A/N: Here's the next chapter!
Please Enjoy!
Chapter 9 - Plan B
When Harry Potter woke up on Monday it was to an owl tapping his window with its beak. He recognized the owl as Raven's-a snowy named Rayne. Harry eagerly jumped out of bed and opened the window, untying the letter from the owl that reminded him so much of Hedwig.
Dad,
I know you told us not to worry about the article in the Daily Prophet, but we're still a bit concerned. We just want you to be happy, and Jade and I would feel much better if we had undeniable proof of Hannah's love for you.
Harry sighed to himself. Damn that Rita Skeeter. Harry already knew Hannah loved him, but he could see the girls not recognizing and understanding such a deep and complex emotion. Focusing on the letter again, he continued reading.
If she really loved you, I don't think she'd mind if you restricted her access to the vaults for just one month. Please Daddy, do this for us.
Love,
Raven and Jade.
Running his hands through his hair, Harry pondered what he should do. He loved Hannah, and he knew doing this would show a lack of confidence in her and upset her, especially now that they were engaged. But Raven and Jade were his girls, the two girls he loved more than anything in the world, and…he couldn't deny them anything.
Sighing again, Harry took out a piece of paper and started writing.
Dear Griphook,
---GMAC---
"He did what?" Hannah shrieked in Griphook's face. "How dare you say such a thing, you filthy creature! My Harry would never keep me from his money!"
"Well," said Griphook, a sneer on his face, "since you seem to be hard of hearing, I'll show you the letter he sent me which bears his signature and the Potter Family Seal."
When Hannah snatched the letter from Griphook's hands, her eyes widened in shock and her jaw dropped. "H-how…HOW COULD HE DO THIS TO ME?!"
Hannah immediately apparated straight out of Gringotts and back to Potter Manor. She was definitely going to have some words with Harry about this.
"Harry!" she called, a rough and manic edge to her voice. "Harry!"
Harry appeared before her, a nervous smile on his face. "Y-yes, darling?"
"What is this?" she demanded, brandishing the letter in front of his face.
"Er…a request to restrict your vault access," said Harry, sweat forming on his brow.
Hannah was about to explode on him, but then remembered at the last second that she was supposed to be in love with Harry, not his money. If she freaked out on him, he might see that she was only in it for the money. It was times like these that she was glad she had liked acting in front of the mirror when she was young.
She looked down and let tears collect in her eyes before looking up at her fiancé. "I thought you didn't believe Rita Skeeter? I thought you loved me," she said with a sob. Harry reached a hand out to comfort her but she backed away. "Aren't we supposed to trust each other? Isn't that what it means to be in a relationship?"
"Yes," said Harry, eager to explain his reasoning. "But Raven and Jade are worried about me and want me to be happy. They don't know you as well as I do and they just want to make sure that you're not just in it for the money. I do trust you sweetheart, I'm just doing this for the girls' sakes."
Damn brats, Hannah thought to herself. They know. "I see," Hannah said, letting more tears come. It was time to see if she could get Harry to allow her to have access to the vaults again. "You're choosing them over me."
"What?" asked Harry coldly, an edge of menace in his voice.
Hannah could feel the magic growing thicker around Harry. She had pushed him too far. "Er…I mean…"
"I explained to you when we got into this relationship that I would do absolutely anything for my girls and that they would always be first in my heart," said Harry, his eyes glowing from the magic. "You knew coming into this that if it came down to the wire, I would choose them over you. If you're telling me to just brush aside Raven and Jade…" Harry finished menacingly.
"No!" cried Hannah. "That's not what I meant to say!" She could see all of her dreams (well, her one dream of being rich) crumbling before her eyes. "I just meant that they're young and they probably don't understand the depth of love we have for each other! If you're doing it for them…" Hannah cringed on the inside, "then I don't care. If going a month without access to the vaults will show them that I truly love you…then I'll gladly do it," she finished with a smile.
Harry's threatening demeanor quickly dropped and his eyes crinkled at the corners as he smiled at her. "I'm glad to hear it," he said. "And if you want me to show you how much I love you right now…" he trailed off as he came up close to her.
And no matter how much Hannah disliked Harry, she couldn't deny such a sexy man. She smiled seductively at him, and he grabbed her hand and started pulling her through the house toward their room.
His back was turned to her and she finally allowed herself to scowl. She was certain of a three things: 1. Harry was incredibly scary when he was angry; 2. Raven and Jade were seriously annoying; and 3. This coming month was going to be incredibly difficult.
---GMAC---
The next day, Raven and Jade received two letters, one with their dad's handwriting and one with Hannah's handwriting. They decided to read their dad's first.
Raven and Jade,
I'm very sorry that the article upset you two so much. I did as you said and denied Hannah's access to the vault because I love you two very much and want you to like Hannah. She took the news well-well, as well as one can-and she decided…well, I'll let you two read the letter she sent you so you can hear from her.
I love you two very much and I hope everything is going well at school!
Love,
Dad
Raven and Jade looked at each other in utter disbelief before opening and reading Hannah's letter.
Dear Raven and Jade,
First off, I wish to say that I miss you two very much and I hope you are having fun at school.
Both girls snorted simultaneously.
I'm happy that you love your father so much and wish him to be happy, and I want you to know that I will gladly abide to your wishes if it will show you two that I am truly in love with him.
We both miss you and we can't wait to see you when you come home for Christmas!
Hannah
Raven tore up Hannah's letter and threw it in the fire as Jade slumped back against the couch. "I can't believe that vile woman," Raven said.
Jade had a more thoughtful look on her face. "It's only day one, sis. If she makes it past two weeks without completely freaking out, I'll be truly impressed."
Raven grinned at Jade evilly. "I just thought of something."
"What?" asked Jade.
"I think you're going to like it," said Raven.
---GMAC---
Harry took one look at the paper the next morning and threw it across the table disgustedly. There was a picture of Hannah on it, which could only mean that Rita Skeeter must've figured out what had happened. "Son of a bitch! How did she figure it out this time?" he asked himself rhetorically before sighing and picking up the paper again to see what it had to say.
Trouble in Paradise? Rita Skeeter
When I, Rita Skeeter, award-winning journalist, was eating an ice-cream sundae at Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlor in Diagon Alley yesterday, an interesting sight met my eyes. I was shocked to see Hannah Abbot storming out of Gringotts, fury etched on her face.
And I, the ever-investigating reporter, decided to get the facts for her loyal readers. I asked to see a goblin who shall remain unnamed. The goblin in question gladly gave me the details.
"Hannah Abbot came to make a withdrawal today, but the bank had received a letter earlier from Mr. Potter stating that she was to be restricted from having access to the vaults," the goblin informed me. "She then proceeded to throw a fit, calling me a filthy creature in the process."
Obviously Harry Potter was concerned by the article I had written about Hannah Abbot only being with him for his money. It is good to know that I was able to help the hero of our world in realizing that his now-fiancée was not truly in love with him.
Until next time, Rita Skeeter.
Harry couldn't believe it. First of all, the bank had given out classified information. But then Harry thought to himself that they would never do that and that Skeeter must have used her Animagus ability to look at the records, then faked a conversation with a goblin to cover her tracks and put Hannah in the worst light possible.
Hannah came downstairs for breakfast still in her pajamas. She looked at Harry and asked, "What are you so angry about, darling?"
Harry sighed and wordlessly handed the paper over to her. As she read it her eyes widened, and if Harry hadn't been chewing his cereal he would've heard her mutter, "That stupid goblin!"
Fortunately for her, he was chewing his cereal, so he didn't understand what she said. "What was that?" he asked.
When Hannah looked up at him again she looked like she was about to cry. "How could they?"
"It's just the press making stuff up again. Don't worry about it-I know you'd never say something like that to a goblin." He stood up and hugged her, then sighed. "Looks like I'll have to write another letter to Raven and Jade."
---GMAC---
The two girls were currently sitting in Transfiguration Class, inwardly smirking. The plan had gone even better than they hoped. All they had done was send a letter to Rita saying to check the Potter Vault access list. They never expected her to go above and beyond, getting an interview from an actual goblin. It must've been pretty angry at Hannah to spill the beans on something confidential. They could definitely see Hannah calling the goblin a filthy creature.
After class, Hermione asked them to stay. "Are you two responsible for this news article again?" she asked, no warmth in her voice.
It was times like these that Raven and Jade were glad their dad had taught them Occlumency. "No, Professor Granger," they said simultaneously.
"Why am I finding it hard to believe?" asked Hermione. "How else could Rita Skeeter have known?"
"She must've seen Hannah like she said she did," said Raven with no trouble keeping a straight face. "All we did was ask our dad to restrict her vault access for a month. That way, when Hannah snaps, our dad will see that she really doesn't care about him. Honestly, Professor, we really didn't mean to get the press involved."
Hermione sighed, then smiled at the two. "Alright, I believe you two. And between you two and me, that's actually a pretty good idea."
"Thanks, Professor," said Jade. "Now can we please be excused? Quidditch tryouts are this weekend and we need to utilize the small amount of light that we have left."
"Sure," said Hermione. "I'll see you tomorrow at lunch." Raven and Jade had taken to eating lunch with their Professor.
"Yep, bye!" said Raven, leaving the classroom with Jade.
The twins looked at each other a bit guiltily. They felt bad about lying to Hermione, but really, there was no other way to win this war but to fight dirty. If she didn't have the resolve or guts to do it, then it was all up to Raven and Jade to get it done.
And they would get it done no matter what.
---GMAC---
Hermione sighed to herself as she got out a piece of parchment. She had been putting it off for days, but she couldn't hold back any longer. The longer she waited to get in the fight for Harry's heart, the closer it came to the wedding.
And once that happened, the chances of winning Harry's heart were going to go from improbable to impossible.
A/N: Holy Merlin, I didn't know I could be that evil. It's actually quite fun. Poor delusional Harry, I really feel bad for him. And did you see what I did there when he thought that the girls wouldn't understand love when in fact they understand it even better than he does?
I hope you enjoyed it, and please review!