It was as they crossed an intersection on the edge of Knockturn and Diagon Alley that something caught Harry’s eye. It was an old but ornate wizard’s club of some sort, clearly past its prime, yet having a sense of grandeur that sparked his interest.
“What is that place?”
A severe look of distaste appeared on Dora’s face as she followed his gaze. “It’s a club for blood-supremacists called the Pureblood Directory, named after a book written to support Grindlewald back in the thirties.”
“Seriously?” He couldn’t help but ask. “And what, do purebloods just sit around in there and talk bad about muggleborns and muggles all day?”
“Pretty much.” She shrugged. “The 28 families promoted in the original book will also have their own private meeting rooms in there. It’s kind of like a museum of sorts, a meeting place that some older Houses use to do backroom deals. I’ve even heard some of the older families like to set up betrothal agreements for their daughters and announce their bride price there.”
That last bit intrigued Harry, and before he knew it, his feet were already walking him over towards the entrance. I need to learn about betrothal contracts anyways. Why not start here?
“Harry - wait!” Dora called from behind him. “You can’t just go in there!”
“Why not? I’m sure we’ll have a fun time.” He failed to fight his mischievous grin.
“I’m an auror, I can’t just…” She trailed off, muttering about annoying green-eyed boys under her breath as he gripped the serpent- shaped handle and entered.
Inside, it was everything the exterior had promised, being a place that had decided long ago it was made for the stuffiest people imaginable. Dark wood paneled the walls, followed by low chandeliers casting dim light over small tables where people sat in clusters of two and three, speaking in voices that carried no further than absolutely necessary.
Dora followed behind him, having transfigured her loud red auror trenchcoat to a shiny black leather, which looked oddly sexy to his eyes.
“So we just make ourselves comfortable, huh?” He muttered, walking deeper into the club with the pinkette on his heels.
Ornate hallways went through the place like a maze, lined with doors that were decorated with the motifs of the 28 families the club was named after. He spotted some he knew, being Longbottom, Abbott, and Avery, before they turned a corner and his partner gasped.
Her eyes were wide with shock and a bit of worry, and he followed her gaze to a stunning blonde woman heading their direction.
Just the sight of the woman made his cock throb, older and gorgeous as she took the form of the ideal trophy wife. Big tits, wide hips, and a juicy bum he desperately wanted to see from behind. It took Harry longer than he would like to admit that he recognized her as Draco Malfoy’s Mother, having seen her only once before at the Quidditch World Cup.
“You know her?” He asked.
“That’s my aunt.” Her posture was very tense. “My Mother’s sister, Narcissa.”
Harry looked over at the woman, then back at Dora. “How bad is it? Between you?”
“We don’t have a relationship.” She grimaced, speaking quietly. “Mother left House Black to be with my dad, and she married Malfoy a couple of years after that. We’ve been in the same room perhaps four times in my life. She has never once addressed me directly.”
Harry considered this for a moment before he turned away from her and made his way over to the older witch.
“Harry!“ Dora’s voice was low and panicky. “What are you…”
But he was already halfway to the woman.
“Mrs. Malfoy.” She stopped and turned at his voice.
Blue eyes turned to look at him, accompanying a face of aristocracy that came with high cheekbones. He could immediately tell she was a composed and perceptive person, someone used to staying adequately silent while studying the world around her.
He could see the way her powerful composure briefly stuttered when she took in his face, eyes flickering to his scar as he saw some panic creep in. But in the next moment she was back to normal, as if his sudden appearance wasn’t surprising in the least.
“Mr. Potter.” Her voice had the inherited quality of a certain kind of speech that was trained and passed down through generations.
Her eyes, however, moved over him with a frankness that the composure of her expression didn’t entirely conceal. He was not, Harry understood, what she had been expecting to find.
“I hope you don’t mind.” He smiled slightly. “I’m here with someone who I believe is related to you.”
Coming up behind him, Dora looked as if she would rather be anywhere else. The expression looked somewhat childish on a woman who was supposedly an auror, eyeing their surroundings like they were the most interesting thing around rather than studying her estranged aunt.
Recognition moved through Narcissa’s eyes first, then something less easily named - not surprise exactly, but not dismissal either. It was something deeper and more emotional, something that had been stuffed in a safe a long time ago and had not expected to be looked at again.
“Nymphadora.” Narcissa stated.
His pink-haired companion winced. “Aunt Narcissa.”
He had to wonder in that moment if he liked to cause trouble. Harry could’ve avoided this establishment entirely, and not approached Malfoy’s mother at all, yet it seemed he had developed a thirst for the unexpected. It was not all that surprising, especially with all the adventures he had gone through at Hogwarts. The difference now was that he was taking matters into his own hands, starting trouble rather than having trouble find him.
“You’ve changed your hair.” The older blonde said diplomatically at last.
“I do that.” Dora referenced the fact she was a metamorphmagus.
Narcissa’s gaze returned to Harry, clearly reevaluating whatever preconceived notions she had towards him. “You are not what I expected.”
“I’ve been told.” He replied.
“Why don’t we go somewhere private?” Narcissa asked, looking between the two of them.
That was how he ended up in a meeting room designated for use under House Black - supposedly being one of the 28 families - with an awkward auror and her beautiful aunt sitting at a table with him.
Dora looked to be in disbelief at the whole situation, taking small sips of her tea and looking around as if trying to accept this was not a dream. For her part, Narcissa Malfoy looked perfectly at ease, no doubt helped by the manners likely drilled into her since childhood.
All Harry did was sit back and drink the tea that the house-elves had brought. He hadn’t expected his day to end up like this after all, and was along for the ride at this point.
That said, he didn’t exactly like the small talk. The older blonde seemed especially skilled at navigating through benign topics, pointedly avoiding anything related to Dumbledore, Voldemort, or the Ministry. He supposed she was a woman used to tea parties and finger food, which went with all the balls she probably had to attend with her shit husband.
He managed to keep up with her useless conversation, until they seemingly reached a point that she decided to shift away from mundane topics. It was like he had checked a box in her mind, as the woman decided to move on.
She looked at him with an expression that had abandoned its neutrality, edging on seriousness that made him lean slightly forward. He knew then that whatever she had to say next would be important.
“I should tell you that I had a particular image in my mind, before this, of what Harry Potter would be. Unruly, a braggart, entitled to the extreme, and someone in need of managing.” Dora’s mouth was agape while Narcissa seemed to be studying him intently, testing to see what his reaction would be to her words. “Much of that comes from what my son and husband have told me, and also Severus. However, there is a certain part of you that intrigues me.”
“Oh? And what would that be?” He gave his tea a light stir, keeping his expression unexpectedly cool. The old Harry would’ve been livid at her accusations, but the new Harry could care less.
She put her elbow on the table, leaning forward slightly while emphasizing the size of her tremendous breasts. “You entered a graveyard alone with the Dark Lord and some of his most skilled followers. And yet walked out alive when it was over. How?”
Dora stiffened at his side, eyes wide in equal parts shock and disbelief. He hadn’t talked overly much about the events of the third task, and had to wonder how much she truly knew in that moment. Probably whatever Dumbledore told her.
He mulled her question over in his mind before taking a light sip of his tea.
“Carefully.”
Something shifted in Narcissa’s expression, something earnest and akin to amusement. The woman seemed to find what she was looking for in that moment, a smile appearing on her lips as her blue eyes roamed over him.
“Yes, I suppose that would be the correct answer.” She replied. “I find myself revising my estimation of you considerably in this moment.”
“Should I be flattered?” Harry asked.
She smiled slightly, pushing a loose strand of blonde hair behind her ear. “Your eyes are reminiscent to that of your Mother’s. Lily Evans, I only knew her through her talent in potions at Hogwarts. As for everything else about you… I find it to be rather distinctly your own, nothing like the James Potter I used to be acquainted with.”
“How kind of you.”
“You mistake kindness for merely being observant.” She sniffed. “And you will find, Mr. Potter, that only certain wizards gain my attention as you have.”
Out of the corner of his eye, he could see the sheer disbelief on Dora’s face as her gaze bounced between him and her aunt.
A pause in conversation came as the house-elf waiters appeared and brought refreshments and meals for them. Oddly, Narcissa only seemed to get more settled and relaxed.
“Tell me,” Malfoy’s Mother was the one to begin the next round of conversation. “Are you familiar with the formal arrangements? Those among the old families?”
Harry looked at her. “You’ll need to be more specific.”
“Marriage contracts.” She said it simply, the way one might talk about the weather, not some practice that might be seen as controversial. “The traditional kind. I ask because I find myself navigating one at present.”
“For Draco?” He guessed.
“For my daughter.” He blinked at that answer, failing to remember his bully’s sister. Then again, Harry didn’t know many witches - especially those that were probably in Slytherin. “My oldest child, Kassandra, will be completing her seventh year at Hogwarts this coming term. There are advantages, when the time comes, to presenting someone fresh.”
“Presenting?” Tonks repeated.
“Her hand.” Narcissa continued, before her expression became turbulent. “Several families have already made enquiries, and my husband has promoted her availability quite loudly to those who will listen. The bride price under discussion for her hand is beginning to become… quite substantial.”
“How substantial?” Harry asked.
A ghost of a sharp smile passed her lips. “The kind that few men of character can afford. Your bid would go a long way to soothe my concerns with the current parties interested. And I would ensure your reward for succeeding over the other bidders would be… substantial.”
She spoke it in a way that got her point across, and Dora went very still at his side.
Harry met Narcissa’s gaze across the table, and she held it without any pretense at all. This was a woman willing to abandon her pureblood values, to do anything he wished, all for the sake of her daughter not being trapped in a loveless or even abusive marriage like she was.
He felt his cock twitch and surge, and he had to mentally struggle to make it go back down. The thought of simply having his gorgeous blonde in his bed was simply too exciting to not dismiss.
“There is an issue, however, in that she has her father’s name.” Narcissa said suddenly, and something complicated passed through her expression. “In the current climate, it will create certain… complications.”
“Names change.” He shrugged.
“They do.” She agreed quietly. “The right arrangement can change a great many things.”
Silence descended on the table’s occupants once again, as Narcissa looked down to study her tea.
“You know…” She said, her voice pitched lower than it had been at any point in the conversation. “If you had been at Hogwarts when I was… I suspect I would have made your school years rather enjoyable.”
She held his gaze for a moment, long enough to be sure he had taken her meaning exactly. Then she lifted her cup with the unhurried composure of a woman who had said precisely what she intended to say and had no interest in walking it back, before looking serenely out the window.
It seemed their meeting had come to an end, yet that was when an ornately dressed house-elf appeared while holding a letter out to Narcissa. It was garbed better than the ones in their current establishment, looking more like a representative than a slave like Dobby used to.
“A letter from the Lady.” The creature held out a small envelope, and the blonde took it wordlessly, reading it over.
“A friend of mine.” She said, speaking to him. “Has apparently been apprised of your presence in this establishment today. She wishes to meet with you at the earliest convenience, which means as soon as you are finished here.”
“Who?” Dora questioned, suddenly alarmed that someone knew their exact location.
“Aspasia Greengrass. She runs the Greengrass Imports Company. The office is three blocks down towards the Knockturn side, you can’t miss it.”
“Anything you can tell us about her before we go?” He didn’t miss the look Tonks sent him, clearly wondering why he was entertaining this.
But he could read through the lines, understand that this woman somehow knew Harry was here in the Alley, and had his exact location to the point she knew he was meeting with Narcissa at that very moment. It meant that this “Aspasia Greengrass” was a resourceful woman, and it was better to meet with someone like her sooner rather than later.
“She is a businesswoman of considerable resource and with very particular instincts. When those instincts tell her to move, she tends not to wait.” Narcissa didn’t say much, but he got the impression that the two women were friends of a sort. “As for what she wants with you? I couldn’t say.”
“We’ll be on our way then.” He gave Dora a slight nudge before she could object.
“I thought you might.” The corner of her mouth lifted slightly. “It was a genuine pleasure, Mr. Potter, and I expect we’ll speak again.”
Lady Malfoy departed first, her hips swinging in a way that made Harry look down to get an eyeful of her thick ass. Himself and Tonks followed soon after, unhurried and quiet as they left the club for purebloods behind and managed to walk half a block in the dim light of setting sun.
That was when Dora turned to him, reminiscent of a pressure cooker that had finally boiled over. “Enjoyable. That woman said she would have made your school years enjoyable.”
“I heard her.” He nodded, trying not to give anything away. Is that the only thing she got out of that conversation?
“She’s forty years old, Harry. Not to mention that she’s Lucius Malfoy’s wife.”
“I’m aware of both things.”
“She was…“ Nymphadora Tonks actually stopped walking. Harry stopped too and looked back at her, seeing her hair was shifting through different colors to match her uneasy state of mind. “She was flirting with you. Quite openly, in fact! All while simultaneously trying to auction off her daughter to the highest bidder - which is a sentence I cannot believe I just said aloud! - and you just sat there looking like…“
“Like what?”
Dora opened her mouth, then snapped it closed. She then made a gesture with both hands that didn’t resolve into coherent language. “Like you’re actually considering it!”
“Would it really be so bad?” It was his cock speaking and not his brain in that moment.
That was clearly the wrong thing to say, as she looked equal parts stunned and furious. “Kassandra Malfoy? You know, the bitch who has most of Slytherin House eating out of the palm of her hand? That girl is equally likely to become Minister through blackmail as she is to end up in Azkaban! Malfoy’s daughter is sooner to bite your head off than sleep with you.”
He tried to picture the witch that she was describing, supposedly an older - and likely hot - Slytherin girl. Sadly, his mind came up with a blank. “Doesn’t ring a bell. But how do you know about her?”
“Wait, you don’t even know her?” Dora’s perplexed and exasperated expression in that moment was very memorable. “I- Ugh! I can’t do this anymore! Hopefully I just forget this whole experience even happened.”
“If that will help you sleep better.” His words earned him a glare. “Just don’t tell Dumbledore about this.”
That seemed to give her pause, as she looked at him for a long moment.
“Fine.” She grit out at last, before transfiguring her trenchcoat back to its original red color. They resumed walking deeper into Knockturn Alley, down a few blocks towards the office. “For the record, my aunt was absolutely flirting with you.”
“I know.” He acknowledged.
She sent him a questioning look that had a hint of seriousness to it. “And you weren’t exactly…”
“I know.” Harry said again, and there was something in his voice that wasn’t amusement but was adjacent to it. “To be fair, she was very beautiful.”
Dora’s back was straight and stiff for the rest of their walk, their conversation entering a lull after that. Luckily, it wasn’t for long, as an old stone building with a black and gold sign lettered “Greengrass Imports” and “Established 1671” was waiting for them.
Just like the previous building they entered, it was old and ornate, screaming its age and storied history to the world. Harry was almost fooled into believing it was a venerable, honest business, but its location on the edge of Knockturn Alley told a much different story.
This wasn’t a small company fallen on hard times, forced out of Diagon Alley to live with the dregs in Knockturn. No, this was a company in the same league as Borgin and Burkes, living off the scum of society and their criminal overlords, willing to do business outside of Ministerial control to cut a profit.
He let himself in to find the place was empty of people but not merchandise, the walls stacked with containers and other shelves which stored various items. He spotted some inventory left out, such as various ancient artifacts, illicit books, and potions that would probably fetch a high price on the black market.
The business was dimly lit except for light that seeped through one open door in the back, and he walked across the office to enter it. He found only a sole occupant who sat behind her ornate desk, seemingly too engrossed in her work to pay himself and Dora much attention.
Aspasia Greengrass was a tall and beautiful woman, possessing bright blonde hair and blue eyes with a body that most women would be envious of. She didn’t dress like Narcissa did, instead wearing something more professional, being a long skirt and white buttoned dress shirt with a diamond bolo tie.
If she had any reservations about being in the same room as an auror, she didn’t show it, as Tonks walked in and leaned against the nearby wall. It seemed his auror bodyguard had nearly reached the end of her patience for his mischief. For before it had been her aunt in a stuffy pureblood club she had to deal with, and now it was a woman who ran a criminal organization.
“Mr. Potter.” Lady Greengrass was busy writing something, only looking up once she finished and put away her quill. She gestured to the seat in front of her desk, not bothering to stand and greet him. “Please.”
The way she said that last word made it sound like he had inconvenienced her, despite this woman being the one who asked him to come here.
He expected there to be small talk like there had been with Narcissa, but instead Aspasia Greengrass got straight to the point. “Recently, I have been getting quite a few requests from Gringotts regarding transactions my House has had with House Black in the past. Strange, considering there is no current Lord nor officially designated heir for House Black, and that there should be no need to drag up old ledgers and transactions with them for quite some time. Most wouldn’t think much on it, but I felt that something was off, and that’s why I called you here.”
He tried to keep a neutral expression despite the blaring alarms going off in his mind, and only hoped that Tonks wouldn’t say anything about Sirius in that moment. Harry was secretly grateful that he didn’t bring the auror into Gringotts with him earlier, otherwise she probably would’ve given something away.
“I had to reach out through a significant amount of my contacts to find out just why this was all happening, but eventually I learned that they were doing a thorough audit and preparation to transfer the Lordship of House Black to its new heir, and that today was the deadline they set for it to take place.” She remained still in place, looking him dead in the eye, scarily confident. “And so I sent out informants, catalogued every person in Diagon Alley today as well as those entering and exiting Gringotts. Surprisingly, you happened to be one of them, and not only that, but you were inside for considerably longer than a vault visit requires.”
He could hear Dora let out a small noise of shock behind him, and Harry had to try very hard not to openly react.
“That seems like a lot of effort to go to.” He mused, trying to keep his voice level. “Especially for something that started as a small hunch.”
“One could put it that way, yet my instincts rarely fail me on matters such as these.” She proclaimed. “But it remains to be seen if I’m wrong, that the heir of House Black truly sits across from me?”
“You’re not wrong.” He admitted, before quickly changing the topic of conversation before she could continue. “I saw the sign out front, Greengrass Imports, Established 1671?”
It hadn’t taken long for him to understand that Aspasia Greengrass wasn’t one to let her enemies gain an inch. She had been playing the underhanded power game from the beginning, from that letter to Narcissa, to making him come to her, and now bulldozing her way into revealing she knew of him being the Black heir.
Attacking her enemies from every angle while not letting them recover was how she operated, and he would have to act fast to counteract whatever plans she had for him.
Harry figured she had this entire conversation probably planned out already, and would slowly maneuver him into a corner if he didn’t somehow fight back. There were two main options then, the first being to leave and risk whatever Aspasia blackmail had planned for him. The next was to try and outwit her, to talk himself out of her blackmail - which Harry simply wasn’t skilled enough to do.
Instead, he decided to make his own way out of this trap, and to maybe make an ally in the process.
“Indeed, for my family has worked in this building for generations.” She recited easily, seeing no harm in answering his harmless question. “Though the business has changed considerably with age. Ministers and new legislation comes and go, wars and goblin rebellions ravage the country, yet we manage to profit from it all the while.”
He snorted. “You must have a broad catalogue.”
“We serve a broad and sweeping clientele across the continent.” She said. “The wizarding world has needs that the various Ministry’s approved channels are… insufficient to meet. We meet them, and have done so for three centuries and we intend to continue.”
“Surely the Ministry knows of what you are doing.”
“You speak of the Ministry as if it is one entity, not a grouping of individuals with varying morals.” Aspasia’s lip quirked up in a smug manner. “Some individuals have need of us, whether it be contraband or information. The underworld of wizarding society is a big place, and not simply ignored by those trying to rise to power.”
“Who are your clients?” He asked, then corrected himself when he realized she would never answer that. “Or - I should ask if your clients are Voldemort’s people.”
“We serve clients with needs, we don’t ask about their politics.” She said. “Although those of a particular inflection have been considerably more active as of late. Increased demand correlates with increased ambition after all.”
“Of course.” He said neutrally.
She held his gaze for a long moment, looking for something in it - whether it be judgment, condemnation, or outrage of some sort. Despite how good she was at maintaining her neutral expression, he could see how much his current disposition shocked her.
“You’re not troubled by this?” She blinked.
“I’ve been gathering information as of late.” He shrugged. “I’m currently in a war, and am looking for new avenues to go about fighting it. Sure, I can do it Dumbledore’s way, through the Ministry, influencing the Wizengamot, winning public support. But the economy? The underworld that Voldemort feeds off of? I could always use more influence there.”
Whatever Aspasia Greengrass had planned seemed to go out the window in that moment, seemingly never having predicted he would utter those words. And Harry was being genuinely truthful by saying that, which opened a new opportunity for the woman to work with him.
“And you wish for me to provide an avenue for you into this?” She tasted the words hesitantly, trying to understand where he was going.
“I’m looking for influence, not control.” The woman probably thought he wanted her to outright stop doing deals with Voldemort’s followers, when really he wanted a way in. Big moves like cutting Voldemort’s resources could come later, after he had enough allies lined up to truly put the hurt on the Dark Lord. “And I’m sure there’s something you want from me in return.”
She didn’t outright reveal what she wanted from him, which was a shame. Instead she pulled out a dense folder of parchment, sorting through different ledgers and proposals before handing them over to him.
What she began to speak about then made Harry’s head spin. The combination of the Black, Potter, and Greengrass fortunes, along with their Wizengamot seats, creating a coalition that would be something beyond formidable. He was already filthy rich, but the agreement Aspasia began to outline went a step beyond that. Entire economies across Europe would be under their sway, political and criminal power that would go a long way to hurt Voldemort’s allies.
But it did not come without a cost, and Harry figured out halfway through just what would seal the deal.
“The Greengrass family is offering a marriage contract. My daughter Daphne, who is in your year at Hogwarts. She is exceptional. Intelligent, composed, beautiful, and clear-minded when it comes to these matters. If you chose to step away from your duties entirely, she could easily take up your responsibilities. She is likely better than even myself when it comes to business.”
He stared down at the pieces of parchment that outlined the agreement, put together by Aspasia in a matter of moments. It spoke to her genius and political acumen that she could decide something as important as this so quickly.
Daphne Elara Greengrass. He stared at the name on the marriage contract put before him.
Of course he knew who she was, despite having little to no interaction with the untouchable Ice Queen of Slytherin. A girl who was the fantasy of most boys in Hogwarts, and yet Harry was being offered her on a silver platter.
But there was a problem.
This was going too well. Too perfectly. He still didn’t know what the Lady of House Greengrass wanted from him, what her goals were. Clearly she abandoned whatever scheme she initially had, but he still wanted to know why she would go along with this, and just what she wanted with House Black.
“It’s an interesting proposal.” He mused.
“It’s an exceptional proposal.” Aspasia smiled with the confidence of believing he would never refuse. After all, Harry Potter would have to be an idiot to refuse an offer of this magnitude.
The influence to fight Voldemort in the criminal underworld. Wealth even more beyond his wildest dreams. A gorgeous witch who would be his wife. Nearly every avenue of attack was likely checked off in Aspasia’s mind.
“It is.” He agreed. “Sadly, this would be easier to consider if it weren’t the second marriage contract I’d received today.”
Aspasia Greengrass suddenly went very still.
Her mouth opened and closed wordlessly, whatever supreme confidence she had in this deal going through vanishing. “I-I beg your pardon?”
“It was actually just before we came here that Narcissa Malfoy presented me with a proposal for her daughter, Kassandra.” He said easily.
The older blonde didn’t look like she was outright panicking, instead being the closest she could get to it while remaining outwardly composed.
“Narcissa… Offered you a marriage contract for her heiress?” She voiced slowly, seemingly trying to comprehend.
“It was right when your letter came.” He nodded. “Her proposal had quite a few benefits.”
An image of Narcissa eyeing him from across the table appeared in his mind’s eye then, those big and heavy breasts just waiting for his touch. Behind him, he could hear Dora huff in irritation.
“This was-“ Aspasia stopped, and quickly composed herself. “I see, I was not aware that Narcissa was… pursuing this avenue.”
“She seemed quite decided about it.” He shrugged.
“Mr. Potter.” Her voice was not as level as it was before. “I should mention, in the interest of full information, that the traditional framework of the old houses accommodates more than one formal arrangement. The wizarding marriage customs of older families are not as restrictive as you might believe. If you were too choose, it would be entirely in your right as a future Lord of multiple Houses to-“
“Take two wives?” Harry finished.
“The terminology is-“ She stopped herself again, looking at him intently. “Would you do so?”
“No.” He lied.
She stopped.
“I wouldn’t go along with that.” He said, knowing she wouldn’t be able to see he was lying. Aspasia was already reeling from the revelation that her friend, Narcissa, had unintentionally betrayed her, and wouldn’t see through his ruse. “I’ve been raised by muggles, you know? And that’s just not something I’d do.”
“I-I see.” She said faintly.
“If it makes you feel better, I wasn’t going to decide this today.” He might be different compared to before, but that didn’t mean he would sign a marriage contract after just one sitting. “I’ve already told Narcissa I’d consider hers though. But I haven’t told her I’d consider yours, so I’ll have to work everything out.”
That seemed to give the woman some hope, as she nodded.
“However, there is something I want to know before I think about it anymore.” He continued. “Why so much interest in House Black?”
It was something that had bugged him since this interaction began, being why the woman was so focused on House Black.
“A marriage contract would create a formal alliance between House Greengrass and House Black. And with it would come access to each other’s holdings, such as libraries, archives, vaults.” She met his eyes, seemingly having decided to tell him something of use. “The Black library is irreplaceable. There are texts in that collection that my business cannot source through any market of the countries we operate in. There are things in that library that I have been trying to access for years through every legitimate and illegitimate means available to me. And when I began to get inquiries about my business dealings with House Black…”
“Your instincts told you to investigate, and it led you to me.” He nodded, understanding slightly more. It seemed that Aspasia wanted something specific from the Black library, enough that she would betroth him to her heiress in order to get it.
“I… would like to continue this conversation at a later date.” She spoke. “When you have considered your position, please contact me.”
“I’ll do so.” He nodded, standing up, but that was when her soft hand grabbed his arm.
“You are not what I expected.” Her blue eyes met his own, unexpectedly earnest.
She let his limb go after a moment, gaze never leaving his own until he was outside and walking through Knockturn Alley at night with Dora on his heel.
Much like before, the quiet only lasted a moment until the auror couldn’t hold her thoughts in.
“That woman is a criminal, you know. Her business probably runs a good chunk of the contraband that comes in and out of wizarding Britain.” Dora stated. “She’s got enough blackmail and political capital that not even my boss can touch her without repercussions.”
“Uh-huh.” He nodded.
“That same woman wants you to marry her daughter.”
“I guess so.”
“And you - the two of you just-” Tonks sputtered. “You told her you wouldn’t take two wives.”
“I lied.” Harry said.
Tonks literally stumbled at his answer, barely managing to catch herself before she fell onto the stone road below. “W-What?!”
He snorted. “Of course I’d take two women as wives. I just told her that as a negotiating tactic.”
“Y-You…” She looked at him as if seeing him for the first time.
He only laughed. “Is that more surprising than me being offered two marriage contracts in one day?”
The pink-haired auror grumbled something under her breath, before shooting him a glare. “Curse you, Potter.”
Disclaimer: All Characters are over the Age of 18
A/N: Longer chapter than usual for this one, hope you enjoy!