Chapter Text
In 1917, the British Ministry of Magic helped develop and pass a “Pure-blood Propagation Program” in which pure-blooded families could sign up their children to receive an arranged marriage with other pure-bloods who signed up for the program.
For each child a family signed up for the act, they would receive a series of payments: A decent amount of 5,000 Galleons when they signed up, a small handful to pay for the actual wedding itself (of around 500 Galleons), and a small fortune for each child produced from the coupling (of 10,000 Galleons for the first, 8,000 for the second, and 5,000 for each child thereafter). The couple themselves received: 1,000 Galleons at the assignment; a stipend of 50 Galleons a month for each month they remained engaged or wed while in the trial period, with a maximum of 26 months (as each couple received their assignment in June of their 5th year and were to be wed by end of August after they graduated their 7th year); a wedding present of another 1,000 Galleons, and then 15,000 Galleons for the first child, 12,000 for the second, and 10,000 for each child thereafter.
The Program was partially funded by the government to promote the expansion of the dwindling blood-purity (they took the stance of promoting more options for different pure-blood mixes and also putting out more children to allow these families to be okay with one or two half-blood branches, though everyone knew it was because the Minister at the time was a blood-supremacist), but it was mostly funded by pure-bloods who donated to the program. They were the pure-bloods who either wanted a leg up in the world by potentially being tied to a more illustrious pure-blood family or pure-bloods who believed in blood-purity. Whatever the reason, the program had plenty of money to fund the endeavour, and it ran smoothly for a while.
The families who signed up children, usually one or two at least, were at a silent agreement that a penalty would occur if one of the coupling decided to leave before an heir was produced. The penalty was usually money, money that the family would be missing out on if the couple had at least one child, but sometimes it was more serious: they would have to give up another child to the coupling or they would enter a very not-so-legal servicing. Sometimes, these families got around that penalty by offering up a House Elf or two, but other times… well, then they would be indentured servants until they had a child who could be coupled.
So far, there were around 70 families who had signed up for the program. At the end of the students’ 5th year, they would find out their coupling. It was a random shuffle among the names. They were told after their OWL exams, so they could plan their NEWTs classes with their partner, to shape their futures and their careers. For instance, a partnership was less likely to work if one partner wanted to be an auror and the other a free-lance curse-breaker. There needed to be some overlap, and that was for them to figure out when they picked their classes for 6th and 7th years.
~ * ~
In 1943, Joelle Riverwood was waiting anxiously for her assigned partner. Her family had been notorious for branching out, finding “non-pure” lovers, and growing families that branched into massive and strong half-blood trees. But through some fate, her father was a pure-blood named Gerald Riverwood, who had fallen in love with a pure-blood witch from America, named Rachelle Zhao. After generations of most of the Riverwoods “cross-breeding” with non-pure-bloods--as it was called by some of the more rude pure-bloods--by some stroke of wild luck, Joelle Riverwood was born to the only pure-blood family that carried the name.
She was the eldest of 5 children. In June 1943, Joelle was the only one at Hogwarts and at the very end of her 5th year. Her sister Odette had turned 11 that past February, going to start at Hogwarts that September. Henri and Eloise, the twins, were only 7, and little Dorian had just had his 4th birthday a couple weeks ago. So Joelle felt utterly alone as she sat in the Great Hall with the other pure-bloods signed up for the Program. There were only 14 of them sat there, 7 males and 7 females. The sad reality of the Program was it did not accept non-hetero couplings since it was, at its core, a breeding program. That wasn’t to say it didn’t accept LGBT students. The cruel nature of the program allowed lesbian, gay, and asexuals to be entered into the program… so long as they produced an heir. Joey had known plenty of non-straight people who had been subjected to the program at their family’s insistence. Once they had a child, they were free to divorce and live their lives. It was cruel. It was hateful. And Joey could only laugh bitterly at the whole thing.
3 of the boys were from Slytherin, 2 from Gryffindor, 1 from Ravenclaw, and 1 from Hufflepuff. Of the girls, 4 were from Slytherin, 2 from Ravenclaw, and 1 from Hufflepuff. Joey was the lone Puff, and she was desperately hoping to get paired with her house counterpart, Vance Torres. He was sweet, he was kind, and he was brilliant at Herbology. That would’ve been a perfect match for her as she intended to be a potioneer after school. She would’ve been fine with any of them so long as they weren’t one of the Slytherin boys. All three of them were known to be more on the cruel side of kind.
Joey was staring straight ahead as she sat on her own. Her caramel eyes held a green central heterochromia, but most people didn’t get close enough to notice it. That and they were partially obstructed by her glasses, which she constantly pushed up by touching the backs of her pointer and middle fingers to the bottom right corner of the right lens. There was a light spray of freckles across her face, and her dark hair was almost always pulled away from her face, usually in a bun on her head. She didn’t interact with the other pure-bloods much. One of her best friends was one, a childhood neighbour, but her family had signed their eldest two children up for the program, and Cass was allowed to do as she pleased. The other one was muggle-born, and Viv thought this whole program was silly.
“It’s not like you’re an endangered species. Who cares about blood purity?” Viv could be heard grumbling whenever the program was brought to conversation. It made Cass giggle, of course, just imagining them as a protected species with a wildly British narrator describing their lives. What Joey wouldn’t give to have them beside her right now.
“Attention, please,” Headmaster Armando Dippet called out as he strode into the hall. They were seated at the ends of the house tables, mixed and mingled, closest to the Head Table. Joey scrutinised the Ministry official who came with him, a severe looking pureblood witch who undoubtedly went through the program herself. She cleared her throat.
“I will be calling the girls signed up for the program alphabetically by surname. When I call your name, please come up to receive your flower. The flower will then reveal to you the name of your assigned partner.” She adjusted the reading glasses on her sharp beak of a nose and read the first name on the list. “Abbott, June.”
Abbott, June was one of those girls who just looked like she would be a pure-blood purist. Her strawberry blonde hair was stark straight and flowed down to her waist in a solid waterfall, and she always stared those marble grey eyes down her nose at those around her. She strode forward and accepted one of the white roses. All of the flowers were closed, but when June held it in her hand, the closed head burst into a blue flame. As the petals opened up, blossoming, a name floated out and above the flower, written in flames. “Maverick Avery.” June turned toward her intended with a broad grin.
Maverick Avery, whose face almost always twisted into either a sneer or a scowl, was a Slytherin like June. He liked to believe he was the smartest in the room despite his strength being his actual strength rather than his mental capacity. He was aiming his future toward his Beater skills, wanting to play Quidditch professionally. As much as Joey disliked him, she had to admit he had raw talent when it came to hitting a vicious ball with a bat. June, intending to be a homemaker, had wanted one of the Slytherin boys anyways, so maybe it would work out. Maverick stood up and strode to June, who offered him her rose. He smiled at her and accepted it happily, escorting her back to their seats.
“Dune, Aliyah.”
The Ravenclaw carefully made her way up to the Ministry official. She was breathing slowly, nervous as the day was long. Aliyah was in the program because her family believed she could be partnered with another pure-blood family that would help her with her career going forward. It was a solid line of thought. The Dunes were inventors, brilliant in every area they decided to make their expertise. What they weren’t, however, was renown. They had built a name as catering to helping half-bloods and muggle-borns, which earned them growing animosity from some pure-blood families. Those families went on to use their influence to slowly boycott the Dune inventions. Now, as Aliyah grabbed her rose, Joey could only hope she ended up with a partner worthy of her wit. “Reed Hardgardner.” A look of relief overtook the girl’s face as she broke into a grin. One of the Gryffindor boys went up to greet her, his own smile warm and genuine. Aliyah was a damn snack, and he was lucky to get partnered with her. Reed came from a very upstanding and well-named Broomstick making family. This would be good for them both.
“Gonzalez, Therese.”
The Slytherin girl looked bored as she made her way up. She was the kind of girl who could never be impressed or entertained by anything in this world. Joey felt bad for whomever was going to be assigned her. “Yuri Dragovich.” The other Gryffindor boy strode up. A match made in heaven, Joey thought, as Yuri looked like he hadn’t let emotions dirty his face since he was a child. The only time she remembered ever seeing him smile was when a couple of owls crashed together in their 2nd year and landed with an explosion of food on the Head Table. He had smiled as poor Professor Beery had to wring oatmeal out of his beard.
“MacKenzie, Allison.”
This Slytherin was not like the others. There were rumours that her family bribed the sorting hat to put her in the house to keep their family name “pure”. But Joey thought that was silly. What would they bribe it with, a fancy brooch? Allison was a bubbly ditz whose only ambition was to be the very best Gobstones player in the world. But Joey supposed she would do anything to gain that record, not excluding a bat-bogey hex on her opponent when she distracted them with some long, babbling story. Her rose burst into flames, and she emitted a wild giggle before reading the name aloud. “Vance Torres!” Joey had to force herself not to scowl as the lanky boy made his way forward with that buck-toothed smile. There were only 3 boys left, and 2 of them were Slytherins.
“Posani, Priyanka.”
The other Ravenclaw girl stood up slowly. She looked to Joey and smiled. They had always had a friendly competition, when it came to classes and grades. It was an unspoken bond that tied them together, and a curt nod from Joey was all the courage she needed to continue forward. Her rose burst into flames in her perfectly manicured hand, and the name brought an audible sigh of relief to her lips. “Nathan Jones.” He was from her own house, and they were well-acquainted with each other. They looked like a couple that could be on the cover of “Witch Weekly” as they stood in their library with their 2 kids and a white dog. Their smiles were matching as they took their seats. Joey looked at the other girl left, a Slytherin, named Lyra Thompson. And that meant--
“Riverwood, Joelle.”
--She was next.
~ * ~
Joey stood up and refused to let the fear show on her face. There were only 2 bachelors left, and they were both from Slytherin house. She absolutely hated this. This was the exact opposite of what she wanted. Her eyes turned to the two boys left unpartnered. Beside the very beautiful but plain Lyra sat Sean Nott, who had a sharp cackle that made those it was directed to flinch at the sound. He always looked for trouble, sizing up those around him to find someone to pick on. He was notorious for his open distaste of half-bloods and muggle-borns. In his mind, muggles weren’t even worth a thought, much less hatred. She absolutely did not want him. But the other option was--
“Abraxas Malfoy.”
The rose was in her hand and on fire before she could even pull herself out of her thoughts. She looked at the name in shock, and her eyes just had to move up slightly to focus on her intended.
“That just leaves you and me, baby!” Lyra shouted as she giggled and jumped into Nott’s arms, who laughed as he buried his face into the crook of her neck. Those who signed up for the program weren’t supposed to form relationships before their assignments, as it could cause broken pacts, but Lyra and Sean had gone ahead and done that anyway. They had hoped they would be assigned together, and it seemed luck was on their side.
For Joelle, however, luck decided to punch her in the nose, knee her in the stomach, and spit on her as it walked away.
Abraxas Malfoy stood up without breaking his eye contact with the Hufflepuff. His hair looked white and was combed neatly. It was trimmed just above his shoulders, falling in soft waves, and he had the front portion pulled to the sides and tied in a small ponytail on the back of his head. His eyes were ice and steel, a pale grey that made her warmth slowly fade. He was tall, taller than most their age at around 6’ even. He made her feel smaller than she already was (and to think, she had been so proud to be measured 5’2” at her last check-up). If there was a word to describe Abraxas at a glance, it was impeccable. If Joey had to choose a word, it was frightening.
Abraxas was the most manipulative and snake-charming man she had ever met. Every word that came from his mouth seemed to be carefully crafted, fine-tuned to get his way and soothe the person he directed his attention toward. And his attention was on her. She wasn’t sure how she felt about it. A smile curved his lips, but the look in his eyes was nothing less than sinister. He accepted the rose without a word, and his hand moved to her upper back as he led her away from the safety of her lonely corner and toward his table of friends.
“You will receive your payments directly to your bank. Any questions can be delivered to the program’s director. Thank you for your service, and have a nice summer.” The official and Headmaster headed out, leaving the students to chat as they got ready to leave.
“Riverwood,” Avery greeted her with a nod. She pursed her lips and nodded back. She had come in contact with him on the Quidditch pitch last year, her first year on the team. It had not been a very pleasant experience, and her left arm still ached whenever she thought about the bludger flying directly at her face. She had seen all of them at some point, of course, as Hufflepuff and Slytherin had shared classes in the years they’d been there. But she never spoke to them outside of the classroom, and she certainly never talked to Abraxas.
“Unlucky, Malfoy. 4 Slytherin girls and you end up with the Hufflepuff?” Nott sneered at him, not even looking at Joey. She felt her temper rise, but she stamped it down. Her family needed the money, and they most certainly could not afford a penalty of any sort. There was no way she was going to insult Nott and potentially be rejected by Malfoy. Instead, she just set her jaw and glared him down. Thankfully, she didn’t have to say anything.
“Don’t speak about her like that,” Malfoy hissed. If he had been a cobra, he would’ve inflated his hood with the words. If he had venom to spit, it definitely would’ve been shot out then. Nott was so surprised that he backed down with wide eyes. “If you disrespect her, then you’re disrespecting me. And you remember what happened last time, right, Nott?” The memory made Nott red at the tips of his ears, and he nodded.
“Right. Sorry, mate,” he muttered half-assed at Joey, who just took in the interaction with a gaping mouth.
“Yeah, n-no problem,” Joey said in a bit of confusion, looking up at Abraxas. He had his gaze settled on Nott, but she thought she saw a little smirk on his mouth as he straightened up and cleared his throat. “Thank you,” she said softly. It earned her his gaze which held a look of disapproval and a small curl of his lip. She realised she didn’t want his attention on her. It was cold.
“You’re going to be a Malfoy, and nobody speaks to a Malfoy like that,” he said simply. He tugged his robes straight and motioned with his head to the entrance of the Great Hall. “Come. Tom’s probably waiting for our results,” he said and started striding away. The 2 other boys and their partners followed without hesitation or question. Joey stood rooted in her place as she was still processing the interaction. Abraxas stopped to turn to her, impatience on his marble-carved face. “Now, Riverwood!” he called out sharply. She jolted a little and rushed off to join them, falling into stride beside Abraxas as they went.
Joelle looked back at her lonely corner and wondered just what in Merlin’s name the next 26 months had in store.