Fic: Promised - Chapter 6
Title: Promised
Author: neddiheht (Ashavan Doyon)
Artist: ritalaura2000
Rating: NC-17
Disclaimer: All ATWT characters the property of P&G/Telenext. Harry Potter and the characters associated with that universe belong to J. K. Rowling, Warner Brothers, and Scholastic. No copyright infringement intended. No profit made from this fiction.
Characters/Pairings: Noah/Draco, Luke/Neville, Luke/Noah, Draco/Harry. Some mention of other fun pairings not involving Luke, Noah, Draco or Harry.
Word Count: 205,207
Warnings alternate universe, graphic sex, arranged marriages, mpreg, some mention of non-consensual sex. This is a Nuke fic set largely in the Harry Potter verse and combined with a Drarry pairing.
Summary: Luciano Grimaldi was a perfectly happy young wizard. His family carefully neutral during the war, he has found happiness in the years since Voldemort's fall with herbologist, hero, and friend of the Savior, Neville Longbottom. Only he's just been informed that in the tradition of ancient pure blood families, he was promised at birth, in an offering to keep his family safe, to the son of infamous American Death Eater Winston Mayer.
Noah Mayer is a very unhappy wizard. In love for years with fellow Death Eater Draco Malfoy, the two young men have secretly found solace and love in each others arms, dreading the day they knew would come. They are promised, in the traditions of the oldest families. Promised to young wizards who didn't know. Married, for all intents and purposes, almost at birth to strangers who will doubtless hate them. Now they must surrender to duty and obligation. Now they must turn their backs on a love they know and risk everything for what might be. Noah always knew he hated pure blood traditions. This was why.
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Chapter 6
"Harry Potter for the Department of Mysteries," said Harry quietly. The man at the desk trembled and Harry could feel the gaze of many eyes upon him.
"You don't have clearance, sir," murmured the wizard, his voice hushed.
"I do today. Check again," said Harry firmly.
The wizard did as he was told, baffled to find Harry quite correct. Special permission had been granted by Minister of Magic Kingsley Shacklebolt himself. "Sorry, sir. It's highly irregular, as I'm sure you know."
"I do, but it was necessary," said Harry, tapping his foot impatiently. The wizard produced the necessary pass and handed it to him, trembling all the while. In the meantime a press of people had appeared to watch. Harry had no doubt that tomorrow's Prophet would be a picture of him at that very desk, with the headline Potter Investigates Mysteries at the Ministry, or something equally ridiculous.
Once the pass had been issued Harry found his way up to level nine. He hadn't been here since that ill-fated night that Sirius died, and he didn't really want to visit now. But he had to help Neville. He just... he had to. He was guided on his arrival through the doors and into a small office.
"Harry!" he found himself quickly enveloped in a hug.
"Hi, Hermione."
"Why the official visit, Harry. I mean... it has to be something serious to get you out of the house."
Harry grimaced. Except for a few visits to the Burrow and the occasional quiet visit to Diagon Alley in his invisibility cloak, Harry never really entered the wizarding world anymore. He'd tried, at first, but his celebrity status had gotten to the point where he couldn't even buy his own clothes without getting assaulted. He'd received a Howler for buying a green cloak once... he liked the color and it matched his eyes. Apparently it was a 'concession to Slytherin' and inappropriate. So instead he remained quiet, invisible, and ventured out only to Muggle cafes and clubs, and then only rarely. He hesitated to admit it, but without Kreacher to do his shopping, he'd probably starve.
"It's Neville," admitted Harry. "He's..."
"Ah," said Hermione, discerning immediately that this wasn't really a social call.
"I know."
"I should hex that bastard," said Harry. "I could even probably arrange special permission."
"Harry. I know. I'm sure Neville is hurt..."
"I'm hearing a 'but' in that statement, Hermione..."
Hermione nodded. "Luciano was being a total arse to send the note by owl. I get that. But I checked on the promise binding. It required paperwork filed at the Ministry, you know."
Of course it did. And of course Hermione already knew. Why had he exposed himself again?
"Oh, Harry," she hugged him again.
"I'm sorry, Hermione. I should have figured Neville would go to you first, I mean, he needed it fixed and you're..."
Hermione was shaking her head.
"He didn't tell you," said Harry, a little surprised.
"No. He didn't. I'd guess that he told you and then went home and cried some more on Casey's shoulder."
"Then how do you..."
"Luciano Grimaldi has already been here," came a quiet, deep baritone from behind him. Harry turned to see a man hooded in the manner of an Unspeakable in the corner.
"I still need to hex the bastard..."
"What Hermione failed to finish saying is that the binding required paperwork. We know more about this binding than is typical. Do you know why?"
"Some pure blood nonsense?" asked Harry.
The man in the corner chuckled and pulled back his hood. "I am assuming that Harry Potter can keep a secret about the identities of the Unspeakables," said the man, blue eyes sparkling, "since he already keeps the identity of his best friend secret."
Harry nodded. "Noah Mayer?" he asked.
The man nodded.
"Hufflepuff, right? Wait. Weren't you a..." Harry's hand went for his wand.
"It's alright, Harry. He works with me here. And if you want to talk about Neville, it's really best that he's here."
Harry hesitated but lowered his wand.
"When the binding was performed paperwork was filed here," said Noah. "Promise bindings are, as you quite accurately put it, pure blood nonsense. But they are traditional and are still often used in pure blood families, especially the very old ones. The Weasley family, for instance."
"You mean Arthur and Molly?" he glanced at Noah and then at Hermione.
Hermione nodded. "They were promised to each other at birth. It's not uncommon, and Arthur and Molly are seen as unusual in part because of their refusal to continue the practice with their own children. Arthur's influence."
"So this is still common practice..."
"Promise bindings, yes," answered Hermione. "But not this kind."
"What do you mean?"
"I was already researching this kind of binding," said Noah. "I had a personal interest..."
"Which was?" asked Harry curtly.
"Personal, Mister Potter."
"Oh, come on! How do I know you're really helping with this!"
"Harry!" admonished Hermione.
"No, it's okay, Hermione," said Noah quietly. "I gave up a lot of trust when I took the mark." He paused. "I know you're isolated, more even than most people expect. I'm guessing you avoid your own press, and therefore rely on a few close friends for news."
Harry nodded hesitantly, unsure where this was headed.
The man pulled out a copy of the paper. "I can be thankful that Hermione was schooled in such things from her long friendship with you, Potter." He set the paper down, revealing a cover image of Draco and Noah holding each other in a passionate kiss. "He is promise bound, Potter. I was saying good bye."
"It can't be..."
"Dissolved? In his case it can. His binding is a legal arrangement with only a hint of magic in the binding, which he can choose to dispute. His father was recently released from Azkaban, however, and has clung to the existence of the promise as one of the few things holding his sanity together."
"So Draco is going to get married to keep his father sane?"
"Family is very important to Draco, Potter. More important, I'm very sorry to say, than his love for me. In fairness, we were both bound to others, and entered our relationship fully aware of that fact."
"He does love you then?"
"Draco is a Malfoy first. That fact is central to his self-identity, to his capacity to love himself."
"You seem to know a lot about love."
Noah smiled. "Love is a Mystery. One that we study here, Mister Potter. And it is mine to study. In my youth... My father was a Death Eater. Let us just say the use of that word was cause for punishment in my home. I try to make up for that here."
"You mean... you. You're in charge of researching love?"
Noah nodded.
"Heavens help us, a Death Eater is in charge of researching love, Hermione."
She smiled weakly and nodded. "Hufflepuff," she said, by way of explanation.
"Ah. Loyalty is a kind of love, isn't it?"
"Indeed, Potter, there are strong links."
"So, wait. You said..." Harry paused. "You said you were already researching this binding. You were talking about Grimaldi's binding, not Malfoy's. What was your interest in that one, then?"
"Ah... well, yes..."
"He's not. Not to Malfoy!"
"No," said Mayer curtly. "Draco is not taking Grimaldi away from Longbottom, Potter. He's not."
"Did Grimaldi ask you to research it?"
"Grimaldi has no idea that I'm an Unspeakable. Something for which, at the moment, I'm very grateful."
"I don't understand..."
"Harry. Noah was looking for the paperwork before Grimaldi ever came," said Hermione.
"Wait... just why were you researching this..."
"Promise bindings came in many flavors, Potter. This one is potent."
"You didn't answer..."
"I... I feel rather strongly for Draco, Potter. Stronger than is easy for me to admit. I..."
"You would break Draco's binding, if you could..."
"No, you have it wrong. That must be up to Draco, Potter. I will let him go," said Noah, his voice very quiet, "if that is what he needs to be truly happy. But if I am not a viable alternative, then I cannot expect him to choose me."
"Wait... if you're not. Luciano... he's bound to you?" asked Harry, his eyes wide.
"My father... always doing what is best for me... never trusting me enough to make those choices. Voldemort performed the binding ritual. It's... Potter, it's rather like an Unbreakable Vow. I am given to understand that you are familiar with that arrangement."
"Well, yes."
Noah glanced at Hermione and turned away. Hermione grabbed Harry's arm and pulled him quietly aside. "He doesn't really want this, you know."
"I sorta got that. Unbreakable? Like deadly if they don't..."
"A promise binding isn't a marriage, Harry. It's..." Hermione hesitated. "Imagine parents trying to create a perfect environment for love to blossom between two people. What would they need? Then imagine that there was a spell, a powerful spell, that helped create that condition. At a certain time, but only for a brief period. It doesn't create love, Harry, only a powerful environment that encourages it."
"But you said it was Unbreakable..."
Noah turned. "The consequences for Luciano if I fail to win his heart are... well. Dire. The result for me... the binding was created for my benefit, Potter. I could deny it. I could go to Draco and plead with him to change his mind." The man's voice broke. "It is what I want to do. But Luciano... the man your Longbottom loves... he would die, Potter."
"So you can just..."
"No, Potter. I can deny it, and I will not die. That does not mean there are no consequences. I am willing to deal with those consequences. I am willing to sacrifice myself to be with Draco. It is a sign of the love that Draco has for me that he would not put me through that. He rather feels, I suspect, that the world is trying to tell us that we aren't meant for each other." His voice grew quiet. "He has known that this is how our relationship would end, as I have. Perhaps he always withheld somehow, so that he could deal with this."
"Can you break the bond... before... I mean. I assume you were researching it so you could break it without those consequences."
Noah nodded. "Indeed. I wanted Draco to see me as a viable option. For that to be true, I would need to be free of the consequences of breaking the promise."
"And..." asked Harry.
"It's not possible," said Hermione. "The binding is too close to that of the Unbreakable Vow. If the bound are a match, there's no way to break the binding promise."
"And how is the match determined?"
"By the numbers. There's a reason Arithmancy is taught at Hogwarts, Potter."
Harry glanced at Hermione. "They're a match?"
"I'm afraid so," said Hermione. "And the lack of a match is the only element of weakness in the binding spell."
"You're sure?"
"We both got Os in Arithmancy, Potter. We're sure."
"Potions?"
"Snape was always very clear on the possibilities of potions. And the limitations. Potions don't work on any element of actual love, they work on desire and infatuation alone... and that prevents them from interfering in a binding spell like this."
"You know potions too, Mayer?"
"He was the top of the potions class, Harry," said Hermione, "even over Malfoy."
"Merlin, Hermione. The man's as bookish as you," said Harry. "So what do we do?"
"The only thing you can do, Potter, is to help Longbottom move on," said Noah seriously.
"You're giving up?"
"Remember Potter... you have a hurt friend. But I am losing a love and a life that I want for a chance only at something else. There is no guarantee. And I will be punished by the spell if I don't somehow make it work. And I will always know that his death is my fault if I don't make it work. How I'm supposed to be genuine under those circumstances..."
"No... you're right. Hermione?"
Hermione looked at him seriously and shook her head.
Noah left Harry and Hermione together to visit for a while, returning only when Harry had departed.
"So. What did you tell Grimaldi?" asked Noah quietly.
"Only that the binding was registered."
"And Potter?"
"He didn't ask. And in this case, I'm not sure it best that he know," said Hermione. "I... I can't see that going well."
"The numbers work," said Noah, a hint of sadness edging into his voice.
"Arithmancy isn't everything."
"No. The heart still has a role. It's just going to be hard for him. He's just finding out and Draco has always known."
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This story is written as part of the Nuke BigBang challenge. Check out the other authors' and artists' great work!