Chapter 2
Harry POV
"Malfoy can have his title and his money. I do not care about these things anyway," Harry said. He and Hermione were sitting on a table in the Three Broomsticks, discussing the news.
"It is not just about a title and money, Harry. As an Earl you have tenants and a vote in the Wizarding Council. Think about all the good you could do if you became the Earl of Godric's Hollow and think about how Malfoy would abuse his powers."
"I am supposed to quickly marry some Lady I barely know and father an heir with her! I cannot do this, Hermione. Neither to her nor to me. I always believed in marrying out of love like my parents did," Harry argued.
"You do not have to marry a random woman, Harry." After a short pause Hermione said: "She still loves you."
Harry sighed. "I courted Ginny and then abruptly stopped all my advances to prepare for the fight with Voldemort. I severely hurt her reputation with my behavior. What will she say when I propose to her now?"
"She will say yes. She will always say yes to you, Harry. Today is the ball in Mrs. Longbottom's house. She will be there. Just ask her. Today. Do not lose any more time, Harry," Hermione advised. "No one deserves happiness more than you do and if Ginny Weasley is what makes you happy then go and propose to her." Hermione said sincerely. Harry thought that he had noticed a hint of sadness in his friend's voice. Maybe she was not so sure concerning Ginny's reaction after all.
Harry took Hermione's advice anyways. In the evening he and Hermione were standing in Mrs. Longbottom's ballroom. They had already exchanged greetings with Neville and his grandmother and were currently looking for Ginny.
Finally, Harry spotted her at the far end of the large room, talking to Miss Luna Lovegood.
"What shall I tell her?" Harry asked, nervously seeking help with his friend.
"Tell her the truth, Harry. Tell her that you love her and that you just wanted to protect her from getting involved in the war. She will understand," Hermione reassured him.
"She was very upset when I left."
"She was worried about you, Harry. We all were," Hermione answered very seriously.
Harry looked over at Ginny again and braced himself. "Wish me luck."
"Harry Potter, the man who conquered Voldemort, is afraid of proposing to a Lady." Harry gave Hermione an annoyed look and she added seriously: "Good luck, Harry."
Harry was just going to go over and talk to Ginny, when he spotted her talking to the person he least expected her to have a conversation with.
Draco POV
Draco Malfoy needed a wife and he needed her soon. He was not happy at the prospect of getting married at 18, but he had always known that he would have to find a suitable wife sooner or later. Draco was far from being a romantic. His parents' and grandparents' marriages had been arranged. It was how things usually worked in the finer society. He got the opportunity to choose a wife and that was more than he had expected. Of course he would not make an unreasonable choice out of affection. He knew exactly what he was looking for. He needed a wife from a respected pureblood family. She had to be healthy to increase his chances of getting her with child soon. A pretty face and a nice body could not hurt either.
Draco scanned the room looking for potential candidates. Pansy Parkinson who was sending him flirty glances. No, too clingy. He did not need a wife who would interfere with his life too much. Daphne Greengrass. Not beautiful enough. The Patil twins. No, he would never get one without the other. The last thing he needed was a sister in law who intruded into his house and life every day. Luna Lovegood. Too crazy. Lavender Brown. No, she liked men way too much. With her he could not be sure if his heir was really his.
Then his eyes landed on a woman he had never even considered as a potential candidate before. Now he wondered why. Sure, she despised him, but that was the case for most of the candidates he had considered. That did not matter. No woman would be crazy enough to turn down one of the wealthiest men in the Wizarding World simply because she did not like him. Especially if the woman's family was as poor as Ginny Weasley's. Her lack of money did not bother Draco. He had more than enough money and if he became the next Earl he would have even more. Her family was as pure as his and the Weasleys were a respectable family. If Ginny was as fertile as her mother he would have an heir in no time. She was pretty, too. And the best thing was her connection to Potter. It was no secret that Potter was after Ginny Weasley like a lovesick puppy. If his great love married another man Potter would be busy licking his wounds for a while. Potter was too idealistic to immediately search for a replacement. He would probably still be moping when his and Ginny's child would be born. Perfect.
"Good evening, Miss Weasley," Draco greeted Ginny.
The young woman turned around, surprised to be spoken to by Draco Malfoy of all people.
"What do you want?" she asked bluntly.
Draco decided to be equally straightforward. He did not know Ginny Weasley well, but he knew that she was not stupid enough to believe him if he lied. He saw no need in sugar-coating his proposal.
"I want to marry you."
"Excuse me?" Ginny asked bewildered.
"I think you heard me right. I need a wife to become the next Earl of Godric's Hollow and I choose you," Draco explained matter of factly.
"Is this some kind of joke or are you simply insane?"
"Neither. You are young, from a more or less respectable pureblood family, you are pretty, you are not stupid and considering your amount of brothers you are probably very fertile. You see, I am absolutely serious. Usually a young lady is polite enough to at least answer a proposal from a respectable gentleman. I thought your parents had taught you some manners," Malfoy said mockingly.
"You of all people dare to criticise my manners?!" Ginny asked furiously. "I am surprised that you even know the meaning of the word. You are neither respectable nor a gentleman. You are just the spoilt, arrogant brat of two Azkaban inmates. Of course my answer to your 'proposal' is no! Have you seriously expected a different answer?!"
Draco was now as angry as the young woman and all humour vanished from his face and tone. Ginny Weasley had hit a weak spot when she had mentioned his parents. How did she dare to insult him and his family this way?!
"Do not speak about my parents! That is none of your business. And yes, I did expect a different answer considering your family's financial situation. Do I have to remind you that the land your poor excuse of a house stands on belongs to the property of the Earl of Godric's Hollow? When I am the Earl I can force your family to leave your house whenever I want, but if you marry me your parents will be allowed to stay in the house as long as they wish."
Draco knew that he was basically coercing Ginny to accept his proposal, but after she had hurt him by reminding him of his parents' whereabouts he did not care. She had insulted his family and now he was threatening hers.
Ginny went pale. "You would not do that!" She exclaimed, but sounded anything then convinced.
"Would I not? During our school days you thought I was capable of every bad deed and it did not sound like you suddenly see me in a better light. Let us try again: Will you marry me?"
Ginny hesitated. Her gaze wandered through the room and eventually stopped on Potter, who was looking into their direction. Potter looked worried and Ginny looked torn.
"You hesitate because you are still expecting a proposal from Potter?" The mocking tone was back. "Tell me, if your hero was as interested in you then the other way around, would he not have had the decency to marry you before he left you to save the world. Even I would have done that if I had been in his place."
"Do not dare to judge Harry! You are not worthy of polishing his shoes! And why are you so sure that you will become the next Earl anyway? If I recall correctly, Harry has as much claim to the title as you have."
Draco considered to lie for a moment, but decided against it. Ginny was probably smart enough to see through his lie. "For someone who does not care about pureness of blood you are very well acquainted with ancestry. Saint Potter and I paid a visit to our great-grandfather's lawyer today. To make a long story short: The one of us who is the first to produce a legal heir will be the next Earl."
Ginny was furious. "You plan to use me to snatch the title away from Harry?!"
"What is more important to you: That your beloved Potter gets a fancy title and more money he does not need or that your family has a roof over their heads? In the unlikely case that Potter will beat me in this little competition you surely have nothing to worry about. He would never throw your family out on the streets. You see, by marrying me you are on the save side, come what may."
"You are a conceited bastard!"
"Is that a yes?" Draco asked, knowing that he had won.
"Do I have a choice?"
"Not really. Now that this is settled, let us go and talk to your father."
Harry POV
Harry felt his anger rise when he saw Draco Malfoy walking next to Ginny, his hand possessively on the small of her back.
"Take your dirty hands of her!" Harry hissed and reached for his wand.
Malfoy grinned. "No need to start a fight, Potter. I have every right to have my hands on Miss Weasley. Ask her yourself, if you do not believe me."
Harry turned to Ginny, looking confused and worried. "Ginny? What is going on here?"
"I am so sorry, Harry," Ginny whispered, her eyes filling with tears.
Harry wanted to repeat his question, but Malfoy was already leading Ginny to her parents, who had watched the little scene with concern. Harry, Hermione and most of the other guests watched curiously how Ginny, her parents and Draco had a short talk. A moment later, Malfoy touched his throat with his wand and his magically increased voice captured everybody's attention.
"Ladies and Gentlemen, it is my great pleasure to announce my engagement to Miss Ginevra Weasley."
Harry grabbed his wand tighter and took a step towards the newly engaged couple, when he felt Hermione grab his arm.
"Let me go!" he demanded angrily, but Hermione shook her head.
"No, Harry. You cannot start a fight in the middle of a full ballroom. You will not only ruin your reputation, but Ginny's as well. "
"She does not want this, Hermione," Harry said desperately.
"I know. Harry, I am so sorry."
Harry looked his friend in the eyes, which were full of sympathy and sadness. He had always found comfort in Hermione's friendship, but right now not even she was able to comfort him. Without another word, Harry disapparated back to his temporary home.
Harry took one of the ugly vases in the living room and threw it against the wall where it shattered into dozens of pieces. The portrait of Mrs. Black in the hallway started to shout: "Vandals, Blood Traitors, Mudblood friends, such scum in the noble house of Black."
"Shut up!" Harry screamed, but did not care when the painting continued with the insults. He was seeing red and the background ramblings just fit his mood.
He continued throwing random things around the room, hit the cabinet with the probably very expensive porcelain with a candleholder and destroyed the chandelier with a curse. Harry raised his wand again and aimed for the liquor cabinet, but hesitated. Harry rarely drank alcohol and he could count the occasions on which he had drunken something stronger than butterbeer on the fingers of one hand, but today everything was different. Harry lowered his wand, took a bottle of firewhiskey and a glass from the cabinet and sat down on the couch in the middle of the destroyed room.
That was where Hermione found Harry an hour later.
"Oh, Harry!" Hermione said when she entered the living room. Harry looked up from the half empty bottle in front of him and faced his friend. She looked concerned and he could see tears in the corners of her eyes. A moment later Hermione was by Harry's side and sat silently next to him until Harry broke the silence.
"What are you doing here? You should not visit me alone at this hour, people will start talking about you," Harry said, his voice quite slurred from the alcohol.
Hermione smiled a little at Harry's concern. "I am not alone. Luna is waiting in the hallway. At least she was there a minute ago. Now she has probably gone to search for Nargels in the whole house."
There was a short pause before Harry spoke again, this time full of anger.
"That bastard chose Ginny, because he knew that I love her! He wants to take her off the market, because he knew I would not search for a replacement! He does not even see her as a human being, Hermione!" Harry yelled.
"I know, Harry. Even after all these years we know Malfoy I did not think that he was capable of sinking that low." Hermione's voice was full of despise.
"The irony is that it is actually working. He has his wife and he will soon have his hire, even if he has to rape Ginny! He will get his will and there is nothing I can do to stop him." Harry had tears of rage and sorrow in his eyes, but he did not bother to wipe them away. He did not need to conceal his emotions in front of Hermione and he knew it.
"Oh, Harry, I wished I could say something else, but I am afraid there is really nothing you can do about this marriage. Of course Ginny could break the engagement, but I do not think she will. I researched the exact location of the property that belonged to the late Earl. The burrow is inside the range of the county. I am sure Malfoy threatened to take the Weasleys' house from them when he becomes the Earl, if Ginny does not marry him."
"He cannot do this!" Harry exclaimed shocked.
"Unfortunately, he can. The Earl can do however he pleases with his property."
"There must be something we can do about this!"
"There is only one thing you can do to prevent Malfoy from abusing his power. You cannot let him hire the title," Hermione said matter of factly.
Harry looked confused, but when his whiskey clouded mind had understood what his friend was saying, his facial expression changed to one of disbelief and anger.
"You cannot seriously suggest that I coerce a woman I barely know into marrying me like Malfoy did!"
"It does not have to be a lady you barely know. Think of all the girls we went to Hogwarts with. You know some of them quite well. Is there no one whom you like enough that you could imagine sharing your home and life with? There must be someone you trust to take the responsibility of being a countess seriously and for whom you feel at least affection. And you would not have to coerce a lady into marrying you, Harry. The woman you will marry will be very lucky and I am not talking about your money, your fame or the title you might inherit. No, Harry, she will be lucky because you will care for her opinion and treat her with respect. Unfortunately this is very rare. Many men just want a woman who is nice to look at and does what she is told. Nobody deserves to be happy more than you do, Harry. After all you have been through you should be able to marry the woman you love. It is not fair that you are once again in a position in which it takes a personal sacrifice from you to ensure that other people can live a better life, but you are the only one who can stop Malfoy from becoming the next Earl and abusing his powers. Think about how many people he will cause grief by taking their homes from them or punishing them for little mistakes."
"What if I am tired of playing the hero and putting everyone else before myself?!" Harry exclaimed. "No one can force me to marry a woman I do not love!"
Harry looked down, because he did not want to see the disappointment in Hermione's eyes, but even without the eye contact he could hear it in her voice.
"Of course not, Harry. Please just think about it tomorrow, when you are... calmer," Hermione asked. "You should go to bed and get some sleep," she said and reached for the bottle of firewhiskey that was still standing in front of her friend, but Harry grabbed the bottle before her.
"It is none of your business when I go to sleep or how much I drink!" Harry said angrily and turned away from Hermione.
"No, I guess it is not." This time Hermione's voice did not only sound disappointed, but very sad and trembling, like she was close to tears. "Good night, Harry," she whispered and left the room.