They all heard the prophecy. Harry heard it. Dumbledore heard it again. Voldemort heard it. They all heard that damned line.

Either must die at the hand of the other.

It was not good for either side. Less so for the Light side seeing as their opponent clearly had nothing against killing and would be very happy to end Harry Potter.

While Harry Potter, kind and still mostly innocent Harry Potter, well she would never be able to kill someone.

Not just because she truly believed that if given the chance, even Lord Voldemort might change. But also because—and a lot of people tended to forget this—he was Voldemort. He was the feared Dark wizard that so many of them couldn't even speak his name decades after his temporary downfall.

And everyone conveniently chose to forget that Harry was only eighteen, and just barely finished her poorly organized magical training.

She stood no fucking chance against him if it came to a duel between them two of them.

Everyone believed that there was something different about her because she was able to do it once as a baby. Sure, maybe there was something different about her. It would explain why she was able to escape him when she was eleven and again when she was twelve and again when she was fifteen and again just a few months ago at the end of her seventh year.

Harry chalked it all down to luck. She couldn't exactly explain it any other way, because she had no explanation. She didn't plan to evade him, she didn't scheme, she hardly had the time to take necessary precautions. It had to be luck.

Luck would not help her kill Voldemort the next time they're face to face.

Luck was running out.

There were only so many times Harry can narrowly escape dying under his wand before they saw some real casualties.

In second year, it was Ginny who almost paid the price. In fifth year, she put Ron, Hermione, Neville, Luna and Ginny's lives on the line. All of them stood in the same room as Voldemort because Harry was stupid enough to fall for his trap and take her friends away from school.

And just a few days after they wrote their NEWT exams, and the unexpected Death Eater attack in Hogsmeade put McGonagall in the hospital, nearly lost George his twin, and rendered Hermione mute and unresponsive…

Yeah, luck was definitely running out and she needed to strap on some balls and find a way to kill Voldemort before they permanently lose someone.

"Wasn't expecting to see you here," a quiet voice behind her.

Harry turned away from the pond she was gazing into to meet her best friend's ashen and grim face.

"I can go if you want to be alone," Harry muttered, getting up.

Ron was hardly himself lately. No one at the Burrow was with Hermione's condition, but Ron took it especially hard. It couldn't be easy having your family and your girlfriend's lives constantly at risk. He wanted things to be done. But the only thing that can take down Voldemort and end this war risked his best friend's life, so he was back at square one. There was no solution that ended well for him unless Voldemort decided to drop dead.

"No, stay," Ron insisted. Harry peered at him carefully, to see if he truly meant it. Some days, he couldn't even look her in the eyes. Gulping down the lump in her throat, she nodded.

"If you're sure," she shrugged.

"I am," he gave her a small grin and sat next to her. "I barely see you anymore."

"How's Hermione doing?"

"The usual. Doing a carrot impression today."

It was his feeble joke that he constantly reused. Hermione was a vegetable, so everyday he assigned her a new vegetable. They weren't sure if it helped him cope better by making lame jokes, but it stopped being funny the first time he said it. Yet, no one wanted to take away the only "funny" thing he had left to contribute.

Harry exhaled through her nose with a tight smile in a poor effort to laugh. And then it was silent between them.

"What are you thinking about?" Ron asked eventually, staring at the moon's reflection in the steady pond.

That you hate me. You hate me because everyday I'm putting everyone you love at risk because I can't kill the most vile person to walk this earth and I'm the only one who can do it.

"Nothing," Harry lied.

"C'mon, you can tell me," Ron insisted. Harry shook her head and glanced down. "Harry, you're looking a bit sick, are you alright?"

"I…" she sighed, looking up at him with wet eyes. "I don't know how to kill, Ron."

"Harry—"

"I'm the only one who can do it and I don't know how to do it. I can't stomach the thought of killing anything, not even him—I don't know why I can't kill him! He ruined my life, he killed my parents, he killed countless other people! And he's going to keep coming after me. I can't keep putting you all in danger—"

"If this is about the attack at Hogsmeade again—"

"Of course it's about the attack! He wants me dead, he wants me gone so he can live freely and I'm just a fucking coward who can't give him what he deserves and because of that Hermione is in a vegetative state!"

"That was an Order meeting. We were wrong for doing it at Hogwarts, even Dumbledore said so. That had nothing to do with you! We're the resistance and they're going to keep attacking us. All of us knew that was a risk when we joined the Order."

Just admit you think I'm pathetic and you're sick of me because I can't end this war over a morality crisis.

"And you're the bravest person I know, Harry," Ron added quietly. Harry's tears fell down her face as she silently wept into his arms.

It was not Dumbledore's idea. It wasn't even Voldemort's idea. And it certainly wasn't Harry's.

No, the person who saw a potential loophole in their current predicament was actually Bill Weasley.

They were in an Order meeting discussing ways they could go around the prophecy that didn't involve Harry killing, because it had been months since the Battle of Hogsmeade and Harry was nowhere near making a decision on how to kill Voldemort.

Kingsley proposed the idea of someone Polyjuicing as Harry and using her wand, it'll be the closest they come to "Harry" doing it. Remus was explaining how that wouldn't work, while Harry fiddled with the fraying ends of her sleeves and tried not to feel pathetic in a meeting that was held to work around how she was too pathetic to kill her parent's murderer.

"At this point, I think the only thing that could work is an oath of some sort," Bill sighed, leaning back in his chair. "There are a lot of magical bonds I've seen used at Gringotts, some are contracts, some not. Ideally we'd want one in writing."

"You-Know-Who is not going to sign a contract that says he won't kill Harry," Ron said.

"No, you're right," Bill agreed. "Unless the contract is something he wants and one of the conditions restricts him from killing her—"

Mrs. Weasley's mug shattered on the floor as she gasped.

"Bill Weasley, how dare you propose such an idea—"

Bill didn't realize what he said wrong, he had only been thinking aloud. It took all of them a few minutes to catch up on Mrs. Weasley's train of thought. All except Harry.

"I don't get it, what's the problem?" she asked, sitting up alert.

It didn't help that all of them looked at her uneasily.

"I believe," Dumbledore said in a slow and disappointed voice, "that such a binding contract exists. Where Voldemort would get the security he wants while also relinquishing any power of harming you."

"Great, what is it?" Harry asked, a spark of hope growing in her chest.

"A marriage bond."

It took a few weeks of Dumbledore and Kingsley doing research to conclude that a marriage bond is indeed a good loophole to the prophecy. When agreeing to take another as your partner for life, during the binding ceremony you agree to be faithful and loving. You agree to take care of them and swear to never intentionally harm them.

It would mean that neither could kill the other.

Marriage bonds are powerful and ancient magic. Stronger than any binding legal contract they could draft with careful words. It's the only form of binding contract they could use because it's the only magic that came close to something as powerful as a prophecy.

Mr. Weasley and Remus continuously tried to find faults in this plan. Fred, George, Ron and Ginny were vehemently against even entertaining the thought of marrying Harry off to Voldemort.

All while Harry saw the best opportunity she could for herself.

She had long given up the hope of living her life for herself. The moment Voldemort stepped out of that cauldron in the graveyard, she was a dead girl.

He will never stop chasing her and he had the advantage of actually being able to kill her, so what hope was there for any future for her? Her chances of taking him down before he could take her down were slim to none.

Offering herself up like this was something she could stomach, no matter how much the thought disgusted her. It disgusted her less than taking a life. Besides, Voldemort would likely toss her in a comfy dungeon cell and lock her up. She'd have to get three meals a day because he can't intentionally harm her.

"How can you be okay with this?!" Harry heard Ginny yell at her mother as she passed by the kitchen.

"I am the farthest thing from okay, Ginevra!" Molly hissed back angrily. "But I haven't heard the girl saying anything against it so far, or did you not notice?"

This resulted in Ginny barging out of the kitchen and pinning Harry with a glare. "Tell me you don't want this, Harry," she demanded.

Harry gaped at her, feeling very put on the spot.

"Of course, I don't want it," she mumbled.

"And you'll never agree, no matter what?"

"I think you're forgetting that it will require him to agree as well, and we all know how unlikely that is," Harry said, walking off without another word.

When presented with the proposal, Lord Voldemort agreed to a meeting.

For the first time ever, Molly didn't hold back from berating Dumbledore and making it clear how horrible of a man she thought he was. Harry had to interject and explain that she had already agreed and given him permission to contact Voldemort.

This resulted in a ringing silence while everyone stared at Harry like she grew a second head. Wanting to crawl into a hole and die, she turned away and ran upstairs to her and Hermione's room. It was the only time Harry was happy Hermione couldn't respond, because she didn't think she could handle her best friend's staring at her so judgmentally too.

Dumbledore tried to push back the meeting as many days as he could, to give Harry ample time to change her mind about it all. Voldemort wouldn't wait more than a week.

So when the week was up, Harry got dressed and put on her usual amount of makeup. She didn't want to look sloppy or ugly, but she also didn't want to overdo it and give the Order the impression that she was excited about this.

The location was of Dumbledore's choosing and the conditions of meeting were Voldemort's. Voldemort brought a couple of his best men with him, but none of it mattered because they were meeting at the Headmaster's office at Hogwarts. It was the safest place with or without the Dark Lord in it.

Kingsley, Remus and Tonks were Harry's escorts. Dumbledore didn't set the conditions of the meeting but he was intentionally vague about the attendance to keep Harry away from the office for as long as possible. Kingsley and Remus met with Dumbledore inside his office while Tonks kept Harry company in a different room.

To keep her mind off the inevitable, Tonks shared several stories of her time as a student in Hogwarts, something that Harry was very appreciative of.

"And if you put pressure on the knot, the whole tree stops," Harry told her.

"Whoa, seriously?" Tonks said in astonishment. "I had no idea."

"Mhm," Harry smiled. "They only put the tree up for Remus. To cover up the passage to the Shrieking Shack—"

The door opened gently and Remus stuck his head in. "Harry," he said quietly. "It's time."

Harry's stomach dropped. Her smile faded as she remembered the reason they were here today. Nervously, she fumbled as she stood, trying to smooth out her outfit and patting down her hair.

Tonks grabbed both her hands and tucked them at her side, giving her a reassuring smile. Harry was too scared to let her go so the girls walked hand in hand to the Headmaster's office.

The strong mahogany door stood as the last obstacle between her and the Dark Lord. Her most-probably-to-be-husband, because why else would she be in this room? If he refused the offer, they would have just left.

Knowing that was about to face him for the first time as a suitor, made her wish she could offer to be Avada Kedavra'ed right there.

Remus put a gentle hand on her shoulder. "There's still time to back out, Harry," he said, hope in his voice.

"No," she said before she could even think. "I'm going to do this."

He pushed back his disappointment and nodded. The door swung open and Harry immediately dropped her head, following Tonks' lead as they walked in.

Timidly, she lifted her head. At his desk, Dumbledore was the only person sitting. Kingsley stood behind him and across from them stood three men. Harry made eye contact with Lucius and Barty Crouch Jr. first, before her eyes snapped to the man in the middle.

She was loath to admit it, but he looked as handsome as she remembered him to be last. His dark hair was neatly styled back with a slight wave. His face was clear and smooth of any blemishes. Grey eyes bore into hers with intensity that startled her enough to look back down.

Tonks pulled her across to Dumbledore's side where she was offered his chair. Despite trying so hard not to, she felt like a little child as the only one sitting down with skilled Aurors on either side of her. Remus was closer to standing in front of her than her side.

Harry bit her lip, waiting for someone to speak. No one did. That was the first indication that the meeting was not going well. Actually, the second. The first indication was that the meeting had been going on for close to an hour before she was called in. Voldemort wasn't easily persuaded to agree.

Slowly, Harry lifted her gaze to look at him again. His face was set in the same scowl and he looked displeased. He held her gaze for a few moments before turning it back to Dumbledore.

"She's a child, Dumbledore," he said.

Dumbledore, also uncomfortable, sighed and reluctantly added, "She's of age."

Voldemort regarded her again, contemplating.

Harry got the impression that the offer appeals to him but she doesn't.

Rising from her chair, she glared at him. "I'm not a child."

"You're eighteen," Voldemort countered.

"Legally an adult."

"You're a teenager."

"One who never lived as a child a day in my life thanks to you. Need I remind you of all the times I escaped and outsmarted you? Men three times my age couldn't do that."

Voldemort shifted his glance to the men at his side, they seemed to communicate silently.

"What's your decision, Tom?" Dumbledore asked.

What Voldemort hated more than being rushed to answer was the use of his real name. He took his sweet time in responding.

"I wish to speak with her in private."

At once, denials sounded around the room. Kingsley and Remus openly rejected his request while Tonks stood protectively in front of Harry.

In all this, Voldemort looked amused. The corner of his lip tugged up in a smirk and he lifted a brow, waiting for them to stop talking over each other.

"I'm not sure that's a wise idea," Dumbledore said sternly.

"I decided the conditions and I decide that it is a wise idea," Voldemort said.

"I'm not leaving her in a room alone with you, Tom."

"Oh?" Voldemort said lightly, locking his gaze on Harry again. "Can't be away from her babysitters?"

"I'll do it," Harry said to Dumbledore, instantly making Remus and Tonks sigh at her falling victim to Voldemort's goading so quickly.

"No, Harry," Dumbledore said firmly.

"I promise not to harm her," Voldemort smirked, not at all selling his innocence, in fact he instilled more fear in all of them.

"No!" Remus growled.

"I think we should let Potter decide for herself, don't you? After all, she's a legal adult," Lucius chimed.

"I get to take my wand," Harry stated, before anyone else could speak for her. Voldemort wasn't allowed his wand in this meeting, from what she was told. But he didn't need it since he was highly skilled in wandless magic. Should he pull something, Harry at least wanted a fighting chance.

"Harry—"

It took a minute of persuading, but eventually she was able to convince them all that she would be fine to speak with him alone for a few minutes.

"We're right outside, shout if you need us," Remus reassured her for the fourth time. He was gazing at her nervously as she smiled and closed the door, encasing herself in an empty room with her fated enemy.

With the wave of Voldemort's hand at the door, the noise outside drowned out in a way Harry knew meant no noise could filter out either.

"Hey!" she shouted angrily. Remus didn't come bursting in, which solidified her theory that no one could hear them outside.

Voldemort ignored her and stepped closer. Harry took an instinctive step back, pointing her wand at him and he stopped.

"Who's idea was this?" he asked.

"Wh-what?" Harry stuttered. Instead of repeating, his red eyes stared directly into hers.

"The eldest Weasley, is it?" he murmured.

"What are you doing?" Harry shut a hand over her eyes, then realized how stupid that was and removed it, opting to stare at his shoes instead. "Why are you looking into my mind?"

"Did Dumbledore put you up to this?"

"No!"

"Is he asking you to put on this innocent act and pretend like this is what you want?"

"No! He doesn't want me to do it! None of them do," Harry insisted.

"Then why are you doing this?"

"Uh, because it's the best shot I have at not dying and ending this war?" Harry scoffed like it was obvious.

He considered this for a moment.

"Ending the war, are we?" he said quietly.

"Well, yeah, aren't we? There's going to be terms and conditions that come with the bond and I want this war over. No more bloodshed."

"And that's what you think I do?" Voldemort raised his eyebrows. "Kill off anyone who displeases me?"

"Don't you?" Harry frowned. That's exactly what she thought he did.

"Of course not. I don't want any more magical bloodshed than you do."

Well, this was great news. Harry was glad there was at least this one thing they could both agree on.

"So why do you? Why do you kill people?"

Instead of answering, Voldemort rolled his eyes. "Right now I'm more interested in knowing why you believed I wouldn't kill you right here."

Harry's blood froze and panic seized her body.

She waited for the jet of green light to consume her, but it never came. In fact, it looked like Voldemort was waiting for an answer.

"I-I don't know…"

"Foolish girl. You shouldn't have agreed to come in here with me," he said, advancing on her again.

Thinking quickly, Harry blurted, "You're not going to kill me. I know this."

Amused, he waited for her to elaborate.

"You can't kill me," she said, not entirely sure why she said that, but she was trying to stall her death.

"And why is that?" he hissed.

"You won't get away with killing me. I'll become a martyr, you'll have just as many enemies if not more. It's easier to just end this fight between us by settling this with marriage. Then I can't kill you and we become a sort of team and there's less for you to worry about."

"Yes," he said quietly. "That's exactly what I was thinking."

Apparently, that was all he wanted to hear: confirmation from his enemy that this decision would be best for him long-term and effort-wise.

Harry was able to breathe again when he headed for the door. Just as his hand rested on the knob, he turned back to look at her.

"I hope you know becoming my wife is going to come with a lot of rules and expectations. It's not going to be sunshine and rainbows."

"I don't expect it to be," Harry muttered angrily. "I know you're a monster and I know what I'm signing away. I didn't choose to marry you, I chose peace for our world."

He swung the door open and pushed past Remus and Tonks, who immediately came in to inspect Harry for any signs of damage.

"I'm okay, I'm fine, we just talked," she reassured them quietly, heading back to the office.

Dumbledore looked between them, alert and waiting for one of them to state their decision.

"Shall we discuss the terms and conditions?" Voldemort said, sitting in the chair that was meant for him.

Harry gulped, nervous and relieved at the same time.