cygnus said, approaching the couple where they sat on the sofa. "Meet us in the Floo-room, please."
.
.
Albus Dumbledore had spent the past couple of weeks rejoicing, and today he was even happier than he had been for the past weeks. While his plans for young Harry and the Greater Good had been temporarily derailed when Harry had run away from the Dursleys' residence. He had immediately rushed to check his trackers, but they only signaled that he was under strong wards, and could not be tracked. That probably meant he was in the Manor of an important family, which made him start to panic.
However, upon asking Minerva McGonagall, his deputy and Head of Gryffindor, he found out that Harry had accepted the invitation to attend Hogwarts. "Yes, Albus, he'll be coming, although I have no idea where he is at the moment," Minerva had said. "Look, I'll read the letter out to you: Dear Professor McGonagall, Thank you for the invitation to attend Hogwarts. I would be pleased to accept, and look forward to seeing you on the 1st of September. Sincerely, Harry Potter. Does that help you?"
"Yes, thank you, Minerva," Albus said. Then late one afternoon, a grey owl carrying a fancy letter had arrived for him, with similar letters going to Minerva, Pomona Sprout (Head of Hufflepuff), Filius Flitwick (Head of Ravenclaw) and even Severus Snape (Head of Slytherin). Opening the letter, he found an invitation addressed to him, inviting him to the 'betrothal ceremony of Heiress Daphne I. Greengrass and Heir Harrison J. Potter', giving him a clue as to where Harry was and where he had been for the past week.
Of course, he had accepted. He didn't like the idea of Harry being housed with a traditionally neutral family, especially one who wasn't under his control, but this would give him the opportunity to see him. That meant he would be able to meet Harry, and hopefully start the wheels turning of the plan that would lead to Harry becoming the weapon of the Light against Voldemort. This would be difficult, but he had seven years to do it in, and it wouldn't hurt to start early.
By twelve o'clock in the afternoon on that day, he was ready. He had carefully put on a set of dark purple robes with golden trim, as well as a silver shirt underneath and black pants. He put on his half-moon glasses, brushed his beard to look his best – he was a firm believer in the fact that first impressions were very important – and headed down to the staff room. Minerva, Filius, Pomona and Severus were already gathered, all wearing dress robes or at least, fancy robes.
"Hello, Albus," Minerva said, picking up the pot of Floo powder. It was a little Muggle flowerpot, but instead of flowers, it was partly filled with a bright green powder – Floo powder. "We've been waiting for you before leaving. Are you going to Floo straight to Merlin's Church, or are you going somewhere first? I'm planning to meet my friend for lunch first, so I won't be going with those who are going directly to Merlin's Church, and Flitwick will be going to meet up with somebody else too."
"I have a appointment at Gringotts," Dumbledore said. "I have several vaults I need to check on, one of which is the Hogwarts vault. I see we're getting low on Floo powder, so I'll pick up some money from the Hogwarts vault and buy some first." The appointment with his Account Manager was absolutely necessary, as it would allow him to check up on how much gold there actually was in his vaults, especially after he bought several sets of robes a couple weeks ago.
"So, Pomona, only you and Severus will be going to Merlin's Church, then," Minerva said. "Will you leave now or a while later?"
"Well, probably a couple of hours later, then," Pomona said. "I don't know the Greengrasses particularly well, and as I've never met young Mr. Potter, I don't think I would have anything to do if I were to turn up a couple of hours early. Don't worry about me, Minerva, you go and have your lunch with your friend and enjoy yourself. You work too much as it is, and deserve to have some fun." Minerva nodded, and handed the pot of Floo powder to Dumbledore.
"Thank you, Minerva," Dumbledore said. He took a little Floo powder from the pot, noticing that there was very little left. That was probably because it was easier for staff members to Floo to and from Hogwarts, instead of walking to Hogsmeade and Apparating. Then, he tossed a pinch of Floo powder into the fireplace, and when the flames turned green, called out, "The Leaky Cauldron!" before stepping into the flames and vanishing.
.
.
By one o'clock, the Greengrasses and Harry – along with their friends and their families – had arrived at the venue. While the party would be back at Greengrass Manor – all the Greengrass house-elves from all the various properties around the world, as well as many house-elves that were on loan for the day, were busy setting up the Great Hall for tonight's party – the betrothal ceremony would be here, at a rather famous church named Merlin's Church.
Merlin's Church was a very famous church in the wizarding world. Many witches and wizards had gotten married and betrothed here, especially those from old pureblood families, so Isabel had immediately thought of it as the perfect place for tonight's ceremony. It was completely hidden from Muggle eyes, so only those with magical blood could see it or even know of its existence. All Muggles saw were the ruins of a building that had police tape all around it, and were compelled not to try and enter by wards.
However, the church itself was quite nice to those who could see what it truly looked like. It was painted white, with a clock in the shape of the yin-yang symbol on the bell tower – which still stood, though it hadn't been used for decades. There were white marble steps leading up to the entrance, where pots of saffron flowers were neatly placed, one pot on each step. The yin-yang symbol, which symbolised the Light and Dark sides of magic, was also painted on the door.
Once you stepped in, there was a hallway which had a large fireplace. That was where visitors were meant to Floo from if they couldn't Apparate, and where visitors could Apparate into. Then there was a large room, which was where the actual ceremony would take place this afternoon, as it was the only 'ceremonial room' that was in use in Merlin's Church. There were ten rows of numbered seats, with numbers 1 to 15 being on the left, while 16 to 30 were on the right.
At the front, there was an grey marble altar. This was engraved with runes that Harry couldn't read and hadn't seen before. A stone bowl with a spike at the bottom rested on the altar, presumably brought in by the priest that was to preside over Harry and Daphne's betrothal ceremony later that afternoon. The walls, which were painted white to match the outside of the church, were also carved with runes that spoke of a happy language and which Harry could read most of.
Once the rather large group walked in, Isabel waited until everyone had sat down before clapping her hands and calling for attention. "Well, we've got a little work to do first, before the guests arrive," Isabel said. "We have pots of blue violets, roses and jasmine flowers to be placed around, as well as this schedule that each guest is to have on their seat. All the seats will be full, of course." Snapping her fingers, she called for Pinky to bring the schedules that were in the lounge.
Soon, Pinky was back, clutching a large pile of schedules which she immediately handed to Isabel. Isabel then handed some to Harry, some to Daphne and the rest to Astoria to place on each seat. Then, she produced a map of the room which was covered in her handwriting and consulted it to find out where to place her pots of flowers. These pots were charmed to be Unbreakable and match the flowers, and Isabel soon had them placed around the room with help from Naomi.
After each seat had an invitation neatly placed on it, and all the flowers were ready, everyone else except for Harry and Daphne were sent to get changed into their robes in the bathrooms at the back of the church. While these bathrooms looked very small from the outside, they were actually quite big inside due to the space expansion charms employed. According to Neville, the bathrooms were almost three times as large as they looked from the outside.
At one-forty-five, the guests started to arrive. As witches and wizards Apparated or Flooed in – with some opting for a hair-raising ride on the Knight Bus – house-elves walked amongst the guests, carrying glasses of Butterbeer, water, pumpkin juice or tea on trays for people to take as they wished. As they approached the door to the ceremonial room, a specially hired wizard checked people's invitations to make sure they were on the guest list, before letting the guests in so they could take their seats.
Meanwhile, Harry and Daphne were in a little chamber off the main room. It was mostly empty, apart from a couple of armchairs that the pair were sitting in and a clock above the door. Like the rest of the church, it was painted white. Their instructions were to wait until two-oh-five, when all the guests were sitting down in their seats, before coming down the aisle together with Daphne on Harry's arm, as appropriate. Then, the ceremony would commence.
At the arranged time, Harry and Daphne both stood up from where they were sitting and made their way to the door to the main room, with Daphne on Harry's arm. As they entered, a romantic song started up as they proceeded to the altar, accompanied by the audience's clapping. When they reached the altar, both the music and the clapping died down, and Harry and Daphne turned to face each other. The priest, who was also dressed in runed robes, stood behind them and in front of the altar.
Taking a deep breath, Harry recited his speech, then Daphne did the same. The priest then held out the bowl and they took turns pricking their fingers and dripping seven drops of blood from a wound which magically healed. Placing their fingers back into the bowl of blood, they could now feel their mixed blood entering their fingers. Finally, the priest held a red cushion out with two white-gold rings on it. Harry and Daphne exchanged rings, and turned to face the front as the priest made his speech.
Once the priest was done talking, the two of them walked back down the aisle as the music played again and everybody clapped. They were betrothed.
.
.
Two hours ago, Dumbledore arrived at Gringotts. Gringotts was exactly the same as always, so as witches and wizards made way for him and pointed him out to their children, he entered and headed towards the tellers. Dumbledore heard all the whispers: "See? That's Albus Dumbledore! He's the Leader of the Light, the most brilliant wizard of the century, the only one You-Know-Who was ever afraid of and the defeater of Grindelwald. He'll be your Headmaster when you get to Hogwarts in a few years' time."
Dumbledore smiled to himself, basking in the attention that he craved. This was what he loved most about his trips into the public places of Magical Britain, and why he preferred to be seen amongst the masses rather than going directly to his destination. He had started getting this kind of attention even back when he was at Hogwarts, for his brilliant results and his breakthroughs in Transfiguration and occasionally other subjects, and had become addicted to it.
Walking up to the nearest goblin teller, he said, "Good afternoon. I wish to see the Dumbledore Account Manager, please, and I would like to pick up some money from the Hogwarts vault. I have an appointment." He smiled at the goblin, who instead of smiling back, wrote something on a piece of parchment and dropped it into a box. That was the way the goblins sent messages to each other while in their offices, or the goblin version of interdepartmental memos (the purple paper airplanes).
"Please wait for someone to come and take you to him," the goblin said. "You may not go down yourself, nor will I take you down. You can wait for another goblin to come and take you. Next!" Dumbledore was forced to step aside and wait for a 'runner' to come and fetch him. This was how things worked in Gringotts, as wizards couldn't operate the carts to the vaults by themselves and tellers refused to leave their posts. Dumbledore didn't like it much, as he was forced to wait, but he couldn't do anything about it.
Soon, another goblin came up to Dumbledore. "Are you Albus Dumbledore?" the 'runner' asked. When Dumbledore nodded 'yes', the goblin said, "Follow me then, please. The Dumbledore Account Manager is currently unavailable, but Director Ragnok would like to see you instead." The expression on the goblin's face was serious, and Dumbledore knew that Ragnok simply wanted to see him, and not just because the account manager was unavailable. What had he done wrong?
Dumbledore was then led by the goblin to Director Ragnok's office to meet him. He was basically the Minister of Gringotts, and so had a very fancy office. The goblin knocked politely on the door, and a voice called, "Come in!" The goblin opened the door and ushered Dumbledore in, bowed to the Director, and exited. He closed the door behind him, so Dumbledore was left alone with Ragnok, who he hadn't seen in years. "Hello," Ragnok said. "I would say it's nice to see you, but I don't think it is. Sit down, please."
Once Dumbledore sat down, Ragnok immediately produced a large black file marked 'Dumbledore', and flipped to a large section labeled 'Albus P. W. B. Dumbledore'. "Do you know what this is?" Ragnok asked. When Dumbledore shook his head, Ragnok said, "It's a record of everything you and your family have done to offend Gringotts or any of our high-ranking customers. As you can see, yours is double or maybe even triple the length of your family members' sections."
"What did I do to offend you?" Dumbledore asked.
"Well, you do know that Heir Harrison 'Harry' James Potter is one of our high-ranking customers, don't you?" Ragnok asked, a smile – and not a pleasant one at that – spreading over his face as Dumbledore grew a little pale. "Ever since he came into Gringotts for his first meeting ever, courtesy of your withholding information about the wizarding world from him, your section has increased greatly, while our respect for you has diminished greatly. Now do you know what you've done to have such a large section in the book?"
"I–" Dumbledore started to speak, but Ragnok held up a hand and went on.
"I don't want to hear your excuses, Dumbledore," Ragnok said. "You know what you did to the boy, whether it be through action or inaction. I want to hear the truth, so that I can decide what to do with you. So that you can't accuse me of doing anything to you, a Dicta-Quill will be here to record everything that you say, and I will be putting up a Truth Ward to make sure you can't lie. I'm a busy goblin, and I have better things to do than listen to you try to escape punishment."
Dumbledore sighed. "Very well, if you feel that you must," he said, seeing no way to get out of this. The goblins were well-known for their talent with wards and their reputation for making some of the best in the world, and this Truth Ward would be no exception. There was also no antidote to this, like Anti-Veritaserum, as goblins didn't use truth serums as they weren't allowed to buy them and were unable to make them as they were missing a key ingredient that was only on sale to those that were Ministry-approved.
By one-forty-five, the meeting concluded and Ragnok let down the Truth Ward. He pulled a certificate from a pile behind his desk, wrote something on it before stamping and signing, and handed it to Dumbledore. "This is a certificate of vault closure," he replied. "You have twenty-four hours to take everything from your vaults, before we seal them until another takes the Headship. As the House of Dumbledore is not a Noble and Most Ancient House, we are well within our rights to do so. Goodbye, Dumbledore."
"But–" Dumbledore started to say, but Ragnok called out something in Gobbledegook and two heavily-armed goblins appeared. They each took hold of one of Dumbledore's arms and escorted him all the way to the front door for all to see, then slammed the door in his face. Dumbledore sighed, hoping the day would go better later, and thinking of possible places to store his valuables. He then went back to the Leaky Cauldron and immediately Flooed to Merlin's Church.
.
.
The party started at two-thirty, with everyone managing to appear on time. Those who were allowed to Apparate directly in did so, those who were not Apparated to just outside the front gates, those who had cleared it with the Greengrasse first used the Floo network and the rest used the Knight Bus, but all managed to arrive. They were greeted by the same wizard as the one at the betrothal ceremony, who checked their invitations once again, and house-elves arrived to show them to their seats.
There were ten large tables scattered around the Great Hall, which had been decorated by the house-elves in the theme of weddings and betrothals, and the people were seated according to which row they had been sitting in during the ceremony. That was why Harry and the Greengrasses were sitting at the Head table with everyone else that had been seated in the front row during the ceremony, with Harry and Daphne sitting next to one another.
Once the party started, Cygnus decided to introduce Harry to the people that he didn't know. As everyone was keen to meet the Boy-Who-Lived, Harry soon managed to meet everybody at least once, and worked hard to remember everyone's names and the little facts and gossip he heard about them. Some were distant relatives, some were family friends, and many people were here because they were simply too important or high-ranking to not be invited to such an important event.
Meanwhile, Dumbledore, who was seated at the Head table, was continually glancing around the room while chatting idly with the Minister. Where was Harry? He had been sitting here for the past two hours, trying to find the boy so that he could speak to him, but it was very difficult to speak to somebody who you hadn't even seen. In these two hours, Harry had been away from the Head table, making it difficult for Dumbledore to start a conversation with him. Surely he would have spotted him by now, though.
Suddenly, he spotted Cygnus Greengrass, Harry's future father-in-law, leading Harry about and introducing him to people. He was heading back to the Head table and was currently with Lord Tiberius Ogden, one of the Wizengamot elders, so Dumbledore spotted an opportunity to meet Harry. Cutting across the Minister's long and boring account of his last conversation with a woman he fancied, Charlotte Ogden – Tiberius Ogden's youngest granddaughter – Dumbledore asked, "Have you met Harry Potter yet?"
Fudge blinked. "Excuse me? Oh! You're talking about Mr. Potter, aren't you? Well, he's a nice boy, if a bit shy. But if you're his magical guardian, shouldn't you know?"
Dumbledore fidgeted uncomfortably. This was what he had been a little afraid of: admitting that in the past ten years that he had been Harry's magical guardian, the most time he had spent with him was a few hours, and that was only because he wanted to check over the fragment of Voldemort's soul lodged in his scar. Otherwise, ever since he had placed Harry at the Dursleys' home, he had rarely seen the boy. Usually, he just used his monitoring instruments to make sure that he was alive and still at the Dursleys'.
"Of course I know him," Dumbledore said. "I'm his magical guardian, after all. I think that out of all the people in this room, the Greengrasses aside and maybe his friends, I know young Harry the best. I just wanted to ask if you had met him yet, and what your opinion was of him." Clearly, he wouldn't be able to get any information out of Cornelius without looking very suspicious. "Do carry on about young Miss Ogden. What did she say after you asked her out to lunch?"
"So then, she said, 'I'm sorry, Minister, but I don't think it would be very appropriate for me to go to lunch with you', so I told her, 'Of course it's fine! I don't mean any harm to you'," Cornelius droned on. Dumbledore then took the opportunity to check around for Harry and Cygnus. Fast approaching, this time with Madam Longbottom and her only grandson, Neville Longbottom. One of Harry's friends, he remembered, as he had been placed in the front row. Soon, the pair approached him, and he rose to greet them.
"As you probably already know, Harry, this is your so-called magical guardian," Cygnus said. "Albus Dumbledore, who will be your Headmaster at Hogwarts come September."
"Good afternoon, Lord Greengrass and Harry," Dumbledore said. "It's nice to finally see you after a while. How has your time with the Greengrasses been?"
"I'm sorry, Headmaster," Harry replied. "But I don't recall giving you permission to call me by my first name. As for my time at the Greengrasses, they are treating me very well. Certainly better than my maternal aunt and uncle, the Dursleys, whom you placed me with after I was orphaned. It's wonderful to finally find out how a family is supposed to treat each other: as proper relatives, not as servants they can order about. But you'd know all about that, wouldn't you?"
"Er..." Dumbledore stuttered.
"Save it, Albus," Cygnus said. "We don't need to hear your excuses. Now that you've met, I think it would be best if Harry and I were to take leave and greet others. It's tea-time soon, Harry, and you won't want to miss it. The house-elves have been making a marvellous feast, and I think it would be a shame to miss it just because of this old man who claims to be your magical guardian. Daphne will also be missing you, and you know that she'll be wondering where you've got to."
"Very well," Harry said, following Cygnus away from Dumbledore and to their seats, which were conveniently on the opposite side of Dumbledore's.
The rest of the evening, for Harry, turned into a blur. While he didn't like the politicking that was always going on and couldn't be avoided outside of his 'friend circle', especially as Fudge and Dumbledore were sitting opposite him, he enjoyed the food and having fun with his friends. Daphne and Astoria between them managed to tell Harry all the gossip that he 'absolutely had to know', even if Harry didn't think it was very useful. However, he learnt a lot of not-so-secret secrets and information about people.
Then, in the evening, there was dancing. Harry usually danced with Daphne, but occasionally somebody would ask to dance with Daphne, leaving Harry to ask somebody else. It didn't hurt, as they knew he was betrothed and wouldn't flirt with him. Besides, Daphne was always nearby. The first time she had seen a girl flirting with Harry – who was a couple years older and whose grandfather was on the Wizengamot – named Keira Fawcett, she glared at Keira for the rest of the night and went to 'have a talk' with her later.
All to soon, the clock struck midnight, and witches and wizards started to leave. Harry, of course, simply had to say goodbye to everybody, as Daphne told him it was tradition. Dumbledore, on his way out, tried to convince Cygnus to allow him to come over to Greengrass Manor whenever he liked to discuss 'matters too important to tell anybody else' with Harry, but Cygnus refused. Then, he asked to meet Harry once every couple of days before Hogwarts, but both Harry and Cygnus refused.
"You're going to see Harry soon at Hogwarts, Albus," Cygnus said. "I really cannot see the need for you to discuss important matters with Harry. And what matters could there be that are too important to discuss with me, who has sat on the Wizengamot for two decades, but are suitable to discuss with an eleven-year-old boy who has yet to start at Hogwarts? No, Albus, if you have anything to say to Harry, write it down in a letter and send it to Greengrass Manor. I will make sure it gets to him."
"Alas, I cannot," Albus said, with a sigh. "Very well then, if you will not be reasonable, I will take my leave." And he left a very unhappy man.
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Hey guys!
Thanks for the reviews, follows and favourites! I'm sorry if you think it's a lot like "Angry Harry and the Seven" by Sinyk, but it will change quite a lot later on. There's a betrothal ceremony in this one, for one thing. Credits to Sinyk and his story, "Angry Harry and the Seven", for the inspiration for the shopping trip and first few chapters. And for guest reviews, I can't answer unless you use your real account, so if you want to ask a question then please use your real account.
So, as you might be able to guess, the next chapter is going to be the betrothal ceremony, which means the Malfoys and the Weasleys will appear. I've already decided that it's going to be Molly, Ginny and Ron bashing, so if you don't like this stuff then you don't have to read on. I'm still deciding whether Draco should be Harry's friend or arch-nemesis. Please review and tell me what you think!
Shadow of the Blue Moon x
Chapter Word Count (rounded to nearest 100): 13,100