Mary Prewitts bonding
All the guests turned as one and looked at the couple at the top of the embassy indoor stairs. The father lifted his only daughters veil and whispered a few words to her. Maybe of encouragement on this her bonding day.
They saw Mary Prewitt walking down the main ornate staircase in the embassy, she looked like demure virgin and resplendent in a white dress, with a veil covering her face and trailing down her back. She looked at her father Percy Prewitt and smiled, and they both crossed the room and entered the small room where they would reaffirm the bonding in front of close family and friends. The real bonding had been completed yesterday between the couple, the bonding contract had been witnessed and signed by the couple separately at Gringotts, with Thickone and Choi Darcy’s family goblin in attendance and as witnesses for the couples, but Mary had seen the Darcy she would marry leave with his entourage, he was tall, handsome (mundanes would recognize him as a the young actor Omar Sharif). Mary it must be said would have bonded to this Darcy even if her was a poor Egyptian peasant but to her relief he was almost as rich as Articus Uncle Mr. Darcy of Pemberley. Her family had almost bankrupted themselves arranging her bride price for the bonding. Included in the bonding was the ancestral manor and house elves, her father had to take a loan with the Goblins to ensure that her twin brothers could open their dream business, but the family had decided it was worth it. But that had left nothing in the vaults to pay for Mary’s bride price, so her father as head of the family had given the Darcy family the manor and the rest of the families vaults. After all he knew that their family being bonded to the respectable and influential extensive worldwide known Darcy family would allow the family opportunities and advancement in society that they had only dreamed off.
Yes for once Percy was glad that his bonded had produced a troublesome daughter. Daughters were just money losing goods, they were only good for two things if a man was lucky and that was sex and bearing children. Ever since his only daughter Mary had been born he had been determined that she should make an very advantageous bonding for her family. Of course he had shown his displeasure when he was informed about the scandal regarding his daughter and the Brandon son. When he wanted to shout for joy, the outcome to the scandal would be that he could legitimately disown the money sucking little bitch and leave her and legitimately let her new family starve. Without it costing him a bride price, but the child had managed to pull out the hat as the savage mundanes said a rabbit.
Dumbledore had reluctantly agreed to the bonding, it was after the only way for him to gain access to the Darcy’s and their wealth. Nothing could go wrong as the little toad his supporter Rev Collins would be conducting the bonding and the stupid man was a fanatical follower of the new ways.
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The couple had not even officially seen each other, Mary had to bond quickly since the being recalled home roughly two weeks before the Yuletide leaving feast. All though to mundanes this arrangement would seem strange and be illegal in most circumstances, it had been the practice for the influential wizarding family children to be bonded in this way, although the practice had been slowly dropped by families since Grimwald defeat by Dumbledore.
A arranged bonding between two families, was just a pact to ensure that two families were joined together, it was a way of ensuring that blood debts or other debts between families were resolved. The children didn’t even have to bond at the end of the day, the fact that they had been bonded by their families on their behalf allowed magic to make them families. But because of the influence of Dumbledore and his light fraction, the bonding of children had been slowly stopped and only very old traditional families normally allowed pre-arranged bonding’s. It made sense to the new way followers, why limit yourself to accepting a bonding agreement when your children were younger.
Take his daughter, if they had been foolish enough to bond Mary to the Rev Collins eldest child, as Dumbledore had advised then they would have had to pay the bride price to the family even when Mary had forsaken her bonded. It didn’t matter that the Rev Collins had refused to bond his son to his daughter, stating that as a gentleman of stature and worth in Hertfordshire magical society, he couldn’t be seen to be lowering his standards to allow his son to bond to a mere lowly first generation gentleman’s daughter. Oh Percy had known what the man had wanted, and it had been a bigger bride price for his daughter. So he had decided to listen to Dumbledore new plan and take his chances with allowing the girl to grow up unbonded.
As they got to the bonding chamber, Percy stopped his daughter and said quietly “I am so proud of the opportunities that you have brought to this family Mary Prewitt. A mundane official opened the doors and the long walk down the aisle started.
The room was tastefully dressed with white lilies, and blue bells. The room look magnificent, and with only the most worthy in light society attending, Mary knew that this would be the pinnacle of her life as Mary Prewitt and the beginning of her life as lady Darcy.
Percy nodded to the small and exclusive congregation, including the Longbottom’s, Baxter’s, Potters and of course Dumbledore the chief warlock not only of Britain, but of the magical world. He was so important that the world came to him for advice, he rarely left Hogwarts. And only then for British magical royal city and village.
But this bash was still costing the bloody earth literally, it did not come cheap to hold your daughters bonding in a mundane embassy, but it had been pulled off somehow. Apparently the ritual ceremony had to be on Choi Darcy's home soil, and this was the closet they could get to it, with an countries embassy being classed as their homeland soil! In just a few minutes when Percy gave his daughter over to her bonded, she would stop being British and become a citizen of her blonded's country. Mary and her new family would have no claim on the Prewitts. The Prewitts would no longer have a daughter to worry about!
Of course in attendance was the little toady the Rev Collins, who children Percy noticed had never graced Hogwarts. Apparently their mother had ensured the children were educated amongst the savage muggles, or sent to exclusive magical boarding school abroad. Because of this their children had made bonding’s in the mundane world. The eldest son a squib was a mechanic and worked with his hands in the mundane world, of course Rev Collins sounded proud of the child. But everybody in their circles knew that the boy should have been killed at birth or discarded amongst the muggles. The other two children were magically powerful and worked abroad for large mundane multinational companies, instead of staying in magical society and working to ensuring that the disgrace of having a squib as the heir to the family had been eradicated.
Mary and her father at long last reached the altar, with the Rev Collins standing in front of her bonded, Rev Collins spoke the traditional ritual words, and her bonded turned around……
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The doors to the room closed behind Percy and Mary, and a few minutes passed presumably while Mary walked up the aisle towards her bonded partner, and then Mary started screaming and all hell was let loose. Molly (her mother) rushed into the bonding room to see what had happened, Molly had not been present in the bonding Chamber as per tradition in very old wizarding families the Bride’s mother was banned from attending the actual bonding ceremony. But on the bright side the guests waiting in the reception room was served very expensive wine, drinks and food by the nice mundane waiting staff, who were trying to keep their faces serious but not succeeding very well.
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Fitzwilliam Darcy looked as Hogwarts school bike Mary Prewitt walked demurely into the bonding chamber, although he and his family had been asked as guests to the wedding, they were not invited to the actual bonding. He owed his cousin Omar for this, and would never be able to pay him back.
Omar had yesterday floored him with his answer at Gringotts after the bonding agreements had been signed “Do anything for you Fitzwilliam…anything…and she will be the youngest of my bonded after all, looking forward to staying in Britain after all and catching up on old times….of course will be staying at your brother in laws manor either with Christopher or Charles Collins… whilst house hunting, after all need to lay down roots now I am magical guardian to the girls sibling”
So the Prewitt’s had dumped the whole family on Omar literally then, yes he owed his cousin a lot. It was very sad, but he knew that even the Goblins couldn’t find some way to save his cousin from this sacrifice. Darcy was woken up from his musings by a voice declaring
“Hello Fitzwilliam!…Fancy meeting you here, let me introduce you to my intended and her brother. Such nice children, and so happy to take guardianship of them till they bond themselves…..come here!” Omar his cousin waved over Lucius Malfoy and his younger sister, and Omar continued “….my intended for now…absolutely the best that Goblin Thickone, have appointed him manager to my accounts as well. He seemed rather upset at that…but to ensure that the Malfoy children were put into another’s guardianship….. Apparently has been looking after your cousin and brothers in law accounts…you know….Colonel Moody, Colonel Brandon and Rev Collins” Omar took a sip of his non alcoholic drink and continued in a pleasant way “Of course the bonding between me and the youngest Malfoy will not take place….but Thickone needed away to get the children away from that abusive Git Lord Abacus Malfoy….also this way, we have been able to migrate the blood traitor debt that Articus sprung on his father….and ensure that Lucius can now bond to the relief of the Black family their second eldest daughter Narcissa”
Elizabeth Darcy with their best friends the Bingleys and Matlocks looked on in fascination at Fitzwilliam, it was not very often that her bonded had ever been wrong-footed or even lost for words. But it appeared that this was one of those times
Fitzwilliam looked to the closed bonding chamber door and back at his cousin and asked open mouthed “How?.....why?....and shouldn’t you be in there waiting for…..” and then a loud piecing scream came from inside the bonding chamber itself. And the Prewitt matriarch flew into the bonding chamber forgetting about the traditions of the bonding ritual.
The howling coming from the room had the wedding guest covering their ears. The sound would thought Darcy haunt everybody for years. But then if Omar his cousin was standing by him here, who was Mary Prewitt exactly bonded to?
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Severus with his friends and family waited impatiently on the king cross platform of 9 and three quarters. He of course wanted to see his Harry and other cousins badly. But he wanted to see his cousin Lilly, after all she was going to help him choose his new ma’s Christmas pressie from Harrods and he had saved up the £10.00 it would cost him.
Never say that Severus hadn’t learnt from the best, or wasn’t a quick learner. He had managed to ensure that only Uncle Conrad, Rosemary, Grumpy Gramps Rob and Nanny Jean had come with the rest of the gang to meet his brother and cousins. And then through gentle persuasion by Severus which he had learnt from Charles and Co (after days of nagging and whining is what most parents would name it), had ensured that they were to visit Harrods and their Father Christmas Grotto. Well sacrifices had to made, and if HAD TO TELL A FUNNILY DRESSED MAN WHAT HE WANTED FOR CHRISTMAS, he would do it. Really did his family believe he was still six years old, after all that was what Argos and Tesco catalogues and the internet were for!
As one of his friends from school and Boys Brigade had told him, you make a list, check it twice and then add to the list what you had forgotten and then added a few little extras. The boy had even said that sometimes you had paste the pictures from the internet and catalogues on the list. Apparently Father Christmas miss read the list and would give you some cheap crap if you were not careful. But the most important thing to remember was to ensure that the list made it into the hands of your parents. Apparently they had to send it to Father Christmas not you. Severus being Severus had followed his friends advice to the letter, it had taken him ages to cut all the pictures of the presents he wanted from the catalogues, but he knew that Father Christmas would be so upset if he got Severus substandard Christmas presents!
Charles just looked at Severus waiting impatiently at on the platform and thought about how much had changed from meeting him during the school holidays.
flashback
Spock! Shut up” Charles instructed to Severus, Charles was Severus best friend and leader of the group the Star Trekkers, after the series of that name. Now Charles as leader of the group had soon realized that Severus although magical like his brother, had what his parents and friends called a few issues, and that as they had put it ‘Charles! He’s just like you, but does things a bit different, you’ll like him once you get to know him well’, well their group had, and what Charles had figured out one day, was that Severus didn’t know when to shut up, get him on a subject, and he gave their mate Dave a run for his money, as his old man said.
So Charles had tried with the rest of his friends, to politely point out to Severus many times, that he was boring them to death, then one day out of frustration Charles had shouted at Severus “Just shut the F…K up!”, and the gods above as his sister said, Severus did, Charles had suddenly realized after thinking about what happened, that if you wanted Severus to do something, then tell him, if you wanted him to shut up, because death looked a better option, then tell him, Severus wouldn’t take umbridge he just did it, so when Severus just kept on like their Anglian minister the Rev Collins at church on Sunday, you told him to shut up. If you needed the answer to certain problems, then ask him, but if you could give him instructions for the answer eg. “Spock, what is the answer to………. Yes or No” and Severus would sit there think on the problem silently, and then blurt out the answer yes or no, it was a win, win for everybody. The Star trekkers saw him as a core part of their group and friend, their parents thought that the sun shone out of his arse “Oh! Severus come here, I just happened to have your favourite ………..” and even his sister Pearl gave him pocket money every week, which meant that he got out of all trouble, “Severus, doesn’t understand what he did” or “You supposed to look after Severus” and the other day when he had been up before the old man with Spock for being caught scumping again, and his sister had decided (unfairly in his opinion) that their old man should discipline them for once, he had listened to the lecture always given by him (another two hours, that he would they would not be getting back), but it had been different this time, instead of “…… and the shame you have brought on your older sister and brother, how do they feel about having a younger brother…….” The ending had been “……… What example are your setting Severus, your younger brother……… and the shame you have brought on your older sister and brother, how do they feel about having a younger brother…….” And he had then realized that Severus had become his younger brother and it felt nice, it wasn’t all roses and sunbeams thank you, never tell Severus anything that you wanted kept secret. It wasn’t his fault, but they soon realized he caved into adult pressure to tell the truth, sooner than aunt Mabel pulled down her knickers for a pair of trousers as Grandma stated, but if they worked with his limitations and talents, then he fitted into their group perfectly.
Severus, had been nick named Spock by David,’ he is like that Vulcan, a good friend, but doesn’t understand subtleties’ David had told them, Charles was named Kirk as he was the leader of the group, David was Scott the engineer of the group, hated magic and wanted to be an engineer, David’s mother had wept to find her radio cassette in pieces one day, after his dad had given him it to play with. Steve was known as red shirt, thick as they came and loyal to boot. Mark was bones he wanted to be a doctor, and was always reading biology books and watching diagnosis murders and finally there was Uhura or Sandra, the girl with bat like hearing that could listen to a conversation twenty meters away and recall it word for word, she also had a well-aimed left hook as one of the bullies in their class to testify to, the bully had started to make fun of Severus, and whomp he was on the floor, sporting a nice black eye and a kick in the groin by Uhura, she was a shoe horn for the group after that, especially as she took the schools punishment like a boy. And the whole group of Star Trekkers had ended up in the same form class at their new school.
End of flashback
The steam engine pulled into the station and the children disembarked from the carriages. The children came towards and greeted them, Lilly had brought her best friend Bella home for the holidays and introduced Bella to her parents.
The children’s trunks were stowed in the Grandpa’s Rob min van that was used for the post office business and they all set off to the nearest McDonalds to get a quick lunch before going to Harrods. So that Severus could see Father Christmas this year, Conrad waited for the moaning to start from Lilly about having ‘having to endure seeing stupid father Christmas for weirdo’ but instead Lilly, Petunia and her friend Bella were joking with the others and including Severus in their antitics. It seemed to Conrad that Lilly had matured over the last term at school. And then he saw it Lilly bent and said something to Severus, and Severus looked worried and concerned. Whatever the little bitch had planned he would ensure that Severus was not hurt and Lilly would rue the day she thought of hurting Severus again.
McDonalds was noisy and rowdy affair, all the children ate their orders and amongst the upheaval Conrad spied Severus giving Lilly the money he had saved to buy Muriel’s present. So the little bitch was blackmailing him, well he would soon put a stop to that.
The group made their way to Harrods of Knightsbridge by the Underground, and they all trooped into the warm store. Lilly friend Bella was entranced by the projected moving pictures on the entrance foyers and it was a time before they could persuade the child to move into the shop.
Conrad looked round all the children were there except for the bitch Lilly and Severus, suddenly Severus appeared and said to nanny Jean “Are we going to see father Christmas now” and Nanny Jean agreed, asking where Lilly was. Severus shrugged his shoulders and replied “Buying Ma’s present in the sweet counter, she said she’ll meet us at the grotto”
The group moved off slowly to find the Christmas Grotto, and Conrad informed Rob that he would find and wait for Lilly, and they would all meet up at the grotto. Rob agreed and they split up. Conrad was fuming, how dare the bitch Lilly even think of taking Severus pocket money. He knew for a fact that Lilly had her own pocket money that Rosemary and himself gave her, it may have not been as much as she was used to, but it was enough!
Conrad made his way to the sweet hall, where the counters of handmade confectionary and cakes were. Every type of sweets were there it seemed and then he spied Lilly at a sweet counter.
He walked over to Lilly quietly ready to tell her what he thought of her actions now towards Severus when what he heard and saw astounded him.
He heard Lilly say to the women behind the counter politely “So you can wrap the chocolates for me and put with love to Ma…Merry Christmas…Love from Severus, and can you please wrap up this teddy for me and write Merry Christmas Severus….Love from Lilly, oh also can you please wrap up this scarf and put to Nanny Jean…Merry Christmas from Severus…” and Conrad stood there stunned as Lilly gave the woman all the presents that Severus had picked out with Lilly.
The woman agreed to do this and then said as she rung up the amount the goods cost “Well I must say your mum and Severus are very lucky…to have such a nice daughter like you…. That will be £250.00 please” and Lilly politely thanked the woman and handed over her saved up pocket money without protest.
If Conrad had not seen with his own eyes what Lilly had done, he didn’t think he would have believed hearing about it. Of course the family were going to take the children to buy their Christmas presents that weekend, there was a major outing planned to take the children to Lakeside shopping mall tomorrow after all. But Lilly had ensured that Severus was able to give the gifts he wanted to give people and paid for it herself. Yes he thought, finally believing the reports he had heard with Rosemary from different sources including her sister, Lilly was definitely changing and growing up, but how to ensure that Lilly was able to after all buy the Christmas Presents for people she wanted to!
Lilly was worried now about Christmas, she had been glad to pay for Severus presents to the family, obviously it hadn’t taken her long to realize Severus had no real concept of cost of things. Severus had written to her that he wanted to give his new ma a special Christmas present. Lilly had suggested perhaps a box of Harrods diabetic chocolates, that she ensured him had the sugar etc. magically removed from them, so it would fine for Muriel to have the sweets.
So Severus and herself had arranged to ensure that they visited Harrods for her to help Severus secretly purchase his ma’s sweets. And that had led Severus seeing a number of presents he wanted to buy for other family members, and then he had fallen in love with a Harrods Christmas dated teddy, so Lilly without thinking of the consequences had brought everything with her own money and the £10.00 pocket money that Severus had given her to pay for his presents. But she had no money left to buy anyone including her guardians and best friend Christmas presents. She had wanted to show the family she was slowly changing, but if she had no Christmas presents for them, they would just believe that she was still the shallow bratty princess of last summer. Oh well what was done was done, and she would just have to put up with the disappointed looks of her new family over Christmas.
Lilly thanked the woman behind the counter, turned around and came face to face with Conrad, who beckoned her towards the restaurant in the food hall. Lilly wandered how much he had overheard, and what he would do or say. How could she explain to Conrad that she was not trying to buy, bribe Severus love or even make fun of him, she just wanted him to be as happy as he could be. Lilly reluctantly followed Conrad to the restaurant
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Mary floated down the short aisle on the arm of her father, Hermione and another friend made up the bridal party. Mary looked at Choi Darcy standing facing away from her, Choi she absently noticed had seemed to have grown taller since she saw him yesterday at Gringotts bank. Just as she reached the front of the room, the Rev Collins who officiating at the bonding ceremony asked “Who gives this witch to this wizard freely” Percy replied “I give of my own free will, my beloved daughter to this man” He then handed her forward and step back to take a seat with the other witnesses. Mary lifted the veil from her face, Choi Darcy turned around and that was when Mary started screaming the embassy down.
The wizard standing before her, was tall and slim built it must be admitted. But that did not distract from the small head, large ears and protruding buck teeth he had. Worse of all for Mary, this Darcy cousin that she had bonded to had an oriental complexion.
Yes, Charles Collins would for the rest of his life be grateful to Merlin, when he given the front row seat as it were to see his latest goblin manger Thickone scheme against the light side and the Prewitt’s go down. He couldn’t wait to share his memories with everybody he knew! Thickone and Omar Darcy had been spot on, this was the bonding that everybody in the wizarding and mundane world would be talking about for years.
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Severus managed to get Grumpy Rob attention whilst he waited in line at the Christmas Grotto. Rob came over and asked what the matter was, as Severus looked particularly upset and worried.
Severus with his large onyx eyes filled with worry and concern whispered “I think I did something very bad today” Rob quickly went over the day, no screaming brakes, hanging out of windows or the kitchen being blown up to mind, so he shrugged his shoulders mentally. After all whatever Severus thought he had done wrong couldn’t be that bad, Rob encourage Severus to tell him what was on his mind.
Severus took a deep breath and said “I think Lilly has spent her own money on my presents for people today…….I gave her my pocket money….it was a lot, but I don’t think enough and she brought all my presents for me”
“So are you going to pay her back Severus?” Rob asked intrigued
“No! she won’t let me…said I had enough to pay for the pressies….but if spends all her money on my pressies….how will she buy her pressies for the family?” Rob looked at Severus and whispered “While you are telling father Christmas about what you would like for Christmas…I will go and find Uncle Conrad and see what we can do to sort out the mess. Alright Severus?” and Severus nodded, after all the adults in his new family always managed to help him solve the tricky problems he had.
Rob left the line and went after speaking to Rosemary, to find Conrad and Lilly in the restaurant in Harrods food hall, thank god for mobile phones and technology thought Rob, at least in situations like this all the adults could keep in touch easily.
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The remaining Prewitt family sat in a Korean embassy interview room astounded, they were literally fucked, the plans that Dumbledore had devised and that they had followed blindly over the years had brought them here to this room.
Their daughter the whore of Hogwarts they admitted was married to a rich wizard. But the wizard family was only rich because they had sold everything and given that and their ancestral place to Mary’s new family. The wizard resembled the mundane elephant man, and the Mary’s new family head had given them a days’ notice to leave their fully furnished ancestral manor. Mary’s new family the Choi needed and wanted to move into their ancestral home as soon as possible before Yuletide eve. They would now be staying in their son’s one bedroom flat above the Joke shop they had rented called Zonko’s! Even the Prewitt’s house elves were now bonded to the Choi family.
Lord Percy Prewitt had demanded to see his account manager ‘Stabyoumotherf.intheback’, and had been informed that the goblin was now the account manager to a very wealthy Choi family.
Lord Prewitt was not a stupid man and knew that he had not agreed to the bonding of his daughter to a impoverish Korean strict traditional family. He demanded to see the bonding agreement, after all he would soon have this quickly sorted out to his satisfaction.
They heard a whispered conversation and Albus Dumbledore leader of the light entered the room, and hurried over to the distraught family. To ensure that the mess was cleared up and that the account goblin who had arranged this bonding Thickone was severally punished for his mistake.