Betrothed

"Potter, there is an owl at your window." Blaise said in a distracted voice, still looking through the documents in his hands.  

"I'm tired of owls, Zabini. It'll fly away after a while." Harry muttered in an irritated voice, not even bothering to look at the owl. 

"I think you should receive this one." Theodore's voice made Blaise look up but Harry simply grunted, not taking him seriously. 

Blaise glanced at the bird and had to blink when he realised whose owl it was. Moreover the envelope in its claws had the family crest on it, pointing out the importance of the letter. 

"Harry, recieve it." Blaise stated firmly. 

Harry blinked and looked up this time. The two Slytherins never called him by his name, unless it was something important. With a sigh, he extended his hand towards the owl, who gave an annoyed hoot but flew onto his arm. Untying the letter from its claws, Harry gave it a few strips of bacon that he kept ready for the owls that came in frequently. Satisfied with the treats, the owl hooted again and flew away through the same window, soaring high above in the air. 

"Okay, this letter looks different. And this is clearly a family seal." Harry muttered, squinting at the seal to get a better look. 

"That was Lord Lestrange's owl." Theodore informed, after Harry kept staring at the seal uncomprehendingly. 

"Lestrange... Why would Lord Lestrange contact me? Especially after that incident. If it was a cursed letter, it wouldn't have the family seal." Harry thought aloud, completely baffled. 

"Well, for starters, you can just open the letter and read it, you know. Honestly Potter, why I put up with you, I'll never understand." Blaise huffed. But after almost five months, Harry wasn't even bothered with it. He knew, Blaise meant nothing by it, and he was just being his sarcastic self.  

"Good idea." Harry returned with a grin, making Blaise roll his eyes. 

Harry carefully opened the envelope and then pulled out the high quality parchment from inside. He was a little bit flattered by the clear effort and impressive stationeries, that were used to get his attention. But as he read through the letter, his face went slack with shock and disbelief. 

"This has got to be a joke." Harry spluttered out after he was done reading. 

"Hardly Lord Lestrange will waste his time joking with you, that too by owl." Blaise said dryly, but his eyes were staring at him expectantly.

"He.. He wants me to consider a betrothal contact between his eldest and me." Harry choked out. Blaise and Theodore blinked, clearly shocked, much like Harry. 

"His eldest would be Rodolphus Lestrange, whose wife you publicly humiliated." Theodore stated in a blank voice. 

"Even though it is 'ex' wife now, after her sudden, suspicious death." Blaise frowned.

"Now you understand, why I said, he has got to be joking. This is clearly some farce way of trying to get back at me." Harry huffed out, glancing back at the parchment in his hand with an annoyed look. 

"There are hundreds of way to get back at you. Why would he propose a betrothal? Once that contract is signed, he cannot actually harm you. I do not understand." Theodore muttered, perplexed beyond belief. 

"You do have to meet him atleast once, even if it is to say no." Blaise sighed out. 

"I don't really have to go in the first meeting. It is supposed to be between the participants' representatives." Harry shrugged, remembering the little bit he learnt about bonding while he trained to become a Lord, two years ago. 

"Well, technically yes. But who is going to be your representative?" Blaise asked blandly, referring to his lack of family members. But again Harry was used to Blaise's unfeeling ways. He understood he was stating a fact, and not trying to humiliate him. 

"You two, ofcourse." Harry shrugged, folding the parchment back and putting it in the envelope neatly. When he looked back up, both the Slytherins were staring at him with a dumbfounded look. "What?" 

"Representatives are generally family or people you consider family and trust fully to look out for you, and not take advantage of you." Theodore explained with a patient look.  

"I know what representatives are, Theo. And I repeat, you two will be my representatives. I trust you two completely." Harry replied in a firm voice. 

"Then we will make sure Lord Lestrange knows, if he wants to take revenge, he should just go for it, not try something so backhanded." Blaise stated firmly after a small pause. Harry grinned. 

"Good. Now, we will need to take a trip to my vaults, and you two will choose a ring or necklace or something from there, which you will wear to that meeting. I will not let Lord Lestrange take you two casually." Harry stated thoughtfully and then went back to the documents that were strewn around them. 

As such, he completely missed the big smile that the two Slytherins shared above him. Whatever the reason, Harry was basically declaring them family infront of the Whole Wizarding World. 

****

"Lord Lestrange, we are here as Lord Potter-Black's representatives." Theodore greeted the man, as they came to stand infront of the table Caelum Lestrange was sitting in. 

As expected, Lord Lestrange looked a bit surprised at that, but he soon spotted the Potter and Black heirlooms they were wearing in addition to their own Lordship rings. Caelum immediately stood up to greet them, even though he was still glancing at the Potter and Black crested jewelleries that they were wearing. 

"I honestly did not expect anyone to represent Lord Potter-Black. So, this is a surprise." Caelum admitted, as they took their seats.

"Harry is quite surprising in everything he manages to accomplish. His decision surprised us too." Blaise smiled back, acknowledging Caelum's expression as normal. 

"Indeed." Caelum nodded and simply stared at them with a speculative look.  

"I'll be blunt Lord Lestrange. Your proposal is very confusing and suspicious. The circumstances leading upto this doesn't really paint a very happy future between the Lestrange family and the Potter-Blacks. So you will have to understand that neither us nor Harry is sure that this isn't some masked revenge attempt." Blaise stated after a short stretch of silence. 

All three of them had discussed this, and Harry had adamantly said that, atleast this part, they will have to tell Lord Lestrange in plain terms. His reasoning was, the whole wizarding world knew how blunt he was, and if Lord Lestrange cannot take it, then there was no match whatsoever, not including their doubts. Theodore and Blaise had to agree with the reasoning, and so they had acquiesced. But even they were a little surprised when Caelum simply smiled and leaned forward on the table in reply. 

"With that you have actually cleared all my doubts regarding the fact that you both are here because you want to actually talk, and not because Lord Potter-Black had not even looked through the letter, and sent you two because he had already rejected the idea." Caelum confessed in a pleasant voice.

"Then it is only fair if you strive to clear our doubts too." Theodore commented in a neutral voice. 

"Should we order first? Then we can talk peacefully?" Caelum suggested. Theodore and Blaise shared a look, but agreed nonetheless without any hesitation. 

"First, you should know, Rodolphus never wanted to marry Bellatrix. My own father drew up that contract without consulting us or heeding to our wishes. My wife, Ophelia, had been thunderously unhappy with the match and even more so after Bellatrix started living with us. And Rodolphus never shared a room with Bellatrix in the whole ten years of their marriage." Caelum revealed, after they were halfway through the food. 

Blaise and Theodore shared a slightly surprised look at that. Not only because of the information itself, but the fact that Caelum Lestrange was actually sharing such a personal information with them. It generally indicated, how serious he was about the offer.

"And this time? Does your heir know about the offer you sent to Harry? Forgive me, but everyone knows how Harry is. He doesn't particularly care about all the Pureblood ways of doing things. While he respects our ways and follows it, he is strongly against a lot of what he refers to as 'Pureblood idiocy'." Blaise pointed out. Caelum merely chuckled at that, surprising the two Slytherins even more. This meeting was not at all going the way that they had envisioned it to be.

"I believe he used that term in one of the many interviews he gave. My wife had been in splits over it. She still refers to anything that she doesn't particularly like by the same term. Ophelia was the most enthusiastic supporter of this match, when I first brought it up." Caelum smiled. 

"Your family is much more than what meets the eyes, Lord Lestrange. Harry will be delighted to hear this." Theodore smirked, eyeing the man infront him curiously. 

"Thank you, Lord Nott. As for Rodolphus, he is still not sure about this. He has given his permission to send the request to Lord Potter-Black and then proceed with it. But he is not confident that this will work out, and I believe he just wants to humour us." Caelum confessed with a small sigh. This time both Blaise and Theodore straightened. 

"Forgive me Lord Lestrange, but a marriage for benefit is not something that we want for our friend and neither does he have a reason to do so. He still has plenty of time to find a good match for himself who will also genuinely care for him." Theodore frowned. 

"A marriage for benefit is not something that I want for my son either. And my youngest and my wife will have my head on a silver platter if I even attempt to do such a thing. That is not what I am proposing. I want Rodolphus and Lord Potter-Black to actually spend time together and see if they are willing to give this a chance. If either side backs out, the other one will simply understand that and forego the idea of an union between the two of them." Caelum countered immediately, without any pause. Theodore and Blaise again shared a look but then gave a small nod.

"We'll convey that to Harry. Lastly, this is something Harry told us to ask you, if everything else went well. You do not have to answer, but it will effect the way Harry considers this offer further." Blaise started slowly. Caelum nodded. 

"I, ofcourse, understand that. It is a fair proposal. What is it?" Caelum asked in a curious voice. 

"How did Bellatrix die?" Theodore asked softly. Caelum paused and then eyed the two people cautiously.

"A traitor's death." Caelum replied after a while. Blaise and Theodore blinked once and then their eyes gleamed. 

"Tell your heir to look out for Harry's owl. He won't accept or reject the offer, without talking to his intended atleast once. I realise it is not the traditional way, but then, it is Harry. You will have to understand." Blaise informed a bit dryly but there was a clear fond undertone to his voice. Caelum looked merely amused at that. 

"Ofcourse. I wouldn't expect anything else." Caelum nodded his head. 

"We will take our leave now. Thank you for the food and your hospitality. Harry will be giving his answer in three days at the most. May your family prosper, Lord Lestrange." Theodore inclined his head respectfully. With a last polite nod, both of them walked away from there, leaving Caelum Lestrange to his own thoughts. 

"If nothing else, this will be interesting." Caelum muttered in the reigning silence that followed. 

****

"Well, how did it go?" Ophelia Lestrange demanded as soon as Caelum stepped through the floo. All three of them were present there, even though Rodolphus had a bored look on his face.  

"It was interesting." Caelum hummed as he joined his family in the sitting room. 

"Care to elaborate that?" Rabastan huffed, narrowing his eyes at his father. 

"Potter sent his representatives." Caelum started. As expected all three of them frowned at the that, looking at him curiously.

"He doesn't have a family, as per common knowledge. Unless he is hiding something." Rodolphus commented in a suspicious voice. 

"It was Blaise Zabini and Theodore Nott. They were even wearing Potter and Black heirlooms. I believe, Potter wanted me to take them seriously, and that is why he took this step. But the act alone tells that, he considers them family, not to mention he trusts them completely. And from what I got from talking to them, they do care for him personally." Caelum informed his family in an amused voice. 

"He is interesting." Ophelia smirked, looking very pleased with herself for some reason, making Rodolphus roll his eyes at his mother's antics. 

"He is. Firstly Zabini, clearly said that Potter and even they thought of this offer as an underhanded way of getting revenge for what they believe was public humiliation of our family. And I am very sure, it was Potter's idea to be blunt with this, as Zabini and Nott wouldn't be so direct about anything otherwise. So it clearly says they have talked about this among themselves and given this some thoughts even though they were suspicious of our intentions, understandably so." 

Ophelia and Rabastan shared a pleased look at that. All three of them had been worried that their offer would not even be considered due to the previous circumstances. Caelum gave a fond look to his wife and youngest. But his oldest still looked unconvinced. 

"Did they ask anything about that foul witch?" Rabastan asked in a disgusted voice. He hated her with a passion. 

"I told them about the circumstances of Rodolphus' previous marriage and the way it went. It was clear Zabini and Nott hated her too, and we already knew how much Potter hated her. So, it was necessary to give them that information. But apart from that, they asked me how she died. And it is something Potter wanted to know." Caelum replied without a pause. All three of them tensed at that. 

"They were accusing us outright with murder?" Rodolphus narrowed his eyes. 

"They weren't accusing Rodolphus, they already knew it wasn't just a simple death and that is why they asked the question. The fact that they asked me shows that they are only testing if I would treat them as idiots or I would consider them as equals. They clearly said that I wouldn't have to answer, but the answer will effect how Potter decides to proceed with the offer. It was a test. A very intelligent and bold one at that." Caelum shook his head. 

"So, you told them the truth." Rabastan commented, eyeing his father. 

"I merely said she died a traitor's death. They didn't ask me for details but they were clearly satisfied with the answer. None of them care about her death." Caelum informed them. 

"Those three are an interesting mix." Ophelia said in a pleased voice. 

"Indeed. And Rodolphus, Zabini and Nott told me to tell you that, Potter will be sending you a letter even before he accepts or rejects the offer. He won't give any specific reply before talking to you atleast once." Caelum informed his eldest, who blinked at him with a surprised look. 

"That is not proper." Rodolphus frowned. 

"In Zabini and Nott's words, we are talking about Harry, so you will have to understand." Caelum imitated making Ophelia and Rabastan burst out into chuckles while Rodolphus merely gave a put out sigh. 

"Another Pureblood idiocy, down the gutter." Ophelia grinned making Caelum snort.

"Indeed my dear. I believe even if Rodolphus doesn't, you will come to love that boy." Caelum's words made Ophelia's eyes glitter dangerously. 

"I fear for my sanity." Rodolphus huffed.

"Don't worry dear brother, I'll strive to defend your sanity." Rabastan teased, making Rodolphus glare at his brother. 

****

"Did you get any letter?" Ophelia asked his eldest at the table. 

"Yes, from Gringotts about our estates." Rodolphus replied dryly. Ophelia huffed and went back to her food. 

"Calm down mother. It hasn't been a full day since father came back. You're acting like it is you who will be getting betrothed." Rabastan said in an amused voice. 

"I surely hope not. I can't take that kind of surprises at this age." Caelum chuckled, making Ophelia glare at him.

"I'm just excited for my son. I didn't have a chance last time, so spare me, if I'm being a bit too eager." Ophelia snapped. 

"I know. I'm too. We are just joking." Caelum squeezed his wife's hand with an affectionate look.  

"I worry, that you will get your heart broken, mother. Don't get your hopes up so much." Rodolphus said in a soft voice. 

"I cannot help Rodolphus. I had almost given up hope. But now that I have a chance to see you happy again, I cannot stop myself. And I want this match to be successful quite badly. I just know he will be good for this family." Ophelia sighed out.

"We will get through this together. Don't worry." Caelum assured. 

Everything went silent for a while, only broken by the sound of spoons clacking on the plates and bowls being shifted. But the silence was soon broken by a loud hoot and flaps of wings. All four of them looked up to see a beautiful snowy owl with golden eyes swooped down on Caelum's shoulder.

"That had to be Potter's owl." Rodolphus said dryly, breaking the silence that had fallen on the table. 

"I agree." Caelum laughed, as the owl ruffled its feathers and pecked on Caelum's hands for pets. 

"Will its owner be this demanding too?" Rabastan said in amused voice, watching as the owl rubbed its head on his father's neck. Rodolphus only gave a suffering sigh at that, but his eyes were still taking in the scene. 

After a while the owl lifted its head and then looked around the table for a while, and then again took flight. This time it landed on  Rodolphus' shoulder and extended his leg on which an envelope was tied. Rodolphus gave the owl a look but then quickly released the weight from its legs. It again ruffled its feathers and then flew off to Ophelia, who gave a wide smile at that and immediately started feeding the owl. After a while, the owl nipped Ophelia's fingers gently and flew out of the window, vanishing within minutes. 

"Okay brother, mother and father already likes the owl. You just have to finalise the owner, that is all." Rabastan chuckled. 

"I realise that." Rodolphus rolled his eyes.

"Will you read that letter? I'm waiting you know." Ophelia said impatiently.

"Dear Merlin." Rodolphus muttered under his  breath and looked over the envelope only to blink in surprise.

"What? You didn't even open the letter." Rabastan frowned.

"He thanked us for taking revenge for his godfather's death." Rodolphus muttered. 

"I like him already." Rabastan grinned, looking  up to see his parents sharing a satisfied smile. Rodolphus didn't reply. He opened the letter and with a last glance at his family started reading it. 

Heir Lestrange

I will start my letter by congratulating you on getting out from a loveless marriage. I hope you know by now, how important it is to have trust and understanding between a couple for it to be successful. Love is important but secondary to the above two factors, atleast in my opinion. 

I will be blunt and say I want to proceed with this, only if you're willing to put an effort on this. Genuine efforts. I don't need fancy gifts and expensive dates. If that is your idea of efforts, then we will be simply wasting each other's time. Moreover, I don't want our time spent together to be filled with formalities and lies. If I do agree to this, I would want to know the real you, not what you are in the public eyes. That includes your flaws and foes. I will ofcourse do the same. 

Having said that, I have seen how much you are passionate about creature laws of our community. I highly appreciate that, and have on numerous occasions wished to thank you personally for some of the laws that you have managed pass through your father. So, I'll take this opportunity to show how grateful I am for your efforts. You will know, I was very close to Remus Lupin, who was also a known werewolf. He and Sirius were my greatest support system, before they died last year. 

You will find a small token of appreciation in the envelope which reveals my feelings about your efforts perfectly.

Best regards,

Hadrian James Potter-Black

Rodolphus stared at the letter for a while, and then shifted his gaze back to the envelope. Picking it up he tilted it gently on his hand and immediately a shrunken item slid out of it. Frowning a little, Rodolphus casted the engorgio spell, and immediately it enlarged into beautiful scenery of a forest, within which a three animals, one a werewolf,  one a large dog, and another wolf played around each other. But after a while the animals changed into three humans, whom he clearly recognised as Remus Lupin, Sirius Black and Hadrian James Potter-Black, laughing among themselves.

"That is beautiful." Ophelia whispered out, breaking Rodolphus from his reverie. 

"Why did he send it though?" Rabastan asked curiously, leaning forward to take a closer look at the charmed forest. 

"To show his appreciation for my efforts in changing the creature laws." Rodolphus stated, still staring at three laughing men, especially  his intended. 

"Is Potter really an animagus wolf?" Rabastan asked curiously.

"This surely indicates that. And he did say he wouldn't lie." Rodolphus stated, glancing back at the letter.

"Can I read it?" Ophelia asked in an eager voice. Even Rabastan and his father gave him a clearly hopeful look. Rodolphus snorted at that.

"This is not a love letter, Mother. Honestly, you are acting like a child. Here." Rodolphus said in an affectionate voice but extended the letter to his mother. 

Unsurprisingly, his brother peered over his mother's shoulder, while his father leaned over the table to read it. Rodolphus shook his head at their antics and then looked down at the gift again. It was really a beautiful piece of art and it also clearly stated how much the creature laws meant to him. It definitely served its purpose.

"This is better than a love letter, Rodolphus." His mother's choked voice brought Rodolphus back to reality. 

"I agree with your mother. It shows he is not playing games or even willing to just fool around. And it also shows how mature he is. I definitely approve of him even more now." Caelum smiled widely. 

"If you do not, I'll snag him." Rabastan grinned. 

"Seriously?" Rodolphus deadpanned. 

"Completely. It will be foolish let go of him. So, be careful, Rodolphus." Rabastan gave a shark like grin and then strode away from there. 

"I can't believe him." Rodolphus huffed out in a slightly irritated voice.

"You know very well what he is trying to say. Don't be so mulish, Rodolphus." Ophelia sighed out and then with a last look at her son, walked away from there, a smile still etched on her lips.

"I only want you to try. There's no harm in that. If you don't like him after talking, then we will understand. Just give it a chance." Caelum said softly to his now irate son and then he too left, leaving Rodolphus to his own devices. Rodolphus once again looked down at the laughing people, feeling his heart and mind warring against each other. 

****

"Lord Potter-Black and Lord Nott is at the gates, Master. They want to meet you." The announcement left Caelum a bit stunned. He looked up to his wife, who looked equally surprised. 

"Bring them to my study." Caelum instructed the elf who gave a single nod and popped away. 

"He didn't even accept or reject the proposal. Why is he here?" Caelum muttered, already putting on his robes. 

"I'll be joining you." Ophelia declared after a pause and then she too pulled in her outer robes. Caelum did not even bother nodding, knowing his wife will come either way. 

As soon as they entered their study, they knew something was wrong, with how stiff both of them were. Caelum and Ophelia shared a look, but took a seat infront of them. 

"Lord Potter-Black, Lord Nott, welcome to my Manor. I was not expecting you."

"Lord Lestrange, if your son was so against this, why did you send the letter?" Theodore asked in a stiff voice, not going for any formalities. 

"Excuse me?" Caelum straightened, eyes narrowing. 

"Exactly what I said, Lord Lestrange. I asked you in the very start, if this was any backhanded way of taking revenge. You assured us, it wasn't, and that is why Harry even bothered to send that letter. Or we would have said no, at the very start. If you want revenge, then take it directly, why are you taking such a twisted road?" Theodore demanded, eyes burning. 

"I don't understand where this is coming from. What happened?" Ophelia asked, interrupting her clearly incensed husband. Harry narrowed his eyes further at that. 

"You mean to say, you don't know why we are here." Harry asked in a fake calm voice. 

"No. We have no idea and we don't even understand why you're throwing accusations  at us." Ophelia replied in a firm voice.

"Then let me inform you. Heir Lestrange sent the gift that I gave him back, broken. With that there was a short note, which said, I don't have time for such frivolities. If he didn't want it, he could have just sent it back. That thing meant a lot to me." Harry gritted out, eyes burning with fury. 

"Mile, call Rodolphus." Caelum barked out, after a beat of silence.

"Lord Potter-Black, I assure you, we had no idea of this." Ophelia said in a whispered voice. 

"Heir Lestrange simply proved that he is not even suitable for my friend, Harry." Theodore stated in a cold voice. 

Just then Rodolphus walked in, and he immediately stiffened when he saw Harry and Theodore, who looked at him with a venomous look. Even Caelum and Ophelia did not look any better. 

"Rodolphus, care to explain, why you would take such an action?" Caelum asked in a calm voice. 

"I did it while I was drunk. I was myself ashamed of my action when I woke up. I was even writing an apology letter to send to Lord Potter-Black. I genuinely regret it." Rodolphus whispered out, looking at the ground. 

"So, is that the way you deal with your anger? Get drunk and then do or say something insulting or hurtful, and then apologise later on?" Harry demanded, eyes burning with fire. 

"That is one of his worst qualities." The other voice made Harry and Theodore look back at the door. "I'm Rabastan Lestrange, his brother. While I love him to death, I cannot justify his actions. He told me about it in the morning, and believe me I was just as horrified to hear it." Rabastan stated. 

"Is that what you two were arguing about in the morning?" Ophelia asked with narrowed eyes. 

"Yes Mother. He couldn't deal with all the pressure and doubts about this, so he did, what he always did when couldn't sort out his own feelings." Rabastan informed in a plain voice. 

"Pressure? I was told, he was not pressurised into this contract?" Harry frowned, looking back at Caelum with suspicious eyes.

"No, I was not pressurised into this. But.." Rodolphus trailed off in a frustrated voice.

"Would it be acceptable, if we talk for ten minutes, alone?" Harry asked, after a long pause, where everyone kept staring at Rodolphus. 

"Harry, seriously?" Theo frowned. 

"I'm not forgiving him. But there is clearly a problem, which needs to be solved." Harry assured his friend.  

"That is not your responsibility. He is an adult, older than you by ten years. If he wants to lash out everytime he feels frustrated, are you going to seat here and console him?" Theodore demanded, not even looking at anyone else.

"No. I don't plan on becoming someone's ragdoll, Theo. But he didn't really have any experience in normal relationships, did he? Can you imagine sharing feelings with Bellatrix?" Harry gave a small grin at the horrified look that Theo gave him. 

"Ugh, you're frustrating. I don't know why I put up with your sappiness, Potter." Theodore huffed out. 

"You wound me Nott. And this is after you couldn't stop praising me after the apple pie I made for you?" Harry smirked.

"Whatever. If he kills you, I'm throwing your body away in the gutter." Theodore huffed out. 

"Sure. Maybe the one near my favourite restaurant?" Harry grinned, completely unbothered. Theodore only rolled his eyes. 

By the time they both looked back, Rabastan was snickering, and Caelum and Ophelia had an odd look in their eyes, even though they were still smiling. 

"So, is it acceptable?" Harry asked again.

"Ofcourse. I trust both of you." Caelum nodded and with a last look at Harry, all three of them left the room. Theodore narrowed his eyes at Rodolphus for a while, but then he too walked out, closing the door behind them. 

"Do take a seat. It is very awkward to talk in such a manner." Harry said flatly, when Rodolphus kept standing at the same place stiffly. Rodolphus hesitated before take the place where Caelum was previously sitting.  

"I'm really sorry, you know." Rodolphus sighed out after a while.

"That really doesn't solve the problem. What is the actual problem? Why did you get so frustrated that you drank so much? Why did you break that gift?" Harry asked in a soft voice. Rodolphus kept quiet for a while, but then let out a small sigh. 

"Bellatrix was a nightmare to live with. She randomly barged into my room, even though we never stayed together, and then proceeded to insult me for no reason at all. I never wanted to be with anyone again, but mother wanted to see me happy with someone and I realise, I also wanted a companionship. And that is why I agreed to Father's proposal. But the thought of actually trying to spend time with someone else, with the clear intent of marrying them, it fills me with dread. I only just got rid of one nightmare. The possibility of getting into another one is frankly very upsetting." Rodolphus whispered out. 

"Do you still have the room Bellatrix stayed in, intact?" Harry asked after a short pause.  Rodolphus looked up at Harry with a frown. 

"Yes, but it is locked. No one enters it." Rodolphus replied.

"Will you give me access to that for a few hours?" Harry asked. Rodolphus was completely taken aback by the request. 

"Why?" Harry grinned at that. 

"You will see. Just a few hours. Me and Theo. I'm sure you don't have anything in that room that is of importance to you." Harry inclined his head. 

"No. I don't understand what you want, but I accept your request. Take however time you want." Rodolphus replied, still confused. 

"Wonderful. Let's go. We have work to do." Harry stood up, with sparkling eyes, leaving Rodolphus completely bemused.  

As soon as they stepped out, everyone looked up at them expectantly, while Theodore immediately looked at Harry with narrowed eyes.  

"That is your, I'm planning something entirely stupid but I think it is brilliant, look." Theodore commented, looking wary. 

"You're so dramatic. You're coming with me." Harry huffed out. 

"I need Blaise." Theodore sighed, even though he stood up with a resigned look.

"Blaise is out on a date. So, you only have me to accompany you. Deal with it. Now, shall we?" Harry said cheerfully. 

"You're an absolute headache." Theodore groaned out, but stood beside Harry, who merely flashed him a smile and then turned towards Rodolphus, who looked completely bewildered. 

"This way." Rodolphus muttered, eyeing Harry with a suspicious look, who completely overlooked it. 

"Okay, what is going on?" Rabastan asked after a while, staring at the way they vanished. 

"I have no idea." Caelum shrugged, glancing at his wife, who looked completely amused with the whole situation. "I'm glad you're enjoying." Caelum rolled his eyes. 

"You're welcome." Ophelia chirped and then started humming a song underneath her breath. 

"Where the hell did you leave them?" Rabastan asked in a shocked voice, when Rodolphus came back alone.

"In that witch's room. Don't look at me like that, he wanted to be left there for a few hours." Rodolphus huffed out, as he dropped down on a seat. 

"He wanted to?" Caelum frowned. 

"Yes. He dragged Nott inside with him, who looked ready to bolt when he realised whose room it was." Rodolphus informed them. 

"Dear Merlin, what are we setting ourselves for?" Caelum pinched the bridge of his nose. 

"Some fun." Ophelia replied, looking thoroughly amused. 

They sat there like that for almost four hours, before they heard two distinct sound of bickering, making all of them look up in the direction. 

"You'll be making me all my favourites for the whole week, every dinner." Theodore growled out. 

"You just want to taste my food. That was fun, you cannot even deny it." Harry laughed. 

"Your definition of fun is scary, Potter. Are you a Gryffindor or Slytherin?" Theodore grumbled, but there was no real heat in his voice. 

"Why do I have to be one or the other? I can be both, can't I?" Harry chuckled. 

"Kill me now. Lord Lestrange will be running for the hills the moment you start living here." Theodore huffed. 

"Well, he can do with some vacation in the middle of the hills for a few days. His talented heir can take all the responsibilities in the meantime." Harry replied unbothered. 

"I want a vacation from you." Theodore moaned out. 

"Don't be so dramatic, Nott. Would you rather be friends with Goyle?" Harry smirked. "No adventure, whatsoever." 

"I hate you but no, that is going extreme. Now let us stop arguing. We reached the sitting room, in case you didn't notice." Theodore stated dryly. 

"I noticed. I can see Lady Lestrange snickering under her breath, and Rabastan Lestrange gaping at us." Harry informed even as he turned around. 

"And I think Lord Lestrange could already do with a vacation." Theodore finished, looking very much amused. 

"Well, then he can, right now. Come with us." Harry grinned. 

"You want us to go to that witch's room?" Rabastan asked dubiously. 

"Trust me this once. Come on." Harry insisted. 

"That's how you get trapped." Theodore muttered under his breath, making Harry scowl at him. 

"Let's go." Ophelia joined Harry. Harry grinned at her and then with a pointed look at Rodolphus, he started walking up the stairs, while the other kept staring at the duo.

"Should we follow them?" Theodore asked after a while. Immediately the rest of the three Lestranges scrambled to join them, making Theodore chuckle under his breath. 

As soon as they reached the door to the room, that they all have avoided like plague for years, all of them paused, sharing an uncomfortable look between them. Harry touched Ophelia's hands lightly making her look back at him. 

"Trust me, just once." Harry said softly. Ophelia blinked once and then gave a small but firm nod. 

"Ofcourse." Ophelia nodded and then with a last look at the others, pushed the door open. And immediately their eyes widened with shock. 

"Now you all can be a part of my most favourite memory with my two favourite people, and even be able to forget all the bad memories. Go inside." Harry urged, smiling  widely. 

Ophelia and Rabastan were the first to step inside, and they looked down when they realised even the floor was now charmed to feel like forest floor. They can see a stag and a dog playing with each other, while a man, who was clearly Remus Lupin, sat under a tree reading a book. Slowly the scene changed and now, there were three animals, the ones they first saw in the charmed scenery that Harry sent at the start. And they soon started chasing each other, completely passing through the people inside now. 

After a while, Harry turned towards Rodolphus, who looked at him with wide eyes. Taking a few steps towards him, he held his hand and then squeezed it gently. 

"I have still not forgiven you. But from now on, if you feel angry or frustrated, come here and spend time. And remember, Bellatrix is gone. Don't let her dictate your life anymore. And you have your brother and parents with you. Talk to them. Drinking is not the solution. They were just as much affected. How do you think your parents felt seeing you so miserable and being unable to help you in any way? How do your brother feels when he sees you drinking like that and then doing something stupid? Irrespective of what happens in the future, remember this. You have your full family with you, to support you. Don't take that lightly. Think about it." With a small smile, Harry stepped back, and looked at the others, who were staring at him with suspiciously glassy eyes.

"We will leave now. I haven't forgiven him but I'll give this another chance. If he messes this up, then I'm sorry." Harry stated softly but firmly. 

"That is more than we can ask for. Thank you." Ophelia whispered out. Harry only smiled and then with a last look at Rodolphus, he strode out of there, with Theodore at his tow.

"If he can do something like this for someone who he is clearly annoyed with, what can he do when he is happy or for someone who he cared about?" Rabastan whispered, running his hand over a tree, which was real and charmed to spelled to remain the same way forever, never growing. 

"We can only assume." Ophelia whispered out, a drop of tear slipping down her cheeks, as she looked around the place, that had been a part of her many nightmares. Caelum wrapped his arms around his wife's shoulder, feeling his eyes burn with long hidden emotions. He had never been so sure about any decision he had ever taken. 

****

"Harry! You have an owl, that has a package attached to its legs." Blaise's voice made Harry step out of the kitchen. Blinking at the owl, he padded upto the window and them as quickly as possible, untied it. The owl hopped off to the treat bowl, and started nibbling on bacon strips with a satisfied hoot. 

Harry eyed the package curiously and then  turned it around to check the name of the sender. When he saw the familiar Lestrange crest on the package, Harry immediately dropped down on the couch with a slight frown, but then started unwrapping the packaging carefully. 

Once the wrappings fell off, to reveal big white orb. Harry blinked at it for a while, and then his eyes fell on the little piece of parchment kept at the base of it. Harry picked it up and cautiously unfolded it, remembering the last time. 

The password is venom.

Harry blinked with a confused look, but then looked back at the orb. Picking it up gingerly, he whispered the word venom. Immediately he heard a shrill scream, which was soon followed by the form of a mangled woman, with face almost unrecognisable, and every part of her body twisted in odd angles. Even as he watched someone throw a potion vial on the woman. The cries that she let out was of pure agony, as slowly her body started melting away. The scene ended with someone transferring the molten body in a vial. 

"That was wonderful." Blaise's pleased voice made Harry blink and glance at him. Slowly his mouth curled into a pure smile.  

"I'm accepting the proposal, after all." Harry stated in a satisfied voice, even as he threw  an incendio at the small parchment that contained the password. 

"Unfortunately." Blaise stated dryly, but his eyes were sparkling, making Harry simply laugh at his friend. 

"Indeed, unfortunately."

****

"Ugh, I feel sick." Harry groaned out, rubbing his face tiredly. 

"Why? Are you pregnant?" Theodore asked, without looking up from the book he was reading. 

"Yes, with your child." Harry replied, without any pause. 

"Great. My mother would be ecstatic to know that she has a grandchild coming on her way." Theodore nodded, eyes still glued to the pages.

"Glad to be of service. I still feel sick." Harry muttered in an irritated voice. 

"You're suffering from 'I'm anxious for no reason' flu. People suffering from it generally recovers within a few hours to few days, with no side effects whatsoever. You'll be fine." Theodore informed in a solemn voice, glancing at Harry once. 

"Thank you for your diagnosis, healer. I would now like you to play the role of a supporting friend." Harry huffed out, giving Theodore a small glare. Theodore closed the book with a  sigh and then looked up at Harry with a frown. 

"You can do it, Harry." Theodore said in an extremely serious voice, pumping his fist a little. Harry stared at Theodore with wide eyes, looking completely shell shocked. After a while he covered his face behind his hands with a groan. 

"Dear Merlin, please save me from idiots." Harry moaned out in a distressed voice. Soon the room was filled with peals of laughter, both of them laughing hysterically. 

"You're terrible." Harry choked out after laughing continuously for almost half an hour. They would stop in between, see each other's face and then again start laughing. 

"I know. I enjoy being that terrible friend." Theodore choked out in between laughing. "But it made you laugh, so you cannot even actually complain." 

"Why are you two howling like a bunch of wild wolves?" Blaise's dry sarcasm, made them snicker and look up.

"That is not very far from the truth though." Theodore shrugged. 

"You are not very bright to be sarcastic enough." Blaise rolled his eyes, dropping down on the bed beside Harry. 

"But intelligent enough to realise you want me to start arguing with you, because you're too tensed." Theodore rolled his eyes.  

"No one asked you to be so perceptive." Blaise grumbled under his breath. 

"Being perceptive is the main requirement of becoming your friend. Otherwise, our friendship would have ended up like Draco and yours." Theodore pointed out with a shrug.  

"Do shut up." Blaise huffed, glaring at Theodore. 

"Why are you tensed?" Harry asked curiously, too used to their bantering. 

"For the same reason, you are Potter." Theodore rolled his eyes.

"We have enough reason to be worried about it." Blaise grumbled. 

"Ofcourse there is. But no one said we have to be serious about our worries." Theodore replied without any pause. 

"What does it even mean?" Harry raised an eyebrow at Theodore.

"It means, we will get through this together, and worst case scenario, you will refuse to sign the contract. There is no war  breaking out here. So, relax. It is not like you are madly in love with Rodolphus Lestrange." Theodore rolled his eyes. Harry huffed but then his eyes took a faraway look. 

"What is the matter?" Blaise frowned, squeezing Harry's hands.

"What if this whole thing turns out to be a disaster? What if this whole thing turns out to be just a compromise? What if I never manage to get past my insecurities enough to ever love him?" Harry whispered out, dropping his head on his knees. 

"Honestly Harry, you're a storehouse of emotions. Somedays I think, if you try you can even love Lucius Malfoy. The only way of this becoming a disaster is, if Lestrange messes up. While that is a great possibility, I don't think his parents will be very happy with him if he don't even try. And you still have a year to break the contract, even after signing it. So stop fretting." Theodore listed out, making Harry huff, but there was still a niggling doubt in his heart. 

"Nott, the reason to Harry's worries lies in the first sentence that you uttered. You're taking this more clinically, while he isn't and you know very well, that he can't. He knows he can break the contract, but then it will feel like another failure to him, another reason to cement the doubts that are already inside him. No wonder all your relationship attempts fail so miserably." Blaise shook his head. 

"No need to bring up my dating life into this." Theodore grumbled. 

"Don't worry Theo, you'll meet your match soon enough." Harry grinned at the pouting Slytherin. 

"And now, Potter is the one consoling you." Blaise snorted out, looking at how Theodore grinned at their Gryffindor friend. 

"I'm shit at this, you know that very well." Theodore muttered petulantly. 

"We noticed." Blaise laughed, sharing a grin with Harry. 

"Well, someone needs to be the logical one among us emotional bunches. Otherwise, who would point out all the reasons why loving a particular flavour of ice cream is not at all desirable." Harry shrugged and then burst out laughing when Theodore threw his book at him.  

"Stop making fun of me." Theodore scowled. 

"But you look so cute when you pout." Blaise grinned making Theodore splutter with shock, and Harry fall into another bout of chuckles. "See, so cute." Blaise conjured a mirror right in the face of Theodore, making him flush red with embarrassment. 

"I hate you both." Theodore huffed. 

"We love you too, Theo." Blaise and Harry chorused, making Theodore growl a bit at the back of his throat. 

But they were all interrupted by a chime going around their house, announcing that someone had flooed in who was not included in the wards around the rest of the house. The three friends immediately stood up, already knowing who it could be. 

"Everything is going to be okay. We will not let them take advantage of you." Theodore said in a firm voice before walking out of the doors first.

"It is going to be okay. Come." Blaise squeezed his shoulder and then he too walked out, giving Harry a few moments to compose himself. 

He checked himself in the mirror, straightening his robes, and smoothing out the few wrinkles that had marred a few places, during his casual lounging with his friends. He felt extremely self conscious, even more than usual. For some reason he really wanted this to go well. Taking a deep breath, he too walked out of there, swiftly approaching the sitting room, where he could hear the rest of them talking. 

"Time to face the music now." Harry muttered just before rounding the corner and coming into the view of the other Lestranges and his two friends.

****

"Welcome to my home." Harry smiled as he took a seat infront of them. 

"Your home looks beautiful, Lord Potter-Black." Ophelia greeted him with a genuinely pleased look.

"Thank you. But we are going to be family. Please call me Hadrian or Harry." Harry smiled. Ophelia's smile widened at that.

"Then it is only fair if you call me by my name, until you're ready call me mother." Ophelia smiled. Harry grinned back, though he felt his throat tighten a bit at that last bit. He never had anyone to call that. 

"Ofcourse." Harry nodded. He couldn't help but glance at Rodolphus, only to find that he was sitting stiffly, while looking at the ground. Harry turned away his eyes from him, feeling the doubts increase in him ten folds. 

"So, I have taken the liberty to gain a blank betrothal contract from the Gringotts. We can discuss the conditions and clauses among ourselves, and then fill it up. That way, we can officiate it more efficiently and quickly." Caelum informed, looking directly at Harry. He had caught the glance at his eldest and then the flash of disappointment in his eyes. He could only hope, this went as well as he and his wife wanted it to. 

"That sounds good to me. But I would like your elder son to put his own inputs in this. While I understand the Lords of the family are supposed to go through this, and I'm certain you have your son's best interest in your mind, I don't want this to be a business meeting. I hope you understand what I mean." Harry said in a neutral voice, but Caelum merely gave a nod at that. 

"I understand it well enough. Rodolphus will speak whenever he has any doubts or has any question of his own. As it is, we have already discussed the clauses between ourselves, and thus everything is according to what he wants." Caelum replied. Harry simply inclined his head at that. 

"Can I ask something, Lord Lestrange?" Theodore interrupted smoothly. Even Blaise and Harry glanced at him curiously at this. 

"Certainly." Caelum nodded, giving his full attention to Theodore. 

"While I admit, I might not have the best knowledge or experience in this sector, I do believe, physical attraction plays an important enough role where the two people are expected to be married to each other and produce heirs. Well, in marriage of benefits, not so much, but as we will both agree, this is not one of them. So, I would like to ask, is your heir having a problem in that part? If so, we need to know about it, because I don't want my friend to be in a relationship, where his betrothed finds the floor more attractive than him." Theodore stated in a sharp but polite tone. 

"Theo!" Harry exclaimed in a mortified voice, staring at his friend with wide eyes.

"No, he is right. I would like to know that too. Or if he is feeling a little under the weather, we can have this meeting another day." Blaise cut in, making Harry let out a small groan.  

"No, physical attraction is not any problem here. The problem is I had to go through something like this in the past, which you will have to understand, is not a fond memory for me." Rodolphus said in a blank voice, looking straight at Harry, ignoring everyone else. Harry stared at him for a while and then looked back at Caelum, who was just watching them silently, like the rest of the other people in the room. 

"Lord Lestrange, do you mind a little more informal setting for this? I was thinking about my gardens, where, we can set up something like that of a picnic basket, and do this while having some snacks? I didn't have much for breakfast anyway, and I'm feeling a bit peckish. Also the weather is just fine to spend some quality time outdoors." Harry suggested with a small smile. Caelum blinked once and then let out a hearty laugh at that. 

"That is one fine suggestion, Lord Potter-Black. And my wife always do hate such stiff settings. Lead the way." Caelum grinned. Harry smiled back and then looked at his friends, both of whom had a fond resignation in their faces. 

"You two lead them, I'll talk to Missy." Blaise nodded. 

"Thanks Blaise." Harry flashed him a grin and then stood up, the others following his lead. "Come on, I want to show you my favourite part of the gardens." Harry chirped, smiling widely. 

"I would love to see that." Ophelia smiled, linking her hand with Harry. Harry grinned and soon both of them were chatting away on their own, while Caelum walked silently beside his wife and Theo walked beside Harry, joining the conversation at times. 

Rabastan joined his brother at the back, where he was following the others in a slower pace. Contrary to what he had been doing at the start, he was no staring at the back of his would be betrothed. His eyes were shining with a enough emotions that even the most oblivious person can spot it. 

"You look a little, star-eyed, Rodolphus." Rabastan whispered out. His voice easily drowned out by the twin laughter of his mother and his would be brother in law. 

"If I didn't know any better then I would have said he was trying to get on my parent's good side." Rodolphus confessed, just as quietly. 

"He doesn't have to try on that front." Rabastan stated a bit dryly. 

"I haven't seen mother this happy in a long time." Rodolphus muttered, hearing her mother start laughing again. Even his father was chuckling softly beside her.

"You can be happy too, you know. He is not really doing all this for our parents, not directly ofcourse." Rabastan pointed out.

"I know. And his efforts are what is making ne more nervous. I don't know if I can actually treat him the way he deserves to be." Rodolphus sighed out. 

"Harry just wants to see that you're trying. He has his own doubts and insecurities. You will get to know about them with time. I'm telling you this because I don't want to see him hurt. He had his own share of betraysls and mistreatment from people who were supposed to love him. Use this information carefully, or I'll will create a spell specially for you, about which no one will ever know. Have a nice day, Heir Lestrange." With that Blaise strode away from there, without even glancing at them, joining his two friends with a small smile, and immediately started with their easy bantering.

"We now know, why he thinks of those two as family." Rabastan snorted, while Rodolphus still looked a little stunned.

"How can someone be so friendly and scary at the same time?" Rodolphus huffed.

"I think we will be good friends." Rabastan laughed, thoroughly amused. 

"Ofcourse you do. I never would have guessed someone who is so confident and blunt would have any insecurities." Rodolphus frowned, but then looked around himself as they stepped out into the gardens. 

It was a well maintained piece of land, with clean pebbled path, bordered by small plants with coloured leaves. Beyond that, the land was separated in small patches which contained different types of orchids and flowering plants. But it was arranged in such a way, that from afar it almost looked like a carefully drawn pattern of varying colours and lines. Moreover every corner had a different species of trees, reaching for the clouds, and making the atmosphere more comfortable and relaxing. 

Soon they reached a small clearing, where the grasses were trimmed and was right under a  massive willow tree. There was big blanket strewn on the ground already and a large basket was kept in the middle of it. Moreover the sweet smell of roses and lavender were shrouding the place thickly. Rodolphus already  felt more relaxed than he had felt since this who thing started. 

"This is beautiful, Harry. No wonder this is your favourite place." Ophelia smiled widely, taking in a deep breath, greatly enjoying the delicious smell food and flowers combined.

"Thank you." Harry grinned, dropping down on the floor, with Ophelia and Theodore on either side of him. Blaise sat down beside Theodore while Rabastan took the seat beside his father, leaving Rodolphus to seat directly opposite to Harry.

"If you ever don't find him in the house, he is most likely to be here, if he had not gone out ofcourse." Blaise stated in an amused voice. 

"You're terrible at keeping secrets." Harry rolled his eyes, but he didn't even look remotely upset by that. 

"I keep what I think I should and give away the rest." Blaise shrugged, completely unrepentant. 

"Do you three always argue?" Rabastan asked in a curious voice. 

"That would be impossible. We do need sleep and even go back to our own home." Theodore replied primly. Harry and Blaise shared a significant look, and then looked down,  laughing silently amidst the silence that followed. 

"That would mean, whenever you three are together, you are arguing, yes?" Rabastan replied, breaking the silence. 

"Not really. We do have work, which we can't do while arguing. But other than that, most of the time, apart from while we are eating together, but that is because, we are too busy eating the delicious food that Harry never fails to make, whenever we come over for a meal." Theodore explained without any pause. 

"Or while we are planning something." Blaise added in an amused voice, while, Harry just stared at Theodore with an amused look. 

"Do you like cooking?" Rodolphus' quiet voice made Harry snap his eyes towards the man. This was the first time he had shown any interest towards knowing him.

"For the people I love and care about, yes." Harry replied, with a small smile. 

"You say as if, you had to cook for people you didn't want to in the past?" Rodolphus frowned. The three friends tensed at that, especially Harry, making the others frown at him with confusion and suspicion. 

"You don't have to answer if you don't want to." Ophelia said gently.

"No. I did say I will not lie or hide anything from him if he doesn't. And this is a part of my life that had shaped the person I am today. So he should know this." Harry shook his head. 

Theodore put a hand on his shoulder, knowing how much Harry hated talking about this. Harry didn't start immediately, looking down for a while, as he gathered up his thoughts and courage to speak about a thing that he had always tried to erase from his memories. 

"You know, my parents died when I was one, killed during one of their joint auror mission, along with the rest of their group members in a muggle explosion. Since my grandparents on my father's side were already dead, Dumbledore saw it prudent to send a one year old magical child to my mother's muggle sister's family. Since my Godfather was out on one if his long tours at that moment, he had no opposition, whatsoever." Harry pause here, as this part was the most difficult for him to say. 

"Let me take over from here." Blaise said softly. Harry simply nodded at that, not even looking up. Blaise looked at the others, facing their expectant narrowed stares. "Lily Potter's sister hated anything to do with magic. She hated her own sister for the same reason and she married a man who was just as vicious and narrow minded like her. So, they took great offence at being shoved with a magical child." Blaise informed them in a neutral voice, but his eyes were flashing with anger. 

"They abused him for the whole of ten years, he was them. Fortunately, Sirius and Remus came back that year, to see off their godson to Hogwarts. They had no knowledge of James and Lily Potter's death or Harry being carted off to Petunia Dursley neé Evans. You all know what Sirius did to Dumbledore in Harry's second year, but no one knows the actual reason for that." Theodore paused here, still feeling just as furious and horrified as he felt when he heard this the first time. 

"When Sirius and Remus retrieved Harry from that place, they had to rush him to the Mungo's where he stayed for whole of two months, before he was well enough to be taken home. Even then he had to follow a tight potions regime for the next five years, to undo all the damage done to him. Even now, he suffers from some of the after effects, like he can't put too much pressure on his left arm for too long, as it starts shaking violently, due to nerve damage or he can't walk properly first thing in the morning, because his legs takes time to start working properly after prolonged resting period." Blaise finished, gritting his teeth so hard, that they were hurting him.

"Are the muggles still alive?" Rodolphus asked, breaking the horrified silence that fell over them. 

"Yes, but they are now living their own  personal hells." Harry took over, looking straight at Rodolphus with a sharp look. "I can take my own revenge. I was a defenseless child at that time, not anymore. I don't need anyone's sympathy or worse pity."

"I don't pity you. That would be incredibly foolish of me, considering you're one of the best curse breaker in the whole world. Someone who can break a curse can also impose the same and you have vast a knowledge of curses. So anyone who wants to pity you, I would much rather pity them. I'm angry on behalf of you. Moreover, even though it may sound bad, I would have been angry even if it was a stranger. Child abuse is not something I tolerate. I had always wanted to find a way through which, we can monitor all the muggle raised and muggle born witches and wizards of our world. This is one of the main reason behind that." Rodolphus replied just as sharply, not even missing a beat.

"Maybe we can find a way together." Blaise suggested in a neutral voice. 

"I would most certainly appreciate any kind of help that I can get. And as a spell crafter, you are more likely to be successful in that than I will ever be, considering there is no existing way of doing what I want to do." Rodolphus inclined his head. When glanced back at Harry again, he had a small smile on his face, even though he was busy plating up food for everyone. 

"Let us discuss the clauses while eating, and then be we can get down to drafting the main contract." Harry suggested, handing a plate over to Ophelia and then to Caelum. 

"I have no problem with that." Caelum nodded.  

"Did you make the food?" Rodolphus asked softly, while Harry handed him the plate. 

"Yes." Harry stared at Rodolphus for a whole second before picking up his own plate. 

"Harry, please say that is croissants?" Theo asked, staring fixedly at the basket. 

"Honestly Theo, you're Lord Nott. You're acting like baby Nott." Harry teased, smirking at his friend. 

"If I have to choose between my reputation and your cooking, especially desserts, I'm going with the second option, barring unusual circumstances." Theodore replied with all the seriousness of the world. 

"You can make even the most silliest sentence sound like a clause in a business deal." Harry snorted out. 

"That is one fine quality, if I do say so myself." Rabastan smirked, eyeing Theodore curiously. 

"We know, that is why, we always push him to do all the talking in any official settings where all three of us are invited." Harry grinned, nudging Theodore teasingly, who huffed.  

"You just want to sit back and laugh as I make them fumble." Theodore stated blandly.

"I never denied that." Harry replied without loosing his smile, making Theodore roll his eyes and Blaise snicker. 

"Well, if this is what your cooking tastes like, I would have to agree with Lord Nott wholeheartedly. This is absolutely delicious." Rabastan exclaimed, putting another spoonful into his mouth.

"Rabastan is right. This is so good." Ophelia exclaimed in a delighted voice.  

"Thank you." Harry smiled abashedly. 

"So, let us get over with the formalities, so that we can enjoy the rest of the food more peacefully." Caelum suggested with a smile. 

"Ofcourse." Harry smiled with a nod, glancing at Rodolphus once again, feeling a jolt of excitement when their eyes met immediately. 

"Would you like to go first?" Caelum asked softly, making Harry glance back at him. He felt himself flush a little when he caught the look in his eyes.

"I have no problem with that. First of all, I want to make it clear that any personal information shared between us will never be spoken outside of immediate family or any friend that you completely trust, even if the contract is broken within the first year. If any information goes out to the media, the contract will be immediately off. It applies for both of us." Harry stated in a firm voice. 

"Agreed. It is something that we would have mentioned even if you had not." Caelum inclined his head with a pleased look. 

"Every decision, pertaining to either of our family or concerning one another will be discussed. In case of an emergency, where immediate decision is needed to be taken, whoever is taking the decision, should not decide anything that cannot be changed in the future or would damage the other one in any way, heart, mind or body." Caelum paused at this and then shared a look with Rodolphus, who had a slightly surprised look on his face. Harry looked at Rodolphus with a blank face, eyes shining with determination. 

"This is not something that is generally included in any contract, never mind the wording. But it also tells that you're extremely serious about this." Rodolphus admitted. 

"Are you telling me you're not? Because if you're not, then there's no point in doing all of this. I don't much like playing games with any kind of relationships, be it friends, family or marriage." Harry states firmly.  

"And Harry had a lot of chances to do so, if he wanted to. There had been a lot of people, who were even willing to enter a dominant submissive contract, just so that Harry married them. You can imagine who would be the submissive in that relationship." Blaise said in a slightly amused voice, remembering how horrified Harry had been. 

"That is disturbing to hear." Rabastan grimaced. 

"Don't remind me." Harry glared at Blaise, who just gave him an innocent smile in return.

"I never implied that I'm not serious about this. I merely said I'm surprised at how serious you are about this. And I agree to that condition." Rodolphus shook his head, giving Harry an intense look. 

"Then we shall proceed. There will be no mistresses in this marriage. I expect complete fidelity." Harry stated. 

"While I have no problem with fidelity, I assume you would want your line to continue just as much as I want to." Rodolphus cut in sharply. Harry stared at Rodolphus for a while, not replying immediately, making the Lestrange heir narrow his eyes.

"I'm a carrier and I want minimum of three children to carry our lines. That would have been my next condition." Harry informed in a calm voice. 

There were four sharp intakes of breath, which didn't surprise the three friends. Carriers were very rare in their world, and more than a little feared. It was common knowledge how powerful every carriers had been, starting with Merlin himself. And any children conceived by a carrier were thought to be more powerful than the others. 

"I almost thought, carriers were extinct in our world." Caelum said in a soft voice staring at Harry. 

"They are not. But most of us choose to hide it, because of people like Dumbledore tends to make them a target." Theodore stated calmly, making the Lestranges snap their eyes at him. All of their eyes flickered to Blaise, who was sitting there with a small smirk on his face. 

"Yes, I am." Blaise admitted in a pleasant voice. 

"Damn." Rabastan muttered under his breath, looking at the three of them with wide eyes. But for some reason, his eyes kept straying towards Theodore, who remained completely oblivious to it. 

"In that case, I have no problem with complete fidelity, and I'm very pleased with the next clause as well." Rodolphus stated, breaking the silence that had fallen on the group. 

"I assume the information that my friends shared wouldn't be discussed outside the people present here already, correct?" Harry asked looking around him.

"You have my word on it." Caelum gave a firm nod at that. 

"I will take your word for it. Now these are the main things that I had in mind. If I want to add anything later, I'll tell that after you have completed telling yours." Harry inclined his head. 

"Very well. We have already completed the fidelity clause and the secrecy clause, so I wouldn't be repeating that. You wouldn't bad mouth any member of the Lestrange family publicly." Caelum started. 

"Barring Bellatrix Lestrange. Apart from her, if I do go through this contract, the Lestrange family will become my family as well. It would be extremely foolish to insult one's one family publicly." Harry stated a bit dryly.

"Your feelings towards Bellatrix is well known in the wizarding World. If you suddenly even say something a bit different to what is known already, it would be quite suspicious. Moreover, what you say about her, doesn't bother us in the least. I didn't have her in mind, when I stated Lestrange family." Caelum conceded amicably. 

"I hope any extended part of your family doesn't have someone like her. Even if I don't say anything in public, family gatherings is going to be very..." Harry trailed off, not finding the right word to use. 

"Tempestuous?" Theodore provided gently, a small smirk adorning his lips.  

"You and your four syllable words. Fine, that." Harry laughed, thoroughly amused. Even Theodore chuckled at the very old joke, not at all offended. 

"No. There's no one like her even though aunt Julia may follow close." Rodolphus confessed in an amused voice. 

"Wonderful. She better not be trying to take digs at Harry." Blaise chuckled, while Harry gave an entirely too bright smile at that. 

"Let us move on." Caelum shook his head ruefully, while his wife simply looked around the scene with a pleased look on her face. "There will be no separate rooms for the first year of the marriage. If..." Caelum was interrupted by Harry straightened, and raised a hand. 

"I'll not be discussing that. There will be no separate rooms, no matter how big of a fight we have. If at some point, we feel like we are not able to stay together, I will come back here, and start living here. We won't be having separate quarters in the same house, no matter what." Harry stated firmly, staring at Rodolphus with narrowed eyes. Rodolphus blinked once and then smirked. 

"Agreed." Rodolphus stated after a long pause, a pleased glint entering his eyes. Caelum smiled widely, looking at his wife, who had a shit eating grin on her face. 

"Rodolphus will not be moving out of Lestrange Manor at any point and you will not demand that of him." Caelum continued, looking back at Harry. 

"Agreed. But I will be allowed to make some changes in the Manor, if I want, ofcourse after taking others suggestion. And I will be allowed to enter any rooms in the Manor, barring personal study or bedrooms." Harry nodded. 

"Ofcourse." Caelum nodded, looking very pleased. "You will not do anything that will endanger the life of any member of the Lestrange family." 

"Certainly, I'll do everything to keep them safe." Harry inclined his head. Theodore and Blaise tensed at that, but apart from Harry nobody noticed it. 

"That is all. Shall we sign the contract?" Caelum asked. Harry took the now filled contract in his hand and went over it once, and then quickly signed it. Caelum signed it right after, officiating the contract which soon vanished from there, leaving a copy behind.

"Congratulations, brother." Rabastan grinned.  

"May we borrow Harry for five minutes?" Blaise asked after a pause. 

"Ofcourse." Caelum nodded, but gave them a questioning look. 

"Harry, a moment please." Theodore asked calmly and then both of them walked away from there. 

"Excuse me. We won't be long." Harry nodded and then followed his friends, already knowing what this was about. 

"That looked serious." Ophelia commented staring at the distance where the others vanished. 

"I agree." Caelum frowned, looking a bit confused. 

"Rodolphus, care to join me for a walk?" Rabastan asked casually. Rodolphus raised an eyebrow at his brother, but then nodded with a smirk. 

"Ofcourse brother. Let us head that way. I want to see the roses." Rodolphus smiled. 

"You just read my mind. Let's go." Rabastan grinned and stood up, with Rodolphus stepping beside him. 

"That was not at all subtle." Caelum rolled his eyes at his chuckling wife. 

"Let them be. This is peaceful and I feel quite hopeful after a long time." Ophelia whispered out. 

"I know what you mean, dear." Caelum smiled, wrapping his hand around his wife's shoulder, as Ophelia leaned against his husband with a relaxed smile. 

****

"What the heck was that?" Blaise demanded, staring at Harry with a narrowed look. 

"Blaise..." Harry started but Theodore cut him off. 

"You will be unnecessarily risking your life. Why in Merlin's name did you say that?" Theodore snapped, looking at Harry with a furious look. 

"I only said the Lestrange members, which includes the four we already have here." Harry sighed out.

"You certainly did not word it like that. Do not try to fool us, Harry." Theodore growled out.

"But that's what families do, right? Like you two would do the same for your own family!" Harry tried. 

"You really think I would try to save my father at the cost of my own life? Do you really expect me to?" Theodore raised an eyebrow at Harry, who immediately winced at the remainder. 

"You don't know their whole family till now.  Why in the world would you say that? Ugh, you're so frustrating Potter." Blaise huffed out. 

"I just..." Harry started but cut himself off, biting his lips instead. 

"You just thought family would mean love and acceptance. You completely forgot that the Dursleys were also your family." Theodore snapped. Harry flinched back violently at that. 

"May I say something?" Rodolphus' rumbling voice, made all three of them look back. 

"Not like it is going to change anything." Theodore muttered, glaring at Harry, who just stood there quietly. 

"There is nothing to change. The clause that he put in actually works in favour of him as well." Rodolphus stated smoothly. 

"What are you trying to say?" Blaise asked in an annoyed voice. 

"He said he would do everything to keep every Lestrange family member safe. But after that contract was signed, he is a Lestrange family member." Rodolphus explained. Harry snapped up his head at that, eyes widening with shock, while Blaise and Theodore paused and then a small smile lit up their face. 

"Why didn't we think about this?" Blaise smirked, his mood lightening in seconds. 

"How incredibly foolish of us." Theodore nodded, lips twitching in a grin. 

"Lord Nott, Lord Zabini, do you mind showing me around this place?" Rabastan asked in a bright voice. 

"Sure, but please call us by our names.  Through Harry, we are all family now." Blaise nodded, even as he stepped away from Harry, tugging Theodore with him, pointedly. 

"Then call me Rabastan. Please lead the way." Rabastan smiled. With a last look at the newly betrothed couple, all three of them walked away from there.

****

"Is that true? This is just a betrothal contract, and we still have the courting period and the one year mark to complete." Harry frowned, looking at Rodolphus. 

"Unless the contract is broken, you're a part of the Lestrange family now, as my betrothed. I did not lie and your friends are intelligent enough to know if I was." Rodolphus replied smoothly, staring at Harry. 

"Brilliant." Harry sighed and dropped down under the nearest tree. 

"Did you really think, my parents would let you endanger your own life to save someone whom we ourselves hardly think about?" Rodolphus lifted his eyebrow, even as he sat down beside Harry, but kept a small distance between them. 

"Who are there in your family, other your parents and brother?" Harry asked instead, dropping his head on his knees and turning to look at Rodolphus, who gave him a pointed look at the deliberate change of subject, but  then went along with it.

"My father's cousin, Kenneth Kelser, his wife, Julia, their seven year old daughter Louisa and their newborn son, Lucian." Rodolphus replied easily. 

"You don't get along with them?" Harry asked with a curious frown.  

"The only person we don't get along with is aunt Julia. Uncle Kenneth had been a large part of both our lives, and Louisa comes over often." Rodolphus smiled, thinking about his little sister.

"What is aunt Julia like? You said she can be close to Bellatrix?" Harry asked. Rodolphus grimaced at the reminder of his ex wife, but shook his head a bit to get out those memories. 

"She is difficult to get on with. She can be very criticising and always tries to rile you up, till you loose your temper and say something that you will regret. She then makes a scene using your words, never giving you a chance to explain yourselves." Rodolphus huffed out, looking utterly disgusted. 

"And uncle Kenneth is happy with her?" Harry frowned. 

"I don't know why or how, but they seem to be very much in love. Sometimes I think, she must have him under potion or something, but I have seen her breaking down when uncle Kenneth fell ill a few years back. And it couldn't have been an act, since she didn't see me. It was just her infront of a still unconscious uncle Kenneth." Rodolphus shrugged, looking really confused himself.  

"There must be a lot of things about her that you just don't know but uncle Kenneth does. No one loves anyone else without reason." Harry shrugged, smiling a bit at Rodolphus' expression. 

"That is a possibility, I agree. So, other than the two people I have already met, who else are you close to?" Rodolphus asked. 

"Fred and George Weasley and my inspiration and first teacher, William Weasley. We have been friends much longer than I have with Blaise and Theo. I first met them when I was eleven, and Fred, George and I, instantly clicked together. They are older than me by two years, but they treat me like we are the same age. And I pestered Bill with questions till he gave in and just took me under his wings. He is like a big brother to me." Harry grinned, eyes sparkling as he talked about his favourite people in life.  

"Do they know about this contract?" Rodolphus asked, staring at Harry intently, trying to memorise each and every expression on his face. 

"Ah no. They would have raised a storm, needlessly. They do trust me, but they are too protective of me. And Fred and George are pranksters. I didn't want them to, I don't know, turn Ophelia into canary or something." Harry shrugged. Rodolphus looked very much  amused at that. 

"That is not a possibility any longer?" Rodolphus raised an eyebrow.

"It will never stop being a possibility." Harry  chuckled. "But the fact is, they will understand that this is my choice and once they read the contract, they will know that this isn't something you're doing to get something out of me." Harry explained. 

"They get along with Blaise and Theodore?" Rodolphus asked a bit sceptically. 

"Well, Blaise and I are partners in their business, and Theodore also helps them with new ideas all the time. You will not know that if you were to just see us together, with how much we keep fighting and arguing, but it is our way of having fun actually. Most of the time we all are together, it is another prank war." Harry laughed, enjoying himself a lot. 

"You lot do argue a lot." Rodolphus teased, getting even more laugh from Harry. 

"I know. It is more fun when we argue in public. They can't seem to decide if we are friends or not. It is hilarious to watch them try to figure out." Harry snorted out, making Rodolphus break out into chuckles himself. That would be entirely too amusing to watch. 

"I am very sure when you get back home, all of you have a good laugh over it." Rodolphus commented, watching a still grinning Harry. 

"You bet. People are friendly in public, while enemies behind closed doors. We do it in complete reverse." Rodolphus blinked once and then started smirking.

"Challenging another Pureblood idiocy, are you?" Rodolphus teased. 

"Any chance that I get." Harry shrugged, completely unrepentant.

"You're interesting." Rodolphus eyes Harry with an intense look, but Harry stared right back, taking it as a challenge, making Rodolphus even more amused by it. 

"I do try." Harry smirked back. 

Their staring challenge was interrupted by someone clearing their throat behind them.  Both of them startled and looked back only to find that Rabastan, Blaise and Theodore were standing there with an amused look. 

"The rest of the food is getting cold." Blaise stated sweetly, making Harry roll his eyes and stand up, with Rodolphus following his suit. 

"Ofcourse Blaise." Harry agreed, just as sweetly and then strode away from there, with Blaise and Theodore running over to catch him. And as expected they soon started bickering straight away, making Rodolphus let out a snort. 

"That looked intense." Rabastan hummed in a very neutral voice.

"You need to stop oogling at Theodore." Rodolphus stated pointedly making Rabastan splutter while Rodolphus just walked away from there, leaving Rabastan gaping like a fish.

****

"Fred, please." Harry sighed, staring at the three redheads with the best puppy dog eyes that he could muster. But his three adopted brothers didn't look even minutely appeased by that. 

"Why are you bothering to tell us now? Why not after your marriage? Or better after you have five children?" Bill asked sarcastically. 

"Or even better never at all, just keep lying and hiding from us as you have been doing till now." George glared at Harry, making him wince. 

"I have never lied to you." Harry sighed out, looking down dejected.

"You omitted, same as lying. As you keep telling us." Fred growled out. 

"I'm sorry. At first, I never thought the request was anything serious, and then I just wanted to be sure of it myself before telling you three anything. I know how protective you can get, and didn't want you to just go on planning revenge on them for no reason. I did not hide it because I didn't trust you three  or didn't want to share this with you." Harry said in a soft voice, still staring at the floor. 

"So, you have told your betrothed about us?" George raised an eyebrow. Harry looked up at them with a frown  at that.

"Ofcourse I told them. You three are my family, and if he wants to actually be with me, he will have to get on with you three. Why wouldn't I tell him?" Harry asked in a confused voice.

"So, you didn't just hide it from us, because you didn't want them to think any less of you because you are close to three blood traitors?" Bill asked slowly. Harry stared at them with a shocked look at that. 

"You thought I was embarassed of introducing you three to the Lestranges? Just because your parents and other siblings are idiots?" Harry breathed out, completely stunned.

"Well, we are poor and don't have so much standing as them." George shrugged. 

"You three are unbelievable. Do you really think I'm that conceited and shallow?" Harry asked, his voice riddles with disbelief.

"No, we don't. We have known you for a long time to know you're neither conceited nor shallow. But you're clearly taken with Heir Lestrange and we thought, you just didn't want your connections to us destroy your choices of being with them." Bill shook his head firmly. 

"I'm not taken or any such rubbish. I don't even know the man. I like him yes, and I have admired his efforts with the creature law for a long time. And that is the only reason I have decided to give this a chance. And moreover, he is clearly interested in a real relationship, not just union of old names. But nothing of that amounts to even a minuscule of reason for me to abandon my family, who had my back when I was a nobody. How could you even think that I would do such a thing?" Harry snapped, his own temper rising. 

"Well, you didn't come to tell us anything." Bill snapped back, eyes narrowing in renewed anger. 

"Then you could have just flooed in, slapped me and then demanded to know what was going on? You certainly never shied away from  doing such a thing before, and I can recall numerous occasions in which you did just that. So what changed this time?" Harry growled back. 

"We were not sure we had that right." Fred sighed out, and for the first time Harry saw how hurt and unsure he looked. 

"Harry would rather give up his Lordships than give up on you three. Even we know that after being friends with him for just five months." Blaise sighed, shaking his head. Bill, Fred and George blinked at that, looking extremely shocked at that.

"And who the hell is poor? Fred and George, you have your own personal vault filled with galleons from the profits you make from your own business that you built up from scratch. In ten years, you will have as much galleons in your vaults as some of the wizarding families have in their family vaults." And ignoring the twins blinking at him with wide eyes, he turned to the other redhead. "As for William, he is a highly sought after curse breaker in Britain and beyond. I don't know why you haven't just started looking around for some more profitable offers and take it. You're more talented than to work under an idiot like Shacklebolt. I can even give you a few contacts of my own. You can earn enough money in a few months, of you take the right offers, to buy Lestrange Manor by yourself or even build yourself one. Even my father have at times, praised your talent, even though it was backhanded." Theodore stated in his ever so logical voice.  

"Is he serious?" Bill spluttered, staring at Theodore with disbelieving eyes. 

"Ofcourse he isn't joking. Did you see him laughing?" Harry huffed out, glaring at the three brothers. "I have been trying to tell you to leave Shacklebolt for years now. I'm glad Theodore said it in a way that you actually understand." 

"Can... Can you give me some of those contacts of yours?" Bill asked softly, after a pause.

"Well, I'll not tell you to work for my father. While he would pay handsomely, you wouldn't like doing the tasks. So, I would maybe contact Lord Jeffrey. He was looking for a curse breaker, as an entire ball room in his Manor is filled with cursed items, and no one till now had been able to remove past the two at the door, and it activates right back, whenever the door is closed. He is desperate enough to pay any amount you ask of him, if you can do the job." Theodore informed him in a business like voice.

"Any amount?" Bill blinked. 

"Yes. I suggest, you don't agree for anything less than six thousand galleons. But don't ask any more than eight thousand." Theodore stated firmly.

"Six thousand..." Bill muttered faintly. 

"Now you understand, what your talent is worth, Bill? It is much more than the measly four hundred galleons you get paid every month. Don't let anyone take advantage of you." Harry grinned. 

"You are coming with me, if I agree." Bill insisted.

"Sure, but I will not accept money from you. I will go as your assistant and follow your lead the entire time." Harry replied in a firm voice. 

"But you will be working and you're more than capable of doing things alone." Bill protested. 

"Just this once, Bill. If you do need my help in future on anything, I'll go there as a capable individual and take my share of the pay. But not this time. And moreover, you are my mentor. It will be an honour to assist you in your first solo mission." Harry grinned. 

Bill stared at Harry for a while and then wrapped his arms around him tightly. Harry buried his face in the crook of his neck and just soaked in the comfort that the man exuded. Soon they were joined by two grinning redheads, making Harry grunt under the pressure, but Bill just chuckled along with the other two. 

"And again the four Gryffindors turn into Hufflepuffs. Thanks Theodore." Blaise grinned but everyone in the room knew it was just Blaise's way of cracking fun. 

"Don't be sore just because you're not getting any hugs." Fred sniped back, while Blaise made an exaggerated gagging sound in the back of his throat. And soon all of them were back to arguing, much to Harry's relief.

****

"Harry, welcome to our home. Well, this is your home as well, if you want to treat it like that." Ophelia greeted him with a wide smile, as soon as Harry entered the hallways. 

"Thank you, Ophelia. I will treat this place as my own." Harry grinned, stepping forward to hug the woman warmly. 

"I'm so happy, Harry. You cannot even imagine how much I have despaired to see this day." Ophelia leaned back to look at Harry, who flushed a little at the attention. With a small chuckle, and kiss on his cheeks, she stepped back and looked at the others. "Blaise and Theodore, I know. But introduce me to the others, Harry." Ophelia insisted.

"This is William Weasley, whom I call Bill and who is my mentor and big brother. He is also a very talented curse breaker. You must have heard about how Lord Jeffrey successfully removed all the curses from his Ball room, that he had spent hundreds of galleons for but still failed. He is the one who made it successful." Harry said proudly. Ophelia's eyes widened and she looked at the embarassed wizard infront of her. 

"Harry, seriously. You need to stop saying that everytime I meet someone new. It was not really that tough, I don't know why no one could do it before me and you helped." Bill huffed. 

"That only further proves how talented you are, Mr. Weasley. Lord Reagan Jeffrey had been trying to get rid of them for six years now, and he had not left any stones unturned in his endeavours. You can be sure that you will be receiving offers from world wide now." Ophelia shook her head, much to Bill's embarassment. 

"My wife is right. And I am very pleased that you finally left Shacklebolt and chose to work for someone who would actually value your talents. And I would be recommending you to my acquaintances as well." Caelum stated in a firm voice, coming to stand beside Ophelia. 

"Thank you Lord Lestrange. It was only because of Harry, Theo and Blaise that I finally took this step. I didn't even realise I was so severely underpaid. Coming from a poor family, four hundred galleons a month seemed enough for me until the others pointed out that I deserve much more." Bill replied in a soft voice. 

"I'm very glad the others successfully convinced you otherwise." Caelum nodded his head. 

"And these are the owners of Weasleys Wizarding Wheezes, the shop that is never not crowded, unless it is after nine in the evening or before six in the morning. Fred Weasley and George Weasley." Harry grinned. 

"Harry, you're overdoing it now." George coughed, going completely red. 

"He did not say anything that we already didn't know. Rabastan had to try for a whole two weeks before he could manage to enter your shop and successfully buy a gift for his cousin. And Louisa loved it so much that she had been pestering him to take her to the shop, so that she could personally look through all the items in there." Caelum informed them. 

"We would be more than willing to give her a tour of our shop personally. And we are glad she loved our items. Blaise, Theodore and Harry helps us a lot." Fred flushed with pleasure at that, even though the two brothers were still embarassed. 

"But the ideas are yours, mostly. And moreover you two do most of the work, so shut up." Blaise rolled his eyes. 

"Louisa would be ecstatic to meet you two and know your offer. Come inside." Caelum chuckled. 

In the last few months, he had gotten used to their bantering like everyone else in their family. Rabastan even joins them sometimes, and Caelum and Ophelia had been a little wide eyed when he just started arguing with them, but the others had not even batted an eyelid. Even Rodolphus looked faintly horrified with his brother. 

"Are the others already here?" Harry asked softly, as he stepped beside Ophelia as they were led inside. 

"They came over last night, much to our surprise. It looks like they are much more interested in this betrothal than we expected them to be." Ophelia informed him softly. "Just be yourself Harry. We want you as you are." With that they stepped inside the room, which was now bustling with people. 

Rodolphus immediately excused himself from where he was talking with an elderly man, whom Harry thought was, uncle Kenneth. A woman was eyeing them with a critical look, and Harry immediately knew that was aunt Julia, and Harry could see a little girl, sitting at a corner with Rabastan, even thought Rabastan was walking upto them as well. 

"Harry." Rodolphus smiled at Harry, who immediately smiled back widely. 

Their relationship was progressing at a very slow pace but Harry was more than happy with it. Rodolphus had asked him for a dinner in a beautiful restaurant last week, and Harry hadn't been able to stop smiling randomly and zoning out often for the next three days, making Blaise and Theodore throw stinging hexes at him, much to his annoyance. 

There had been no magical kiss or words of adoration. The two of them had simply talked about their family, and the things they loved or hated, their interests and dreams. After the meal, Rodolphus had taken him to an open space, littered with flowers and fairy lights, and different creatures of their world. They could see the clear night sky, filled with stars and a solitary moon shining brightly over the whole place, painting everyone in a faint yellow colour. Harry spent the entire time regaling Rodolphus with stories of Remus and Sirius and their little escapades together. And they had both laughed and enjoyed the entire evening immensely. 

He had never felt so hopeful about something before. And now as he stared at his betrothed, he couldn't help the lighting up of his eyes with pleasure, and by the way Rodolphus was smiling, he had recognised the expression for what it is.

"Rodolphus. I'm happy to see you again and not going to lie, I did miss you a bit." Harry whispered out, so that only his friends and the Lestrange family could hear it. Rodolphus looked a bit shocked by the confession but then his eyes turned immensely pleased.

"That feeling is mutual. Let me introduce to the rest of my family." Rodolphus straightened and led Harry to the others, as the rest of them just stood behind. 

"This is my father's cousin, Lord Kenneth Kelser. And you have already understood, this is my betrothed, Lord Hadrian James Potter-Black." Rodolphus introduced them. The elder man looked him over but shook his hand politely. 

"It is a pleasure to meet you, Lord Potter-Black." The elderly man gave a slightly calculative but still warm smile. 

"It is a pleasure to meet you too, Lord Kelser.  I have heard a lot about you from Rodolphus." Harry smiled back. Kenneth blinked at that but then his smile softened a little. 

"Rodolphus just can't seem to get over his uncle Kenneth, since he was a child." Kenneth glanced at Rodolphus, who blushed a bit. 

"And he shouldn't as well. Just because he grew up, doesn't mean he should just let go of the people who cared about him when he was a helpless child. Infact he should adore them even more as he grows up." Harry replied without missing a beat. Kenneth paused at that, looking a bit stunned at what Harry said, but then he smiled widely. 

"You're more matured than your age. I shall endeavour to know you better in the future." Kenneth inclined his head. 

"And I wish to know everyone that Rodolphus calls family. Thank you for giving me the opportunity." Harry nodded back and then looked at the woman who was staring at him with unashamed curiousity and judgement in her eyes. Harry simply met her gaze with a calm look. 

"This is uncle Kenneth's wife, Lady Julia Kelser." Rodolphus introduced a bit stiffly. 

"Nice to meet you ma'am. I have heard about you as well." Harry nodded his head. 

"Nothing good, I suppose." Julia smiled, but her eyes gleamed in a way that made Harry aware that she was purposefully trying to rile him up. 

"Well, everyone talks from their point of view. Rodolphus described you from his. But I happen to be of the opinion that I don't judge people before I have had a chance to get to know them personally and form my own opinions." Harry smiled, not at all taking the bait. Julia narrowed her eyes at that. 

"Ah, so you're here to pass your own judgement?" Julia raised her eyebrow. 

"And give you a chance to give your judgement on me as well. It is only fair." Harry shrugged. Harry distinctly heard a small cough in the background but he completely ignored it, as he ignored the tightening of hold on his shoulder. 

"You're too blunt, that is for sure." Julia stated, but her tone was too sharp for it to be a compliment. 

"I always take that as a compliment. I recall, the witch weekly once named me under the most daring wizard of Britain. I personally requested them to change the word daring to either blunt or cocky. Unsurprisingly they chose cocky." Harry grinned, eye lighting up with mirth. 

"They were trying to be polite at first, but your letter, made them forego all politesse." Julia sneered a bit. 

"But that is what I wanted them to do. Forego all formalities and actually say what they wanted to in the first place. I always prefer the bitter truths than the sugarcoated ones, as the whole wizarding world will attest to." Harry smiled. 

"Are you sure you would be able to take so much truth thrown at you?" Julia asked with a critical look. 

"Much better than being flattered unnecessarily. I would much rather they frontstab me instead of backstabbing, if you know what I mean." Harry laughed at his own joke. 

"And what would someone of your age know anything about backstabbing?" Julia snapped. 

"You will be very surprised. But luckily I still have a few friends whom I can trust with my life. And now I think the Lestrange family is also slowly taking up that position as well, especially Rodolphus." Harry said pleasantly. 

"And you don't feel bad because you were his second choice?" Julia raised an eyebrow. 

"If I was his first choice, I would be very horrified." Harry grimaced, making Julia frown. 

"What are you trying to say?" Julia pressed. 

"You do realise I'm ten years younger than Rodolphus. As he married the first time at twenty, I would have been ten at that time. Don't you think that would be improper, even for Pureblood standards?" Harry asked in a conspiratorial voice. And much to everyone's shock, Julia's mouth twitched in a smile at that. 

"Indeed it would be. It was a pleasure to meet you, Lord Potter-Black. I would like to get to know you better in the future." Julia nodded once, and then walked away to refill her glass. 

"Come on Rodolphus, I still need to meet my future sister in law." Harry nudged Rodolphus, when he just stood there with a shocked look. Rodolphus coughed once and then straightened his back, but the damage was already done, as Harry grinned openly at the now chuckling Kenneth Kelser. 

"This is my sister, Louisa Kelser." Rodolphus introduced in a faint voice. As Harry bent down and kissed the girl's hand and the started talking with her just as seriously as he did with his parents, Rodolphus couldn't help but be a bit more infatuated with his betrothed. 

"I told you, Harry would liven things up." Ophelia grinned at her husband, who was as much shocked as his eldest. 

"I think this is the first time I have seen aunt Julia smile." Rabastan breathed out. 

"No one can smile always, Rabastan. And since you were in her presence a very short amount of time compared to her whole lifetime till now, it is very normal that you didn't spot her smiling before, just like you didn't see her undressed before. Doesn't mean she never does." Theodore stated in his no nonsense voice.

"Ugh, Theo." Blaise groaned, elbowing his friend in the ribs. "No one here wants to see her undressed, whereas wanting to see someone smile is much more desirable." Blaise snapped in a whispered voice. 

"I was just giving an example. Well, sneezing can be another example, but I didn't know if that would be an appropriate one or not." Theodore argued back. 

"No I haven't seen her sneeze either. But while I understand your point, but my point was I am very surprised that Harry was able to make her smile." Rabastan explained with a small grin. 

"If you want to be surprised at everything Harry does, then you would be eternally stuck in that phase. It is better to just accept that Harry always seem to achieve the impossible. Be it getting attacked in a vacation or cozying up with a hippogriff or gaining the loyalty of the most ill mannered elf you had ever encountered in your life. He just can do anything and you'll be saved from repeating the same expression again and again." Theodore shrugged. 

"That is true. Harry was born with the weirdest luck." Blaise grinned a bit, looking at where Rodolphus was listening to a lively conversation about the correct number of toys a child should possess, so that they would have just enough to be entertained with throughout the day but not enough that they forget about some of them when they get a new one. 

"Are you happy?" Caelum murmured to his wife, Ophelia, who turned at him with a soft smile. 

"More than I have ever been in the last ten years." Ophelia confessed, as he looked back to where, Fred, George and Bill have now joined the conversation and still debating over the issue at hand. She couldn't wait for Harry to permanently shift here.

****

"Rodolphus, that is Hedwig." Rabastan's voice made him immediately snap up his head. 

"I haven't even sent the reply to his previous letter." Rodolphus muttered but stroked the bird as soon as it landed on his shoulder. But unlike other times, the bird gave an impatient hoot, making both the brothers frown. 

"This is odd. She never gives us the letter unless we have petted her for atleast five minutes." Rabastan frowned even as Rodolphus took the letter and immediately ripped the envelope open. "What is going on?" Rabastan demanded as soon as he saw Rodolphus tensing up painfully. 

"A room collapsed on Hadrian during one of his missions. He is in Mungo's." Rodolphus informed tightly, as he rushed out of the room. 

"Who sent the letter?" Rabastan asked in a worried voice. 

"Blaise. I'm flooing to Mango's. You inform Father and Mother and come with them." Rodolphus stated, and without waiting for a reply, flooed away. 

Rodolphus almost ran throught the halls, heart thudding in his chest in worry. But before he could reach the reception, someone caught his hand. He whirled around with snarl on his lips, which was immediately replaced by a small amount of relief when he saw it was William Weasley. 

"Where is he?" Rodolphus demanded. 

"The healers are trying to heal him. He is in here." Bill said in a calm voice, even as he released his hand. 

"How is he?" Rodolphus asked in a clenched voice.

"Not good. Someone in his group conspired against him. But they didn't realise just how capable and powerful Harry is. He defected the worst of it or he would have been dead by now." Bill choked out, voice trembling a bit. 

"Whoever it is, just signed his one way pass to Azkaban." Rodolphus gritted out. 

"Where are the others?" Rodolphus asked looking around a bit.

"Blaise and Theo went to the ministry. They are demanding an official investigation. And I haven't informed Fred and George. They are in their shop, and this is the busiest hour. I'll floo call them a bit later. They can't actually do anything right now other than worry." Bill sighed out, rubbing his face. 

"Father will be furious." Rodolphus sighed even as he glanced at the closed door yet again. 

"That is understandable. Theo and Blaise are as well. I won't be surprised if Shacklebolt's office is not decimated by the time they are finished." Bill said in a rueful voice. 

"If he doesn't find out who was behind this, he would be as well." Rodolphus gritted out. 

Just then Ophelia and Rabastan reached there as well. Both of them looked extremely worried and angry. 

"Where is Father?" Rodolphus asked with a frown. 

"He went to the ministry. He will talk to his sources and find out the actual reason behind the collapse." Rabastan informed without a pause. 

"Good." Rodolphus gave a single nod. 

"He will be okay, isn't it?" Ophelia asked in a concerned voice. 

"He has to." Rodolphus shook his head, not letting himself to anything else. He was not ready to loose the only person that he had  actually started to care about other than his family. 

After another restless hour, the door opened and four healers stepped out of the room, looking extremely tired. Even then they discussing about various spells and potions that they would need. 

"Healer, how is he?" Rodolphus asked in a forced polite voice. 

"Heir Lestrange, I cannot tell anything about my patient outside family." The healer said in a firm voice. 

"He is his betrothed." Bill cut in. The healer paused but then gave a single nod. 

"His condition is still critical, but he is healing satisfactorily. We are hopeful that he will recover completely in a few days, but I cannot say anything with surety just now. We need to keep him under observation for a day." The healer informed. 

"Is there any internal bleeding?" Bill asked with a frown. 

"Yes, there was. But we have healed that." Bill gave a single nod, but he didn't say anything else. 

"Can we meet him now?" Rodolphus asked. 

"Yes, but please do not try to wake him up. He needs to keep sleeping for the potions to work properly." Rodolphus inclined his head and immediately strode inside the room, with the others in tow. 

Harry was covered in innumerable bandages and salves. His eyes were closed, but the vital reading blinking above him showed that he was just sleeping. The sheet was covered in blood and even some of the bandages had blood stains on them. 

"Rodolphus, guard the door. I want to cast a spell on him." Bill stated after a while. Rodolphus looked up at the man, but just gave a single nod, without a word. None of them questioned him. 

As the three Lestranges covered the door, cutting off Harry's view from outside, Bill immediately muttered a spell while pointing his wand at Harry's heart. Immediately there was red glow around him, making Bill tense up. 

"What happened?" Rodolphus demanded. 

"As I have suspected, there is a curse on him. One of the healers are involved in this. We need to remove him from here." Bill stated firmly. 

"The fuck is going on?" Rodolphus snarled out, eyes lighting up with fury. 

"I don't know. I strongly suspect Dumbledore, but now is not the time. You have healers in your contact, isn't it?" Bill demanded. 

"Yes. I'll do the formalities. Don't leave the room." Rodolphus said in a firm voice.

"Ofcourse we won't. Be quick." Rabastan urged his brother. With a single nod, he strode away from there with a stony look. 

"Why does Dumbledore wants to kill him?" Ophelia asked in a cold voice.  

"Because Harry is the most powerful resistance to his power gain in the Winzengamot. Till the time Harry is alive, he won't let Dumbledore return back to the Winzengamot." Bill gritted out. 

"That man thinks he is invincible. He will regret this." Ophelia growled out, eyes glowing with fury. 

"We will help in any way we can. He has got away with this for a long time." Bill vowed. Ophelia gave a single nod but then her eyes locked on Harry's face, eyes hardening further with determination.

****

"Ugh, why is it always me." That was the first thing that Harry said the moment he got back his senses, the next day, after the two healers worked on him for whole night. 

"Must be that ungodly luck of yours. How are you feeling?" The familiar barb and voice made Harry's lips twitch in a smile even before he fully opened his eyes. 

"I have felt better." Harry sighed out even as he took in his surroundings. "Uh, where is this?" Harry asked with a frown. The only reason he didn't panick was because Theodore was sitting beside him with a relaxed look on his face. 

"Your temporary room in Lestrange Manor." Theodore replied without a pause. 

"Why am I in Lestrange Manor?" Harry asked in a blank voice. Theodore raised a delicate eyebrow at that. 

"Did you hit your head too hard? You remember today's date and year?" Theodore asked in a sceptical voice. 

"Must be eighteenth June." Harry huffed out. "And I remember I'm betrothed to Rodolphus Lestrange, before you ask. I want to know, why we are here instead of in my home?" Harry rolled his eyes. 

"It's not your memory, it's your intelligence. I should have known." Theodore sighed. "You were injured and unconscious and needed treatment. Your betrothed found it prudent to keep you here, where he and his family can keep an eye on you, instead of leaving you alone in your home, where there is no one other than an elf to look after you." Theodore explained in a patient voice.

"He.. he took care of me?" Harry asked in a shocked voice. Theodore stared at Harry blankly at that. 

"You expected him to throw you away?" Theodore asked dubiously. 

"Nothing so dramatic. Honestly Nott, as if you and Blaise would have let him." Harry sighed, shaking his head. 

"You expected him to want to throw you away?" Theodore blinked, completely baffled. 

"Who would throw him away?" The new voice made Harry flush and he scrambled to sit up, but Theodore just held him down with a glare. 

"Stay still or I'll petrify you." Theodore warned. Harry glared back at him. 

"I can sit if I want. I'm not going to break." Harry snapped back. 

"You were broken, the healers repaired you, and now you're going to sit still, until the cracks become invisible." Theodore shot back. Harry frowned at the man and then pulled the blankets over his head, effectively blocking him out. "Wow, now he decides to be a five year old." Theodore muttered under his breath, eyeing the outline of Harry under the blanket with a frown. 

"Is he going to be okay?" Rabastan asked in a hesitant voice. 

"Yes. He is having a temper tantrum now." Theodore rolled his eyes. 

"You don't have to tolerate it, Nott." Came the muffled reply. 

"I'm choosing to tolerate it, as you know very well. I'm well aware that I don't have to do anything that I don't want to, courtesy of being Lord Nott now. But what I do not understand is, why you're angry." Theodore stated in a sharp voice. 

But Harry didn't reply anymore, choosing to just lay there silently, while being covered from head to toe. Theodore sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. Everytime he was bed ridden, Harry became moody and irritable. It was difficult to talk with him while he was confined, and Theodore never really knew how to deal with it. 

"Should we just leave him for a while until he cools down?" Rabastan suggested after a long time. Theodore glanced at the man and then looked back at Harry again. 

"May as well. Please don't do anything stupid." Theodore said in an exasperated voice and then left the room with Rabastan, closing the doors behind him. 

As soon as Theodore was out, Harry removed the blankets from his face and stared out of the window. He hated being in this room. Rodolphus was not here, neither was Caelum or Ophelia. They were most probably busy themselves with their regular works, and Harry felt like an outsider here. Theodore would never understand this feeling, and Harry was not inclined to try to make him understand. No one other than who was absolutely necessary, should know about this feeling. Feeling like you don't fit or you're just a burden. 

And then his thoughts turned to the betrayal. He had a strong suspicion that it was Aaron Coulson, the newly added muggleborn of their team and a strong Dumbledore supporter. He will get his revenge on him. But he needed to get back on his feet first. 

Taking a deep breath, Harry concentrated on his magical core and closed his eyes. He then willed his own magic to work on his own cracks, as Theodore called them, so that he healed as fast as he could. 

"Stop exhausting your magic." The exasperated voice of Blaise, made Harry clench his jaws. 

"I want to go home." Harry muttered, still working with his magic.

"I thought this was your home too." Blaise stated neutrally, as he dropped down beside Harry. 

"No, it is not. I want to go home." Harry repeated again. 

"Why are you angry?" Blaise asked in a curious voice.

"I feel uncomfortable." Harry muttered, after a long pause, finally withdrawing from his core.

"Why?" Blaise pressed, all patient energy. 

This is why Harry hated and loved Blaise. He never got annoyed with him, like he wanted him to, and leave him, when he was being particularly difficult. And in turn it infuriated Harry even more but somehow he still wanted him to stay back and leave at the same time. It was so confusing and so irritating that Harry got even more worked up over it. 

"Why do you insist on asking so many questions?" Harry huffed, frowning heavily. 

"I'm trying to understand here. Because I distinctly remember you telling Ophelia that you will think of this as your home." Blaise replied calmly. Harry wanted to punch and hug the man. But instead he just clenched his jaws. 

"I failed. Happy?" Harry snapped. 

"No. You are not saying the real problem. What is it?" Blaise asked again, and Harry glared at the man. "Don't glare. Why are you angry?" 

"Please just go away." Harry gritted out.

"Go where? I'm here because of you." Blaise pointed out. 

"How are your dates going?" Harry asked silently. 

"Satisfying. He had been dropping hints." Blaise let the change happen smoothly. 

"Is that something you're ready for?" Harry asked looking back at Blaise. 

"I'm not sure. I'm not complaining that he is thinking of officiating this and making it more real. It makes me happy. But then there are nerves that if everything changes as it gets old." Blaise sighed. 

"Well, it is bound to change. The more the time passes, the more he will become your habit and you will be his. He will become more predictive, sometimes even annoying. But just answer me one question, do you want to get up beside him every morning, or kiss him even after you had a big fight over something silly like, not keeping your clothes in place?" Harry asked softly. Blaise stared at Harry for a while unseeingly but then his face broke out into a soft smile. "And that my friend is your answer." Harry poked Blaise teasingly, making the boy huff and swat at his hand.

"I want to propose him. He started the courting, I want to do this now." Blaise stated. 

"Good. I will help ofcourse. Well, once I'm allowed to stand on my own two feet." Harry muttered, mood souring instantly.

"You never met him." Blaise said suddenly. 

"Hmm?" Harry asked absently, thinking something else.

"You never met Samuel." Blaise repeated. Harry looked back at Blaise at this. 

"Did I not? Oh. I didn't notice." Harry shrugged and looked away once again. 

"You didn't notice. More like you noticed and thought something ridiculous and just never mentioned it." Blaise narrowed his eyes. 

"Your parents like Samuel, isn't it?" Harry asked. 

"Yes, they adore him." Blaise rolled his eyes. 

"Theodore told me he liked runes. How about you make him a ring with different protection runes on the platinum band and design it with something that he may like? With maybe rubies and diamonds?" Harry suggested. Blaise paused and then his eyes lit up.

"That will be perfect. He will love it." Blaise grinned, already starting to think about all the runes he would like to include on the ring.  Harry smiled and then looked back out of the window. 

The sight of the forest was soothing. It was deep and vast. It could hide you or kill you. It can give you solace or agony. Dangerous yet beautiful, that is the first thing that comes to his mind when he sees forest. So contradicting but so mesmerizing. 

"You skipped two questions." Blaise came back to reality eventually, much to Harry's disappointment. 

"Think a bit more. Maybe you missed something." Harry replied, not looking back. But that was until Blaise smacked his head, making him wince with pain. 

"You're annoying." Blaise huffed. 

"Go meet Samuel." Harry replied without looking back. 

"Samuel is busy and I have no plan to meet him today while you're like this." Blaise rolled his eyes.

"I can take care of myself, thanks." Harry stated sarcastically. 

"I'm glad you're capable of doing such an important thing." Blaise argued back, without a pause. 

"Can I go home?" Harry whispered out again. 

"Harry, what is going on?" Blaise sighed, tugging him on his back. 

"Where are the others?" Harry asked quietly, after a pause. 

"Well Fred and George are in their shop. They will be back in two more hours. William has gone to the ministry, as Shacklebolt requested his presence. Caelum and Ophelia had gone out, and I don't know where. And Rodolphus is in his own room, as he wanted to give you privacy to heal. And you saw Rabastan and Theo." Blaise listed out calmly. 

"I'll have more privacy in my home. I want to go home." Harry gritted out, getting more frustrated. 

"Harry, they were genuinely worried about you. It is not like they just abandoned you. They don't know how you want things, so they are doing it their way." Blaise squeezed Harry's shoulder, trying to make him understand.

"How long do I have to stay in bed?" Harry asked instead, voice going blank. Blaise sighed. 

"Until the healer gives you clear pass. There was a curse on you." Blaise informed. 

"I know. The first thing that blasted in that room, had the curse which transferred itself to me. I have felt it, and I already knew what curse it was. Any competent healer could reverse it." Harry shrugged. 

"But the healers in Mungo's didn't. William detected it and Rodolphus brought you back here, and appointed his own healers. They are not used to this like you are." Blaise replied. 

"Should have thought about it before sending that request. It is not like this is a secret." Harry snorted out. 

"You're being deliberately obtuse now." Blaise frowned at Harry. 

"Well, I'm obtuse. You're welcomed to leave if that irritates you." Harry shrugged, not even looking at Blaise. 

"Be that way. I'll be with Theo." Blaise stated and got up. But Harry still stared outside the window with a blank look. Shaking his head with a frustrated huff, Blaise walked away from there, leaving Harry alone. 

****

"He managed to frustrate you too?" Theodore's eyebrows shot up at that. 

"He wouldn't listen to anything. He just wants to go home." Blaise dropped down beside Theodore with a huff. 

"He is uncomfortable here?" Rabastan frowned, tensing up. 

"He is uncomfortable because he thinks you all abandoned him. Nothing I say will make him believe otherwise." Blaise rubbed his face frustratingly. 

"Why does he think that?" Rabastan frowned, feeling confused. 

"He haven't seen anyone except you since the morning. He doesn't like being left alone. He feels forgotten. The Dursleys used to leave him alone a lot. It is a side effect that never got away. And whenever he feels weak or restricted, he lashes out. He doesn't like feeling caged." Blaise explained softly. 

"Then it is something Rodolphus should know and rectify." Rabastan went to get up, but Theodore held him back. 

"Don't. Harry will lash out on him too. Especially now, since he will think, Rodolphus came because he was asked to, not on his own. You can't reason with him now." Theodore shook his head. Rabastan laughed at this.

"Something they both have in common. Rodolphus should be able to take it, since he is betrothed to him and he lashes out on others too, and I'm very sure he will on Harry too, in some future." Rabastan grinned. Blaise and Theodore still looked sceptical, but Theodore released Rabastan's hand. 

"If you're sure. If Rodolphus says something wrong, right now, then I don't know if Harry will ever get over it. Just remember that." Blaise warned. 

"I'll inform Rodolphus." Rabastan nodded and walked away from there.

****

"Rodolphus." Rabastan called out, seeing him reading something with utmost concentration. 

"What?" The Lestrange heir still didn't look at his brother, making him roll his eyes.

"Why didn't you meet Harry since morning?" Rabastan asked, leaning against the wall. This made Rodolphus look up at him, making Rabastan quirk his lips in amusement.

"What do you mean? He is recovering. I'm sure he prefers privacy." Rodolphus frowned.  

"No, he doesn't. He wants to go home and both Theodore and Blaise have given up trying to make him realise that we haven't just abandoned him." Rabastan explained in a patient voice. 

"Abandoned him? What? Why would he think that? He is in Lestrange Manor. If I had wanted to abandon him, I would have not kept him here. I have no obligation." Rodolphus stated in a bewildered voice. 

"You didn't meet him though, did you? He told you about the Dursleys. Theodore and Blaise told me they used to leave him alone a lot and often forgot about him." Rabastan pointed out. Rodolphus clenched his jaws at the remembrance of his betrothed's abuse.  

"Then I'll talk to him." Rodolphus stood up, ready to leave.

"He will lash out, remember that. He would think you came because you were asked to, not because you wanted to. Don't loose your temper. If you say anything wrong now, Harry will not take it well. He hates being confined." Rabastan warned, before Rodolphus could open the door. 

"May as well get some practice." Rodolphus chuckled, making Rabastan laugh.  

"I thought as much. Now go." Rabastan smirked at his brother, who took a deep breath and walked away from there.

Rodolphus steeled his nerves before opening Harry's door. He knew how he feels when he is so angry that he lashes out on Rabastan, so he was determined to make Harry feel better and change his mind. The most they have done till now was held hands and leaned against each other. So this felt like a lot more intimate, even though there was nothing physical about it.

"Whoever you are, go away." 

It was the first thing that Rodolphus heard the moment he entered. He stood back for a while, watching as Harry stared outside the window with a blank look, the blanket pulled up till his neck, such that he could only see one of his hand and his head. His hair was disarrayed, and he doubted he had even left his bed since the morning.

"You don't want to talk?" Rodolphus asked calmly, watching as Harry tensed. Silently, Rodolphus prepared himself for the argument that he could already see coming.

"Thank you for appointing your healers on me and for letting me stay here." Harry said in a neutral and formal voice. 

"You're a Lestrange member too. This is your home and the healers are yours too." Rodolphus pointed out, stepping further inside the room. 

"Who sent you here?" Harry asked tightly. 

"Rabastan did. The only reason I didn't come here before because I didn't think you would want to be crowded while you are healing." Rodolphus explained.

"You thought right. I would like to be left alone." Harry said gruffly. 

"No, you don't really want that. I already know that." Rodolphus sighed out looking at his betrothed's clenched jaws. 

"I'm sure you have better things to do. Please give your time in causes which will return you something." Harry bit out, eyes flashing. 

"Hadrian, you know very well, I like spending time with you. The few dates that we have gone to, have proved that much to you, and I have said the same in words as well. So, spending time with you is not a chore for me, neither do I find it a fruitless endeavour. Don't accuse me of such things. I didn't know you would want me in here, and that is why, I left you alone. That doesn't mean, I would have not come to meet you in the whole day. I had already planned on having atleast one meal together." Rodolphus stepped forward, and came to stand beside Harry's bed. 

"I didn't accuse you of anything. I simply said I would like to be alone. Come back at the time for meal, and I'll have it with you." Harry refused to budge. 

Rodolphus frowned this time. He didn't plan on leaving, but he couldn't figure what would make Harry calm down. Even though he was not experienced in any relationship, he didn't want to let Harry go. So after staring at the side of Harry's face for a while, he stilled his nerves and dropped down on the bed. 

"I said go away." Harry turned to glare at him. 

"Can I hug you?" Rodolphus asked instead.  Harry blinked at that, eyes turning surprised. But then it again narrowed.

"I don't need your sympathy. Go away." Harry snapped and tried to turn back towards the window. 

But Rodolphus was having none of it. He had found the crack in the facade and he wasn't a Slytherin for nothing. Without waiting, he lied down behind Harry and wrapped his arms around his torso, pulling him against his chest. 

"I don't have anything to give you sympathy for. I'm hugging you, because I want to. Please stop fighting. I'm sorry for not coming to meet you sooner. I promise, It will never be the case again. Please forgive me." Rodolphus whispered out, just beside Harry's ear. 

Harry didn't reply for a long time. He just laid there silently, not reacting at all. And then slowly, after almost ten minutes like that, he turned around in Rodolphus' arms and pressed his face in his chest, pressing closer to him. Rodolphus tightened his hold on Harry, feeling an elated smile creep up on his face. 

"I'm sorry for being difficult. I just hate feeling like a burden." Harry whispered out against his chest. 

"It's okay. I'm always difficult when I'm angry, too. Just proves that how much we are meant to be together." Rodolphus kissed the crown of Harry's head, and his smile widened when Harry tightened his hold on him. "And you're not a burden, never will be, not to me, not to my whole family. If you want something, just ask me. I cannot always know what your want or how you want it. But I'll always try to make you happy in any way I can."

"I will, I promise. And I also want you to tell me everything and want you to be always happy. I feel happy when I'm with you." Harry confessed softly.

"I feel happy too. Right now, I feel more happy than I have felt in a really long time. Just help me a keep you happy, okay? And I promise I'll help you to do the same." Rodolphus said in softly, rubbing his hand on Harry's back. 

"Okay. I would like that." Harry leaned back a bit to look at Rodolphus' face. Rodolphus caressed his face softly with a gentle look on his face. 

"Get some sleep. I'll still be here when you wake up." Rodolphus urged. Harry rolled his eye at that but, buried his face in Rodolphus' neck without any objection. 

"I might as well. You are comfortable." Harry squeezed him a bit to prove his point. 

"I'm glad I succeeded in proving myself to be a good pillow for you, if nothing else." Rodolphus huffed, but this made Harry burst out laughing. 

"You'll get your prize for that achievement soon." Harry grinned, looking back at Rodolphus' face, who gave an amused snort at that. 

"I'll be waiting eagerly for it. Now go to sleep." Rodolphus stated pointedly. 

"Pillows don't order." Harry cheeked. 

"This pillow does. Now sleep, or this pillow can tickle too, as a punishment." Rodolphus mock glared at him. 

"Not needed, I'm sleeping, Mr. Pillow." 

Harry buried his head again, and Rodolphus wrapped his arms around him. He couldn't help but grin at the silliness of it all, but he didn't want to change it for anything. Who knew, one day he would be someone's pillow of all things, Rodolphus thought with a snort, and looked down at the man in his arms with an affectionate smile. He was really happy. After a very long time.

*****