Harry Potter One Shots

Marriage in Mind

All rights belong to the author, AzarDarkstar

Harry supposes that he should've seen this coming. He's gotten plenty of offers over the last year and a half since he defeated Voldemort and more than the amount of loonies claiming to either be pregnant with or to have had his child. And try as they might to force the issue and to bring support to their sides, he knows that these are nothing but lies. He's only been with one person, and even as flighty as Luna can be, Harry is pretty sure she would've noticed a baby.

But he can only stare at the notice in his hand, a letter courtesy of Gringotts. A marriage contract. He hadn't expected this at all. His father married for love, as did his grandparents. But Harry always forgets to think about the Blacks outside of Sirius, Tonks, and her parents. That's basically the entirety of the family nowadays with Bellatrix disowned and dead, Narcissa not scheduled for release from house arrest for another two years, and the youngest Malfoy as a head in his own right.

He loved Sirius; he really did. And Harry was and still is grateful for his inheritance from the man. Probably the only reason outside of his friends that he managed to not only survive the war but to emerge victorious. But some small part of him always wonders if it'll one day come back to bite him in the ass.

And apparently, that day is today. Or to be more exact, it is a week from now on Thursday.

He can see the worry flickering in Luna's eyes as she reads and then rereads the words so clearly written on the parchment. A scorching sense of resolve cements in her expression as she sets down the letter – the death notice – and just gazes at him across their kitchen table. For once, her dreamy smile is gone, and she's focused on the here and now in a way she hasn't been since she defeated both Lestrange brothers and blasted them to bits. There's a reason, after all, that the Aurors are so keen to have her. Just as there's a reason she chose to continue her education instead.

As smart as Hermione is, she will never possess Luna's ability to think laterally. To escape and evade in ways the enemy doesn't even realize are possible until they see it, and they still doubt even then. To outwit and ensnare her opponents before they even understand that they've been thwarted. Such a gift would be wasted on the Aurors, but Hit Wizards and the Department of Mysteries are a different matter entirely.

"We'll get through this," Luna says then, bluish silver eyes bright but determined.

And as he always does now, Harry believes her. She hasn't lied to him once. Hasn't been wrong once.

Her face is set, a steely sort of fierceness and the last thing many Death Eaters ever saw.

"We'll find a way," she adds, already reaching for him.

And he knows that they will.

-O.o.O-

He should feel panicked about what he's going to do – what he's about to do – a week later as he walks hand in hand with Luna through the Gringotts hallway and into the meeting room. However, Harry only feels a strong sense of calm. Of complete acceptance as her fingers squeeze his affectionately.

Between the four of them – Andromeda, Hermione, Luna, and Harry himself – they have a game plan. It might not be the most tenable solution. The most diplomatic. Or even the most humane. But it'll have to work. It will work. Anything less than his complete freedom of choice, than the rest of his life with the woman beside him, is completely and utterly unacceptable. He isn't even nineteen years old, but Harry Potter is already the stuff of legends. Nothing short of Dementors, Dark Lords, and death itself is able to stop him. This won't come close.

Even three years ago, he might've just given in. Gone along with it because he could see no possible way out without hurting anyone. But war has a way of changing a person. Making him see reality for what it really is. Making him hard. Deadly. Allowing him to realize that violence and death aren't the best answer, not even close. But they are an answer. One he's willing and able to use.