And here's the fifty fourth chapter of "A Year Too Soon"! Enjoy!
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Urgazhi, there is no formal agreement yet, but there may or may not be one in place soon. As for Lady Carrow actually supporting the twins' relationship with Harry, well, all things considered, Heir Potter is a 'nice catch', especially once it becomes clear he isn't exactly a Dumbledore fanboy Light supporter. And, since both Flora and Hestia are in a relationship with Harry together, it gives the House of Carrow a chance to continue, since only one of them will be able to take the name of Potter.
stevem1, which is exactly their point. Professor Flitwick is teaching them what will help them the most, should they ever be attacked like that again.
mizzrazz72, yeah, though it will still be some time before the new Potter manor is ready.
Majerus, neither Theodore Nott nor Blaise Zabini would be valid candidates for a prefect badge that year - they both would still be in their fourth year. Same with Draco Malfoy... Now that I think about it, I haven't really had any Slytherin boys in Harry's year have as much as a spoken line in the entire story. Well, that'll have to change sooner or later. Also, if Harry does become a prefect and then steps downs, he would get the badge back for his sixth year. I imagine Draco will be in for quite a surprise when he comes in to brag about how he is a prefect now and Harry isn't, only to discover that Harry actually is a prefect. And has seniority over him. This is, of course, if I can stretch the story into Harry's sixth year.
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* AN2: This chapter has not been beta-read.
Disclaimer: I DO NOT own "Harry Potter" franchise. No profit is being made. Same goes for any books, video games, anime or manga I may or may not use for ideas.
"speaking"
"parseltongue"
'thinking'
written text
spells
A Year Too Soon
Chapter LIV: An Offer
Even though they have never really had a good relationship with Uncle Amycus and Aunt Alecto - and it only got worse as the time went on, culminating in the terrible events of this past fall - Flora and Hestia couldn't help but note that the Carrow manor now felt more empty than ever. No, they didn't miss them, not one bit, but the twins could still feel that a part of the House was gone. And it wasn't exactly a nice feeling, no matter how cruel and rotten that part might have been.
And then there was their granduncle. The man has always been rather low, as far as the girls could remember him, but the things those two bastards have done really devastated him, leaving him a shadow of his former self. It was really noticeable too. But Flora and Hestia weren't about to bring that up, their upbringing didn't let them to.
So, instead, they just sat at the dinner table, eating the spectacular meal the house elves had for the occasion while accepting their grandmother's and granduncle's praise for their academic achievements.
Once the dinner came to an end, Lady Carrow spoke as she got up from the table:
"Flora, Hestia, I know you must be tired after your journey, but there is something rather important that I need to discuss with you, and I'd rather we do it tonight." She said. "Would you please join me in my study?" The twins nodded.
"Of course, grandmother." They said as they too got up from the dinner table.
The walk to the study was spent in silence, and once the three of them had arrived at their destination, Lady Carrow closed the door and cast a number of privacy Charms. There should have been no real need for that, to be honest, but the old witch did so regardless.
"Alright." She said as she put her wand away. "I wanted to talk to you about Heir Potter." These words immediately made Flora and Hestia tense. That didn't go unnoticed by their grandmother and she was quick to calm them down: "Don't worry, girls, I still firmly support your relationship. Mr. Potter is good for you." The twins let out a small, relieved sigh.
"Then what did you want to talk about, grandmother?" Flora asked.
"I would like to know how you see your relationship going forward. Is it only a fling or something more serious? If it is the latter, do you see yourselves spending the rest of your lives together? And, do you think Heir Potter feels the same?" Lady Carrow asked, making the twins' faces lit up with blushes.
Embarrassed and stumbling over their words, Flora and Hestia nevertheless did their best to explain what Harry was to them and what they thought they were to him. Their grandmother remained silent throughout all this and only nodded occasionally.
"I see." She said finally. "I'm happy to hear that your relationship is of deep, genuine love. It gives me much hope for your bright future." Lady Carrow made a small pause, before continuing: "That said, I feel like certain steps need to be made in order to ward away those who disagree with your choice of lover. I will need to speak to Heir Potter first before committing to this, of course, but I feel like I should get your permission first, Flora, Hestia… So, how do you feel about a courtship contract?"
~/ *** \~
Thanking Tom the bartender for the breakfast, Harry left the 'Leaky Cauldron' and headed into Diagon Alley. His first stop was Madam Malkin's: while he didn't need new dress robes just yet, his current ones wouldn't fit him, even with the help of size-adjusting enchantments, for much longer. So he decided it was the time to order the new ones.
As it was still rather early in the morning, the clothing shop was mostly free of customers with Madam Malkin and aides working on fulfilling the outstanding orders. Of course, the moment Harry stepped into the shop, one of them - a witch in her early twenties wearing rather colorful robes - dropped her current work and greeted him.
"Good morning, Mr. Potter. How may we help you today?" She asked.
"Good morning." The green-eyed teen greeted her back. "I'm looking for a new set of dress robes." Knowing that Christmas time was a busy period for the shop, he quickly added: "My current ones are still good, so it's alright if you take time with my order." The shop assistant nodded.
"Very well." She said before summoning a Magical measuring tape with a wave of her wand. "Let me take your measurements. Please step over here." Once Harry did that, she got to work. A couple of minutes and probably a few more measurements than was really necessary, the witch had the information she needed and banished the tape back to its usual spot in the shop's back. "Now, let's talk about the materials and enchantments you want for your dress robes, Mr. Potter." She said next.
And then they talked. Well, aside from the choice of color for the robes, it was mostly the shop assistant listing the many available options to Harry while he either agreed to them or rejected them. This went on for about ten minutes, before they've gone over the whole list and the Potter heir was finally ready to place the order.
Which came up to a considerable sum, even if the dress robes he was ordering weren't anything truly special in material, design nor did they require any unusual and difficult enchantments. But since these were robes for special occasions and important social events, them being a bit pricey wasn't a big issue. Especially since Madam Malkin personally guaranteed that they would be of the highest quality and that he would look good in them.
"Your robes should be ready by the end of January, early February at the latest." The shop assistant told him as she gave him his receipt. "Would you like us to owl them to you when they are done?" Harry thought about it for a moment. Despite being an emancipated minor, he couldn't really leave Hogwarts whenever, so he wouldn't be able to pick the robes from the shop himself. But having them sent to him via owl post…
"Would it be possible to have them delivered to my Gringotts vault instead?" He asked while paying for his purchase. "I'll have my account manager notified about this, so there are no issues with this …transaction." The shop assistant cast a glance at Madam Malkin, seeking the older witch's input on the matter. Madam Malkin nodded.
"Yes, that would be possible." The girl said then.
"Then please do so." Harry told her.
"Alright." She said.
With his business here concluded, Harry left Madam Malkins and headed for Gringotts in order to pick up a pair of portkeys to the Potter estate he had ordered through his account manager earlier. And to inform Master Silverclaw that in a month or so his new robes will be sent into his vault, the one he gained from the 'basilisk deal'.
Thanks to the fabled Goblin efficiency, the whole thing took only about fifteen minutes, leaving Harry with quite a bit of free time before he needed to start preparing for the Yule party in the evening. And after a bit of thinking, he decided to drop by the Potter estate in order to remove the gold from the stash in the old manor's storerooms: he'd rather they weren't there when he showed the place to the Finewoods or whichever other construction workers he'd hire to rebuild the Potter manor.
One somewhat uncomfortable portkey trip later, he found himself standing in the middle of a snowy field with charred remains of the old manor near its center and unkempt trees and large bushes sticking out of deep snow here and there.
Not feeling like wading through the snow, Harry drew his wand and with a wave of his wand cleared himself a path to the ruins. Being an emancipated minor, he was exempt from the Reasonable Restriction of Underage Sorcery, and that was coming in handy right now.
Walking up to the remnants of the old manor, the young Potter cleared the snow from the trapdoor leading into the basement with a few more spells. Actually opening it proved to be a bit of a challenge though, as its rusty hinges were frozen by the winter chill. But it wasn't anything that a couple of Heating Charms couldn't solve.
The storerooms inside looked just like Harry remembered them from his first visit there half a year ago - the same dusty rooms with old furniture, cauldrons of various sizes and materials, chests of assorted Magical items and trinkets, a number of ancient broomsticks and racks of equally-ancients clothes. The jar with the money stash too was exactly where Harry had found it the last time.
Quickly emptying its contents into his money pouch, the green-eyed teen took another look through the chests and trunks in the basement, just in case there were some valuables in them that he had missed previously. An hour and a half of rummaging through the chests and trunks showed Harry that he needn't have worried as the most valuable things he found in there were old Hogwarts textbooks from over a century back, some of them for the subject the school wasn't even teaching anymore.
Those books looked very interesting and Harry resolved to go through them when he had some free time. Picking one of the smaller trunks found in this very storeroom, he shifted the books that caught his interest there.
Once done, the green-eyed teen gave the room one final look to make sure he hadn't missed anything. Then he walked out of the basement, carefully closing the trapdoor behind him, and activated the portkey that would take him back to London.
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A few hours later, just as the night fell over Albion, Harry arrived at the Greengrass manor via the floo. Taking a moment to magik away a few specks of soot and ash from his dress robes, he stepped out of the nook the fireplace was located in.
"Good evening, Heir Potter." Lord Greengrass greeted him while Astoria, who was standing next to her father, waved at him amiably. "I welcome you to the Greengrass manor and hope that the events of this night will be most memorable for you in the best of ways."
"Thank you." Harry 'greeted' the man back. "Your home is as lovely as always and I have no doubts that the party you're hosting tonight will be just as magnificent." They exchanged a few more pleasantries before Lord Greengrass directed him to the manor's ballroom. Thanking the man again and complimenting Astoria on her looks, Harry made his way there.
Evidently, he was far from the first guest to arrive: there already were quite a few people in the ballroom. Lady Greengrass could be seen in the far left corner, conversing with several witches, of whom Harry only recognized Lady Malfoy and Lady Parkinson. Daphne, meanwhile, was near the center of the ballroom, talking to Blaize and Pansy. Noticing him, the Greengrass heiress waved him, as did Mr. Zabini, while the Parkinson heiress merely gave him a nod of acknowledgement.
Waving them back, Harry continued looking around the ballroom, trying to find Flora and Hestia among the guests. Alas, it looked like his girlfriends hadn't arrived yet as he couldn't see them anywhere. He did spot a few more of his peers, though: Draco Malfoy and Theodore Nott stood by their fathers, who were busily conversing with the Minister for Magic and several other important-looking wizards Harry didn't recognize. Meanwhile, Neville Longbottom was obviously very much bored by whatever topic his grandmother was discussing with Tiberius Ogden but didn't dare to leave their company for some reason.
Giving Neville a wave, Harry came up to him.
"Good evening, Lady Longbottom, Heir Longbottom, Mr. Ogden." He greeted them.
"Good evening, Heir Potter." Regent Longbottom greeted him back. The infamous distiller of the Firewhiskey did the same a moment later. "It's a pleasure to see you here tonight. I hope you're well this fine evening." The witch continued.
"I am, thank you." The green-eyed teen said with a small, polite nod. "And I hope so are you."
"Indeed, Heir Potter." The elderly witch replied. There was a short moment of silence, before Harry spoke again:
"Would you mind terribly if I steal Neville from you?" He asked.
"No, of course not." She replied.
"Thank you, Lady Longbottom." Harry said before turning his attention to Neville. "Let's go." He suggested. The other boy nodded and the two of them took off.
"Thank you." Neville said quietly once they were some distance away from his grandmother. Which was probably unnecessary as the witch was once again engrossed in her conversation with Mr. Ogden about produce exports.
Harry waved his hand dismissively in response before striking out to join Daphne's group. The Longbottom heir, not really knowing what he wanted to do at the moment, followed his stead. Thankfully for them, the three Slytherins were talking about their Hogwarts experiences this year so far and their expectations for the next semester, so Harry and Neville had no trouble joining the conversation.
After a little while, they were joined by Susan Bones with her fellow Hufflepuff, Ernie McMillan, arriving a minute later. Then, another couple of minutes later, Harry finally saw his girlfriends enter the ballroom, accompanied by their grandmother. Politely excusing himself from the conversation he went to greet them.
"Good evening, Lady Carrow, Flora, Hestia." He said with a courteous bow.
"Good evening, Heir Potter." The regent of the house Carrow greeted him back with a polite nod. "We are happy to see that you're well tonight."
"Good evening, Harry." Flora and Hestia said in unison, before stepping up to him and giving him a quick kiss on his cheek.
"You look wonderful." The green-eyed teen continued, his eyes firmly on his girlfriends as they took a step back. They were wearing flowing green dress robes with pearl necklaces and - he noted happily - the gold-and-basilisk hide bracelets he had gifted them for their birthday earlier this year.
"Thank you." Flora said. "You look quite handsome as well, Harry." Caught by surprise with this compliment, Harry could only blush while nodding dumbly in response. Silence then fell over them for a few moments, until it was broken by Hestia.
"C'mon, Harry, let's go." She said as she and Flora pulled him towards where Daphne and Blaise and others were.
The said group now also included Marcus Belby and Cedric Diggory, thus it took them all a while to exchange greetings with each other, as well as a few compliments. In fact, it took them so much time that they weren't yet finished when a Magical gong reverberated through the ballroom, drawing everyone's attention to a small stage in the far corner of the room. Lord and Lady Greengrass stood on this stage with the band behind them getting ready to start playing music.
"Good evening, Ladies and gentlewizards." Lord Greengrass said, his Magically-amplified voice reaching every corner of the ballroom. "On this wonderful night, I welcome you all to the Greengrass manor and the Yule party of nineteen ninety three! Before we begin the celebrations, I would like to say a few words about the old year." And with that he proceeded to give a several minute long speech, highlighting the events of the past year and expressing his hopes for the coming one. This speech was mostly about business and politics and other such stuff, so Harry didn't find it especially interesting. Once it was finally over, Lord Greengrass raised his wand and made the sound of a Magical gong reverberate through the ballroom again.
For a couple of seconds, there was complete silence. Then, the band started playing.
"May I have your first dance, my beautiful ladies?" Harry asked as he turned to look at Flora and Hestia. The twins giggled and offered him their hands.
Harry's first dance of the night was with Flora. His next one, of course, was with Hestia. Then he was 'stolen' by the Greengrass sisters and danced two dances with them. After that, he went back to his girlfriends and danced with them some more.
Six measures in a row was quite a lot, though, and Harry chose to take a small break afterwards. Picking a glass of butterbeer, he quietly slipped out of the ballroom and made his way to - thankfully open for the manor's guests - solarium. The airy room didn't look as great right now, during a winter night, as it did on a sunny summer day, but it didn't give the green-eyed teen any second thoughts about having one in the new Potter manor.
"Heir Potter, may I please have a moment of your time?" Regent Carrow asked as she joined him in the solarium.
"How can I help you, Lady Carrow?" He said.
"I've talked to Flora and Hestia about this, and I know that you three love each other." The elderly witch said without beating around the bush. "But I want to hear it from you: how deep is your love for my granddaughters and can you see yourself marrying them one day?"
"I… Uh…" Harry replied, stuttering over words. "I love them very much and… Well… I haven't really thought about that, but… Yes, I would like us to become a loving family one day."
"Good." Lady Carrow said. There was a brief pause, before she continued: "Would you be opposed to signing a courtship contract, no special conditions or strings attached, nor any penalties in case you break up, then? Mostly, as a formality to give the relationship you three have some legal standing and protection. I'd have offered a marriage contract with similar conditions instead, but I'm aware that as the Heir to the House of Potter you likely don't have the power to sign such contracts."
"And what do Flora and Hestia think about this idea?" Harry asked back. "I'd rather not drag them into something they don't want to be a part of." Lady Carrow actually smiled.
"I've talked to them about this yesterday, and neither Flora nor Hestia were opposed to this." She said.
"In that case, I don't really see any reason not to." Harry said. "That said." He continued. "I hope you wouldn't mind it if I have someone with a better understanding of the contract law vet it for me before I sign anything?"
"Certainly not, Heir Potter. One should always make sure they understand exactly what they are signing up for." The elderly witch said. "I'll send you an owl with the contract's draft once the event is over." Not really knowing what to say there, the young Potter merely nodded in response. For a minute or so, silence fell over the room. It was then broken when Lady Carrow spoke again: "I believe, it's time for us to head back to return to the ballroom, Heir Potter. I'm sure, my granddaughters would like to have some more time with you before the party is over." Finishing his glass of butterbeer, Harry nodded.
"Yeah."
That's all, folks!
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