In Ink and Inheritance (Book 1)

Chapter 8 - Signed and Sealed

Harriet Potter's POV

The next morning, I found the envelope on my pillow.

It was official - thick parchment, perfectly folded, sealed with the emblem of the Department of Magical Contracts and Heritage. I hadn't even known that was a real department.

My stomach twisted as I sat up in bed, fingers hovering over the seal. Lavender and Parvati were still asleep, soft snores filling the dorm. I slipped out of bed quietly, took the envelope with me, and padded barefoot into the common room.

The fire was dead, the windows still fogged from the storm. I sank into the armchair Oliver had been in the night before and broke the seal with trembling fingers.

Inside were three documents.

The first was a Notice of Activation - cold and formal.

*Per the terms of the pact between the House of Potter and the House of Wood, dated 10 Samhain 1852, magical binding of betrothal has been confirmed.

Activation occurred on the 17th day of Yule, current year.

Heirs named: Harriet Lily Potter and Oliver Benjamin Wood.

The contract is recognized by the Ministry of Magic and overseen by the Department of Magical Contracts and Heritage.

Refusal or interference will result in magical breach penalties.*

Penalties.

I clutched the page tighter, pulse rising.

The second sheet was worse. A guide.

It listed expectations. Obligations. Formal evaluations in seventh year. A pre-betrothal magical compatibility assessment. Optional etiquette training. Attendance at one sanctioned social event before the end of the year.

My hands trembled.

This wasn't just some romantic legacy anymore.

This was a schedule.

This was real.

The third sheet was a questionnaire. To be completed by both parties and returned to the Ministry within fourteen days.

I dropped the parchment in my lap and stared into the fireless hearth.

I hadn't asked for this. Neither had Oliver.

And yet...

I thought about the way he'd looked at me on the pitch. The way his voice had dropped when he said, I'm not going anywhere. The way he hadn't tried to rescue me or fix things - just stood still with me in the middle of the storm.

And I thought about the way it felt when I held that scroll.

Not like a trap.

Like a door.

But a door to what?

I couldn't decide if I was terrified or strangely... hopeful.

I pulled my legs up beneath me and read the parchment again, slower this time. There was a part that mentioned sponsors - magical guardians who could oversee the process if parents or immediate family weren't available.

My chest tightened.

I didn't have anyone to list.

No mum or dad. No godfather I knew about. No one.

Until now, it hadn't bothered me as much as I thought it should. I'd grown used to standing on my own.

But this...

This made me feel the empty space around me in sharp relief.

And yet...

I wasn't alone, not really.

I reached into the drawer of the desk near the fireplace and pulled out a quill and a fresh piece of parchment.

Then, heart pounding, I wrote his name.

Oliver Benjamin Wood.

Not in the Ministry form yet. Just on paper. Just to see how it felt.

It didn't make it less scary.

But it made it real.

And real was something I could work with.