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Mistress Slytherin

WARNINGS:

VIOLENCE

LANGUAGE

HOMOSEXUAL RELATIONSHIP

QUESTIONABLE MORALS

Let me know if I missed anything.

Chapter 9

"Thought you should know, my family is speaking to your father about arranging a marriage between us." A girl with long dark hair and appealing looks sat beside Harry and smirked at him lightly as she said this. Harry looked up from his book and frowned. Marriage? Merlin, honestly he hadn't thought about romance for a very long time. Yet here this girl was announcing that she might be his future wife. He looked her over slowly. She was pretty enough that was for sure, and she had the bearings of a woman with good breeding.

"And you are…" He trailed off setting his book to the side.

"Elizabeth Yaxley, my family and the Black family have intermarried before." She said staring at him expectantly. Harry nodded. Yes he remembered hearing about that Lord Black's youngest brother married a Yaxley. "I'm the youngest of four girls, my older sisters have already found matches, I got to choose, so I chose you." She said almost smugly. Harry nodded slowly.

"May I ask why?" He said leaning back casually. She was a Ravenclaw, she was intelligent and obviously sharp witted.

"I fell in love with you a year ago." She said without missing a beat. "You are quiet and polite, you like to study and I know that you would never beat me." She said succinctly. Harry's eyes flashed towards her at that.

"Have you been beaten?" He asked calmly. She smiled.

"See, if I had you would immediately want to hurt the person who had hurt me, but no I have not been beaten. However for some girls in my situation finding a catch like you would be quite impossible." She said informatively. Harry had the strangest sense of daja vu, as though he was speaking to a girl that was embodying both Luna Lovegood and Hermione Granger. The logic was there, but the path arriving to the logic seemed to be directed by nargles.

"And if this were to go through what would you want from a marriage with me?" He asked feeling vaguely amused and intrigued by the girl sitting in front of him. It was much better than studying for potions at this late hour.

"Safety, monetary security, I want to be able to study without being bothered, oh and I want my own bedroom, we can sleep together but I would prefer my own space when we aren't having sex, I'm used to my own room you see." She said simply. Harry stared at her blankly for a moment wondering how on earth she could say that without blushing. But then he remembered that she was channeling Luna. Harry smiled faintly and decided that he liked this girl even if she was a little off.

"How about I court you first hmm?" He said nodding slowly. She grinned widely and nodded before leaning forward and kissing him deeply. Harry couldn't breathe for a second and when he could he found himself deciding that it didn't matter if he could breathe or not, Elizabeth was an amazing kisser.

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After that night Harry found that Elizabeth would follow him everywhere once classes were over. She was for the most part silent and content to tuck herself into a corner with a book while Harry worked with Professor Foxtrot or to walk beside him as he made his rounds as Head Boy. She was clever, oddly sweet and prone to jumping him when she thought he was studying too hard. For Harry who had only used sex as an outlet, finding himself being used as a sexual outlet was almost as amusing as it was invigorating. Elizabeth, despite her quiet exterior was a vixen and Harry found that for the first time in his sexual life he didn't grow bored with her or think of moving on.

"Here." She said as he arrived at the front hall panting in the chilly air. She was holding up his black fur lined gloves, the ones his father had given him and a warm scarf. She was channeling Luna again, she always seemed to know when he was about to forget something. He smiled.

"Thanks." He said slipping the gloves on and wrapping the scarf around his neck.

"Professor Dumbledore was ill and it was his turn to supervise our Hogsmead trip, I figured you would be too busy trying to find a replacement to bother with proper attire." She said with a shrug before darting forward and pressing a kiss to his cheek. "You're welcome." She said before holding out her hand. Harry snorted.

"What's the point in me trying to surprise you if you already figure out that I'm going to give you something?" He asked handing over the small parcel.

"It isn't your fault Cassandra Wiggery is a bigmouth." She said before opening the package.

"I should have just ordered the catalogue myself." Harry said amused. Elizabeth's face lit up as she pulled out the box of perfume.

"Perfect! But how did you know?" She said cocking her head to the side.

"Cassandra Wiggery is a bigmouth." Harry said in amusement.

"Ah…very good, I should tell her my preferences more often so that I am likely to get the things I want." She said frankly. Harry smiled fondly and leaned forward pressing a kiss to her cheek.

"You could just tell me." He offered.

"Or we could make a game of it, I could tell different people each time I want something and you would have to figure out who it was and then we would see if they would tell you or not." She said brightly. Harry snorted.

"That sounds complicated." He said holding out his arm for her as she slipped the gift into her bag. He noticed her robes and winced internally for not having noticed before; he really was a dolt sometimes. "You look lovely by the way, that frock is very nice." He said smiling down at her. She blushed faintly and Harry cheered inwardly. It was a game of his to try to make her blush whenever possible; she was usually so straightforward about everything.

"Why thank you Hadrian." She said almost shyly. "I felt that I should dress up since we will be meeting your father today." She said with a nod. Harry felt his eyebrows rise.

"Oh we will?" He said wondering how she could possibly know that- though, Lord Black had been excessively cheerful in their correspondence lately.

"Yes, you are his youngest son and he has made a show of proving that he loves you a great deal, since the year is almost up and you will soon be entering the apprentice program he will want to meet me first hand. He will also want to be sure that you are agreeable to a marriage with me." She said her arm tightening in his without her noticing. So she was worried was she? But Harry had already made up his mind.

"Then I suppose we should arrange a meeting with your father next, to finalize everything, though I must warn you until my potions business grows we will most likely be relying on my father a great deal for support-"

"You utter idiot couldn't you have made it more romantic?" She said glaring furiously at him. Harry snorted.

"I couldn't help it; you do this sort of thing to me all the time, but very well if that is what you wish-" He knelt right then and there in the chilly November air and held out a ring for her. "Lady Elizabeth Yaxley would you do me the honor of becoming my wife?" He asked offering her a smile. Her anger melted away and she grinned widely at the sight of the glittering ring.

"EEEEEEEEEEKK!" Harry was suddenly tackled to the ground by a flying Elizabeth who was holding him tightly.

"Should I take that as a yes?" He said amused. She punched him in the arm hard.

"Yes Hadrian." She said before rising up long enough to deliver a deep kiss. Catcalls surrounded them and Harry grinned as she pulled away and winked at him before snatching up the ring slipping it on her finger and admiring it. Harry watched her unable to get the grin off his face. And then she turned and continued down the path leaving him behind. Harry snorted, then he chuckled and soon he was laughing loudly and freely. "Hadrian I won't marry you if you've gone mad!" Elizabeth said grinning wickedly at him as she continued down the path. Harry struggled to control his laughter and clamored to his feet with far less grace then she did before chasing after her. He caught her hand in his and pressed a kiss to the back of it feeling free and happy though he was certain he was sporting several bruises.

That day would be one of the most wonderful memories Harry had. They went from shop to shop as though they hadn't ever seen them before. They walked hand and hand in the crisp clear air, skipped across cobblestones and danced through the crowd. By the time they stumbled into the small restaurant for lunch they were bright faced and flushed with glee.

"Hadrian?" Harry turned to the familiar voice and grinned widely as he caught sight of a very shocked Lord Black. Harry grasped Elizabeth's hand and squeezed tightly before dragging her towards the table which he noted was already set for three.

"Father." Harry greeted pulling Elizabeth's chair out and pushing it in for her as she sat before seating himself.

"And who is this?" Lord Black said amused.

"This is Elizabeth, the girl I'm going to marry." Harry said proudly before catching sight of Lord Black's thin lipped expression. "Father?" He said his hold tightening around her small hand.

"Elizabeth, as in Elizabeth Yaxley I assume?" He said softly. Harry nodded slowly wondering what was going on. He turned to Elizabeth the way he usually did, she tended to have better insight than anyone else, she could see what he wasn't seeing. But her face was closed to him; it was never closed to him.

"Elizabeth?" He said not liking the sudden silence.

"I have known Hadrian for nearly three years now young lady." His father began his voice low and flat and bearing more violence than Harry had ever heard before. He was too stunned to say anything. "In those three years not once have I heard him laugh or seen him as happy as he is today and you expect me to take that all away from him? Who put you up to this? How could you be so cruel?!" He growled furiously. Harry flinched when Lord Black's cane pounded on the floor loudly silencing the room.

"Father?" He whispered. What was this, what was going on?! Harry turned to Elizabeth and watched in broken silence as she reached up and pulled her ring off setting it onto the table. Her eyes were clear and her silly nature gone, there was no sweetness there.

"Arcturus says hello." She said before standing and walking calmly away. Silence followed the same deafening silence that he experienced on the field at war when the last shot had been fired and all that was left was to clean up the dead. He stared at the ring in shock.

"Elizabeth Yaxley was married to Steven Crouch a year ago, her name is Elizabeth Crouch." Harry felt the words sink in and when they did he felt broken. He had imagined a life with Elizabeth. "I figured from our correspondences that you had met a girl but I did not know who."

"She said that her father was speaking to you about drawing up a marriage contract." Harry said blankly.

"That didn't happen Hadrian." His father said softly. "That never happened." He said sadly. Harry stared at the hardwood table before him.

"But she was so sweet, so kind…she brought me my gloves so that my hands wouldn't get cold…" He felt the tears begin to drip.

"It was a lie Hadrian, a very well executed plan to get back at me for removing Arcturus from my will. I am so sorry my son." He said reaching across the table and capturing Harry's hand. Harry nodded numbly.

"I made a fool of myself." Harry whispered. "She made a fool out of me." He chuckled bitterly and wiped away the tears with an angry swipe of his arm. "And the really fucked up part is that I still bloody love her." He whispered. He hadn't been willing to admit it up until that point, hadn't been ready to bare himself that way. But it was all pointless now.

"I won't let them get away with this." Lord Black said darkly. "They've gone too far this time." He whispered. Harry nodded slowly. He didn't care about revenge, it was over, that was that, and he knew that some part of him had been damaged beyond fixing this time.

"Don't expect that I'll marry any time soon father." He said quietly. "And thank you." He added as an afterthought. "You could have gone along with it, could have betrayed me like she did just to keep me happy for a little while longer, but you didn't. You told me, not many people would have the strength to do that." He said reaching out and grasping the ring in his hand.

"I'm sorry Hadrian, I was so happy to see you like that, not a care in the world-" He choked slightly. "I'm sorry that I had to rob you of that." He whispered. Harry shook his head.

"You didn't, she did, she stole something from me that I don't think can ever be replaced." He whispered holding the ring to the dim lit room. "I thought, for the briefest of time I thought I had found the ability to love again. It was all a lie though a sad pathetic lie." He whispered clutching the ring in his fist again.

"No Hadrian, what you felt was no lie, don't let her taint that too, what you felt was pure. Someday I hope that you will be able to experience that with someone who truly deserves it." Lord Black said reaching across the table and holding his hand.

"Pure." Harry whispered. "Pure." He repeated. "I don't even know what that means any more." He whispered. "I'm sorry father but I need to get back to school." He said softly. Lord Black nodded grimly.

"I won't let them get away with this Hadrian." He whispered urgently. Harry nodded slowly.

"I know." He said softly. "Goodbye." He whispered.

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