Chapter Text
The pale Wiltshire sunlight streamed through the tall windows, spilling across the high ceilings and silver-embroidered details of the drawing room. Lucius Malfoy took his seat at the head of the long table, gathering the tails of his elegant black robes as he did so. Opposite him sat Narcissa, poised and regal as ever, while beside her sat Draconia, the family's sole heir, her sharp silver eyes gleaming with anticipation.
For the past few mornings, Draconia had been practically bouncing in her seat at breakfast. The letters from Hogwarts arrived around this time every year. But the letter addressed to Draconia Malfoy this year would change not only the girl's fate, but the destiny of the entire House of Malfoy.
Mipsy appeared, one of the ancient house-elves who had served the Malfoy family for generations. She bowed respectfully to the Lord and Lady of the house, as well as to their young mistress. After handing Lucius the letters that had arrived from the Ministry, she carefully separated Draconia's very first Hogwarts letter and presented it to the girl.
Draconia snatched it up with barely contained excitement and delight. As swiftly as she had appeared, the house-elf vanished again. Narcissa smiled fondly at her daughter's enthusiasm, watching her with eyes that shone with happiness as she witnessed this important moment in the young girl's life.
Lucius's attention was not on the letters before him, but on his daughter. He studied the crest stamped into the wax seal on her envelope. Everything appeared to be in order.
Then Draconia unfolded the parchment and scanned its contents. The frown that crept across her face immediately caught her father's attention.
"Is something wrong, Draconia?" Lucius asked.
Draconia held out the letter to him. "They've spelled my name wrong!" Her voice carried a mixture of indignation and disbelief.
Lucius took the letter, his brow furrowing. He lowered his head to read it, and then his eyes stopped moving. For one brief moment, his mind went utterly blank.
Draconia Lucy Potter.
Potter?
This was not some simple spelling mistake, some misplaced letter in his beloved daughter's name. The surname was entirely different. A different surname, certainly, but one he knew all too well. It had been appearing in the newspapers with increasing frequency lately, especially with the Boy Who Lived due to begin Hogwarts that very year.
Without a word, he handed the letter to his wife.
Narcissa accepted it curiously. The moment she saw the name, her eyebrows shot up in astonishment. When she spoke, her voice was more cautious than usual.
"Hogwarts's parchments are enchanted. If a name has been inscribed upon one, it cannot be a mere ink error."
Lucius's eyes narrowed. His heart was pounding against his ribs.
"That is precisely what concerns me, darling," he replied.
Draconia was beginning to realise that something was seriously wrong. She looked between her parents, fear creeping into her voice.
"Father, what's happening?"
Lucius rose from his chair and gently stroked his only daughter's hair.
"Don't worry, darling. I'll take care of it."
"What are you going to do, Lucius?" Narcissa asked.
"I'm going to the Ministry. I'll sort out this confusion over the name."
Narcissa nodded in agreement.
"Mipsy!"
The house-elf reappeared at once.
"Fetch Lucius's travelling robes."
They made their way to the fireplace and saw Lucius off to the Ministry. Once he had departed, Narcissa turned to her anxious daughter and gently stroked her hair.
"Don't fret, darling. Your father will put everything right."
Lucius went to the Department of Magical Education first.
The official on duty explained that the name on the letter was neither the result of a clerical mix-up nor a simple ink error. The record had come from the Register of Ancient Magical Bonds and Covenants.
Every magical child born into the world was entered into the Register from the moment they were given a name, ensuring that they would be recorded for enrolment at Hogwarts. This was how even Muggle-born children received their acceptance letters without having the slightest idea that Hogwarts existed. It was ancient magic itself that registered them.
Lucius was, of course, already aware of all this. That did not stop him from visiting the Department to have it confirmed once more, nor did it prevent him from storming out of the office looking as though he were about to lose his mind.
His breath caught in his throat.
Ancient covenants.
Lucius took a step backwards. For a moment, the world around him fell silent. The clamour of the Ministry's corridors faded into nothingness. Only one thought echoed through his mind.
A marriage covenant.
But how was that possible?
There was only one Potter with whom his daughter could possibly be bound by such a covenant. In fact, there was only one Potter left alive.
Harry Potter. The Boy Who Lived.
But he had certainly never entered into a marriage covenant with any Potter on behalf of his daughter.
A few minutes later, Lucius found himself standing inside the Department of Magical Lineages and Inheritances.
The department was responsible for safeguarding the genealogical records of wizarding families, property deeds, centuries-old inheritance documents, and—most importantly, in this case—binding magical covenants of precisely this nature.
At the end of the corridor stood a heavy oak door. The silver plaque mounted upon it bore the words Office of Magical Lineages, Inheritances, and Ancient Covenants. It seemed to gleam more ominously than usual.
Lucius did not even deign to knock. He flung the door open and strode inside.
The floating parchments and enormous, gold-embossed family trees suspended in mid-air froze in place. The clerks seated behind their desks jumped at the sudden intrusion.
Lucius marched straight towards the chief archivist's desk.
"Mr Malfoy—" the chief archivist began.
Lucius cut him off.
"Find me a marriage covenant. Immediately."
The chief archivist adjusted his spectacles, pushing them up the bridge of his nose with his index finger, and chose to overlook the discourtesy. He had worked in the department long enough to be accustomed to wealthy families barging in from time to time, convinced that their affairs took precedence over everyone else's. In situations like these, resolving the problem was invariably less troublesome than insisting upon an appointment.
"Of course. Which families? And from what period?"
"Malfoy," Lucius bit out through clenched teeth. "And... Potter. I don't know the period."
A flicker of surprise crossed the chief archivist's face, but years of experience allowed him to conceal it almost immediately.
He rose and made his way to the Malfoy archives. With impressive speed and professionalism, he searched through the records.
There it was.
Malfoy and Potter.
With a quick spell, he produced a copy of the document. The original records were never permitted to leave the archives under any circumstances.
Returning to his desk, the chief archivist handed the copy to Lucius Malfoy.
"Here is the marriage covenant you are looking for. It dates back to the time of Aurelius Malfoy and Ignatius Potter."
Lucius's eyes had darkened with fury.
The document in his hands was no ordinary contract. It was a genuine magical marriage covenant. And if the magic had activated the bond now, then the conditions of the contract had been fulfilled.
There would be no going back.
Lucius's gaze swept rapidly across the parchment, stopping at the shimmering magical signatures of his ancestor, Aurelius Malfoy, and the Potter patriarch who had signed alongside him. As he read the clauses, the blood drained from his face.
...and should a girl and a boy, no more than five years apart in age, be born to the two bloodlines in a future generation, the Houses shall be united through a magical marriage bond...
Lucius's hands trembled.
His mind raced.
Draconia was the first girl to be born into the Malfoy line in seven generations. He was certain that the Potters, meanwhile, had produced nothing but male heirs for the past three generations.
Perhaps an agreement forged centuries ago had simply been waiting for its conditions to be fulfilled.
And now, his precious daughter—and the future of his House—had been bound to Harry Potter.
From the moment Harry Potter had been born, he had been his daughter's husband. And one day, he would become Lord of the House of Malfoy.
Alongside the House of Potter, of course.
Lucius drew a deep, shuddering breath. The fury on his face gradually receded, giving way to the dangerous, calculating composure that lay beneath the Malfoy mask.
If a marriage bond had been established, and the boy had truly become part of their family, then the boy would come to Malfoy Manor.
He would learn what it meant to be a proper husband to his daughter. He would learn how to spoil her, how to cherish her, how to ensure she wanted for nothing. He would also learn what it meant to be Lord of the House of Malfoy.
The Malfoys were not governed in the same manner as the Potters. Harry could run the House of Potter however he pleased, but he would have to learn to manage the Malfoy estate properly.
First, Lucius needed to explain his discovery to his daughter and wife.
And then...
Then he had a son-in-law to find.
He took the parchment and turned to leave.
The chief archivist watched him go, making no attempt to solicit a word of thanks. He had seen enough in his years of service to know when it was best to keep one's mouth shut.
Nevertheless, he could not help wondering.
The Boy Who Lived and the House of Malfoy... related by marriage?
Now that was news.