AN: So again not a quick chapter, but a bit of a longer one this time.
Harry groaned as he got out of bed, he really didn't want to face the day, knowing that the fallout from the night before would occur. He knew that at least the Daily Prophet and some of the high society periodicals would include coverage of the charity ball the evening before. While he was aware that he had acted in accordance with his station and that Hermione had shown exemplar grace and knowledge of the customs, he knew that by association Ginny may have cast doubt upon them. Something he had been trying to avoid as he knew that their acceptance into society was necessary in order to help the orphans to his full ability.
Ginny's dress itself was nothing short of scandalous and no doubt Molly's idea, he was pretty sure that Ginny was unaware of the statement it was making, and it was something that he was sure there would be speculation on in the media this morning. Her behaviour was all her though, and her rudeness when he was speaking with Narcissa and then again at dinner was something that he was sure was commented upon throughout the evening, and there would have been many who were willing to give quotes to the media about her.
The three of them had left the ball together the night before as soon as it was polite to do so. Harry claiming a headache, which incidentally got worse the more time he spent with Ginny, and Hermione insisting that she should leave to look after her brother. They had apparated away, Hermione apparating straight home to Grimmauld Place whilst Harry returned Ginny to the Burrow. She didn't look pleased with him, but he didn't even give her the chance to start the tirade that he knew was building. Instead he just told her goodnight and apparated away, leaving her standing on the front step of her house.
He knew that if he had spoken with her tonight while they were both annoyed by the evenings events he would no doubt say some things that he was bound to regret, and some that he knew would get him hexed. Deciding that the best recourse was to visit the next day and speak with her once the excitement of the night itself had died down. Harry wasn't looking forward to it at all, it was obvious to him that most of the Weasley's would be there and he would be going in with only Hermione for backup; that was if she decided to go with him. She seemed to be of the same opinion as him about the whole situation, and surely she wouldn't allow him to go into the lion's den alone. She had after all been ready to protect and care for him the night before, when he had arrived home she had handed him a headache potion first and then began to raise the family wards on the house. Hermione had blocked the floo already before he had arrived, knowing that he would apparate home, and had then locked down the house to anyone other than those of Black blood in order to keep any irate Weasley's out.
Deciding that he couldn't put off facing the day any longer, having to be ready to go to Malfoy Manor for eleven, he rolled himself out of bed and trudged down the stairs to the kitchen were Hermione was sat waiting for him, coffee pot full in the centre of the table, various tabloids spread around it.
"How bad is it?" Harry asked as he took a seat, pouring himself a cup of coffee.
In response Hermione passed him over the magazine The World Wardrobe a fashion magazine that had a picture of him and Ginny emblazoned on the cover. Even picture him looked hacked off at being there and seemed to be glaring at Ginny when she wasn't looking, the picture taken from their arrival at the ball. The headline screamed at him from the page 'Secret Engagement or something more Nefarious'.
Harry groaned as he looked for the article, he had a feeling that it would crucify him. Not only was it going around that he was now engaged to Ginny but that he hadn't gone about announcing it the proper way would be used against him, not that he was engaged to her of course, but the press were unaware of that. Reading the article he was pleasantly surprised to find that it wasn't an all out attack on him, especially as it was written by Pansy Parkinson's elder cousin who had no doubt heard some very biased stories of him in the past.
Secret Engagement or something more Nefarious
By Pennyroyal Parkinson
The Ministry's Charity Ball in honour of the Wizarding Orphanage has been a greatly anticipated event, especially since it is the first ball since several engagements had been announced and the announcements of some of our Lord's Heirs and Heiress'. Imagine our shock therefore that someone tried to turn the event into a platform to announce an engagement instead of using the proper ways in which to do so. I am talking of course about Ginevra Weasley and her engagement to Harry Potter-Black.
Miss Weasley was far from subtle in her claim on the young Lord with her choice of outfit for this event (see pictures). The shade of red, undoubtedly a Potter red, only to be worn at official functions by members of the Potter family clashed horribly with Miss Weasley's hair but she seemed completely happy with her wardrobe choices. Wearing the Potter colours as she was would imply that she and Lord Potter-Black were at least engaged; if not already hand fasted, married or bonded.
That Lord Potter-Black, who has recently shown a marked improvement in his knowledge and application of our customs, would ignore the customs surrounding the announcement of such sacred bonds seems inconceivable. Lord Potter-Black did not appear to be happy with Miss Weasley from the time they arrived at Ball, his displeasure appearing to be with her outfit. Having checked with the Ministry I can confirm that there are no bonds on file for the young Lord Potter-Black at this time.
Could Lord Potter-Black's displeasure stem from the fact that this is not in fact the public acknowledgement of an engagement, but rather a rather blatant attempt to trap Lord Potter into an engagement using public opinion to do so. If that is the case then it appears that Miss Weasley is not the mastermind behind the plan as it appeared that she herself was unaware of what statement her dress was making. When asked about her dress choice for the evening for this publication she informed me that "Mum chose the colour, she said that it was just such a Gryffindor red".
It seems therefore to me that Mrs Molly Weasley is attempting to plan a wedding with Lord Potter-Black as groom, whether or not the young Lord is aware of the machinations is unknown. Hopefully our youngest Lord will not fall prey to the plans of his date's mother to enhance her own families standing in society.
"That's not as bad on me as I was expecting," Harry commented as he placed the magazine back on the table and pulled the others towards him. He read the relevant articles quickly knowing that he had to start getting ready to leave soon. "I am going to have to issue a statement to the press about this." He surmised, thinking before he continued, "I will owl a statement off once I have been to the Burrow later."
He laughed a little as Hermione passed him over some parchment and a quill so he could scratch out a rough draft of a response to the articles before they could leave for Malfoy Manor. His sister always seemed to know exactly what he needed. He quilled a quick response before returning to his rooms to get ready for brunch.
Taking Hermione by the arm when they were both ready he apparated them both to Lucius' home, waiting once they had arrived to be greeted so that Lucius could allow Hermione access to the Manor through the wards. As they were led towards the dining room Harry's eyes search his sister for any sign of discomfort, this being her first trip back to the manor now that the war was over, and to his relief she seemed to be okay.
Brunch was a pleasant affair, the five of them getting to know each other a little better before they adjourned to Lucius' office to look over the contract that had been drawn up so far. Harry didn't have much experience in that area, he had of course read all he could from the books that Lucius had loaned to him, but he still felt like a novice when it came to contracts of a magical nature. He read the contract through and found it to be very fair, and he thought that both Narcissa and Markus both seemed happy with the contract. He stated as such, querying why they were having him look it over, not completely sure of what they were expecting from him in this situation.
"Lucius was acting as my agent in the contract negotiations as was his right as the Head of the Malfoy family, the family I was previously contracted to, and we were ready to sign the contract upon the conclusion of the negotiations, but you accepted the Black Lordship and it would have then been unacceptable to proceed without your approval." Narcissa explained. "We don't really need anything but your approval for the contract as it is, of course as the Lord of my Birth House you are allowed to add clauses of your own to the contract."
Harry thought on her words for a few moments before responding, "I don't find any issues with the contract itself, but there are a few clauses I wish to add if Lord Malfoy would be kind enough to make the alterations."
Narcissa looked a bit nervous, but steeled herself to ask, "What clauses are they if I may ask my Lord?"
"Nothing horrendous I assure you," Harry smiled at her, "One that if the marriage should disintegrate that the dowry that is provided from the Black family vaults be returned to you in full. A clause that states that you and any children are still and always will be considered members of the Black family. That the child of your previous marriage is not disregarded, and lastly that you and any children of the marriage be allowed to seek safety with your Birth family at any time."
Looks passed between Narcissa and the other two Lords in the room, who both seemed a bit bemused at the clauses that he wanted added to the contract, although there was a small smile playing at Lucius' lips that Harry found he quite liked. Lord Evreux looked at Harry for a few minutes measuring him before nodding, "I can agree to those terms."
Lucius took the current contract and retreated to his desk to rewrite it with the new clauses included. Once completed he placed it back in front of the group to be reread to make sure nothing else had been changed that wasn't specified. Once everyone was satisfied with the changes a quill was passed around the Lords of the room. Lord Evreux and Harry signing the contract, Harry on behalf of Narcissa, and then Lucius took the quill back to sign as witness.
Once the contract was signed a golden light engulfed it and it disappeared, Harry glanced at the table in a sort of shock, he had heard of magical contracts disappearing once signed, but he had never witnessed it before.
"My account manager will forward copies to all relevant parties." Markus stated, standing as he did so, shaking both Harry and Lucius' hands and kissing Hermione's before extending his arm for Narcissa who was making her own circuit of the room saying her goodbyes.
"I will owl with the details of the ceremony when we have had some time to put plans in place." Narcissa stated, although Harry was willing to bet she had many plans waiting and she had just been held back by the contract not having been signed. "Cousin may I call upon you for help with the preparations?" She inquired politely, and when Hermione agreed the smile that crossed Narcissa's face was one of true joy before she left the room on the arm of her contracted partner.
A bit bemused Harry looked to Lucius for an explanation; he had been married to the woman for a long time and would understand her motivations and moods better than most. Lucius chuckled, a sound that sent an unexplainable feeling of warmth through Harry, "Narcissa has always been a great believer in family, that you wanted those clauses added to her contract showed her that you accept her as family, despite everything that has gone on in the past, which makes her happy. She wishes to have an active relationship with members of her birth house, and she will no doubt seek you both out to form better relationships with you in the coming weeks.
"I understand," Harry replied he could see his sister nodding her head as well, accepting Lucius' explanation of Narcissa's actions. "Before we leave I was wondering if you could have a quick look over something for me."
Harry reached into his pocket and pulled out his response for the media, handing it to Lucius feeling his magic tingle in his fingers as they touched the other mans. "I am sure that you saw the articles this morning, I will be releasing this later once I have visited Ginny, I just wanted another opinion on it."
Lucius read through the parchment, taking his time and not rushing, a small smile playing on his lips as he handed the parchment back that Harry didn't understand. "It seems like a perfectly well formed response to this morning's articles. Nothing in your response is damaging to you in any way, and is perhaps kinder on Miss Weasley than many would have been in your situation, but acceptable none the less to put the story straight."
Harry smiled and allowed Hermione, who had spent most of the time in Lucius' office silently observing things, and no doubt memorising all the book titles behind Lucius' desk to see if there was something that she might attempt to borrow in future, to lead him out after saying their goodbyes. Knowing that he still had quite a few things to do that day he had bid Lucius' goodbye, took Hermione's arm and apparated them back to the luckily still locked up Grimmauld Place.