Sign on the Dotted Line

"Dobby, bring me this morning's edition of the Daily Prophet!" Exclaimed Lucius Malfoy his voice teeming with frustration.

"Lucius, quite yourself or you'll wake the baby," Narcissa whispered to her fuming husband.

"Of course dear . . . I just don't see why I have to keep reminding that pathetic excuse of a house elf, to have my paper ready first thing in the morning."

Having heard it all before, Narcissa merely rolled her eyes. Just then Dobby quietly snuck into the library to hand the day's paper to the lord of the manor. Lucius took the paper from Dobby while growling low in his throat.

"Blessed Merlin!" shouted Lucius startling his wife so badly she spilled her tea down the front of her gown.

"Really Lucius, didn't I just tell you to keep it down or you'll wake the baby!" she exclaimed, just as the couples young child began to wail.

"Great, just great, do you have any idea how hard it is to get him to go back to sleep?", shouted Lucius' young wife who at this point was near tears.

"Oh, calm your self darling, Draco will go back to sleep, on his own, in no time. Besides, I have wonderful news." Lucius drawled. "Do you recall, just a few days ago, I mentioned how difficult it would be to find a suitable mate for Draco? That it seemed that all of the suitable families were having sons instead of daughters."

Narcissa nodded. "Yes, I do. But like I said, when you first mentioned it, I think it's way too early to even worry about that."

Lucius just rolled his eyes. " Well, luckily for Draco, one of us is taking his future into consideration. My dear, it just so happens that Perseus Fowlington's beautiful wife, gave birth to a beautiful baby girl yesterday. As you well know, the Fowlington family is very well respected, and their wealth is surpassed by none... except for us, of course. Naturally, our children are perfect for each other." Lucius gloated, the smirk never leaving his flawless face.

"I fail to see how this changes anything. They're both still babies, literally, they can't marry for another seventeen years," said Narcissa through gritted teeth. She had clearly become quite agitated by her husbands gloating.

"Yes, you are correct in that they cannot marry for another seventeen years, however, I can see to it that said marriage, does occur." Lucius said while writing a note on an elegantly monogrammed piece of stationary.

"Do you mean to arrange a marriage between them? It's a disaster waiting to happen!" Narcissa yelled, once again, waking young Draco who had only just stopped wailing.

"You mean to say that you think you and I are disaster?" Lucius inquired in a dangerously low hiss.

"That's not what I meant. You and I are special. However, it could have been disaster, were we not so well matched to one another. Our marriage was arranged when we were teens', not babies. There's no way to tell what sort of man Draco will become, and until you do, how can you choose whom he will spend the rest of his life with?" Narcissa asked while stroking her husbands silky hair in a rather lame attempt to pacify his anger.

"Narcissa, I know what is best for my son. I also know what is best for the Malfoy name. I have worked my ass off to establish such a reputable name, therefore, I will do as I must, in order to ensure our name remains pristine. If that means my son is a bit upset because he and his wife don't get on perfectly, than so be it."Lucius hissed a mere inch from his wife's beautiful face before storming to the window and instructing the family's impressive eagle owl to deliver his letter post haste.

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Apparently, Lucius Malfoy and Perseus Fowlington were wizards cut from the same mold, for within four days time, Lucius sat in one of the many luxurious sitting rooms of Fowlington Manor, awaiting the arrival of his host. He did not have to wait long, as several moments later, a very tall, and if Lucius had to admit it, a rather handsome man entered the sitting room.

"It is good to see you again, Lucius! I trust you received my family's gift for young Draco?" Perseus inquired while shaking Lucius' hand.

"Yes, yes, it was very thoughtful, I am sure that Draco will adore the replica racing broom... in a few years, mind you" Lucius replied jovially while returning to his seat.

"Well, I know how the Malfoy men feel about Quittach and I doubt that young Draco will be an exception. Besides, it's not like I'll have any use for racing brooms." The young father joked.

"I suppose you're right about that, what with the arrival of your little girl. Speaking of whom, is what brings me here today." Lucius said casually while his host took a seat in the leather armchair to his left. "I have come here, to speak with you, about arranging a marriage between our children. I know it is terribly early on, to even consider marriage, however, my family means everything to me and my family deserves the best. It just so happens, that your daughter is the best possible candidate as a wife for my son. Your daughter will be highly sought after, if not for the power your name evokes at least for the undeniable beauty she will possess. I am here to simply guarantee that the best match, for my son and for your daughter, is made. One bad addition to a family can cause so many problems." Stated Lucius calmly.

"I had a feeling that was why you asked to meet with me," he grinned widely, "so I took the liberty of having this contract drawn up. You see Lucius, I also want nothing but the best for my daughter... and fortunately for you... your son is the best. Now, why don't you read it over and we can make any necessary adjustments."

Both men smiled at one another, feeling as if they had just tackled some great feat. However, negotiating the specifics of the contract did not go as smoothly as either had hoped. After many hours of tirelessly arguing the contents of the marriage contract, they were finally able to come to some sort of agreement.

The final draft of the marriage contract required that the engagement be announced one month before the brides sixteenth birthday and that the actual marriage occur no later than 6 months after the brides seventeenth birthday. This would give the children nearly a year and a half to adjust to this new arrangement. Rather than having the children take part in the typical wedding ceremony, Perseus was adamant that the two children would be magical bound to one another, as well as, legally married. The future brides father was well aware of the playboy status Malfoy men coveted. Perseus did not, for one second, doubt that Draco would be the mirror image of his father. He simply could not allow the young boy to make a fool of his daughter. The magical binding of the children was one of the aspects of the contract that the two argued over for hours. In the end, Perseus was the victor. Much to Lucius' chagrin, he knew that his sons being magically bound to the young girl would make it impossible for him to have sexual relations with anyone else.

Not one to be outdone, Lucius agreed to this stipulation, only if Perseus agreed to one of his own. Draco would be allowed to date and/or fornicate with whomever he pleased, up until the engagement was made public, while his wife was required to remain chaste, in every sense of the word, up until their wedding night. If she was found to be of less that pure body, the binding would be null and void, her wand would be snapped and she would be banned from the wizarding world.

Once the manner of their union was decided, it was smooth negotiating from then on. Lucius felt that it would be best to keep the children away from each other until the summer before the brides sixteenth birthday, at which time they would be informed that they were intended to wed one another. Perseus knew that his daughter would, more than likely, inherit his wife's temper and he feared she would be quite angered when she found out that she would have to marry a complete stranger, so he added the stipulation that after their engagement was announced, the two would be required to meet with one another the first Saturday of every month until they were married, for no less that eight consecutive hours. This, he hoped, would allow them to get to know one another, as well as, ease the transition from acquaintances to husband and wife. Once both men were satisfied, they sent a copy to both of the families lawyers and awaited the finalized contract.

"Ah, Lucius you sure know how to drive a hard bargain!" Perseus exclaimed while sipping his cognac.

Lucius laughed heartily. "As do you my friend, as do you. Now, once the charms specialist creates the binding ceremony necessary to force compliance with our contract, we can rest assured that all of our wishes will be met...whether our children are willing or not." Lucius smiled while tipping his glass of brandy to his lips.

"Speaking of children, perhaps you would like to finally meet your future daughter?" Perseus inquired while beaming, in a manner that only a proud new father could.

"Yes, as a matter of fact I would." Lucius set his glass down and stood to follow his host to the nursery.

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"Don't ever let Narcissa see this room, else she would force me to give her a daughter. I think she was secretly disappointed to give birth to a son, for the mere fact that she could not partake in such frilly tapestries". Stated Lucius laughingly as he walked into the massive nursery.

The circular room, which was in one of the manors towers, had scenes from the muggle fairy tale Rupunzel painted on them, stuffed animals and toys filled the room, along with a life size replica of a unicorn. The centerpiece of the room was a large round crib with a pale yellow canopy across the top. Lucius walked over to the crib and looked into it. At that moment, even Lucius Malfoy's cold heart melted as he stared into the eyes of the single most beautiful baby he had ever seen...and then she smiled at him.

"Yes, my dear, you will do the Malfoy name proud...what is her name?" Lucius whispered to Perseus, as he wiggled his finger within the tiny hand of the infant.

"Artemis Persephone Fowlington", Perseus stated while peering into the crib at his small piece of heaven.

Just then an owl tapped impatiently at one of the windows in the nursery. Perseus went over and removed the owl of it's burden as Lucius continued to coo at the newborn.

"It seems that all we need to do now, is sign on the dotted line" Perseus stated as he set the finalized documents down on the desk and reached for the nearest quill.