The Greengrasses Chapter 20 (Patreon)

“You look terrible.”

“I’ve seen better days.” Harry yawned, his hair messier than usual as he sat down at the table to have brunch.

He had been up late the night before, and had selfishly slept that morning so as to recover. The day before had been unpleasant more than anything else, and it had taken him many hours of tossing and turning in bed until sleep finally claimed him.

As was usual, the family’s house-elves appeared and set a cup of tea in front of him, before a plate of biscuits and bacon appeared not long after. Just a glance out the window showed it was getting to be noon, meaning the others in the Manor had likely been up for hours at that point in time.

Across from him, Astoria was reading the morning paper with keen interest. She didn’t seem dissuaded by what she read in the least, if anything looking amused. Sadly, he didn’t know if that was a good or bad thing, as the girl was a troublemaker at heart, rarely dissuaded by anything. The coming storm would either uplift or douse her spirits, and he could only guess the former option would win out for the time being.

He had listened to the brunette exclaim how jealous she was of her Mother and Daphne getting all the public attention, so he guessed she had finally gotten what she wanted. That said, he knew fame was never what it was cracked up to be, and got old very quickly. Soon her image would be plastered on the front page like his own, and she would learn.

“How bad is it?” He asked after a long moment, not able to help himself.

Of course, after getting back from the Ministry, he had informed Aspasia of what happened. He felt bad, as she entrusted him to handle himself alone, yet Harry couldn't even achieve that much. That, and the fact that this scandal would distract from the important research she was doing towards the bloodline curse, with her getting closer by the day.

He didn’t know where the Lady of House Greengrass was in that moment, and could only guess she had already explained the situation to Daphne and Astoria. The girl across from him didn’t seem overly surprised nor did she pepper him for an explanation about what happened at the trial, meaning that was the likely explanation.

“See for yourself.” She passed that morning’s paper over to him.

-

TRUTH REVEALED: POTTER BETROTHED TO ASTORIA GREENGRASS

The answer to a scandal that has caused many rumors, conspiracies, and outrage has finally been revealed. A slip of the tongue in a witness testimony at the Ministry of Magic revealed the truth about the relationship between Harry Potter and the Greengrasses, in that Mr. Potter is betrothed to the youngest daughter of House Greengrass, Astoria Greengrass.

Astoria Greengrass, eighteen, is soon to enter her third year of Hogwarts, right as Mr. Potter begins his own fourth year of Hogwarts. While none of her Ravenclaw Housemates have come forward for comment so far, the reporters of the Daily Prophet are committed to finding out how their relationship first came to be.

It was during the trial of Lords Flint and Yaxley that this new information came to light, prompted by Mr. Nott, the witness for the Defense, who illegally asked Mr. Potter about his relationship with House Greengrass while he was under the influence of Veritaserum. The subsequent outrage had Mr. Potter dismissed from the court’s proceedings, with Madam Bones ordering for the defense’s attorney to be placed in a DMLE holding cell.

Not much is known about Ms. Greengrass at this time, with the most glaring physical trait of the girl being her brown hair. Infamously, members of House Greengrass are known for their blonde hair, a familial trait akin to the red hair of House Weasley…

-

“In my opinion, they don’t know what to think about it.” Astoria said, as he stopped reading. “The public was so convinced that you and Daphne were betrothed, or that Mother imperiused you, that they never expected this.”

“If this is their reaction to a part of the truth, I wonder what the full truth will mean?” He mused.

It was hardly the end of the world that this got out, because at least now he had a valid excuse for why he was so close to the Greengrasses. Of course, the next step would mean putting out a public statement about the betrothal between him and the three Greengrass girls, explaining the outstanding marriage contract situation in the process.

That will cause a stir. His expression soured, imagining the deluge of articles that would follow that particular announcement. And not only that, but also what his friends would think, as well as the student body at Hogwarts. While betrothals were not rare in the Wizarding World, a situation involving multiple betrothals certainly was, and it was guaranteed people would have their own opinions about it.

But that wouldn’t happen for some time, and currently he was more focused on the public’s current reaction to him and Astoria’s revealed relationship. Harry was beginning to accept that it had been leaked, but that didn’t mean everyone else was fine with it.

“This is an outrage!” Daphne stormed into the room like a hurricane, already dressed and wide awake as she pushed open the door. “I cannot believe this was allowed to happen!”

“Good morning to you too.” He grumbled.

“And you.” Her glare was directed his way. “What do you have to say for yourself?!”

This is the most uncomposed I’ve seen her. She had always been the cold Ice Queen, yet now the Slytherin girl was having a meltdown right in front of him. One hand held that morning’s paper, waving it around wildly like an accusatory baton she was about to bludgeon him with.

“Relax, Daph.” Astoria said, not looking up as she flipped to the next page in that day’s edition of Witch Weekly. “It’s really not a big deal.”

“Are you really reading that gossip rag at a time like this?!” The Slytherin Ice Queen looked close to exploding.

Astoria smirked. “Why wouldn’t I? Perhaps you’re just jealous that everyone knows I’m the one with Harry instead of you.”

The blonde blushed, and Harry’s brows raised in surprise. “I-I am not!”

“Yes you are.”

“Am not!” She stomped her foot petulantly. “Focus on the matter at hand! Now everyone knows at least a piece of the betrothal, and-”

But a new occupant of the room forestalled her, as Aspasia entered and wrapped her arms around her eldest daughter.

“M-Mother?” Daphne asked in confusion.

“It’s okay, dear.” She said. “This is hardly a time to get worked up, as something like this could have happened sooner or later.”

“I…” For a moment it looked like she would object, before sagging in defeat. “I guess.”

“Good.” Aspasia moved over to the table, taking a seat. “If it’s any consolation, I’ve sent a missive to the Prophet asking for a retraction.”

“Too late for that, everyone knows the truth now.” Astoria said.

“I suppose.” The older blonde shrugged. “It’s more for the purpose of them not plastering this information on the front page for the next week. They already have enough news with the ongoing trial, as Flint and Yaxley were both convicted this morning. They’ll be rotting in Azkaban for the rest of their days, so I can only hope the papers cover that instead of focusing on you, dear.”

“I don’t mind.” The brunette grinned.

“Tell me in a month if you change your mind.” Aspasia replied. “For now, I need all of you to ready yourselves and come to my office within the hour.”

/////

It was an hour after they finished brunch that all of them arrived in Aspasia’s office, as the woman had requested. Himself, Astoria, and Daphne sat down on opposite couches, while the Greengrass Matriarch waited for them all to arrive and settle in before activating the room’s protective wards.

The shutters on the windows closed, the various doorways sealing completely shut and glowing with runes that ensured they would go undisturbed. But more than simply protecting them, it sent the message to all three of them that the upcoming conversation would be very important.

“Mother… What is this about?” Daphne asked with a frown.

“You’re not mad about the news pertaining to Harry and I, are you?” Astoria looked nervous.

“Hardly, dear.” Aspasia walked over and ran a hand down her daughter’s long brown hair. “Perhaps I would be normally, but there has been some good news that makes me care little for it.”

“Good news?”

Aspasia sat down adjacent to Harry and the two girls, putting herself in the middle of them all in a separate chair.

“You’ve likely noticed my absence the past couple of days, as well as the…unclean habits I’ve adopted as of late.” She shot a look over at him, and Harry fought off an amused grin.

“We have.” Daphne replied. “And this is important, why?”

She took a breath. “It is because I have been working hard on our family’s curse, and have achieved a breakthrough.”

That made the two girls sit up in interest, as Daphne glanced at her younger sister before looking to her Mother. The two didn’t jump for joy, and instead looked like they were preparing themselves to be disappointed. Astoria’s curse was obviously a sore and emotional subject for them, and the two likely didn’t want to give themselves false hope. “That’s… incredible.”

The older blonde nodded. “Indeed, but it was more due to a stroke of luck rather than anything else, and it was only thanks to Harry’s help that I could pull it off.”

He didn’t react, and watched as both sisters looked very confused. “How?”

“The first thing you need to know is I have found the source of our family’s bloodline curse. As in, who the first member of House Greengrass was to be cursed, and the circumstances surrounding her misfortune.”

Silence greeted that statement, before Daphne and Astoria’s eyes simultaneously widened in shock.

“You what?!”

“Huh?!”

“Indeed.” Aspasia showed a small smile, clearly trying not to laugh like he was at their reaction. “It was with Harry’s help we were able to figure out just where our family’s curse originated.”

“I-I don’t understand…” Daphne spoke shakily, while Astoria seemed to have gone mute at her side. “How could Harry have even helped?”

“The first thing you need to know, girls, is that Harry has done his best to help me figure everything out. He bears no responsibility and you shouldn’t blame him for anything.” Aspasia stressed that point, even if it further confused them. “It was when we were performing the consummation ritual that he learned how our family’s bloodline curse came to be.”

Both girls blushed in that moment, clearly knowing how the ritual Aspasia was referring to was performed. It went unspoken that himself and their Mother were having sex when this whole ordeal began.

“C-Can you just get to the point already?” Daphne’s face was red in a heavy blush, her normally immaculate composure failing completely.

“You see, we learned that our family’s bloodline curse, as well as the outstanding marriage contract we are a part of, are interlinked.” Aspasia said. “Just like the contract, our family too was cursed a thousand years ago, all due to a feud between House Potter and Greengrass taking place at the time.”

“W-What?” He had expected Daphne to get mad, but surprisingly it wasn’t her who reacted the hardest. Instead, it was Astoria, who stood up and stared at him with wide, shaken eyes while nearly hyperventilating.

“H-Harry… you…” Her chest visibly heaved, sweat falling from her brow as she stared at him as if seeing him for the first time. “How could you…”

“Astoria Greengrass!” Aspasia’s voice cracked like a whip. “Sit down and calm yourself this instant!”

“But Mother, you just said-” The brunette trailed off, nearly snarling in anger, her face turning red from emotion.

“Listen to Mother.”

Of all people, it was Daphne who spoke. The blonde sat composed at her sister’s side, seemingly content to listen rather than react.

“What? Daph, are you really okay with-”

“Of course I’m not.” That shut her up, as the blonde literally grabbed Astoria’s arm and yanked her into her seat. “Yet you heard Mother’s instructions, in that she first asked us not to blame Harry.”

“But his family-” Astoria tried to object.

“Harry is the last living member of his line.” She continued. “He has grown up with muggles, has no memory of his parents, and was never trained in his family’s traditions. In short, he never could’ve known anything about this.”

Daphne looked up to meet his eyes with her last sentence, and he was shocked by the sheer amount of trust in her gaze. He hadn’t expected her to take his side like this, and in that moment he caught a glimpse of the warmth under the external layer of coldness she typically displayed.

“Your sister is right.” Aspasia spoke at last. “Even if Harry was raised under House Potter’s customs and trained accordingly to be its future Lord, he still wouldn’t have known about our family’s plight. We have learned that both his family’s and our own ancestors have taken great strides to hide the truth due to their shared shame.”

Astoria slumped at that, looking down tiredly.

While it was a shock that the kind brunette had reacted so harshly to the truth, he supposed it shouldn’t have been a great surprise. While Daphne and Aspasia were determined to cure their family’s curse, they weren’t the ones truly affected by it. Astoria had to live with it every day of her life since birth, having the hard truth that she would live a shortened life hanging over her head.

He could only imagine how painful it was to live with such a burden, to get such intense bouts of illness, and what it must have been like to have the truth finally revealed. And that it was my family which caused her so much harm...

“I’m sorry, Astoria.” He felt those words needed to be spoken. “I wish I had known sooner, that none of this had ever happened-”

“No.” The younger girl shed tears, briefly meeting his gaze before looking away in exhaustion. “I’m the one who should apologize for getting mad. I-I just…”

She trailed off with a sob, and Daphne put a comforting hand on her shoulder in support.

Aspasia let out a sigh, looking close to calling the meeting over, but seemed to think better of it. They needed to finish this conversation rather than put it off.

“It was from the ritual that Harry learned of a spurned betrothal between our ancestors. For Harry, that was a man named Harold Potter, and for us it was Evelyn Greengrass. Needless to say… I won’t bother repeating the circumstances that led to the curse, only that the betrothal between the two was never carried out, and forgotten to history by both of their misdeeds.”

“Which is why our marriage contract became outstanding!” Daphne pieced it together and gasped.

“Yes, for it was hidden intentionally out of shame.” Aspasia nodded. “But thanks to Harry, we now have a lead, and I have worked tirelessly the past couple of days to find a solution.”

“And?” Daphne was the one to ask, while Astoria looked on eagerly.

“I am close.” The older woman answered. “It will take a ritual to fully pull it off, and ritualcraft is more of a forgotten art than anything else. Just know I am making progress.”

/////

Dusk had set over the muggle village of Little Hangleton, the sun having receded in the distance, making it harder for Lucius Malfoy to view the surrounding countryside. Yet still he remained stationary at one of the abandoned house’s windows, until he was called upon at last.

“The Dark Lord will see you now.” The rat, Pettigrew, addressed him.

He didn’t bother responding, masking his terror in distaste for the cowardly man, as he walked into the next room where his master was waiting. He only got a glimpse of Lord Voldemort’s diminished and malformed body before quickly looking away.

“Lucius.” His name came out with a serpentine hiss.

“My lord.” The blond man knelt and bowed low.

“I was beginning to think you would never seek me out, Lucius.” Voldemort spoke. “So many years… and now you come to me at last.”

“Please, I ask for your forgiveness, my Lord.” Lucius spoke lowly. “The only hint of your return was your mark in the sky above the World Cup.”

“There were more signs than that!” Voldemort’s voice came out in a snarl, making him wince. “For all of it, you pretended to be blind! Burying your head in the ground, content to attend those Ministerial balls and live the luxurious life of lies you worked so hard to build. But I was always here, even if you pretended to be blind to my continued survival.”

“M-Master… Is there any way I can be granted your forgiveness?” Lucius Malfoy quivered in fear.

Voldemort only let out a small, irritated hiss of parseltongue in response, glaring at the man and then looking to his wand. For a brief moment, it looked like the Dark Lord would curse his wealthiest follower, before something else seemed to get his attention.

A loud smack made Lucius visibly flinch, only to look down at that day’s Daily Prophet which had been dropped right in front of him.

“What do you see, Lucius?” Voldemort asked.

He stared at the front page, seeing a picture of the same boy who had bested him two years ago. It was like the boy was taunting him, his picture on the paper’s front page being an almost daily occurrence.

“The Potter brat.” Came a snarl of anger.

“And?”

He looked closer, seeing another name he had grown to resent lately. “Greengrass.”

“Hmm... That woman has given you some trouble on the Wizengamot, from what I have heard.” The Dark Lord mused.

“She has proven herself to be a blood-traitor, my Lord. Willing to follow Potter rather than join with her kind.”

“I want her dead.”

The Malfoy Lord considered this, before standing as if to leave. “Very well.”

“All of them.” Voldemort’s next words made Lucius pause. “Potter too, but he can wait, as I will soon have use for the boy. For now I want all three of those blood-traitor whores dead at my feet. Only then will I grant you the forgiveness you seek, Lucius, and you may return to my side.”

Lucius Malfoy stiffened and thought over the task ahead of him. “I shall see it done, my Lord.”

Disclaimer: All Characters are over the Age of 18