Harry and the Marriage Contract Chapter 3, a harry potter fanfic

I do not own any of the characters in this story. The concept and characters are all J.K. Rowlings. I hope you enjoy.

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The weekend after Harry broke up with Daphne an article appeared in the Daily Prophet that spoke about Harrys marriage contracts and the four girls he has chosen to court for the possibility of agreeing to the marriage contract. Harry read the article feeling stunned.

Harry Potter "Looking for Love"

by Rita Skeeter

As we all know from a recent article about Harry Potter that upon his 17th birthday there were over 1,000 marriage contracts sent to him. It has come to this reporters attention that Harry has narrowed the list down to 4 lucky witches. I have first hand knowledge the name of the first two girls are Ginerva Weasley and Daphne Greengrass. According to sources Harry broke up with both girls because they refuse to go any further than snog 'kiss'. According to these sources Mr. Potter had a hard time with the girls saying no. When both young ladies did say no, Mr. Potter broke up with them. It should be very interesting on what continues to take place as we follow Harry Potter. Who will we see as his next target? Will he try to take that young witch's virtue? I have interviewed the two young witches that had the misfortune of being his first targets. While talking to them both they felt relieved not having to put up with all his advances. They also stated that while he is very handsome, he can also very moody and disrespectful if things don't always go his way. I guess this shines a whole new light on the 'chosen one'. I for one am glad someone had enough courage to come forward with a different light on him. As I finish with this article I want to ask you readers one thing. Would you want your Daughter dating Harry Potter?

Harry read and re-read the article. He looked up to the head table seeing Minerva look sternly at Harry as if saying, don't you dare make a scene.

Then he looked over at Hermione who looked very angry. She was busy making notes on a parchment, this peeked Harrys interest. "What are you doing Hermione?" asked Harry.

"That slag who considers herself a reporter will not be getting away with this. I am going to talk to Madame Bones requesting to meet with us. Rita's days as an animagus are about to come to an end. We are going to get Ginny and Daphne for this slander. NO ONE AND I MEAN NO ONE MESSES WITH MY FAMILY!" Hermione screamed.

The whole hall almost immediately went quiet and all eyes were on her.

Harry sensing that Hermione was about to start a verbal battle with Ginny said in a quiet voice, "I think we should see Minerva. Why don't we also owl Remus and Tonks to see if they would join us when we meet with Madame Bones.

When they left the table Harry put his around Hermione's shoulder and whispered, "Thank you big sis. You don't know what that means to me for you sticking up for me like that."

Hermione looked into Harry's eyes and knew it meant the world to him. That evening all the parties were together in the Headmistresses office.

"Madame Bones thank you so much for taking time to talk to us this evening." said Minerva.

"The pleasure is mine, please call me Ami." Madame Bones replied. The group nodded their heads in acceptance.

Minerva taking charge responded, "The reason for this meeting is to discuss the article about Harry in the recent Daily Prophet. First, all of what was said is lies. Rita Skeeter has been writing lies about Harry for years. Due to the circumstances with Voldemort nothing was ever done. Now with the threat gone, we are not going to tolerate these lies any longer."

Ami looked at all the people in the room before responding, "I realize that Rita doesn't always speak the truth in her articles, but do you have any proof besides Harry's word? Unfortunately I can't do anything without any type of evidence. I am sorry, I would like to get my hands on her also, but she covers her tracks very well. She has no conscience when writing and has hurt or offended many good people over the years." Ami said.

"What would you say if I told you that Harry and I have knowledge that Rita is an illegal animagus? asked Hermione.

Ami looked surprised at Hermione. "That explains how she gets so many of the headlines stories. What kind of animagus is she?" asked Ami.

"She is a beetle and I caught her during our 4th year when she was printing lies about me and all the Hogwart champions. I made her stop writing for one year before I released her. Now I wish it would have been permanent." answered Hermione.

Ami smiled at Hermione and answered, "I think we can get her on those charges. Even though it won't hold her long at least we can keep a close eye on her going forward and one slip up then we can get her on slander." "There are many people in my department that would be very interested in watching over her if you know what I mean." she continued with an evil grin. "May I make a suggestion on what you may do as a come back of sorts?" Ami asked.

"Anything would be appreciated." answered Harry feeling depressed. "Why don't you give an interview of your own? I know you once granted an interview with the Quibbler, why not do it again." Ami said seriously.

"I think that would be an excellent idea. That way Harry can clear the air on not only the contracts but about the two young witches he has already dated." Remus said smiling. "I will make all the arrangements to have the interview take place and for it to come out exactly a week after the prophets article on him." he continued.

As everyone was getting ready to leave, Harry asked Madame Bones if he could speak to her in private. "First I want to ask if you believe what was said in the article?" asked Harry timidly.

Ami Bones looked at Harry for a moment then spoke, "Harry I have been following you for over three years now. Since that incident with Umbridge and the one thing I can tell you is I know you have very high morals and think of others before yourself. So in saying that, no I don't believe what Rita wrote."

Harry gave out a great sigh. "That's good…Um..you know that I still have two girls left on my list. Well..the thing is….Susan is one of those girls. Would it offend you at all if I were to ask her out?" Harry said quietly.

Ami Bones looked into the eyes of Harry and said, "I think Susan would be honored to go out with you, but I am not the one to ask. I would have no issues having her be with you."

"Thank you Ami, I'm not sure what I'm going to do yet, but knowing you are ok with it makes me feel better." Harry said with a smile.

Two days later Harry found himself in the Headmistresses office giving an interview with Luna. Hermione was also there to give him some moral support or add anything that might be of importance. The interview only took about ½ hour and Luna promised that it would be the headlines for the next Quibbler release. The next Saturday Harry and Hermione sat in the great hall in anticipation. Luna gave them an advanced copy of the magazine so they new what the article said. With a few nicely placed rumors by Harry's friends about the article was all it took for everyone looking to Luna for a copy. The article read:

Harry Potter Speaks Out.

by Luna Lovegood

In a recent article published in the Daily Prophet that accused Harry for being less than a gentleman when it comes to his dating practices. Mr. Potter has graciously agreed to let us interview him to clear up some these issues and other rumors going around. Here is the interview.

Quibbler: Welcome Mr. Potter.

H.P.: Call me Harry, Mr. Potter always make it sound like I'm in trouble.

Quibbler: Ok Harry it is. What is it that you want to clear up?

H.P.: I want to clear up a few things that was written about me last week in the Daily Prophet. In the past I would never have responded to articles that put me in a bad light. The reason for that was Voldemort. My entire focus was always staying alive and figuring out how to defeat him. Now with that threat gone I am no longer going to stand by and watch a hack of a journalist ruin my reputations. To respond to the accusation of breaking up with Ginny and Daphne because they wouldn't have sex with me it untrue. Out of the respect I have for Mr. and Mrs. Weasley I will not go into the reasons why I broke it off with Ginerva. We never officially were boyfriend/girlfriend, we just went on two dates. As far as Daphne is concerned it gets complicated. We dated for about 2 months. I thought it was going well until I began hearing rumors behind the true reason for her going out with me. Once I was able to confirm the rumors were true I ended it. I am not going to get into the reason because they are personal and I don't want to get into a he said/she said debate.

Quibbler: What about the rumor you have chosen four young witches out of a 1,000 contracts?

H.P.: That is true. As you can imagine getting around 1,000 marriage proposals can be quite overwhelming. Once I understood what it meant, I got together with people I consider family. We went through all the contracts and tried to what we thought the best chance for me to have someone compatible with me. The times I went out on date with Ginerva and Daphne were fantastic. We had many things in common but due to other circumstances we were never able to develop something deeper. There are two young ladies left on our original list and I am hoping they just give me a chance to prove that article was completely false.

Quibbler: Anything else you would like to add?

H.P.: Yes, I would like to ask all the readers to allow me and whoever I am with privacy and respect. I also want to thank the Quibbler for allowing me to give my story.

Once the article came out there was a different feeling around Hogwarts there was a different feeling around Hogwarts. All the young witches that submitted a contract with Harry were hoping they were the one of two. One young witch unknown to either Harry

or Hermione decided to take matter into her own hands.

After all the excitement of the articles died down, life at Hogwarts was returning to normal with Christmas break upon them. Harry headed home to Remus and Tonks place. He had been invited to the Burrow over break but he declined. Harry felt it was a last ditch effort for them to get Ginny and him together. On Christmas morning Harry found a Christmas card and letter from an anonymous person. When he read the letter he felt something in him that told him it was from someone that truly knew him and some he could trust.

Dearest Harry,

I am writing this letter to let you know I am truly in love with you. No, I am not one of your fan girls that declare their love to you just because of your name and fame. I have observed you over the past 7 years in school. I can honestly say I have truly gotten to know the real Harry Potter. The real Harry Potter is a person that only wants one thing out of life. That is to be loved and love someone that he can have a family with. I have also observed since Voldemort is gone a person that is humble, sensitive, and smart. That same person can be moody, dark and easily depressed. I want you to know that I love all of those traits. I can truly say I love the real Harry Potter. I know I am probably not one of the two remaining girls on your list. I am very shy and have great difficulty talking to boys. The reason for this letter now is to let you know that if the time comes and you have not found anyone to fulfill the marriage contract I will be more than willing to step forward and full that role. If you have found someone, I will drift into the background and never reveal myself. I have a strong feeling that we are made for each other but due to both of our shyness we never have become friends. I will write again if there is a necessity for it . Until then I will enjoy watching you from afar and keep wishing you were mine.

Love,

Your Secret Admirer.

That night Harry had a dream about a mystery girl, but couldn't place where he had seen her before. Could it be that she was the one and they may never meet? If this mystery girl was not willing to reveal herself then there was no choice but continue on with his search. He thought about Susan and Padma. What was his next choice?

Next chapter should give some clarity if it will be Susan or someone else.