Chapter 29: An alliance?

Disclaimer: 

Harry Potter and all of its characters belong to J.K Rowling.

I own nothing but the original characters I make.

"Dialogue"

'Thoughts'

$Parseltongue$

Chapter 29: An alliance?

"We need allies who are willing to stand up against the Dark Lord and those who support him. Neutrality is not an option anymore and the dark factions' offers for alliance will become worse as time passes and his return gets closer." Daphne explained.

"But their offers must already be quite bad since you are looking for alliances on the opposite side." Added Harry

Daphne's expression darkened as she seemed to be remembering something.

"Lord Malfoy and Lord Avery made the same proposal, a position as a mistress for myself. While Lord Yaxley wanted me as his son's wife but only if my sister joined in as the mistress." 

Harry was surprised to hear her say those things in such a nonchalant way. He never learned much about the workings of the pureblood families. And no one among his friends or mentors could teach him either, except for Neville, but the boy was not exactly fond of the pureblood customs and etiquette.

But this girl in front of him was different. Daphne has been raised by a pureblood Lord and educated to become his successor. A normal eleven-year-old girl would not be talking about alliances and marriages in such a manner.

"We were also warned that if we waited for too long to answer, the only offer we would get would be from lower dark families like Crabble, Goyle, or Selwyn. And they may not even be for a marriage. " She added.

"How can you be so calm while talking about becoming someone's mistress, you are bloody eleven, do you even understand what that entails?" 

Daphne looked offended at this.

"I am the heir of a pure-blood family, of course, I would know about these things and what they entail. My parents have been preparing me to be the next Lady since I was six years old. And I'm sure you have also been taught these things the same way."

He considered for a second but it seemed unlikely that his father had done that. He had no memories of the previous owner of this body but he seemed to hate his parents with fervor and would not have listened to any lessons from them.

'Maybe they have taught some of this to Lyra, but I doubt they will arrange any marriage for her. Our mother would never allow it anyway.'

He just knew a few things about pure blood etiquette and costumes. It was no more than a side effect of spending so many years chasing down death eaters.

"I know some things but I don't think my family will arrange marriage contracts for me or my sisters." 

Daphne looked genuinely surprised for the first time since they entered the room.

"How else can you create a proper alliance? one that is strong enough to be trustworthy without a bond of blood?" 

Harry then realized something.

"Wait, then…when you first mentioned making an alliance between our families, you were talking about writing a marriage contract for us?" 

Daphne nodded.

"When I came to Hogwarts, the idea was to approach Longbottom and start negotiations. After all, they are a very ancient pureblood family and Neville Longbottom is the…you know."

"And why didn't you?" He could already imagine why though. 

"Well…the Longbottom heir is…not what I was expecting. Then I meet you. You are a lot more… capable. And the Potters are one of the most influential families of the light side at the moment."

'This girl only sees marriage as a tool to improve her family situation, tossing away any emotional part.' Harry thought.

"So you would marry me or Neville because it would be good for your family as a whole, is that it?" He was getting annoyed with this conversation.

Daphne looked to be fighting hard the need to roll her eyes at his 'stupid' question.

"Well, obviously. Consult your father about the offer and try to give me an answer during the next week if possible. Our father could also arrange a meeting to finish the details."

  She was talking about it like it was a business transaction and it was making Harry very uncomfortable.

"And you would be okay with that? you would marry a guy that you know nothing about because it could be beneficial for your family?. " 

"That is how pure-blood families work. It has always been like that, is the tradition. And my father cares for me and my sister, he would never agree to marry me off to someone who would treat us badly…that is one of the reasons he never accepted any contracts so far."

Harry sighed. The standards and priorities for old pure-blood families were something he could never agree with, but he knew it was going to be pointless to argue with her about it, she had been learning these things since she was six years old. For her, this was just how the world worked and there was nothing wrong with it.

However, completely rejecting the offer for an alliance would be unwise. 

At this moment, the one thing he was lacking the most was information about what Voldemort and the dark families were doing. Maybe the Greengrass could use their unique position as a neutral family to collect some. 

The problem was that he could not make an alliance like this by himself. He was not the Lord of his house, not even close. Lord Greengrass will not even consider signing a magical contract with a child, he will want to speak with his father.

'Well, there may be another issue…but I will have to deal with that later.'

He looked at Daphne who had been observing him carefully.

"Why don't we arrange a meeting between our families for the Christmas break?, we can discuss things further then. There is not much I can do when it comes to making decisions about alliances and that kind of stuff without my father present, I believe."

Daphne seemed satisfied with his answer as a small smile appeared on her face.

"Of course, and is the same for me. I will send a letter to my father tomorrow, informing him of what we talked about, and then we can talk further about arranging a meeting."

"Agreed." Harry nodded.

It seemed like a weight had been lifted from her shoulders now and Harry noticed how Daphne had loosened up a bit now.

"Okay so, do you mind opening that passage from the last time? it was very handy." She sounded more cheerful.

"Sure" He walked to the fireplace and opened the secret entrance. "You sound more natural now."

"Yes, that was my business persona. Now that our business has concluded, at least for now, I can relax a bit." She pulled out her wand and cast a Lumos.

"See you, Potter. And remember, we must not be seen talking in public."

"Goodnight, Greengrass. "