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Act II - The Warlock of Hogwarts
Chapter 26 - Scandalous Betrothals Part 1
When Harry came down to breakfast the next day, the Sunday Prophet had already been delivered, and more than half of the Great Hall had already read it, if not halfway in the process. He could tell that all conversations seemed to pause the second he walked into the hall. There was no doubt that he was the sole topic of conversation currently taking place on every table, including the staff. But the last four years had gotten him inoculated against staring and mutters so he casually ignored everything and sat down beside Ron and Hermione.
The entire Hall seemed to watch with bated breath, as if he was suddenly going to proclaim himself the Emperor of Wizarding Britain or Merlin Incarnate. His gaze swept across the floor to Hermione who was giving him inscrutable looks, to Susan on the Hufflepuff table who had a resigned expression on her face, and was doing her best to appear indifferent and finally to Daphne who stood up from her table and walked across the Great Hall towards him.
"Uh, mate," warned Ron. "She's coming at you."
"Yeah, I can see that."
He couldn't blame her. The article must have taken her by surprise as much as anyone else. No, if anything, she was more surprised than the others.
And with due reason.
"You've checked the Prophet, right, mate? It's all about you."
"Oh I doubt he has," Hermione simpered. "He's too busy romancing everyone to pay attention."
Harry arched his brow. There had to be something wrong if Ron was showing him this degree of caution. He grabbed an unopened copy of the Sunday Prophet and gave it a quick look.
Lord Joshua Greengrass is pleased to announce the engagement of his daughter
Daphne Anastasia Greengrass
To
Lord Harry James Potter,
Son of the Lt. James Charlus Potter and Lt. Lily Jean Evans, adopted son of Lord Sirius Orion Black,
On the 23rd of December, 1995, at Cinnamon Grove.
Yep. He mused. Cat's out of the bag now.
There was a six by four picture of himself and Daphne strolling across the Hogwarts corridors. If he had to take a guess, it'd be somewhere on the fourth floor near the Astronomy Tower. By the lighting, it had to be sometime past afternoon, which probably meant they were either returning from Transfiguration or getting to Potions.
Then he noticed the courtesy acknowledgement of the photographer at the bottom-right.
He sighed. I really need to sit Colin down and talk to him about the importance of privacy.
Still, he was a bit surprised. Not as much as Joshua and Sirius had been when he had intimated his decision, requesting them to go ahead with the betrothal, but in all honesty, he had not imagined the news of his betrothal to hit the first page of the Prophet. If nothing else, he expected them to shift it to Page 3 or something just to show a silent support in favour of the Ministry. Then he remembered that his little cold war with Fudge, Umbridge and Malfoy was being fought using shadow-coalitions and Ministry reforms, while making it look like everything was hunky dory.
But it wasn't enough to get the reaction he was getting from everyone right now.
"Read the rest," said Daphne, who was now standing next to him, uncaring that she was the single Slytherin student standing next to the Gryffindor table.
"The⦠rest?"
"The rest," Daphne repeated. "Skeeter wrote an article."
Of course she did.
His eyes went down to the first and most important article right below the announcement.
Boy-Who-Lived engaged to Greengrass Heiress
Secret Romance, Desperation or Naked Ambition?
By RITA SKEETER
Ah. He thought dryly. That'd do it.
Dear Readers, to the massive surprise of almost everyone in the wizarding world and the dismay of the female population, renowned investor and Wizengamot Lord Joshua Greengrass, formerly Pince, announced the engagement of his eldest daughter Daphne to Harry Potter, the Boy-Who-Lived, who has been in constant limelight since the onset of Summer since his infamous proclamation of a certain Dark Lord returning from the dead, followed by Amos Diggory's accusations over the death of his son Cedric Diggory. Readers will remember how Harry Potter fought against the Ministry prosecution, with the shrewd aid of Joshua Greengrass, the recently freed Lord Sirius Black, and veela Fleur Delacour to prove himself innocent and file a defamation case against the esteemed Ministry of Magic.
The sudden involvement of Joshua Greengrass in Mr. Potter's trial was enough reason for this reporter to investigate the background of House Greengrass's proclamation at the Wizengamot, legally recognizing Harry Potter as part of House Greengrass. A brief visit to the Department of Contracts led this reporter to a contract between House Malfoy and House Greengrass, betrothing Miss Daphne Greengrass to Draco Malfoy, son of the illustrious and well-known philanthropist Lucius Malfoy, tying young Daphne to House Black as its First Lady. With the recent acquittal of Sirius Black and the shifting of power, the heirship of the Black family came into possession of one Harry Potter, who's registered as godson and adopted heir of Sirius Black, and verified as the proper Heir in Mr. Black's absence.
Could it be that the sudden legal recognition of Harry Potter into House Greengrass is a play of naked ambition to seize control over the Black family?
Could it be that young Harry Potter has thrown away the future of the illustrious Ancient and Noble House of Black in his attempt to escape Ministry Prosecution?
Could it be that the combined political strength of House Black, Potter and Greengrass and their vassals is indeed the polarising force that intends to upset the precarious balance of the Wizengamot?
With the death of several well-known Wizengamot members, and their temporary exclusion from voting by the orders of the DMLE Director, is this the next stage towards undermining Cornelius Fudge's Ministry?
Or is it, as romantics would call it, a secretly blossoming romance?
Naturally, this reporter could not help herself from investigating it in detail.
Which, according to Harry, meant all kinds of bad.
He glanced across the Great Hall again, this time aiming for the antagonistic parties. Umbridge looked like a toad as always, only she was fuming in anger, which made her look like someone had stuck her with an inflating hex. Snape had a sneer fixed on his face, but that was part of his natural charm, so he avoided that with ease. A glance to the Slytherin table brought him face to face with a livid Malfoy and an equally, if not more livid, Pansy Parkinson. Tracey looked a little surprised while Astoria waved at him and winked conspiratorially.
Daphne just stood next to him, one hand perched on her shoulder like a bird's claw.
One look at her eyes and the message was clear.
He glanced back at the paper again.
Reportedly, the reclusive Boy-Who-Lived had been spotted several times, across several public locations, engaging in intimate conversation with Miss Fleur Delacour. Miss Delacour, veela, was reportedly assigned to Mr. Potter's secretarial position and had been seen on Mr. Potter's arm several times in public during the summer, and is now currently occupying the position of Apprenticing Runesmith at Hogwarts.
A concerned Hogwarts student, who shall remain unknown, reported about how Mr. Potter was seen in quite intimate positions, with Miss Virginia Weasley, youngest child of the Weasley family, who was also seen aggressively dragging him away from conversing with his would-be bride Miss Greengrass in public.
"They were really awful," claims Pansy Parkinson. "He (Harry Potter) always appears like he's a goody-two-shoes, but everyone knows he's a playboy. Daphne always held nothing but disdain for him, and he struts her around like he owns her. It's disgusting."
This reporter had previously made a detailed coverage about how one Hermione Granger, muggleborn, had spurned the affections of Mr. Harry Potter by dating Victor Krum during the Triwizard Tournament. Given little Virginia's familiarity with the Boy-Who-Lived, and Miss Delacour's public intimate appearances with him, one wonders if this engagement is a publicity stunt, or simply pureblood protocol followed to ensure a partnership between Houses.
Another student, Mister Seamus Finnegan revealed, "Harry was always against everything Slytherin. And now this year he appears with Greengrass on his arm? I suspect something fishy!'
This reporter wonders if love potions were β
Harry turned around to glance at his betrothed's eyes and nearly flinched.
"Love potions!" She hissed. "That shrew is accusing me of using love potions. On you." Her face was flushed with embarrassment.
He gave her a half-shrug. "What did you expect? You're my sitting partner in Potions."
She glared at him.
Harry grinned at her and then looked past her. "Hey Finnegan! I thought your mum follows the Prophet. Didn't know you were a part timer there."
Seamus scoffed and looked away.
"How can you be so calm about this?" Daphne demanded.
"Thick skin," Harry shrugged, speaking a little louder. "Skeeter's always had it out for me. I can't get angry at her for writing shit anymore than I can get at a dog for barking. It's what they do. Same goes for her sources."
A good many faces snapped in his direction with livid glares. Harry smirked, seeing Cho as one of them. It was like none of them had heard of subtlety before.
"This," claimed Daphne, "is all your fault. Who told you to go ahead and do this?" She whispered vehemently. "I certainly didn't. In fact I quite vocally told you β"
"We both know what you said, Daphne," He whispered back, perfectly aware that everyone else was watching them, "and you know perfectly well why I did what I did."
"Butβ¦" Daphne looked utterly conflicted. "You know what I wanted. It would have made things simple for you. Why do you insist on fucking up your own life? First that β"
He raised a hand. "Our discussion has become awfully public. Take this somewhere else?"
"Usual place after lunch?"
He nodded. "I'm sorry I sprung this on you. If it helps, I did talk to your dad and Sirius and both of them agreed."
She arched her brow.
"Okay, they disagreed, but I made them see my point."
She murmured something about 'bloody Gryffindors' under her breath. "Well, thanks for getting me on the front page, Potter. Speaking of, I've already received over eighty howlers. Thanks to your ingenious idea, I'm now being yelled at by all the witches in the country. And now you're going to open them and suffer, because I sure am not going to do that alone."
"Wait, why do I β"
"You're not the one that has to fear the jealousy of witches across the length and breadth of Wizarding Britain, Potter."
"No, I've just have to deal with the guys in school crushing on you instead."
Her cheeks went pink. "Shut up, now deal with this."
"I can join youβ" he began.
"No!" She snapped. "You sit here. You started this, so you're going to deal with everyone here. I am not going to trade stories about how it's like to be on the arm of the Boy-Who-Lived or answer questions about how I did or did not potion you for the Black family Ladyship."
And with that, she spun around and marched away.
Harry watched her go.
"Erm, mate," asked Ron, "why's she angry at you? Aren't you twoβ¦" he trailed off, finding it difficult to express himself properly.
Harry couldn't blame him either. He himself was at sea about how to explain his own feelings. The moment Daphne deserted the Great Hall, it was like an electric current had surged through the Hall, it exploded, with everyone beginning to talk at the same time. Harry marvelled at how they had stayed silent, as if waiting for confirmation from his reactions on reading the article and Daphne's reactions following it. Seriously, it was like they had nothing else to do with their lives except gossip. Though some of them were less concerned about his love life's gossip and more to do with their representation in Rita Skeeter's twisted biography of his romantic career.
"VIRGINIA? VIRGINIA?" Ginny screeched. "My name's Ginevra Weasley. Bloody hag couldn't even get my name right."
Harry arched a brow. "That's what you're worried about? Your priorities are damn straight."
Ginny glowered at him. "You'll feel it when your name reads 'Pothead' on the first page, Harry. Oh, you wouldn't. Because you're Harry freaking Potter."
Lavender patted her head sympathetically. "This is what happens when you go by nicknames."
"That was a nickname?" Parvati wondered. "I always thought it was your full name."
"Not the damn point!" Ginny hissed. "And who's this unidentified concerned student that saw us together in intimate positions?"
He idly gave him a half-shrug. "You'll have to ask Parkinson. She and Skeeter go way back. And don't mind her, Skeeter's always writing shit about everyone."
"Easy for you to say, Harry!" Ginny growled, dropping her head on the table with an audible thud and hid it under her arms. "I'm just waiting for Mum to read the paper and erupt all over again. I promised her I'd get past my crush over you and try to be your friend. And now this articleβ¦"
"There, there," He patted her head. "I'll talk to Mrs. Weasley."
"Pat me again and I'll bite you."
"Oooh, kinky," claimed Parvati.
"Not helping," muttered Lavender. Then she looked at him, her face looking suddenly sullen. "At least now I know why you refused my family's request. You were planning to go through with Greengrass and Delacour from the beginning, isn't that right?"
Harry squinted his eyes as his brain rebooted to try to understand what she was saying.
He failed. Dismally.
"Wait, what request?"
"For betrothal, of course," said Lavender, flipping her blonde hair to one side. "My grandmother sent you one right after your trial."
"First time I'm learning this."
"You didn't even know?" she asked, incensed. "You mean you rejected it without even reading it?"
"You too?" inquired Parvati. "Baba sent him offers for me and Padma, but we were denied as well."
That did not sit well with Lavender. Not at all
Sensing mortal danger ahead, he raised both arms in surrender. "Wait! Wait! Let's not be hasty, yes? I swear I didn't know, but Sirius, my godfather, probably did. He's the Potter proxy and Regent, so maybe he answered it on my behalf."
That seemed to make her feel better. For a moment, he idly wondered who else had sent him letters in the summer. Wait, if Lavender Brown had been offered for betrothal, who else was on that list?
He glanced around the Hall.
Bugger. Just how many offer letters did Sirius burn all summer?
He was about to grab the goblet of orange juice when he noticed something shimmering on the napkin next to him. As he peered at it, words began to appear.
Your room. Now.
Fleur.
And then the words faded, leaving the napkin as inconspicuous as ever.
Harry glanced at the staff table, and found her chair empty.
"What was that, mate?" asked Ron.
Harry looked at him, then at the goblet in his hands, and then at Lavender's curious face. Maybe, just maybe, he had not given this matter the amount of thought it deserved.
"You know what, Lavender? I think I should just go and ask Sirius exactly how many letters he signed on my behalf."
And then without waiting for an answer, he left the hall.
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