章節 4: Chapter 4: Arrangements and Contracts
Fleur is now in the Great Hall once again as she is looking around the Ravenclaw table. She's looking for Archie right now, she had just met her father in the Headmaster's office, where Gabrielle is now.
Archie is not in the Great Hall, and she didn't really know where she would need to search for him. She then saw a blonde boy with a ravenclaw tie walking towards the Ravenclaw table, looking for breakfast it seems.
Fleur quickly walked towards him, touching his shoulder. The boy turned around, and instantly blushed at the sight of her.
"Excuse me, do you know where Archibald Whitlock might be?" she questioned rather politely with her thick french accent.
"I-I don't know." he stuttered, forming an almost coherent sentence. "G-Good luck with that… he's hard to find these days…"
Fleur frowned. "What do you mean?"
"H-he doesn't really socialize with others," said the boy. "But I would look for him at the library if I were you…"
Fleur just nodded at the answer. "Thank you." After that, she ran off, going to the library.
—
Next morning, I quickly washed myself and went towards the library. I didn't want to go to the Room of Requirement yet because Fleur's father is supposed to come today, and it's quite a walk to go there, the library is much closer.
Now, I am sitting in the library with a ton of books in front of me. Potions, Transfiguration, Runes, Arithmancy, and many more, but the one that I am reading right now is not one of those, instead I was reading a book about a particular creature.
Veela.
As the book state; Veela are semi-human magical beings; beautiful women with white-gold hair and skin that appears to shine moon-bright. When angry, Veela take on a less pleasant appearance; their faces elongate into sharp, cruel-beaked bird heads, and long scaly wings burst from their shoulders. They had the ability to hypnotize and mesmerize most people attracted to women with their seductive dance and even looks alone, who would then try to impress them. Men with strong minds, especially the ones who practiced Occlumency could resist their charm, while women rarely got affected by the charm.
Occlumency? Does Whitlock practice it? I… actually don't know… I don't feel like my mind is being shielded, unless it's muscle memory that I haven't realized yet.
"You seem awfully busy today." A feminime voice suddenly commented from behind me, the voice was certainly familiar, that bossy tone, of course it's Granger…
"Why are you here Granger?" I asked, I didn't look at her, I just continued to read the book. "I thought you'll help Potter deal with his problems by now."
"Ronald's being a git, the common room is not suitable for study right now." she huffs, dropping her heavy bag to the table. "What's up with you?"
"I don't quite understand what you're trying to convey." I stated, still not looking at her.
"Are you… reading last year's books?" she questioned, checking the stack of books in front of me. "Why? I thought you're well past that?"
"Well, a bit of relearning wouldn't hurt." I shrugged. I then stood up, making Granger flinch. I ignored her behavior and showed a page of the book I was reading right now.
"Have you ever heard of Occlumency?" I asked, pointing at the word.
"Occlumency?" She repeated, looking at the page. "I… believe I haven't heard of it. Why? Are you studying Veela?"
"Well, I was just curious about them." I murmured, sitting back down. Granger was looking at me suspiciously, with a little annoyance in her eyes. "I'm not affected by them, so naturally, I went to look for why?"
"Oh really?" she raised her brow. "You seemed to be close with her for just two days of meeting, are you sure you're not lying about you meeting her for the first time, Whitlock?"
"Unless I have Amnesia Granger, I am certainly sure." I answered, she looked really annoyed for some reason, I wonder why. "Why are you so curious about my relationship with Miss Delacour anyway?"
Granger looked away towards her book as she opened it forcefully, hiding her face. "Just strange, is all."
I chuckled. "What's that supposed to mean?"
"Well I never really see you friendly towards other students." Granger answered. "But these two days, you're acting out of character."
"What? You mean I should just ignore everyone who wants to introduce themselves to me?"
"No, like I said, you're acting out of character." she insisted. "Ugh, can we talk about anything else other than this?"
"You started it." I shrugged, continuing to read. After that was just comfortable silence, Hermione reading some book about the tournament for helping Harry, while I read my books. Suddenly, another woman entered the circle.
"Finally!" the woman exclaimed, it was Fleur. I turned around, Granger seemed to as well. "I 'ave been looking for you everywhere! My father is waiting for you in the headmaster's office."
"Ah, sorry, I thought that you'll send me an owl or something…" I murmured, making Fleur and Granger confused. I put down my books and looked at Granger. "Save my books would you?"
Granger just nodded absentmindedly, while I followed Fleur, exiting the library.
—
The Headmaster's office's door opened as Fleur spoke out the password. Me and her entered the room, and I could see the rather curious things that the Headmaster has in his office. Books littered everywhere, some magic device that I don't know the function of was laid on top of a stack of books, and I could see the morning sun shining through the big windows around the moving portraits of former Headmasters.
I saw Dumbledore talking to a man with rather lavish clothing. As we entered, the man's eyes darkened and touched his daughter Gabrielle's shoulder.
"It appears the man of the hour has arrived." said Dumbledore calmly with a smile.
"Indeed…" said the man beside the old man.
The two of us walked towards them with Dumbledore seemingly quite curious about me. "Mr. Whitlock, it seems that we have succeeded in bringing you out of your comfortable nest in the library."
"You might say that Headmaster…" I murmured politely. I turned towards the man beside Dumbledore and nodded politely. "Mr. Delacour."
"You must be Archibald Whitlock." the man stated. "My name is Sebastian Delacour, Fleur's father."
"I'm pleased to meet you Mr. Delacour."
"Sebastian is fine, Archibald, we will be seeing each other a lot in the future." he said casually, walking towards a small desk beside a shelf.
I was confused at the statement. Why will I be seeing him a lot? I looked at Dumbledore, who was just smiling at me rather mysteriously.
"Now. Dumbledore, my apologies for my sudden notice of coming, and could I borrow your office to talk to young Archibald for a little while?" he said, turning towards us again, only this time, he has a piece of parchment in his left hand.
"It is alright Sebastian. I dare say this kind of arrangement is rather rare these days, I only remember one case in the period I became headmaster."
"Yes…" Sebastian murmured darkly. "This is a rather… old arrangement…"
The headmaster nodded, "Then I'll leave you to it Sebastian."
The old man quickly exited his own office, leaving me and the Delacours alone.
"I think you and Gabrielle should get out too, Fleur." Sebastian stated softly.
Fleur's face seemed worried for a second. "But Papa–"
"It will be alright." he continued. "It is nothing to worry about."
Fleur was hesitant, but she relented. She quickly held Gabrielle's hand and walked away from the room, finally leaving me alone with her father.
Sebastian stared at me for a while, before sighing. "Archibald, what do you know about the relationship between my family and yours?"
What? "I don't quite understand what you mean sir." I said. "As far as I know, I am the sole member of my family. I have been taking care of the crumbling castle and the businesses my family own since I was ten. But I never have the chance to find out if I have any distant relatives or not." at least that's what I saw from the memory anyway.
"Oh, we are not relatives, Archibald." said Sebastian calmly as he gave me a piece of parchment. "But our ancestors wanted us to be."
I was confused for a second, then I read the parchment that was given to me. And…
What?
What the fuck is this?
"I— you are not messing with me are you sir?" I questioned. This is a joke, definitely.
"This is serious, young Archibald." said Sebastian with a frown. "My family has been dreading this day to come. It's a magical contract between our families, from 100 years ago."
I looked at the date of the parchment, and sure enough, 1894. The fuck, I don't even know who my parents are, let alone an ancestor that lived in 1894…
"But… this states that a member of the Whitlock family will have to marry a member of the Delacour family in a hundred years, which means it's—"
"This year." Sebastian cut off.
"Then—"
"You have to marry one of my daughters."
I looked at Sebastian with a probably pale expression. "W-What? Why in a hundred years? Why not then?"
"The records said that the Whitlock family was in France at that time, only to move to Britain at a later date. At that time, there was no suitable heir from the Whitlock and the Delacour family alike, so our ancestor made a magical contract. Because of magic, the contract must be fulfilled, and it will force the two families to collide once again, which brings us to today…"
"I-Is there no way to cancel it?" I asked weakly, trying to find a seat around me.
"As much as I want to cancel the magical contract, young Archibald, it cannot be broken." answered Sebastian. "It is bound by blood, and if it's broken… well… let's just say the consequences will be severe for both families…"
Fuck… This is not happening right now… Arranged marriages? That still exist? And it's happening to me?
"I– Does Fleur agree with this?" I questioned.
"So you have chosen?" said Sebastian calmly, but I could feel a sense of relief from him.
"What? What do you mean 'chosen'? Of course it's Fleur, right?"
"The contract didn't state anything concerning that, Archibald." said Sebastian grimly. "You can choose…. But I implore you, as a civilized wizard, do not go that path."
"Are you suggesting that I would choose to marry a child?!" I practically shouted, offended about the thought. "Are you mad, Mr. Delacour?!"
"British Pureblood tends to not see age as an obstacle," said Sebastian in defense. "We have researched the habits of British Purebloods, Archibald, one case that is particularly horrible, Druella Rosier married into the Black family, forced to bear a child in the age of thirteen while she was still in Hogwarts, it is my right as a parent to be worried, Archibald, so I apologize that if I have offended you."
I calmed myself down. True enough… "Right…" I massaged my head because of the headache of the news in front of me. "Is there really no way to cancel this contract?"
"You seemed to hate the thought of marrying my daughter, Archibald, is there something going on?" he questioned in curiosity.
"It's an arranged marriage, Mr. Delacour." I pointed out.
Sebastian sighed. "Sadly, I have tried every way possible to cancel it once I discovered the contract, to no avail."
Fuck… this is bad… I have to deal with a family now instead of myself… "Do you agree to this?" I questioned.
"Do we have a choice, Archibald?" Sebastian smiled weakly. "We have accepted it, you should too."
"And Fleur?"
"I suggest you talk to her after this," he said. "Think of the bright side, Archibald, you aren't alone anymore, if anything happens in Britain, you can go to us, to France."
I just swallowed my saliva as I felt that my mouth was dry from all the talking, I looked at the man in front of me and nodded. "This is not going to be immediate, right?"
Sebastian nodded. "For now, it is just a betrothal, but your fate and hers have been intertwined Archibald, in the eyes of magic, you WILL marry her. I give my daughter to you Archibald, get to know her this year and hope that you two are compatible. I cannot stay for long, as I have business back at home, but I will come again for the first, second, and third task."
"Hold on sir." I halted his movement, making him turn to me. "What happens if Fleur dies in the tournament?"
Sebastian frowned. "Archibald, are you suggesting that—"
"I'm saying it's a possibility."
Sebastian clenched his fist so hard his knuckles turned white. "Then you will have to marry Gabrielle."
Fuck…
"Then I'll make sure that she's safe." I nodded.
Sebastian hummed. "I'm counting on it."
The man then turned around again, and walked towards the Floo. his body burned by the green fire, and he disappeared from the room, leaving me alone.
—
I was now sitting on a chair in an empty classroom, with Fleur sitting behind me, facing the opposite of me. Our backs were facing each other, and I could feel the nervousness of Fleur from behind. I told her to get into position as I felt like we would not talk at all if we talk face-to-face.
"Why didn't you tell me?" I asked her politely.
"I just… did not want you to 'ave time to choose." she answered. "I 'ave tried to make a good impression so that you will not choose Gabrielle."
"Do you think of me that low?" I asked once again, still a bit hurt over that. "That I would choose a nine year old child? Do you think of me as a pedophile?"
"It is a possibility. And I need to get rid of it." she answered truthfully. "You might want to choose Gabrielle because by the time you graduate, I will be in my twenties, and you are still seventeen, most men would not like that."
I sighed. "What about you?"
"What about me?" she questioned, for some reason turning to me, but I didn't.
"Do you… well… how do I say this… want to marry me?" I asked a bit quietly, it was embarrassing as hell.
I hear her giggle behind me. "Are you asking me now, Archie?"
"I'm just asking if you agree with this." I referred. "If you have a choice, would you break this arrangement?"
Fleur didn't answer for almost a minute, that doesn't sound good…
"I want to say yes… but it is not realistic." she answered. "Right now, I don't 'ave a choice, we don't 'ave a choice. We are stuck."
"Right…"
"And if you want me to be 'onest, I 'ad thought that I would be marrying an average boy with no talent… but when I first met you, you were not affected by my… allure…"
"Yes, I'm wondering about that myself." I said. "I don't know why, but I seem to not be affected by it. I read about it somewhere that Occlumency is connected to it, but as far as I remember, I have never learned Occlumency."
"Interesting…" she murmured. I could hear her chair being moved, and I felt a tap from my shoulder. I turned around, only to see her sitting facing me with a teasing smile. "Turn around, let's talk face-to-face."
"I… don't think that's a good idea…"
"Just turn around." she insisted.
I just sighed. I quickly turned around and finally faced her. "Archie, what do you think of me?" she asked me.
"Does it matter?" I asked back, surprising her.
"Of course it matters, we are to be husband and wife."
"Then I can't form an opinion yet." I answered. "We only met two days ago."
"Then what do you think of me right now at least."
"A talented and beautiful young witch." I said casually. "But from what I see from these two days, you seem… fake."
Fleur frowned. "Fake?"
"You said it yourself. You tried to make a good impression, so I didn't see the real you." I continued. "I never saw you interact with your classmates, when you became the champion, they seemed disappointed instead of cheering for you, do you even have friends?"
Fleur blushed at the question. "I-I 'ave friends…"
"Doesn't look like it." I refuted. "Your allure probably gets in the way… girls don't want to be friends with you because they see you as a threat, while you are hesitant to befriend boys because you don't know if they genuinely want to be friends or want to get in your pants, you have trust issues."
I see Fleur clenched her silk robes as I stated my observation. She looked at me with a really fake smile. "You are quite observant for the one who stayed in the library a lot."
"Comes with some perks." I shrugged. I finally relented, fuck, this is so embarassing… I moved my chair closer to her and spoke directly to her. "You can be honest with me Fleur. As you said, we are to be husband and wife after all."
"Taking words out of my mouth?" she raised her brow in amusement. I kept staring at her, making her relent as well. "Fine, I don't 'ave friends…"
I hummed, and backed off. "Seeing that we don't have any friends, how about, right now at least, we are to be friends?"
"Friends?" she said in disbelief. "You want us to be friends? A fourteen year old and a seventeen year old?"
"What's wrong with that?" I raised my brow. "We are stuck with each other, possibly for the rest of our lives, we can at least be friends right?"
"Will we be 'just friends' forever?" she asked teasingly.
"Baby steps Fleur, baby steps." I chuckled.
She stood up from her chair and it made me stand up as well. "Alright then Archie. I'm looking forward to getting to know you this year."
I nodded. "Good luck with your tasks. Actually, come to the library so that you won't study alone."
"You? Helping me?" she raised her brow, obviously joking.
I shrugged. "Hey, if you don't want my help, that's fine, your loss."
She just giggled at my answer, before suddenly walking towards me, and hugged me tightly. "Thank you…" she said softly to my ear, her voice sounding sincere.
Both of us released the hug and I asked her. "For what?"
"For making me feel better about this… situation." she said calmly. "You are quite a gentleman Archie, I am feeling better about this arrangement already."
I shot her a half smile. "I'm glad you felt that way."
She then suddenly leaned to me and kissed my cheek. "I will see you at dinner Archie. A bientôt."
She then quickly walked past me, but I didn't miss the smirk on her face as she did that. Don't turn around, don't turn around, don't turn around… I turned around… and I saw her swaying her hips rather seductively, I could feel the smugness from her face right now…
After that, I was left alone in that empty classroom. I quickly sat down again, and sighed tiredly, what a fucking day man…
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