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Daphne POV:

The ball passed in a blink and before I knew it, I was already back home sitting with mum, dad and Astoria.

"I can't believe you didn't tell me about this!" Astoria complained loudly.

She hadn't been told about the contract to avoid shock and upsetting her already delicate constitution. It seems for nought now.

"Hmph! Damn Lucius! How dare he!" Scowled dad, his fury coming back to the forefront.

"Calm down dear. We should have expected something like this when we received the invitation." Despite mum's words, her face was cold as ice.

"Sigh... you're right, as usual. Still, this damn contract matter just got blown way out of proportion with this stunt." Said dad, calming down finally. 

There's only so long you can feel angry without getting tired, and he's been furious ever since Lucius backed him into a corner.

"What does the contract say? What's going to happen to Daphne?" Astoria worriedly asked.

There was a brief silence before mum broke it.

"Since it's gotten to this point, there's no point hiding it any further. Here, this is a copy of the contract. I'll explain the parts you don't understand." Said mum, pulling a copy of the contract from her purse.

Mum has always been the more level-headed between her and dad, so she took it on herself to try and find a way out of the contract, hence her carrying a copy with her.

While mum and Astoria were busy discussing the contract and getting Astoria to understand the implications of it, dad was sitting there in silence, gloomily trying to think of different ways to get out of the current situation with little success.

Mum and dad have always taught Astoria and I as best they can, especially owing to the pressure of having only daughters. The magical world does allow women to be lords of their houses, but female heirs are significantly more vulnerable when young than male heirs, leading to more pressure on the family. If anything happens to us, it would stain the family and our individual reputations much more significantly than if we were male.

As a result, dad and mum have always tried to prepare Astoria and I the best they could for the future, sharing details and information with us that we wouldn't normally be told at this age. Back at the ball, I could tell Susan Bones was in the same boat after interacting with her. Her aunt must have been doing the same.

"How dare he!" Astoria's voice cut back in once mum had finished going through the contract with her.

"Calm down sweetie, please. Getting riled up isn't good in your condition." Said mum.

"But how can he!..." Said Astoria before being cut off.

"I know sweetie, I know." Said mum, hugging her tightly.

"This is why we didn't tell you. Please calm down. Take a deep breath. We don't want you to have another episode." She continued pleadingly.

Astoria took deep breaths for a minute or two, forcing herself to calm down. She's always been aware of her own situation, much more than others. That's why she's always been playful and tries to hide her pain from us. We can still see it though, and it breaks our hearts.

"So what are we going to do?" She asked, finally having achieved a semblance of calm.

There was another silence before dad finally broke it.

"I'm not sure poppet. Malfoy was only able to force me to sign this contract due to the political climate right now." He said.

"Sigh, you have to understand that because my father decided to stay neutral during the war, a potion I agreed with and continued once he was gone, we have no close allies. Both factions are too extreme. The dark wants to kill all muggleborns and lets not even talk about their methods during the war. I could never support them."

"The light side on the other hand has gone way too far under Dumbledore's leadership. He's destroying our society one brick at a time. I agree with muggleborns integrating into our society, but the light has taken it too far. Banning so many magics was already bad, but then they replaced our traditions with those of that muggle christian religion! That was a blatant slap in the face!"

"So your mother and I agreed to remain neutral and stayed out of it. Unfortunately, we didn't predict the result of that choice. We have no allies now. We stand alone. Lucius has managed to put so much pressure on our businisses and holdings that he could have dismantled our family completely by the time Astoria goes to Hogwarts. I had no choice but to sign the contract." Dad finished his summary.

"Why can't we just leave Britain? Go somewhere else?" Asked Astoria.

"Oh sweetie. It's not that simple. Our wealth is tied up in vast amounts of land, which we would lose if we simply left." Said mum.

"I know what you're thinking. If we sold everything, we'd still be able to live comfortably elsewhere. That is true, but you forget about our international businesses and what they mean for us. Because we deal internationally, we've also made enemies." She continued.

"Most wouldn't bother with us if our businesses crumbled and we fled. They'd simply take up the empty market share. But one person with a grude, one lunatic and we would be hunted all over the world. Believe me, your father and I have met many people like that. We'd be running and hiding for the rest of our lives." Said mother, gently explaining to Astoria the reality of that option.

The mood was gloomy as we sat around the coffee table, ignoring the tea and snacks the elves prepared. Even Astoria, the usually rambunctious one that gets everyone to laugh was feeling gloomy.

"Daphne?" Mum broke the silence.

"You haven't said anything so far. Are you feeling alright?" She asked, concerned.

"Hmm? What?" I answered, breaking out of my own thoughts.

I've been paying little attention to everything since we got back, still thinking about the night with Draco. He was completely different than what I expected. I found myself feeling oddly calm about the future after tonight.

"Daphne, what's going on with you?" Dad asked, concerned.

I smiled at him. I normally only show emotions to family, even if Draco broke that habit tonight. Stupid Draco.

"I'm fine dad. Just thinking." I said.

"Don't worry Daph, we'll think of something." He said reassuringly.

I laughed a little. "It's not that dad. I don't think we actually need to do anything." I said.

This got me raised eyebrows from all around.

"What do you mean? Are you talking about Draco? I didn't see much of him tonight, but from what I saw he seemed better than Lucius at the very least." Said dad.

"Come to think of it, I didn't see much of him either tonight." Said mum with furrowed brows.

"Hehe, that's because Daphne was all alone with him the whole night!" Chimed in Astoria cheekily.

"Astoria!" I exclaimed, feeling my cheeks heat up.

"What?! It's true! You left with him after the first dance and I only saw you again when the ball was ending." She said.

That got astonished looks directed at me from both mum and dad.

"Is that true? Daphne? Are you alright?!" Exclaimed father, quickly getting up.

"I'm fine dad, really." I said, slightly exasperated at his fretting.

"Oh? What's going on Daphne?" Asked mum, intrigued whilst dad slowly calmed down from momentary panic.

"It's Draco mum. He's... different." I said, not knowing how else to put it.

Dad raised his eyebrow questioningly as he leaned forward.

"Oh? Different how exactly?" He questioned with an underlying edge in his voice.

I sighed. "It would be better to just show you." I said.

"Tippy?" I called.

A female elf popped in at my call.

"Yes mistress?" She asked.

"Bring the pensieve here please." I said.

After a moment, she popped back in with the pensieve and popped out again without another word. I took my ancestors wand and placed it at my temple, focusing on my memories of tonight. Quickly, a copy of tonight's memories was pulled out and deposited in the rune-covered basin.

"You'll understand much better after watching my memories of tonight. Stupid Draco predicting this as well." I said, muttering the last part to myself.

Mum, dad and Astoria were looking at me oddly, but I didn't bother to explain as I put a finger in the pensieve to watch my memories of tonight. The three looked at eachother and followed suit, each dipping a finger in as well.

We found ourselves back at Malfoy manor right when we entered. Dad quietly chuckled at my unspoken insult whilst mum lightly reprimanded me.

"You should have taken his arm dear, it's only polite." She said lightly, but she was smiling the whole time, clearly enjoying herself.

The awkward conversation with the other kids followed and mum and dad were clearly amused and intrigued judging by their expressions.

"He's different than I expected. How could Lucius Malfoy's son be humble?" Said dad, clearly baffled.

Then the mood turned gloomy again as Lucius said his piece, followed by Draco offering his hand and asking me to dance.

"Well at least he has manners. Narcissa's influence I bet." Said mum.

Dad nodded slightly as we continued watching, finally getting to our conversation on the dance floor. The talk about the contract came first and Draco's surprising answers during our talk recieved many a raised eyebrow.

"This is... unexpected. You were right to show this to us Daphne. This isn't how I pictured the son of Lucius Malfoy at all." Said dad, mum nodding along in agreement.

Looking through this conversation in the pensieve, I came to realise that Draco didn't take the contract seriously from the start. No, that's not right. He did take it seriously, but it was as if it was a small problem and he was above it all from the beginning. I had to admire his unruffled demeanor at least.

The part where I questioned him about his reasons for sharing with me came and mum and dad adopted serious expressions.

"He has a surprisingly meticulous mind. He's right though, he would be our current best option out of this mess if he's telling the truth." Dad said begrudgingly, a little miffed that Draco could predict his reaction so accurately.

"Indeed." Mum agreed.

"Cunning and bold as well. Look at him considering the cost-benefit calculations of such a decision at that age. Not to mention the courage to go through with it. He'll go far with a mind and attitude like that, definitely one to watch out for." Mum finished her analysis, looking at Draco in the memory appreciatevly.

Dad was looking at Draco in the memory speculatively, thinking the same thing no doubt. I thought the same thing at the time and watching it back just drove the point home further.

Next came Draco sharing his love for magic followed by me sharing my own. Mum and dad looked at me adoringly whilst Astoria had tears in her eyes. I looked away, embarrassed. Dad paused the memory at that point and suddenly, arms wrapped around me from all sides.

"Daph..." Cried Astoria.

Mum and dad didn't say anything, but I could feel their support and that's all that matters. I teared up slightly, needing a minute to compose myself before we all focused back onto the memory. Dad started the memory from my question to Draco. We watched as he led me ouside arm in arm.

Mum nodded approvingly.

"Much better, always observe the pleasentries." She said.

Memory Draco and I were sitting outside now where memory me prompted him to begin. And so I watched, enraptured for the second time, as he narrated about the moon landing.

"Impossible!" Said dad.

"No way muggles could do that!" Gasped mum.

"Wow!" Said Astoria, eyes shining.

Then he bagan to speak of the planets, stars and galaxies. The possibilty of life existing out there. His eyes shined as he spoke with a rapturous energy, his arms gesturing around as he did. Even watching this for the second time, his energy drew me in just as it did before.

He went on to narrating about the trillions of galaxies in the universe, all with their own stars and planets. Awe still bubbled up again thinking about the sheer scale of it. His thoughts were so far away and it made me feel just how small I am.

I didn't notice my family members having the same reactions as me, only more vivid as they'd never heard of any of this before. They were astonished. Completely blown away.

Then memory Draco started rambling about the theory of infinite universes. We all watched as memory me surged to her feet and grabbed Draco as he explained his thoughts and beliefs on magic. His eyes twinkled in wonder as he spoke about magic and all the things it can do, his belief in it's limitless nature.

Listening back on it again, I could feel what he must have felt at that moment. My thoughts before this conversation were so limited. His perspective shone a light on just how far magic can go and where he was looking.

Dad finally paused the memory after memory Draco declared his dream, starting straight into memory me's eyes. That moment will always be a vivid memory for me. He blew me away completely with a single conversation and threw the worldview i've built into complete disarray.

No one spoke for a while, looking at the still form of memory Draco with many thoughts flashing through their mind. Mum was the one to finally break the quiet.

"Well. I see now why you said it was better to show us dear. When we went into the memory, I wasn't expecting this." Said mum, still coming to terms with what Draco said.

Dad just nodded dumbly along with mum.

"That was awesome!" Cheered Astoria.

Dad finally spoke. "That was, indeed... awesome. I don't think i've ever had anyone shatter my entire worldview so throughly before. And he's not even here in person!" Dad huffed.

"Agreed, husband." Mum nodded.

"I have so many thing to learn! I didn't know muggles were so advanced! Hey Daphne, let's go into the muggle world together and look all this up!" Babbled Astoria, speaking a thousand miles a minute in excitement.

"Hold on, hold on. Before anything else, we still haven't finished watching the memory just yet." Said dad.

It took a minute for everyone to recover before he continued the memory. From that point on however, it was a much more relaxed conversation as we spoke about magic, our lives, the universe, and everything inbetween. Mum paused the memory soon after it started back up.

"Well. I think that's enough watching our daughter flirt with boys." She said, amused.

I couldn't help my cheeks flushing a little as I looked away, missing the soft expression mum sent my way or the way dad struggled with what he saw. I also missed Astoria's mischevious grin as well. In a moment though, we were all back in the drawing room at home.

"You liiiike hiiiim..." Astoria teased.

My cheeks flushed further as I huffed, looking away but not denying it either.

"*Ahem*" Dad cleared his throat.

"I see now why you were so lost in thought Daphne." He said, trying to change the subject. Only to be sabotaged by mum.

Mum smiled at me. "I can see why you like him dear." She giggled.

""Elizabeth/Mum!"" Dad and I exclaimed at the same time.

"Hahaha! Sorry, sorry. I can't help it. You're so adorable when you're embarrassed!" Mum japed at me.

I huffed. "Now you see why i'm not too worried about the contract?" I said, forcefully pulling the conversation back on track.

Dad immediately turned serious.

"While I agree, i'm still not comfortable leaving the fate of my daughter to someone else." He said.

"What choice do we have right now Jacob? I may not like it, but it's as he said in the memory, he's currently our best option." Mum said.

"I know. Still though, we should get in contact with him. I think it's safe to say he's nothing like Lucius Malfoy, but I still want to meet him myself." Dad said.

Mum nodded. "Yes, that would be a good idea." She said before looking at me.

"Daphne dear, will you invite him here when you write to him?" She said with a teasing expression.

"Sure mum." I said without thinking.

"Mum!" I exclaimed, my face flushing again at her implied meaning.

"Hahahaha okay dear I promise this will be the last time I tease you..." She said.

"Thank you." I breathed a sigh of relief.

"...today." She said.

"Mum!" I yelled, getting up to chase her.

"Hahahahaha!!!" She laughed, running away.

Soon enough Astoria joined in as well and the house became much more lively, dispelling the gloomy atmosphere from before.

"Sigh... my little girl is growing up." Said Jacob, watching fondly as his whole world played and laughed well into the night, burdens forgotten for the moment.

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Draco POV:

"Master, a letter for you" Said Dobby, depositing the letter and quickly popping out.

It's the day after the ball and I had just finished up my morning routine of magic/body circulation training before Dobby popped in just as I was out of the shower. Speaking of Dobby, he's progressed very well ever since I ordered him to learn the mind arts. He's constantly calm and can assist me much better than before, along with his language being more refined.

Opening the letter, I skimmed through it quickly.

'A letter from Daphne huh. I expected her to take longer to contact me. Ah, her parents want to meet me. Not surprising. So she showed them the memory of last night. Well, this will be a good chance to scan their library with my soul sense. The Greengrasses are an old, old, family and should have some good stuff.' I thought.

"Draco, come down please." Called Lucius.

"Coming!" I yelled back, slipping on a shirt and shoes.

I quickly made it downstairs where I found mother and Lucius sitting at the dining table. Huh, this feels like deju-vu. Quickly taking my seat opposite them, I noticed that there was a letter on the table and they both had stiff expressions.

"Yes father, mother? What did you need?" I asked.

Lucius face was cramped as if he had swallowed something sour as he spoke.

"We received a letter from Arcturus Black. He wants to meet you." Said lucius.

I quickly got serious. I was just thinking about him yesterday during the ball.

"I assume the timing isn't coincidental?" I asked.

Lucius nodded. "Indeed, my thoughts exactly. We just threw a ball for your official introduction to our society and now Arcturus Black wants to meet you? Too coincidental." He said.

All three of us nodded in understanding.

"May I read the letter?" I asked.

"Of course dear, although it doesn't say much." Said mother.

She slid the letter to me and I quickly skimmed it. As she said, it doesn't say much. It really only contains a request to meet me. It was worded as an order however, which makes sense given his position. Although, it does specifically state that he wants to meet me alone.

This will be a good chance for me as well then. I don't know the exact Harry Potter Canon timeline and this universe is different from Canon anyway, but I do know he dies before Harry goes to Hogwarts in the Canon. It should be an experience to meet him at least.

Considering the ball yesterday and some of the moves Lucius has been making politically in the last few years, there's really only one thing this could be about. It's a pretty transparent ploy that's not difficult to see through.

"This is about the Black heirship is it not?" I asked, rhetorically.

Lucius looked surprised for a moment. "Indeed I would assume so. I'm surprised you figured it out." He said.

I rolled my eyes. "Please father. We may not have spoken about it, but your plans to make me the Heir Black aren't a secret." I said.

He smiles a small, proud smile at that and nods. "Indeed. It's as you surmised Draco. Someone like Arcturus Black probably saw through it a mile away given his experience." He said.

"So when do you want me to leave?" I asked, not particularly in a rush.

"Narcissa?" Lucius asked, deferring to her regarding this.

"Lord Black is a formidable man that doesn't like to be kept waiting. I never had much interaction with him, but the times when I did made that clear at least. I would suggest as soon as possible, so after we've eaten would be for the best." Mother said.

I nodded and put down the latter, a platter of full english breakfast appearing in front of me. I need more food than normal due to my body training, but not as much as you would think. Magic does help here.

We ate in silence, all of us in our thoughts before I remembered the letter from this morning.

"Father, mother, I received a letter from my betrothed this morning. She requests that I visit her home soon to meet her family." I said.

Lucius and mother both looked surprised at that, with mother giving Lucius the side-eye. I bet she wasn't happy after she read the contract.

"Truly?" Lucius asked.

I nodded to him and stayed silent.

"Well, that shouldn't be a problem. Although we'll be making sure to check you for any spells or potions when you get back." He said sternly.

I nodded in understanding, leaving unsaid anything about the contract. This isn't the time with the impending visit to Lord Black. I can ask him about it later.

"Speaking of your betrothed Draco, what did you think of Daphne? I noticed that you spent most of last night talking to her." Said mother.

I smiled at her. "She's a nice girl and we share an interest in magic. I think this marriage could turn out well if we handle it correctly." I said.

She smiled at me. "I'm glad. Elizabeth and I aren't particularly close, but we get along quite well." She said.

I nodded in understanding.

"Well, you can visit them tomorrow Draco. This letter from Arcturus came as a surprise so you'll present yourself to him today. I would have liked to have a few days warning so as to prepare you better, but i'm confident you'll do fine. Just remember your manners and nothing should happen." Said Lucius, still looking a little uneasy.

In truth, I wasn't worried about this visit. Lucius must be feeling the pressure but that has nothing to do with me. Right now i'm more excited about having two opportunities fall into my lap in one day.

Using Soul sense, i'll be able to scan the entire Black library today and the Greengrasses tomorrow. Despite having a good sized collection, the Malfoy families library doesn't hold many old books or secret knowledge so i'll have to look elsewhere for them.

These two invitations are perfect opportunities to expand my mental library. I don't need them for a few years yet, but better to have them than not. Plus, I don't know if there'll ever be another chance at the Black library.

We finished eating and I excused myself, going to put on formal robes for my visit. I quickly penned a reply to the Greengrasses and let one of our eagle owls deliver it before I was standing in front of the fireplace with a handful of floo power grasped in my fist.

"Good luck Draco. I know you'll do well." Said mother, giving me a hug.

"Yes, do me proud Draco." Said Lucius.

I gave a quick smile and nod to the both of them and stepped into the fireplace, throwing the powder as I went. The fire turned a bright green and flared around me.

"Black manor." I stated clearly, before feeling myself tugged through space.

I kept calm, having experienced this before as multiple fireplaces zoomed around me and the spinning sensation got stronger and stronger. I know that's just the feeling the floo network gives, i'm not actually spinning. Very quickly, a fireplace rushed to meet me and I let myself relax as I reached my destination, walking out of the fire calmly.