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At Harry's brief nod, he continued. "Then does the deed have any less meaning knowing in hindsight that it was ultimately unnecessary? Perhaps if you had thought about it further, you would have realized the hostages were safe regardless of your actions, but that does nothing to erase the fact that you acted heroically to save another person's life based on the information you possessed at the time."
"Hermione calls it my saving people thing," Harry responded with some embarrassment.
Jean-Sebastian threw his head back and roared with laughter, wiping the tears from his eyes as he shook his head in mirth. Harry had to acknowledge his laughter with a grin of his own—he had to admit it was amusing to have his impulse to help others described in such a manner.
"I guess it is at that," Jean-Sebastian finally responded, shaking his head between bouts of laughter. "But that's why I felt I had a debt to you, Harry. I'm not certain how much you understand about these things, but debts are taken very seriously in the magical world. They are generally magical in nature and can comprise of anything from monetary debts to life debts—technically, you saved my daughter's life, which binds you to my family by magic. If you were to invoke this debt, it would make the bond even stronger, allowing you access to many other demands you could make to my family… and to Gabrielle in particular.
"And then there is the matter of what you did for Fleur during the third task. I presume it was you who rescued her when she was unconscious in the maze?"
Slightly scared as to where this was leading, Harry nodded his head. "She was being held by some vines. I freed her, then shot sparks out of my wand so she would be rescued."
Looking thoughtful, Jean-Sebastian steepled his fingers for a moment before continuing. "In that case as well, it is uncertain what would have ultimately happened to Fleur. Whether a declared life debt would ever take hold if you were to invoke either incident I cannot say, but I still cannot ignore the matter."
Struggling somewhat with the concept, Harry tentatively regarded Jean-Sebastian. "What kind of demands would I be able to ask for?"
Jean-Sebastian shrugged. "There are many, depending on the degree of the debt and the relationship between the parties. Essentially, though, if you called in your debt to either of my girls, they would not be able to harm you, ever, and they may even be forced to take other actions, such as defending you against your enemies and the like."
Seeing Harry's look of relief, Jean-Sebastian chuckled and slapped him on the back. "Do not worry, Harry, they could not be forced to do anything immoral or illegal—magic does not work that way. You could not make them do anything they feel is wrong or degrading, you would just be able to control their intentions and actions against yourself and anyone with whom you associate."
"Was this why you helped me?"
"In part," Jean-Sebastian responded. "Yes, I feel a debt exists between us, and my openly supporting you, assisting in the trial, and betrothing you to Fleur is a measure of repaying that debt.
"But another part of my reasoning is out of concern for my daughter."
He regarded Harry, who squirmed somewhat uncomfortably, before continuing. "I have told you very briefly of some of the challenges Fleur faces and some of my worries for her future. I am secure enough in your character and in your personality that by betrothing her to you I know she will be well taken care of and will be loved and valued for herself. Now I do not need to worry about the possibility she will never find someone or, worse yet, that she will eventually fall in love with someone who cares nothing for her but wants her for a plaything or a trophy to show his friends. It was not long ago that such a fate was all too common for Veela. Now that Fleur is taken care of, I only need to worry about Gabrielle, and she is many years from that, as she is still only nine years old.
"And of course, the situation with this Lord Voldemort of yours played into my decision. You will be in direct conflict with this dark lord, and he seems to have taken an unhealthy interest in you. But I understand what this government of yours seems not to—eventually, if he is able to take over England, it will be too small for him, and he will start looking beyond its borders. By supporting you, who I believe will be instrumental in the effort against him, I am helping to defend my own homeland as well as yours."
"Thank you, sir," Harry responded, filled with emotion. Jean-Sebastian spoke to him as an adult and treated him as if he was a person of worth—rarely had he experienced that from adults of his acquaintance.
"You are welcome, Harry," Jean-Sebastian replied with a warm smile. "I can see already that we will become great friends. Now, did you have anything else you wanted to ask me?"
Harry thought about it momentarily before venturing another question. "How did this marriage contract come about?"
"It was your grandfather and my father, Harry," Jean-Sebastian answered after a moment's thought. "Fifty years ago, your grandfather was the English Ambassador to France. My father, Jean-Francois Delacour, was a member of the upper echelons of the French government. They met and became friends with one another and ultimately created the marriage contract to bind their families together. The contract was worded in such a way that it was to bind a firstborn Potter and a firstborn Delacour. But as I am the eldest sibling in my family and your father was your grandfather's only child, the contract went unfulfilled.
"This is why I am able to betroth my daughter to you—you are both firstborn in your respective families, meeting the conditions of the contract."
"But what would have happened if we were not betrothed?" Harry asked worriedly. "I've heard that breach of contract can have some disastrous results in the magic world."
"That is correct," Jean-Sebastian said with a wry smile, "but in this case you do not need to worry. Until the contract is accepted by both parties—or in the case of a marriage contract, the guardians of both parties—it is not binding. I did not even know my father had done this—it was Sirius who was searching through some old papers belonging to your father, who found it and alerted me to its existence."
"But isn't Fleur of age? Wouldn't she have to agree to the marriage contract herself?"
"Fleur is of age," Jean-Sebastian confirmed. "But in the magical world, children are still bound to their parents in a number of ways, the most of important of which in this case, is in relation to my status as the head of the Delacour family. Regardless of her age, I can still negotiate a marriage contract on her behalf, if I believe it is in the best interest of the family.
"Now, of course I would take her wishes into account, and if she had a serious boyfriend or fiancé, or had reservations about this marriage, I would likely have tried to find another way to help you. I could have forced her into it, though, as long as she was not already married—there are a few things I cannot override, and an already existing marriage is one of them.
"Of course, many parents might not take these things into account. I love my daughters and want them to be happy, but to many, especially in traditional Pureblood society, children are often merely pawns used to set up alliances between houses—their wishes are not taken into account. I like to think that I am somewhat more civilized than that."
It made a certain amount of sense, Harry reflected, and fit in with a lot of what he knew about family groups in the magical world. It was also comforting that although Jean-Sebastian could have forced his daughter into this, he did not, and would not have. As he had said before, she was at least resigned to it—maybe in time they could actually grow into an appreciation or even love for each other.
"Did you know my father?" Harry asked hesitantly, hoping he had one more link to his dead parents.
"I did indeed. I lived in England for a time when I was a child—it is the reason I speak English without much of an accent. As my father was close to your grandfather, we were regular playmates, and even though I was a few years older than your father, we were great friends as well. Unfortunately, when we returned to France before I started my schooling, my father died tragically a short time later, and we lost contact with your family."
Harry nodded, slightly choked with emotion. He had someone else who knew his father as a young boy, which meant another connection. It was not much, but it meant the world to him.
"Well, young Harry, I think our half hour is almost up," Jean-Sebastian said, rising to his feet. "You undoubtedly have more questions, but I believe we will have time to answer them in the coming weeks."
Agreeing, Harry followed his new guardian from the room, reflecting that his life was undergoing massive changes. It was not what he had expected, but his time alone with Jean-Sebastian had reassured him all would be well.
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