Chapter 22: Greengrass Family
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Word Count 3150
This chap was hidden on my Pat because of the darkish topics xD
~~
Greengrass Manor
A girl was standing near a window looking at the heavy rain. She had honey-blond hair and cold blue eyes. This girl was Daphne Greengrass. The eldest daughter of Cygnus and Ophelia Greengrass.
But something was not as it was supposed to be. Daphne Greengrass was 11 years old, yet she looked older than what she should.
*pop*
A house elf appeared in her room. It was carrying a tray with a couple of potions on it.
It looked at the girl with a sad face "Little Miss, it's time for your potions again"
Daphne looked at the little creature with slight anger, no not the creature, she was looking at the tray with anger as tears welled in her eyes. "Leave it on the table, Blinky"
The elf bowed its head in sadness "I'm afraid I can't do that, the Master has ordered me to watch you drink all of them. I apologize"
Daphne clenched her fists as she let out a hollow laugh " Just like fattening up a pig before slaughter. But in my case hormonal and puberty enhancers and other beauty potions to make me mature before being sold off as a slave to some Death Eater" she spat out as she drank the potions. Her father had made it very clear how 'displeased' he would be if she didn't. There were pain/torture spells that left no marks.
'I can't even kill myself because he ordered me not to cause any harm to myself.' Daphne crushed the empty bottles
Blinky said nothing as he fixed the mess and popped away.
Daphne sat alone in silence. Blaming everyone for her fate. The Gods, Merlin, the wizarding society for allowing these archaic laws to exist. She was going to suffer the same fate as her mother, maybe even worse. Cygnus didn't 'lend' her mother with anyone.
Her 'husband/warden' would definitely be a Death Eater. Or the child of one. She would be bound by the contract living out her life as a sex slave. Her 'father' might as well just sell her to Knockturn Alley like some common whore. At least one she might be killed there if she begs for mercy from a 'customer' that has some morals
*Knock. Knock*
"Enter" Daphne said in an even tone
The door opened and a little girl entered. She had black hair and the same blue eyes as Daphne. But she was very pale and thin. She was Astoria Greengrass and is 9 years old.
"Daphne, father called for a meeting" the little girl said with obvious fear in her voice. She didn't want to watch her mother or sister scream out in pain.
Daphne sighed as she made her way to her little sister. She was much taller than her so she bent down and patted her head. Sometimes she isn't sure if Astoria's curse is really a curse or a blessing.
She has a blood curse that has ran in the Greengrass family for generations. A maledictus curse. The average lifespan of a maledictus is 40. In their 20ties they start to shift in their animal forms. As the years go by, it's harder and harder to shift back into a human, until they turn completely into an animal and then die.
Because of her poor health. Astoria can't drink any hormonal potions. And will likely be married off once she finishes Hogwarts.
Daphne continued to pat her sister's head to calm her down "Don't worry Tori. Just keep quiet and you will be fine"
"I'm scared Daffy" Astoria hugged her, and Daphne flinched slightly because of that comment.
Their mother had taken them out in the muggle world for toy shopping. Astoria saw a cartoon character Daffy Duck. She was so little, and found it funny to call her that.
Unfortunately their 'father' didn't share the same opinion. Cygnus tortured Ophelia in front of Daphne once Astoria fell asleep. For taking his daughters into the muggle world.
They had never told Astoria, not to make her feel bad. But she wasn't allowed to use that word in front of Cygnus.
"Let's go Tori and dry those tears."
~ Family meeting
Cygnus was sitting in his chair while his wife and daughters stood a bit further away from him. He was holding a big glass of whiskey. The girls knew it was bad news as he always drank one when he was in a bad mood.
"Earlier today I have been notified that a Marriage Contract has come into effect. With the Black Family"
Ophelia and Daphne's eyes widened at the news, while Astoria was confused.
"As you know Daphne was supposed to marry Draco Malfoy as he was the next Lord Black. But seeing as Young Draco is still a Minor and can't take the lordship that means another person has just claimed the Black Seat."
At this point, Daphne was feeling happiness and dread. Happiness that she wouldn't have to marry the Blond Ponce. And dread to who her new husband might be, She was only 11 yet if the man had claimed the lordship right now could be 17 maybe even older.
"I am displeased, I was already bargaining with Lucius for the engagement to be sped up." His cold eyes stared at Daphne, almost as if he was daring her to say something
Daphne just kept her eyes lowered and her mouth shut.
"This marriage contract is for Lord Black. This means there is a new player involved. And Lucius Malfoy's position will be lowered since his son is no longer the next Lord Black. I have already invited the new Lord Black for dinner tomorrow. We will see what kind of character he is and proceed from there.
As for Lucius, I will try to make a new contract with Astoria. I want all of you to be on your best behavior. Am I clear"
" " "Yes my Lord" " " Ophelia and her daughters bowed. Astoria had tiers coming out of her eyes.
Daphne's emotions were all mixed up. She had resigned herself somewhat to a life of cruelty and torture. But now that a new unknown is coming. And her sister will take her place in that hell. She doesn't know what to feel
~ Next day.
Harry arrived at the Greengrass's 'So this is Greengrass Manor. Mediocre wards'
His magic had already touched their wards and was analyzing them. 'If that fool thinks he can use the wards to pressure me, he has another thing coming. Depending on his attitude I might just kill him'
Harry was dressed without his green healer's cloak. He opted for a more muggle look just to piss these people off. He wore a dark-colored coat, a dark green turtleneck, some black pants and some shoes. All of them were made with the best materials, they were enchanted, and very expensive. But he has more money to last him a few lifetimes, so he bought himself a whole new wardrobe.
A small pop happened and an elf showed up in front of him.
It was wearing a dark green cloth, with grass patterns on it. "Leafy be guiding you inside"
'Leafy, heh. Well at least this Lord is not an idiot. Image is everything, His elf is dressed better and treated better than the Dark Faction. This will always be a plus for those Light side hippies and will put new business partners at ease.'
Harry followed the elf inside. Inside the Manor, the Greengrass Family was waiting. The Lord at the front and his wife and daughters a little bit behind him.
Harry could see the man resisting a sneer when he saw how he was dressed "Lord Black I presume" he raised an eyebrow
Harry smirked at him "Lord Harry Potter Black" ' Like hell I'm telling him that my name is Hadrian. The less people that know that fact the better. Quite convenient that the whole world thinks its Harry'
Cygnus's jaw dropped. All of his Pureblood training and Oclumency training could not have prepared him for this. His wife and daughters were no better.
All of them looked at his eyes and then at the tiny scar on his forehead. That was barely visible.
'That photo wasn't fake?' Cygnus thought to himself. The British government has denied that the boy in America was Harry Potter as he looked too old.
'The Boy Who Lived?' Ophelia was looking at the boy with shock
'Harry Potter is going to be my husband? I'm saved!' Daphne on the other hand felt relieved she was safe.
'Harry Potter. He looks different but cool. He is a hero. Is he coming to save us from the bad guy? But the only bad guy here is 'father'.' The young Astoria was looking at Harry with awe
Cygnus despite still being shocked composed himself fairly quickly "Ehem, shall we take this to the dining table? Leafy can take your coat"
Harry smiled at the man and snapped his fingers. The hosts were confused until Harry just stepped forward and got out of his coat, yet the coat stayed still floating in the air.
"Find a hanger and wait until I leave" The coat nodded and floated away to 'hang' itself.
"Shall we?" Harry asked the dumbfounded hosts. For people who have lived with magic and gone to a school that had a talking hat. They sure were surprised by a sentient coat.
~
A few minutes later they found themselves at the dinner table, with various types of dishes popping up.
"So Lord Black. That's quite the.. outfit you have."
Harry immediately realized what the man's play was "Ahh, I'm glad you noticed. This is currently the hot topic of Wizarding Fashion in France. All the young gentlemen are dressed like this"
"Really?" Ophelia asked with a look of surprise. Cygnus was surprised as well "But it looks so.. muggle"
Harry smiled "The design might be similar, but it was crafted with the finest materials including Acromantula Silk, and enchanted by the best in the field. This turtleneck alone costs 600 Galleons"
'Well a lot more since Melinda and me were the ones who actually enchanted them. This turtleneck is almost immune to Low Levels of physical force and can handle most of the classic dark spells.'
Daphne and Astoria choked on their drinks when they heard the price. The surprising thing was that Cygnus didn't say a word about their 'bad manners' he just looked at Harry with an indifferent look "I see"
'Ahh, so he is finally using Occlumency to clamp down on his emotions' Harry thought inwardly, while wandlessly and silently checking the food and drinks for poisons without anyone knowing
"So Lord Black, what are your opinions about this contract" Ophelia asked politely, as she had done many times before. Her husband had already given her a few questions that she should ask. After all it would not look good if only the Lord of the house talked all night.
Harry looked at the woman "Well allow me to be frank. I couldn't care less. I have come here to see if it's possible to cancel the marriage contract. After all, I gain no benefits from it."
Daphne looked shocked. She clenched her fist under the table and bit the inside of her cheek. The little Occlumency she had she used not to cry.
Her hopes and dreams for freedom were just mercilessly crushed at the hands of the heartless boy in front of her.
"Now, now let's not jump at any decisions Lord Black. I for one can think of many ways that we could make this mutually beneficial" Cygnus said with a glint in his eyes
Harry raised an eyebrow "Really? And how do you suppose we do that"
Cygnus let out a small grin "Well as you are still young, you are not as knowledgeable about politics and economics as me so I suggest that we..."
Harry just sat there and looked in disbelief as Lord Greengrass made some outrageous claims. He insulted Harry's intelligence and said that should Harry hand over control over his assets, Cygnus would use them to invest in some things that would make them both rich.
Then he suggested that Harry meet some of his friends and talk about a few Laws they could make with his votes.
Something about using Harry's money to bribe a few Ministry officials.
All in all it could be summed up to 'You are a young brat who knows nothing. Give me control over your assets as I can use them much better than you. You are a part of my family now, you listen to me'
His attitude pisses Harry off. Never had he met a man like this. Just his voice annoyed Harry. And he was still talking. Harry had enough of his blabbering.
He grinned at the man and opened his mouth
$Sai$ (Paralyze)
One word. Rather one Hiss.
And all the Greengrasses froze in place. Lord Greengrass immediately tried to cast a wandless and wordless Finite. But it wasn't working. Harry was much more powerful than him and Parseltongue magic requires more magic to break in the first place.
Harry peaked into his mind and grinned "The wards won't do anything to me, I have been messing with their configuration ever since I have arrived here. You have made a very big and stupid mistake.
You thought you could control and manipulate me for one. Force me to become your pawn in your useless politics. Annoy the hell out of me. Insult my intelligence and family.
But your single biggest mistake was believing you were more powerful than me. Now you will pay the price, I will take everything from you. Enjoy Hell. Cygnus Greengrass"
Harry pointed his wand at the man "Legilimency"
Cygnus started to trash a bit even after being bound by Harry's spell. But they were small movements. He soundlessly screamed out as Harry broke down his Occlumency Shields and searched through his memories.
'Hmm, I need to get better than this. I need more wizards to practice my Legilimency on. But this will do for now. The Greengrass family had been in the herb-producing and import/export business for generations. They have a lot of knowledge on rare herbs and where to find them, who to buy them from, and who to sell them to. This trip wasn't wasted after all'
The girls watched in horror as blood started to leak out of Cygnus's eyes, ears, nose and mouth. They were terrified, that a boy so young could so something so cruel.
After a few minutes, Harry stopped his spell. He had learned everything he needed to know. "On second thought Hell is too good for you, and on the off chance someone summons your soul, you would blab about me." Harry raised his hand and a green flame appeared on it
"Burn to ash and become a part of my strength" The green flame burned his body to ash and absorbed Cygnus's soul, slowly pulling it back into Harry's emerald earing, where he keeps captured souls and slowly refining them and absorbing the finished pure soul energy.
"Now then" He turned to the ladies.
The girls and Ophelia were terrified.
"I will remove the spell, any screaming and fighting will be punished severely. So I suggest you remain calm"
Ophelia quickly pulled her daughters behind her "W-what do you want with us" She asked the boy, no the monster that was in front of her. In her own home, with all its protections, they were helpless against him.
"This family now belongs to me and all of its possessions. You will sign a contract to keep quiet and obey me. In return, I will give you some freedom and guarantee your safety.
You Ophelia will handle all of the business transactions for your house, I got the knowledge from your husband I will teach you.
For the youngest Astoria, I saw from his memories that you are cursed and he was planning to sell you off to the Malfoy brat. That won't happen, you can choose your husband, and if I approve of him you can marry him. As for your curse, I'm quite interested in studying and breaking it."
"Really?" The little girl said hopefully
Harry nodded "I am a researcher at heart. I love to tinker with things and a blood curse sounds interesting. I have a 50% chance of breaking it with just a few ideas off the top of my head so don't worry about that"
Ophelia put her arm around Astoria's shoulder. "Thank you.."
Harry then turned to the eldest daughter "Daphne Greengrass. I will be honest, I came here with the intention of breaking this marriage contract, but now I see that's impossible."
Daphne was stunned, tears welling in her eyes "Why?" she managed to speak up
Harry clicked his tongue "You can thank our great-grandfathers for that. I thought I could simply break it, but as soon as I saw you, our Family Magic started to act up. You probably can't feel it, but as I am more sensitive to magic it's incredibly annoying to me. If I were to break the contract it would just stay there, and I do not want to live with what's basically a fly always buzzing in my ears.
The contract is for us to be married when we both turn 17 and to have 2 children. After that is completed, I don't care what you do as long as you don't cheat on me or do something to embarrass my family. You will finish your current doses of potions for hormone enhancement, stopping too early is also dangerous, after they are done you will never need to drink them again.
You will not be the only woman in my life. The Potter Family is down to its last man. Me. I plan to rebuild my Family and form a Clan or Coven. That means more women to bear my children. Am I clear?'
Daphne nodded, fighting back the tears in her eyes.
'He kills without blinking as if it's as easy and normal as breathing. In her mind, he was suddenly a bigger monster than her father. One that took control over her family and now their lives are in his hand. And she would have to marry him, sleep with him until she bears him two children.'
Tears streamed down her face 'Life just wasn't fair'
She quickly whipped them away
'But... This is better. I only have to give him two children. And he will leave me alone. He won't touch me until I'm an adult. And I won't be used as a bargaining chip and be raped and tortured by Death Eaters'
Daphne looked at the spot where Cygnus was burned to ash 'But now I'm terrified.. that he will just kill me for looking at him wrong. Life really just wasn't fair.'
~ A/N!!
Keep in mind that this is just a mature 11-year-old. I have been reading about old societies and young marriages. Where older men basically take children for wives. And man is it fucked up. Very fucked up.
I tried to make her a bit more mature, mostly based on a rough childhood and magic. Children who had a rough or bad childhood, mature way faster. They have seen the world for what it is. Add magic that changes your body, and you get what direction I am going for.
Tell me what you think. Did you like it, or hate it?
Opinions about the Marriage contract. The fact that it won't be, 'Oh I realize that I love him now or Harry falls in love with the Beautiful Slytherin' like other Daphne/Harry fics.
I like how Harry didn't even think about it, he just straight up took over a family for business. All because Cygnus tried to manipulate him. Harry saw an opportunity and took it. Now he has easier access to growing and finding herbs, combined with his Pots. A monopoly will soon be formed.
And this is just Daphne's initial thoughts. Again she is 11, so her way of thinking is still a bit naive.