Disclaimer: I own nothing.
Pairings: (I loved the HP/SS pairing so this story is about their love. Enjoy!) HP/SS, HP/LM, HP/TN, NT/TN, HR/RW, DM/GW, NM/LM (and many others pairs later).
Summary: Harry's lost more than just the battle when Voldemort springs a surprise attack on No. 4 Privet Drive. Will the wizarding war end there? Or perhaps the wizarding world will now be forever under Voldemort's brutal regime?
Thank you Suraiyah for beta my story.
Chapter 5: To Wed Or Not To Wed?
Harriet found herself seated at a long table piled high with food and drink. The faces of strangers surrounded her and she only recognised one boy amongst them; he resembled Neville and sat not very far away from her. She wanted to call out to him, but somehow, she could not find the voice to do so. Trying to calm herself, she attempted to logically work out why she was frozen within her body, as it moved automatically without her consent or command. Luckily its eyes also moved around to take in the strange surroundings. Her gaze soon landed upon a hook-nosed man who was seated beside a strange man wearing a turban and whose obsidian eyes also stared straight into her own; it was her supposed fiancé.
A sharp, burning pain shot across her forehead. The pain vanished as quickly and suddenly as it had arrived. She sensed that the man did not like her; he directed an intense feeling like hate. She felt dazed, rather out of the scene, but managed to catch the words of an older red haired boy sitting beside her before she finally drifted away,
"…that's Professor Snape."
She was somewhere else. Once again she appeared to be sitting at a table, but this one was much smaller and fitted only a few people. The room in which she was now in contained pickled animals floating in glass jars all around its walls; it was dark and dreary, and she could not help but shiver from the cold,
'Where am I?' she wondered franticly, as she started to panic.
Harriet stared down at the parchment in front of her, a list of potions she was writing. She was quite surprised at some of the names; only a Potion Master could make them. Suddenly a rather familiar voice, deep and velvety, but this time sounding so cold and harsh that it frightened her, mocked,
"Tut, tut -- fame clearly isn't everything."
The girl looked up in time to see the man's thin lips curl into a sneer. Before she could reply, or rather retort, she felt dazed and once again she experienced a tug that transported her to another location. Instead of finding herself in another place however, she discovered that she was still in the same spot, but standing this time, with a simmering cauldron in front of her and a young Neville in her line of vision, along with her fiancé. His dark eyes pierced accusingly at her, as if what ever occurred were her fault, but for some reason she knew it was otherwise and anger arose within her,
"Why didn't you tell him not to add the quills? Thought he'd make you look good if he got it wrong, did you? That's another point you've lost for Gryffindor."
Harriet wanted to scream at him, but she was frozen within the body, her body. All of a sudden, her eyes snapped open. She found it was morning. As she swept her tousled hair back from her face, she breathed slowly, taking deep breaths, attempting to calm her seizure of anger,
'It's a nightmare, just a nightmare. I've to expect this, after all he has been constantly on my mind for the last 48 hours.'
"But, why did it seem so real?"
"You don't want me to get onto my knees, do you Ginny?" Harriet begged.
"This is not like you! I don't know why you think Malfoy can help you to break that marriage contract."
"He is the Minister of Magic. If he can't, then who can? Please Ginny!"
Ginny grumbled; she would have liked nothing better than to tell Harriet a few truths about that horrible man. However, she knew better, for Harriet had gone to a great length to protect the man after seeing him carrying a flute on that fateful night.
'Perfect! Hah! The Malfoys are a rotten bunch and it is hard to accept that my best friend puts him on pedestal. It is pointless to talk to her in this state though.' Ginny came to that conclusion and so, she nodded her head in assent.
They walked to town after Ginny broke the spell trapping them within the estate. Harriet smiled at the thought of seeing Lucius again. She had been in agony after that startling confrontation with the man who claimed to be her fiancé. Albus, her grandfather, had his damn twinkle in his eyes, and it only kept getting brighter whenever she asked him about the marriage contract.
His only reply had been,
"I'm sure Severus will tell you when the time comes."
Harriet 's mouth twisted in rage as she dwelled on that memory. It did not help that she was troubled at night by repeatedly dreaming of the man, dreams that always only served to irritate her and cause her to become more prejudiced in her opinion of him.
'Surely the Mother of Goddesses heard my prayer on the festival night, for I am certain I felt a strong magic surrounding me after making my wish.'
Ginny did not dare interrupt Harriet's ruminations, for on whatever it was, she could feel the heat of anger radiating from her friend. She had no idea to whom Harriet was engaging; both Albus and Harriet refused to discuss it. She heard voices rise whenever they were both in the same room, only to stop swiftly when someone else entered.
Harriet seemed to hate the man, who ever he was, and Albus was only amused at Harriet's banshee like tirades. Everyone else was bewildered at the news, but she was secretly happy about it, because surely anyone was better than that low life Lucius Malfoy. However, she too felt sorry for Harriet on her arranged marriage.
The girls soon arrived at the manor, which Malfoy had hired for his stay there. They both waited at the door, until it was swung open revealing a house elf that asked,
"Can I help you ladies?"
"We come to see Mr. Malfoy. Could you go and tell him that Miss Velius has arrived to see him."
"I'm sorry Miss Velius, but Mister Malfoy has already left the county and is on his way to return to London this very morning."
"I see."
'I don't see at all. How can he leave without a word?' Harriet was not sure if she wanted to cry or scream at the situation.
Another house elf appeared and his clothes were more ragged than that of the one speaking to them. He whispered something to the other elf, giving him a letter.
"Miss Velius, I believe this is your letter. We were going to owl it on one of our owls but did not have time yet to do so, as we have to clean the house. We're sorry if we have inconvenienced you Miss." The house elf looked apologetically at them.
Harriet took the proffered letter and smiled at them. They both said goodbye and headed off on the road once more.
Harriet clutched the letter as they found a shaded area in which to sit, but Harriet who was nervously standing and leaning against the tree, immediately began tearing off the envelope with its intricate dark green seal.
Harriet,
I received an important letter this morning from London that required my presence back at the Ministry. I am disappointed to leave this place when I have just started getting to know you. I have many plans for us to spend time together, but it seems these will have to wait. I'm sure that I will be back when I work out the problem in London.
Yours Sincerely,
Lucius Malfoy.
Minister of Magic.
Harriet was speechless; the letter was promising but yet it was so cold and formal. She had rather expected an apology for disappearing suddenly. After all she had owled him yesterday stating that she was going to come over for a rather important discussion.
"Harriet?" Ginny queried
Silence greeted her and she saw Harriet's drawn face, but the hurt within it was quickly masked until it was blank and emotionless. Harriet had quite an expressive face; it reminded her very much of someone she had loved dearly once and still did.
Harriet handed the letter over to Ginny, and strode down the road. Ginny skimmed through the letter quickly, and knew immediately what bothered her friend. Quickly she ran to catch her up and as she walked silently with her, she moved closer to the dark haired girl to give her comfort.
'She is expecting too much from him.' Ginny sighed.
They continued walking for hours, until Harriet came to a halt and abruptly said,
"I am not going home. You're going back to tell Albus that until he breaks the engagement with that man, I'll not be returning home."
Ginny knew Harriet had given her ultimatum and that meant Harriet would not change her mind. Ginny immediately knew the choice for herself and that was,
"I'm staying with you Harriet."
"Thanks." Harriet replied as she clasped her hand with Ginny's own and an understanding passed between them.
"However, we do need to send Albus a letter." Ginny responded with a smile.
After they sent off the letter, Harriet remembered a very important detail.
"I'm forgetting that grandpa has a tracking spell on us." She cried out.
"I'll break yours and you mine, OK? However, where will we be staying during this boycott time?" Ginny asked as she grinned in mischief at her friend.
"The Moon Temple of course. I doubt Grandpa will figure out that we will be in our own backyard."
They both laughed at the plan they had to outwit Albus. Each was so occupied in imagining Albus' face that they forgot their own trouble as they headed off to the Moon Temple.
Nott's Manor
"What did he say?"
Theodore began to repeat Professor Snape's reply, word for word, when his father held his hand up,
"I heard you the first time." The elder Nott snapped at him.
His face turned pale and blue, then red. Theodore knew that his father's pride was eating him for being put down by Professor Snape once again. There was no doubt his father was quite jealous of Snape, considering him as his rival for Lord Voldemort's fondness and high rank in the Death Eater Inner Circle. He had heard much colourful language emerging from his father on occasion, particularly on how much a fool Professor Snape was for resigning his prestigious position, but quite gleeful that his rival had done so.
"You are going to marry that girl."
His father stated firmly and his eyes glimmered, showing that he had come up with a plan. Theodore wanted to protest; he had no desire to cross his ex-Head-House, but the prospect of Harriet as a wife was delightful, and he knew better than to argue with his father when it came to plans of humiliation for his rival.
"Well boy, Albus Dumbledore is in my hand is he not? I'm sure the girl would agree to an immediate wedding when I have taken the old fool into my custody. Snape will not able to do anything about it, because it will be too late when he finds out. After all, the girl is the one who broke the contract not us. Snape will have to deal with Dumbledore himself and it's perfect. We'll get two birds with one stone!"
"I never knew your wedding could be so beneficial." He added as an afterthought and laughed, taking a sip of firewhisky as he savoured his victory over his unsuspecting rival.
Dumbledore's Estate
"For the final time, my granddaughter is not here."
For the first time in the last two days, Albus Dumbledore was glad that Harriet had gone.
"If Miss Velius will not appear in the next minute, I am arresting you for your continual association with the outlawed Order of Phoenix. One of my spies happened to see a man looking like Arthur Weasley meeting you yesterday."
Albus' eyes seemed to be amused, but there was a glint of anger deep within them if one studied closer.
"Is that a threat Mr. Nott?"
"No Dumbledore, it is a fact. However, if your granddaughter is wed to my son, the allegation will be dropped, after all family does stick together."
Dumbledore grunted and decided to be silent. There was no point in arguing when he understood the motive behind the attack. Nott grated Dumbledore's patience until it finally reached its limits,
"If you wish to arrest me, then do so, Mr. Nott. I have nothing further to say to you, except I will never allow Adrasteia to marry your son. If you wish for him to do so, then do talk to Professor Snape about the marriage contract, the fireplace is that way."
"Take him." Nott ordered the Aurors who had accompanied him.
They were ushering Albus Dumbledore out of the door when a voice ceased them,
"Wait! Let my grandpa go, I'll come with you."
Nymphadora Tonks stared at the young bride's face. The bride's stunning eyes, one the colour of dark emerald green and the other an alluring midnight blue, seemed to be mocking her, but they also held intense sadness, intermingled with fear. This was perchance the face of an angel, but the lips were wickedly sinful, driving the minds of both genders mad to imagine devouring that sensuous mouth until it looked thoroughly kissed.
Tonks had once seen that same type of lips on a certain young man, the long dead hero of the wizarding world. The bride's jet-black's hair was braided behind the veil, but a few curls dropped out as if having a life of their own. The sunshine streaming through the window caressed the hairs, reflecting them into an auburn black, that very unusual colour, if anyone cared to notice.
Tonks marvelled at the genius of Albus Dumbledore when she realised the truth about the girl called Harriet. Perhaps it was because she was a Metamorphmagus that she was able to recognise the unusualness of the girl's appearance when she arrived at the estate to help Albus to look after Harriet.
She admitted that it had been quite a strange request from Albus after all the years she had worked in the Order of Phoenix.
She often wondered who Harriet was after living with them for three months. The girl appeared strongly familiar to her. She did not realize the reason, at least not until the day she stumbled onto her old family photo album, the one that was once kept by Sirius, and glimpsed the wedding photograph of James and Lily Potter, causing her to receive a tremendous shock, particularly as she had looked up and found Harriet walking into her room. She had closed the album hurriedly, putting it aside to talk to the younger girl.
She showed Albus this photo, as well Harriet's own photograph, side by side the first chance she got. Albus simply put them together and smiled.
"It is not yet time, Tonks. Best to leave everything to the future."
Tonks knew when to quit. She realized the truth even though no explanation was ever provided by Albus.
"Miss Velius, we have to be in the Town Hall within twenty minutes. Are you ready?"
Tonks nodded and returned to look one last time in the mirror, seeing the bridal gown perfectly upon her frame, and wondering what she was doing now.
'To wed or not to wed?'
T.B.C.
Thank you everyone that have been reviewed.
