Potions and Parchment Match

“Mr. Zabini, you are wanted in the headmistress’ office,” a fellow Slytherin told him that morning on his way to breakfast.

“Damn!” he had wanted to search for Ginny and explain things to her. He had hoped that they could work out their problems and get on with things. He walked towards the passage to the headmistress’ chamber lost in thought. He had always thought that Ginny Weasley was beautiful. He had secretly watched her during the Slug Club meetings and knew her to be witty and charming. She had a beautiful smile and a wonderful spirit. He also recently realized that she had one hell of a temper and wasn’t afraid to use it. Her older brothers were all terrified of her. He chuckled to himself thinking of the times when they would fight and have fabulous make up sex. He knew that she would be just as passionate during lovemaking as she was with every other aspect of her life.

“Something funny, Mr. Zabini?” Kingsley Shacklebolt asked as he lazily stood in front of the statue that blocked the stairway to the head office.

With a start Blaise stared in shock at his father. He hadn’t expected to see him here. “No, sir,” he said with wonder.

“Walk with me, Mr. Zabini,” he said turning away and walking down a corridor.

“Sir, Headmistress McGonagall requested my presence.”

“She did so at my request. I would like to discuss your upcoming marriage to Miss Weasley and the contract that your family has requested that she sign.”

“Oh,” he said. He quietly walked along side his father, neither of them saying a word. They went down several flights of stairs and walked towards the front doors.

“Let’s take a walk around the lake. It has always been a favorite place of mine,” Kingsley said leading him out the door.

“Sir, I think that there has been some kind of mistake. I have with me a copy of the marriage contract that my family always has outsiders sign. I don’t know why my mother sent the other one to the Weasley’s, but I never would have asked that Ginny sign it,” he said handing Kingsley the original document.

Kingsley looked at the boy square in the eye and then took the parchment from his hands and read. “I see. This is a very different document, indeed. It actually looks like the one that your mother asked me to sign after I proposed to her.”

Blaise gasped. “You proposed? What happened?”

“I wondered if you had known of my relationship with your mother,” he said with a chuckle.

“I knew of the relationship, sir, but I did not know that you had offered marriage.”

“In the end I refused to sign the contract and she refused to marry without it. I had heard rumors regarding your mother and I wasn’t willing to die at a young age. As it turned out I am glad that I did not marry her. What is she up to now? Seven dead husbands?”

Blaise blushed but refused to answer. “Sir, I am not my mother, nor am I like her. I plan to marry once and raise a family with my wife. I hope to learn to love and respect her and I hope that we live out our days in harmony together.”

Kingsley looked at the young man before him. He was familiar to him and he figured that it was just because he resembled his mother. For some reason he believed him. He could tell that he was different than Endora. He did not have her cockiness and arrogance. He wasn’t as blatantly self-assured and hell bent on enforcing his will on others. “I would expect you to destroy the first contract, and think long and hard about presenting her with this second one. While it is much better than the first, it will still come across as insulting.”

“I haven’t any choice. It is required that any bride I take signs this or I will be disinherited. This contract has been in place for centuries to preserve the family fortunes.”

“I wonder, Mr. Zabini, why is it that you carry the Zabini name and not that of your father?”

Blaise blushed. “My parents were never married.”

Kingsley was surprised by this. When he and Endora parted ways, she immediately married a Wizard named Shakir Abasworth. He had always assumed that he was the father of her only child. “Who is your father?”

“Is that really relevant to this conversation?” Blaise asked staring his father straight in the eye.

Kingsley blinked. He had seen that look before, and it hadn’t been on Endora. “No, it isn’t. I would however, like to know.”

“Perhaps you should discuss it with my mother,” he said firmly.

“Perhaps I should,” Kingsley said with a creeping suspicion. He couldn’t believe that she could keep that kind of a secret from him for so many years. “However, I would like you to tell me.”

“Is it an official order from the Ministry of Magic?”

“No, it is a request from one man to another.”

“In that case, I shall refuse such request. If that is all, sir, I will go try and find Miss Weasley and work this out.”

Kingsley nodded his head and watched the young man walk away. He refused to believe that Endora would have kept the knowledge of a child from him. He knew in his heart that Blaise Zabini was his son, but why was he kept in the dark, and did his son know the truth? He suspected the young man did by his refusal to name him as his father. He decided that it was time to make a trip to Crete and look up Endora. They had a conversation that was long over do.

Harry peaked around the corner and then sighed in relief. He was clear. He quickly walked down the hall towards his transfiguration class and then ducked into the classroom. He had spent the entire day ducking from one room to the other to avoid Pansy. She had bombarded him with one stupid question after another regarding the wedding and he had reached his limit. He didn’t care what food was served, what kind of china it was served on, what kind of champagne was served, or what kind of crystal it was consumed in. He really could care less what kind of flowers there were or where they were arranged. He could give a flying fuck what kind of ice sculpture was centered or where it was centered.

He gave her the names of those he wanted invited, and the names of the three men he wanted to stand with him. He told her he wouldn’t wear pink and that he did not want to go to America for his honeymoon. For god’s sake, couldn’t the witch figure the rest out on her own?

He had sent a letter off to Grafhook at Gringotts requesting his family betrothal ring and then a parcel was delivered the next day with both the Potter and the Black family ring. He was now head of both families and he had not specified which family ring he wanted. He had both of them in his pocket with him now and he could not decide which one to present her with. He preferred the Potter ring with its elegant lines of the yellow gold and the large Ruby and diamond setting. The Black family ring was silver and had swirls in the setting with a large emerald surrounded by a cluster of yellow diamonds. He suspected that Pansy would prefer that one, as it was more ostentatious and gaudy.

He debated the entire day and finally decided that as he was a Potter she should receive the Potter ring. Then he changed his mind and thought that he should give the ring that she would like best to her. So he would give her the Black family ring. Then he thought that his father might be disappointed that he didn’t use the Potter family ring so he decided to use it. Then he thought of how hurt Sirius would be when his family ring was spurred and he decided to use it. Finally, he decided that his father had given the Potter family ring to his mother with love and he didn’t want to tarnish that with giving it to another woman who he did not love. He decided to give the Black family ring to Pansy. Their family had always married for political and economical gain, not for love.

Harry had sent an owl to the Parkinson family requesting a meeting to discuss marriage settlements. Harry had not known that this was required of him until Molly had explained it. As head of two long standing pureblood families it was expected that he follow tradition and set a bride price and a dowry. Even though technically he wasn’t a pureblood, his status as Lord Potter and Lord Black and also his fame as THE Harry Potter, it was expected of him to follow the rules.

He was a bit hesitant to meat with the Parkinson’s. They had been a staunch death eater family and he wasn’t sure what to expect of them. He had never had any real personal dealings with the elder Parkinson’s, but that didn’t mean that they hadn’t tried to kill him behind a mask when he didn’t recognize them. He hoped that when they met on Saturday things would go well. Arthur planned to accompany Harry as a family representative because he had no other family members.

Harry looked around the room wondering where Pansy and her gaggle of friends were. This was one of the classes that they had together and he figured she would have shown up by now. In fact, her whole group was missing. Harry frowned and looked around. In fact, only he a couple of others was in the room. He wondered what was going on. Ron and Hermione were also in this class with him, but they too were missing. Just when he was about to go look to see what was going on everyone walked quietly in the room with Headmistress McGonagall.

“Be seated and be quiet!” she said firmly to the class.

Harry looked at Hermione and Ron to figure out what was going on but they were on the other side of the room. Pansy had flopped down in the seat next to him. “What’s going on?” he hissed at her.

“The ministry has announced that they were going to pair the unmatched witches and wizards today. They will be sending out owls in the morning with the name of those who are paired. Those matches are going to be given sixty days to marry. They said that because they are not matched with their best mates then they need more time to get to know the person that they are matched with.”

“Oh,” Harry said. He might not have picked Pansy on his own, but he at least knew that they had a chance of making a success of their marriage based off of compatibility. People like Ron, didn’t stand much of a chance.

“I would like to remind all of you that we are still in a school and you are still expected to pass your NEWTs at the end of the year. I realize that as usual the ministry is disrupting our school, but it is to your best interest to worry less about wedding festivities and more about your education. If the ministry pairs you with someone that you can’t live with, you will still need to support yourself! Now turn to page 345 in your book!” she said.

The class groaned as one and pulled their textbooks out of their bags. They very rarely used a text in this class and when they did it usually meant that they were going to have to write an essay.

Harry turned to look at Pansy who was studying him. She grinned when his eyes met hers. “Can you meet me tonight after dinner in the astrology tower?” he asked.

“Sure. I wanted to talk to you anyway.”

“Please don’t ask me anymore wedding questions. Just plan it and I will show up,” he told her with a scowl.

Pansy looked disappointed but nodded her head. “How about honeymoon questions?”

Harry shook his head. “I want to go somewhere warm and tropical. I don’t care where. Just send the bill to my account,” he told her.

Pansy shook her head. “Daddy said that he would be paying for the entire wedding.”

“I thought that the groom paid for the honeymoon?” he asked. He remembered Mrs. Weasley telling him that it was expected.

“Usually, but Daddy wants to do this for us.”

“Mr. Potter and Miss Parkinson, if you have something more important than transfiguration class to discuss, I would be more than happy to hear about it,” Professor McGonagall hissed at them.

“Uh, sorry, Professor,” Harry said looking down at his book. He wondered if Pansy’s father thought that by paying for everything that he could control Harry. If that were the case, he would have a rude awakening later.

Ginny stood next to the lake staring at its murky depts. She had wondered on several occasions what it would have been like to swim under it to the mermaid dwelling like Harry had in fourth year. She had always thought that mermaids would be like the Muggle fairy tales and be beautiful and friendly. Harry had told her that they were hideous and that there was nothing friendly about the ones that he had met.

She sat on a large boulder and tossed several small pebbles out into the lake. She watched each ripple as it floated away until it disappeared. Life was getting to be complicated and she wondered how things could have turned out as they had. She never would have imagined herself betrothed to a man she didn’t know. She couldn’t imagine being a part of a family so cold that they would demand the person marrying into it to sign such a ridiculous contract.

Her parents thought that the matter would be taken care of with Kingsley Shacklebolt, but she wondered if it really would. The Zabini’s might concede the contract, but she would still have to live with them. How would they treat her? Would they take her refusal to sign the contract as an affront to them and make her life miserable and unwelcome? Could they eventually figure out a way to kill her and steal any children that she may have?

Secretly she had always found Blaise fascinating. She had seen him watching her several times during the Slug Club meetings. She knew that on a very basic level he had found her attractive, but it was her looks that he liked, not the real her. She had told Hermione that the Zabini’s had stayed neutral during the war and probably didn’t care about her pureblood status, but inside she wondered if they did. To most of the Wizarding world before the war, they were blood traitors and were not well liked. After the war because of their families association with Harry most of the families tried to befriend the Weasley’s.

She wondered how he would feel about her not being a virgin. To her it hadn’t been any big deal. She wasn’t saving herself for a marriage that might not happen. When the war was going on she decided that she wasn’t going to die a virgin and set about seducing Neville Longbottom. He was a virgin also and they had shared a few nights. He had tried to do the honorable thing and propose marriage but she had refused. It was a matter of convenience for both of them, no major love match. They had both been lonely while Harry, Ron and Hermione had been gone. They had parted as friends and neither ever brought the subject up again.

She felt the wind begin to pick up and enjoyed the cool breeze as it whipped through her hair. She always enjoyed the late fall when the leaves dropped and winter was starting to make an appearance. She loved getting up in the mornings to the frost on the ground and the ice around the edge of the lake. She sat back tipping her head letting her body relax. Her hair flowed gently behind her and she closed her eyes content to feel the day move on around her.

Blaise stared at the vision before him. She was absolutely beautiful. Her red hair flew behind her tipped head as the wind blew it in all directions. Her eyes were closed and a slight smile graced her face. She was the most stunning witch he had ever seen. He felt his body start to respond and he ached to possess her. He ached to take her into his arms and claim her as his own.

“Ginny,” he whispered.

Her eyes flew open and she looked up at him with stunning green eyes. “What are you doing here?” she demanded.

“We need to talk,” he said softly kneeling down in front of her. “There has been a huge misunderstanding.”

“Blaise, I know how to read, and I have been reading since I was six years old. That contract was written in English, which is the only language that I read or speak. I am not an idiot. There was no mistaking those words,” she said with eyes flashing in anger.

“Look, this is the contract that my family has required for generations. This is not the one that my mother sent to your family. I don’t know why she did what she did, but I hope that you will believe me when I tell you that I would never have asked you to sign such an atrocity.” He handed her the folded parchment and waited for her to take it from his hand.

She stared at him for a moment and then sighed. She took the parchment and opened it. She glanced one more time at him and then read the document.


In the Matter of the Marriage Between

Blaise King Zabini, hereafter known as Groom,

And

Ginevra Molly Weasley, hereafter known as Bride,


The said marriage will take place on December 31st, xxxx.

The Groom promises to remain faithful, act with honor and respect in all areas pertaining to his bride. The Groom promises to keep the Bride in comfort and in sickness until death do they part. The Groom promises to fulfill all financial obligations associated with the Bride and any children that they may someday have.

The Bride promises to remain faithful to the Groom, and act with honor and respect in all areas pertaining to her Groom. The Bride promises to keep the Groom in comfort and in sickness until death do they part.

If the Groom should precede the Bride in death she will have lifetime residency at any and all Zabini estates as long as she does not re-marry. In the event of her remarriage, this benefit is revoked.

The Bride shall agree to let the Zabini family have reasonable access to any children conceived during the marriage. If the Bride and Groom were to perish together, then custody of said children will remain with the Zabini family with reasonable access given to the Brides family.

The Zabini family shall pay a monthly stipend to the Bride in the event of the death of the Groom to support her self and any children that may be conceived during the marriage. The Zabini family will pay for the upkeep of any and all property owned by the family.

The Bride and Groom both agree that any property purchased during the marriage, is owned by the Bride and Groom, not the Zambini family. Any family heirlooms, such as jewelry or furniture will remain with the family.

Signed this_____ day of ____________________, XXXX


__________________________ _________________________
Blaise K. Zabini Genevra M. Weasley


Ginny read the words and then looked back up at Blaise. “This is very different than the contract that was sent to my family,” she said softly.

Blaise nodded his head. “I realize that. I have no idea why my mother did what she did. I promise you, Ginny, that this is the only contract that I would have asked you to sign. It is a requirement in my family. If my bride refuses to sign then I cannot marry her. If I chose to marry her anyway then I would forfeit my inheritance. My hands are tied in this,” he said softly.

Ginny nodded. She knew that in old families there were always strange rituals that happened. “I need to think about this. The only portion of this contract that I have any problem with is the part that says custody of our children would go to your family. I would prefer that it went to mine.”

“That is understandable, but again, I can’t change the wording of this contract without loosing my inheritance. If I loose it, we will be penniless.”

“I have spent my life poor, Blaise,” she said.

“But I have not. I don’t know how to live that way, Ginny. I have always had what I wanted and never had to think of the cost. I have no idea how to live within a budget.”

Ginny laughed. “You know, neither do I! I go over mine every time! I always swore I would marry a rich wizard,” she said thoughtfully.

“And you shall,” he said with a grin. “If you sign that document.”

“You do know that either way we shall marry. Kingsley has told my parents that if you refuse to marry me for my refusal to sign the contract it would be your wand that would be broken, not mine.”

Blaise snorted. “Figures,” he said. “Do you know him well?”

“Kingsley?”

“Yeah.”

“Fairly well. He was in the Order of the Phoenix with my family during the war. He saved a lot of lives.”

“Yeah, a real stellar guy,” he said sarcastically.

“Don’t you like him?” she asked in surprise. Most people tended to like him.

“Not particularly,” he said.

“Why?”

Blaise stared at her for a moment and then shrugged. “Can you keep a secret?”

Ginny nodded her head in bewilderment.

“He is my father.”

“What?” she gasped. “How can that be?”

“He and my mother had sex and here I am,” he said.

Ginny blushed. “I know how babies are conceived. I meant how could he and your mother have gotten together? I have never heard Kingsley mention that you are his son!”

“I’m not sure that he knows. My mother never told me, and I don’t think that she told him. I found out when I took a paternity test.”

“Wow! Are you going to tell him?”

“No. If he wants to know he can ask my mother. After I spoke with him today, I think he suspected, but I refused to tell him.”

“Blaise, Kingsley is a great man. You couldn’t ask for a better father,” she said lightly touching his hand.

“I could have asked for a father who was there for me,” he said bitterly.

“I am sorry that this has happened. I won’t share your secret with anyone though,” she told him.

“So, Ginny, are you going to marry me?” he huskily asked as he lightly touched her face.

Ginny looked into his chocolate brown eyes. “Are you going to kiss me, Blaise?” she whispered leaning into him.

“Every chance I get,” he said as he crushed her lips with his.







A/N:
Please review and respond! I need lots and lots of feedback! I promise to update quicker, I just had a family issue this past week. My boyfriend broke his jaw and had to have surgery and I had to play nurse for the week...I now am back in front of my computer!