"Would you like to go to the dance with me?"

Acacia stared at the one boy who had actually bothered to ask her out to the Yule ball. Everyone knew of him, in a more positive light than they ever had her.

Kalim Al-Asim was the heir of a massive family that even Draco reluctantly admitted was above his own. Their family fortune was so big that not even the combined wealth of most of the heirs and heiresses could compare.

In short, he was nigh untouchable to the point that no one ever bothered to comment that his personal servant...who was sorted into Slytherin, of all things... spent more time with him than he did around his housemates.

There was only one thing Acacia had to say about Kalim's question.

"Wouldn't your betrothed have a problem with that?"

Everyone knew Kalim was betrothed. No one knew what the identity of the lucky, lucky girl was.

Kalim had an odd expression on his face.

"It's no problem!" he said with a cheerful laugh. "But Jamil said something like this might happen."

Acacia was even more confused, but the prospect of having an actual date (not to mention solving a major mystery) was too tempting to resist. She followed him willingly to an empty classroom where Jamil was waiting.

"Kalim finally asked you to the dance?" asked Jamil.

She nodded. Out of all the Slytherins in the school, Jamil was easily the most tolerable of the lot. To be fair, he kept himself out of their little games.

"I thought that asking a girl out to the dance was a big no-no because he's betrothed to another?" she asked.

"It is...unless the girl in question is his betrothed, and unaware of that fact," he sighed.

"What."

Jamil had a look that said volumes of how he was just done with this mess. He reached into his personal bag and pulled something out. It was clearly a magical contract of some sort.

"This is a copy of the contract we have. If you wish to verify the copy your parents have, you'll have to contact your magical guardian or the bank direct," he said.

Acacia cautiously took it, and would have skimmed it...had she not seen the first line and actually started to read the contract.

Her eyebrows went up in disbelief the more she read.

"Wait...my parents went to Kalim's for help in getting pregnant, in exchange for their first daughter's hand in marriage to their son?!"

"James Potter used up a lot of favors to contact the Al Asim. Considering they had just found out they were having their first son, they agreed in exchange for the Potters providing a proper wife for their heir," explained Jamil. "They used an older ritual to insure that their first born would be a daughter to insure the contract was fulfilled."

"Wait...is that the reason why you two were sent to Hogwarts instead of the training being 'in house'?" asked Acacia.

Because that was another mystery, and only fueled the rumor mill regarding who his betrothed was.

"Due to the wording of the contract, I was sent to assess the compatibility between you," said Jamil.

The Al Asim was wealthy enough to afford a good sized harem of wives. Due to the contract, Acacia was almost guaranteed the coveted spot of 'first wife'...but only if the compatibility was good between her and Kalim.

"So why speak up now?"

Jamil had a tired look on his face.

"Originally we left you alone because of that girl-who-lived nonsense. Then it became abundantly clear that you likely had no idea of the contract existing," said Jamil. "After you were forced into participating in this tournament, it was also clear that whomever your magical guardian is, they're not doing their jobs."

Acacia wanted to cry. Finally, finally someone understood she had been forced to participate in this stupid tournament without her having to say anything!

She felt something warm wrap around her, and realized it was Kalim hugging her.

She couldn't help it...she just started crying.

Jamil patiently let her get it all out, because she had been under a tremendous amount of stress by the adults. Worse, she had almost nonexistent support throughout this entire farce.

Once she calmed down, she put her game face on.

"Feel better?" asked Kalim.

"Yeah... I guess it hit all at once that at least someone understood I wasn't trying to be an 'attention seeking brat'," she said.

Jamil rolled his eyes. Honestly, Snape's behavior was so ridiculous it was hard to stomach. It was obvious he was still angry over his childhood bully getting the girl he had crushed on since before he attended Hogwarts.

"Are you alright with alerting the school and others that you're the mystery betrothed?" asked Jamil.

"Question...if it did came out, would that mean I'd have to return to my aunt's home after the year ended?" she asked bluntly.

"Absolutely not," said Jamil flatly. "It's clear to anyone who knows what to look for that your current living situation is unsuitable for a squib, much less someone who's betrothed to the heir of the Al Asim. At the very minimum there's a number of things you clearly haven't been taught in how to handle."

"I could honestly care less about extra homework if it means getting away from those...people," said Acacia. She'd work herself to the bone if it meant never having to deal with the Dursleys again.

The first weekend they had, Jamil used his authority to take Kalim outside the castle. Family business, nothing that couldn't be resolved (hopefully) once the weekend was over.

Unnoticed, Acacia slipped out of the castle as well. She told her friends she wanted some time alone, to better prepare for the second task. Hermione and Ron didn't suspect a thing.

Jamil said nothing when Acacia arrived a little early to the agreed meeting point.

"So what are we doing exactly?"

"We're visiting the bank first to get your records and to sort out a few things," said Jamil. "You did bring your key, didn't you?"

She pulled it out.

"We're not taking the Knight Bus, are we?" asked Acacia.

Jamil snorted.

"The Al Asim would never allow their heir to travel by something that common. Especially considering how lackadaisical the operators are about their driving skills."

He pulled out...a lantern?

Hearing a sound, Acacia turned to see a car approach the side of the road. It was a quality car, and it was something the Dursleys could only dream of driving, much less owning.

Jamil opened the door.

"After you, milady," he said.

It felt so weird having someone with actual manners around.

At Gringotts

"Feh. Do you really think you can access something as important as a betrothal document with a mere copy?" said the goblin snidely.

Jamil frowned.

"A copy?"

"That key is only good for a trust vault, not the main vault," said the goblin.

Acacia was frowning as well.

"This is the same key Hagrid gave me first year."

"Hagrid? The half-giant gameskeeper?" said Jamil.

"From what I understand he got it from Dumbledore," said Acacia.

"That doesn't sound right," said Kalim.

Acacia thought for a moment.

"How much would it cost to replace all keys and do a hard reset on who is allowed to access my vaults?" she asked.

"Ten galleons, and you can't take it out of your account," said the goblin promptly.

Acacia pulled out her purse and pulled out ten gold coins. The goblin checked all of them, before he barked something to another goblin.

"Can we still access the contract held by the Potters?" asked Jamil.

"You'll have to wait until the vault access is reset and the keys remade," said the goblin. "Until then, the Potter vaults are inaccessible. Including monetary withdrawals."

"What would it cost to have a goblin healer check her for spells?" asked Jamil. Acacia had commented that she had never once received a bank statement, which he found highly suspicious.

"Fifteen galleons," said the goblin.

"Charge it to the Al Asim accounts," said Jamil. If he was right, then someone was in for a lot of trouble.

"Key please," said the goblin boredly. Jamil handed it over. A few taps and he handed it back. "Your appointment with the healer is at four sharp. If you miss it, there are no refunds."

Which gave them about two hours to kill.

"So now what?"

"Since Kalim is escorting you to the ball, it's only appropriate that the Al Asim foot the bill for the dress and accessories," said Jamil.

Acacia stared at him. Jamil was enjoying this a wee bit too much.

"You're going to be representing not only yourself, but the Al Asim as you are his betrothed. Naturally, as his retainer that means I must insure you are appropriately outfitted for such an important event," said Jamil. "Particularly since the majority of your wardrobe seems to be either school uniforms or hand me downs."

"I always wondered about that, but I just thought it was because you preferred that style," admitted Kalim. "Plus you never seem to wear the outfits sent by my mother."

"Your mother?" said Acacia.

"I've sent them multiple pictures of you every year. His mother is somewhat dismayed that she's never once seen you in the outfits she sends," said Jamil.

She stared at them both.

"I've never gotten anything from his mother," she said.

"Hence why I scheduled that appointment," said Jamil. "I suspect someone's been diverting the mail for some time now. Particularly since you always come back from summer break looking entirely too skinny, never mind how your appetite takes a least a week or two to return to normal."

Acacia was unsure how to feel. On one hand, Jamil's observation skills were somewhat scary. On the other hand, she was happy to know at least someone had taken note that something was terribly off about her home life outside school.

Dress shopping was exhausting, but she was much happier with the outfit she found than the one Mrs. Weasley bought for her.

They made it with time to spare to the healer's appointment.

Three hours later...

Jamil looked at the results in disgust. This explained entirely too much, and left several unanswered questions.

"This makes no sense... Sirius Black is listed as the magical guardian, but the charms applied would have been placed after his incarceration."

"What does Sirius have to do with this?" asked Acacia.

"He was listed as your magical guardian, but he's failed utterly at his job," explained Jamil. "I'm surprised he's not dead by now...his failure as your godfather should have destroyed his magical core, especially since he was thrown into Azkaban for betraying your parents."

Acacia snorted derisively.

"He never got an actual trial," she replied. "And it's rather hard to perform godfather duties when you're surrounded by dementors twenty-four seven."

"What," said Jamil.

Acacia felt amusement at catching him flatfooted for once.

"He never received a trial. He was thrown into the high security wing under the belief that he was guilty, and that was it."

Jamil wasn't that surprised and it explained why Black was still listed as the official magical guardian of Acacia. However, that begged the question of who had been the acting guardian, because clearly they had screwed up.

While she appreciated all the blocks taken off her core, she wasn't too happy about the strict potion regimen she would now have to take for the next week.

The healer had been utterly appalled she had only received the barest minimum of treatment after the Basilisk.

Jamil was going to put her on a new diet as well. In order to get the most of the treatments, the usual Hogwarts diet would have to go. To be fair, she had tried to eat healthier as living with the Dursleys had turned her off the overly fatty, sugared diets. Besides, this was a chance to learn how to cook the foods of the Al Asim homeland, which she couldn't wait to try.

Jamil had warned her it was spicy, but she was eager to try them anyway.

"Are you dating Jamil?" asked Hermione one night. Acacia had been spending an inordinate amount of time around him for a while now.

"Tell you what...I'll explain why I've been spending time with Jamil when you explain who your mystery date is," countered Acacia. Hermione had been very secretive about it.

"You do realize that if you date him, there's a chance you'll end up serving the Al Asim," said Hermione.

"You aren't choosing them over us, are you?" asked Ron.

Acacia's glare was rather poisonous.

"First off, there was never any us. Not since you chose to be an absolute prat over the fact that I was forced into this farce," said Acacia icily. "Don't think it hasn't escaped my notice that you haven't gotten a date to the ball yet."

"You haven't said who you're taking either," said Ron.

"I already have a date," said Acacia. "And I suggest you hurry up and find one yourself, because I am not helping you find one."

Ron looked to Hermione.

"I'm not helping either, not after the comment you made," said Hermione. "Why not ask the twins for help?"

Ron made a face.

"Why do girls have to be so difficult," he whined.

"And on that note, I'm out. I'll see you in a few hours Hermione," said Acacia.

"Off to see Jamil again?" asked Hermione.

Acacia said nothing, but she knew the two had been observing the map and that they suspected she was dating him. Oh the fun she'd have explaining the truth once it came out next week.

In reality Jamil was catching her up on much needed etiquette and lessons on how to read all the financial documents they had finally gotten access to. The Potter and Black vaults were an utter mess.