Bellatrix stalked into the Room of Requirement and found Harry waiting for her in front of the fireplace. Upon hearing the door open and close, he turned around and faced her. On his face, he wore a very smug grin.
"You lied to me," Bellatrix groused.
"Did I?" Harry asked curiously.
"I wanted to know if my uncle had talked to you about anything else this past weekend," Bellatrix reminded him.
"Oh?"
"You tried to pretend that he did not while in fact, he did," Bellatrix continued.
"I guess he may have brought some other subjects up," Harry admitted.
"Like a marriage contract, for instance?" Bellatrix said tartly.
"Hey may have."
"He did."
"Oh, I think I remember, now," said Harry.
"Oh, good."
"Yeah, he pointed out that it could be profitable and said that it was a good idea," Harry said, coming clean.
"Why didn't you accept it?"
"Why should I have done so?"
"We agreed to be partners," Bellatrix said, her voice rising and becoming almost shrill.
Harry looked confused. "Yes, we are partners, but what does marriage have to do with that arrangement?"
"You should have accepted immediately," Bellatrix insisted.
"Isn't there supposed to be some sort of romantic element involved in a marriage?" Harry asked. "Most people get married because they love each other."
Bellatrix threw up her hands in disgust. "That sort of marriage is for Muggles and Muggle lovers. In this society, a marriage is an opportunity for a partnership. It would have been perfect for us."
"That's not how I view marriage," Harry argued stubbornly. "I think it should be romantically motivated."
"Well, you're a fool," Bellatrix cried, her voice breaking.
"Look, Bellatrix, we're still partners," said Harry. "We're working together, and we're making progress."
"Yeah? Well it seems like I'm the one who does all the work. I'm the one who snooped around so that we could go to that meeting with the dark lord, and I'm the one who got mauled in the forest by those recruits. The least you could have done was accept a marriage contract."
Harry sighed. "I'm sorry, Bellatrix, but I just don't see it that way."
Bellatrix snarled and lashed out with her fist. However, instead of her fist coming into contact with and breaking Harry's nose, it passed completely through Harry's face. It was as if Harry was a ghost, albeit a colorful one. She gasped, "What's going on?"
Harry grinned. "I finally figured out how to do that spell. I'm actually standing elsewhere in the room."
Bellatrix spun around and scanned the room, but she could see Harry nowhere. She turned back to the illusion of Harry. "Where are you?"
The Harry illusion faded away. "Right here," Harry said, directly behind her.
Bellatrix spun and lashed out with her fist. Harry had been anticipating this move on her part and blocked it.
"It's hands-only drill night," Bellatrix reminded him. "I intend to whip you soundly."
She then went to kick him in the groin, but he dodged, grabbed her arm and threw her to the ground with her own momentum. Not even stopping to feel the pain or embarrassment, Bellatrix kicked out her feet and tripped Harry, who promptly fell down. He rolled and attempted to grab her feet before she could get up, but he was too slow.
The fight continued very awkwardly as they attempted to punch, kick, or trip each other. Neither of them had participated in professional training for such fighting. To make the fight even worse, Harry's heart wasn't in the fight because he was too afraid of hurting Bellatrix. Her injuries from being chased through the forest were on his mind. He didn't want to reinjure her ribs. Thus, it was only a matter of time before a kick to the stomach left Harry flat on his back, gasping for breath.
Bellatrix jumped on top of him and put her face to his. Harry stared into her violet eyes which still were betraying her anger and disappointment over his rejection of the marriage contract. She then pushed her face against his and kissed him almost violently. The kiss lasted for quite a while, despite Harry's lack of active participation.
Finally, she ended it and stood up. "We can have all the romance you want, if you feel it's all that important in a marriage," she said. "Next time my uncle brings up the subject of a marriage contract, you'd better start negotiating the details immediately." She then stalked out of the room, leaving Harry on the floor.
Harry remained motionless on the floor until the Room of Requirement had the mercy to cause a drink to appear next to him on the floor.
....
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