A proposal

The next few days were uneventful. While it was clear that the Ministry was heavily monitoring Malfoy Manor, it was also obvious that they could not enter it. The Death Eaters occasionally ran after a few of them that got too close but did not chase them far. Mostly they sent Stunners and other spells at anything that moved. It was a siege. The Death Eaters couldn't leave without risking exposure, but the Ministry couldn't breach their position.

Harry almost despaired, not knowing how Albus, Rose and Scorpius were holding up. Hermione was still out of commission, constantly waking from nightmares screaming about Rose and how she needed to get her away from them. Ron rarely left her side. Harry tried everything he knew, even asked Draco for any secret entrances, but he was constantly stopped by the barrier. He was amazed that such a thing was able to be erected and held consistently. He saw Death Eaters walking past it as if it was just air, but any Aurors reaching it was thrown back, and any spells directed at it were repelled. All he really could do was to ensure that no one was able to leave the manor and even that was not always possible. If the Death Eaters opened the gates and Apparated straight away, their window of opportunity to stop them was minimal.

Scorpius and Albus still got lessons in the Dark Arts. There was a surprising number of new recruits that also joined them, despite the difficulties in entering the Manor under siege. A few of the Death Eaters quickly learned how to Apparate just on the border of the barrier, where the Ministry couldn't see them.

Albus kept taking extra guard shifts, out of boredom, but also so that he could be present if things escalated to a point where he would have to interfere. He often ended up taking Scorpius' shifts so that he could spend more time with Rose. This kept up appearances, but also made it so the two got to know each other better. She was still chained to the wall in Scorpius' room, but she was left alone by the others. All in all, it was the safest she had felt ever since she had been taken from Hogwarts.

But of course, these relatively quiet days couldn't last. On the sixth day, all the Death Eaters were gathered at the table for supper. It was one of Brutus Malfoy's servants that was forced to cook and serve food for them. The newest recruits sat at the bottom of the table, hardly daring to make a noise. They hadn't had much time in the same room as Voldemort yet.

"Malfoy. I hear you have been enjoying yourself, these last few days. The girl seems to be warming up to you," Voldemort said.

"Yes, my Lord. Though it would have been better if it were without a chain. I hope we will get to that point soon," Scorpius replied.

"Yes, I see your point. There may be a solution to that."

Scorpius looked up, hopeful.

"What we need is a way to make sure that Miss Weasley doesn't try to escape if the chain is removed. Sadly, I think there is still enough spark left in her that she would try that the moment our backs are turned," Voldemort explained.

"I am not so sure about that, my Lord. She still trembles at the mere thought of torture, and she knows that any escape attempt will be punished like last time. She will do anything to avoid that. She also worries what will happen if she meets her mother again after she betrayed her. She blames herself for her capture and I make sure to remind her of those things regularly. I have told her of the barrier, and that it would be impossible for her to pass it. And she grows more and more attached to me, as her only friend in this situation. I pretend to sympathise, and say I want her to escape, but am unable to make it happen. She is also frightened about what happened to Severus. I told her that Severus said she stays here of her own free will, as we do. That way, she thinks she will be treated the same if she returns."

"Yes. Good. But she may still just wait for an opportunity to escape. She knows deep inside that Miss Weasley will always have a family to welcome her home, no matter what she does. If not with her mother, then with others."

"I don't see a way to change that, my Lord, other than attempting to kill each and every one of her family members. But that is a tall order, even for an elite group such as ours. We saw that a few days ago." Scorpius hoped that Voldemort wouldn't seize on that idea.

"Yes. That is an eventual goal of course, but not easy to do in a short time frame. No, I have a better idea. Miss Weasley may always find welcome with her family. But I don't think Mrs. Malfoy would be as welcome. Not a Mrs. Malfoy bonded to a Death Eater."

Scorpius looked up sharply. "My Lord, do you mean… Are you proposing…? A wedding? Me, wed the daughter of a Mudblood and a blood-traitor family?"

"Why not? She is technically half-blood. And the oath will bind her to you. And we may even eventually use her as a pawn to lure out members of her family. This is more common than you think. Arranged marriages were the norm for a long time, forced marriages were also not uncommon. Many groups of Dark wizards use this tactic still, to preserve their heritage. I think we can make that work in this setting too. Unless you find the thought of being Bonded to someone with her heritage too awful to bear?"

"No. No, my Lord. I see the greatness of your plan. Besides, it is not as if she can't be disposed of later."

"Exactly. So then. Tomorrow, we will have a wedding to celebrate! Severus. You are the closest the future Mrs. Malfoy has to a family in this building. Will you give the bride away?"

"O-Of course, my Lord. It'll be a joyous occasion when she is bonded to us at last. And it will be another large blow to my family. I'll be sure to send them the wedding photo afterwards," Albus replied. He was stunned by this latest development, but it did provide some opportunities.

"You will also be my best man." Scorpius declared. "But I am sure the two roles can be combined just fine."

"Excellent. Now, you two go and tell the bride the good news," Voldemort said with a smirk. Albus and Scorpius hurriedly left the table to do as ordered. Scorpius did not look forward to telling Rose about this.

***

"Scorpius!" Rose smiled as they entered. Strangely, she was able to smile again, despite their situation. Maybe it was just because their current situation was a lot better than it had been. Then her face turned scared as she saw their expressions. "What is it? What has happened?"

"I eh… We eh… I asked Voldemort if we could take off your chain," Scorpius said, blushing. Why was he blushing?

"And?" Rose asked when neither of them said anything more.

"And he wasn't totally against it," Albus adds. "However…"

"However?"

"There was one condition." Scorpius said.

"You two are scaring me. What on earth did he require?" Rose trembled. "More torture? Please say it is not that. I'd rather be chained up here forever than having to go through that again…"

"No! No, nothing like that," Albus said hastily.

"Then what? Please, just say it." Rose started to get a little annoyed now. What was wrong with them?

"He wants us to get married," Scorpius said, not looking at her.

"Married? Here?"

"Yes."

There was silence for a few moments. Scorpius still didn't look at her.

"Well, this must be the strangest way to propose to a girl I have ever heard," Rose said. What sort of twisted idea was this? What would marrying her and Scorpius accomplish?

"I'm sorry," Scorpius said, still not looking at her.

"It's not your fault. But why does he think this will keep me from escaping?"

"He seems to think that a Malfoy won't be welcome in a Weasley family. So, when you are married, they will hate you. Apparently, this is a thing that Dark Wizards occasionally do," Albus explained.

"They really don't understand family love at all, do they?" Rose was honestly a little relieved. From how Scorpius and Albus had looked when they entered, she had thought of many worse things.

"No. But I understand how they think," Scorpius said. "In their world, it is all about bloodlines. You know what happened to those in their families who married Muggles or Muggleborns. In their eyes, a Malfoy Death Eater is as bad for your family as a Muggleborn is to them. Just see how quickly they believed Albus' story of what they did to him.

And honestly? I think your parents would hate the idea of a marriage. But they would hate me. Not you."

"It's not like that. They wouldn't hate either of us for loving each other. They may not love the idea, but they would accept it," Rose protested.

"Your mother would hate it. Especially after what happened a week ago," Scorpius argued. He seemed distressed. He really believed that? He still hadn't looked at her since entering.

"She would accept it eventually," Rose said again. She hoped she would, anyway. Besides, they weren't going to actually have a wedding, so why did Scorpius worry about it? Surely her family would understand that?

"I suggest we don't disabuse the Dark… Voldemort of the idea that a wedding will stop Rose from escaping. Besides, I have an idea of how to use this to get you out of here," Albus interrupted them.

"How?" Rose asked, interested in any idea that would bring an end to this.

"Well, after a wedding there is traditionally a honeymoon. I hope that that won't be here. Then you can get away and alert the family."

"Good idea! I hadn't thought about that," Scorpius said. "But I remembered that there is an old custom that says the guests should try to outdrink the groom on his wedding day. If we can get them to try that, most of them might be very hung-over the next day. It would make it easier for us to let the Ministry into the building unnoticed. Though I haven't really been drinking a lot of alcohol before. I'll have to try and cheat."

"But what about you, Albus?" Rose asked.

"I'll need to be here to open the gate when the Ministry comes. With you away from here, there is nothing to lose by storming the Manor," Albus replied.

"Except your life!"

"Yes. But I will be down at the gate, and they probably won't notice until it is too late. Not if we can time it to the day after the wedding, when many might have a hang-over. That way, I might even have guard duty alone, if the other person is too drunk to get down there."

"So, are we doing this?" Scorpius asked. "Are we going to pretend to get married?"

"Do we have a choice?" Albus retorted. "Voldemort didn't really make it a suggestion."

"We will do it," Rose said. "It may be the best chance we will have for a long time to end this. And I am ready for this to be over."

"I just hope your family will eventually forgive me," Scorpius said with a sigh.

***

Later that evening, Albus was on guard duty again. He looked for an opportunity to get a message out. Then he suddenly saw his father's head. Albus nodded discreetly to the left. His father nodded back. Albus ran out, pretending he had seen someone. "Get away from here!" He shouted as he shot a stunner into the underbrush.

"Impedimenta!" Harry shouted, hitting Albus with a curse.

Albus stumbled and fell to the ground. He dropped a small note in the few moments it took him to get control over his body again.

"No! You won't get me that easily again! I will not be chained!" Albus shouted in panic.

Another Death Eater ran over to assist. Harry dove into the bushes to avoid his spells. Albus got up and ran back to the boundary.

Later, Harry sneaked up to where Albus had fallen. He found the note.

"Tomorrow, late. Forest of Dean. Two."

"Thank you, Albus."