dark + light

Four weeks before Draco’s sixth year at Hogwarts started, the Dark Royals were at Diagon Alley. Not a word of the Light Royals had been spoken to Draco. He had trouble deciding what this meant for him.

Everywhere his family went, the crowd parted for them. They were not given trouble, and they did not cause it.

Draco had hardly stepped out of Flourish and Blotts when his father turned to him. “Continue the rounds. Your mother and I are visiting Gringotts.”

“Yes, Father.” The prince bowed as they left. 

Whispers broke out everywhere; they were silenced with one sweeping glare.

The Dark Prince wandered about Diagon Alley. He failed to see why they came for anything but the bank when they always had everything they needed at the castle, though his father had once explained to him that the Dark Royals needed to be seen. The public would have no doubt they were still as well and prosperous as they feared.

“Is that you, Malfoy?”

Draco turned around. “Parkinson. How are you?”

Bowing, she answered, “I am well. Are you shopping for the upcoming term?”

“No, never am, Pansy.”

“Oh, I know.” She sidled up to him, grinning. “It was just the start of my invitation to join me in the Weasley shop. The neighbour has started to cut my tiger lilies once more, and I heard the twins had balding chocolates.”

“The Weasleys?” Draco repeated. “I suppose I have nothing better to do.”

Pansy clapped excitedly. “That’s the spirit, Your Highness. Maybe your soon-to-be-betrothed will be there.”

He allowed himself a moment to roll his eyes as he followed his friend. He had owled her about the Lights wanting him to court Harry, and though she vowed to tell no one, she would gush to him every moment possible. When reminded the princes were mortal enemies, she hummed, “But you never know.”

Except he did know one thing. He was to be betrothed to Prince Harry.

Draco had not connected the dots before, but his father leaving for Gringotts without bringing the prince was unheard of. Along with all of their money, family artefacts and heirlooms were kept in the Malfoy vault, as well as other, more sinister items. King Lucius usually encouraged Draco to accompany him on trips to his vault so he could grasp everything he had to protect and inherit. The only item Draco had never been allowed to even look at was a powerful one.

The Malfoy Blood Ruby.

It was a gorgeous ring, handed down from Malfoy to Malfoy for generations, meant to be used as an engagement ring. Magically binding the Malfoy and bride with a blood contract, it allowed the spouse to be controlled by the owner of the ring. King Lucius and Queen Narcissa were the last couple bonded through it — though she hadn’t worn it in years — and they were about to pass it on to Draco.

“Are you listening, Prince?”

Draco shook himself from his stupor. “No.”

Pansy huffed. “I was saying-”

“I really am to be engaged to Prince Harry, you know,” he interrupted.

She whirled around. “What?”

“You were right. Mother and Father are retrieving the Blood Ruby as we speak.”

“I never meant…” Pansy gasped. “Oh, Your Highness, I’ve only been teasing. I meant not a word, honest!”

He shrugged. “Nothing to be done. Within the next four days, I will have a fiancé.”

“But you don’t have to like each other, do you? You can still hate each other.”

“It is not as if we would fall in love,” Draco assured her. “We only have to be friendly for the public.”

Pansy patted his back reassuringly. “You will be married, not lovers.”

“Betrothed, Pansy, not married.”

She smiled sadly. “You are royalty; once you are engaged, there is no next step but marriage. Breaking it off and divorce are not options you have.”

“That I know, of course.” He waved his hand airily. “However, two years lie between now and then. I have hope he may die by a tragic accident or stupid heroics.”

“I wish you the best of luck.” Her eyes conveyed her honesty and pity, but they were soon wiped away. “Look, your parents are coming.”

Turning in the direction of Gringotts, Draco could see that they were indeed coming towards them. Even with priority service, he had thought they would take longer.

“Draco, you know what this is.” King Lucius gave the prince a small, neatly wrapped box, ignoring Pansy’s bow. “Put it on, then present it to Prince Harry.”

The Blood Ruby twinkled at Draco as he slipped it on, the ring adjusting to his finger. “I am to propose to the enemy, then?”

“You are to corrupt him, of course. Leave the thinking to me, and we will acquire all the power the world has to offer.” The king nodded once as if it were the proper way to end a conversation, then walked away.

Queen Narcissa, however, lingered for a few moments. “I am sorry it had to be this way, son.”

“I would have preferred it to be you,” Draco confessed as the pair continued to their destination. “At least I can tolerate you.”

“That’s so kind of you to say. I could hear the heart-felt emotions behind that statement.”

“For someone speaking to royalty, you are awfully casual and sarcastic, Pansy,” he muttered.

She skipped along backwards to face him. “As your best friend, I think I have earned the right.” 

“Who said you were my best friend?” the blond prince asked, opening the door to Weasley’s Wizard Wheezes and allowing her to enter first. “It could be Blaise for all you know.”

“Apologies, I did not know he had been informed of your engagement, or to whom you are betrothed,” Pansy threw over her shoulder.

“You are betrothed, Prince Draco?”

A wide berth had been given to Draco upon entering the store, as per usual, and the crowd had instead circled around Prince Harry, who was currently looking down at Draco from the second floor.

“Yes. Are you jealous?”

Harry shook his head. “I, too, am betrothed.”

At this, the customers around him gasped, and urgent whispers were exchanged. Many asked “Who knew the princes were getting married off this soon?” or “Who are they courting?” and even “How could no one know about this?”

“Who is the unlucky chap, Prince Harry?” Draco asked. He knew the answer all too well.

Harry grimaced. More whispers.

“Would you come down from there? No need to look down on me.” The Dark Prince waited as Harry descended and came to stand in front of him. “Here it is. Take good care of it, or the ghosts of every Malfoy will haunt you until your death.”

“Is this the Blood Ruby?” the Light Prince breathed. “It is beautiful, Prince Draco.”

Draco took hold of Harry’s left hand and gave the ring a moment to adjust before putting it on his ring finger. “Yes, it is. Do not lose it, or take it off at all, for that matter.”

There were no more whispers, for the entire store had erupted in shouts and protests. The blond ignored them all, extending his arm for Pansy. “Shall we get those candies? Excuse us, Prince Harry.”

Still admiring his new ring, Harry easily stepped aside. “Yes, of course.”

Everyone stared at Prince Draco as he walked about the store, arm in arm with Pansy. Their gazes flitted between him and Prince Harry. He had just presented the Light Prince with an engagement ring, yet he pranced around with a girl. He had just presented the Light Prince with an engagement ring. They wondered what the royals had been thinking.

“Here they are, Your Highness” Pansy stopped in a brightly lit corner of the store, her gaze hungrily scouring the shelves. “How many do you think I should get? Each box has four chocolates.

“Hey, Weasley? How many chocolates make the balding permanent?” she continued on.

An older Weasley walked over, one of the twins. “Two boxes should do the trick, madam. Five galleons per box!”

Pansy beamed. “Then I shall get four. I might as well make the wife go bald, as well. Here you go, Weasley. Twenty galleons for the boxes, and ten galleons for you and your brother for being evil geniuses!”

“Nice doing business with you, madam!” The second twin appeared on Draco’s other side to collect the money. “We bid you and the Dark Prince a wonderful day!”

“Or dreadful,” added the first. “Whichever you prefer.”

“Do you want something, Your Highness?” Pansy asked, clutching her newly purchased boxes.

Draco shook his head. “My business here is done.”

Pansy waltzed around Harry, who was still bent over over the Blood Ruby but with his friends admiring it as well. She was delighted to be able to save her precious tiger lilies and get her revenge, so much so that Draco allowed her to drag him along with her.

Four days later, he watched as she joyfully skipped towards him along Platform Nine and Three-Quarters. He asked for an update on her flowers, though the answer was rather obvious to him.

“It was perfect!” She held onto his arm loosely as she told him about giving the trick sweets to the wife as she had gotten home from work. Two hours later, both the neighbour and his wife had run out of their house screaming at their newly bald heads. She finished with a flip of her hair, “Truly quite a show.”

“Did I miss something? How long have I been gone?” a familiar voice asked.

“Blaise Zabini, where the bloody hell have you been? You missed quite a lot, really. Come on, we have to find good seats on the train so I can tell you all about it.” Pansy attached herself to Blaise, and they began boarding the Hogwarts Express.

Draco meant to follow his friends, but he had just caught sight of the Light King waving him over. Against his own wish, he began his approach, hating every moment of it. He had to adhere to the king out of respect, especially as his father was not present.

“Good morning, Prince Draco,” the king greeted once he was within earshot.

“King James, Prince Harry.” Draco bowed.

There was a glint in King James’ eyes, and Draco had a sneaking suspicion he knew what it meant. “Beautiful ring you gave Harry. Is it the Malfoy Blood Ruby? I have heard many things about it.”

He nodded and put on a smile. “Yes, it was given to me by my mother and father as many generations have done before.”

King James opened his mouth to say something, but Prince Harry spoke first. “Dad, the train will depart soon. Prince Draco and I must be going.”

Before anyone could say a word, Harry was dragging Draco away by the arm. He was pulled onto the train and led to a compartment, which was somehow empty.

“Sorry,” the younger apologised, “but he would have asked more questions, and his are rarely ever pleasant.”

Draco straightened out his suit where his fiancé had grabbed it. “Why would he question me about the ring? Your father knew what he was doing when he married you off to a Malfoy, and you were content enough to admire it.”

Harry narrowed his eyes. “I am sure my father did not think you were so bold and daring as to lay claim on the Light Prince.”

“Then your father gravely misunderstood me,” Draco scoffed. “Are Lights not obsessed with assuming the worst of Darks? King James should have seen it coming.”

“I am not.” 

“Pardon?”

Harry avoided Draco’s eyes. “I try to find the best in everyone. If I thought you might make me do something awful, I would not have put the ring on, Prince Draco. I would not have even considered it.”

The Dark Prince stared for a few moments before stepping out of the compartment. “I am going to look for Blaise and Pansy.”

Except, before he took more than two steps, he heard a voice call out to him. “Here we are, Your Highness.”

He glanced backwards. His friends were coming down the train in his direction, two more figures following them. As they neared, Draco recognized Hermione Granger and Ronald Weasley. He detested them both — Granger was a mudblood know-it-all and Weasley had an unusual interest in muggle related objects and was just plain poor — but seeing as his future father-in-law was most likely still watching him from the platform, he only gave them a look of contempt and sat down.

“Come in,” Harry invited his friends.

Draco had already taken one side’s window seat with Blaise and Pansy next to him, so the Lights filed in on the other side. They glanced between each other uneasily until Granger cleared her throat.

“Nice weather we’re having, no?”

Pansy forced a chuckle and began to converse. Blaise turned to Draco, a curious look on his face.

“So, are you and Prince Harry really engaged?” he asked.

Draco nodded in Harry’s direction. “See for yourself.”

A quick glance at Harry’s left hand, which was draped over his knee, had Blaise cursing under his breath. “It should be easier with him wearing the Blood Ruby, right?”

“Should be,” the blond emphasised. “Everyone knows Prince Harry James Potter is unpredictable.”

Blaise exhaled heavily. “Best of luck to you, Your Highness. At least Pansy seems to be enjoying her new… connections.”

Focusing on the landscape beyond his window, Draco said, “Pany is a dear. She will talk to anyone who listens. At least her conversations are rarely dull.”

“Keep singing my praises, Dark Prince, and I might think you fancy me!” Pansy grinned, and her eyes shone as they did when she knew something others did not.

“Well, if I had to fancy someone…” His gaze turned to Harry.

The brown-haired prince frowned. “You look at me as if this is my fault. Believe me, Prince Draco, my opinion on this engagement was not asked for!”

“Now, now, Prince Harry,” Draco sneered, “princes do not raise their voices, do they?”

“This engagement is not going to work.” Harry gritted his teeth.

Draco almost rolled his eyes but arched a single brow instead. “It is rather common knowledge that Darks and Lights do not go well together.”

“What I meant —” Prince Harry did not refrain from rolling his eyes “— is that we should find a way to deal with it. We cannot seem to be civil with one another for very long.”

“There is an easy solution: stay away from each other.”

Harry’s eyes narrowed. “Then should you not be on your way?”

Feigning surprise, Draco asked, “Me? No, I am quite comfortable where I am. You, however, are free to go if you so wish.”

The glare sent his way brought him a great deal of satisfaction. He knew the Light Prince was stubborn; he would not move until Draco did. Fortunately, the blond hated losing and was stubborn as well.
For the rest of the train ride, no one in the compartment said a word. Though Draco had gone back to staring out the window, he could feel his fiancé’s unwavering gaze on the back of his head.