Adult-FanFiction.org : Harry Potter

Leave A Tender Moment Alone	By : Spurge_Laurel Category: Harry Potter > Het - Male/Female Views: 5908 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter and I make no money from this hobby.

Chapter List
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Harry Potter didn’t always love his wife. For a few seconds, he even hated her. Well, the idea of her. He hadn’t even met her at the time. Knew nothing about her except for her name and that it wasn’t on any of the three lists he recited every morning as he woke up and every night before he fell asleep. Those who fought, those who died, those he killed. But for that brief moment, he didn’t need to know her. There was nothing that enraged Harry more than being controlled, his choices made for him. And so, in those short seconds, Harry Potter hated a girl he had not spoken more than two words to before.

The next thing to hit him after the anger was guilt. Was it fair to hate someone for something outside of their control? She was as much a victim of the contract as him. If anything, she maybe had it even worse all things considered, having to get hitched to an only half-there screw-up like him. Harry decided he would meet with Daphne Greengrass and see for himself if she was just another vulture.

When he reached out to the Greengrasses to arrange a meeting, he was ashamed to admit he had expected it to be made into a public affair. The reply he got put him off balance.

Mr. Potter,

I was equally distressed when I received news of our engagement. I have already made arrangements with the goblins to see if anything can be done. Arrive at Gringotts no later than eight on the morning of the fifth. Ask for Gitsnik. With any luck, soon this will have all been just a bad dream.

I remain,
Daphne Greengrass

Far be it from him to look a gift horse in the mouth. It was a cautious and yet happily curious Harry Potter that was directed into a secure meeting room in the bowels of the bank later that week. A dark haired woman was already within, rapidly flipping between sheafs of paper across the table from a weathered old goblin who was sitting back, fingers steepled.

“The contract is air-tight, Miss Greengrass,” the goblin said, “It cannot be terminated.”

The woman—who must have been Daphne—didn’t even look up from what she was reading, denying Harry the ability to see her face. “My family doesn’t pay you to be a defeatist, Gitsnik. When you took the money you promised results.”

“Bah, if the ungrateful human child thinks she knows more about contracts than me, by all means. I can have a cursebreaker sent here. There will be an added charge, and the answer won’t change.”

“Make it so, money is no concern here.”

Harry had enough of being ignored. He strode over and planted himself in the chair beside Daphne, making her jump slightly. “Somebody mind telling me what’s going on?”

“Of course, Mister Potter,” Gitsnik nodded graciously while Daphne sniffed and turned to face away. “This meeting was arranged with the intention of annulling a marriage contract between the Houses Greengrass and Potter which after several centuries has come into effect as a suitable union has been identified, that being the one between you and Miss Greengrass here.”

“I’m assuming it’s not as simple as the two of us just saying we don’t want to get married?”

“I’m afraid not, Mister Potter.”

“Of course not. Alright, what do we need to do?”

The old goblin looked between them for a few seconds. “How do you feel about murder?” he finally asked.

Daphne shot up in her seat and gazed seriously at him for his comment. In his peripheral vision, Harry could just about make out a few of her features from the blurry mess, and something in his memory was triggered. He carefully shelved it for later, first he had to shut down a line of inquiry he was not at all comfortable with.

“Not an option.” No more. He had made a promise. No more deaths.

Gitsnik sighed, “Then start working on your prenuptial agreement. This contract is old and basic, so it lacks many of the clauses modern contracts are written with. Including an escape clause. There is no way out of it, the best you could do is delay it by ensuring there is no possible union between your two Houses. Either by death or marriage to somebody else. And considering the contract requires you to be married no later than the day the younger person turns eighteen-years-old, you don’t have much time.”

He did not want to marry Daphne, but the wizard was struggling to come up with an alternative. Who even did he know well enough that he would be willing to marry them within the next few months. Hermione? First of all, ew, she was like his sister, and secondly she was already together with Ron. Ginny would do it out of some misguided hero worship, but it would be terribly awkward because not only was she the younger sister of his best mate, she was also gay as hell. Useful as a wingwoman when they went out to pick up birds together, but not a trait that would make her happy in a marriage with a man.

Nymmie and him had never really had that kind of relationship, it was all just casual fun, and it would make him feel like a complete arsehole if he came to her asking to get married while she was still grieving over Remus. The pickings were starting to get slim. Hannah? In a very interesting relationship with Neville. Susan? The other third of said interesting relationship. Luna was more interested in magical creatures than humans, twins kind of creeped him out despite how exotic the Patils were, and the one night he spent with Su Li left him aching and thoroughly convinced she was far too kinky for him.

“Do you have anyone you want to marry?” All hope was not lost just yet. There was still Daphne to consider.

“No.” She shut him down with a piercing look. Her blue eyes were cold and made him feel like he was being scrutinized and found wanting. It sparked a fire within him. “I am not interested in being tied down at this point in time.”

There was a knock on the door before it opened and a familiar scared face stepped in. “Gitsnik, you wanted to see—Harry?”

“Hey, Bill. Guess you’re the cursebreaker that got called in?”

“Er, yes, I was told there was some issue with a marriage contract?” The eldest Weasley sibling’s curious gaze flickered back and forth between Harry and Daphne, the latter of which had returned to scanning the scattered papers for a solution.

“That is correct, Mr. Weasley,” Gitsnik spoke up, holding up an old, rolled up parchment. “This is the original copy of the contract. See if you can find any way to break it.”

Bill gingerly picked up the scroll and cast a spell. The results seemed to confuse him as he scrunched up his brow and tried again. The second attempt yielded nothing different so he switched to a different spell. Twenty minutes later, sweat was beginning to trickle down his brow as he placed the contract down on the table. Harry wandlessly conjured him a glass of water which he gratefully accepted and downed.

“Whoever created that thing definitely didn’t want it broken. It’s locked up tighter than any ancient tomb I’ve ever been to, and these techniques are like nothing I’ve ever seen before.”

“If you can’t break it, then go get someone who can! I refuse to accept this!”

“Hey, don’t speak to him that way.”

Daphne shot Harry a disgruntled look, but he barely noticed. Something about her face seemed so familiar. William quickly stepped back in.

“I’m not sure you understand. I don’t think there is anyone in the world, let alone in Britain who could unravel this thing. I recognize a couple of the wards as ones proposed to theoretically be possible, but as far as I am aware this is the only instance in the world in which they have been applied. I’d love to study it further.”

“Indeed, Mister Weasley is one of our most effective curse breakers. His knowledge in the field of wards is backed by the Gringotts Guarantee,” Gitsnik added, “It is just as I told you. The contract cannot be broken. Learn to live with it or die, sparing the other person from having to.”

The office was silent for a few seconds as everyone there took that in. Or, at least, almost everyone.

Daphne threw her arms up in the air, tossing the papers she was reading with them. “What I can’t understand is why has no one heard of this contract before? It’s nowhere in my family records. When was it drafted? And how could it be that this is the first time since then that a union between our Houses is possible? It just doesn’t make any sense!”

“Where do I know you from? You look super familiar.”

Taken aback by the non sequitur, Daphne turned to look at Harry, completely deadpan. “We were in the same year at Hogwarts, Potter.”

“We were? Nah, that doesn’t seem right.”

She huffed indignantly and opened her mouth, but whatever she was going to say was cut off as he jumped to his feet. “Aha! That’s it! You look just like little Astoria!”

“Yes, she is my sister.”

“Really?” Now Harry was curious. Astoria was a very nice girl, and her name was on one of the lists. He leaned over, getting right in Daphne’s face, looking her over. “Tori never told me she had a sister.”

The witch leaned back, her rigid expressionless face cracking slightly in discomfort, making him grin. “I don’t see how my family is any of your business, Potter.”

“But if we are to marry, then your family would also be my family.”

Harry could tell he had probably gone too far by the way she seemed to shut down. He could swear steam was coming out her ears as if she was on Pepper-Up from the way her brain was overheating. He just couldn’t help himself, she seemed so fun to tease, just like her younger sister.

Without warning, she pushed him away and hastily stood up. Making her way to the door she threw an absentminded, “I’ll be in touch, gentlemen,” before bidding a swift retreat. The two wizards and the goblin watched her leave, though one of them had his gaze pinned slightly lower than the other two.

“What a piece of work,” Bill mumbled under his breath.

“Hey, Bill, do you believe in love at first sight?”

“Huh? Oh, no. Don’t tell me. . . Listen, Harry, you should be careful with her. I’ve heard of Daphne Greengrass before, she has somewhat of a reputation.”

“Oh, don’t worry. I know what I’m doing.”

“Are you two going to keep gossiping in my office or will you let me get back to my work?”

As the wizards quickly fled, the old goblin grumbled to himself. “Damn humans.”
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Leave A Tender Moment Alone