Contracts and Curses

Chapter 6. Contracts and Curses

Harry and Tracey were sitting on his bed in his room after having finished with the breakfast. His room wasn't much. The walls were painted light green. The room had a single bed, a wooden desk and a chair. A small shelf contained some of his personal books along with his school books. That was it.

"So, what do you want to explain to me that needed me to come to your room?" asked Tracey.

Harry sat opposite her with his legs crossed. His hands were folded in his lap.

"I wanted to explain the features of the necklace." he replied and scooted closer towards her. Now their knees were touching.

He leaned forward and gently grabbed the necklace from her chest and examined it. He smiled proudly at his accomplishment.

Tracey was trying not to blush at the close proximity between his face and her chest.

He dropped the necklace back and leaned back, grinning at her, totally ignoring her red face.

"The necklace is not just pretty jewellery. It's my way to safeguard you." he revealed.

Tracey looked at the necklace in wonder, her fingers probing the emerald gem and then the black metal snake that enveloped the gem's edge.

"What does it do?" She was curious.

"On its own? Can't tell you, it's a secret. But what you must know is that it can summon me. You just have to think about wanting me to be with you and I'll be there." he replied and peered at her.

He jumped off the bed and had a mischievous grin on his face.

"Wait for 10 minutes and then try to summon me. I'm going out of the Slytherin common room. Remember, wait for ten minutes so I can cover some distance." he said and went out without looking back at Tracey who was just gaping at him.

'Does he know that we can't use any means of instantaneous transport inside Hogwarts without the permission of the headmaster?' She thought worriedly. When she was sure that ten minutes had passed, she thought of Harry and tried to summon him.

Suddenly she was on her back and Harry was sitting on her stomach and grinning like a loon.

"See? It worked."

"Why do you have to appear on top of me?" She said looking up at him.

He chuckled and got off of her and took back his place.

"When you summon me, I'll always appear very close to you because the necklace is sort of a beacon. The necklace plucks me from wherever I am and drops me near the owner of the necklace. I think if you were standing then I'd have appeared in front of you and not on top of you. Whatever, it doesn't matter. It transports me directly to you and that's all that matters. Also, the necklace can't be taken off from your neck by anybody except me and you yourself." he explained.

She nodded and caressed the necklace, a small smile playing on her face.

"What about wards and anti-apparition charms or anti-portkey charms?" She asked.

"Don't worry. The necklace won't be affected by any type of magic." he dismissed her concerns.

"The same necklace is sent to Daphne as her Christmas gift, so she has the same protection. This necklace will be vital for me to appear in Greengrass Manor without informing her parents of my arrival. Daphne is instructed to call me at night and from there we'll follow our plan to destroy the betrothal contract and I'll cure Astoria." he said thoughtfully.

Tracey smiled happily.

"I am glad Daphne has the same necklace so we won't have to see her broken body ever again. Thank you, Harry, for trying to protect us." she sighed.

~xXxXx~

Daphne was in her bed. Her blonde hair was left free to fall behind her back.

She was waiting patiently for her sister to arrive in her room. She was restless. Tonight would be the night that all of her worries would be put to rest. Tonight would be the night Harry will cure her sister's incurable disease.

After a few minutes, a soft knock was heard.

"Enter." she said.

Astoria scurried inside and closed the door behind her. She sat in front of Daphne and looked at her curiously. Her own silky black hair flowing over her shoulders.

"So? What is it?" She asked.

Daphne smiled at her younger sister.

Tonight would be the night her sister would see a miracle.

"Do you want to get out of the betrothal contract?" She asked frankly.

Astoria was unpleasantly surprised at the topic. A hot anger surged through her. She glared venomously at Daphne.

"I had already told you to live your life properly and not waste it on me. But because of your meddling, now we both are in a betrothal contract with Malfoy. And you are asking me if I want it while you're the reason we're in this situation in the first place." she said angrily.

Daphne was taken aback by her rage.

"Hey! I just wanted you to live a long and healthy life. I did this just so you won't have to worry about dying anytime soon." she replied morosely.

Astoria sighed and reined in her anger. She placed her hand on her sister's shoulder.

"I'm sorry. I just never wanted to marry Draco. You've to understand, Daphne, that some things are worse than death, like being a plaything for a Death Eater's son. You know what a wife of a pureblood man means. To sit at home and just produce heirs while the man has all the control of your life and your children. Why'd I ever want that? Why'd I ever want my sister to join me in that hell? And because of your stupid decision, we're both fated to be the prisoners of the Malfoys. Now, you dare ask me if I want to escape it, of course I want to, but the contract is already signed. Don't give me false hope."

Daphne was shrinking in herself at every word her sister was spitting. She was feeling stupid for not thinking about the future. Not considering the ripples her action would make in coming years.

Her only concern had been the health of Astoria, her younger sister, not what would happen in the far future. And that shortsighted view had blinded her from the consequences of her action.

"We won't have to marry him. You'll see what I mean. I've plans which will save us from marrying Draco." Daphne said resolutely.

"Sure. I'll be eager to hear that plan." Astoria said sarcastically. "Now that you are done, I am going back to my room."

"No, wait." Daphne said urgently.

Astoria sighed as she stared at her sister.

"What do you want?" She asked impatiently.

"Just wait. Okay?" Daphne requested.

Astoria nodded and crossed her arms. Daphne closed her eyes and grasped the necklace which had arrived in the morning from Harry as her Christmas present.

'I want Harry here.'

Astoria's attention was on the beautiful emerald necklace which her sister just pulled out from under her t-shirt. She did not get enough time to admire it since a body suddenly appeared out of thin air and dropped on top of her sister.

Daphne fell on her back and Harry was on top of her, his face inches away from her.

"Hi." he grinned.

"Hi. I'm not surprised. I always thought you were going to become a pervert." she chuckled, shaking her head and trying to hide her blush.

Playfully glaring at her, he sat up. Daphne too rose and settled back on her place.

Astoria was gaping at them. She was immensely surprised that Harry Potter was able to enter Greengrass Manor's powerful ancient wards.

"If your plan is to lose your innocence to Harry to escape marriage then, sorry, I'm not participating." Astoria mumbled in an amused tone, not asking how he entered the Greengrass Manor.

Harry snorted and looked at Daphne.

"Was that on the table? I won't mind." he said cheekily.

"No, it wasn't. Although we should wait a couple of years before doing that." she laughed at their joke.

"So? What is the meaning of all this?" Astoria asked, sweeping her hands around them.

"Harry is going to cure your blood curse and then he's going to save us from the betrothal contract." Daphne said confidently. Harry nodded seriously.

Astoria's eyes hardened as she glared at them.

"Don't joke about it. I don't even want to know how you were able to tell him about the blood curse."

"I know it sounds crazy, but Harry can do it. I totally believe him. He's not a 'normal' wizard. He has secret powers." Daphne tried to assure her.

Harry sighed as his secret was now known by Astoria.

"Oh! So he's Merlin? Wow!" She exclaimed sardonically.

Daphne groaned, getting tired of arguing with her sister.

Harry was amused by their byplay. It seemed the sisters at least had another thing in common. Their sarcasm.

He decided to end their argument. He let a bit of his magic pour out of him.

The sisters gasped as they saw shiny golden mist surrounding them, swirling around them.

Astoria touched the mist and she was astonished by its warm feel. It was pure magic without any intent and function. Daphne had seen it only one time when he had used it to choke Draco. Even then the mist had looked solid, now it appeared as a calm liquid.

"Let's get this job done so I can go to sleep. Okay?" Harry snickered at their mesmerised faces.

Daphne was the first to get back to her senses. She nodded her head.

Astoria looked at him with eyes filled with awe.

"Are you sure you can save me?" She asked tentatively. She didn't want to believe him. She didn't want to hope for a better life when there was no proof of that hope. Still, trying would only bring her more sadness, seeing another hope smothered out. But she wouldn't be able to forgive herself if he could help her and being afraid of another failure, she declined it, sentencing herself to a short miserable life.

He smiled and inclined his head.

"Lie down on your back." He ordered.

She was still a little sceptical, but she laid on the bed with Harry sitting on her right and Daphne on her left.

She closed her eyes and tried to contain her anxiety. She was happy that her sister was trying to save her, but there was a part of her which was sure that this effort would be in vain, that she was fated to die sooner than others.

She felt a warm hand on her forehead. She gasped, sensing a warm sensation filling her body.

Harry was pumping her body with his magic and enveloping her magic to understand what the problem was. He had thought that as the curse was called 'blood curse', the problem would be in her blood, but he was wrong. There was a very strong curse around her magic, tainting her pure innocent magic with its darkness.

He tried to remove it, but it was resisting, absorbing his magic and growing inside her. Astoria suddenly cried as she was assaulted with nerve wrecking pain.

Harry quickly put her to sleep so she wouldn't be able to feel the pain.

"Harry!" Daphne said worriedly after she heard her sister's tortured shriek.

He shook his head, telling her to remain silent. He continued pumping her body with his magic while the dark curse inside her continued consuming it.

Astoria was trembling and was having spasms all over her body.

Harry was covered in sweat, he was getting angrier and angrier. This wouldn't have been this difficult if he hadn't been tired from making the overpowered necklaces. That had taken a lot of his mist. And the procedure had been painful. But he didn't regret it if those necklaces protected his best friends.

'Die.' His magic screamed at the black curse. After what felt like hours, but was only ten minutes, the darkness started diminishing and disappeared altogether from her magic.

Harry was panting. He released Astoria from the sleep spell and lied down beside her and closed his eyes.

'Just a minute.' He thought and dozed off.

Astoria sat up abruptly. She looked at Daphne who had tears falling down her cheeks and was looking at Harry.

She smiled a watery smile at Astoria.

"Did it work?" asked Daphne.

"I feel very good. It feels like I always had a weight on my chest from which I'm free now. It feels like I have had a severe cold all my life and now I'm free from it." Astoria smiled blissfully, taking a deep breath. Her body felt oddly energised. The usual mild pain in her chest was completely gone. She looked down at Harry who was sleeping.

"Is he okay?" She asked.

Daphne nodded. She scooted closer to him and caressed his hair with an affectionate smile.

He did it, he saved her sister.

"He did it." she chuckled proudly.

Harry slowly opened his eyes and looked at her.

"Did I die? Am I in Heaven? Because I'm seeing two beautiful angels." he mumbled, rubbing his eyes, but not able to suppress his mischievous smile.

Daphne grinned and said. "No, you're in hell. We're two demons who'll torture you for eternity."

"I didn't know demons were supposed to be beautiful." he grinned, sitting up.

Before Daphne could come back with a witty comment, Astoria had thrown her arms around Harry's neck and was sobbing on his shoulder.

"Thank you. Thank you so much." she said in between her sobs.

Harry didn't say anything, opting to just caress her head as she wept.

Daphne too was crying, finally happy that Astoria wouldn't die anytime soon.

The younger Greengrass pulled back from the hug and then embraced her sister.

Harry watched as they both held each other tightly and cried in relief.

~xXxXx~

Astoria went to her room for a much needed sleep. Daphne and Harry were sitting alone on the bed.

"Part 1 finished. Now about part 2." Harry said. "Where is your father?"

Daphne checked the time. It was 10:20 in the night.

"He will be in his study, reading some books. He usually goes to bed at 11:30." she informed him.

"Alright. Where is that room?"

"The third room on the left on the upper floor."

"Okay. I am going then." he said and left the room.

Harry returned back to her room after 10 minutes with a square parchment in his hand.

He sat in front of her.

"Your father will cancel the betrothal agreement in May. Before that we'll have the other document from Malfoy so his father won't have any power to stop that." Harry said as he burned the parchment and turned it into ash.

Daphne groaned and put her head in her arms.

"What?" He asked.

"I wanted to read what was in that betrothal contract." she replied.

"Oops." he grinned.

She shook her head, she wasn't going to be angry at him. He had just cured her sister and saved her from an unpleasant marriage.

"So, how are you going back to the castle?" She asked.

"Tracey has the same necklace so she'll summon me in the morning." he said as he lay down on the bed. "Come on, don't you want to sleep?"

She was just staring at him, not comprehending his words.

Harry rolled his eyes.

"We are having a sleepover, dear. You know, where friends go to each other's house and spend their night together playing, eating, sleeping. I'd have liked having some fun with you and maybe some delicious food, but I am very tired and drowsy so let's skip to the last part, sleeping. Goodnight." he drawled and closed his eyes.

"But...but…" she was sputtering.

He grabbed her and pulled her beside him.

"Goodnight." he said with finality. Daphne scooted away and maintained some distance between them.

"Fine! But don't come to my side of the bed." she warned, all flustered and embarrassed.

"Sure, sure." he said without opening his eyes.

Daphne sighed in defeat and went to sleep beside her male best friend. She wasn't going to kick him out of the house in the middle of night. That would be being ungrateful.

~xXxXx~

Harry opened his eyes and found himself in an unknown room. He slowly recalled the events of last night.

'It was harder than I thought.' he pondered about Astoria's curse.

He started to rise, but stopped when someone moaned. He looked beside him and found Daphne draped all over him. Her one arm was around his waist. Her head was on his shoulder with her face pressed on it and her hips were tangled with his.

Her blonde hair, like every part of her body, too was covering his face and his neck.

"Hypocrite." he said under his breath.

He checked the time. It was 6:30 in the morning. He remained still, enjoying the feel of her soft and warm body on his. He combed her hair and tucked it behind her ear. He smiled at her and stroked her cheek.

"Wake up, Daph." he said softly.

She mumbled something in her sleep and buried her face in his neck. Harry shivered as he felt her warm breath on his skin.

He shook her shoulder again to wake her up.

She finally opened her eyes and peered at him with her bleary eyes.

"You're on my side of the bed." That was the first thing he said to her smugly.

She looked down at herself and found herself pressed against him. She yelped and leapt back to her side of the bed.

Harry laughed at her crimson face.

She glared at him.

It was a rare thing to see her so embarrassed.

She turned her head to the other side and buried her face in the pillow, trying to disappear from here to save herself from the mortification. After controlling his laughter, he finally greeted her.

"Good morning, Daph."

"Good morning, Harry." Her muffled voice came since she had buried her face in the pillow.

He nudged her back, hoping she would stop smothering her face in the pillow, but it didn't work.

"I'll go back to the castle in approximately two minutes. See you there." he said, sliding off the bed and standing up.

She pulled out her face from the pillow and joined him beside the bed.

"I will join you two soon." she smiled shyly.

Harry nodded and pulled her in his arms.

"Goodbye." he said, squeezing her fondly and suddenly disappeared.

Daphne stumbled a little as she was heavily leaning on him. At least she didn't fall. She shook her head and went to shower with a big smile on her face.

She was finally free. No need to worry about Astoria's curse. No need to worry about Malfoy.

~xXxXx~

Harry reappeared in his room and you guessed it correctly, on top of Tracey.

"Good morning, Tracey." he smirked and pressed a kiss on her forehead.

She smiled back and pushed him off of her.

"Is this going to happen every time I summon you?" She asked.

"Yes. You can prevent it by standing, you know. It is not my fault you were sitting on my bed." he grinned.

"You're going to be a pervert in future." she said, shaking her head.

Harry stumbled back with his palm on his chest, being dramatic.

"You wound me, my dear. Daphne had said the same thing, but that is expected of her, not you, my darling Tracey. You are not supposed to hurt me. You are to be the sweetest and kindest of our trio. Daphne is a bad influence on you." he said sadly.

She rolled her eyes at him and hit him lightly on his head.

"Stop overreacting and go freshen up. I need a little help with my homework."

Harry playfully glared at her and went away to the bathroom muttering about 'girls taking advantage of him'.

Tracey smiled and left his room, her job of bringing him back to the castle done.

~xXxXx~

It'd been a week since the students returned to the castle after Yule break.

Everybody came to know that something had changed for Daphne Greengrass over the holidays.

Before, she had her trademark cold glare which was directed at everybody, except her best friends Tracey Davis and Harry Potter.

It was as if she was itching to hex everybody, but now, her eyes were filled with happiness instead of her cold glare, her blank face now had a brightness and a genuine smile. She still didn't talk much with others, but her cold demeanour had disappeared. The students were amazed by the sudden change and were curious what brought this change, but no one was brave enough to ask.

"Harry, when are you going to teach us new spells?" Daphne asked, for the umpteenth time.

Tracey and her were sitting on Harry's bed and were doing their potions homework.

Harry was settled on his chair, in front of his desk.

They had decided that Harry's room would be the ideal place for their gathering. They recently came to know from the prefects that girls were allowed to enter their male friends room in the daylight, but boys weren't.

Harry had made a big fuss about the inequality. The girls had just dragged him back to his room to stop his tirade.

He turned his head from his desk and looked at her. Tracey was still writing while Daphne was propped against the headboard and was looking at him. She had an excited smile on her face. He couldn't help but smile back. Since Malfoy had given him the betrothal contract and Harry had destroyed it, she was in a good mood.

Harry again was happy that he hadn't revealed the content of the betrothal contract to her, otherwise there would have been anger and betrayal instead of happiness on her face.

He had been very angry when he read the betrothal contract. According to it, Daphne and Astoria were to be Malfoy's concubines. Not even his wives but concubines.

Further, Malfoy was free to acquire any number of more concubines and wives. If that wasn't enough to enrage him, the sisters were to give Malfoy a magical oath to be loyal to him and obey his every command. And for selling her daughters, Mr. Greengrass would get funds from Mr. Malfoy to repair his old Apothecary. He was also promised the firstborn from Draco and Daphne as the Greengrass heir.

'Just wait Mr. Greengrass, your punishment is coming. Malfoys have joined the shit list, just another one mistake and I'll torture them and make them my slaves.'

"Harry!" Daphne said loudly. She was standing in front of him, waving her hand before his face.

Tracey had put her books aside and was watching him worriedly.

"Huh?" he replied as he pushed these thoughts in the back of his mind.

"Are you okay?" They asked in unison.

He nodded.

"I've decided to teach you three spells after finishing our work. First the disarming charm. Second the shield charm and lastly the reductor curse."

Daphne was eager to learn more spells so she quickly went back to her work to finish it as soon as possible.

Tracey smiled at her friend's eagerness.

~xXxXx~

February and March quickly passed. The trio were busy studying and enjoying their school life. Then April went by without any incident. In all these months, Draco Malfoy tried his best to interact with his 'betrothed' but wasn't successful.

She was always with Tracey and Harry.

When a letter came during breakfast from home announcing that his betrothal with Daphne Greengrass was cancelled, he was angry. He knew he had missed his chance. She would have been a perfect lady to produce his heirs. She was a pureblood from an ancient line, she was beautiful, she was perfect.

In his rage, his instinctual fear of Harry Potter was pushed back in his mind.

"Potter!" He yelled, attracting everyone's attention.

Harry and the girls were sitting at the end of the Slytherin table. He stood up and saw Draco coming towards him with his wand in his hand.

Daphne and Tracey were hiding their excited smiles.

That morning would be interesting. The professors were looking at the conflict. Professor Snape had already left his chair and was walking urgently towards them.

"Malfoy." Harry nodded, hiding his smug smile.

Draco didn't reply.

"FLIPENDO!" He yelled, pointing his wand at him.

Harry quickly casted the shield charm.

"Protego."

The knockback jinx was absorbed by the shield.

"You're going to pay for stealing my betrothed." Draco spat as he continued firing the jinx.

Harry was amused at his display. He glanced behind him, at his friends, who were enjoying the show. His shield remained strong and protected him from the spells.

Professor McGonagall and Professor Flitwick came running behind Professor Snape to stop the fight. They weren't needed. A spell rebounded from Harry's shield and connected with Draco, who went flying back and sprawled on the ground with a painful grunt.

"Potter! Detention for attacking Mr. Malfoy," Snape said coldly as he picked up Draco and began to leave.

"Stop!" Professor McGonagall snapped.

"50 points, Mr. Malfoy, from Slytherin, for attacking a student and a week of detention with Filch. Mr. Potter, you are not to serve any detention with Professor Snape. We all saw what happened and it was not your fault."

"Do you disagree, Professor Snape?" she asked dangerously, seeing his sour look.

He didn't reply and took Malfoy to the infirmary.

Harry smiled gratefully at Professor McGonagall and took his seat.

"What was that?" Tracey asked.

"It seems Malfoy was heartbroken after the cancellation of the betrothal agreement. Who knew he was so smitten with our beautiful Daphne Greengrass?" he chuckled.

"Of course. Who wouldn't be sad to not be able to remain with me?" Daphne said haughtily.

"Of course, you're correct. But is it correct that I stole you away?" He asked, trying to contain his laughter.

"Ha! That he got wrong. Me, with you peasant. Who would imagine that?" She continued her haughty persona.

"No problem. I always thought Tracey was more beautiful than you so I'm not that sad." Harry joked.

"Yes. You both peasants make a decent couple." she said, nodding her head, although a bit jealous of his announcement. She hoped it was a joke and not his admission that he really thought Tracey was better looking than her.

Harry flung his arm around Tracey and pulled her head towards him and pressed his cheek against hers.

"See? We both look so cute together. Don't you think so, our queen?" He said playfully, their childish play creating pleasant sensations in his chest.

Daphne peered at them and nodded after a second. Tracey was blushing as she pushed his face away.

"Stop, you two. We're going to be late for the class if you don't stop your acting." She complained.

The two laughed at her and followed her out of the Great Hall for their morning class.