Royals
Harry Potter is a slave.
Not that anyone knows he’s a slave.
To everyone else, he’s a servant. A very dedicated servant. But to the Dursleys, he’s a slave.
He was dropped on their doorstep when he was barely one yea old, with nothing but his name and birthday scribbled on the blanket wrapped around him.
Petunia wouldn’t let Vernon abandon him on someone else’s doorstep, and so he became a slave.
He lived in the stables. There is one stall for their one horse, Ginger, and a room for all the supplies.
In the winter he snuggled up with Ginger and used her extra horse blanket.
He had to take care of the horse, the garden, clean the house, take care of the laundry, cook meals, and pay rent.
It’s not like the Dursleys pay him, so he spends most of his nights working in the local brothel. He usually works the desk, but he has his own room, and working a room pays better.
He’s not proud of his job, but it pays well enough that he can pay rent and have a little extra.
A little goes a long way, and he almost has enough to leave this wretched place.
But the next Season is coming up, and it’ll be the first Season Harry can participate in.
He won’t participate most likely, but Dudley hadn’t had any luck in the six Seasons since he’s started, so he might be forced to try and catch some rich noble’s eye.
Hopefully, no one will notice him, and after this Season, he can finally leave.
~*~
Harry’s POV
*Day one of the season*
“Fuck,” I say as I brush Ginger down. “Fuck fuck fuck.”
I have just been told by Petunia that I will be participating in this years Season, and I will catch the eye of someone rich, and I’ll bring them home to hand off to Dudley.
But I have absolutely no clue how I’m supposed to do any of that, and I don’t particularly want to anyway.
Brushing Ginger is normally calming, but I’m too agitated for it to be anything other than tedious.
By the time I’m done with Ginger, it’s dark and time for me to head over to Sister Margaret’s.
I’m at the desk today, welcoming guests, shooing them into rooms, and taking care of the others who work here.
Almost as soon as I’m set up, the door opens up and someone walks to the counter.
I plaster on my best fake smile and start the manager-approved drivel that I have to spout, “Welcome to Sister Margaret’s, where we can sate your every need! The bar is to the left, and if you’re looking for a room please stand to the right while I go see who’s available!”
I look up from the schedules I’d been organizing, and the most gorgeous man I’ve ever seen is standing in front of me.
He has light gray-blue eyes, pure blond hair, and is tall and lean with an aristocratic face.
And he’s staring at me, with a look in his eye that I recognize all too well, “Hello sir! Are you here looking for a room?”
“Yes,” his voice is smooth and deep, and it flows like molasses.
“Well,” I peek at today’s schedule. “Marry-Ann, Teresa, Milly, and Sophia are currently available! Do you have a preference?”
He looks me up and down, “Are you available this fine night?”
My smile tightens and I nod, “Of course! Give me a moment to get one of the girls to cover the desk!”
He nods, and I disappear behind the curtains into the back of the brothel.
“Milly,” I hiss. She’s laying on one of the couches, drinking some water and shaking.
“Milly?” She looks over at me and I can see tears streaming down her face, “Oh Milly what happened?”
She scrubs at her face and sits up, “My Da passed today. And they’re takin’ the house first thing tomorrow.”
I sit next to her and pull her into my lap, “You can always stay here, you know Crystal won’t mind.”
She shakes her head, “I’m leavin’ Harry.”
Pulling away, I look at her, “What? You can’t leave! What about your regulars and- and-“
“Harry,” she puts her hands on each side of my face. “Harry. Come with me. I know you’ve been savin’ up to leave anyway. We can get out of here, be proper servants with wages. or even work at a bakery or somethin’.”
I pull away, “Milly...”
She looks down, “Yeah, I thought so.”
She kisses my cheek and stands up, “I’ll run the desk, you take the customer to your room.”
“But- Milly-“
She pulls me up and pushes me towards the curtain, “Go on.”
I nod, “Yeah, yeah alright.”
We both slap on our work faces and go through the curtain.
“Come with me, sir, I’ll take you to my room,” I walk past him, give him my best ‘come hither’ smile, and sashay to my room.
I open the door, walk in and wait for him to come in so he can tell me what he prefers.
Happy costumers are paying customers, happy customers are paying customers, happy cust-
He walks in and I strut over to him with a seductive smile on my face, “Welcome to my room, sir.”
He looks me up and down, “Draco.”
I nod, “Welcome to my room, Draco.”
~*~
*Day Five of the Season*
“Boy!”
I scramble up and jog over to Vernon, “Yes sir?”
“You’re going out today, and you’re going to bring home someone rich, and if you don’t you’ll be out on your ass.”
“What will I wear, sir?”
He scoffs, “Petunia altered some of Dudley’s clothes. You’ll wear those.”
“Of course, sir.”
He walks away and I trudge towards the back door where I see Petunia waiting.
When I get there she says, “Put these on, there’s a meeting in the square. Dudley will be there as well, but pretend you don’t know him. You better hope someone rich notices you.”
She shoves an outfit at me, sticks her nose in the air, and walks inside.
“Well ok then.” I set the clothes down on a bench, and get a bucket of water to clean myself up.
Once I’m clean, I put in the ill-fitting clothes.
“You have got to be kidding me.”
The shirt is too loose around the waist, and the pant legs hemmed too short, and the neckline stretched to all hell.
I rummage through one of the saddlebags I keep my things in, and pull out a needle and thread.
Then I set about making the clothes fit.
Two hours later, and everything fits almost perfectly.
I run a comb through my unruly hair, and start the short walk to the square.
When I get there, there are already some of the local nobles milling about with servants and butlers trailing after them, talking about whose ball is when and Can you believe the duke was caught half-naked and sloshed in a brothel?
I take a deep breath and prepare for hours of trying to be ignored, when a flash of white catches my eye.
I turn toward it, and see white blond hair.
“Ohhhhh shit,” I whisper and quickly turn around. I speed walk towards the nearest pillar and try to casually lean on the other side of it.
I’m panicking, and I know I don’t look casual.
He turns around and I duck further behind the pillar.
“Oh shit,” I have my back to the pillar and I try to peer around it. “Shit fuck fuck fuck shit shit shit fuck.”
“Is there a reason you’re hiding?” Someone says behind me.
“Jesus fucking-!” I whirl around and see Draco standing behind me.
“Uh- hello?”
He stares, “Harry?”
I put my hand over his mouth, “Shhhhhh!”
He looks at me incredulously and I take my hands from his mouth.
“Sorry, I just don’t want anyone to notice me. It’s bad enough you noticed me,” I added petulantly.
“Why are you here, Harry? You work in a brothel-“
I wave my arms around, trying to get him to stop, “Shhhhh!!”
He rolls his eyes, “You work in an inn, in the poor part of town. What are you doing here?”
I scratch the back of my neck, “I’m.... a servant. But my wages aren’t enough to pay rent to the family I live with, so I spend my nights working.”
“Ok... but if you’re a servant than what are you doing here?”
“The only son of the family hasn’t had any luck the last six Seasons, and this is my first Season. So they sent me to bring someone rich home for them.”
He stares at me, and I stare back, “What?”
“You don’t even want to be here?”
I scoff, “Of course not. Why would I? I don’t want to bring someone back just to improve their social standing and make them richer. Plus, someone could recognize me. We serve all sorts at Sister Margaret’s, and we pride ourselves on our anonymity. No one knows anyone else unless you’ve met outside the bar.”
I look at him, “Speaking of, what are you doing here? Are you a nobleman?”
He looks at me out of the corner of his eye, “I am Draconian Lucius Malfoy, first prince and heir to the throne.”
I stare, look around to make sure no one was watching, and then I drop to my knees, “My lord Malfoy.”
He pulls me up, “None of that, Harry. It’s refreshing to have a conversation with someone who isn’t afraid to speak their mind.”
“Uh- right. Ok. Um- I’m gonna go home so that I can get my stuff before I’m kicked out, so. Yeah.”
“Why would you get kicked out?”
“I was told to get someone rich and powerful interested in me, or leave. I was planning on leaving at the end of the Season, but now’s as good a time as any. Crystal won’t mind if I stay at Sister’s for a few days until I get myself set up, and Milly might not have gone yet, so I’ll see if her offer is still good....” I trail off, thinking about all the things I need to do to set off on my own.
Draco puts his hand on my shoulder, “Harry.... I’d like to formally invite you to the annual ball held at the palace.”
“I really don’t think- I mean I’m not allowed- I mean-“
“Harry,” he says sternly. “As your prince, I demand that you come to the royal tailor, get fitted in something as beautiful as you, and then attend the ball with me.”
“I- you- really?” I ask excitedly.
He smiles, “Of course! Who else would I take?”
Notes:
So I was reading Arranged by NotEvenCloseToStraight and this came to me. There will definitely be a part two, but this is all I have for now.