Title: Diverging Reality
Fandom: Harry Potter
Characters: Harry, Ginny, McGonagall, Snape, Hermione
Chapter: 3
Word Count: 1775
Warnings: language, forced dates/time spent

Edited by: eiliagh
AN: Ah yes, finally chapter 3. I am horribly sorry about disappearing like that last week. It was the first week of the Tourney of Tales/CampNaNo and I've been writing like a mad fiend.

If you look on my AO3 page you can find another exclusive drabble a day thing. It is open for requests, original or fandoms, so please take a moment to look.

For now enjoy!

Standing before the door of the room that he had chosen for the first official 'date' with Ginevra, Harry adjusted the cuffs of his shirt as he frowned lightly. Severus, Lucius, Hermione, and Blaise had all taken him to shop over the weekend to update his wardrobe.

He was kind of glad that Dumbledore had dropped the bomb on him on a Friday since it meant that Harry had been able to do a few things, like hiding and preparing for the coming week, without issue.

One of the first things he had done on Monday had been to send a letter to Ginevra telling her that she was to choose a chaperone that was not her family and was a female teacher. They would meet him at the classroom on Saturday, seeing as it wasn't a Hogsmead weekend. He knew that she would happily meet him because of that, and along with the fact that they were going to eat together was enough to make her agree to the meeting to discuss how their betrothal would go.

Not to mention other such details that she would need for the next year.

Ginevra was rather excited from what Hermione had told him over the last week. The young girl had started to brag about catching herself a man with power and strength but brushing off the questions about Voldemort's and Harry's connection. She just shrugged it off by stating that she knew that Harry would make sure she was protected and taken care of.

Harry was just very glad that he had gone to Gringotts with the group to create a Will Orb, and made sure that the clauses about what would happen should he die before marrying or after marrying her.

He smirked at the memory of making it so that his fiancé would only get her allowance that he would set during their meeting, and if she tried to contest it, the vaults would go into lock down until Hermione was twenty-one, moved the Potter and Black names from Britain in full, and wasn't married to a long list of people. Hermione had already agreed to the list and signed her name on the physical part of the will as a Witness and Lady of the Potter Estate. Everyone would be in for quite the surprise should something happen to him.

Harry looked over to Severus and nodded his head, the man cocking an eyebrow. The Potions Master had signed the paperwork to be officially called Harry's Godfather from his mother's will and thus was able to act as a chaperone for him. McGonagall was standing next to Severus with a frown on her face as Ginevra walked up to them with Hermione rolling her eyes at her.

"I told you, Ginny, I can't act like your chaperone. I'm in the same age group as Harry and I'm his sister to boot," Hermione said. She shook her head at Harry's curious look.

"She is quite correct, Miss Weasley. Therefore, Miss Granger-Potter, please go ahead with your day. I will take over for the day," McGonagall said, nodding to Hermione. Ginevra pouted as Hermione dropped in a light curtsy before she turned with a flare of her floor-length skirt, leaving with a flounce.

"Miss Weasley, thank you for arriving in a timely manner. Please join me, we have much to discuss today," Harry said, bowing his head before he pushed the door open.

Ginevra stepped into the room and found that the table that was set up for them was just a simple square table with a basic table cloth with two settings for them. Another table sat off to the side with two more chairs waiting for their chaperones. A small table with two books sat on it to the side of their table, along with two boxes, one of which she hoped held an elegant engagement ring made for a future Lady of Potter.

Harry doubted that either engagement ring for the Potter or Black Lady would accept her so had gotten a simple ring instead of the ones from the vaults.

Ginevra still pouted at him for such a simple setup but still took her seat when he pulled her chair out, Severus doing the same for McGonagall. Sitting down across from her, Harry tapped a small runic array that was embroidered into the table cloth, allowing them some privacy. Ginevra didn't need to know that there was parchment and a Dicto-Quill linked into the runic array where Severus and McGonagall could watch their conversation.

Dobby popped into the room, bowed, and set out their appetizers and drinks for them before he disappeared once more.

"Really, Harry? Using elves for such things like our date?" Ginevra asked, giving him what she thought was a chastising look. Harry just returned the look with a bored one of his own, picking up his napkin and placing it onto his lap.

"Dobby, Winky, and Kreature are my bonded elves. If I didn't ask them to make and serve our food for us, they would pout at me. I do like my shirts to not be a shade off of their normal color," Harry stated. He nodded to her plate, which held all of her normal appetizers that she liked. "They will not feed you something that you do not like."

"Oh," Ginevra said as she looked down and found that yes, it was filled with her favorite foods. "You said that you had a few things that you wanted to talk about?" she asked as she cut into one of the small quiches with her knife, eating a bite.

Harry hummed as he chewed the bite of his quiche, reaching over and grabbing one of the boxes. "I need to tell you about your allowance, among other things. This is the vault key for you to access your vault. And only your vault. As of right now, you have a ten galleon monthly allowance, which is the most that I can give you under the charters of my houses," he told her, opening one box. He raised an eyebrow at her opening mouth. "We are not yet married. I do have to follow the rules that were set in my family's charters. I will be taking over getting your school supply needs so I do suggest you keep a list of what you need to have delivered. Do not think to return them for whatever reason. They will be gotten via owl post," he told her. He ate another bite.

Ginny scowled behind her tea cup at that bit of information. She had been starting to think about asking for extra things and then returning them but if it was done through the owl post, there was no return policy. "I can do that. I need some new quills and ink soon."

"I will send out the owl tonight then," Harry replied, pushing the box over. "You have a starting balance of one hundred galleons in the vault. The max amount for a starter for a future bride for both House Potter and House Black. Your allowance will be placed into your vault on every third day of the month, weekend or not." He sat back as their dishes changed to the main course as he reached for the second box. "This is your engagement ring. Once it is in your possession it will be tied to your magical signature."

Severus smirked into his own tea cup, having been served by Winky, when he caught the scowl on Ginevra's face that she tried to hide behind her own cup. He was rather proud of that bit of forethought by Blaise. Blaise's own mother had done much the same thing to her husband's rings, tying them to their signatures so that they couldn't get rid of the rings. A safety precaution in ring form.

"Is that all?" Ginevra asked as her drinks were replaced, noticing what her appetizers had been replaced with. On her plate sat a mixed salad, carefully grilled chicken, a vegetable melody and her favorite little red potatoes in a seasoning mix. All of it was carefully balanced to provide fuel while cutting out a lot of fat.

"Not quite yet," Harry said. "During the length of our Betrothal Contract, there will be set times that we are to spend time with each other. I control where and when but you are to provide your own chaperone from now on. Again, they must be a teacher and they must be female. I will also have my own chaperone at all times. I refuse to have my reputation smeared because I did not follow the rules," he stated. He handed over the full Betrothal Contract that had been filled in. "This is your copy. I have several copies, with the original placed into my main Family Vault," he said, making sure that he didn't say which family vault it was in.

McGonagall smirked at that, catching on to what Harry was saying. Seeing as he was the future head of two houses, he had several options for which vault.

"What? I won't have access to the family vaults?" Ginny asked, having unrolled the scroll to read over it a bit. She tried to pout over the table at Harry but once more got a bored look in return.

"No, you will not." Harry turned back to his plate of mixed vegetables, sweet rolls with honey butter, a mixed salad with raspberry vinaigrette on it, and a lamb chop, focusing on the food as he answered. "Both the Potter and Black family charters state that no one who is not married or blood is allowed to access them," he stated as he crossed his legs. "My mother followed those same rules when she was engaged to my father."

"And when we finally marry?" Ginevra asked.

Harry placed the two books that had sat off to the side onto their table and pushed them over to her with a cool smile. "We shall see what the Family Books decide when we marry," he said. Ginevra scowled. "You will need to read these books. If you do not, you'll have more issues than long years."

"Yes, Harry," she muttered. She glared at the books that had been pushed at her before she turned back to her food. She was suddenly starting to feel uneasy about everything, and decided to go talk to her mother and Dumbledore as soon as the 'date' that she was on was over. She just hoped that they had more answers for her than what Harry seemed willing to give to her.