LADY MALFOY
Disclaimer: Harry Potter and everything related belongs to J. K. Rowling. And the places I mention, in the story do not belong to me.
Author's note: Curtsy in gratitude to Cassgrass for beta-ing this chapter!!!
Thank you very much for your wonderful reviews, guys!!! Well, here is the next chapter. Enjoy!
Warnings: AU NON-MAGIC . Harry is a female. You will find swear words but quite seldom. I will add furthur warnings as story progresses.
Chapter 5: Discussions
When Harriet responded to Blaise's plan in positive, he invited her to his house the next day afternoon so that he could introduce her to his friend. He had also informed her that she would have to reveal a bit about herself to the man so that he could plan in accordance to help her family. Harriet hated talking about her past but she accepted Blaise's reasoning, although reluctantly.
After lunch the next day, Harriet walked to his house with trepidation but also with determination when she remembered her parents' faces.
When she arrived at the house and knocked, Blaise opened the front door and then led her to the study and, noticing her pale face, gave her an encouraging smile.
As they entered the study with Blaise in the lead, Draco quickly stood on his feet. Draco and Harriet's eyes widened in surprise the moment their eyes fell on one another. But Draco quickly schooled his features to stoic and Harriet averted her eyes to the floor in embarrassment.
"Draco, this is Miss Harriet Potter, a good friend of mine," Blaise said with a fond smile.
"Miss Potter, nice to meet you," Draco said bowing a little.
"Harry, this is Mr. Draco Malfoy, my childhood friend," The moment the words left his mouth, Harriet jerked her head to stare at Blaise incredulously and in response Blaise made an imperceptible nod towards Draco. Harriet internally sighed before facing Draco again.
"Mr. Malfoy," Harriet curtsied deeply.
"Let us get comfortable, shall we?" Blaise said cheerfully, leading Harriet to sit on the chair. Blaise occupied one beside her and Draco sat in the chair facing them.
"Harriet, Draco asked me to prepare a document of this agreement, which I will keep save with me. Do you have any objections?" Blaise asked her.
Harriet shook her head once.
"Good. Now, Harriet, will you agree to marry Mr. Draco Malfoy and be his wife for next 3 years?" Blaise asked formally.
Before she could open her mouth, Draco interrupted saying, "3 years but if my Grandmother, the present Lady Malfoy survives longer than that then the marriage must remain until she dies."
Blaise nodded and then turned his questioning look on Harriet.
"I will," Harriet agreed while her heart beating frantically against her chest.
Blaise wrote down Draco's proposal in the white parchment in an elegant script.
"Now Draco, in return, will you help Harriet's family out of their financial crisis without them ever suspecting it?" Blaise asked him.
Draco stared at Harriet for one full minute before answering, "I will."
Blaise nodded and added Draco's words on the parchment.
Once finished, Blaise asked, "Am I right in assuming that you both have some conditions to add to this arrangement?" He glanced from one to the other.
Draco gave a curt nod and then Harriet nodded her head shyly.
"Harriet, you should go first," Blaise offered her gently.
Harriet glanced from Blaise to Draco, who looked back at her stoically.
Taking a deep breath, quietly although with determination in her tone, Harriet said, "I have witnessed many rich Lords displaying disdain towards my family for the lack of money over the years. I have heard your Grandfather and later Father act no differently towards them in the past. My decision to agree to this arrangement is completely mine. My parents know nothing of it. They are proud people and would rather beg than allow me to go through this farce of a marriage. I don't want my actions to colour your opinion of them. I want them to be treated with respect and dignity," Harriet said looking directly into Draco's eyes.
"I cannot speak on my parents' behalf but the rest of the family will treat them well," Draco replied.
Harriet nodded with an internal sigh.
"Also, after marriage, I would like to visit them once every three months and I hope you will accompany me to at least few of these visits so as not to arise any suspicions in my family," Harriet said.
"Acceptable," Draco said after a moment's pause.
As Draco and Blaise looked at Harriet to continue with her conditions, she turned bright red in the face and stared intently at her hands intertwined on her lap.
"Harriet," Blaise urged when she did not say anything for several minutes.
Finally gathering courage, "Uhh……ummm about martial duties….?" Harriet trailed off in a hushed whisper.
Despite the low whisper, Draco and Blaise heard her clearly and understood what she meant.
"I will not touch you intimately without your consent," Draco immediately replied.
Harriet nodded once without looking up.
"That is all," Harriet finished swallowing thickly.
"Draco?"
"You will not interfere in family business or in any decision making that involves my family. If and when you are forced to make a decision by my family members or servants or others, you will find a way to delay it and then consult me. You can site the reason of you being too young in that case," Draco said firmly.
"I accept," Harriet responded.
"You will treat this as a real marriage and show proper respect and affections towards my family," Draco said in the same tone.
"I accept."
"Also you will not meet men that are not your family, my family or Blaise without an escort," Draco said seriously.
"I accept," Harriet replied.
"And you will not shame my family in any way during the years of marriage," Draco finished a warning in his tone.
Harriet frowned at his tone but agreed nonetheless.
After that, Blaise passed the document to Draco along with a quill. Reading it thoroughly, Draco signed his name in firm strokes.
Blaise then passed the parchment to Harriet. Reading it Harriet took the quill; her hand shook slightly as she signed her name below Draco's signature.
"Excellent," Blaise said cheerfully and then turning to Harriet, "Harriet, do you mind terribly to bring us some tea while I secure this document?" Blaise requested. "Mother and Susan have gone to see Susan's sister-in-law who is with child. I had to dismiss the servants for the afternoon so as to keep the matter just between us."
Harriet nodded with a smile and walked out of the study.
As soon as Harriet left, Blaise walked up to his study table and shoved the document in one of the desk drawers and turned back to Draco.
"Is that your secure place?" Draco asked with a raised eyebrow.
"No, I will secure it in my vault later but now I must speak to you before Harriet comes back," Zabini said dismissively and sat in a chair leaning closer to Draco.
"Draco, I know you are a very private person. You guard yourself almost jealously except from your family and very close friends. Even then you don't open up entirely," Blaise said calmly.
Ignoring Draco's scowl, he continued, "I know that you would hate to divulge about yourself to a stranger but Harriet will no longer be a stranger to you in a couple of months. Apart from being a married couple you are also involved in this secret that you need to guard from everyone else. For as long as you are together, you will be Harriet's confidant while Harriet will be yours. So it would be prudent that you know about each other a little."
When Draco made a disapproving noise at the back of his throat, Blaise sighed. "Draco, you know very well that your Grandmother is an exceptionally perceptive woman. She would start suspecting immediately if you acted ignorant of each other's past especially if we are telling everyone of you two meeting at few occasions," Blaise said reasonably gazing at his face.
Draco just looked away in anger.
"I didn't know there are any Potters in Wiltshire," Draco said frowning at Blaise after some time.
"There aren't," Blaise agreed and with a smirk added, "Harriet was adopted by Weasley family."
"What?" Draco spluttered in disbelief and then said with afterthought, "Wait a minute, now that explains her reaction to my name and her first condition."
"I wondered why you didn't ask about her family at that time," Blaise said curiously.
"I didn't want to be made fool of myself in front of her. And Malfoys looked down on all middle class families. I just never thought she would belong to the Weasleys," Draco said dismissively and then frowned in thought.
"That is not going to be a problem, is it?" Blaise asked him with an innocent look on his face.
"Except Grandfather and Lucius and Narcissa, others have no opinion at all of them. And I think Grandmother actually likes them," Draco answered.
"What about you?" Blaise asked smirking at him.
"She doesn't have red hair or freckles. Besides, the deal is already sealed," Draco shrugged nonchalantly.
Blaise's lips twitched in amusement at Draco's response.
"How did she come to live with them?" Draco asked curiously.
"You should ask her," Blaise replied simply, and then turning serious he added with warning in his tone,
"Remember Draco, talking about her past will be difficult on her part as much as it is for you, if not more. And play nice."
Draco raised a brow at him.
At that moment, Harriet returned carrying a tray.
Placing the tray on the table, "How would you like your tea, Mr. Malfoy?" Harriet asked shyly.
"Just one sugar," Draco answered.
Harriet handed him a cup and then offered him a plate of biscuits. When he refused, Harriet prepared two cups of tea with one sugar and milk. Handing one cup to Blaise, Harriet sat back on her chair with another.
Taking a sip, Blaise said, "I think it would be more believable if we tell everyone that I introduced you to each other a few months ago at my house and then you met in a few occasions when you both visited here. What do you say?"
Harriet nodded in acquiesce while Draco gave a curt nod.
"In that case it would better if you really learnt about one another a bit so as not to arise any suspicions," Blaise advised seriously.
"I will leave you two to get to know each other," Blaise said as Harriet stared pleadingly at him trying to convey through her eyes not to leave her alone with Draco.
"I will be in the living room if you need anything," Blaise said standing up and looking pointedly at Harriet.
Blaise left giving Harriet an encouraging smile.
Harriet gave a nervous smile to Draco. She tried not to fidget under his intense gaze.
"Blaise said you are adopted by the Weasleys. How were you related to them before?" Draco asked her.
"The Weasleys and I weren't related before they adopted me," Harriet denied.
Hesitating a moment, she continued, "I was ten years old when the Weasleys brought me into their home. My birth parents, James and Lily Potter, died in an accident when I was only 15 months old. I was at home then. My Father was a wealthy merchant. Being their only child, I inherited their wealth after their death. Since my Father had no relatives alive, I was sent to live with my Mother's elder sister, Mrs. Petunia Dursley. Aunt Petunia grudgingly took me in upon my Uncle's insistence. I did not know then but later I realized it was because of my wealth. When I turned ten, Uncle Vernon's long-term plans came to fruition. He was able to bribe certain people to transfer my money and property to his name. Since I had no more use for them, they left me near a dark forest one night a little far away from where they lived. The Weasleys, who were on a trip to London, found me on their way back home and took me with them. Despite their financial status, they were kind enough to take me in instead of sending me back to the Dursleys after hearing my story."
She took a sharp breath before she continued again. "Since then, they have treated me as their own, providing me with care, love and affection. For that I will forever be indebted to them," Harriet finished her voice quivering and her green eyes filled with unshed tears.
Draco looked away to give her a moment to compose herself.
"It's been a while since I met any Weasleys. I believe I was 16 when I last saw them. Tell me about them," Draco said.
"The Weasleys have 6 sons and a daughter excluding me," Harriet informed him. "William, though we call him Bill is the eldest. He works as a supervisor in digging the gold mines for rich merchants. He married Fleur of the Delacour family two years ago. The Delacours are from France. Bill met her during one of his trips to France. They are now expecting their first child. They live at Dolaucothi in Wales."
"Next is Charlie, he works as an assistant in race horse training in Cheltenham."
"Percival works for the Politician Mr. Cornelius Fudge. Father and he had some disagreements over his boss and Percy left the Burrow a year ago and hasn't returned since. He now lives in London."
"Next are Fredrick and George. They are quite creative in making items of amusement for people of all ages. They sell those items in the local market."
"Ronald is just 5 months older than me. He finished his education this year and hopes to find a job as a clerk that utilizes his studies."
"Last is Ginerva, who is only 16. Being the youngest, Ginny is pampered a lot by us," Harriet said with a fond smile.
The way Harriet's eyes lit up as she talked about her family, told Draco of her genuine love for the Weasleys and her reason for accepting the proposal.
"What about you?" Draco asked curiously
"Along with reading, writing and Arithmetic, I was taught to play Piano by our Governess Mrs. McGonagall along with Ginny. Other than helping mother in the household chores, I work in our garden and taking care of the cattle," Harriet replied with a small smile.
They stayed in silence for several minutes before Harriet gathered the courage to ask him, "If you don't mind me asking, why don't you believe in marriage?"
Draco raised an eyebrow at her. At her innocent stare, Draco stood up and walked to the window. He didn't reply for a minute staring at the garden.
"Before that you should know that Malfoy men always preferred power and money over everything else. So our forefathers wrote certain rules that the Head of the family must follow since he is ultimately responsible for the finances and taking major decisions for the family. Failure to do so would result in the Head losing his position. My father failed in his duties, resulting in him losing the position of family Head. Since my Grandfather was already dead, Grandmother despite being a woman took up the duties of the Head in place of me, the heir, because I was only 15 then," Draco told her.
"My parents would have gotten disowned for their actions had my Grandfather been alive. But my Grandmother, being the kind-hearted woman that she is, just moved them to France to look after our small vineyard business there. Having witnessed my parents' marriage had turned me against marriage. You will know the complete story after the wedding. We managed keep the affair secret among only close family members and we would like to continue to do so," Draco said turning to her.
Harriet nodded in understanding.
"Who are there in your family?" Harriet asked interestedly.
"I am the only child of my parents Lucius and Narcissa. My father is the only son of my Grandparents Abraxas and Alexandra Jasmine. Lucius has 2 younger sisters, Victoria and Elizabeth."
"Aunt Victoria is married to the politician Mr. Nathan MacDougal. They live in London. They have 3 children, Peter, he is the eldest, Laura and the youngest is Morgan. Peter assists his father in politics. He is married to Miss Katie Bell with a five year-old son, Mathew. Laura is married to Mr. Malcom Baddock with a four year-old daughter, Keira. Mr. Baddock is a solicitor in Newbridge, Wales. Morgan is 19 years old; he is studying science in University of London."
"Aunt Elizabeth is married to Mr. Walter Parkin, he owns a shipping company in Newbiggin. They have three children, Natalie, Emily and Edgar. Emily and Edgar are twins aged 21; Edgar is studying Law in University of London whereas Emily stays at home. Her parents are in search of an amiable young man for her. Natalie, who is the eldest, is married to Mr. Theodore Nott. Notts own the textile factory in Wiltshire and live near Malfoy Manor. They are the parents of a 12 month old boy, Nicholas."
"I plan on adopting him and then declaring him as my heir once they have more children if I don't have any children of my own," Draco admitted while Harriet felt uncomfortable at that.
They talked for few minutes with Draco telling Harriet about the hobbies he indulged in during leisure and his Grandmother who had been a major influence in his life, whereas Harriet talked about her best friend Hermione Granger among several other things.
It was almost five in the evening when Blaise returned to the study. He watched in amusement as Harriet took a quick leave stating that she had promised her Mother to return home before nightfall.
"How do you plan on keeping your end of the promise?" Blaise asked taking a seat.
"The Aunt with whom Miss Potter lived with after her parents' demise, do you know where they live?" Draco asked instead of answering his question.
Blaise looked surprised but then understanding, he said, "Yes, they used to live in Little Whinging, a town near London. But I am not sure if they still do."
"What are their names again?" Draco asked.
"A Mr. Vernon Dursley, a Mrs. Petunia Dursley nee Evans, Harriet's mother's elder sister and their only son Mr. Dudley Dursley," Blaise answered promptly.
"How come the Weasleys never tried to get her inheritance back to her? Do you think she was telling the truth of her birth Father being rich?" Draco asked frowning.
"I don't believe Harriet would lie about it," Blaise denied vehemently. "The Weasleys probably didn't contest for her inheritance because of their lack of funds and social standing."
"I will see if I can do anything about it," Draco said after a pause and then added, smirking with an evil glint in his eyes, "And I know just the man who can accomplish the task with speed and in secrecy."
"Brilliant!" Blaise said smirking in return.
"Now, you never came to tell me how you and Miss Potter came to be friends?" Draco asked suspiciously. "I didn't even know you were acquainted with the Weasleys."
"I wasn't," Blaise said, "Not until I met Harriet." Blaise then explained the circumstances in which he and Harriet met, how their friendship had eventually led to an amiable relationship between the families.
"Then how come you did marry her?" Malfoy asked narrowing his eyes.
"Trust me when I say I would have been more than happy to marry Harriet. She has all the qualities to make a good wife including kindness and a beautiful spirit. My mother likes her too. If only I hadn't fallen for Susan,"
Blaise admitted with a smile.
"Well then, it is about time you stopped saying that," Draco growled.
"Oh, marking your territory already, I see?" Blaise teased.
Draco threw a withering glare at him.
"I apologise," Blaise said mockingly.
"If your amusement has ended, can I inquire as to why you've never mentioned her to me?" Draco asked raising an eyebrow.
"Draco, I thought you carried the same hatred for the Weasleys like your father. And I didn't want the issue to come between us," Blaise admitted to him.
"And you didn't think that suddenly bringing her before me would create a rift between us?" Draco asked incredulously.
"I had to take that risk for the goodwill of my friends. Besides I did not reveal your identities before the meeting because I did not want you two to form an opinion of the other before meeting personally," Blaise admitted with a sigh.
Draco nodded in understanding.
Author's note: First to answer your question as to why Hermione would want to marry Ron when he isn't working?
Well, all I can say is LOVE IS BLIND. When you love someone, all their other flaws doesn't matter much.
Also Ron isn't lazy. He is just 18 year old who desists physical labour, having to do it without complaint at his house. He wants a respectable job with a decent salary for himself.
Now onto the explanations, first Harriet's embarrassment while asking about martial duties.
Etiquete required that the women don't talk about sex or wealth with men except for her husband. Even then only behind the closed doors of their bedchambers.
So you must really admire her courage to ask about it in front of two men.
And Harriet had to ask about it despite the fact the husband had the right to force his wife in sexual intercourse against her will, in those days.
You will understand more about Draco's conditions when the past about his parents is revealed which is in very near future *wink*
PLEASE PLEASE REVIEW AND LET ME KNOW HOW YOU LIKED IT