Snapping his head to stare at her with a flat expression, he replied with a simple clipped, "Yes, Madam Weasley."
With a dropping of her eyes she gave a pained sigh and silently nodded.
When he saw she accepted that, he gave a sigh himself and turned back to Arthur. He added, "I do not wish to be put into the position where I have to act to protect my House or the Alliance to which I co-Head, Mister Weasley. However, if I am, I will act; no matter how much I might hate to do so."
Arthur replied, "Understood, Lord Potter. Ronald will be leaving this afternoon to spend time with the family etiquette instructor."
Harry gave a nod and said, "I hope it helps. If not me then, sooner or later, he's going to engage his mouth before his brain... as is he usual behaviour... let his jealousy and anger cloud his judgement, offend the wrong person and get himself killed."
Then, turning to others, he let the tension he was feeling drain away and said, "Sorry about that, but I truly hope you understand it needed to be said."
A long moment later, Hermione asked, "So, how was everyone else's Christmas?"
As a collective sigh of relief went through the rest of the Weasleys and they began to respond, Ron quietly left the kitchen and went up to his room. It was obvious he would not escape going to his Aunt Muriel's, after all. That damned clock and Potter's accusations sealed it.
_‗_
―==(oIo)==―
ˇ
The two teens ended up spending longer at the Burrow than they intended. But, Harry was pleased to see almost all the Weasleys had again relaxed once they realised Harry was only angry at Ron.
While it was clear Ginny was upset Harry and Hermione were betrothed, she at least did not act appallingly about it. Instead, she held her own counsel and tried to make the most of it.
While Harry was talking about some of the things he and Hermione had gotten up to over the past month, Hermione had kept a close eye on her to ensure the girl didn't try anything.
Ron never put in another appearance. Instead, he stayed in his room.
Percy, however, came down for a little while.
"Lord Potter," he said, as soon as he got a lull in the conversation. "I... find myself having to apologise to you for what role I played in what has happened to you since you re-entered our world. I'm sorry."
Harry immediately replied, "Apology accepted, Percy. Just... try to think things through, in future. You need to realise and accept that those in authority aren't always right or in the right."
Percy seemed to think about that for a moment, before he finally gave a curt nod back and said, "Understood. And, thank you for understanding and accepting my apology."
"You're welcome," he smiled. "Now, your father has told me you're doing well at the Ministry, these days. But, what I want to know is; how goes things with your efforts in wooing Miss Clearwater?"
Percy gaped at him like a fish in shock for a moment before he suddenly blushed and replied, "A... work in progress."
Harry chuckled and said, "Then I wish you good luck with that. She'd be a good catch."
Again, Percy blushed and mumbled, "Thank you."
"A suggestion only: As Penny is the only Heir of Charlus Clearwater, who is the only Heir of Lord Basil Clearwater, you may want to consider the idea of offering to accept her surname as your own if you progress to a Betrothal Agreement. It should go a long way to Lord Clearwater accepting you, so the Noble and Most Ancient House of Clearwater has Line Continuation. As I understand, you would encounter difficulties in accumulating sufficient gold to meet any bride price Lord Clearwater might otherwise demand."
Molly gave a light scoff and said, "I don't think there's a need to do that."
Turning his attention to her, Harry said, "I have little doubt Penny will only be allowed to wed if there's both a Contract and Line Continuation clauses involved. I'm aware you think little of such necessities, Madam Weasley; but, I can assure you that Lord Clearwater thinks the opposite.
"It's up to Percy and Arthur to decide if he's willing to offer such. If he loves her as much as I believe he does, it won't be a hardship for him."
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