Chapter 4

Harry struggled through his classes all day as the thought of ripping into the package he'd received that morning plagued his mind. He had even consider skiving off classes to find out about the contract. If Hermione hadn't given him the stink eye, he may have gone through with it. As it was he'd put the unopened package on his bed and made it just in time for the start of potions class. The entire day dragged by at a horrendously slow crawl as Harry pondered what the contract might say.

Finally classes ended, and Harry and his friends went to the Great Hall for dinner. Harry repeated his dinner performance from the previous Friday evening, shoveling huge mouthfuls of food and barely chewing before racing off back to his dorm to finally find out the truth and get that annoying Greengrass girl off his back. Harry was sure he'd put Hermione and a few other girls off their meal with his disgusting behavior, but he didn't care at the moment.

Harry had seen Daphne shooting glances at him all through potions and Transfiguration that day. He'd figured she'd seen Hedwig and the two Gringotts owls that morning and was trying to make sure that he knew she'd seen it. Harry had every intention of keeping his word, for he had very little interest in be shackled with a Slytherin. Especially when Ginny was who he wanted to be with. The sooner he got the Slytherin off his back, the sooner he could figure out a way to get with Ginny.

Harry viciously tore open the letter first.

Dear Mr. Potter,

It is our pleasure at Gringotts to provide any documentation you ask for. We have included the contract you requested as well as a summary of all the Potter assets and properties. You will find a complete statement of all investments as well as vault balances. If there is anything else we may do for you, please contact us right away.

Sincerely,

Gorag

Account Manager

Harry then opened the package that contained the Betrothal Contract. Harry silently cursed Daphne Greengrass, and his luck at having the thing be real. The contract was thicker than many of his school books, and had been signed at the bottom of the last page by his mother and father as well as another Potter, though he couldn't make out the first name. It was also signed by three other people, but the handwriting was so messy, Harry couldn't make it out. He guessed it must be the Greengrass family.

Harry opened the contract to the front and began scanning it, trying to understand what had been done, and see if there was a way out. However, the language of the damned thing proved to be nothing more than a headache. It was written very strangely, with a lot of mention of first and second parties.

After the third attempt at understanding what the contract entailed, outside of his marriage to Greengrass, Harry sighed heavily in exasperation. The wording of the contract was very confusing. All Harry could understand was that his parents had signed this magically binding contract that said that he would marry Daphne Greengrass no later than her nineteenth birthday.

"This is hopeless." Harry said to himself. Harry knew he had no choice now. He climbed off his bed, and retrieved the Marauder's map from his trunk. He knew that Daphne was eagerly awaiting a chance to examine the bloody contract, and as he couldn't make heads or tails of the damned thing, it might be best to just show it to her.

"I solemnly swear I am up to no good." He said, tapping his wand to the parchment. It took a little time to find her name, but Harry finally located Daphne Greengrass in the library. He hefted the weighty contract and as quickly as possible made his way to the library.

Daphne was seated at her favorite table in the back of the library. She had several books open and was taking notes silently when she was rudely brought out of her studies by a giant thud on the table. She looked up angrily, ready to hex whoever had disturbed her into next week but stopped herself short when she caught sight of the obviously annoyed green eyed Gryffindor.

Harry Potter stood across from her, panting, leaning over what looked to be a large book. He had obviously ran here from somewhere in the castle as he was sweating and panting heavily.

"It came." he said simply, sliding the contract to her. "I can't make any of it out."

Daphne's eyes lit up with excitement as she finally saw the contract that her parents had signed sixteen years ago taking away her freedom of choice in love. She wanted nothing more at the moment than to be freed from this proverbial noose around her neck, and get out of this mess.

Daphne hefted the contract in her hands and felt a wave of anxiety wash over her. Daphne had read countless wizarding law books, and was able to crack the legalize easily, but the deeper she got into the contract, the unhappier she became. She took a deep breath, made herself a bit more comfortable in her seat, and began pouring over all the stipulations of the dreaded contract.

"Well," Harry asked eagerly after a half an hour. "Can we get out of this or not?"

Harry had sat impatiently silent the entire time Daphne had been engrossed in the Betrothal Contract. For the first time, Harry shared a common goal with a Slytherin, they both wanted out of this stupid marriage contract. He hadn't said anything , fearing disturbing her, until he heard a sigh from the other side of the table.

Daphne looked up into Harry's piercing green eyes and felt their eagerness for good news. She actually felt his disappointment when she shook her head in response to his question.

"The contract is nearly ironclad." She began slowly. "Short of one of us dying, we're stuck with each other. The worst part is, it's bound to our magic by blood."

"What? Harry nodded.

"Our blood. It was put there to seal the contract. The strange part is that neither family really gained from it, which is unusual. It was more to form an alliance, really. If your parents were still alive, my father might be in the Wizengamont working with your father, who would have been the head of the Potter family. Other than that, there was no gold exchanged, or anything. Perhaps if the worst hadn't happened, we might have known each other growing up."

Harry thought about those words for a long time. Growing up with his parents, happy, healthy, and having friends to play with. A life he'd been denied by Voldemort and enforced by being imprisoned with the Dursleys. Harry couldn't help but wonder what it would have been like growing up with this annoying and irritating girl. For the first time in his life, Harry was grateful for being trapped with his Aunt and Uncle. Daphne was pretty, but she was also severely grating on his nerves.

And then something else occurred to him. He reached across the table and took the contract, flipping quickly to the last page with the signatures. He frowned when he saw it. His mother's signature. Questions flooded his mind all at once. His parents had met and fallen in love and married without a marriage contract, why would they subject him to one?

"Potter? POTTER!" Daphne called out tearing Harry from his thoughts.

"Yeah?"

"Are you ok?"

"Yeah, just confused. I'm trying to figure out why my parents would put this together, knowing they had married for love and not because of some contract."

"Well, that is your grandfather's signature there." Daphne pointed to the third signature on the Potter side. "He signed along with my grandfather. I'm venturing a guess that it was our grandparents who first made the arrangements. It's possible they put pressure on our parents to enter into this."

"Maybe. I wished there was a way to…." Another thought occurred to the young Gryffindor. "Of course. Remus might know." Harry snapped his fingers.

"Who?" Daphne asked confused.

"Professor Lupin was one of my dad's best friends. He may know about all this and can tell us why it happened."

"That doesn't help us right now." Daphne pointed out.

"Well, we can take it to Professor Dumbledore. He is Chief Warlock after all. If there's a way to break this thing, he would know of it."

Daphne seemed to consider the matter at length before nodding her acquiescence. Harry picked up the contract and the two of them made their way to the stone gargoyle guarding the entrance to the headmaster's office. Harry spoke the password and gave a slight grin at the look of incredulity on Daphne's face. The hurried up the stairs and Harry knocked upon the headmaster's door.

"Come in." Came the slightly humored voice. "Ah, young Harry, what brings you to see me?"

"Actually sir, we thought you might help us." Harry said.

"Ah Ms. Greengrass, a pleasure to meet with you. Would you care for a lemon drop?" Dumbledore asked politely. Daphne smiled, taking a piece of candy from the bowl on the headmaster's desk and sat down silently.

"Now how can I help you this evening?"

Harry slid the Betrothal Contract onto the Headmaster's desk and sat back down.

"I see the goblins got back to you quickly." Dumbledore said, blue eyes twinkling mischievously.

"Sir, we were wondering if you might know of a way out of this." Daphne nodded toward the thick contract.

"Well, let's have a look." Dumbledore smiled as he opened the contract and began perusing it's pages. It was a long time that the two teens sat in silence, waiting for an answer. Dumbledore read diligently, occasionally chuckling to himself or saying "Ah." at times. Finally he came to the last page and nodded to himself before closing the contract.

"Well, I am sorry to say that there is nothing that can be done. The contract clearly states that a marriage between the two of you is to take place no later than by your nineteenth birthday, Miss Greengrass.

"WHAT?" Daphne shouted astounded.

"There has to be something." Harry said angrily. Can't we burn it, or something?"

"I'm afraid not. This isn't even the real contract, but a copy. And burning the real copy would not negate it's power. It was sealed in blood when the contract was signed. It is magically binding, and unbreakable."

"Great." Daphne said, folding her arms across her chest.

"Sir, isn't there anything you can do?" Harry pleaded now.

"I am truly sorry, Harry. But this contract was written in such a way that the only possible way for it to be nullified would be by either yours or Miss Greengrass' death."

"Well then there's a hope." Harry muttered to himself.

"What?" Daphne asked, but Harry merely shrugged her off.

"Well thanks for at least looking at it sir." Harry said, standing up and collecting the contract. He and Daphne made to leave when Dumbledore stopped Harry asking him to remain behind a moment. When the door to the office shut, Dumbledore stood and stepped close to Harry.

"Harry, I want you to consider allying yourself with Miss Greengrass. I know that this is a predicament that neither of you wished for, but you have an opportunity to make the best out of it. Perhaps you will find that you and Miss Greengrass share much in common and you might even form a friendship. You should try not to think of this a s something bad, but a gift. A friend outside of Gryffindor might prove very beneficial o you, if you take my meaning."

Harry nodded and left the headmaster. He walked slowly back to Gryffindor tower, pondering all he'd learned. He was no being forced to marry someone he didn't know, and in the few brief encounters he'd had with her had not left him wanting for more. Yet he couldn't deny Dumbledore's wisdom. It would be good to have ears and eyes on the inside of the Slytherin house. Perhaps he could learn what that puffed up ponce, Malfoy was planning and if he had been marked by the Dark Lord. If it gave him the chance to stop Malfoy from doing something awful, perhaps it was worth being around Greengrass after all.

Tracey stared at Daphne, who was nearly catatonic. She sat rigidly, automatically feeding herself, and staring blankly. Tracey had been trying since the previous night to get the story out of her best friend. Daphne had come back to the common room looking devastated. The only thing she could get the blonde girl to say was that there was no escape, which Tracey took to mean that Daphne had finally seen the marriage contract between her and Potter.

"Come on Daph, spill it. You might feel better if you talk about it." Tracey tried again at lunch. The entire morning Daphne had been walking around like a zombie. Tracey was sure that her friend hadn't slept the night before. She was positive that she had heard sniffling coming from behind Daphne's bed curtains.

"Daphne?" Tracey tried again.

"It's unfair." The blonde said softly. "Why don't I get to choose who I fall in love with?"

Tracey smiled sadly, wrapping a comforting arm around her friend. When she felt Daphne begin to shake, she quickly got up from the lunch table and guided her friend to a deserted classroom where Daphne could cry without being ridiculed, or questions asked about what was upsetting her.

"It's unbreakable. The only way the bloody thing can be broken is by one of us dying. It's so unfair!" Daphne sobbed as her friend rubbed her back soothingly.

"I'm so sorry, Daphne, I really am. I know I've given you a lot of grief over it, but I do sympathize. I can't imagine having to marry someone I didn't choose."

"I hate my parents. Not just them, either. Apparently it was my grandfather who began negotiations with the Potter family. I can't ask him why because he died when I was five. I seriously doubt my grandmother knows why."

"But she might." Tracey smiled lightly. "Isn't it worth a try to write her and see what she has to say on the matter? She might be the only one left who knows."

Daphne nodded, wiping her eyes furiously.

"In the meantime, try not to look at this so negatively. You are now the envy of the majority of the female population at Hogwarts, not to mention the world at large. You are, for all intents and purposes, engaged to the most eligible bachelor in all of the wizarding world."

"That's not really cheering me up at the moment." Daphne sighed.

"Think of it as a mystery needing to be solved. The boy is an enigma as it is. You can teach each other a lot."

"Like what, exactly?" Daphne challenged.

"Well, there's obviously a lot about our world he doesn't understand. Laws, customs, that sort of thing. Who better to teach him than a peer? Someone who can explain it in terms he understands. In return he can teach you how to fight properly, which I might add you'll need when it gets out that the two of you are betrothed."

Tracey held up her hands in a sign of peace when Daphne glared at her fiercely. "I swear on my magic it won't be me who let's out your secret. I wouldn't do that to you."

Daphne sighed again and nodded her thanks.

"I know that you wish you could choose your partner, but maybe this isn't bad either. I mean, it is what you make it, you know? He could end up being exactly the man you've dreamed of. "

Daphne thought on Tracey's remarks. It was a horrible mess that she found herself in, yet Tracey's words always came back to her. Though she hated her situation, Daphne knew that it could have been far worse. Harry Potter was easily one of the most intriguing and influential boys in the entire school. Even for all his flaws, Harry was indeed attractive. Perhaps with a little grooming, he could become even more desirable. And perhaps Harry did indeed have something to offer her in return. Besides, the deadline was still three years away. A lot could change in that time. There was still a Dark Lord, hell bent on killing Harry, so there was hope that the contract could be nullified after all.

"So what should I do?" Daphne asked.

"Well, I would start by talking to the boy. I'm sure you could find a way to fix up a private meeting." Tracey offered.

"You mean like a date?"

"More like a meeting. Or perhaps an interview. You need to spend time together and learn about one another. And maybe after you've spent time together and really gotten to know each other…well who knows."

"You think that if we get to know one another that we'll fall in love, don't you?" Daphne said irritably.

"Anything is possible. I do know that if you don't open your mind AND heart, that you're just going to trap yourself in a sort of mental prison. I asking you to take a real chance and try to make the best out of a bad situation. Besides, there's always the hope that You-Know-Who kills the boy off."

"That's a horrible thing to say." Daphne chortled a little.

"I know, but it got you to smile." Tracey smiled brightly, hugging her friend tightly. "Just remember, you're not alone. He's trapped in this with you. You should do your best to make him an ally at the least."

"Thanks Tracey. You given me a lot to think on." Daphne smiled lightly, tears still falling from her eyes.

"Hey, I'm your best friend. I'm here for you no matter what." Tracey smiled back. "Now let's get you together and finish this day. We have a lot to do, and homework on top of that."

"So let me get this straight." Hermione said, her brow furrowed in puzzlement. "Your grandfather and parents made an alliance with the Greengrass family by forging a marriage contract that says you and Daphne will be married?"

"That's pretty much it." Harry nodded. He was obviously upset by the whole thing.

"Ahh, blimey mate." Ron said with disgust. "A Slytherin? That's awful. I can't imagine anything worse."

"Ron, Not all Slytherins are evil." Hermione said hotly. "Why are you so pigheaded about that? I'm surprised at you. Some of the girls are very attractive, if we measure them using your standards."

Ron looked like he was going to argue back, but his face melted into a calmer one and sat back thoughtfully. Harry smiled inwardly at Ron's action. He had taken Harry's advice and was trying to become worthy of Hermione's attentions.

"Daphne isn't a bad person that I have seen. She's very smart and doesn't follow Malfoy's gang around like a lost puppy. In fact, I've only ever seen her associating with Tracey Davis. And, so far as I know, she doesn't subscribe to the pureblood agenda either." Hermione stated.

"Have you ever talked to her?" Harry asked.

"No, but I have a few classes with her. She's quite good in Ancient Runes, and she always gives me a challenge in Arithmancy." Hermione said.

Leave it to Hermione to admire someone based on their school work. Harry didn't find it all that important. Sure Daphne was quite attractive. Yes she was obviously brilliant, but so far as Harry knew that was all. In the few times he'd spent with her, Daphne had been abrasive and unpleasant. Hermione had reasoned that she was obviously upset at having been arranged to marry and was taking it out on Harry. Harry figured that was most likely true, yet it had left a rather sour taste for the beautiful Slytherin.

"The only way out is if one of us dies. Let's face it, There's a good chance of that happening, what with Voldemort coming after me." Harry said sourly.

"Just stop it. Stop it right now Harry Potter." Hermione growled. "You're not going to be killed by that monster. Not if Dumbledore has anything to say about it."

"That's just it isn't it." Harry argued back. "He hasn't. All I've learned is that Voldemort was born out of wedlock by a witch who used a love spell on a muggle. He was an orphan. That doesn't tell me how to stop him. That doesn't tell me what I need to do to kill him."

"Mate, you've only had one lesson. Dumbledore never spills the goods. He likes you to work it out on your own, he just kind of points the way." Ron offered, but Harry glared at his friend.

"Ron, don't you think this would be a good time to just tell someone what to do?"

Ron shrugged, but Hermione agreed.

"It would help to end things. But There's got to be more to this than we know. I know you don't want to, Harry, but perhaps you just need to be patient."

Harry nodded sullenly. He hated that Dumbledore hadn't just enlightened him in the way to destroy the Dark Lord once and for all. As interesting as it was to see Voldemort's origins, it was seemingly unimportant. Yet the fact that the ring of Slytherin that Marvolo Gaunt had been so proud of now sat in Dumbledore's office, the dark stone cracked and broken. Dumbledore had promised that he would share the tale about it's arrival in the headmaster's office at another time.

Then there was the encouragement that Dumbledore had given Harry the previous night regarding Daphne Greengrass. Harry had been puzzling it over in his mind since and had been unable to decided what he should do.

Harry couldn't deny that having someone within the walls of Slytherin House, someone in the inside who might be willing to tell him what was going on. A spy, for lack of a better word, would be most helpful. Especially considering that Harry was absolutely convinced that Draco Malfoy was now a marked Death Eater.

"Harry," Ron said, breaking Harry's thoughts. "Why do you think your parents went along with a marriage contract?"

"I don't know." Harry shrugged. "I can't ask them. I'm going to write to Lupin and see if he might know something, but no one else seems to know. It seems like it was done very secretively."

"I imagine most betrothal contracts were done that way." Hermione offered. "I doubt families who were aligning themselves with another would wait until the marriage before showing their alliances. It seems like these alliance were don for political gains, more than anything else."

"I'm guessing you've already researched this stuff?" Harry asked, a little amusedly.

Hermione shrugged, her face going a little crimson. "I thought it might be helpful."

"According to Daphne, There didn't seem to be a large gain for her family. Whatever was done, wasn't really written about."

"Harry, would it be alright for me to look at the contract?" Hermione asked.

"I guess."

Harry rose and went to his dorm to get the contract. When he set it before Hermione, her eyes widen with the size of it. She was amazed by how many pages were there. Hermione had the look she got when she had a new book.

"I can't understand most of it. I think Daphne had trouble with it, but she didn't say." Harry said sadly.

"It's written with a lot of legal mumbo jumbo." Hermione said. "None of this first part has anything to do with the actual contract. It simply states that the Greengrass family and the Potter family had come together for negotiations of union."

Hermione scanned over a few pages in silence as Harry and Ron watched. Ron had his homework in front of him, which he was trying to work on, but his interest in Harry's predicament was making it difficult to concentrate.

"Ah. Here it is." Hermione said proudly. "This is where the actual deal was made."

Ron and Harry perked up and looked at the parchment with great interest.

"It says here That the Potters were to help the Greengrass family in seeking retribution for crimes against an ancient house. The Potters would use their political power to help regain favor for the Greengrass family and reestablish their place in the court. Harry, I think the Greengrass family was aligning with yours so that they could openly announce they were part of the light. This is written as if the war was still taking place. All the wording suggests not only a political alliance, but a sort of positioning in the war."

"What does that mean?" Ron asked.

"I would guess that the Greengrass family was under a lot of pressure from Death Eaters to stand with them. Voldemort was really seeking out Pureblood families, wasn't he. So maybe Daphne's Grandfather was looking for someone who he thought could protect them. But the part about retribution intrigues me the most. I think someone did something that got the Greengrass seat on the Wizengamont removed. If that is the case, they would need another powerful family to help get back on o the court. In this case, your grandfather."

"Why didn't he get my father to marry someone from the Greengrass family?" Harry asked.

"Maybe he wanted to, but there were no girls in the Greengrass family at the time. Maybe Daphne was the first. If you had been a girl, there would be no contract at all."

Harry thought about that. Then he said.

"Does it say anything about who they might be aligning against?"

Hermione shook her head. "Only the parents might know. Since we can't ask yours…" She said sadly. "We have to assume that her parents know. Usually in these things, the family with the girl got an amount of gold or some other compensation, but there is nothing about that. It's like it was more of a good faith arrangement."

"That's odd." Ron said thoughtfully. After a few moments he looked up seeing both Harry and Hermione staring.

"Why's it odd?" Hermione asked.

"Oh. Sorry. It's just that the Greengrass family is supposed to be quite dark. They were supposedly aligned with You-Know-Who during the first war. They were never put on trial though, because there was no evidence. But they used to be very wealthy. They lost a huge majority of their wealth during that period after the war. So here's what odd, if all that is true, why did they not try and get loads of galleons from this contract?" Ron finished

"Perhaps it's because they weren't dark." Hermione suggested.

"Then where did their wealth go?" Ron asked.

"Maybe they hid it. Put it in some other vault, or hid it outside of the bank." Harry thought. "I don't know."

"It doesn't matter." Hermione said finally. "The problem is that you and Daphne will have to be married. If you refuse, you will both die."

"I just don't understand." Harry said, flipping the contract to the last page where his parents had signed. He touched the signature of his mother reverently.

"I don't understand why my mother would allow this. I get why my father might. He's a pure blood and he's going with tradition. But my mum?"

"Perhaps she had no choice. Or perhaps she argued and was convinced of the reasons. Maybe she hoped that you and Daphne would know each other as you grew up and you might fall in love on your own. We'll never know." Hermione said sadly. She reached out and touched Harry's shoulder.

"I'm sorry that this has happened to you." She said quietly. "Especially now."

Harry looked up at her. Hermione had a mischievous look on her face.

"I'm not blind, Harry. I've seen you look at her. I truly thought you two might finally come together. I had hoped all of us might find a bit of happiness in all this darkness."

Harry noticed her look at Ron. In her eyes was something he'd never seen in his best friend before. If it had been there, she'd hidden it well. It was something deeper than friendship. It was longing. Longing for the redhead who was trying diligently to finish his Potions essay. Harry smiled to himself again. Perhaps Ron and Hermione could actually figure it all out on their own after all.

Harry's heart gave a great lurch then when he thought of his friends, because he thought of Ginny, and the fact that they could not have a happily ever after. He was now promised to a girl he didn't know, or suffer death. Harry felt his body tighten in anger. He was denied so much in his life, and now he had been denied the one thing he'd wanted more than anything in all his life. Love.