Title: The Marriage Bet
Author(s): josephinestone
Beta(s)/Alpha(s): digthewriter, tavia_d
Written For: wipbigbang
Pairing(s): Harry/Draco
Rating: R
Era(s): Post-Hogwarts
Content: bets, arranged marriage, genderbending Draco, hints at mpreg
Summary: Ginny just signed a two year Quidditch contract and is questioning her future with Harry, but Harry is ready to for them to promise their lives to each other. Draco runs into Harry at a jeweller's shop and bets him that he'd be a better spouse for him then Ginny would; Draco believes that you learn to love your spouse through marriage, but Harry thinks you have to be in love first for a marriage to work. Dejected because Ginny just called it quits for the two years she'll be away, Harry agrees.

Before Harry knew it, it was the night of the engagement party. He had done the interview with Skeeter like he had agreed to do. It did not turn out all that bad, and nothing had been printed about him since then. His life had been quiet and uneventful otherwise, with Ginny being gone, and Draco being all nice to him.

Harry hadn't brought up his irritation about his personality change yet. It kept being there on the tip of his tongue, but not coming out. His nerves were on edge then, and he suddenly wished he'd yelled at Draco the many times he'd had the chance.

Ron came quietly into the room and stood next to Harry, who was staring at himself in a floor length mirror fighting with his tie.

'Hey,' Ron said. He looked more uncomfortable in his dress robes than Harry felt in his own. Their eyes met in the reflection of the mirror. 'How are you doing?'

Harry undid his tie again, ready to throw it to the ground. 'Fine.' He slowly went through the steps to tie the knot, only for the front to be too short and the back of the tie hung below it, again. 'I'm just not looking forward to any of this.'

Why would he be? Even if they did learn to get along, which Harry had begun to realise was actually a possibility, he would still be married to a guy that treated him like dirt for seven years. He had a sinking feeling in his stomach that just got worse by the day.

'No one ever does.' Ron laughed. 'Hermione says that the wedding and the first year are the hardest part.'

Harry was not sure where Ron was going with that.

'If you get through that, you're set.'

Harry had to get through it. He didn't have a choice without admitting he was wrong and giving up on the bet altogether. As the days went on, it became both an increasingly and a decreasingly attractive idea. If he gave up, then he would have to admit Draco was right; then he'd either spend all his free time at home alone, or with Ron and Hermione watching them be the perfect couple. Yet, as his wedding day approached, he was becoming more aware of what "married" really meant and how long two years could really be.

Bill and Fleur had been married for two years. They had a baby girl. As unfortunate as his wedding was, it still caused all the married couples around him to reminisce about their wedding. About how much they'd changed since then.

'Alright,' Harry said, finishing with his tie. 'I think I'm ready.'

'What are you so nervous about?' Ron asked as he laughed. 'Remember you don't care what Malfoy thinks.'

Harry shrugged. He really did not know how to answer that, because he was not sure why he was so worked up about it.

Harry was told to arrive earlier than everyone else, but Hermione and Ron came with him for moral support. The Malfoys dropped the wards to allow them to Apparate in. Suddenly they were standing in the same room that they had been taken to when the snatcher got them during the war. Harry clenched his fists when he saw Hermione pale and began to fidget.

Draco and his mother were there, waiting for them, and Mrs Malfoy caught on to the tension right away. While Draco just seemed to be confused by it.

'Why don't we move to the dining room?' She was sitting and held out her hand. 'Draco?' He took her hand delicately and helped her rise to her feet. It was as they were all leaving the room, and Draco was pulling the door shut that Harry caught his eye and then looked toward the fireplace. Draco had been leaning against it on that night so many years before. Harry saw the comprehension hit him.

As Draco's mother continued to lead the others down the hall, Draco pulled Harry back.

'Potter, I'm sorry. I wasn't thinking—'

'About anybody other than yourself? I guess I'm going to have to get used to that, huh?' Not that Harry wasn't already used to that from Draco. It was simply that he'd had a break from it for the last couple weeks.

'No,' Draco said. 'That's not how this is supposed to be.'

Harry knew that he was making a bigger deal out of the situation than it was. It was about all the little things that had been bothering him, and he could not keep them in any longer.

'I'm sick of that, too,' Harry said, walking towards Draco almost pinning him to the wall. 'Quit being all friendly and sucking up to me, that's not you!'

'How that's not me?' Draco countered, refusing to let Harry have him backed into a corner. 'You don't know anything about me to even have a basis for that accusation.'

'I've known you since we were eleven. I think I have a pretty good idea of your character by now.'

Draco opened his mouth to continue, but Harry went right on venting not realising that he was steadily getting louder.

'You're always hateful and look down on everyone and everything around you, including your friends!'

'How would you know?' Draco shook his head at Harry. 'You've never seen how I am when I'm with my friends. I'm only hateful when I'm in a bad mood, which, by the way, your presence used to put me in.'

Harry took one step back away from him.

'Used to?' What would have made that change? 'Then why aren't you like that now?' Harry lowered his voice back to a more conversational tone. 'Why have you been acting like a normal person?'

'Because I iam/i a normal person.' Draco glared as he gritted his words out through his teeth. 'And, I grew up.' He turned to walk away, but Harry caught him by his elbow and forcefully made Draco turn to face him.

'I'm sorry; I didn't mean it like that.'

Draco was staring down the hall, while Harry tried to catch his eye. Really, Harry did mean it just as he said it, but in retrospect it was a rather callous thing to say to anyone.

'I just don't want you pretending to be someone else to win this bet. You haven't been acting anything like what I know of you, since I agreed to this bet.'

'I've been treating you as I would've anyone that I were engaged to.' Draco took a deep, slow breath as he tried to keep his temper down. 'What would you prefer me to do? Would you rather I insult everything you do?'

'If that's how you actually feel about it.' Harry shrugged. 'I just want you to be honest, especially if you're expecting me to fall in love with you. I can't do that if you are not being yourself.'

Draco's eyes met Harry's, and then he nodded before they continued down the hall. Their pace was slow as Harry still felt something hanging in the air. After a beat he realised it wasn't for Draco though, he'd only kept his pace to not leave Harry behind.

The other thing on Harry's mind had been: 'You really wouldn't kiss someone you're engaged to?'

'Not until the wedding day.' Draco gave Harry a confused look, and then after studying his expression smirked. 'Why? Do you iwant/i me to kiss you?'

'It's not that...' Harry shifted nervously. 'I just thought it was odd.'

Draco stopped him right before they entered the dining room and leant forward as if he was going to kiss him, but stopped before their lips met. 'Stand up straight and quit starring at the ground when you walk,' Draco ordered, and when Harry glared at him in defiance, he added, 'It makes you look unsure of yourself.'

He glanced down at Harry's tie, rolled his eyes, and fixed it before they joined everyone else.

'Ah, there you are,' Mrs Malfoy said as they entered and joined them at the table. 'We have a few things to discuss before Mr Zabini and Ms Parkinson arrive, and they should be here soon.' After they settled in and everyone had their attention on her, she continued, 'I thought it would be a good idea if everyone would get more acquainted with each other. I have invited you earlier, because you play a more important role in all of this.'

'In the wedding?' Hermione asked.

'Yes,' Mrs Malfoy answered, 'but more importantly in their lives.'

Harry glanced at Draco to see that he was just as confused at her point as the rest of them.

Mrs Malfoy continued, 'Draco said that he and Harry are planning to do this as properly as possible.' She forced a tight smile with that—there was no real way for them to go about their marriage in the traditional way. 'Since I'm sure none of you are used to our customs—'

'You're going to enlighten them?' Draco snorted.

Harry had not planned to involve anyone in their arrangement other than the wedding itself.

'Have faith, you'll appreciate this later,' she said.

Harry gave Draco a questioning look, but Draco only rolled his eyes and waved his mother to continue. Draco hadn't even gone over with him what how everything was supposed to go.

'This is going to be their relationship. It is considered inappropriate to persuade either party to attempt to end the relationship. They need to work it out together everything they do. It will be the same with me—' Draco cut her off there because Granger looked insulted, and Weasley looked confused.

'They have probably said all they could to get him out of it as it is. None of this is relevant, Mother, or I would have informed them myself.' He sighed and then turned to Ron and Hermione. 'She only means that you are not supposed to give Harry any advice. If I was to go to her because Harry and I were having a problem, she would listen and then say "do whatever you feel is best." You aren't supposed to help him.'

'Why not?' Ron asked.

'It only causes unwanted problems. They have to make their decisions without the influences of others and if…' Mrs Malfoy's posture tightened obviously not liking the next part so, Draco continued for her.

'If you don't like with what we come up with, it's considered improper to complain about it.'

When Hermione opened her mouth to retort Draco stopped her.

'I really had not expected any of you to follow that even if I'd told you, which is why I didn't bring it up.' Then he turned to speak more to Harry than the others. 'But, if this is done right, that is how it would be. Once we get married, my mother no longer has any say in any decisions we make and has to support them even if she does not agree with them.'

'Same goes with us,' Parkinson said as she and Zabini entered the room. 'Did we miss much?'

'Not at all,' Mrs Malfoy answered as they were taking their seats.

'That seems fair,' Harry said. He thought he wouldn't listen to anything anyone had to say anyway, but it would be nice to know that he had an out to the nagging. 'I can see how it could cause more problems if we brought everyone else into our fights as well. I'm actually surprised. I thought your parents would control you until you died, or they did rather.'

'Would you have expected that of your parents?' Mrs Malfoy asked.

'Well,' Harry fidgeted. 'I guess I would have expected them to always give me advice, but to actually force me—I suppose not, but they weren't proper, were they?'

'Really, Potter,' Zabini said. 'Do you think that all of iour/i grandparents were thrilled about the idea of their children joining a war?'

Harry blushed not knowing how to respond to that. Of course, he thought they all supported Voldemort. Hadn't they?

'No,' Zabini continued. 'In fact, I believe, Draco's father's parents did not like the idea of their only heir putting himself in such a dangerous situation.'

'Yes, it was what made all of our parents agree to our match so quickly.' Mrs Malfoy smiled at the memory. 'His parents loved me because I refused to join him, and my parents loved Lucius because he already had.'

As everyone else began to arrive, the atmosphere became more and more tense. Mrs Weasley kept complimenting Mrs Malfoy's decorations and clothes, which irritated Ron to no end, though Hermione assured him it was because she was just trying to make conversation. In a way it had worked, though no one else seemed to be able to participate in it. Mr and Mrs Weasley, both being pure-bloods themselves, had a traditional arranged marriage.

'I think it's nice you're choosing to follow the old ways,' Mrs Weasley stated after a few glasses of wine. 'Bill and Fleur did that as well. It was important to her parents . . . not that I would ever had disagreed with it.'

Harry faked a smile remembering how irritated they were with Fleur through the entire wedding.

'So few children choose to follow the old traditions anymore. I think it shows maturity and commitment—'

Harry felt he was certainly missing something about these traditions. Other than the arranged part, which really Draco and he weren't doing, nothing seemed any different than a Muggle wedding and marriage. So, no one was allowed to interfere with their marriage and they weren't allowed to divorce—except they planned on breaking that one, too.

Parkinson cut in to Mrs Weasley's drunken chatter, 'That's why most of our parents don't give us a choice.'

'My mother did,' Draco said.

'Yes, well I did say most.' Pansy rested her chin on the back of her hand. 'Although, I'm not sure my parents would agree that this . . .' she gestured between the two boys, '. . . is actually proper.'

'I'm not so sure that I'd agree with them then.' Mrs Malfoy smiled. 'After wars, it used to be customary to offer a marriage between royalty to solidify the truce.'

Pansy scowled and Harry snorted at the idea of himself and Malfoy being royalty.

'I can't say that I was surprised—well, I was surprised that Mr Potter agreed—but not that my son had offered.'

'It wasn't exactly an offe—' Ron was shut up by Hermione pinching his arm. Luckily, dinner was served just then, and the need to converse had, for the time being, ended. Afterwards they all retired to a different lounge and slowly the number of guests tapered off until it was once again the seven of them.

'Is dinner always this long?' Harry said as he sat down on the couch. Hermione smiled at Harry reassuringly, but let Draco answer.

'A dinner party yes, but dinner in general, no.' Draco sat next to Harry on the main sofa. 'And it's normally not as difficult,' Draco assured him. 'When everyone gets more acquainted with each other, it will seem like it ends too soon.'

'You'll see, Harry,' Hermione agreed with Draco. 'The rehearsal will be busy, but more relaxed. This was actually a really good idea.'

'Thank you, Miss Granger.' Mrs Malfoy walked over to join them. 'Speaking of the wedding, are you two ready for your next task?'

'Right now?' Harry asked exhausted.

Draco smirked at him.

'No,' Mrs Malfoy said, 'but tomorrow you need to at least discuss where you're going to live once you're married.'

'We both already have multiple places to live,' Harry said and the made their way to visit with the estate agent. Harry had to say one thing about Mrs Malfoy: she did get things done quickly.

'We are obviously going to live together,' Draco drawled.

Harry rolled his eyes at that. 'I know that,' he snapped and then sighed as he tried to collect himself. 'I just meant that we could just live in one of the places we already own.'

'Where's the fun in that?' Draco scoffed, but after he saw how close Harry was to lose his temper, he decided to explain. 'We need a new place because we are starting a new path. The Manor is big enough, but even if I had married someone my parents picked for me, we would not have lived there until my parents moved out.'

'Moved out?' Was that his way of saying they died?

'It's different based on the agreements of every family's inheritance. My parents were going to leave me the Manor when my father retired, which wasn't supposed to be for another twenty-five years. They were going to live in a smaller mansion in France that they own. My mother loves it there.'

Harry thought about it and really didn't like the idea of leaving Mrs Malfoy alone in that huge Manor by herself. Maybe it would be better if they stayed with her.

'None of that can change without my father's approval or death. I've already received my first inheritance when I came of age, and I'll get my second inheritance when we get married, but I can't receive my full inheritance before my father's death.'

'So who is controlling the Malfoy fortune right now?'

'Nothing is being done with it right now, and nothing can be done with it. My mother has her own money, and if she chooses to leave Malfoy Manor, it will still be taken care of without her.'

Harry shook his head. It was a lot to take in. Draco got three inheritances? Maybe it was because he was an only child; he had said that it was different for each family.

They arrived at the first flat, which turned out to be on the top floor. It was huge, and he could not even think of what he would do with all that space. Draco, of course, seemed to disagree. It was the same with all the places they visited. They were massive, much more than what two people really needed, and Draco would always find something that was just not up to par.

'We really don't need all of this space,' Harry insisted, again, after they left the flat and were on their way to the last one on their list: a house out in the country. 'And when we are no longer together what are we going to do with it anyway?'

'Didn't we already discuss how you're not supposed to treat this like it will end in two years?' Draco said lightly. 'And I am thinking about that. Why do you think I'm being so particular about it? I presume when we were done with it, we would donate it to some charity … I'll even let you pick which one.'

'What would a charity want a flat for?'

'They wouldn't … that's why I've been leaning more to the houses.'

'Okay, so what would a charity do with a house then?'

'I don't know, Harry. Turn it into an office or an orphanage or something.'

Harry had never really thought about that before. He was an orphan, but he hadn't grown up in an orphanage. The only one he had ever seen was in Dumbledore's memories, and it had been dark and cold. Suddenly Draco's complaints about there not being enough sunlight through the windows didn't seem so snobbish. They popped up outside the house on a massive lawn, and Harry could already see that the windows would not be a problem with that house.

'I like this … so far,' Draco said as they walked up to the front door.

As Harry looked through the house, in mind with the idea that it might later become an orphanage, it became less tedious and more exciting. He didn't roll his eyes every time Draco mentioned the size, or if there was enough space. They could only use not even an eighth of the house, but it was the perfect size for twenty to thirty children.

'No complaints about it being too big?'

'No, I actually like it,' Harry agreed. 'It's bright.'

'See, I told you windows are important.'

A few days later, they brought Hermione to see the house before they agreed upon the contract.

'Oh my, Harry this place is huge,' Hermione said. 'What are you going to put in it?'

'I have no idea.' Harry shrugged. 'I was going to leave that up to Draco and his mother.'

'That's probably a good idea. When are you moving in?'

'When we get back from the honeymoon.'

She turned around to face him, surprised. 'You're going on a honeymoon?'

'Why wouldn't we ?'

'What about your Auror training?'

Harry turned to the stairs and started climbing them to show Hermione the second floor. 'We're only going for the weekend,' Harry explained. 'Monday morning everything will be back to normal or "on schedule" as he put it.'

'So . . . where are you going?'

'I don't know.' Harry led her down the hallway. At the end of it ,Harry opened a set of double doors. 'I don't think he knows either.' The room they entered had a platform for a bed, and on the outside wall was a huge window with a massive window seat that stretched across it.

'Is this the master bedroom?' Hermione asked in awe. 'You seem excited about this…'

'Well, I sort of am now. About the house, at least.'

'I never thought you'd like a big place like this.'

'Draco mentioned that we might turn it into an orphanage when we won't need it any longer.' Harry smiled. 'And I figure it'd be an experience this next couple of years. You know seeing what it's like to live in his world.'

'Are you going to show him what it's like to live in yours?'

'I'm not sure that I can…' Harry said slightly confused as to what she meant. There was no way he was going to let Draco know about his childhood when he had never even really told his best friends about it. There was no way to show him that he really didn't need all the best things in live without taking them away, and they couldn't live in both a huge mansion and a small flat at the same time.

'Harry!' Draco called down the hallway before entering the suite. 'There you are. You have to sign the contract, as well.'

'I know, I was just showing Hermione…'

Draco strutted in and spun around in the middle of the room taking it all in, again. 'It is a beautiful room.'

'I'd say so,' Hermione agreed. 'It'll be an experience.'