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Засунутый в Поттера
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KasiCair
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Душа проснулась Гарри Поттером после того, как несчастный
ребенок умер от одного слишком сильного удара по голове.
Будет ли новый Гарри благословением или проклятием для
волшебного мира?
Или... будет ли он вообще заботиться об этом?
Сопровождайте нового Гарри в его путешествии через трудности,
которые приносит ему новая личность, и наблюдайте, как он
использует свое предвидение, чтобы склонить чашу весов в свою
пользу.
И кто знает... может быть, просто может быть, Гарри гораздо
больший слизеринец, чем кто-либо когда-либо мог себе представить!
Но поймут ли со временем его враги эту простую истину...
Вход запрещен лицам до 17 лет.
Ch1. Void? Or not…
'Where am I?' A soul asks no one in particular.
Space in which it apparently awoke was as black as night without even a
shred of light penetrating the surrounding darkness. A huge amount of
horror swept through the soul and coldness gripped its heart.
'What's going on? Where am I? Is this the void? The last thing I
remember is…' The soul stilled as memories flashed through its eyes.
Wet blood dripping, pooling under his body.
His bones creaking, slowly but painfully cracking under the pressure.
Ligaments snapping from being stretched too much.
Meat squeezing from the unsurmountable load pressed on his body.
Eyes bit by bit popping out of their sockets.
Teeth gripped so hard they shattered and cut their way out of his mouth.
His conscience slowly fading from an inability to breathe.
Lungs collapsing on themselves in crushing pain.
Spine snapping in multiple places, permanently immobilizing him.
Blood seeping out of every possible opening.
The soul's eyes gained a haunted look as it was unable to cease
shuddering from its last memories. Its death was not a clean one. And it
was definitely not a fast one. That the soul remembered clearly.
The amount of agony.
The amount of pain.
The amount of despair.
And the amount of sweet, oh so sweet reprieve when the mind finally
realized it's over as his body gave in.
Then… blackness. Nothing. Blank.
And here it was. In darkness. Completely alone, trembling like a loony
drug addict in a fit.
'If somebody saw me now I would probably earn a one-way ticket into a
mental ward.' The soul mused, trying to distract itself from the phantom
pain of the memory.
It tried to remember more. Something hopefully brighter. Better.
Encouraging!
Something that won't send its collapsing persona into a deeper pit of the
abyss. Something distracting enough for the time needed to pull itself
together again.
The soul pushed and pushed until its mental boundaries stopped feeling
foggy and what previously seemed as distant, unimportant memories
were now clearly rememberable.
In a way, it would be a mercy to not remember.
The soul understood the reason for its early demise.
It was no elaborate ploy. Nor was it a robbery. No envious family
members trying to kill him for whatever they want from him. Heck! It
was not even a drunk Truck-kun!
No, being offed by Bus-san, Car-chan or Truck-kun was an enviable
reason for death in the eyes of the soul.
The soul simply died because the postman misplaced the mail!
Arguably, seeing a letter that could serve as a confession of crimes of one
of the worst mafia bosses in the city probably should have indicated an
immediate need for relocation to the soul. Alas, the soul was but a young
man, not experienced in the ways of darker society.
There was no interrogation. Nobody tried to reason with him. They didn't
even ask him if he read the damn letter at all!
What they did though, was that they chucked him into a car with a
blindfold. He expected to be dragged to some basement, maybe even
being shot dead.
What he did not expect however was the car being uncaringly tossed
under a hydraulic car press machine set on the slowest setting possible.
The pressure came out of nowhere. The pain and feeling of being crushed
followed right afterward. The worst of it all was that it took a full half-
hour for his body to completely give in, finally dying.
There was no heroism in his death. No little girls saved. No charity given
to orphans. Nothing even worth mentioning. Just another meaningless
death. He at least hoped his body would be found and properly buried.
Not like it mattered to him anymore but it would be nice knowing
somebody cared enough to bury him.
He released a soft sigh and frowned. Staring into the darkness in front of
him, his frown started to ever so slowly twist. All the way, until it was a
full-blown scowl.
Say what you will but he was NOT impressed. If the holy grail of
knowledge of the afterlife called fanfiction was to be trusted, he was
probably in the void, waiting for some either illustrious or completely
ridiculous god to show up and tell him how impossible him being here is
any yadda, yadda, yadda.
Alas, he had no other choice but to wait. His body stiff and unresponsive,
he was glad he could at least blink. There was nothing to do but review
his memories further. He did it all. From repeating the timelines of a few
of his famous stories to devising what three wishes to choose. Listing
powers and reasons why it should be either discarded or given more
contemplation. And contemplate he did.
10 commandements from Nanatsu no Taizai.
Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan
Word Soul Magic
Dragon Slayer Magic
And many more. The more he thought upon the topic, the more
depressed he became. The more depressed he became, the clearer were
his thoughts. It didn't take long for him to sport an imaginary blush after
he realized how foolish it all sounded.
Reincarnation. Being granted powers for literally nothing. Really now.
He might not have been the sharpest tool in the proverbial shed called
Earth but even he knew nothing in the world is free and everything has
various prices, depending on who is the seller.
And 'buying' from beings called 'gods' suddenly didn't seem like such a
lovely idea anymore.
He sighed and tightly shut his tired eyes.
'I am such a fool. Having reincarnation nerdgasm and Otaku-seizure in a
situation like this.'
He knew well he is going through these scenarios in a blind hope he is
not actually waiting for whatever kind of afterlife he got into. His
inability to move and the darkness around him didn't do much to assure
him of his afterlife prospects though.
In his life, he was an average Otaku.
Lazy. Selfish. Lazy. Petty. Lazy. Lazy. …
You get the picture.
His only redeeming quality being a keen mind that was used more for
remembering the plot of his favorite stories than anything else. But still!
That doesn't mean he should end up in hell! Or... does it?
Before he could contemplate further he heard a loud thump. Suddenly a
lot of noise could be heard from somewhere. It was as if a herd of
elephants marched through the middle of the city with the sole intention
of being heard.
His body abruptly spasmed out of nowhere. He widened his eyes and
sucked in a cold breath. His entire body felt as if thousands of ants
continuously bit him. It was not really that painful as it was
uncomfortable. With gritted teeth he champed through it, instinctively
knowing it means nothing bad. His eyes started to burn and itch yet he
could not move to scratch them. His bones subtly cracked and snapped,
shifting slightly, making his body relax as if they were meant to be this
way from the start. His muscles filled in, not really making him strong
but definitely fixing any problem there was with them.
He felt it clearly. The mysterious energy pouring into him, fixing,
repairing, and resetting anything wrong. The energy as if provided by the
world itself. Invigorating his entire being, filling a deep emptiness he
didn't even know existed until it was filled.
As the energy did its wonders, his body's suffering receded into a slight
pleasurable ache and he could finally move. The first thing he did was to
soothe the insufferable itch in his eyes and his hand shot up to rub them.
He finally pulled his arm back and opened his shiny emerald eyes wide.
'I see.' He mused to himself and saw that the darkness around him was
actually a small room without any windows.
He was so vested in his musings and new findings he completely
disregarded the increasing noise of elephant charge coming closer to him.
Not that he would care otherwise anyway but he was still caught
unprepared.
Doors suddenly slammed open as a violet…
'Walrus?' He thought in a passing thought as he stared blankly at the
hulking fat-filled mountain of purple-skinned thing peering right at him
in contempt with its beady eyes.
'It would actually be quite menacing.' He dryly stated in his mind. 'Of
course, only if the guy in all of his purple glory was not so ridiculously
hilarious.'
"Freak! Why is breakfast not ready yet!?" The Walrus yelled at him in
rage.
He, the freak, suddenly understood everything.
Biting his tongue to not utter a loud 'Shit!' in evident self-pity.
Everything clicked. Small windowless room, barely enough for a small
child. Mysterious energy coursing through this world. His inability to
move. The sudden 'healing' of his body.
The freak, Harry Potter was dead. Either suffering one too much hit or
his magic being one magnitude too less to heal him before his body
collapsed.
That did not matter. Even the why's and how's he was here did not really
matter. What really mattered though was…
He, the new freak, was a freaking Harry Potter now!
He transmigrated! Without actually getting any power, wish, or ability
from the divine entity that most likely used him for entertainment!
Heck! He didn't even get Harry's own memories or his hard-working,
hardship-immune personality!
There was only one reaction to that.
'I WANT A REFUND!'
Ch2. Magic?
The morning went as usual and Harry cooked breakfast for Dursleys. He
had to. Being reincarnated without any sort of power into an underfed
and feeble child tends to do that. So, with a fake smile, twitching eye-
brow, and tons of profanity in his head, he cooked the damn food.
And wasn't that a funny sight? He was not a very good cook in his last
life and he often felt sad because of it but damn if seeing Dursleys frown
at him because of the decrease in quality…
Well, it's not like they could complain. He was a child! And children don't
understand these things, right? He was not really sure about his age. He
certainly didn't look big enough to be close to eleven but from the story
and various fanfictions… it was obvious his appearance can be very
deceiving. How nobody at Hogwarts actually spotted there is something
incredibly wrong with him would be forever a mystery.
Anyway, for the 'worthless food' as they called it, he got off lightly. Few
complaints and one bruise courtesy to a 'head pat' by Vernon and off with
him back into the dark cupboard! That suited him well anyway. He had
things to do.
The second the door of the cupboard slammed shut behind him and the
sharp click of the lock mockingly sounded inside, Harry's face split in a
gleeful grin. He opened his senses to the world and gasped.
He felt it. Nay. He perceived it! The magic. Buzzing all around him as if
excited little child.
Harry knew he had no advantage or so-called cheat. But he had
something valuable from his past life. Namely, more than twenty years of
living without having any mysterious energy around him. The magic now
felt like a beacon to him. Harry didn't see it per se. He felt it. Of course,
he was sure his perception of magic was way off by the wizarding
standards.
When the magic healed his body, he didn't just 'feel' it, he felt it! The way
it flowed around! The way it seeped into his muscles and bones! The way
it knitted his muscles together and nourished them!
Oh, he perceived it all. The excitement Harry felt after finding out there
actually is something different about him, something better than just a
normal generic wizard, was almost addictive.
Harry was not one to waste his time. Not when the next time Walrus
Vernon goes Harry hunting he may actually have a chance to fight back!
"Man can dream." Harry sighed. "Now, let me see just what kind of
Dumbles I am dealing with."
His resolve steeled, he focused his senses more inwardly. He was sure he
would find something very distasteful there. After all, he could feel the
blood wards all around him. Even when he was being healed! It was
actually the blood wards that directed the magic to heal him! Surely
nobody actually believed that it was his accidental magic that healed him
and kept his underfed, abused self alive day by day. No, if something
happens twice it can still be called an accident. But… around two
hundred times per year on average? And even then! That's only if we
don't count that this so-called 'accidental' magic keeps his body from
collapsing due to insufficient energy! No, if something happens twenty-
four-seven all year round, there is nothing accidental about it.
Harry knew Dumbledore would be his enemy the second he understood
the blood wards healed him. While not being even novice in warding, the
underlying logic said it all. If wards are healing him from even life-
threatening injuries, again and again, they had to be actually SET UP that
way. The only person informed enough and able to set blood wards
around him is the Dumbleschmuck himself. The fact he set them up that
way is enough of a tell that the relationship between grandpa Twinkles
and Harry won't be the most chipper one.
Harry plunged even deeper into himself, into his core. It was almost
laughable how easy he could do it with his awareness of the energy that
should not have been there. He just could. When he was almost in the
center of his being, he gasped.
Nothing could prepare him for what he saw. Anger flooded him as rage-
filled magic pulsed around him, making his freezing cold eyes shine in
eery killing curse green.
His magic was bound. Tightly, at that. It was actually a small magical
miracle he was even alive with having his magic bound and powering up
bloody blood wards!
And how could his magic be bound when wizards use ambient magic to
cast spells? Easily. His 'magic core' as he guessed the thingie with chains
around it is called, is basically a filter that absorbs said ambient magic
for his personal use. As of now, 95% of magic absorbed by him is
dispersed back without even entering his system! He is majorly
weakened!
"Bloody hell! I have access to only five percent of my magic while having
my magic continuously sapped away by the blood wards!" He whispered
to himself in disbelief.
No wonder the previous owner of this body would be such an
unimpressive underachiever while being able to occasionally bleed out
enough magic for Patronus charm strong enough to scare hundreds of
dementors!
Nobody in their right mind would expect a child who has access to at
most five percent of his power available to him to actually do well in
classes! Except, perhaps, Dumbledore. He was always a bit touched in the
head, that one.
Harry winced at the mere thought of having to force his magic out
through the magical binding. With his perception, he could easily tell a
feat like that would permanently damage his magical core. He was
simply not having that! Even if Dementors flooded the entirety of
Hogwarts, he would NOT sacrifice his future prospects for the safety of
children Dumb-beard is employed to protect!
The sole saving grace was that the binding would probably weaken as he
ages. He was not a hundred percent sure about that but man can dream,
right? If not… he will need to do it with a hands-on approach.
Ritualistically.
'Well, no matter. Crying over it won't really help me.'
Harry lied down on his bed and entered his core again. He slowly
approached it. Step by step. Unhurriedly and incredibly carefully. Getting
some backlash from magical binding because he tried to use his magical
core rashly was the last thing he needed. Harry extensively observed his
core, probing it with his mind. After getting no negative response he
sighed in relief and finally relaxed.
Entering a meditative state, he slowly coaxed his magical core to expand
the amount of magic it filters. Needless to say, it was not going very well.
It was a frustrating process. Harry was not really sure meditation would
actually work for increasing his reserves.
After a while, Harry could finally feel his magic core slightly expand. He
opened his eyes filled with smug satisfaction only to gape when he
looked at the clock.
Five hours.
That's how long it took him to expand his magic core! Heck! It was not
even such a big expansion! If he continued unwaveringly with meditating
like this for a year he might actually expand his core by ten percent of its
current strength at most! Considering he is but a mere child, that's not
such a big prospect since his magical core is going to expand really fast
after his eleven birthday. Ten percent of his current core will be a very
meager amount.
Understanding he just wasted five hours for something damned from the
start, Harry's limp figure laid on the bed.
"This will be a lot harder than I previously thought, won't it?" He shut his
eyes and rubbed his forehead.
For the first time since waking up as Harry Potter, he felt trapped.
His cupboard, Walrus Vernon, glaring Petunia, gloating Duddikins, mad
Dumbleschmuck, his magical core utterly bound, being drained by blood
wards, his growth stumped by insufficient magic, none of those could
make him feel caged. But the realization this won't go like in those
fanfictions where protagonist usually mind-rape the Dursleys to
obedience the second day and by the end of his first year is one of, if not
the best wizard in existence while being surrounded by tens of beauties?
Now that stung.
"I always utterly hated challenges." He drawled quietly and concentrated
on thinking up ideas on how to improve his magic.
It didn't take him long to give up in that endeavor. He shot blanks.
Thousands of fanfictions under his belt, yet not remembering even one
possible solution on how to improve his magic. Harry felt betrayed.
"Here I lay. Wasting time. After all the effort I put into reading these
fanfictions in case something like this happened to me." He mused with
amused sarcasm. "The previous owner of this body would be able to cast
first-year spells with only five percent of his magic. Let's just hope I will
be able to do the same."
Harry sighed and thought about the challenges the first year at Hogwarts
will bring him as he slowly drifted off to sleep when he suddenly
facepalmed.
'I am such an idiot! Being able to cast spells is the least of my worries! I
may be small but judging by the size of the monstrosity they call
Duddikins, I am most likely close to eleven! Going to school with both
Tommy-boy and Dumbles completely unprotected! Without any
occlumency shields… Ain't I practically screwed?'
Was his last thought before the darkness of the night claimed him.
Ch3. Visiting a Zoo? Sure, go on.
The following weeks quickly flowed into a mind-numbing routine for
Harry. Making meals, doing chores, and trying to access his mindscape
for starting occlumency. Surprisingly, it was going quite well. He
certainly did have a talent for the craft. It will however take much more
to stop even a novice Legilimencer, much less Dumbledore. In the end, it
all boiled to time. The time he did not have.
He was also pleasantly surprised that Walrus Vernon and Giraffe Petunia
were a lot less abusive than he initially thought. After that revelation, he
chastised himself for still thinking of this as some elaborate fairy tale.
Dursleys were but normal people. Well, granted. Normal is a very
subjective term for hate-filled bastards as them. They were not outright
abusive of Harry, instead choosing to be utterly dismissive of him,
pretend he doesn't exist, and trying to drown him in chores. No wonder
the little guy latched at Ron the first opportunity he got. Nobody really
paid attention to him unless he made a blunder. Except for Dudley and
his motley crew of bullies, of course. And for a kid, that can be pretty
devastating.
Harry, of course, didn't do many blunders. After living with Dursleys for
a few weeks, he knew exactly what to avoid. A drunk Vernon was on the
top of his list.
Vernon was a worthless piece of garbage. Fat beyond belief, greasy
almost on the level of Snape, violent towards people weaker than him,
and butt-licking towards anyone who was his social better. But for all of
his faults, he was not initiating any over the top violence against Harry.
When he was sober, that is. One day, he came back drunk and Harry did
not manage to hide in the cupboard fast enough to not be spotted.
Needless to say, he did not enjoy the hours he had to spend resetting and
healing bones or bruises. Since then, Harry learned to expect the
'unexpected' and always hid when he thought drunk Vernon was coming
home. Vernon did not really seek Harry for a beating when he was drunk.
No, he rather went upstairs to entertain Petunia. The occasional
confidence boost alcohol provided was the best glue for their marriage.
Petunia was easy to figure out. She sneered. She glared. And she sniffed
her nose in disdain. When that didn't work, she switched tactics and
berated and berated and berated until Harry was tuning out most of her
tripe quipping obedient answers off the top of his head. For a kid, her
emotional abuse would probably create a mentally challenged person we
all know under the name Harry Potter. Fortunately, the new Harry had
enough years of living under his belt to not really mind her poor attempts
at making his life harsher.
Dudley was a kid. Arrogant, cocky, and ultimately very easy to distract. If
one has enough skill to persuade a man dead-set on jumping down from a
skyscraper to actually jump head-first, one can easily enough direct ickle
Duddikins' attention away from himself.
…
It was the day of Dudley's birthday. Harry still held a little hope for
having more time but when he saw the entire screaming show because 36
gifts are apparently not enough…
On the bright side, at least he now understood exactly where in the
timeline he now stood. Dursleys ate his painstakingly prepared breakfast
as they hollered at each other where to go. Dudley was all excited in the
vision of getting more gifts, completely ignoring the thirty-six he already
got. Harry knew they planned to go into a Zoo next and he was not about
to waste such a precious opportunity. He approached Vernon, trying to
appear as timid and small as possible, looking at his feet.
"Uncle Vernon," He mumbled exactly loud enough to be heard but not
sound overly confident. "could you leave me here when you leave for the
Zoo?"
His mumbling alongside rubbing his palms together while fidgeting
painted the perfect picture of a timid, obedient, and hesitant child. Just
what Dursleys wanted. Oh, how Harry hated the smug looks they
projected at him at the moment. Their faces were very punchable and he
had a hard time not breaking the act.
"You want to stay here alone?" Vernon asked, amused. "What are you
planning, freak?" He narrowed his eyes.
Harry visibly flinched. "Nothing, uncle Vernon!"
"I just thought you would like to enjoy the day without me." He
continued.
Vernon pierced him with his beady eyes and intensely stared at him,
trying to find a fault with his reasoning. After a minute, not able to find
anything worthy berating the child, Vernon frowned in distaste.
"You can stay. But if even a speck of dust is misplaced when we return
then!" He threatened Harry while waving his plump finger at him. Harry
nodded and quickly left, retreating into the safety of his cupboard.
All went according to plan!
…
Harry was home alone and he could finally have his petty revenge upon
Dursleys! He went through every place where it was possible to hide
something. Unfortunately, no documents confirming that Vernon steals
from Grunnings nor any other blackmail was found. It seemed, other than
being a violent brute to those he hated, he was basically a perfect British
citizen!
Harry had to be satisfied with the money he managed to 'confiscate'. He
found seven hundred bucks in Dudley's room. The little pigling really just
throws money he is given wherever he wants and later forgets about it.
He is basically the perfect victim for a thief! Harry had serious doubts
Dudley would even get an inkling that he missed some money.
Harry also managed to liberate five thousand from the Dursley family
safe. When he opened it for the first time, his jaw basically dropped to
the ground. There must have been at least fifty thousand altogether. Not
a small sum considering Petunia is a housewife and Vernon is not earning
all that much. The question was, where did they get so much money
from? Harry's shoulders sagged in defeat. The answer was apparent.
Dursleys surely receive a fat stipend for 'taking care' of him. The last
Potter.
The revelation filled Harry with so much rage, things started to float
around him. He quickly clamped down at his emotion and with gritted
teeth and hands balled into fists he somehow miraculously calmed down.
Taking deep breaths Harry realized how hypocritical he is. He, a
transmigrator, was here, serving these pigs, for a little over a month
whereas the original Harry had to bear with it until he was almost adult!
How the guy didn't become the next Dark Lord is anyone's guess! That
also showed how dangerous Dumbledore is. The amount of control he
had over the original Harry's emotional state… shuddering thoughts.
In the end, he took only five thousand. Nobody will even spot the
difference unless uncle Vernon starts counting. Which he really doesn't.
Last time Harry saw him open the safe, he just threw the money there
with a satisfied gleeful grin as he eyed Harry smugly. Now he knew why.
Harry didn't take anything else. For one, he didn't have anywhere to hide
big objects, and then, he didn't need anything else. His newly acquired
five thousand seven hundred bucks were safely hidden in a drawer
located in his cupboard. Hah, no Dursley would ever willingly touch
anything belonging to him, therefore there is no way they would go
snooping around his drawers.
His vanity, small revenge, and material needs satisfied Harry's face split
into a shit-eating grin. It was finally time to join the big boys and
practice magic. And by that, he meant real magic. Not some wand-
waving hocus-pocus!
Ch4. Wandlessly
Harry already lost count how many times he shrieked 'Lumos' with a
finger pointing forward, expecting a light-show. He could perceive magic
yet he could not manipulate it. He tried everything. Forcing, pleading,
begging, coaxing, and even uselessly swishing his hands around,
imitating wand movements. Nothing worked.
He would be depressed if he didn't know how hard wandless magic is
supposed to be. Instead, he persisted. Every day for three hours, he tried
to squeeze some kind of wandless magic out of himself. Unfortunately,
his magic has never reacted.
But… that didn't matter now. Earlier he just experienced his first real
accidental magic during his rage-filled fit. While his mind was certainly
too preoccupied to pay attention to the finer details of his accidental
telekinesis, he could still recall how his magic reacted to his emotions.
Harry understood it then. You do not force magic with your will to work
according to your intent. Nay. If he wanted to cast spells wandlessly, he
needed to gently guide magic with his will while sending her his desired
result with his intent. Magic responds. It just doesn't like to be forced and
is very fickle and extremely demanding.
During his outburst, he was angry. Not really murderous, so, his intent
was forceful yet not damaging. His will merged with his anger, giving
birth to the accidental magic. Because of the raging intent without any
real intention to destroy, the magic was confused about what Harry
wanted it to do, therefore it went for the obvious. In short, things floated.
Thankfully, Harry remembered the feeling and started to practice.
Oh, it was not easy to use it, alright. Willingly using wandless magic was
like trying to push a car forward with bare hands. Magic is the car while
the hands are the will or intent. It was very demanding but at least Harry
now had a direction! This was, after all, the first step to being the first
chantless and wandless wizard in the modern age! Now that he knew
what to do to become such, he was not going to be satisfied with some
wand magic! No, he was going to learn every bit of wand magic
completely wandlessly!
…
After numerous tries at wandless magic, Harry was mentally exhausted.
He tried to move a piece of paper via telekinesis again and again.
Needless to say, it was a very demanding task. His body, mind, and magic
were not used to such a task and he had to put his entire being into
molding his magic's ability to be used this way. And damn if it wasn't
hard to focus his magic!
After a slight contemplation, Harry understood that wands really are a
crutch for wizards. Worse yet, they are a debilitating crutch! Yes, they
help wizards with focusing their magic, making spell-casting almost
effortless. Heck, even an eleven years old child who never heard of
magic, never studied any magic theory, and doesn't even know how to
feel his magic can learn and actually cast a spell in a few hours of
training! Wands are certainly one of the wonders of the magical world
right next to the philosopher stone!
Yet, using a wand also conditions the user's mind, body, and worse yet,
magic, into being dependent on them. No wonder wizards who learn to
use magic via wands have a hell of a time trying to cast wandlessly! No
wonder Dumbledore or Tom can wandlessly do at most some parlor
tricks! No wonder the wizards of this world are so inept at real magic and
the magical ability of modern wizards has degraded so much!
If we compare wizards of old, Merlin, founders, La Fay… hell, that's just
wizards from Britain! They were legends! Made artifacts that are praised
as the pinnacle of magic even after thousands of years, created the magic
schooling system itself! Now that Harry thought about it… these
legendary wizards were actually mostly self-taught or at most got some
references from books! All of those wonders made by them were achieved
via experiments. Trial and error. They had no fancy magical castle with
almost useless teachers nor a library full of books from all over the world
to help them learn magic. Yet, they became legends.
Oh, they used wands too. Or staves. Whatever was available. But their
magic was stronger, better, … healthier! Albeit Harry's theory sounded
half-crazy and his conclusion was unproven, he was willing to bet he was
right. After all, his Otaku senses were tingling!
If someone proficient with wandless magic were to use a wand, his spells
would gain immense strength, precision, and focus. In the end, the end
result of a spell depends on the wizard and his ability. Not some focusing
stick.
Harry didn't wait long for at least a partial confirmation of his theory.
Harry knew he can't force his magic too much lest he wants to injure his
magic and practicing wandless magic while having ninety-five percent of
his magic blocked was as demanding as it was frustrating. For every two
minutes of practice, he spent the next five minutes gasping for air, five
more trying to calm his mind down, and five additional in meditation to
regain his magic. It was thanks to these regular breaks he noticed a slight
improvement every time he exerted his magic after them. Without his
special perception of magic, he would no doubt miss it but he noticed.
However small the improvement was, it was actually a lot more than his
first meditation attempt. Hell, he would actually even say his magic felt
denser and more lively! But that surely can't be possible. Nay. He must
have been hallucinating because of his immense desire to find a cheat-
code for power-up.
With renewed fervor, Harry leaped back to practicing his wandless magic
on the piece of paper for hours to come.
…
Durselys arrived home in the evening, welcomed by their eerily quiet and
dark house. The air was chilling and every time they breathed it created
a milky foggy air, creating a scary atmosphere.
Dudley paid the weird feeling in the house no mind. He was happy and
excited! Instead of two additional presents, he got five! All because that
FREAK was not with them! He saw snakes, giraffes, elephants, and many
other animals!
Best. Freakless. Birthday. Ever!
Yes, he was content. Now if only there was the freak at hand for a quick
punch. Meh. He is too tired and will deal with him tomorrow.
As Dursleys entered the house Petunia's and Vernon's faces twisted in
disdain and slight… fear?
They felt the shift in the air and trembled because of the eery atmosphere
of their house. The second they stepped through the door, coldness
gripped their hearts and they gulped. What madness made them leave the
freak in their house alone for hours! What if he did some freaky ritual
that summoned demons or ghosts! As they slowly crept through their
hall…
"Yeeessssss!"
A loud exclamation of joy sounded through the house, making Vernon
and Petunia shriek and fall on their asses, gasping for air. Vernon has
almost gotten infarct! He stood up as his skin turned purple and steam
started to rise from his head. His narrowed eyes glared at the cupboard
where the freak was hiding. He charged his way through the hall and
slammed the door of the cupboard open. His temper rose a magnitude
higher when he saw freak's apparent joy. Today was his son's birthday!
Freaks have no right to be happy today!
Vernon was on the verge of releasing his anger on the freak when he saw
the reason for freak's happiness. His heart almost stopped as his purple
complexion instantly turned gravely pale. His beady eyes widened and he
staggered backward.
There. In the boy's hand! Slightly above his palm, a piece of paper
floated.
When Harry saw Vernon's expression, there was only one thing going
through his head.
"Shit." He exclaimed.
Hearing him, Vernon purpled up yet again as rage swelled in him. He
opened his mouth and shouted.
"BOY!"
Ch5. Leaky Cauldron
Days passed and the Hogwarts invitation letter arrived. Harry supposed
some Potterheads would squeal in delight when receiving the letter. He
instead just glared at it stone-faced when he saw the address it was sent
to.
Cupboard under the stairs.
His resolve steeled yet again and he was sorely tempted to write a reply.
One nicely worded 'Fuck you.' would suffice, he supposed.
Harry didn't make a fuss like the original would have done. He just
dismissively put it in front of Vernon and went into his cupboard. Only to
hear Vernon squeal in rage like a pig after apparently reading the letter.
Harry chuckled. Vernon acted like a typical Potterhead!
…
It didn't take long for Dursleys to give up and move into the old light-
house. The room half-filled with letters was the most amazing magic trick
Harry has seen so far. It baffled him how utterly stupid the original must
have been to not realize that something is fishy about receiving
thousands of copies of the same letter. After all, the Dursleys didn't move
out only because of fear. Nay. They moved because their house was
literally flooded with the letters. It went into such an extreme, it was
actually unhabitable!
From there Harry witnessed the usual gig with Hagrids arrival and by
now he was standing in front of the Leaky Cauldron.
He was not impressed!
…
Hagrid dragged him inside the Leaky Cauldron. He walked next to Hagrid
towards the bartender. Harry looked around in disgust at the filth-
covered old-smelling place and the people wearing ridiculously outdated
clothes.
'This can't even count as a wizarding culture.' Harry almost sneered. 'This
is outright ignorance and refusal to develop!'
He contemplated the cultural differences when he saw the pumpkin juice
and food on tables covered in dust, spiders crawling around.
'Definitely not gonna eat or drink here.' Harry thought while staring at
the rug in disgust.
He was so glad his eyes were healed when he was transmigrated because
having glasses in so dimly lit places would surely make looking around a
chore.
"Oh, Hagrid! The usual I presume?"
Harry's musings were interrupted as Hagrid and Tom started to talk about
him. He amusedly watched as Hagrid introduced Harry and Tom
exclaimed his name out loud as if he was paid to do so…
People started to congratulate him and introduce themselves. A crowd
quickly amassed near him. Exactly Harry wanted.
He controlled his wandless telekinesis and discreetly parted some gold
pouches from their respective owners as everyone was distracted by his
'glorious' scar. The pouches gently floated to the floor. After all, nobody
pays attention to their feet when they have a celebrity in front of them!
As Harry went through the crowd, the pouches hovering slightly above
the ground entered his oversized trousers. There! Heist finished! All in
all, he was twenty pouches richer.
Oh, Harry didn't steal them because of gold! He was well aware most of
those pouches have anti-theft charms. Anti-theft charms which actually
only prevent thieves to get inside and steal the gold, instead of
preventing them from stealing the entire pouches themselves. Yay for
wizarding stupidity…
Anyway, he had two reasons for stealing them. Nay. Make it three.
Harry wanted to see if somebody detects his wandless magic. If
somebody notices it. Nobody did. Not even Tommy-boy under the turban.
Harry knew that if Voldemort actually spotted something unusual,
Quirrell would react. Small twitch here, widening of eyes there. He
would react.
He did not. Not even a twitch. Harry didn't look him straight into the
eyes. That would be foolish. But he observed him. A lot.
His second reason is the pouches themselves. Or better yet, the anti-theft
enchantments. If he applied them to a room… will the room be accessible
only to him?
Harry had many ideas on how to use such a spell, and now, he also had
an example he can copy and learn from.
The third reason is that it is hilarious! He stole from adult wizards in a
room filled by experienced wizards without them even knowing while
being able to use only ONE spell! Well, their gold will be in safe hands.
And if somebody spotted the pouches, being suspiciously hidden in his
trousers? What could they do? Nobody would suspect him! He, after all,
was a child! A child without a wand, without spells! The sheer thought
he, the hero of magical Britain, could steal was hilarious. Especially since
he was just eleven!
If he was really caught, Harry had no doubt it would be twisted into an
assassination attempt at Harry Potter with pouches of gold.
The British wizarding community was THAT stupid.
Harry and Hagrid moved forward through the crowd when Quirrell
suddenly approached them in all of his stuttering glory.
"Harry P-P-Potter. C-C-Can't tell you how pleased I am to meet you."
Quirrell started his Spiel.
"Hello, professor, I didn't see you there." Hagrid said and turned to Harry.
"Harry, this is professor Quirrell. He will be your Defense in the Dark Arts
teacher."
"Oh," Harry exclaimed a little too loudly, attracting attention. "nice to
meet you!"
He then offered his hand for a handshake with smugness hidden as young
exuberance.
Quirrell though looked horrified of my hand so close to him and tried to
pull himself backward, far away from my hand. An awkward silence
filled the pub. Harry was satisfied with his performance. Because of his
loud exclamation, many wizards saw their encounter and were now
frowning at the professor who is in their eyes arrogant enough to not
shake hands with their 'national treasure'.
Harry wasn't the shy boy with low esteem though. He held his hand
towards Quirrell and waited for his reaction with a slight smirk.
Quirrell swiftly cut his losses and decided to retreat, his expression still
holding a deep fright.
"Oh, I am sorry Harry, Hagrid. I still have some work to do!" He told
them and fast-tracked it out of the Leaky Cauldron stumbling through the
pub.
'Damn, worth it!' Harry thought in satisfaction as he stared at the back of
the turban of retreating Quirrell. 'Just you wait.'
Ch6. Gringotts
Hagrid dragged Harry to Gringotts.
Harry watched him as he handed his key, the key he never even saw to
the goblin. The heaviness of his heart really couldn't be described by
mortal means. In that instance, he wanted nothing more than to strangle
Dumbledore for meddling. Why him anyway!? Couldn't he choose some
other poor lad for spreading his love for young boys?
Then there was Hagrid. Harry really wanted to beat the half-giant for
being such a gullible fool. The idiot wouldn't make even a good fodder.
But he was perfect in roles such as this. In roles where Dumbledore asks
him to be discrete but actually wants the secret to be heard.
Heck! When he said he wants you-know-what from the you-know-which
vault, Harry had an urge to facepalm. Even the goblin was silently staring
at him with a slight sneer and barely widened eyes. And for goblins that
can be translated to gaping!
After a while goblins finally shook off his shock at the bumbling fool in
front of his desk and simply replied.
"Very well."
…
The goblin took them to Harry's trust vault first. Harry looked forward to
the ride in a cart and seeing Hagrid barely able to fit inside was quite
hilarious. The green hue the half-giant gained after the ride though. Now
that made the trip worth it for Harry. He even somewhat stopped being
mad at the clueless half-wit.
The goblin opened Harry's vault and revealed the mountain of galleons.
Harry knew the Potter trust vault should contain a lot of them but the
sight shocked even him. He side-glanced at the goblin.
"What is the ratio between pounds and galleons?"
The goblin gave him an acknowledging nod and answered.
"One galleon is worth a hundred pounds."
Harry stilled. He was expecting something like 5 pounds to 1 galleon
but…
After he got out of his shock, he thought it made sense. After all, if a
wand costs around seven galleons, Olivander would be out of business
really soon if galleon wasn't worth a lot.
Harry went inside his vault and looked at the goblin.
"Is there something that could hold coins for me?"
"Ah, a mokeskin pouch. One costs 5 galleons." Goblin said with a grin.
Harry shrugged, took five galleons closest to him, and handed them to
the goblin. The goblin reached into his pocket and handed Harry a
pouch.
"If you want anti-theft measures to be installed you will have to pay an
additional fee." Goblin shot Harry an expectant look.
"I will." Harry noncommittally shrugged and walked back towards the
pile of galleons, ignoring the greedy-looking creature.
Hagrid just looked at the interaction with an almost visible question
mark above his head, understanding nothing. When he saw Harry filling
his newly acquired pouch with handfuls of galleons, making the pile
smaller by the second, he felt out of place.
In the end, he asked.
"Harry, why are you taking so much?"
"Oh, for emergencies." Harry offhandedly stated without even stopping
his quest for reducing the amount of his gold accessible to Dumbledore.
He was really doubtful the old coot had access to Potter's main vault. If
he did, the goblins would be worthless for safeguarding the money of
wizarding families. No, these small, greedy, reputation-obsessed creatures
would skin Dumbles alive if he wanted to access the main Potter vault.
After all, he is not a Potter.
While that was all good and well, Harry also realized the old goat-lover
will probably try other means to access Potter vault.
'Yup, I will have to avoid certain Weaselnette with passion in the coming
years. Maybe find a counter to love potions?' Harry thought.
"What kind of emergencies?" Hagrid interrupted his musings.
"Food, books, stuff…" Harry rolled his eyes.
"But, Harry, Headmaster Dumbledore said you shouldn't take too much."
Hagrid told him as if he was a fanatic who just quoted the Bible.
Harry almost burst in giggles.
"What does a Hogwarts headmaster have to do with my money?" He
asked innocently.
"Oh, Headmaster Dumbledore is your magical guardian!" Hagrid proudly
exclaimed.
There. That was what Harry waited for.
"So, if he is my so-called guardian, why did he not visit me even once in
the last decade?"
Hagrid looked stumped and confused at first but then gained an
understanding look.
"Headmaster Dumbledore is a very busy man, Harry."
"Oh… if he is so busy, he won't have time to meddle in my problems. I
will have to be prepared for emergencies, then. Ergo, have money with
me for all occasions." Harry gave Hagrid a megawatt smile alongside a
winning nod, evidently ending the conversation.
The hesitant half-giant just stood there, not knowing what to do. He
turned for help to the snickering goblin who raised his eyebrow at him.
Seeing no help is coming his way, he just sighed and waited for Harry to
empty his trust vault.
…
After dealing with Harry's trust vault where he left one knut so it won't
be closed, they were on their way to the you-know-which vault
containing you-know-what. The goblin swept his finger across the wall
and Harry resisted the urge to groan.
The vault was different. It looked mysterious and interesting. Hell, even
badass! For an eleven years old kid, it would surely create an impression
of safety and a secret he would want to unravel.
Except… every adult, that is not Hagrid, would realize it really was not
very protected. The vault was in the middle grounds of Gringotts,
therefore average security. The opening mechanism for the vault might
have looked badass and different but in reality, it was even less secure
than standard key-hole. As long as one knows in what order to swipe his
finger along the wall, it will open. For a standard vault you at least need
a key! Many could argue there must be some other magical means to
protect it! And yes, there might be. But the vault with an insanely
important thing is still positioned in the not-so-protected area of
Gringotts!
'It's as if somebody goaded a thief to break in.' Harry thought
sarcastically.
"This is a secret Hogwarts business, Harry. Best not tell anyone about it!"
Hagrid remarked.
'Sure, you oaf. Tell the kid not to do something! Couldn't you be more
obvious?' Harry gave him a deadpan stare.
"Alright." He uncaringly shrugged and walked back to the cart.
'Acting as if Hogwarts was some kind of secret organization full of
assassins… Heck! Who would actually send Hagrid to retrieve something
so important? Even more so, if it is so secret… why the hell are you
dragging a child with you!' Harry ranted in his mind.
To the outside, it looked as if he was brooding but to be honest he felt
wronged. He felt underestimated. And he also felt pity for the original
Harry. Such an obvious bait. Dumbledore really thinks of Harry as unable
to think for himself. If he did not, he would not employ such a stupid
plan! And while Harry was glad the old goat-lover underestimated him, it
also rubbed him the wrong way.
Ch7. Surprise
Harry and Hagrid left Gringotts and proceeded to buy the needed
supplies for Hogwarts. They were almost done, only a wand and robes
were left from the obligatory school supplies.
"Harry, I still have something I have to do. Could I leave you to buy the
rest by yourself?" Hagrid asked, his eyes momentarily shifting to the pet
store. "We can meet up later at Ollivanders."
Harry couldn't help but reveal a slight smile when he saw his intentions.
"Sure thing, Hagrid." He replied.
"Oh, good!" Hagrid heavily patted poor young Harry on his shoulder,
almost tossing him to the ground and pointed towards one of the shops.
"That's Madam Malkin's Robes for all Occasions, Harry. She has the best
robes available. As for a wand," He pointed to another shop across the
street. "Olivanders is the best!"
…
Harry was left alone. He didn't want to go straight away to Madam
Malkin though. He remembered the Malfoy should be there at the
moment. That was an encounter he could gladly do without. Instead, he
went across the street and entered the Blimburly Icecream shop where he
sat down and watched the entrance to Madam Malkin's shop as he ate ice
cream, waiting for Draco to leave.
As he waited, Harry suddenly felt something that made him stiffen. He
widened his eyes from the sheer difference the approaching person
exhibited from the rest of the crowd!
Harry might have been in a place filled with wizards only for a few hours
but he diligently watched the wizards! He dutifully used his unique
perception to measure their magic capacity. After all, he wanted to know
what he has to surpass!
He saw hundreds of adult wizards in the alley during his shopping spree.
And at first, he was surprised. Even if his core was unbound, the average
adults still had around a hundred times more magic than him! The
strongest wizard he saw in the alley had five hundred times more! But
that was natural, he guessed. He was just eleven, barely entering the
stage where his magical core starts to expand. He will eventually catch
up and when his core finally frees itself, he will go far beyond any of
them!
That's why he was so surprised by what he felt. The approaching person
had ten times more magic than the strongest wizard he saw today. That
was almost five thousand times more than what he had! He didn't know
who the person was but the presence completely shattered his power-
level measurements he gathered so far.
The fact kids are so much weaker than even average adult wizards was
granted. Their core was not matured and during their stay at Hogwarts,
they would get stronger by the minute as it matured. Even the laziest
would, in the end, become hundreds of times stronger than they are at
eleven. But, the magic capacity difference of ten times among adults?
That was huge! It didn't really mean the person could win one versus ten,
of course. That would depend on the skill, cunning, and many other
things. Nevertheless, it does mean the approaching person can easily
outlast more than ten adult wizards in magic casting!
Harry was excited to see who has so much magic in them. And for the
first time in his new life, he was genuinely glad for having his unique
perception of magic. He was sure the others can't really feel what he
could. The closest thing to his ability would probably be a mage sight.
Except he doesn't really see the magic in itself.
The person was about to enter Harry's line of sight when he was
distracted by Draco Malfoy leaving Madam Malkin's shop. He
momentarily forgot about the magic dam coming closer and took the
young Malfoy's appearance. While there were some differences from the
actor in movies, he was still blond, pale, and ferrety. His nose held high,
mouth sneering at everyone and walking as if he owned the Diagon
Alley. Any hope the Malfoy heir could be one of those cool and friendly
characters from fanfictions was dashed by the first impression he left on
Harry. He instantly understood, Malfoy will not be one of his friends. Not
in this lifetime.
Harry was about to sigh and look for the mysterious person again when
he heard a shout from across the street.
"Draco! Here." The melodious voice of a woman rang through the street.
It was so cold and indifferent it almost sent shivers through Harry's spine.
Harry looked at the person who shouted at Draco and this time really
froze. His eyes spotted Narcissa Malfoy née Black and refused to leave
her. While there was no lust nor attraction to her from Harry's side, her
beauty still left him gaping at her. The woman in front of him definitely
did not even remotely resemble the actress!
She had such a fair complexion it put even vampires to shame! A lovely
noble-looking heart-shaped face with high cheekbones that could tempt
even eunuchs. And while her womanly parts were on the smaller side,
they were definitely filled out enough to make men drool out a waterfall.
Her beautiful pale long blond hair freely cascaded her back all the way
until her shapely posterior as two bangs covered the sides of her face,
ending a slightly lower than her chin. Arctic cold, pale sky-blue eyes
glared at everything around in contempt. Clad in a black frilly victorian
dress she walked forward with a high and mighty attitude. When Draco
entered her sight, her eyes seemed to become a magnitude colder as her
glare intensified and her small slightly upturned nose minutely sniffed in
disgust. Her magic shifted and became more tensed, making Harry utterly
baffled. While her minute expression shifts could be seen as nothing more
than distaste at her son being in such a mudblood infested place such as
Diagon Alley, her magic couldn't lie. Not to Harry.
Before his mind could even start to comprehend the signals, Narcissa
grabbed Draco's shoulders and led him away, snuffing any protest he
could muster with her harsh winter-cold glare.
It was only after she was long gone Harry's brain finally rebooted. He was
processing what just happened when he realized it.
Narcissa. She was the mana beacon from earlier!
Ch8. Diagon Alley - finish
'I may have severely underestimated this world.' Harry grimly thought. 'If
a non-combatant such as Narcissa contains so much magic…'
Harry shuddered thinking about how much magic the regular Death
Eaters would have. This encounter was very unexpected but Harry would
cherish it nonetheless. For this was the first time he got a glimpse at the
power of those madmen that will try to kill him. After a thorough
consideration of the facts he knew so far, there was only one undeniable
conclusion his mind reached.
'Damn you, Lucius! I am so jealous!'
…
Harry entered Madam Malkin's shop and was instantly greeted by the
cheerful woman who started fussing over him.
"Hello, dearie. Hogwarts robes, I presume?" She mothered him.
"Ah… yes, among other things." He told her, still surprised at her
attitude.
Madam Malkin heard his reply and her eyebrow arched in curiosity.
"Other things, my dear? Would you want robes for social events too?"
Harry ignored her question and instead asked his own.
"Do you take custom orders? I need some custom-made clothes that are
not robes." Harry said and was surprised by the gleeful expression of
Madam Malkin.
He didn't even manage to blink before she dragged him into a different
room and started taking his measurements.
"What kind of clothing do you exactly need?" She asked as she measured
his waist.
"Muggle ones." Harry quipped, making her hands momentarily stop.
She instantly recovered and started measuring again, this time with even
more interest in what he wanted from her, giving him a 'go on' stare.
"I need them made out of strong magic materials, contain several
enchantments, and of course, completely inconspicuous in the muggle
world."
Madam Malkin just nodded attentively and mused about the order.
"Yes, yes. It is possible. Definitely possible." She distractedly pondered.
Then she looked at Harry. "What kind of enchantments?"
"I want unbreakable charm on each article. Elasticity charm, Cushion
charm, Temperature Control, Anti-theft, and Resizing charm…" He
started naming the enchantments he wanted.
The more charms he named, the higher Madam Malkin's eyebrows rose.
"Dear, I have no clue what most of these are." She looked at Harry in
exasperation.
"What enchantments are available then?" He asked.
"From those you named? Unbreakable charms, though don't know why
you would need them on clothes. Resizing charms. Temperature control.
That's about it." She told him. "Though, anti-theft might be applicable to
clothes. Nobody tried it yet though."
She shuffled through a few drawers.
"Here, our catalog. You can choose what you need there. I am even
willing to add unbreakable charms even though we don't provide them.
After all, you did bring a quite interesting work. Muggle clothes." She
muttered the last part in disbelief.
Swiftly looking through the book, Harry was flabbergasted. Hundreds of
years of clothes enchanting and in the foremost clothing shop in all of
Great Britain, he is offered only these enchantments!? He wanted to
scream at the heavens! He came here with a vision! A vision of end-game
armor filled with special effect after special effect while still being a
newbie!
Besides!
Muggle-proof enchantment?
An enchantment that filters muggle air?
Self-assuring enchantment?
Virginity-safeguarding enchantment?
Breast-milk storing enchantment?
And what in the seven hells is flower-popping enchantment!?
Harry speechlessly looked at the offered enchantments and then at
Madam Malkin in disbelief. Most of them were completely useless! His
shoulders slumped.
"Then give me Resizing, Temperature Control, and the Unbreakable one."
He said in resignation.
Madam Malkin looked at him weirdly.
"Okay. Are you sure you don't want our noble-airing enchantment? That
one is quite the favorite. Malfoys have it everywhere." She stated
proudly.
"No." Harry dryly stated.
"Hmm, whatever. How many articles of clothing do you want, dear?" She
took out a dicta-quill, taking his order.
"Shirts, pants, and robes. Ten of each, please." Harry stated.
"That will be ten galleons if I use normal silk and it will take me two days
to make." She looked at him worriedly. Well, it's not like he looked
dashing or rich in those baggy clothes he inherited from Dudley!
"No worries." Harry handed her a hundred galleons, trying to hide his
reddening cheeks. "I want the best magic-resistant materials. Dragonhide,
acromantula silk, whatever is available and affordable for these hundred
galleons.
She nodded and left excitedly to the back of the shop, muttering.
"What an interesting yet weird child."
'It's called having a functioning brain, lady!' He wanted to retort but she
was already gone. He sighed. The things he does for proper gear!
…
Harry entered Ollivanders and quickly felt a shift of magic creeping
behind him. He swiftly turned around and screamed at Ollivander.
"Grah!" The old man flinched back with such force he hit the door and
rebounded back forward, falling face-first onto the floor.
Harry observed him with unveiled amusement as he poked him with his
foot.
"You alright, old man?" He drawled in monotone.
"Yes." Ollivander stood up with a scowl and went towards the counter.
He properly glanced at Harry and his look darted towards the scar hidden
behind his bangs. Ollivander's eyes widened, alerting Harry.
'The old man has some sort of Mage Sight!' Harry quickly understood his
reaction.
"Harry Potter." Ollivander exclaimed. "I feel as if it was like yesterday
when your fa…"
"Oh, spare me, mighty Vander." Harry interrupted him, exasperated. "I
came to buy a wand, not hear about my father's first stick."
And he didn't. James and Lily were the original Harry's parents. Not his.
Never his. As for hearing about their adventures? He could do without.
He can make his own, after all.
"As you wish." Ollivander quickly regained his composure after giving
Harry a long contemplating look and wand-trying started.
The second Harry grasped his first wand, he felt a connection. It was not
strong. But it was there. Harry held the wand and swished. The wand
glowed red when suddenly he felt Ollivander's magic swell under the
counter and a lamp, where Harry's wand pointed, was completely
demolished. Harry flinched and frowned, looking reproachingly at
Ollivander.
The old wandmaker misunderstood the look and started to explain.
"The wand chooses the wizard, Mr. Potter. This one obviously didn't
choose you." He said sagely with a calming smile that made Harry want
to punch him.
Harry silently sighed, knowing where this is going. The feeling intensified
when he felt a slightly stronger connection with the next wand he took
hold of.
In the end, he spent a half-hour watching as Ollivander demolishes his
own shop. Needless to say, the experience brought untold joy to Harry.
Alongside with an unforgettable memory. The sour look the old wand-
wanker had when he saw Harry point at yet another wand he somehow
apparently 'felt connection' with so he should try it, rather than one
recommended by Ollivander. Oh, Harry will certainly mass-sell that one!
One time he even added his wandless telekinesis into the fray and
overturned an entire shelf, breaking numerous wands. Harry almost burst
into giggles seeing at the dazed look Ollivander gave the shelf and the
horror at the realization of what just happened. Heck, the old wand-
wanker was so mortified by that point, even with his Mage Sight, he
didn't catch Harry!
But his nightmare just started. Oh, if the old coot wanted to screw with
him on Dumbledore's orders and aim him toward the Phoenix wand, he
could do it. Sure. No problem. It didn't even matter. Harry is going to
learn everything wandlessly anyway.
But hell would freeze over sooner than Harry not making the mighty
Vander pay for it!
That day, was the first time in decades, Ollivanders closed his shop.
…
Harry met Hagrid outside Ollivanders as promised and was promptly
congratulated as Hagrid gave him his present. Snowy owl.
Harry gently smiled at her.
"I will call you Hedwig."
She gave him an acknowledging hoot, making him excited.
After all, which fan of Harry Potter doesn't want to have his own owl?
Harry's excitement lasted all twenty seconds before he noticed a slight
alteration in the bond. Or better yet, he almost didn't feel the supposed
bond at all!
Harry looked at Hagrid suspiciously.
"Hagrid? Did she have any previous owners?" He asked, knowing well the
animals bond only once and the bond won't disappear until their owner
dies.
"Oh! Yes! They told me she was Dumbledore's before he decided to sell
her!" Hagrid boisterously exclaimed in 'praise me' tone as if he gave
Harry the most precious thing in the world.
Harry stilled at that, blinking owlishly at the owl that just gave him a
ninety degrees head-tilt.
'Is everyone in this bloody world a part of Dumbledore's court!?'
Ch9. A month at Dursleys?
Harry may or may not have persuaded Hagrid that he needed owl treats
for Hedwig while handing him money, asking him to get them alongside
a book about bonds between animals and wizards. The poor kind soul
believed him immediately and didn't even ask where will Harry be while
he gets them. He simply up and was on his way to hunt for a book that
may or may not even exist.
Harry, instead, walked into Trunksie's Trunks with a skip in his step.
There he bought the biggest trunk with lightweight and shrinking charms
available. The trunk was a junk, to be honest. It was quite costly but
nobody without incredible need for it would bother buying one. Trunks
that are readily available in the shop are there for two reasons and two
reasons only. People who are in such a dire need for them, they won't
even question the quality and people who are too stupid for their own
good, or in short, muggles buying supplies for their children. Every
wizard, even those not worth their salt, knows that proper trunks are
always custom made.
But Harry had no time waiting days for his trunk. He needed one now.
And even though he was sure the owner scammed him, he was satisfied.
Alas, having Durselys lock his stuff the second he comes back just would
not do!
He put everything except Hedwig's cage into the trunk and shrunk it into
the size of matchstick box that was promptly discarded into his pocket.
Non, non, non. No one is gonna touch his things. No house elves
belonging to Hogwarts. No Dumbledore. And certainly no Dursleys.
He then visited the library and bought Hogwarts books for ancient runes
and arithmancy for the 3rd years. Harry was smart enough to not ask
about occlumency books lest someone actually decides he is the next
Dark Lord in making! Instead, he bought a few books on wizarding
traditions and important days for wizards. After all, anyone who wants to
study rituals has to know those.
…
Hagrid deposited Harry back at the light-house. Back with the utterly
pissed Dursleys and piggy Dudley still sporting a fashionable pigtail.
Unfortunately, Hagrid dispelled his transfiguration on Dudley, outright
loudly telling them wizards are actually forbidden from using spells on
muggles.
'God, how much courage they suddenly gained.' Harry glared at Hagrid.
The glare was completely deserved and justified, it certainly won't be
Hagrid suffering through their gleefully tender care! Nevertheless, Harry
didn't complain much. Having Dursleys pissed off at him while being
confident enough to act? That was actually all according to his plan!
Harry didn't show them his trunk. Instead, he put Hedwig's cage with
Hedwig inside to the middle of the room.
The next day, he went outside on a short walk for clearing his head and
when he returned the cage with 'his' owl was missing.
"Where is Hedwig?" He asked Aunt Petunia with a fake widened and
worried gaze.
Petunia sniffed in disdain at him as her eyes gained a mirthful
condescending gleam.
"My Dudley decided your bird stank. He was generous enough to offer
bathing her for you." Petunia told Harry mockingly.
Harry ran out of the light-house towards the Dudley who was 'playing' on
the beach.
"Where is my owl!?" He shouted at him while crossing his fingers behind
his back.
Dudley pulled the cage from the water and laughed at Harry's horrified
expression, completely missing that its fake. Hedwig was in the cage.
Sleeping. Eternally.
'Yes, all according to plan indeed.' Harry gleefully thought, immensely
satisfied.
…
The next week was utter boredom and acting for Harry.
He had to act mortified over Hedwig's death.
He had to act like a depressed child.
He had to act at being angry with Dursleys yet unable to do anything.
He had to act afraid of them.
He had to act being the perfect little chore boy for them.
He had to act being hopeful for a new life at Hogwarts.
In short, he was bored. Bored with their antics. Bored with their idiotic
mental 'torture'. Bored with Vernon's outbursts. Bored of Dudley's 1st
grader taunts. Bored with…
But he waited. And after a week, he finally got what he wanted.
Dursleys moved back into their house and Harry was yet again thrown
into the cupboard. It was the first night back and Dursleys enjoyed being
home, in their comfortable soft bed. Needless to say, they slept like a log
almost instantly. Harry though…
He sneaked through the house, taking everything of value and depositing
it into his trunk. What was not of value, he broke. Silently, of course. It
wouldn't do for masters of the house to wake up. He was rummaging his
way through their belongings as he finally arrived at the family safe.
Harry had to thank all deities Vernon is such a careful idiot and never
trusted banks with his money. In front of Harry laid the entire savings of
Dursleys. Forty-five thousand pounds. Most of which they got from
Dumbledore for 'caring' for him.
Oh, Harry had no doubt the money actually came from his trust vault.
Same as he had no doubt most of the money they received is already
spent. Most likely on Dudley. He didn't care though. Not today. Today he
was taking everything he wanted from them while destroying the rest.
After he was done and his trunk full of valuables from the house, he
shrunk his trunk and left through the front door. Richer, calmer, happier.
He also didn't forget to stomp at every damn flower he had to plant in
Petunia's garden, leaving her prized contest-winning wonder in complete
disarray.
Harry entered the first telephone booth he found and called police,
informing them he has a suspicion Dursleys are 'bullying' his 'friend'. At
first, they didn't want to trust him, thinking it's just a child playing but
when he mentioned this 'friend' usually has a lot of purple or blue spots
on his body, they listened damn well. Harry then described how his
'friend' told him he lives in a cupboard. How he is regularly punished for
being a freak. How he has to cook, do chores, and tend to garden. How
he is again punished if he doesn't manage to do his chores in time. How
his step-brother bullies him with his friends. How he is yet again
punished when he fights back. And how his 'friend' is maln-, malnou-,
malnur-, well, really thin and small!
The second he exited the telephone booth he rolled on the ground in
laughter! Oh, no worries! He didn't forget to actually add a few blotches
of his blood onto the bed in his cupboard as he left!
Harry blended into the cover of the night, whistling happily in a merry
mood.
'Another bloody month at Dursleys? I think not!'
Ch10. Dudley, the little hero.
Surrey, Little Whinging, Privet Drive 4, 3 AM.
Dursleys were enjoying the most comfortable and peaceful sleep after a
week spent in an old, dusty light-house. Nothing could even describe the
delight they were in at the moment.
Their heavenly sleep and wonderful dreams were abruptly interrupted by
a loud knocking reverberating through the house. For better or worse, it
was Dudley who woke up first. He angrily stomped his way down the
stairs as another much louder knocking sounded through the house.
Dudley swung the front door open with murder in his eyes and shouted.
"What do you want!"
The second the door opened, the police officers were surprised to see a…
pig? No. A young, overfed… child. Wearing pajamas, barely concealing
his bigness. They quickly snapped out of it and focused on the child in
front of them.
"Hello, I am Frank and this," Frank pointed at his colleague. "is Mark. We
are police officers. Are you Harry Potter?" He asked Dudley.
"Who?" He looked at them cluelessly, creating an awkward atmosphere.
"Oh. We heard there are two children living here." Mark awkwardly
stated.
"The freak?" Dudley exclaimed, alerting the officers. "Why would anyone
care about the freak?" He spat venomously.
Hearing him, the police officers barged in, pushing Dudley to the side,
completely ignoring his protests. Vernon was half-way through the stairs
when they got through Dudley and started shouting about the breach of
privacy. The officers ignored him and went towards the cupboard.
Opening it, they saw an empty small 'room', consisting mostly of
something that could barely pass as a 'bed'. On the said bed, a lot of red
blotches were visible, making the expression of police officers turn stony.
"Where is the child?" Frank threateningly asked Vernon who promptly
ignored him.
"This is an outrage! Who allowed you…!" Vernon shouted as he charged
at the officers, still half-asleep.
He didn't manage to finish that sentence or even tackle them before he
was manhandled by Mark, pushed face-first into the floor, and promptly
arrested. Only then did the overgrown Walrus realize who the men he
just charged are and his complexion turned pale.
"Wha-what a-are you do-doing here!" He stuttered in fright.
Nobody answered him, instead, he was dryly told his rights by a very
unamused Mark. Vernon was not a completely dumb man though. When
he saw them examining the cupboard he quickly connected the dots.
"What did the freak do this time!" His face purpled up as spit flew from
his mouth.
"In your place, I would worry more about going to jail for child abuse,
buddy." Mark told him as he squatted nearby.
"Well," Frank finished examining the cupboard. "add an attempted
murder, Mark." He said. "The blotches inside are blood. Enough to kill a
child. Plus the entire bed is blue under UV light. It is bloody through and
through." Frank barely restrained his anger.
Vernon hearing them started to feel despair. Child abuse? Him!? He was
the model citizen of Great Britain! Just look at how he raised Dudley! He
made him into a good young man who can stand up for himself! Look
around his house! Everything is clean, the garden is always attended to,
and his Dudley has tons of toys! He never abused anyone important in his
life!
Vernon was about to burst when Petunia came down, rubbing her eyes
sleepily. Seeing Vernon on the ground, his hands bound behind his back,
and the police officer examining the cupboard, she quickly understood
what's going on.
"May I help you?" She calmly asked the officers.
"Ah, I am Frank and this is Mark, we got a call that there is an abused
child in this household. Miss…?" Frank asked.
"Petunia. Petunia Dursley." She meekly stated.
"Well, Miss Petunia, could you tell us what this is about?" Mark pointed
at the cupboard, making her lower her head even more.
Petunia put her hand on Dudley's shoulders, preventing him from
blurting out something stupid. She knew her son well enough to realize
he was by now wondering why anyone cares about the freak. Having him
blow up in front of the police was the last thing on her to-do list.
Petunia was a crafty woman. She was, after all, the sister of the brightest
witch of her generation. Even though she never knew Lily as such. Seeing
her husband, she quickly calculated her losses and was prepared to cut
them off. She was not about to let her hate for the freak destroy her
family or Dudley's future!
"Mr. Frank, my husband," She appeared heartbroken. "he, after a hard
day at work sometimes has to vent."
Petunia guiltily glanced at Vernon who was staring at her googly-eyed.
"Harry is the child of my deceased sister. He didn't make it easy for us.
Financially we were not in a good spot for years." She let a fake tear
strain her face. "Excuse me," She wiped her tears. "it was hard to look at
it sometimes." Petunia let out a sob and slowly flopped down on the
floor. "I couldn't stop it. In the end, it was better for my husband to calm
his urges on young Harry than with myself and I couldn't endanger our
little Dudley." By the end of her little speech, she looked like a broken,
mortified wife, making Vernon gape at the situation.
Well, Harry had to get his Slytherin aspects from one side of the family.
And Potters just did not cut it, the Gryffindorkish lot!
The officers shot the pitiful sobbing and tear-stricken woman an
understanding smile and were about to try to comfort her when Dudley,
in a short miraculous burst of intelligence opened his mouth.
"But mom, why did you always encourage me to play Harry hunting,
then?" He asked, completely confused. "Why is it bad that dad beat the
freak? Isn't that what Harry hunting is about? You taught me so! My
friends enjoy hunting Harry! Why is something so fun, not good
anymore?" He childishly protested.
The air in the room stilled. Petunia's tears quickly dried up as she blinked
at Dudley in bewilderment with her mouth slightly opened. In her mind,
she was cursing herself for marrying an oaf such as Vernon whose genes
made her son into an idiot too!
"Well, guess this makes the case clear." Mark commented nonplussed as
he helped Petunia up and cuffed her.
"But damn if she was not a good actress. She almost got me!" Frank
quipped as they left the house, dragging Dursleys in cuffs. Neither of
them happy they didn't manage to find little Harry.
At that time, Dursleys didn't yet know their house was completely robbed
clean and what was left was broken. Their days of painful realization
were yet to come…
…
In one of the houses across the street, Arabella Figg observed the
happenings and saw Dursleys dragged out by the police. She was about to
inform Dumbledore that there were problems with poor little Harry when
suddenly, a half-kneazle started to rub on her foot.
'Ah, Mr. Fluffy-Rub is hungry.' She cooed. 'Dumbledore can wait.'
Unfortunately, by the time she fed all thirty of her kneazles, she
completely forgot that something happened at Privet Drive 4.
Ch11. Shopping
Harry had three more weeks until he had to board the Hogwarts Express.
He was not going to waste them!
First, he found an empty house in London and broke in. With his
wandless telekinesis, it was almost a child's play.
He was not stupid enough to try and get a room at Leaky Cauldron!
Dumbledore would be on his ass the very next morning! Right beside the
tens of reporters, aurors, and Minister of Magic himself. Nay.
As for getting a room in a hotel on the muggle side? He was a minor. No,
scratch that. He was a damn kid! He would be sooner shipped to the
authorities than getting a room, no matter how much he pays. And those
establishments that could provide him a room no questions asked would
not be the safest or cleanest of the sort. Double nay.
He had no other way than to find housing for himself. And with London
filled with people, there are bound to be some empty houses with their
occupants on a vacation!
His housing provided, Harry made his way into the first drugstore,
buying a lot of make-up. Especially a skin powder that could hide
pimples. He then applied it to his scar, completely hiding it. No matter
how many spells for recognizing magical disguise wizards know, they are
utterly useless when facing muggle means of disguising. Their little
brains can't even comprehend why would someone use such 'inferior'
methods, after all!
As such, Harry Potter, completely unrecognizable without a bolt-shaped
scar glaringly obvious on his forehead or glasses that were by now his
trademark because of all the fantasy books Dumbledore had published,
walked right into the Leaky Cauldron. Nobody paid him any attention
after a first glance. He smirked.
…
Harry didn't feel safe entering magical Britain. No, he was downright
terrified! His reasons always came crashing down to one magical
discipline. Mind magic.
Even if he didn't have future knowledge in his head for taking, he would
still be queasy about it. How those pure-blood pricks can deposit their
kids in Dumbledore's care without an inkling of worry, he will never
understand. One mind-scan and Twinkles knows who is and who is not
willing Death Eater and much more!
Heck, Twinkles should be sacked on the sheer principle of protecting the
family secrets of pure-bloods!
That should have happened the second people gleamed he was an
accomplished Legilimencer. And let nobody tell you people don't know!
Voldemort knew! Therefore every single of his followers knew too, of
which most sat in Wizengamot itself! Yet, somehow, nobody cares.
Harry knew the reason though. He knew it well. Almost too well.
Fifty years of service in Hogwarts. That's why he was so trusted.
Fifty years of shifting the opinion of little kids to his advantage. Our
glorious Leader of Light, Albus Manipulator Extraordinaire Dumbledore,
targeting the most malleable minds of all.
Harry had no other way than to dutifully train Occlumency every night,
no matter what, he didn't skip even a second of it. Yet, somehow he
could not make any significant breakthrough. He tried his own ideas, the
ideas from fanfiction, even Snape's way, without being invaded, of
course. After a week at light-house and having accomplished almost no
progress, Harry felt it was high time to buy himself some much-needed
literature.
He put a brown cloak on and entered the Knockturn Alley. His goal,
Borgin and Burkes, the best shop in the entirety of Diagon Alley.
Harry entered the shop and quickly attracted the attention of the
shopkeeper.
"Go away, kid. This is not a candy store." He dismissed him in disinterest.
Harry knew he can't really fight against a wizard yet but he also knew a
wizard without his wand is just a cripple. He felt many magical presences
in the shop, most dark, coming from various artifacts. He also felt one in
the shopkeeper's pocket and another, very much similar, on the counter.
There on the counter was lying a thirteen inch long, dark ebony wand.
Harry smirked.
He quickly reached his hand towards the shopkeeper and flared his
magic, yanking the wand out of the table with his magic. The
shopkeeper's eyes widened in surprise but as an experienced seller of the
darker oriented art, his hand shot towards his spare wand in his pocket.
He jerked his hand, holding his wand towards Harry and screamed.
"Diffindo"
Nothing happened. Harry was still smirking at the shopkeeper, now with
unveiled amusement as the man's eyes stared at him in horror. The man
looked at his wand in disbelief and found out, he was holding only a half
of it with the second half still being safely stowed in his pocket.
"You didn't really think I would forget about your spare wand, did you?"
Harry mockingly barked, holding back his laughter. "Now, you will treat
me as a proper customer and we will do business. No back-stabbing, no
trying to swindle me, and certainly no overpricing, or else! Capiche?"
Harry's smirk morphed into an innocent smile as he uttered the obvious
threat.
"Yes." The shopkeeper breathlessly nodded, still about to shit his pants
from witnessing such powerful magic. Wandless magic. From a kid!
Delightfully unaware it's the only magic Harry can currently muster.
An awkward silence ensued between them, as Harry was gauging the
shopkeeper who was hopelessly waiting for Harry to decide his fate. Not
like he could defend himself.
"You can call me Hadrian, Mr.?" Harry introduced himself.
"Martin Borgin." The shopkeeper grunted, somewhat subdued.
"Okay, Martin," Harry said, making him frown. "I need books.
Occlumency and Legilimency. Also get me a book on Gemino Charm,
please." Harry took out hundred galleons. "And don't worry. You will be
paid well, Mr. Borgin."
Mr. Borgin was at first surprised. Then he contemplated trying a
Legilimency probe on his 'customer' but quickly decided against it after
he saw the 'boy' avoiding eye-contact. In the end, his greed won the
internal fight against his pride and he scrambled to the back of the store
to collect the best books on those subjects.
Harry was pleased with his purchase. While hundred galleons were a lot,
he bought five books! Two on each subject and one for Gemino Charm.
Better yet, four of these books are outlawed and can't be found anywhere
else! Yes, he was extremely pleased.
As he was exiting the store, he turned around to look at Mr. Borgin
whose expression was almost glowing as he looked at his newly acquired
hundred galleons. Especially since the books were altogether worth at
most forty. But who was he to complain!
"I will be back. With more galleons and more orders. I am sure both of us
will be pleased afterward." Harry amusedly quipped.
Mr. Borgin flinched as his face drained of color. He realized the 'kid' in
front of him knows the books were basically overpriced. After his brain
finally filled in what his customer just said, he finally relaxed. His
expression again twisted in glee as he started to rub his hands together.
"Of course, Mr. Hadrian! I will make sure to have more books of the
darker nature prepared!"
Harry left the store with an amused headshake.
Ch12. Gringotts yet again.
The next day Harry was on his merry way to Gringotts. This time,
without a watcher who will report everything he saw to the Twinkles.
He skipped towards an unoccupied teller and cleared his throat. The
goblin looked up from his documents and shot him an unamused glare.
"Hello, Mr. teller." Harry greeted before the teller could open his mouth.
"Business?" The goblin asked, annoyed.
"I would like to know what services Gringotts provides." Harry stated,
shocking the goblin.
The vicious creature looked at him with a spark of respect for using his
brain, something that is among wizards seen only rarely and passed him
a book named, Gringotts and its services.
Harry took the book and was promptly ignored by the goblin. He went to
the area with seats and started to read through it. When he was finished,
he was completely flabbergasted at the stupidity of wizards!
Gringotts safeguards the gold, artifacts, books of a family, or anything
they deposit into their vault. That's about it when it comes to their
banking services. The riches earn no interest by being stored in Gringotts.
Gringotts don't invest money for wizards nor does it offer to manage their
businesses. It was nothing like the well of knowledge, called fanfictions,
described! They were basically just a very costly warehouse with good
safety measures.
When the family line dies and no heir is found in a century, Gringotts
confiscates the entirety of the vault. There are a few exceptions, namely
being Merlin's vault and Founder's vaults because even goblins can't
access those without someone of their blood. Not that they did not try.
Borrowing from goblins is a fool's errand. The interests alone would
butcher anyone stupid enough to do it. And if they can't pay? There are
always mines under Gringotts where they and their family can disappear
until the debt is paid. Except, in this case, the debt itself doubles. After
all, they are not repaying in gold but menial labor! And the value of such
is a lot less! They have to be fair!
The same goes for goblin-crafted artifacts. They consider them theirs and
only 'borrowing' them to wizards who issued them. Of those, they are
very possessive. Don't let goblins catch you with a goblin artifact that you
or your family didn't issue. That could end badly for you. Very badly
indeed.
Harry just shook his head in exasperation. The entire Gringotts service
sounded more like extortion than banking. Even the monthly fees were
ridiculous! There was a bare minimum fee for poorer wizards and then
there was a fee for wealthy 'clients'. The little scammers calculated the
fees by how much gold is deposited in the vault. The more there is, the
bigger the fees.
'And nobody complained so far? How?' Harry thought with a frown. 'I
thought they lost the rebellions. This looks like a win to me though.'
Alas, there was nothing Harry could do. He swiftly skimmed through the
offered services as a beautiful smile bloomed on his face. He can't access
Potter vault. Hell, he can't even inquire about it without his magical
guardian knowing. But maybe he could…
He approached the same teller as before and again cleared his throat.
The teller yet again scowled at him in annoyance as he had to abandon
his documents yet again, making Harry's smirk widen.
"I would like to request a blood inheritance ritual." Harry said, making
goblin's mouth snap shut. He also deposited the needed ten galleons on
the counter, annoying the creature even more.
Harry was ushered into a room with an old goblin in a shamanic tunic. In
the middle of the room was a golden goblet connected to an intricate
ritual circle drawn on the ground. The goblin shaman sneered at Harry
and harshly passed him an ornate dagger.
"Three drops of blood." The creature grunted and gestured at the goblet.
Harry smiled and sliced his finger, letting three drops fall into the goblet.
The goblin quickly confiscated the dagger and discreetly put it into his
pocket. Seeing it, Harry's lips twitched upwards in amusement.
"You are not allowed to use my blood for anything else than this
particular blood inheritance ritual." Harry flippantly stated, laughing his
ass off in his head due to the rage-filled scowl the goblin shaman gave
him as both felt the very obvious shift in the magic in the blood.
"Very well." The goblin sneered with utter contempt and proceeded to do
the ritual with gritted teeth, doing his best to show Harry how worthless
he considers him.
Harry considered coming to Gringotts more. The little ugly beasts were so
much fun to screw with! But even he understood it would most likely be
detrimental to his health in the long run. One of these times the short
scowlers would find a way to fuck him over sideways and it could very
well be the end-game for him. No matter how much fun he had with
goblins, he would give them a wide berth unless necessary.
If he didn't forbid the goblin to use his blood, who knows what kind of
vile ritual would it be used for? After all, it was willingly given blood.
The goblin could do anything with it, ranging from harmless things like
legally fucking him over either by betrothing him, getting access to
Potter vault, or signing some magically binding contract in his blood to
cursing his entire bloodline, enslaving him, or keep track of his
whereabouts anytime they wanted. True, most of those would need some
additional steps willingly done by Harry himself. They can't really sign
the contract in blood for him but what if they gave him a quill with his
own willingly given blood instead of ink? There are many loopholes in
magic and these shorties had literally centuries and a lot of debtors in
their mines to research them thoroughly.
Blood is an impossibly strong binder in magic. It is one of the most
powerful magical ingredients. It is also the best conductor for rituals. And
when the blood is given willingly… now that's just plain cheating. It is
very hard to get willingly given blood though. Just picking up a
bloodstain on the battlefield doesn't really count, you see. But having
Harry willingly slice his own finger? Now that is a nice loophole. The
blood was after all given willingly. All of it. Even the remainder of blood
staining the dagger.
Nay. No way Harry is leaving his blood in the hands of these greedy
beasts that are most likely already preparing for the next rebellion.
The ritual started and the circle under the goblet shined in bright red. It
slowly spread through the room, sending a wisp of energy towards the
floor, down to the vaults. Harry, enraptured by the magic bending
according to the ritual watched the happenings with his special
perception. He watched in amazed horror as the ritual checked magic
signatures of specific vaults and compared them with his own magic and
blood signature to find out if he has a right to the vault or not.
His horror was caused by the sole fact the ritual in itself used enough
magic to bring down the entirety of Gringotts if the magic was channeled
through a simple Bombarda spell!
By the quiet grumbling of the goblin shaman, Harry noted the shaman
didn't feel what he did nor had he any control over the magic of the
ritual after he initiated it. Harry sighed in relief, thanking Merlin for that.
'Yes. I will definitely dabble in rituals after seeing this little
demonstration. If even a worthless ritual such as this can gather so much
power from ambient mana then…' Harry's face split into a megawatt grin
that sent chills through the goblin's spine.
Ch13. Lineage and Inheritance
After the document with Harry's lineage and rights to vaults was
generated, he was not shown it. Harry was promptly but politely ushered
by the goblin shaman to a comfy-looking office. There sat a well-groomed
goblin in a smaller version of a business suit. It was obvious at the first
glance the goblin is trained for interaction with humans. No sneering, no
scowling, no glaring. Just a polite smile.
The shaman respectfully handed the document to his hands and relocated
to the door. After studying it, the important-looking goblin behind the
table looked at Harry with the most humane smile he ever saw from a
goblin and introduced himself.
"I am Manager Sharpfang, the manager of Potter vaults. Heir Potter, I
must confess, I never thought we would meet in circumstances quite like
this." The goblin politely quipped calmly.
"Greetings Manager Sharpfang, I must agree yet I can't say I fully
understand what you mean by that." Harry answered, completely
confused.
Before the goblin could respond he spotted the goblin shaman standing at
the door gape at Harry in surprise at his politeness. Harry turned around
and spotted the shaman.
"If you were polite from the start, so would I." He offhandedly told him
with a slight smile. "Respect is a two-way street, goblin."
The shaman showed a conflicted look but after a while nodded in
acknowledgment.
"Ritualist Clawhook, please, leave us alone." Sharpfang dismissed the
shaman without care, waiting for him to get out of the room before
continuing.
"Now that we are alone Heir Potter. Did you see the results of your blood
inheritance yet?" He asked curiously.
"No, I was instantly pulled here." Harry narrowed his eyes.
"I see." Sharpfang gave him a disarming smile and handed him the
document.
…
Harry James Potter
Primary Heir Potter - by blood(father)
Peverell lordship included in Potter line - by blood(father)
Potter Family Vault - 8 524 galleons 22 sickles 1 knut + items.
Potter Trust Vault - 1 knut
Lordship - claimable
Heir Black - by magic(godfather) and blood(grandmother)
designated by: Sirius Black
Black Family Vault 35 246 851 galleons 2 sickles 25 knuts + items
Black Dividends Vault - 19 752 659 galleons 15 sickles 12 knuts
Lordship - claimable
Heir Gryffindor - by blood(Potter line)
Lordship - unattainable
Vault information not provided due to the insufficient status
Primary Heir Slytherin - by magic(conquest)
Slytherin Vault - unknown
Lordship - claimable
…
Harry looked at the document and wanted to let out a joyful scream. He
understood why this happened. He just didn't expect it. Not at all. He
defeated Voldemort, becoming new, rightful heir Slytherin. He was heir
Potter by blood, therefore he was also heir Peverell. What came as
surprise was his Black heirship. He didn't think Sirius designated him as
such even before being thrown in Azkaban. Nevertheless, he was
thankful. As for Gryffindor? The guy probably had so many heirs there is
no telling which has the strongest claim. Neville, Dumbledore, heck even
Ron may be one with his stupidity and charge-on attitude!
Harry didn't dally and chanted the chant to claim lordship he read in a
book.
"I, Harry James Potter, claim Lordship over Slytherin, Black, and Potter/
Peverell lines."
The light in the room dimmed as small green wisps of magic started to
seep into Harry, painfully inscribing themselves into his being. He gained
Slytherin's family magic! He could feel his tongue vibrating as his
parseltongue strengthened. He wondered if he could communicate with
dragons now.
After the Slytherin line was finished, black wisps, much less potent did
the same, left Harry panting on the floor yet oddly satisfied. He felt his
affinity for all things dark shot through the roof and gaining a certain
resistance to corruption. He guessed when family dabbles in dark arts so
much as Blacks did, they must gain resistance to its corrupting effects if
they want it or not.
There were no wisps of magic for the Potter/Peverell line because he was
already such from birth. He was just disappointed in having no clue what
advantage the family magics gave him.
He was also sure he missed a lot of other traits the family magic imbued
him with. He just noticed the obvious since he already expected them.
"Wow, never thought I would see someone dumb enough to claim
lordship of three lines at the same time and survive to tell the tale."
Sharpfang exclaimed rudely as he stared at Harry with comically wide
eyes.
"Uh? Did I perhaps do something bad?" Harry scratched the back of his
head.
"Bad? No." The goblin dryly stated. "Insane? Yes. I guess the Black blood
is strong with you."
Harry tilted his head to the side in even more confusion than before.
"The family magics are not always compatible, that's why there are no
lords with lordship over more lines. They usually get shredded to pieces
when they try to claim more than one line. Moreover, taking Lordship is
basically an oath sworn on your very own life. If magic deemed you
didn't have the unconditional right to inherit the family magics fully,
becoming the lord, no matter whether through blood, magic or last will,
your life would be forfeit." Sharpfang barked out.
"Oh, lucky me, I guess." Harry projected an uncaring attitude even though
inwardly he was sweating elephant-sized bullets. He almost died!? Lucky
me indeed!
"I swear, you wizards!" Sharpfang cursed. "And pray tell, how would we
explain the hero of Wizarding Britain dying in Gringotts?" He
admonished Harry.
"Oh." Harry looked at him like a deer in highlights completely missing
that angle.
"Yes. Oh." Sharpfang annoyingly stated. He sighed in exasperation and
rubbed his forehead.
"Now that you took three lordships at once," He gave Harry a pointed
look. "we have to go through the obligations of each family and decide
what to do with them. It is now my problem as your family account
manager but more importantly, it is also your problem, Lord… which
name do you want as your primary?" He asked.
Harry pondered over it for a second.
"Black. Hadrian Black has a nice ring to it." He smiled.
"Oh, I completely understand why you are ashamed of the Potter name, I
do." The goblin for the first time in their interaction sneered, and it was
because of the mentioning of the Potter name. "I certainly would be
ashamed too!"
Harry was yet again utterly confused. He understood there must be
something he missed. Something big, at that. But he first had to be sure
about more pressing matters.
"Tell me, Manager Sharpfang, will ministry know about my lordships?"
He asked evadingly, making Sharpfang grin savagely.
"Do you want them to know?"
"Not really." Harry said, feeling as if a mountain was just lifted from his
shoulders.
"Then they won't be informed. At least not by us." Sharpfang said with
finality.
"Can't they know through magic?" Harry asked.
At that, Sharpfang gave him an 'are you insane' look and shook his head
in exasperation.
"And pray tell, how would magic inform them? Will it grow a mouth and
tell them? Or do you think it will send them a howler? Lord Black, I even
forgot you are still a child." Sharpfang quipped, making Harry want to
dig himself a hole and hide there.
"Anyway, back to your obligations!" Sharpfang said as a goblin hurriedly
brought three thick tomes. "These," He pointed at them. "contains the
contracts of your families. You as the lord has to decide what to do with
them." Sharpfang gave Harry a vicious smirk. "Let's see if you don't owe
your soul to somebody."
'Uh-oh. That doesn't sound ominous at all.' Harry thought as he stared at
the thick old tomes in distaste.
Ch14. Family Issues
"Obligations, Manager Sharpfang?" Harry asked unsurely.
"Yes. The families have contracts of old we have to go through." The
goblin browsed through the tomes with unveiled interest. "Especially the
Slytherin line. From what is written here, the lordship was unclaimed for
over eight centuries! The promises of old never kept. Atrocious!" He
exclaimed, horrified.
"No, I mean, why does Gringotts even care? In your book describing your
service there is nothing stated about," Harry waved his hand over the
green tome. "this."
Sharpfang gave him a fanged smile.
"We keep the vaults of founders safe."
Harry blinked. Then he blinked again. And then he started to laugh
boisterously.
"Don't give me such bullshit, Sharpfang! I've read the damn book!" Harry
wiped a mirthful tear from his eye, startling the goblin. "Certainly, in one
place you do brag about keeping the founder's vaults 'safe'. In another,
though you say they are so secured, even goblins can't get in." Harry gave
the goblin full-toothed smile, a sign of threat for goblins. "That's true. The
founders knew well what greedy creatures you are, goblin. They secured
their vaults so you can't enter no matter what you try. Only their rightful
heirs can get ahold of their fortune. Whatever that is. You can't even
collect the fees for safeguarding the vaults!" Harry enjoyed the
bewildered look of his account manager.
Sharpfang was stunned but eventually snapped out of it and started to
laugh hysterically.
"Yes. Not that we didn't try though! The founders and Merlin. Ah, these
certainly did earn our respect! Even though it was long after their
deaths." Sharpfang calmed down. "But since the founding of Gringotts
goblins were given administrative responsibility for renewed lordships
and new lords without guidance. We are oathbound to provide necessary
help to get you started into your lordship. And that includes leading you
through the old contracts and dealing with them." He stated seriously.
Harry, seeing how serious the goblin got, just nodded obediently. When
he saw the tome, he almost regretted becoming Lord!
"Let's start with Potters." The goblin said in clear distaste. "That will
include Peverells too since they merged their bloodlines together."
"Ok. What did my poor old family do to earn your ire, oh mighty
manager?" Harry quipped jokingly which earned him his first scowl from
the goblin.
"They ruined themselves! Your parents did! I almost lost my position as
an account manager because of them!" Sharpfang almost shouted in
agitation, making Harry raise his eye-brow.
"Well, that much is obvious from the vault statement. Do tell, how did it
happen."
"Contract." Sharpfang said dryly and handed Harry a copy of said
parchment.
Harry read through it. Then read through it again. And when he was
reading it the third time, he almost ripped the damn paper to shreds!
"According to this," He pointed at the offending scrap of paper. "my
parents," He spat venomously. "gave Albus bloody Dumbledore," The
venom in his voice visibly increased. "the right to access Potter Family
Vault in order to get money for post-war financial relief?"
"Yes." Sharpfang said with a deadpan look.
"Without setting any limits to how much he can withdraw or any proof
the money will actually be used for post-war relief?" Harry asked with
the same deadpan look the goblin had.
"Yes." The goblin again confirmed, making Harry blink.
"Okay." Harry calmly voiced.
"Are you fi…" Sharpfang asked, not comprehending Harry's calm attitude.
"Fuck Potters!" Harry interrupted him with his shout as he banged his
balled fist onto the table.
Harry's blood boiled. His rage palpable in the air as the magic visibly
shifted because of it. Potters. The family supposedly even wealthier than
Blacks. Made into complete paupers because of one old goat-fucker!?
"Lord Bla…" Sharpfang tried to calm Harry down.
"Is there anything else about the Potter family?" Harry asked calmly. Too
calmly for Sharpfang's taste. He was not here to question nor comfort
Lord Black though. He was here to help him get through the pile of
contracts. So he continued his job without comment.
"No. When it comes to contracts, the Potters were very tidy and well-
organized."
Harry nodded and asked.
"Is there no, let's say, betrothal contract signed by Dumbledore between
myself and certain Weasel?"
Sharpfang shifted through the documents in Potter's tome and shook his
head.
"No, if you see one, it is not legit."
"Okay, let's continue. The Blacks now." Harry leaned into his chair,
grateful for at least this little mercy.
"Blacks as you surely knew supported the latest Dark Lord. They spent
most of their fortune on these endeavors. For example, the Black
Investments Vault where the remuneration from shares they own in
various businesses is deposited, was under fifty thousand galleons when
the Dark Lord died. These nineteen million galleons are what their
businesses amassed during the last decade." Sharpfang drolly informed
Harry. "Same with their family vault. They may have been much more
careful with spending the galleons from the family vault yet they spent
on the cause quite a lot anyway." Sharpfang paused, seeing Harry's
eyebrow gained a noticeable twitch.
"Account manager Sharpfang. My patience is wearing thin and I am really
pissed at all those idiots I am to call family. Any good news yet?" Harry
asked in an annoyed, impatient tone.
"Yes, Blacks were a cut-throat family. They have no unpaid debt but are
owed quite a lot." Sharpfang happily informed Harry. "There are two
betrothal contracts they owe though. Ironically, it's to the Slytherin
family so we can deal with that later."
Harry nodded in satisfaction, calming his temper down.
"What about Potter family debts? You didn't mention them." He asked.
"Ah, Potters always paid their debt in full." Sharpfang said. "As for the
debts owed to them…" Sweat appeared on his forehead.
"Yes?" Harry asked, leaning forward with a smile in a vision of inheriting
at least something from his direct family.
"When your father became Lord," Sharpfang started carefully. Harry
nodded and gestured for him to continue. "he forgave all debts owed."
Harry's smile froze. His lips slowly regained the smile though. When the
smile was formed, he started to laugh as his head shot backward, leaning
onto the chair. His body spasmed from all the laughter as he waved his
hand at Sharpfang.
"Nay. Just continue. I am not gonna think about the excuse of a human
that is my father. Nay. Nay. Not gonna happen. Nay. Not worth it! Nay."
He said, trying to stifle his laughter.
"Very well. Slytherin line." Sharpfang opened the green tome, ignoring
Harry's outburst. "No monetary or life debts there as it is such an old
family. In those times, the betrothal contracts were the favorite way of
debt settlement. And you, my lord Slytherin, inherited loads of them. One
to Bones. One to Greengrass. One to Malfoys. Two to Ollivanders. Three
for Blacks. The list goes on, and on, and on. It's as if the Slytherin line
was collecting these." Sharpfang stated helplessly, shrugging his
shoulders in a 'what can you do' gesture.
"How would that work? I am lord Black, how can I owe myself three
brides?" Harry mirthfully asked.
"Well. An example then. If Narcissa Black or Bellatrix Black gets divorced
or widowed, they would instantly become available for the contracts.
Nothing else would actually satisfy the contract. Their children are not
Blacks therefore useless for it. Andromeda Black and her family are out
since she was disowned. Then again, if you give birth to a daughter and a
son, you can give your son Slytherin name and your daughter the Black
name and wed them together, satisfying one contract." Sharpfang's mouth
was twitching upward the bigger Harry's scowl became. "Or, you could
completely dismiss the owed betrothal." Sharpfang offhandedly noted.
Harry sighed in relief and started to ponder his options.
"I can't ask for money instead of women, can I?"
"No. You can definitely not. The contracts are not worded that way. You
either take a woman as your wife or concubine, or you don't." Sharpfang
told him after careful examination of the contracts.
Harry joined his hands together and leaned his chin on them, and started
plotting. He is going to shake Wizarding Britain a little. Maybe then
Twinkles won't pay too much attention to him.
"Dismiss the betrothal contracts. All of them. Don't forget to send a notice
that Lord Slytherin dismissed them. Make it noticeable." Harry grinned as
he schemed. "Also call for all debts of Blacks to be repaid in full. Mostly
in magical materials or gold. Deposit them into Black Family Vault."
Sharpfang was startled at the insane Lord in front of him. Such a move
would ruin many families and destabilize the economy itself!
"We are not your debt collectors, Lord Black." He dryly voiced, trying to
get Gringotts and himself out of it.
"Do it and you can take ten percent of collected gold." Harry dismissed
his concerns, knowing well what oathbound means. He nevertheless
decided to offer goblins a payment for their trouble, to smoothen future
transactions.
"Twenty." Sharpfang offered greedily.
"Ten." Harry calmly smiled in amusement.
"Fifte…" Sharpfang lowered his asking price when Harry interrupted him.
"Correction. Do it and Gringotts can claim eight percent of collected
gold." Harry saw the goblin about to protest when he hastened his offer.
"And you can take two percent into your personal coffers. No taking from
the materials though."
Needless to say, the deal was struck with god-speed. Harry didn't manage
to even blink as the magical agreement was pushed in front of him and
the quill was delivered right into his hand.
Now if only he had a permanent, hidden, magical house that is
completely warded to relocate some books there from his vaults. Harry
had some ideas but for now, he left the Vaults unattended. He had
enough on his palate and no time to spend organizing the stuff there.
Especially the Slytherin one. He really needed a safehouse to relocate his
Slytherin Vault. Harry dreaded the fees goblins would ask of him if he
opened the Vault! He would have to pay centuries of unpaid fees! No, he
would rather have it closed down for now instead of letting the greedy
creatures help themselves to his money!
He only asked Sharpfang to deliver books on Occlumency and
Legilimency from Black and Potter Vaults to him and was surprised to
also get a ring that would heat up every time anyone would try to
influence his mind with a spell.
Done with the needed contracts, debts, and withdrawals Harry left
Gringotts, not knowing if he should feel rage at how much more he could
gain if his relatives were not brainless wizards, be happy at the newly-
gained wealth and entire libraries of knowledge, or be amused at the
antics of goblins when it came to getting loads of gold basically for free.
Ch15. Wizarding Britain in chaos
1
Bones Manor.
Amelia Bones was returning home from her office, utterly tired. Today
she had to yet again deal with the Minister of Magic himself, the
esteemed Fudge. And what a god-awful name that was! Almost as foul
and dumb as the man himself! Amelia didn't know how long she would
last under his rule. Her prospects certainly weren't bright! The idiot cut
the budget of her department as if he was playing house instead of
managing a state!
She shook her head in sadness.
'The public chooses. What can I do.' She sighed and just as she was about
to open the door, she spotted Gringotts mail on the porch.
'Susan.' Amelia clicked her tongue in annoyance. 'How many times do I
have to tell the girl to pick the damn mail?'
She picked up the letters as she sluggishly closed the door with her foot,
depositing her handbag on a table in the hall.
'Home sweet home.' Amelia took a deep breath. 'Cheer up, girl! It
wouldn't do to act depressed in front of your niece!'
She plastered the biggest smile she could muster and shouted.
"Susan, I am home!"
Suddenly a pitter-patter came from the stairs as a red missile ran at
Amelia, engulfing her in a hug. Amelia's world instantly brightened as
she saw her niece's sweet smile.
'Yes, this is why my work is still worth it.' She returned the smile in kind.
"Aunt, how was your day?" Susan asked meekly.
"Good, little lady. And yours? I saw you were busy!" Amelia put her
hands on her hips. "The mail certainly thinks so."
Susan's ears reddened in embarrassment and she pouted, her eyes darting
from place to place.
"I was reading about potions."
"Of course you were. Are you sure you didn't look at these fashion
magazines you hide under your bed?" Amelia quipped, knowing the
answer.
"No!" Susan's face became even redder than her hair, making Amelia
ponder if the girl is not a hidden metamorphmagus.
"Are you sure?" Amelia teased her.
"Yes!" Susan barked out quickly, making Amelia grin.
"Eh? Not even those you hide in your table?" Amelia's grin widened.
The little redhead refused to meet her aunt's gaze with a cute pout.
"Ah, ah. I am sorry, Sue." Amelia said with utmost sincerity but then her
eyes gained devilish gleam. "I know you were actually browsing through
the magazine of half-naked Quidditch players I hide under my bed." She
threw her little niece a winning smile.
Susan gasped in surprise but then scowled as she crossed her hands on
her chest in protest. The steam rising from her head though was
confession enough for Amelia.
"Okay, Princess, let me just go through the mail and we will see about
putting together some food, okay?" Amelia waved the stack of letters in
front of Susan.
Susan eagerly nodded and followed her aunt into the kitchen.
Amelia sat down behind the kitchen table and gave her attention to the
mail. She picked up a Gringotts notice and started to read.
---
Head of the Most Ancient And Noble House Bones,
We, Gringotts, regretfully inform you of the dismissal of a betrothal
contract owed by the Most Ancient And Noble House Bones to the
Founder House Slytherin. As the contract was canceled by Lord Slytherin
himself, no further recompense is needed and the debt owed by your
esteemed House is considered forgiven.
Signed Sharpfang, account manager of the Founder House Slytherin.
---
Amelia froze as her hand holding the letter trembled.
The House Slytherin was back.
'Who could be Lord Slytherin though? Is it… Voldemort!?' Amelia
abruptly stood up in a frenzy, sending her chair flying. She grasped her
trembling hand, forcefully calming it.
'No. That sick madman would never just let us scot-free if we owed
anything to him. Lord Slytherin is someone else.' She calmed down a
little.
'Deep breaths, Amelia. Deep breaths. Keep calm. You are better than this!'
She admonished herself.
Susan seeing her aunt's reaction got really worried and looked at her with
her wide lovely eyes curiously.
Amelia felt her nieces gaze and gave her a broken smile.
"Merlin smiled at us, Susan." Amelia gave her the letter. "In cases like
this, the responsibility falls onto the youngest or the most important
female family member not yet married, in this case, you. Only God knows
why Slytherin decided to dismiss it, but thank whatever deity
responsible!"
Susan read it and showed a complicated expression.
"Who is Lord Slytherin though?" Susan asked due to never hearing about
anyone like that. At most, she heard about house Slytherin at Hogwarts.
"That doesn't matter. What really matters is, you don't have to marry
him." Amelia rebuked a little too harshly.
Susan flinched in fear at her aunt's harsh tone and cold eyes, making
Amelia regret her reaction.
"Oh, come here Princess." Amelia spread her arms wide, hugging Susan
tightly. "I would never give you to some pedo-snake!"
Both girls relished their hug, completely forgetting the remaining mail,
happy the obligation their family owed was settled without any
repercussions for them. They were well-aware they dodged proverbial
Avada Kedavra there!
The witches of House Bones, the former house of the most feared
necromancers Britain ever knew, didn't yet know the real nightmare is
only waiting for them. Unopened at the bottom of the forgotten pile of
mail. For certain Most Ancient And Noble House Black wanted their
debts to be repaid in full. And repay they will.
After all, their priceless family tomes on the darkest arts of necromancy
would be quite appreciated in the Black library, wouldn't they?
…
Professor McGonagall, the last McGonagall, sat in her rocking chair
enjoying her summer vacation, sipping her evening tea, and relishing the
nature in front of her house when a Gringotts owl dropped a letter right
into her lap.
The old witch raised her eyebrows at the owl and grumbling about stupid
goblins, she opened the letter.
---
Head of the Ancient And Noble House McGonagall,
We, Gringotts, regretfully inform you of the dismissal of a betrothal
contract owed by the Ancient And Noble House McGonagall to the
Founder House Slytherin. As the contract was canceled by Lord Slytherin
himself, no further recompense is needed and the debt owed by your
esteemed House is considered forgiven.
Signed Sharpfang, account manager of the Founder House Slytherin.
---
The witch that braved through the battlefield, wands blazing, against the
latest and some of the worst Dark Lords in history fainted sooner than
she could finish the letter.
…
Loud rage-filled screams reverberated through the Greengrass Manor as
Lord Greengrass gave his study a quick make-over. Most of the furniture
blasted to smithereens by Bombarda curse, cut to pieces by Diffindo or
reduced to rumble by Reducto.
Greengrass, the fervent follower of the old ways whose members always
end up in Slytherin! No! He, Asmodeus Greengrass, is Lord Greengrass
and he won't accept it!
Lord Greengrass proceeded to utterly demolish his study room,
destroying everything bar a single letter with Gringotts insignia. The
letter that will bring complete shame to the Greengrass household and
many more houses among the Dark Side for days to come.
…
Inside the Burrow was chaos.
Molly Weasley hollered at the Gringotts owl profanity after profanity for
her house being called a vassal of Slytherin while the poor bird just gave
her a head-tilt.
Ginerva Weasley loudly wept on the floor, muttering how she will marry
Harry Potter, not some Slytherin. Oh, if only she knew.
Ron Weasley was muttering something about filthy snakes wanting to
screw his sister and steal from his house. Nobody will ever know where
the lad learned such a complicated word nor what gave the little rat
courage to proclaim his house has anything of value to be stolen.
Percy Weasley was over and over stating that rules should be followed
and therefore the debt should be paid, even if it means Ginny's marriage
to Lord Slytherin, silently hoping it would earn him a brownie point with
the Lord. Unknowingly only earning numerous stink eyes and possible
future silent treatment from his family.
Fred and Gorge grinned like madmen exclaiming about masterful pranks
and the possibility of getting tutelage from Lord Slytherin. Gaining them
a chase around the Burrow with a very crazed and very mad Molly
Weasley with a bewitched belt by her side.
Small garden rat missing a toe watched the happenings in quiet wonder,
thinking if its master had gone bonkers, forgiving the debts owed to his
house. Maybe it was time to show itself? Maybe his punishment won't
even hurt so much? Maybe…
When Arthur Weasley later came home after an especially tiring day at
work, he quickly understood why work is a home away from home for so
many men. He certainly had no energy putting his half-demolished house
back together.
Ch16. Wizarding Britain in chaos
2
It was an early evening and Dumbledore was sitting in his office, sucking
Lemon Drops laced with calming draught. He didn't take these from the
bowl on his table though. Instead, he had them stashed in the first
drawer in the table. After all, the bowl was enchanted to give him, and
only him, a slight zap if he ever forgot himself and tried to take a Lemon
Drop from there. It wouldn't do, to take them from there. They were
laced in loyalty, truth compulsion, and calming potion, after all. Oh, he
didn't mind being even more loyal to himself. Not at all. What he minded
though was the truth compulsion!
'Ah, how long has it been, since I last told the whole truth!' Dumbledore
thought oddly satisfied with himself, pride swelling in his chest at that
feat. 'And yet, everybody follows this grandpa! Ho-ho-ho-ho!'
It might be helpful to mention, the calming draught shouldn't be taken in
big amounts nor regularly for it can cause mental problems. But our
resident Chief Warlock was never one to read warning statements on the
cover, now, was he?
"Harry Potter will soon start at Hogwarts and my plan can finally begin,
right Fawkes?" Dumbledore mused, his expression then soured as he gave
a sad sigh. "I just hope young Harry forgives me. After all, it's all for my
Greater Good!" He started to laugh as he mirthfully stroked his beard.
The fabled leader of light looked at the trinkets monitoring the Potter boy
and hummed in satisfaction. Oddly enough, since Hagrid's visit, the
health monitoring charm is showing improvements, he must admit, he
was never really interested in this particular trinket. He often overlooked
it. He is Chief Warlock, the Headmaster of Hogwarts and Supreme
Mugwump! He has no time to monitor the health of a pawn he plans to
eventually dispose of! Dumbledore just guessed Dursleys were afraid and
started to treat the boy better. He was glad the boy would come to
Hogwarts soon. It wouldn't do for him to experience being treated well
by Dursleys. Not at all. Maybe a hate-inducing permanent ward? Hmm, a
thought for later, perhaps?
He then shifted his gaze to the right, watching the Blood Ward
monitoring trinket, happily noting it is working as it should. While these
wards will surely cripple young Harry's magic because of the
overexposure to them, they were necessary to ensure he will survive the
treatment at Dursleys in one piece. His only grievance was he couldn't
install a feature alerting him when young Harry leaves the house.
His gaze shifted further right and he frowned. There was a trinket to
monitor the whereabouts of young Harry. The trinket showed Harry is in
London. Dumbledore mused if perhaps Dursleys decided to make a trip
there but quickly dismissed his worries. After all, what could an eleven
years old boy do to foil his plans? The sheer thought was ridiculous at
best! And even then, the Dursleys would never let a freak roam by
himself in fear he will 'summon demons'!
Dumbledore suspected his calm and peaceful mood was partly due to the
calming draught but decided to just lean back into his comfortable chair
and pop another Lemon Drop into his mouth.
"All is going well indeed. Now if only Tom wasn't such an unruly child."
He idly commented. "Alas, after his defeat at my hands, my authority
would be undeniable and I would be finally able to set my plans in
motion. Even those filthy dark families will have to listen to my orders!
Ho-ho-ho."
Fawkes the phoenix thrilled chirpingly in reply, happily resenting
Dumbledore from his very core. Fawkes was but a small birdie when the
bony old bearded bastard found him. He remembers it well, that he does!
The big bad bearded wizard towered over his new small pitiful but
gorgeous self… a tear almost slipped from his eye as he reminisced,
making him quickly swipe it from his eyes with his wing.
From there it was a rollercoaster. He can't be manipulated by
compulsions, he definitely can't! He is a proud phoenix, that he is! No
wanky lanky snarky lying old deranged man can play with his mind!
But… even then, he is bound to the man with a dark ritual, that he is…
Unless someone destroys the amulet in the lowermost hidden drawer that
was used as a medium to bind him, he will never be free! A pity he can't
just burn the entire office down.
Fawkes tried to hold his tears in, not wanting to give even one more
phoenix tear to the goat-preferring human. He will never understand
what is so good about those wooly creatures that the human who
enslaved him prefer on them over him. Fawkes suspected it had to do
something with the human's past lover. Grinde-, or something.
Nevertheless, even the ugly overgrown bat that spends much of his time
inside his captor's nest nowadays is better than them! Fawkes never liked
the ugly stinking bat. Not because he is rotten to the core and childish.
No. Phoenixes despite the rumors give a crow's shit about the goodness of
the heart when choosing who to bond with. He hated him for trying to
act cool in front of him! What is with those billowing robes! He will
never be as glorious as Fawkes when he ruffled his feathers! Stupid
imitator!
As Fawkes yet again lost himself in complaints aimed at humans,
Gringotts owl entered the office carrying a letter for the Head of House
Dumbledore, condescendingly hooting at Fawkes, making him return a
scoffing screech, before flying away with style.
Albus took the letter with childish excitement, expecting yet another
increase in his fortune. After all, he won't be able to enjoy immortal life
without enough money. And while Philosopher stone can give him
however much gold he wants, it wouldn't do to make Flammels doubt
him after they trusted him with its destroyal! No matter if he is called the
strongest wizard in the world, Nicholas Flammel was alive for centuries
and it showed every time he manhandled Dumbledore during their duels.
No, he didn't need the gold-shitting feature of the stone. Not at all.
He had the perfect golden goose. So many orphans, most of them from
considerably wealthy families, had an undue accident right after they
reached the majority. They, of course, were very grateful to Dumbledore
and decided to offer their wealth to the Light Side in their will. What a
good children, Albus thought mirthfully.
That string of thinking led him again to young Harry…
Potters. One of his most profitable ventures. He was just regretful he had
to leave a few thousands of galleons for Harry. The boy will certainly
splurge them!
With another sad sigh, Dumbledore opened the letter and started to read.
---
Head of the Minor House Dumbledore,
We, Gringotts, in accordance with Ravemore post-rebellion treaty where
the responsibility of overseeing the repayment of any and all debts
between the noble houses was bestowed upon us, dutifully inform you
that the Most Ancient And Noble House Black called the debts due. The
Minor House Dumbledore owes to House Black a monetary debt of 47
126 521 galleons 12 sickles 8 knuts, accumulated over 400 years.
Lord Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore, titles omitted, be
informed, this amount doesn't include your personal, to date unpaid debt
of 2 415 221 galleons of initial 5 000 000 galleons borrowed to pursue
the studies of Alchemy. As your personal debt towards House Black
contained yearly interests and fine for neglect of delivering payment on
time, in the last eighty years the debt existed, it rose to 45 846 255
galleons 58 sickles 45 knuts mostly due to the fines of neglect from your
side and the fact the debt was not frozen due to any legal reason.
Blacks might have forgotten but we at Gringotts do not forget Lord
Dumbledore.
Due to the fact you are the Head of the House, these two debts were
merged. The final amount owed: 92 972 776 galleons 70 sickles 53 knuts.
That being said, due to the lasting neglect of these debts from your side,
we at Gringotts, in accordance with the authority granted us by the
treaty, must regretfully inform you, the debts were partly settled from
Dumbledore Family Vault and your personal Vault and these Vaults now
contain only some of the items deposited there. Make sure you pay the
fees for these Vaults in time, otherwise even these remaining items will
be confiscated by Goblin Nation.
The remaining debt of the Minor House Dumbledore is 30 146 818
galleons 11 sickles 88 knuts.
True to the wishes of Lord Black, you have three months to repay your
debts or Gringotts will move to ensure justice.
Signed Sharpfang, account manager of the Most Ancient And Noble
House Black.
---
Dumbledore gaped at the letter. It took him five read-throughs to finally
understand he is not dreaming. A debt of over thirty million!
Moreover, Lord Black is back!? How! He was sure he killed or
incapacitated all of the important Blacks!
It took him a while to calm himself and think about the situation. There
was no other way than to pay his debts. No matter if he is the most
powerful wizard since Merlin himself, he is still just one man.
Bloodthirsty goblins on his back and a reputation as someone who
doesn't pay his debts would ruin even him! He is not yet ready to face
entire races! Much less a race like goblins.
Albus only imagined, how must the Minister of Magic curse at the leeway
and loopholes of the post-rebellion treaty! Albus was raging too! And he
was under the influence of the calming draught! The Blacks clearly used
these loopholes to hide behind the might of goblin race and their legal
responsibilities in order to get their debts repaid in full without any
protests possible from their debtors! Albus would even praise them for
such a marvelous move if he was not one of the affected!
As for the newly emerged Lord Black… Albus realized it's most likely just
the last vain attempt at glory by Arcturus Black from his deathbed. He
cursed the old man for complicating everything and himself for not using
faster-acting poison!
Thirty million galleons!
If only he was not so sure of himself in his youth that Blacks don't care
about his debt anymore, he thought glumly.
Alas, nothing could be changed about it. At least the Potter fortunes he
has safely stashed in a hidden location will almost completely mitigate
the debt. Albus sighed at the prospects of losing the galleons he so
painstakingly worked for. Especially since it was so hard to get James's
unconditional trust. The boy was Potter, after all. He wouldn't sign over
his fortune if he didn't trust Dumbledore completely. A few compulsion
charms early and on helped immensely, though. As did giving Lily some
nudge via the liquid love in James's direction. Oh, Albus knew the boy
drools all over himself every time he sees her. Albus had no claims
against this particular relationship. If getting Lily Evans into Potter's bed
could make his hold over the boy stronger... After all, Lily was a muggle-
born who admired him! Yes, these were good times. Hell, he managed to
get the trust of the entire gang! A bully Potter, an easily leashed
werewolf, a cowardly rat with the subtlety of dragon, and even runaway
worthless Black!
Ah, Sirius... That reminded Albus of his current situation.
'Years of manipulations just went down the drain.' Dumbledore thought
angrily. 'Damn you to hell, Arcturus!'
This little setback will reduce his personal wealth almost to zero. Hell, he
will have to borrow some gold to pay it all off! He would have to rebuild
his wealth. Bribes can't be paid by air, after all. What to do, what to do…
Taking another Lemon Drop, Albus Dumbledore, the Leader of Light,
plotted what dark spells to use in order to politely 'borrow' some money
from more gullible, he means, light-natured families.
He was not amused. Not at all. He needed money, a lot of it actually. It
was all for the Greater Good! Albus smiled ruefully at being so close to
his childhood dream but gritted his teeth when he realized this
effectively delayed his final plans by years!
'Just a few more years, two decades at most!' He chanted in his head,
trying to calm his temper, lest he goes on a rampage and slaughters every
Black alive!
'Uuuu, need a Lemon Drop! Another Lemon Drop!'
Fawkes gleefully observed the situation from his perch, dark gleam
flashing through his eyes, enjoying his captor's hardship. He knew well
Albus's biggest and darkest desire. And let him screech you, his fabulous
flaming self would freeze over before he would let him reach it!
…
That day, all over Wizarding Britain, chaos erupted.
After all, Blacks were a very old and very ruthless family. They were
famed for it. But pilling up debts over the last millennium without
anyone noticing and then calling it all due at once, and then expecting to
be repaid in three months? That was a new low even for them! Typical
Black insanity!
Tears flooded many noble houses that day the same way as gold flooded
Black Vaults three months later. Blacks officially became the wealthiest
wizarding family and they did so legally! Something unexpected for
them. There was nothing the Noble Houses or even the Ministry could
use to refuse to pay! The goblins made sure of it! In the end, with heavy
hearts, they paid, they were not ready for another goblin rebellion nor
were they ready for enraged Blacks.
The sudden action was such a shock, the people even forgot to ask about
one important little tidbit. The identity of Lord Black, the man who
single-handedly ruined the economy of Wizarding Britain for years to
come while bankrupting several noble houses and businesses,
unexpectedly remained a mystery, still veiled in the shadows.
Ch17. Politicking?
While the various Lords of Wizarding Britain descended into madness due
to a Gringotts letter delivering greetings from the new Lord Black, Harry
sat in the house he momentarily occupied, brainstorming about the
consequences of the news he just received.
He gained not one but three Lordships at once!
According to Sharpfang, there was no Lord with more than one, at the
moment. Harry was aware that, while the benefits are enormous, the
consequences are even more so. He is not someone who can defend
himself just yet. He doesn't have a family behind himself. He is alone.
Goblins would help, but they will do so only because they are oathbound
to do it. On the same note, they will help only if it brings them benefits,
such as the situation with the debts, or if the oath states their
responsibility to do so.
They won't protect Harry legally, and definitely not butt into his
problems. At least not unless he turns over a percentage of his vaults to
them for it. And that was something Harry was not about to do.
Harry basically gained enormous wealth and influence, but it was
packaged with enemies behind every corner. The only advantage he had
was nobody knew who was Lord Black or Lord Slytherin. Same as nobody
knew these two are one person. With the common sense of wizards, they
would never suspect these two to be one person anyway. After all, one
person having three lordships? It just isn't done!
On that front, Harry was fortunately safe.
At the end of his meeting with his account manager, Sharpfang gave him
an oath that goblins won't divulge his little secret. Unless he personally
stakes a claim to all three of his Lordships in front of Wizengamot or
babble, nobody will know his identity, nor the number of the lordships
he had.
That led his sight again onto the book he received from Sharpfang.
'Wizengamot and new Lords, how-to for dummies'.
Harry scowled at the name. He perfectly understood why the goblin-
written book was apparently unpopular with Lords. His scowl deepened
when he remembered its contents, though.
Wizengamot. Something that brought a sour mood to him every time he
thought about it.
The irony in it all was, Harry's mood wasn't due to his responsibilities as
Lord. No. It actually was because of his rights!
A right to have a regent until he reaches the majority.
That single right threw Harry for a loop. Something he had to solve fast.
And while his problem was simple, the solution was far from it.
'Dumbledore,' Harry sighed in annoyance. 'you crafty, bearded, ancient
jerk.'
Harry was in a proverbial check-mate. Potter regency was in
Dumbledore's firm grasp and he could do nothing about it. If he did, he
would be instantly revealed. Instantly suspected. And most likely mind-
wiped to be again the obedient pawn Twinkles sees him as.
No, that simply would not do. He needed time but at the same time, he
didn't have any, time.
That led him to his second house, House Black. Where Lucious Malfoy
was warming the chair for Lord Black.
How did that happen, Harry will always remain to wonder. All his
guesses came back to a single person though. Narcissa Malfoy née Black.
It was almost funny, how Dumbledore, the fabled leader of light stole the
regency over Potters, supposedly grey house, leaning more towards light
and a known Death Eater gained the regency over perpetually known to
be dark, House Black, because the spouse daddy bought him was a
former Black. Stupid Walburga!
Harry was angry at Wizengamot. There was no valid nor legal reason for
Twinkles and that Death Muncher to gain his family seats. Yet, they
gained them.
For no other reason than nobody objected.
For no other reason than these two jerks thought they had a right to sit in
these seats.
Harry just thanked the heavens the founder Houses had no part in
Wizengamot. Otherwise, he would have yet another headache coming.
The way Twinkles and Death Muncher Lucius obtained the votes of his
houses brought quite mixed feelings for Harry. The revelations certainly
weren't pleasant. While he understood Lucius who was supported by the
previous allies of house Black, his fellow Death Eaters, he was stumped
because of Potters.
Potters had many allies, after all. Longbottoms, Bones, Abbotts,
Blackwaters, and many more houses from both Light and Grey sides. All
claiming to be just and righteous!
Yet, not one objected when the celebrated Leader of Light stepped
forward and claimed Harry Potter is fed and watered and in safety where
nobody can find him. They did not even demand proof, instead, they
were okay with his gaining Potter seat and dragging the entire house
towards the light faction when it was grey before.
At least Lucius had to fight for the Black seat and most likely spent a few
millions of galleons to be a temporary seat-warmer for Harry. Not that he
thought he would be kicked outta the seat any time soon.
Anyway, Harry was not about to reveal himself in front of those people
and ask for their help. That would be foolish. Utterly so! If they didn't
care before, why would they care now?
Heck, he couldn't even go to Wizengamot! He was no Lord for them.
While he attained Lordship of his family and nobody can take it from him
as per noble family laws and the family charter. This, however, only
pertained to his family and not its political position. To be a Lord
presiding on Wizengamot, one has to be over 17 years old and have
finished his O.W.Ls. Harry offhandedly asked Sharpfang if goblins could
help him with it, for a fee, of course, but their reply was an instant 'no'.
Figures. They did perform several rebellions, after all. Nobody would let
them meddle with the government body.
His only way to get back the influence his family had into his own hands
was through a regent. A trustworthy one, at that.
Not a commonly found commodity, that. Harry already gave up on the
influence of the house Potter. He resignedly noted there was nothing he
could do. Not now, at least. Not unless he wants his identity to be
revealed.
But there were still Blacks. He was definitely booting Lucius out of that
chair back to his own, designated for his Noble House of Malfoy! No way
will he let someone from a House that brought its nobility for galleons sit
on one of his family's seats! If Harry believed the tripe that the older the
house is, the better and nobler it is, he would even say, Malfoys are too
young to be sitting in Wizengamot itself!
On the other hand, that is quite a strong argument when it comes to
wizards. Perhaps he could…
In his rueful pondering, Harry even thought about kicking Narcissa out of
the family, severing any possible claim Draco had on House Black. In the
end, he didn't do it. She was too distant a family to do anything the
second he became Lord Black. Not to mention she was basically sold to
Malfoys for galleons. Harry pitied her too much for severing the only
remaining link to her family she had, the family magics.
As for Draco… there is always another, different, better not mentioned,
ahem, option to make him a permanently silent non-variable.
Harry spent a long time thinking about various people he remembered
from the movies and if they are fit for the regency of House Black. Most
of them were rejected for not knowing where their loyalties lied. While
others for not having sufficient status. Wizengamot would not accept any,
as they put it, 'riff-raff' in their midst.
At the end of his musing, Harry really had only one, albeit unsure of
acceptance but a highly trustworthy option. Simply said, he was betting
on a positive reaction. And he was hoping for a 'yes' with all of his heart!
'Heck, I wouldn't even mind spending millions of galleons just to make
her accept and throw all these political problems at her while I have my
freedom!' Harry thought while his mind spun plan after plan how to
properly 'convince' his victi-, ahem, target.
He quickly penned a letter to his account manager, asking him to set up a
meeting in Gringotts with a few additional, uncommon requests. He
hoped the goblin would be able to set it up for tomorrow which, he was
sure, would greatly annoy his account manager. This in turn will surely
increase the fabled fees of Gringotts. But the vision of annoying the old
goblin was yet another reason why to go through him and not contact his
chosen person by himself!
'Sigh, I can already feel the disturbance in my vaults due to the fees it
would all cost.' Harry thought with tears streaming down his face.
Ch18. Meeting
Harry currently sat in a fluffy comfortable chair placed in the corner of a
meeting room at Gringotts, sipping a tasty orange juice. He was behind
multiple secrecy wards, charms, and even the chair had notice-me-not
enchantment. These spells covered any and all means of discovery
possible for common wizards, ranging from sight to smell, and even
magic detection.
Harry was really grateful to Sharpfang to organize the meeting so fast!
He, after all, sent the letter only yesterday!
'Ah, the advantages of being Lord.' Harry mused, amused.
As Harry was delightfully stroking his ego while savoring the
accommodations, he suddenly remembered the dent this meeting made in
his vault.
'Greedy bastards! 100 galleons for setting up the meeting alongside the
secrecy wards!' Harry glared at the quietly writing Sharpfang in the
middle of the room, sitting behind a table. He even suspected the little
shit had some kind of detection charm that makes Harry visible for him
because the second he started glaring at him, an amused smirk marred
his face!
Before Harry could contemplate the woes he had with his account
manager, three loud knocks reverberated through the room.
"Come in!" Sharpfang sharply shouted and a goblin looking like a guard
ushered two people inside.
The first person was a tall, somewhat lanky, muscular man with
mistrustful pale-blue eyes and short pale blonde hair. Clad in a business
suit, his face marred with a miniscule frown as his eyes flashed all
around the room in a second, ending up on the goblin who totally
ignored him. Harry was floored at his appearance! If he didn't know who
he was, he would actually mistake him for a Malfoy! Granted, the air
around him was nothing like these peacocks strutting around expecting
everyone to fall into line for them. He looked more like a businessman
who was caught of guard and is trying to formulate a plan for whatever
fallout this meeting will produce. Yes. Fallout. The man didn't trust 'Lord
Black' for sure. Harry wondered what did the Black family do to him for
'stealing' one of their daughters. Nothing pleasant, he supposed. Then
again, the guy evidently still breathes so nothing over-the-top either.
After him, a gorgeous light-brown haired woman wearing a simple black
dress walked in with a perfect noble-looking gait so typical for girls
brought up in a pureblood family. Her back completely straight and chin
held high, she also quickly swept the room with her black eyes but
instead of making it obvious like her companion, her head didn't even
turn, nor did her eyes stray from the goblin. She inspected the room with
the corner of her eyes, dutifully taking in every detail. When she saw the
absence of their supposed inviter, her thin lips slightly frowned but then
she pursed them in preparation of debate with the goblin, making her
high-cheeks even more emphasized.
Sharpfang, noting she was about to speak, quickly took reins of the
conversation.
"Welcome, Mrs. and Mr. Tonks." He greeted them. "I am account manager
Sharpfang. I guess I don't have to ask which one of you is Andromeda
Tonks née Black, now, do I?" He quipped playfully.
Ted's eyes slightly widened at the un-goblin-like jab but he quickly
recomposed himself and politely introduced them.
"Hello, account manager Sharpfang. I am Edward Tonks and this is my
wife Andromeda Tonks. Nice to meet you." Ted said neutrally.
"Every bit of the lawyer you are supposed to be, Edward Tonks."
Sharpfang grinned, fully showing his teeth.
Both Edward and Andromeda almost jumped out of their skin from fright
at that, not expecting the obvious threat. Harry just facepalmed at the
antics of his account manager.
"I will be blunt, then." Sharpfang got serious. "Lord Black would like to
see you, Mrs. Tonks. You two have a lot to discuss. Though, don't know
why your esteemed husband tagged along." The goblin looked at Ted
with clear anticipation in his eyes, just waiting for a rebuttal like a child
for candy.
Ted didn't jump at the obvious poke from the goblin. Instead, as per the
noble customs demand, he as the head of the Tonks family asked.
"Account manager Sharpfang, may I inquire where is Lord Black?"
"You may." Sharpfang offhandedly answered and gleefully let Ted
hanging.
Ted looked quite stumped. His wife was to meet supposed Lord Black and
the goblin just threw all etiquette to the wind while clearly insulting him.
Heck! Even Malfoys wouldn't dare to do that! His status as muggle-born
notwithstanding. He, as a lawyer, dealt with many purebloods and
members of noble houses but now, now he was definitely bewildered.
Doesn't the goblin know his behavior reflect on Lord Black? Wha…
At that moment, Andromeda put her hand on Ted's shoulder and gently
sighed.
"Let it go, Ted." She shook her head. "Am I right to assume, Ted is not
welcome during this meeting?"
Ted finally understood, then. It was not that the goblin was rude towards
his entire family. He was just hinting at his undesirable attendance! His
lips twitched and he barely contained a curse, both verbal and magical.
"Okay, I will wait outsi…"
"No. Since you already came you can stay," The goblin told him dryly.
"just be quiet."
Ted nodded dumbly but mumbled under his nose about 'typical shitty
purebloods', thinking the goblin was requested to act like this by Lord
Black.
"Mrs. and Mr. Tonks, my client, Lord Black, asked for an oath of silence
for his identity and anything you learn during this meeting." Sharpfang
told them.
"An Oath, is it?" Andromeda probed and narrowed her eyes.
"Yes." Sharpfang simply nodded.
"Oath? To someone whose identity we don't even know?" Ted butted in
reproachfully which got him an annoyed stare from the goblin.
"Ted…" Andromeda urged him.
"No, Droma, we can't just…" He started ranting but when his eyes met his
wife's hopeful almost pleading look, he quieted down instantly and
relented. "Okay. I will do it for you."
Andromeda thanked him with a smile and both swore the oath, albeit a
little warily and uneasily. If the goblin didn't guarantee their safety in the
letter, Andromeda would never even come! But she was hopeful. Maybe,
just maybe the new Lord Black won't be like her previous family? She
almost didn't dare to think so! Her hope of returning to the Black family
died the second she was disowned, after all.
"Okay, now," Sharpfang snapped his fingers, disabling the spells around
Harry. "I present you, Lord Hadrian Black." Sharpfang said without any
fanfare and returned to his documents, completely ignoring the stupefied
looks of both Tonks and the twitching eyebrow of Harry.
Andromeda was the first to snap out of her shock and gave Harry a
sincere happy smile, this in noble-tongue could be translated to almost
beaming!
"You have a peculiar relationship with your account manager, Lord
Black." She slightly bowed in acknowledgment.
"Not at all, Mrs. Tonks." Harry remarked unamused and turned towards
Sharpfang. "Did you have to annoy the hell of them?"
"To the contrary, Lord Black. You should thank me," Sharpfang stated
mischievously without even lifting his head from his paperwork. "I just
measured their reaction to unexpected situations! And I must say they
passed with flying colors. Good choice, my Lord." He said the last part
quasi-mockingly.
Both Tonks blinked in shock, pride swelling in their chests, while Harry
eyed the small creature with unveiled suspicion, not believing the goblin-
shitte he just spouted.
"Sure you did, buddy." He dryly replied while satisfyingly noting that
neither Ted nor Andromeda fussed over his age.
"Let me be blunt." He turned to them. "I have a deal for you. I am sure it
is something you won't decline. I want to take you back into the family,
Andromeda."
Andromeda looked at Harry almost tearfully while Ted still looked at him
in suspicion. He knew what it would mean for his wife to be taken back
to the family and he was happy for her. Both the monetary benefits or
elevated social status would help their family immensely but he as a
lawyer knew these kinds of deals always have their costs.
"Why are you sure we would accept it?" He asked and squeezed
Andromeda's hand, signaling her to wait.
Harry smirked at him mockingly, instantly making him irritated.
"Your daughter is what, her last year at Hogwarts or something?" Harry
asked them, making them freeze, expecting a threat, something a Black
would do. Harry just continued his tirade without noticing their mental
state. "You both know what it would mean for her future prospects if she
was a part of the House Black. And I am sure, you both won't let an
opportunity like this pass."
Andromeda and Ted both visibly relaxed. Ted gave Harry an appreciative
nod and asked the most important question of all.
"What would it cost us, Lord Black."
Harry pointedly looked at Andromeda, inspecting every nook and cranny
of her. At times nodded in satisfaction while rubbing his chin
contemplatively.
Ted almost blanched at the looks the kid in front of him gave his wife!
He was quick on the uptake and no way will he sacrifice the body of his
beloved just for some benefits!
He was about to open his mouth when Harry spoke with the smuggest
smirk he could muster as he stared straight at Ted.
"I want your wife," Harry intentionally drawled slowly, continuing only
when he saw Ted about to protest in outrage. "to be regent Black in my
stead. What else did you think an eleven years old boy would want from
her? Pervert." He muttered the last part audibly enough for Ted to hear,
making him splutter.
Both Ted and Andromeda short-circuited at the offer. Ted from shame
and Andromeda from the sheer size of the opportunity in front of her.
She blinked uncomprehendingly at Harry, thinking about the
implications.
Andromeda opened her mouth to react but just closed it, not knowing
what to say. She repeated the process two more times but then opted to
just helplessly look at Harry.
Ted instead pinched himself as his eyes darted between Andromeda and
Harry, also not knowing what to make out of it.
"I will, of course, need an Oath of obedience from you," Harry said
slowly, pointing at Andromeda. He playfully let the implication of what
he just said seep down, making both Tonks again wary of him when he
continued in satisfaction. "In return, I will give you an Oath myself to not
misuse it." He finished, again calming both Tonks.
By now the Tonks felt as if they rode a rollercoaster for hours. Ted
thought it was actually a small miracle they still managed to stand on
their feet and resented all deities for Lord Black's playfulness.
Tears poured out of Andromeda's eyes. She was again accepted into her
former family and her daughter won't be just a common half-blood prone
to discrimination!
"I accept." The second she uttered the word 'accept', family magic
recognized Harry's intent to take her back and her acceptance and did its
magic. Andromeda glowed in a black shimmering light for a second,
recognizing her as a member of House Black again.
There was no change in Andromeda's appearance or magic, the family
magic just didn't work like that nor was it powerful enough to change
these things. But Andromeda felt as if a part of her missing for a long
time was returned to her and it flooded her with content. She gave a
gorgeous smile to her new Lord as she happily squeezed Ted's hand.
"Thank you, my Lord." She sincerely thanked Harry as she wiped the
tears and bowed.
"Call me Hadrian. 'My Lord' sounds so cringy!" Harry told them and ran
his hand through his hair, momentarily revealing the bolt-shaped scar.
"Wait! You are Harry Potter!" Both exclaimed in surprise, googly-eyed.
Harry looked at them taken aback, almost face-faulting.
"Well, duh!" He dryly deadpanned.
Ch19. Gemino Charm and its uses,
non-wizarding edition
The meeting between Andromeda, Ted, and Harry ended up incredibly
well. Harry even accepted Ted into the family, recognizing him as the
husband of Andromeda which then instantly recognized Nymphadora as
their daughter and the family magic did its work. Harry snickered at the
image of panicking and spluttering Dora as she glows Black and people
asking her to show them the glowing metamorphmagus trick again.
Harry then hired Ted to look into the publishing of books about Harry
Potter and make a lawsuit against them for using him in these books
without his consent!
Andromeda, on the other hand, gave her oath to Harry. She was now the
new Regent Black. All it would take to make it official was an
announcement at the next Wizengamot session, a week before the start of
the school year. Harry, of course, gave her his own oath to not misuse
her vows.
Nevertheless, he had a slight leeway there since the word 'misuse' was
not really clarified but by the end of the meeting their relationship was
based more on trust than glaring at each other in suspicion but working
together because of mutual benefits, like typical Blacks. Harry wouldn't
screw Andromeda over anyway. He had much more important things on
his to-do list!
Plus his family magic alongside the Oath wouldn't let him do anything
too damning. The worst he could do to her was betroth her daughter to
someone old, wrinkly, and useless 'for the Greater Good of the family'.
But he would never do that to Nymphadora. He would rather keep her
close and tease her relentlessly! Oh, he can almost feel her amusing
reactions already!
…
After the political problems of the House Black were solved, or at least,
thrown to someone else, poor Andy, Harry decided to get in motion one
of his recent plans. He started to relentlessly study the book on the
Doubling Charm, spending an entire day before he completely gave up.
In movies or books, it all looks so simple! Just swish and voila, things get
doubled. But is it so in reality? Harry found out that apparently not.
Remember those essays every teacher assigns the students as homework
in the movies? Evidently magic theory is a thing. And casting Doubling
Charm, one of the harder variety of spells, as an eleven years old boy
without even remotely knowing a thing about the theory obviously just
won't work. What a bummer!
Harry was not about to give up yet! But he was not about to waste his
time learning years worth of theory in order to cast the damn spell! There
was only one way to accomplish his goal. He had to… cheat! Obviously.
He was still meeting Andromeda and Ted during these days. He either
saw Andromeda for discussion about what political views she should take
as regent Black or what agenda she should push in the Wizengamot, or
he discussed with Ted about the lawsuit.
He had two competent wizards to show him the spell! And that's exactly
what he did.
The next day, during a meeting with Ted, Harry asked him to cast a
doubling charm. Ted was quite baffled as to why it was necessary but he
relented. Needless to say, he quickly understood the reason when after
the fifth time he cast it, Harry swished his own wand at the nearby chair
and suddenly there were two of them. As with the wandless telekinesis,
Harry could perceive the way magic moved when Ted cast the charm. It
took a bit of tweaking but at long last, Harry could cast it!
After profusely thanking the bewildered Ted and throwing a pouch with
thousand galleons at him, Harry quickly ran to the house he occupied
and locked himself in a room for days to come.
A few days later of the relentless and numbing practice of single spell
over and over again, the fifty grand Harry stole from Vernon, became a
solid hundred, a banknote after banknote.
Then two hundred. Four hundred. Eight… And so it continued, the more
he used the spell, the more skilled he became, the more banknotes he
could double at once. Until, Harry was not even waving his hand
anymore while his wand was safely deposited in his coat, in the hall.
It might have taken him a bunch of sleepless nights, a lot of boredom,
and spooking Andromeda with his stylishly pale ghostly appearance but
eventually, Harry found out the ultimate truth.
After doing one spell thousands of times, not through some nonsensical
wand-waving or shrieking the name of the spell, hoping the magic
understands what you want and does it for you, but instead, really
knowing how the energy called magic does its work and replicating it,
only then casting the spell wandlessly, chantlessly, heck, even
unconsciously is not such a big deal anymore!
'Not like I would do a practice run quite like this in a long time to come.'
Harry glumly thought as he exhausted beyond the grave dropped on his
bed, sleeping for two days straight.
…
Michael Smith was just a normal black boy from the seedier parts of
London. He was always very hard-working and dependable. His skills at
what he did grew so much, he even became a leader of his own group of
dealers!
Yes, he was a small-time criminal in London. Selling drugs was always
his niche. Whether it was in his younger years as a dealer for his middle
and later high school or overseeing his own dealers after he was
promoted when his previous boss, fortunately, stepped at the wrong toes
and bought himself a new sporty hole right in the middle of his forehead.
Michael shuddered. Since then he appreciated one of his blessings even
more. He was never caught. Almost instinctively, he knew what to not do
to screw everything up. Michael would believe it a divine ability if it
didn't help him ruin so many lives. Or maybe he attained a divinity in
drug dealing? Who knows!
On one particularly peaceful day, Michael, in one of his safehouses, was
counting his earnings, surrounded by his boys having a bit of fun. He
despondently watched as his best dealers enjoyed whores and alcohol.
They deserved it, he thought. He knew well how hard it was to brave the
streets nowadays. So many upstarts think they amount to something,
causing problems left and right. At least after a hard day at work, his
boys could relax and spend the evening with a woman.
Michael though was never one for whores. No, his interests laid
otherwise. Oh, the number of times he got laid by beautiful and juicy
high-school girls! Yes, his interests definitely laid elsewhere!
He preferred his girls younger, and… he looked at the woman with a
crooked nose and soulless eyes straddling one of his boys, going up and
down almost as if on autopilot… and more lively.
He frowned at the quality the whorehouse delivered. Michael sighed,
next time he would have to choose personally. When it came to the topic
of personal choice, he remembered Nikol. Ah, the nice playful red-headed
minx that buys weed from him, he thought about her in delight, a
pleasurable shiver running through his spine. He could still feel her lips
and tongue dutifully clenching and caressing his…
As Michael reminisced about the sweeter parts of his life, a gunshot
resounded from the hall. The entire room stood up in alert, whores
crawled to the corner of the room, and nestled up into a ball in fear.
Michael quickly flipped the table over and wondered why his instincts
are not telling him anything. His boys loudly gulped as they prepared
their machine guns. His party was the only one in these parts of town
that could afford these toys! Michael calmed his nerves down and
prepared his pistol as sweat fell from his forehead in spades.
The shooting didn't cease yet, signifying the enemy was quite tough. As
Michael contemplated if running away would be the wise thing to do, the
noise in the hall quieted down.
One of his boys stood up and yelled.
" 'bout time, you shits! What took you so long to kill!?"
The next moment, the door flew in his direction so quickly, it was hard to
follow with eyes. It slammed into the dealer who stood up, knocking him
out for the count.
The shooting began.
Ra-ta-ta-ta-ta-ta…
Michael squatted behind the table, without even delivering a single shot
yet. His instincts screamed at him that something is wrong!
His eyes convinced him his instincts were true when the guns his boys
held suddenly forcefully flew up, disarming his dealers instantly. His
pistol followed shortly afterward as he let it go with an audible
frightened gasp.
Michael noticed his boys dumbly looking at the spot previously occupied
by the door, and then, he spotted him. No, it!
In the middle of the door stood a small… creature? It wore a black cloak,
loosely clinging on its frame, head covered by an oversized hood, and
hands in tight jet-black leather gloves. Not even an inkling of skin was
visible. And in front of it! In front of it were hundreds of bullets floating
in mid-air, stopped by some unexpected force! It was damn frightening!
His comrades snapped out of their reverie and were about to jump at the
person in the black in a desperate attempt to get out of this situation in
one piece when the man waved his hand in their direction and his boys…
flew.
They swiftly flew backward, hit the wall, and rebounded forward, falling
on their faces in unconsciousness. Even the whores were not spared!
Michael fell backward on his ass at the sight and gaped.
"Wha-what do you want!" He shrieked.
He instantly regretted it when the mysterious person reached his hand
out in his direction, fingers outstretched as if he was preparing to grab
him.
Michael looked funnily at it until he felt a pressure around his neck. The
pressure increased as he was slowly being lifted. The lifting stopped
when his feet were dangling a few inches above the floor, his body
violently thrashing as he choked from the pressure.
Michael's eyes widened in recognition of the move. For the next few
moments, he suffered as his body violently fought the mysterious force
for every molecule of oxygen. And when he thought everything was
hopeless and his vision was about to fade, he was released.
His body unceremoniously flopped on the ground as a harsh dry cough
ran through his throat while his mouth tried to greedily gulp in as much
air as possible.
When he finally calmed down, he looked up and saw the mysterious
person sitting backward on a chair, the hand propped up at the back of
the chair, supporting his head.
"You fine yet?" A childish voice rang from under the hood, scaring and
startling Michael at the same time. "Don't worry about your underlings,
they are just knocked out."
When Michael didn't respond, the person in black continued.
"You can call me Hadrian Black, Mr. Smith. I have a business deal I'd like
you to accept." The guy, Hadrian Black, voiced his wishes as Michael
could only dumbly nod. He had no choice.
No, he had a choice. Accept or die. He knew at least that much.
Hadrian threw a briefcase in front of Michael and gestured to him to
open it. Michael obeyed and was dazed by the amount of money there.
Seeing his expression, his apparently new business partner, snorted
derisively.
"Hundred million pounds. I want you to make an investment account and
invest them into," Hadrian threw a scrunched up paper at him. "these."
Michael didn't dare to read the paper right away, he just nodded with
frightened eyes. He didn't want to experience another near-death
experience!
"Mr. Black, why me?" He asked in a subdued manner.
"Simple. I checked you out. You are a coward yet hardworking. But more
importantly, you can smell opportunity and are smart enough to know
that betraying me wouldn't be healthy for your lasting existence. No. You
won't have the balls to run with my money. And even if you did run,
finding you would be easy." His smug smirk was almost palpable even
though Michael couldn't see his mouth.
Spooked out of his skin but surprisingly encouraged by having his
question answered he went for the next one that was plaguing his head.
"Are you, perhaps, a Sith Lord?" He uttered without thinking, regretting it
instantly when Hadrian's posture froze.
Hadrian almost fell from the chair he was sitting on!
"Y-ye-yes." Hadrian snickered ceaselessly, trying to muffle his laughter. "I
a-am Sith Lo-Lord."
Hearing the positive reply, any thought of running away in Michael's
head evaporated. He instead started to think about how to perform his
task.
It took a few minutes for Hadrian to calm down, he looked weirdly at
Michael, almost as if he looked at an idiot. Not that Michael recognized
the look with the hood and whatnot.
"After investing the money in the companies on the paper, in a short few
months to years, the profits should pool in your account. You will
manage the account for me, raising even more money." Hadrian slowly
explained. "I, of course, won't leave you without a reward. I will be
generous and give you twenty percent of the profits."
Michael's eyes yet again widened when he heard the proposal. He knew
exactly what was asked for him. He was to be a figurehead.
Twenty percent offered by a powerful Sith Lord for being the person in
the light? Only an idiot would reject it! Who knows, the guy might be
even able to predict the future!
Seeing his expression, Hadrian muffled another snicker but was satisfied.
He stood up and started to walk away.
"Glad we have an accord, then." He said as he walked out, he then
stopped for a moment and looked at Michael over his shoulder. "I can
find you anywhere on this planet, Mr. Smith. Don't forget."
The plain threat sent Michael's head bobbing up and down at speed
Michael could only wish Nikol reached.
Ch20. Reasons why go ‘muggle’
Harry walked along the Diagon Alley clad in a shirt and jeans, disguising
himself as a muggle-born, and pondered about the business deal he just
made.
Michael Smith. Harry didn't really want to deal with a drug dealer but
the guy was perfect for his plan. He was a coward that was willing to put
enormous effort to earn money and is quick on the uptake. Show him
enough force and he will never betray you. At least not until someone
stronger comes along. And considering his little brain mistook Harry for a
Sith Lord from Star Wars... Yeah, he got that covered. Michael will pose
as a figurehead and make him money while buying all available shares of
future best businesses.
While yes, Harry could always make more muggle money with a simple
Gemino Charm, that needs time. Time, he could use for learning other
spells and getting stronger. It is just not worth it. After all, the chance
that Dumbledore will off himself by choking to death during one of his
grandfatherly speeches is pretty low. And that is the most viable way he
could go onto his next great adventure due to himself. Harry really
doubted someone who can defeat him will just randomly pop up.
He also tried to use Gemino Charm on galleons. The result was... abysmal
to say the least.
Ted explained why galleons can't be duplicated and it seems every single
coin was co-made by wizards and goblins. The problem comes from the
goblin side. These greedy bastards would never let a knut leave their
hands without it having some kind of protection against counterfeiting.
Harry had many reasons to invest in the muggle world, to be honest.
For example, gold.
In the wizarding world, gold is a very valuable commodity. It is used for
enchanting, rituals, warding, jewelry, crafting, as currency, anything
really. The magical and common uses of gold increased its value greatly.
And then there were goblins. Again. These little rascals gave additional
value to every single useful metal that left their hands and usually bought
them in bulk, offering very little for them. They acquired it cheaply and
sold it manufactured in some way for exorbitant prices, raising the value
of gold a lot higher than it was in the muggle world.
The next reason why go 'muggle' was the influence it could bring.
Influence, that would help Harry immensely if something went awfully
bad between muggles and wizards.
Harry shuddered when he remembered his previous nightly expedition.
He almost shat himself when he saw the costly magical shielding amulet
being ripped apart in seconds after the machine guns started shooting! He
expected more from magic! He had to take a cover and use his magic
perception to find out where his enemies are and take them down with
his telekinesis. Not for a second, he left his cover before he was sure all
shooters are incapacitated! That was the only reason he was able to flex
in front of Michael! No powerful spells. No hocus-pocus. Just attacking in
an unexpected way while cowardly hiding. Results were good, the
process... quite embarrassing. Harry, however, doubted his plan would
work against trained soldiers.
The silver lining for Harry was, by the end of the encounter he found out
a way to use his telekinesis to project forcefield in front of himself,
making a very strong and almost impenetrable shield.
And wasn't that a mistake! Harry almost keeled over after he dealt with
Michael's men. Stopping bullets with telekinesis is no small feat for him
just yet! The last move, the chokehold was done through sheer
willpower! He was so exhausted after doing it, he had to sit down and
even support his head, thanking every deity he didn't overexert his bound
core! That's why he kept the debate with Michael short and concise. He
was tired! Alas, in order to ensure Michael's loyalty, he had to flex. So
flex he did, and hard. No matter if he barely managed to wobble his way
home afterward.
After that night, Harry desperately hoped no wizard is stupid enough to
break the Statute of Secrecy because he knew, wizards with all their nifty
little tricks, can't survive intercontinental missiles. Much less an atomic
bomb! Heck! Wizards would have a hard time keeping a machine gun at
bay! Even their shielding spells are quite frankly engineered to block
spells. Not insanely fast small lumps of metal with high velocity and
density. Nay, bullets would tear Protego in seconds.
Remembering that tidbit, Harry frowned in displeasure. He sighed and
hoped Obliviators would do their job properly. It also made the problem
called Voldemort and his Death Eaters even more pressing. Who knew
when these nutjobs decide to blow a muggle government building for
shits and giggles! With another sigh, Harry decided to put some time into
learning Fidelius Charm. Just in case.
Oh, Harry was aware the wizards are not as helpless as they appeared.
Nay. If a millennia ago the founders of Hogwarts were able to build a
magical castle, make sentient items like the sorting hat, cover the entirety
of said castle and even a nearby forest in such a strong notice-me-not
ward it is still going strong a thousand years after, and even create a
masterpiece such as Room of Requirements, Harry was pretty sure that
with enough effort, wizards could think of many ways to efficiently deal
with muggles. But that would take time and effort. And no wizard would
give the effort to invent 'dark' highly destructive spells or stronger
shielding charms that have 'no use'. Not when they still believe in their
superiority. Nay. Harry knew it would take a quite strong reality check
for them to put the effort in. He just hoped he would not be anywhere
close when the wizarding community received said reality check.
He was not so delusional as to believe the muggle governments didn't
know about the wizarding world. They surely did and most likely even
had contingency plans for a possible war with them! This was no book
nor movie anymore. He doubted after the massacre Voldemort pulled off
ten years ago, the government didn't prepare for something similar.
Harry would be surprised if they didn't have anti-magic weapons at least
drafted by now. When too many accidents happen at the same time,
someone is bound to notice it. No matter how many mind-wipers the
Ministry of Magic has.
Of course, there is always that near impossibility that Cornelius Fudge is
in contact with the muggle government regarding the relations between
our two 'worlds'.
Yes. Impossibility. Harry wouldn't put his hopes into a guy who insulted
another Minister of Magic straight into his face, thinking the guy who
manages an entire wizarding nation came to England not knowing
English or not having any translator at hand. Nay. It would be more
sensible to hope Fudge has no interaction with the muggle government.
Lest the good old Cornelius say something stupid and actually starts the
damn war.
A good politician, they call him. Harry scoffed. Sure. As if controlling the
public opinion was hard when the Ministry owns the sole wizarding
newspaper in the entirety of wizarding Britain and purposefully discredits
the other newspapers. The lazy and believing attitude of wizards didn't
help the situation much either.
Nay. Harry would rather gather influence in the muggle world and in
case some problem arises, he would try to steer the opinion about the
more magical variety of earthly inhabitants towards an unhostile way of
dealing with them. And who knows, maybe he could hire some thugs to
give wizards the reality check himself!
Or not. He knew he was not ready to have blood on his hands just yet.
Nay. If he was, Dursleys wouldn't end up in the clutches of the police,
after all.
Ch21. Of Moons and familiars
As Harry pondered about the dangers of the muggles, he suddenly felt
someone gently tugging his sleeve. He looked to the side and saw a head
full of pale-blond hair gently flowing around a cutely-shaped childish
face. Harry thoughtlessly noted a pointy button nose between two
dreamy yet warmly-pale sapphire orbs, boring into him intently. The
little girl who interrupted his thoughts and stole his attention away, gave
him a shy smile with her thin pink lips and her cheeks meekly reddened.
"Hello." She greeted, her eyes still disturbingly peering right through him.
Harry blinked owlishly at her in discomfort due to her focused gaze,
taking a half-step back to distance himself from her.
"Hello?" He greeted back unsurely, earning himself a happy nod from her.
She just silently observed him for the next few seconds. He was about to
open his mouth when he saw her biting her lips to push away her
shyness. His mind stopped at the cuteness overload he just received,
almost missing her next sentence.
"Will you take me to save the ugly chicken?" She asked out of nowhere in
childish excitement.
Harry's mind received another kind of shock and he didn't know how to
react.
"I... Wha-"
"Or would you prefer eating books with our minds?" She shot Harry
another eager question and then she suddenly frowned, tilting her head
as her eyes narrowed.
Harry was about to react, somehow... anyhow, when the girl shook her
head in exasperation, again stopping his mind in its tracks.
"I don't think befriending the brown beaver will work." She dreamily
stated and shook her head sadly. "The weather may get too letter-y for
that."
"Is that so?" Harry asked incredulously, furrowing his eyebrows.
"Yes." She said, completely self-confident. "Badgers are cool though. I like
their fur?" She added in a questioning, unsure way.
"I... do you?" Harry tried to respond as his eyebrow arched in
befuddlement but the topic somewhat eluded him.
"No wonder. They are good at hiding!" The girl nodded nonchalantly,
making Harry flabbergasted. Again.
Harry did the only thing he thought would give him a slight time-out. He
gently patted her head. It worked and the girl stopped, somewhat
surprised. She gave Harry a longing look as she subtly leaned into the
head pat.
Harry noticed it though and his eyes flashed in pitty. From her reaction,
he gleaned she probably lacks physical attention. As fast as his pitying
look appeared, it disappeared. It wouldn't do, to make her sad because of
it.
Harry proceeded to give her an inviting smile.
"Fancy some ice-cream?" He asked her in an attempt to distract her and
before he could react he was engulfed in a tight hug, desperately pressing
herself into himself.
Harry awkwardly rubbed her back when it all went blurry. He didn't even
know how or when she managed to drag him into the ice-cream store!
Nor when she managed to devour ten bowls of vanilla ice-cream. As they
were sitting and spooning away the ice-cream, he deemed the girl calm
enough to inquire about some basic information. He was about to ask her
name when she exclaimed happily.
"Ah, the Nargles quieted down around you." The girl quipped, a spoon of
ice-cream an inch in front of her mouth. "Are you perhaps trying to see
what makes Luna-tick?"
Harry face-faulted onto the table, as she continued to happily devour
another bowl. Nevertheless, he at least knew who she was.
Luna Lovegood.
She looked... kinda like the actress? Maybe if he closed his right eye and
squinted his left? Nay. She was totally different. And yet, not really.
Harry thought it was because she is still too young. Or maybe it was her
childish attitude? Nay. She was definitely different!
Probably.
As he contemplated her likeness towards the actress from the movies, she
interrupted his thoughts with something Harry would describe as a
knowing smile. But that can't be right, can it?
"The moon likes your offering." She told him in pure satisfaction,
confusing him again. "Come." And dragged him away before he could
even start to ponder on his newfound confusion. He barely managed to
throw a galleon at the stunned shopkeeper when Luna purposefully, he
thought, slowed down near the counter. The shopkeeper's shock doubled
itself as if Harry used Gemino Charm on it when he realized Harry paid
seven times the worth of the ice-cream they ordered.
"Lucky magical number." Little Luna skipped happily towards a pet store.
As they entered, she started looking around the cages with owls as if
looking something while Harry barely caught his breath. As he finally
regained his composure, Luna yet again took hold of his sleeve and
hauled him after herself.
They finally stopped in front of a cage with a single small raven.
"I like the talons," Luna said with a dreamy smile, having a staring
contest with the bird. "I doubt I would fit in into her nest, however. Not
after meeting you." She told Harry who was not paying attention to her
anymore.
The raven was perfect. He needed a bird who could carry his mail but
after Hedwig... let's just say, he had something against owls.
"Could you tell me more about him?" Harry asked the closest shop
attendant while Luna was surprisingly silent, showing only a content
smile as she stared... nowhere.
"Ah, this little guy..." The attendant looked at Harry with a complex
expression. "It is costly." He unhelpfully pointed out after seeing Harry's
muggle clothes.
Harry just rolled his eyes and took out a magical cheque, redeemable at
Gringotts. The cheque was magical, it would not contain the sum if he
couldn't afford it. He wrote the exact sum the plaque under the cage said
and handed it to the attendant.
"Now, will you tell me more about him?" Harry asked, slightly annoyed.
"Ah, yes!" The attendant answered, startled out of his mind. Since when
did muggle-borns have so much money! He wondered about it, seeing the
nice sum of 1000 galleons on the cheque. Hell, this particular bird was
here more for showing off than hope somebody would buy it!
"First of all, this is a female Wraith Raven. It is a very rare beast that is
very rarely found around Azkaban." The attendant started explaining.
"Because of its ability to coexist with Dementors, it can release the same
chilling aura Dementors can and rumors say it has some kind of
connection with soul magic. Hence its feathers are used in many rituals
aimed at soul modification. Not that anyone performs them in this day
and age. The raven has the ability to phase through objects by becoming
intangible, like a ghost. We contain it here only thanks to the specific
cage that prevents it from using its ability." He showed an annoyed
expression and gave a slight glare at the raven, earning himself a
relentless unblinking stare from her. "It can also shape-shift like a
Boggart, therefore has a very strong yet subtle Legilimency. I wouldn't
look into its eyes if I were you. Unlike a normal Boggart, this bird is not
harmless. Its beak and talons are insanely sharp and hold some kind of
weakening curse. Man, is it annoying to handle the bird!"
After hearing the general description, Harry ignored the shop attendant
and snatched a key from his hand. He opened the cage and reached his
hand for the raven. The second Harry touched his new pet, he could
clearly feel the bond between them as the raven became his familiar. It
made him smile in content.
"I will call you Rowena." Harry informed his new familiar. "After Rowena
Ravenclaw." He received an acknowledging and pleased caw in return.
"I see, that's very baffling indeed." Luna said joyfully, her dreamy smile
widened. Rowena cawed and... nodded? Harry had a glaring suspicion he
missed something important. Again.
He sighed. Being in the vicinity of the blonde dreamy sunshine just might
not be exactly well for his mental health. Harry turned back to the
fidgeting attendant and noted Rowena did the same. The attendant was
desperately trying to avoid her eyes, afraid of her shape-shifting boggart-
like ability. She apparently noticed and took it as a challenge, following
him with her amused stare.
"Does Rowena have all the necessary charms done?" Harry asked him. "I
will need her to act like a post owl."
That earned him a quite gentle but still painful jab, courtesy of Rowena's
beak.
"Of course, you are no petty owl. That's silly. You are a proud raven!"
Luna exclaimed, getting another pleased... nod from Rowena.
Harry wondered whose familiar Rowena is. The only thing keeping his
doubts at bay was the bond with her that pulsed strongly between her
and himself.
"Yes, the bird will be able to function as a post owl." The attendant
answered, flinching at the angry caw he received when he compared
Rowena to a common post owl. Harry decided to vacate the store before
it loses an employee because of his angry raven.
Luna, Harry, and Rowena, perched on Harry's shoulder, left the store and
were instantly on alert when a blond-haired man grabbed Luna. They
relaxed when they saw the resemblance between the man and Luna
though.
"There you are, sunshine! Come, it's time to go home. I am late for my
interview because of your wanderings!" He told her and started to drag
her away, completely ignoring Harry and the indignantly cawing raven.
"Write to me, Harry!" Luna shouted cheerfully at Harry as she followed
the man.
"So... does she actually see magic," Harry asked Rowena in uncertainty,
receiving a mental shrug from her. "True, she might be a somewhat of a
seer."
After a while of pondering caws from Rowena and getting into daze from
thinking about the way Luna's head works, Harry just gave up and
shrugged.
"There is always the possibility she is just a lucky headcase." He remarked
and received a positive caw in return when he suddenly froze in his
tracks. He looked Rowena straight into her eyes, completely
flabbergasted as he received a mental head tilt. "I never told her my
name."
Notes
This is fairly long so if you don't care about the change in appearances
of some characters, no need to read: Okay, before someone blows his
head off and says something like 'the author doesn't even know how
his character looks like!' due to the paragraph where Harry is trying to
find Luna's likeness to the actress from movies. First of all, I have read
many fanfics and gotta confess, I do not picture the characters of Harry
Potter as their actors from movies. I mean, yeah, they give the general
outline, something akin to base. But when I picture Harry Potter, I see
shining emeral-green eyes and expressive messy black hair. Something
Daniel Radcliffe just doesn't project. At all. When I picture Hermione I
imagine bushy hair, buck-teeth and yes, to a small degree I see Emma
Wattson, the older, somewhat. Not really. Maybe close likeness. But
that's only for her older form. The younger Hermione thought, Nah, I
don't see the actress. At all. My point being: My protagonist remembers
the appearances from the movies so his mind tries to connect them to
their counterparts. Which is not really working because there are
differences, making MC confused. I WILL try to overhaul the
appearance of several characters like Narcissa and Ted Tonks. It is
done either because of the plot or my personal vanity. I just want to
portray them as I imagine them. *shrug.* what can you do...
Ch22. Harry's woes
Harry stood in front of Grimmauld Place 12, the ancestral home of House
Black. His eyes carefully darting left and right around himself, the closer
to the place he got, the more his expression soured. A visible frown
marred his face, inconspicuously hidden under a hood of the most
generic hoodie he could find. No wizard would mistake him for their own
kind. He was but a muggle on a walk, after all! Completely uninteresting
muggle. That's right.
Harry was kicking himself for his brilliant idea to call the debts of House
Black due.
'Hindsight is such a beautiful thing' Harry sighed. 'I so envy the seers!'
Yes, he received a shitton of gold, magical ingredients, and valuable
artifacts! He could definitely brag he shits gold now. But... He announced
to everyone there is some Lord Black who did his damnedest to piss
almost everyone magical on the isles off. Heck. He bankrupted a total of
32 noble houses of various ranks! He counted. Gleefully.
And that's not taking into the equation other Houses who actually
survived! Alas, they had to pay. Or lose their magic. Or face goblins. Or
lose their magic AND face goblins. Harry couldn't care less which.
Heck, he even got offers for marriage contracts in return for forgiving the
debts, at least partially! He was offered girls as young as five to women
as old as thirty! Oh, Lords certainly didn't offer women older than thirty,
they at least had enough wits to know it would be political suicide and
an enormous sign of disrespect!
Well, thirty years of age was certainly a lot for such a contract. But what
these women lacked in youth, they certainly compensated in developed
body and... experience.
At least that was the sales pitch of various Lords who offered the
contracts. Harry was amused, highly so. At least until he started to be
offered boys...
Apparently declining so many girls with a wide range of ages, put a
thought of him appreciating more masculine company. Ugh.
That made him feel positively murderous. And angry. And dumb-struck.
And all at once... But oddly enough, he was mostly satisfied, almost
smug, with himself for legally 'robbing' them clean in the broad daylight.
Serves them right! The most amusing at the entire situation was, these
Lords didn't even know who Lord Black is. Harry would really like to see
their expression the moment they realize their so-called hero basically
made them close to beggars.
Harry saw these contracts for what they were. Desperation and
determination to survive no matter the cost. The Lords trying whatever
means available to stay afloat. Even selling their daughters and cousins.
The more shrewd ones even trying to screw Harry over with various
dishonest contracts, hidden clauses, or invisible ink.
Simply, the situation was the same as with the contracts owed to House
Slytherin. Accepting would mean making alliances. Therefore, the
enemies of his allies would also be his enemies. It would be the so-called,
choosing the side. After all, help is in no way for free in this world. And
in the wizarding world, one can not even trust the person who owes him.
Especially when it comes to magically binding contracts.
Marriage contracts were never meant to be something engineered to pay
debts. It was a tool for making alliances. And alliances meant
responsibility towards your ally. Even more so, in medieval times. Who
knew what blasted obligations would it mean for him! Oh, Harry knew
he could probably subvert the entire thing to his advantage. Was it worth
the effort though?
Worse yet, it would also mean being revealed as Lord Slytherin. Or in this
case, Lord Black. And that was just so not going to happen anytime soon.
No, accepting a contract was not going to happen.
Especially the contracts he was receiving now. Contracts from people
who had a whole lot of reasons to hate his guts for making them into
paupers. Nay, he had no time to care about them and go through each
word of the offered contract with a fine comb to ensure not being
backstabbed by his potential wife, nor was he willing to pay goblins to do
it for him. Plus, hell would freeze sooner than Harry deciding to marry
someone he never met or even talked to. No matter how beautiful the girl
is.
'If I will want a girl, I will get her myself!' He thought smugly before
deflating. 'If the girl is not interested, well... I am no Dumbledore to
screw with everyone around just to have my way.'
Harry just told his account manager to decline every single contract. No
need to be polite.
That, of course, made the goblin grin savagely as he drafted the rudest
and most offending refusals possible. Who knew goblins had such a
colorful language? Harry learned many new 'curses' that day.
The point being, Harry knew he made a shitton of money, with loads of
shittons of enemies! If his status as Lord Black somehow slipped out, even
more so since he was but a defenseless eleven years old boy... the Boy-
Who-Lived or not, the hero of Wizarding Britain or not, he was certain,
he would somewhere, somehow be forced to take a trip to his next great
adventure.
Nay, his Lordship over House Black had to remain secret, at least until he
was capable to crush anyone through sheer force.
Yet, everyone wanted to know the identity of the hated yet grudgingly
respected Lord Black and they wanted to know it now. And where better
to look for a despised Lord, just ripe for some good ol' revenge, than in
his ancestral home?
Harry walked around Grimmauld Place 12 ten times, his magical
perception on the highest alert, in order to ascertain if there was some
kind of watcher stationed nearby.
Why would Harry take such a risk and come here?
Simple, he had no choice. Damned if do, damned if don't.
For all of their intelligence or stupidity, wizarding families did not
deposit books into their vaults. Well, figures. You don't go to your vault
every time you want to have a good read, after all. No, you go to your
library. The one located in your HOUSE. Simple as that.
Harry cursed that wizards who appeared to be completely commonly
senseless had enough common sense to not place books into Vaults.
Harry suspected Slytherin Vaults would have the library of Salazar
Slytherin in them, due to the age of said Vault. He only hoped the books
would be under stasis or preservation charm. If not... no books for him
then. But that was beside the point, he couldn't reopen Slytherin Vault
without making goblins demand centuries of fees or threaten with
confiscation of said Vault. Ha, as if he paid the greedy little shits! Harry
understood completely why Tom didn't reopen the Vault. After all, the
fees would ruin even Malfoys!
Harry, obviously, had a plan on how to screw with goblins when it came
to Slytherin's Vault. No way he would give goblins his gold for nothing!
Sometimes, he could be even greedier and more stingy than goblins.
Being the richest wizard on the isles definitely didn't help the situation!
But the problem still stood. He couldn't access the books from there yet.
As for Potters. There must be the books from Godric Hollow house of
Potters. The problem being, the second he even tries to access them,
Twinkles would know. The privileges of being his magical guardian,
Harry sneered.
That left only House Black and their highly curse-infested library as the
most viable option. And since there was no book in their Vaults, Harry
checked, he needed to get into Grimmauld Place 12.
'Oh, why, just why must my magic be so difficult on me!' Harry lamented
wistfully but smiled in amusement. 'Sigh, complaining about being too
powerful for my age even with my core being bound is a nice feeling in
its own right, alright.'
Ch23. Family and its magic
After determining there is no wizard nearby, Harry walked closer to
Grimmauld Place 12. The closer he got, the more the family magic of
Blacks stirred happily.
He could feel it clearly. The wards. There was no Fidelius courtesy of
Twinkles since the place was not yet chicken-infested but it still had a
quite capable concealing wards. The most powerful of them was a
slightly darker variety of Muggle-repelling ward inwoven with Notice-
me-not. Harry didn't know why he knew that. It was almost instinctive
for him. One look and he pretty much understood the function of the
wards. He knew it was so easy because his Black family magic was giving
him a clear view… or feeling of them. He was never able to understand
other wards. They were always as if veiled in something. Oh, he kinda
always knew they were there and even their function. Given time and
knowledge, he was sure he could exploit them. Ever since…
Harry stopped in his tracks when he remembered he started feeling wards
and their functions on a more instinctive level the second he left the
Gringotts he claimed his Lordships. He never paid it much attention since
he thought it was a part of his magical perception.
'I may just have found out the function of the family magic of Potters.' He
mused.
These protective wards though... For someone like Harry who could feel
and understand them, they were scary beyond measure.
Massive, heavy, and dark. In short, powerful.
Despite its appearance and even without the Fidelius, the ancestral home
of House Black was a magical fortress. Nothing short of an army would
be able to breach the wards. And not without heavy casualties. These
wards were the accumulation of centuries of adding more and more
protections.
Harry had to applaud Dumbledore for choosing this house as his
headquarters. He certainly did so for a reason. And his Fidelius was not
it! Harry doubted the old goat could access more than a porch of this
house. No matter how powerful people see him as.
He offhandedly noted that most of the protections he felt in the wards
were in fact disabled but even then the activated remainder was enough
to stop even Twinkles and his flaming bird. Harry couldn't wait to
reactivate the wards in their full capacity! His worries about being
discovered lessened by a great margin. Almost to non-existence!
For the first time in his new life since he was so rudely stuffed into
Potter, Harry perceived the fabled 'dark' side of magic. And surely
enough, he was certainly impressed.
Oh, it had nothing to do with the apparent 'darkness' of the magic. No, it
had to do with the way the dark magic acted. Harry noted, it almost
looked to be sentient! Lingering there, at the back of your mind, trying to
wriggle its way towards the core of your consciousness to corrupt it, sign
sweet promises of power while making you less and less sane by the
second.
Thanks to his unique perception of magic, he could feel it all. The dark
magic though completely disregarded him. As he noticed the way it acted
around him a mirthful gleam shined in his eyes.
Well, the Black family magic surely was good at least for something. It
gave him complete immunity to the corruption of dark magic. After all,
thousand years of being known as a family excelling exclusively at dark
arts and being still around would prove to require certain immunity to
the more unpleasant consequences of the craft.
When Harry got to know this little tidbit, he quickly understood why
House Black was so famous and intent on dark arts. Why it was their
forte and why even though they preferred using a lot of spells that
theoretically should have left them corrupted for generations to come, or
at least as mindless drones, they never lost their firm touch with reality
performing it.
As for the occasional insanity...
Harry only knew the family magic shielded them against corruption of
dark magic. Not inbreeding nor idiotic upbringing.
Harry felt the wards would let him in but he was also sure anyone
uninvited would be in the world of hurt, if lucky. If not, well, let's just
say, they would be lucky to have a swift end. He bravely stepped towards
the door, knowing full well the wards won't harm him. He silently
opened the door and stepped in.
The second he did so, he felt something in him click with the family
magic. Fall into place. Harry with a skip in his step noted, he just gained
complete control of the wards and the house. With a smirk he went
deeper into the house, wondering where is Kreacher.
Harry was quite surprised at the interior. It was definitely dim and dark
but no dust nor filth could be found anywhere. Everything was pristine as
if polished with a toothbrush. Hell, the floor was almost sparkling!
As Harry awkwardly mused what's going on he suddenly heard 'pop' at
the end of the hall.
"Who is intruding on the lands of the Most Ancient and Most Noble
House Black! Kreacher will stop you!"
A raspy and dangerous voice sounded from a small grey-ish green
creature. Harry was momentarily stunned when he saw Kreacher, the
insane house-elf, threateningly glared at him. He certainly did look
awful, almost making Harry blanch. Black teeth, wearing a sack with
holes as clothes. The grey-skinned elf was old, skinny, and quite possibly
not in his right mind. A complete nightmare!
"Your master." Harry recomposed himself and nonchalantly stated,
sending Kreacher into a fit.
"Kreacher's master is mistress Walburga!" The elf raged and raised his
hands in preparation to attack Harry, making him frown and cross his
hands on his chest. Harry waited while tapping his foot on the floor, yet
no spell nor attack came.
The house-elf looked at Harry in unveiled surprise as he looked at his
hands in bewilderment. Wondering why his magic didn't work. Slowly,
his eyes bulged out and he took a step back, thinking the enemy in front
of him was indeed formidable since the wards nor he could stop him. As
he was about to panic, he heard Harry's voice.
"You were sworn to House Black. Not the Goyle bitch who ruined it."
Harry drawled irritably at the elf with a scowl, stopping him in his
tracks. He then commanded. "Just feel the family magic, elf!"
The elf reluctantly did as told and his jaw almost unhinged.
"Kreacher is sorry, master!" The small grey elf bowed when he felt the
interaction between Harry and the wards. He was an old house-elf and
knew what it meant. Only Lord Black could have such control over the
wards. The boy in front of him had even better control of them the
second he stepped on the property than old master Arcturus after decades
of living here!
Harry rolled his eyes. The elf, like those working at Hogwarts, was bound
to the house. The house instead belonged to House Black and its Lord.
Hence the elf belonged to Harry. And the family magic certainly showed
it.
"Is someone living here? It is too clean." Harry asked the elf who gulped
in fright, yet his body was on the verge of bouncing up and down in joy
at the thought of serving another Lord Black.
"Only mistress Walburga, master." The elf said subduedly.
As Harry heard Kreacher, he sighed in exasperation. The old bitch could
have at least enough sense to die of old age already.
"Ok, take me to her." His irritation increased as he remembered the
contracts for the Black sisters the old bitch signed.
"As you wish, Kreacher will do." The house-elf said, completely unaware
of the angry scowl and grim flash in Harry's eyes.
Harry followed Kreacher through the house until they came in front of a
bedroom. He was not about to be polite in his own house. Especially
since the person inside was Walburga, someone he didn't like at all. He
might not have met her in person yet but what he knew of her and what
he saw of her actions spoke volumes of her personality. Harry didn't yet
know what to do with her, but he was sure of one thing. He did not like
her to be a part of his family. She would be glad if he sends her back to
the Goyles with a small compensation. If only because his other options
would make her permanently deleted, in one way or the other.
He didn't wait for Kreacher to knock, instead, he barged in.
Inside he saw a luxuriously furnished dark room with various magical
trinkets, an ornately-carved mirror, and a small bookshelf filled to the
brim with books. At the far end of the room was a big luxury bed.
On the bed lied a plumb old woman, looking deathly pale and incredibly
tired. Heavy sweat covered her face as her labored breathing filled the
room.
Despite her condition, when she saw Harry barge inside her room, she
shrieked in her unpleasant high pitched voice.
"Who are you!" She eyed Harry for a second before she yet again started
screaming her head off. "Intruder! Kreacher! Kreacher!"
'Even on her deathbed, the banshee is exactly the same as in the cannon.
Still as annoying as all hell.' Harry mused distractedly as he let her angry
shouts wash over himself, completely disregarding them. 'I wonder if she
is partly a magical creature.'
He cleared his throat, shutting her up.
"I am the new Lord Black."
Ch24. Banshee
"New Lord Black!? Who are you!" Walburga raised her shrill voice, not
caring about the strain it put on her sick body as she shot Harry a heated
accusatory glare. She tried to stand up from her bed or reach for her
wand but her body was too weak to move. All she could do was scream.
And scream she did!
Harry relished her distressed expression, not minding her high-pitched
attempts to end his diabolical ability to hear. The angrier she got, the
more his face split into a mile-wide smirk.
"My name is Harry Potter." He said delightedly and watched the twisting
of her expression when she understood he is but a half-blood of the
accursed Potter line that 'stole' Sirius away, polluting his mind with the
blood equality crap!
"How! The only one who would do something as foolish as giving
lordship over Blacks to a Potter scum would be... Sirius!" She hysterically
screamed, not understanding what she just heard. "That blood traitor was
disowned!"
"Not really, he was not. You, after all, are not, and never were, Lord
Black. Therefore you can not disown someone." Harry arched his
eyebrow and continued in an amused drawl as he leaned his back on the
wall with hands crossed over his chest. "No matter how much you scream
it to the air, it won't become the truth just because you are the loudest.
Geez, woman, grow up already."
"I don't care! Lord Black should be young Draco!" She yelled confidently,
making Harry freeze.
"Malfoy?" He asked unsurely, taken by surprise she is in contact with
Malfoys.
'Did I miss something vital?' Harry pondered for a moment. 'Whatever.
Not like Malfoys can do anything about the Lordship over the Black
family anymore.'
"Yes! He is a true pureblood! No filthy blood traitor!" Her anger
intensified. "I won't stand for half-blood filth like you to be Lord Black!
Just wait till I am healthy! I will make you beg me to let Draco be your
Lord, scum!"
"Sure you will, Goyle hag." Harry sighed exasperatedly. "Destroying
House Black seems to be your hobby."
"How dare you, you filth! I was destined to be Lady Black before your
parents were even a spare thought in your grandparent's little brains! I
single-handedly elevated this House to..."
"To near extinction." Harry interrupted her in irritation, having enough of
her ravings. He unconsciously put pressure on Walburga with his
wandless telekinesis, making the bed almost cave in.
Walburga's body folded as it was forcefully pushed back into her soft bed.
The anger in her dissipated in seconds and she wisely shut up as she
realized just what the boy in front of her just did. This unconscious
display of potential on his part made her look at the boy again and see
him in a very different light. He was not strong per se. But he was only a
little boy. A little boy with frightening potential. Walburga tried to rave
and rage, yet, no voice left her throat as she opened and closed her
mouth in shock.
"You were the driving force for support of Lord Voldemort because of
some pureblood shit." Harry started to rant in apathy.
Seeing her lips curl in retort, he continued in a strong tone without
giving her any chance to utter her, for Harry, useless and deranged
opinion.
"The same Lord Voldemort who himself was a son of a squib from Gaunt
line who ensnared a minor muggle noble named Riddle with love
potions. Therefore, your esteemed Lord is barely a half-blood. His full
name was Tom Marvolo Riddle and Lord Voldemort was an anagram to
his name."
Hearing that, Walburga's eyes bulged out and her mouth continued
soundlessly to open and close, now in disbelief and shock rather than just
shock. She wanted to retort. She wanted to scream her retorts at him but
she could not. Not because she couldn't talk at the moment. That was not
even an issue in her mind. Her woes came from the family magic itself!
The same family magic that pulsed in truthfulness at his statement.
Walburga understood he was speaking the truth, yet, she could not
accept it. Not after she sacrificed so much to her Master! Harry, oblivious
to her state, just continued his rant without paying any attention to her.
"You persuaded Black Family to support him, ruining the family
financially. But that was not enough for you, was it? The Black insanity
was not yet satisfied, right? You even provided 'servants' for him. For no
other reason than Malfoys, Goyles and Crabbes did. You served up your
own son, the man you thought is Heir Black, as a bootlicking servant for
him. The boy was then made into a murderer, rapist, and a groveling
entertainment via Cruciatus curse for the Dark Lord and his most trusted.
Where is the dignity of future Lord Black, huh? Do you really believe the
family magic would accept some groveling pile of flesh with damaged
nerves and brain due to overexposure to Unforgivable as the next Lord
Black?"
Walburga gritted her teeth, for nothing he said was a lie. Her mind
blanked as her resolve and spirit started to slowly crack.
"Your son was not cut out to be a Death Eater. And you pushing him to
their midst cost him his life. Riddle killed him himself. Painfully at that.
Very, very painfully.
A flash of anguish ran through Walburga's eyes at the mention of her
favorite and obedient son's demise at the man she, apparently wrongly,
idolized.
"And what a surprise! The man whose entire propaganda is built on blood
supremacy, wantonly killed the future Lord Black from a pureblood
family for no other reason than he was not his dog on a leash! No matter
that he spent literally millions of galleons from Black fortune. No matter
he had cost the Black family more than it could afford in terms of lives
either ruined or worse, snuffed out. And you still idolized him for it. For
murdering your son." Harry's disgust was palpable in his tone.
"That's not why I am enraged at you. I could care less about useless ickle
Regi." Harry waved his hand in front of him in dismissal, not noticing
Walburga didn't even react.
"Nay. I am angry because you signed over the Black sisters! Thank god,
Andromeda was smart enough to enter a magically binding marriage
before the contract was activated or I wouldn't have anybody worthy to
be the Regent Black! Even now she doesn't really know what deadly
bullet she dodged by defying your wishes! I sure as hell ain't telling her!"
Harry gritted his teeth.
"I could have Narcissa Black by my side! The most politically savvy
woman in the entirety of Wizengamot. The woman who single-handedly
tripled Malfoys fortunes since she married the blond prick and made his
family into a political tycoon through an illegal but very effective means
even though the Malfoy's nobility rank is not all that high. Instead, you
sold the goldmine that is Narcissa for approval from your 'Lord'. Can you
even begin to fathom the things Narcissa would be able to do with the
wealth and authority of Blacks on her side? Fuck Voldemort! She would
have been able to take over Wizarding Britain for the Black family!
Legally at that!"
I could have Bellatrix in the family. A witch as talented in using Dark
Arts as she is insane. And what a gift that is for a witch of Black blood!
Granted, she is utterly insane, but once you gain her loyalty, she is
insanely devoted! Just look at what atrocities she caused in Riddle's
anagram! A fanatic who would do anything for her master" Harry raged.
"But no. You Goyle bitch just had to sell your nieces to deranged spoiled
little cowardly shits who could keep them in line only thanks to the
contracts! You did not even incorporate a fucking failsafe that could
easily break the contracts nor any condition for a breach of contract!
Nay. You, instead, took a very tight slavery contract and reworked it to
resemble an acceptable marriage contract! Your sold your nieces to
slavery and didn't even get paid for it, dammit! I lost two valuable
witches because your stupidity knows no bounds Walburga! Why, oh,
why should I not just kick you out of the family, wrap you up and send
you back... to... Goyl... es." At the end of his rant, Harry looked at
Walburga, noticing her anguished expression as she soullessly stared at
the ceiling without any indication of reaction.
"Walburga?" He asked, still irritably. "Knock, knock, you still there?"
After not getting even a twitch out of her, he walked closer and put a
finger under her nose. His eyebrows furrowed.
She was breathless.
Harry blinked several times in surprise. He turned around to Kreacher,
completely ignoring his tear-stricken expression.
"Did I just rant her to death?" Harry deadpanned at the house-elf as an
awkward silence settled over the room, only sorrowful muffled sobs of
Kreacher disrupted it momentarily.
Seeing her body, Harry felt ashamed for losing his self-control and
control over his magic. The pressure certainly helped in her demise.
'Damn me and my breath-taking speeches!' Harry thought.
But... He was not about to deny his appreciation for the results.
Strangely enough, he didn't really feel all that bad for her death.
Ch25. How to deal with a corpse.
Harry was numbly staring at the still-warm corpse lying in the luxurious
bed sheets. He didn't know what to think of his apathy at her death.
Scrunching his eyebrows, he searched if his emotional state shifted or not
but oddly enough, nothing. He just... didn't care?
It was Kreacher's sobs that pulled him out of his confusing reverie. Harry
looked at the grieving elf and released a tired sigh as his lips thinned in
manipulative contemplation. In the end, he put his hand on the head of
the grey creature in a comforting gesture.
Kreacher was shocked that his new master cared about his feelings! He
swore to himself to serve the new lord with everything he is!
As Harry saw the shift in Kreacher's expression, he pulled out an
awkward knowing smile.
'So simple.' He mused.
Harry looked back at Walburga's corpse and pondered what to do with it.
'Burn it? Throw it onto the streets? Gift it to Kreacher?' Harry glanced at
the elf with a corner of his eye. 'Yup, definitely gifting. Gotta motivate
the little guy...'
He was about to open his mouth when a sudden stray thought completely
halted his mind.
What actually killed Walburga?
Yes, the reason for her death eluded Harry. He didn't even give it a
thought yet. But...
Old age?
No, while the woman was definitely old enough to be called grandma
according to the muggle standards, the witch was still too young to die of
old age.
Sickness?
She was definitely pale enough. But... once upon a time, she was Lady
Black. There is no way she wouldn't get the best healer if she was ill. No,
her state and the situation clearly indicated even healers were stumped.
Harry didn't put much stock into the cause of her death being sickness. If
she had dragon pox or something more exotic, the healers would
certainly detain her in St Mungo.
There was only one solution to this puzzle.
"Kreacher?" Harry gave the elf a thoughtful glance. "When did Walburga's
illness start?"
The little deranged elf was caught off guard by the question but after a
while of pondering he vaguely answered.
"Around half a year ago, master. Kreacher doesn't remember too well."
"Ah, and, pray tell, did she possibly visit someone... let's say, in the
month before she has fallen ill?" Harry asked.
Walburga was spiteful. Too spiteful to walk around and attend social
meetings. And that's without mentioning her fixation on Tommy-boy. She
would never have enough patience to roam outside looking at people she
thinks her 'Lord' has the right to kill, torture, and rape for no other reason
he is supposedly pureblood and strong. No, she was most likely holed up
in the house. That means...
"Yes, master. Mistress visited Malfoys." Kreacher informed Harry.
'Aha! The Death Eaters ilk. Figures she would mingle with them.' Harry
thoughtfully drummed his finger on the edge of the bed. 'She wanted
Draco as the next Lord Black.'
Harry's face split into a grin.
"Kreacher, do you have some artifact, spell, or device that could do a
quick diagnostic of Walburga's body?" Harry asked more out of curiosity
than the expectation of getting something.
To his surprise, Kreacher nodded and brought a ring to him. Harry
probed it with his perception and when he didn't feel any curse, he
slowly and carefully put it on. Waving his hand over Walburga's body, a
parchment with its state was generated.
Harry's grin widened.
"Kreacher, quill and paper, please." Harry asked and on the table near the
bed, they instantly appeared.
He sat down behind the table and penned a quick letter for dear Amelia
in his station as Lord Black, something very, very hard to ignore.
Especially now since most people owe him a lot. Bones included.
The letter was regarding an investigation of the death of his 'dear' and
'poor' family member Walburga Black. According to it, the new Lord
Black 'suspects' foul play via poisoning. His 'peaceful' and 'loving' family
member was brutally murdered and he won't stand for it! He 'requests'
Amelia and her department to 'do something'. After all, Walburga was a
'delicate' woman who never 'hurt' a fly! Lord Black is 'apparently' deeply
'distraught' at her fate and wanted to take revenge on her killers himself!
But... as a 'model' citizen of Wizarding Britain, he understands, it is the
responsibility of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement to
investigate the case. Oh, and he also humbly informed her of the last, and
only people Walburga came in contact with, Malfoys. May the attached
parchment containing the results of a diagnostic artifact, used shortly
after her tragic demise, help her in her 'duty'.
"Kreacher, take this letter, and Walburga's body and deliver them to
Madam Amelia Bones in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement.
She will know what to do with them." Harry ordered but then got an
idea. He quickly penned a short note and also handed it to Kreacher. "Oh,
and deliver the short note to Malfoys, please."
The elf nodded and the second it put his hand on Walburga's corpse, they
disappeared.
Harry inspected the dimly lit room with a discerning eye and found a big
frame covered in a silk cover. He took the cover off and underneath was
a portrait of younger Walburga with a mahogany frame.
The portrait came to life and the younger Walburga looked curiously at
Harry.
"Who are you, boy?" She asked, no hostility at all. Instead, her eyes swept
his frame, clothes, and face. It was obvious she didn't appreciate the
muggle clothes in 'her' house but refrained from saying anything before
she knew the status of the boy in front of her.
'The portrait doesn't know?' Harry's mind went a mile a minute, but then
his lips formed a pleasant smile. 'Oh, I am so going to use her to show me
every hidden stash and secret of House Black!'
"Hello," He gave a curt polite bow. "I am Hadrian Black, the new Lord of
House Black."
...
It was around lunch-time and weary Amelia Bones was about to get out
of her office. She cursed Lord Black to hell. Because of him and the debts,
not only her department budget considerably lessened due to ministry
owing him a literal mountain made out of pure gold, but the amount of
work she had to deal with was insane! The crime rate increased
considerably. And that was not even counting the shit she had to deal
with at home because of the debts of her own family!
She was about to leave for lunch when something suddenly fell on her
desk with an audible 'thud'. She quickly sprang up and leaped back on
instinct while unsheathing her wand in preparation for combat, Reducto
almost leaving her lips.
Her brain finally caught up to her instincts and Amelia noticed the 'thing'
on her table is actually a corpse! She approached and her sight caught a
neatly placed letter on the corpse's chest. She opened it and started
reading. The closer to the end she got, the more frustrated she became.
'Yes, I definitely hate Lord Black!' She groaned.
Ch26. Narcissa Malfoy 1
Narcissa Malfoy was enjoying her morning tea and favorite potion book
in the garden of Malfoy Manor. She was relishing her peaceful moments,
for they were rightly deserved and she didn't have much of them. Not to
mention these moments and her very life were her only reward for the
services she provided to House Malfoy.
Narcissa knew her life expectancy is directly proportional to the benefits
her breathing state can provide to Lucius and his House. She understood
her 'worth' early on.
Being sold to House Malfoy as a bride by her own Aunt for worthless gold
that House Black didn't even need was a massive eye-opener for her
younger self. She only regrets not having a chance to do the exact same
thing Andromeda did.
After her escapade with that muggle-born boy, their parents and aunt
pushed the activation of Narcissa's contract forward.
And so, at the tender age of sixteen, barely after her O.W.Ls Narcissa was
taken from school and was expected to wed Lucius Malfoy. Oh, she didn't
make it easy on them. Of course not. She made sure her body was as...
experienced as possible by the time the git claimed her as his own. She
decided to follow Andromeda's example and dated her share of boys.
Even if she was not nearly as discrete as Andy was and the punishments
her family put her through because of it were especially painful or
mentally demanding. Well, at least she does not remember most of it. Yay
for a mindwipe...
She especially relished remembering Lucius's expression after the rumors
of her exiting a broom cupboard with boys from Gryffindor started
flooding the castle. Oh, the speeches about Slytherin and pureblood
supremacy, and yet... Nobody actually found out it was her who spread
these false rumors. So much for the cunning of Slytherins. She was only
glad that House Black did not care much about her reputation after she
signed the contract it reflected more on Malfoys than them and quite
frankly, her existence already provided benefits to the House Black. She
was not needed anymore. And Malfoys at that time were unable to
punish her for sullying their name. She was after all still considered
Black, if only in name.
And after the ponce that was to be her husband started paying attention
to her nightly adventures? She started 'sleeping' around even more. Just
to spite him. But to be honest, it was just clever planning of meeting
spots with her boyfriend at the time. A student seeing them enter a
broom cupboard here, another seeing them snog there, and the rumor
mill of Hogwarts did the rest.
'Ah, good times. I was still young and naive, thinking myself clever.'
Narcissa ruefully thought as she savored her tea. 'Making the prideful
poof's ego hurt... Just a pity most boys were so afraid of Lucius that they
quickly scurried away after getting to know I am his betrothed. But then
again, I was not really as courageous as Andromeda to just up and elope.'
But her reminiscing turned swiftly dark when she remembered what
came afterward.
After her wedding with Lucius, she... was made aware of her 'place'.
Narcissa shudders to this day the tortures her 'husband' put her through
for being a 'common whore'. The amount of pain she was made to feel,
day by day, just wishing they killed her already. She remembers vividly
how every night, Lucius would come to her, disable anti-pregnancy ward
and have his way with her until she is black, blue, and bloody. All in
order to impregnate her with his heir, not caring that her punishments
and the regular beatings would ruin any chance for that. Nobody from
the Malfoy family or the guests cared her body was perpetually filled
with bruises. She was Malfoy's spouse and it was her duty, they all said.
If he enjoyed it a little rougher in the bedroom... Nobody cared.
Her 'husband' at that time was but a young boy with a penchant for
violence when he was in control. She was simply just the very
unfortunate soul that crossed his path and was given under his absolute
control. And her biggest mistake was to resist it. These rumors... One of
her deepest regrets as the pain she suffered due to them was almost not
worth it. But... given a chance, she would resist yet again. Consequences
be damned.
Then Malfoys started to support the Dark Lord and her suffering
increased.
It was no longer just Lucius paying her bed visits. Nor was she given a
chance to avoid it. Lucius was a sick man. A sick man who appreciated
his closest friends much more than her, however. And she was... she was
unable to fight a direct order from the owner of the contract. Her body
moved on its own. In a way, it was a reprieve. Pain, she was used to.
They at least tried to not... damage her.
The disgusting experiments with dark spells performed on her quite
unwilling self. The sight of the potions made out of ingredients painfully
and forcefully taken from her own body as she just laid there, unable to
move. The fact it was her who was forced to brew these potions before
Lucius found Snape and his talent. No matter what they did to her, no
matter how painful it was, no matter how disgusting it was, the only
requirement was she survived it.
The things they did to her...
'Perish the thought! You are stronger than this! You are a survivor!'
Narcissa tried to forcefully calm down her shaking hands as she bit her
lip enough to draw blood. Tears tried to burst from her eyes but she
forcefully suppressed them. She could not afford to be seen in this state!
No, she would not give Lucius the satisfaction of seeing her like this.
After all, enjoying her misery is the worst thing he can do to her
nowadays.
'Yes, I am a Survivor.' She assured herself, calming down her nerves.
Then the Malfoys literally started to worship the ground The Dark Lord
walked upon and moved him into their manor alongside with his inner
circle.
'Bella...' A lone tear streamed down Narcissa's soft pale cheek as she
remembered her favorite rebellious older sister. The sister who always
made her smile. Who always protected her. The sister who... decided it is
easier to be insane than living with the choices others made for her.
Their father rearranging Bella's brain one too many times in an attempt
to make her obedient didn't help her sanity.
Needless to say, he succeeded. Spectacularly at that! Just that, Bella's
obedience wasn't toward the family anymore but the Dark Lord.
Narcissa remembered the beautiful bond she had with her amazing sisters
before it all went to hell.
'Together, forever, and ever.' She recalled the promise she and her sisters
made during their childhood as they quivered under a blanket during a
particularly long storm.
And how it all crumbled down. All because of her own parents. Because
of her own Aunt. Her own 'family'.
Two became slaves without any hope for freedom while another was
thrown away for finding her own happiness, betraying their vow and her
sisters.
Her beloved Bella, insane.
Andromeda suddenly leaves out of blue, no 'bye', no explanation or even
mention of what she planned to do, leaving her all alone.
And she?
She was forsaken, made into but a potion ingredient, and whore for her
husband's vain friends while he enjoys having his ass dickled.
And for what...
Blood purity... Something worthless, abstract. Something no spell can
prove. No test can disclose. Something people will know about you only
if you tell them with utmost honesty.
Narcissa cracked a slight smug smile. The Black family all but perished
for it. Oh, the speeches her 'beloved' father made about the need to pop
children for their noble husbands as if by duplication charm in order to
replenish the Black blood.
Yet, their direct lineage is finished.
'The only remaining direct line of Black blood left, Tonks.' Narcissa
clicked her tongue in distaste, remembering Andromeda. 'Disowned.
Inconsequal.'
'And Sirius...' Narcissa hummed in exasperation. 'The idiot of the family.'
She thought about her dear cousin. Wrongfully convicted in Azkaban.
Poor sap. And what a blast it was for her when she heard what happened
to that 'blood-traitor'.
No, she had nothing against his wish for freedom from the blood purity
crap. After all, it was her dream too. To be free. But she was jealous. So
incredibly jealous. He actually managed to get it. Free of their family.
Free of the traditions. Free of anything that restrained him!
Potters helped him and yet, he threw it all away for some childish
impulse to chase the killer of his friends instead of taking care of their
child.
'Typical.' Narcissa scoffed.
The kid, Harry Potter. Who knows where he is now. Not that she cared.
Oh, Narcissa knew well Sirius is the kid's godfather and couldn't betray
Potters without being six feet under in a heartbeat. But... even if the
contract didn't prevent her to even squeak about it, she would still keep
quiet. She was jealous, after all. Maybe a few decades of imprisonment
would be good for that idiot and give him at least some smarts.
'Betrayed Potters. Pfft' She rolled her eyes in amusement.
When the Dark Lord came into the Malfoy Manor. Narcissa for the first
time in a long while saw Bellatrix. It was no touchy meeting of beloved
sisters. Bella was crazy. And Narcissa was tired. Tortured, abused, used...
She was exhausted and it showed. She remembers her skinny frame and
massive dark circles under her eyes she had to hide with tons of make-up.
How she stuffed her clothes in order to not seem malnourished. The pain
that plagued her body every time she forced it to move.
But her sister helped her. In a rare lucid moment, she begged the Dark
Lord to make Lucius treat Narcissa better.
Needless to say, the Dark Lord wasn't amused by her request and didn't
see any advantage in it. It would only make him order his men to abuse
Narcissa even more if... a miracle didn't happen.
In a meeting of his inner circle, she was made to attend as an...
entertainment, the Dark Lord distractedly asked her about some of his
political problems. Narcissa doubted he even intended to ask her
specifically. Not likely, since her throat was at that time otherwise
preoccupied. But, she had a chance to showcase her talent in politics and
the economy. And she did precisely that.
She gained 'worth'. She survived.
Voldemort made Lucius swear an unbreakable oath that as long as
Narcissa's existence is beneficial to the cause and House Malfoy, he won't
abuse her and will treat her as his rightful spouse.
Narcissa giggled. The constipated expression of her 'husband' when he
heard the order was something she will remember for years to come.
Since then, she was no longer considered just an entertainment. She was
a subordinate of the Dark Lord. Well, not really. She still had to, from
time to time, be poked by Lucius. Mostly when he was dead drunk, didn't
have his butt-buddies around, or no raid was in sight.
Nevertheless, that was nothing memorable and she often forgot the
unsatisfactory experience the next morning even without any magical
help. No wonder her husband became a Death Eater.
But she also had to service the Dark Lord himself alongside Bellatrix. And
that was... memorable.
She... felt dirty. Tainted even. Much filthier than even when Lucius gave
her away for favors. The Dark Lord at that time wasn't yet ritual-riddled
noseless scaly-face. But he always enjoyed using exotic Dark Arts and
enjoyed seeing her in pain. Every time she breached the contract by
sleeping with someone else than her 'husband', any pleasure she could get
from the act was converted into pain. While Bella was the most trusted
aide, Narcissa was well aware she was the most entertaining sight for the
Dark Lord. She only thanked whatever deity looked over her that her
'Lord' was never interested in what is in her mind. It would be her
demise. Or worse.
Narcissa gave a side-glance at her hands with stony, cold, and ruthless
eyes.
Her hands. She was unmarked but she WAS a Death Eater. Her hands
were bathed in a sea of blood. Blood, she will never be able to wash
away. She never went out for a raid but not having the mark didn't stop
her 'Lord' from making her torture and kill prisoners until he was
satisfied with her performance. She often had to do it in front of him and
his inner circle while being damn efficient in causing the maximal
amount of pain and suffering.
It was a test at first. Torturing innocent strangers while servicing the
Dark Lord. The test of her resolve and ability. Then, it became a sick
hobby for him to observe her kill. But it was either 'them' or 'her'. The
choice was obvious.
That didn't help her nightmares. Not really. But she survived.
And after the demise of her 'Lord'? Her prospects were all-time high! Her
future was blooming!
It was such a pity her slimy husband got scot-free! Imperius, he claimed.
Narcissa couldn't help but gape at the stupidity of wizarding sheeple.
Nevertheless, he couldn't hurt her due to his oath, nor could he 'gift' her
to his friends. Since then, she had no one but herself to satisfy her itch.
Her husband lost all interest. Even when drunk. In a way, she was glad
for it.
During the peace, Narcissa single-handedly elevated House Malfoy to
prominence financially with her managerial skills and politically by
whispering advice to Lucius.
Now, if only she didn't have this uncomfortable nagging feeling her 'Lord'
will return to make her life into a literal hell again...
She shivered.
Dobby suddenly popped out nearby, interrupting her thoughts, making
her flinch back in surprise, almost falling down from her seat.
"Mistress Cissy Madam, Dobby be getting this from another elves!"
Dobby handed Narcissa an envelope addressed to House Malfoy. She
promptly ripped it open and read the letter inside.
'So my dear Auntie is finally dead.' An enchanting smile bloomed on her
gorgeous face. The kind of innocently malicious smile that would send
even the devil running. 'And all it took was a whisper to my husband that
he could make Draco into Lord Black. Heh, as if the family magic would
ever accept the inept twerp.'
Ch27. Narcissa Malfoy 2
The letter Narcissa held was quite mocking towards Malfoys.
---
Caned Malfoy Prick of the NOBLE House Malfoy,
Thank You.
Signed
Lord of the Most Ancient and Noble House Black,
Your social better who is smarter, sexier, and stronger... oh, and richer
too,
The man you owe your butt to. Not in that way, pervert!
---
The sheer audacity and disregard for Malfoys the letter, no, the note held
was blatantly obvious.
Hell, the signature was at least three times longer than the message itself!
Lord Black was literally saying:
I know what you did, it is appreciated but tick-tock, time is running, I
gotta avenge her!
There was no other reason to send the note than threatening House
Malfoy. Not a note like that. Narcissa didn't know what kind of
retribution the new Head of House Black will dish out but her interest
was definitely piqued.
Scratch that, she wanted to burst in laughter! Just imagine the face
Lucius will pull when reading it! It was golden. A threat, gratitude, and
not-so-subtle 'fuck you' all in one!
Narcissa was not an idiot. She knew the note had its purpose. Lords don't
exchange letters out of boredom. Especially not rude ones. That means it
was sent to incite anger. Lucius would focus on House Black. She didn't
know why Lord Black wanted her husband's attention but she didn't care.
Her aunt was dead and the new Lord Black clearly knew it was Malfoys
who killed her.
The fact he thanked them for it endeared Narcissa a lot.
'Maybe the new Lord Black won't be a typical complete jackass like every
Black male I ever knew, after all.' Narcissa pondered, wishing for a
miracle. 'Then again, he did pull the shtick with the debts. That was the
first time in the last decade and a half Lucius looked at me in
appreciation. Disgusting pig. Without me, he would be a pauper.'
Narcissa was quickly dissuaded and ceased thinking about the new Lord
Black. What good would it do for her to dream? There was no point.
Lucius may not be able to have her raped or abused anymore but he still
does his damnedest to get her out of her rhythm. To fluster and frustrate
her.
While her copy of their marriage contract was confiscated before she
could read it, after a few years of trying to rile her up, he showed her the
contract in the hope she would get mad. Unfortunately, his pettiness
wasn't satisfied.
Oh, Narcissa was in smoldering rage! But... she would not give him the
satisfaction of showing it. Never!
The contract was so simple and straight-cut it was impossible to get out
of it. New Lord Black or not, even if she became a widow and another
mandatory unbreakable marriage contract popped up, asking for her
specifically, she would be 'unavailable'. She was bound to House Malfoy
in her service, not Lucius. She was his wife, sure. But she was a slave of
Malfoys.
Since she saw the contract, she tried to be a damn good mother to that
twerp, Draco. While Lucius can't do anything to her, Draco, however,
can.
An oversight on her part.
She would be damned if she caused her own suffering because she
couldn't swallow her pride and be pleasant to the kid.
Lord Black won't be saving her. Not now, not ever. Her very own life was
bound to Malfoys. Once Lucius dies, Draco will 'inherit' her.
She almost puked when she saw that clause in the contract. He won't
inherit her as a wife. No. She would be a slave. This time, officially.
And if Draco died too? Well, Narcissa would shortly follow!
Lucius got what he wanted when he showed her the contract. He just
didn't know it. He made her desperate and feel despair. Her life was
forfeit and now, she knew it. The most she could do was to enjoy her
remaining time. She would rather die than be a slave to Malfoys. But...
she was prideful and she knew it. Suicide was something very hard,
almost unthinkable for her.
That would mean giving up, after all.
As if in a childish tantrum Narcissa used a loophole in the contract and
spent the next hour pondering the benefits secretly approaching Lord
Black could get her while delaying informing her husband of the note
and its significance. Lord Black wanted to distract him. Surely to gain
time. She could do at least that much for him.
When her mind started to get clouded and muddled as her contract was
about to take over and force her to rush to inform Lucius, with a sigh she
stood up. Her peace ruined, she went towards the chambers of her
husband to deliver it.
...
Narcissa entered Lucius's chambers and disgust immediately engulfed
her.
There on the bed, her husband and Goyle Sr. had... Ugh.
This was not a new sight for Narcissa, she was already used to it and
knew what to do in a situation like this.
She waited. Watching them go at it until her husband deems her presence
important enough to pull out of Goyle. She was not really interested in
what they do but the damn paper didn't let her leave! At most she could
close her eyes and listen to their squeals with reluctance. Pigs...
It took almost another half an hour until Lucius smugly walked to her in
satisfaction. Completely naked, definitely in some show of 'what she will
never have again', trying to make her desire him.
Narcissa rolled her eyes at the resident 'Slytherin'.
"Here." She presented the letter to him. "Lord Black sends his regards."
She knew what to say to rile Lucius up. She observed in barely veiled
glee how his face started to get paler, and paler, and paler until it
suddenly purpled and she wondered if he has some metamorphmagus
talent. As he read the note and understood the implications, the rage was
flowing from him.
"What do you mean by 'Lord Black'!?" Lucius panted in rage, deciding to
channel his anger on her. "Draco is supposed to be Lord Black after
Walburga's death! You told me so!"
"If you say so." Narcissa offhandedly agreed as she started to observe her
perfect nails in disregard, making Lucius even more livid.
"Narc...!"
Before he could scream at her some more, the wards alerted them of
being breached. Lucius looked spooked out of his wits, thinking it was a
revenge raid from Lord Black. He was not prepared for a fight!
Narcissa was also a little afraid, mostly due to not knowing what will
happen to her if it really is a raid organized by Lord Black. But when she
heard the alarm bell ringing, she let out a sigh of relief. No attacker rings
a bell...
She walked towards the hall where the elves surely entertain their new
guests, not paying attention to the scrambling Lucius, trying to dress up.
As she entered the hall, she was greeted with the sight of Amelia Bones
and twenty aurors, waiting for Lucius. Her lips twitched. Then twitched
again, and continued to do so until she was snickering in her palm,
threatening to burst into full-blown laughter.
Lord Black sent freaking Aurors!
She realized the note was to make them guess Lord Black's intentions,
make Lucius furious, and not pay attention to what is going on around
the death of Walburga Black.
'Oh, clever. Very clever.' Narcissa tried to muffle her snickers. 'The dark
objects that will be found in this house... all they needed was a reason for
the search. Lucius, you fucked up.'
She barely held back amused tears and it took her a long while to calm
down and greet her 'guests'.
'Aurors, pfft.'
...
Lucius was detained. Well, of course. Narcissa doubted they even
scratched the surface of what is really stashed in the Manor but what the
aurors did find was enough to send her husband to Azkaban for years.
Narcissa was also suspected but she got out of that by taking the
initiative and swearing an oath on her magic that she didn't know 'what
the artifacts hidden in the house were'.
Amelia's mistrustful stalking gaze didn't leave Narcissa long, long after
she gave the oath that made it impossible for aurors to detain her. Well,
the woman is sharp.
Narcissa knew they were there. It also wouldn't do to be questioned
under Veritaserum, lest accidentally slipping some of her many, many
appalling crimes.
She didn't even lie this time! She didn't know WHAT the dark artifacts
are, after all. Not like she was allowed to examine them or is expert on
dark artifacts.
What irked her, though, was the fact she had to deliver a monetary 'gift'
to the Minister. Lucius won't be getting out of jail on his own. It ate her
up from the inside out because her contract didn't compel her to get him
out. But she knew she had to. It would be very bad for her health if she
did not and Lucius somehow managed to bootlick his way out. It would
be an instant breach of conditions of Lucius's oath, making him able to
disregard it and treat her however he wished.
If she was not murdered by his friends first, of course.
That's why, the very next day, she visited Gringotts and withdrew a
million galleons. Almost one-tenth of what was in the Malfoy accounts.
Seeing that pitifully small number made her snicker again. Yes, she did
enrich Malfoys and made them a lot of money. But... she also wasn't
prevented from sending the majority of the profits to the Black accounts.
Just a pity she was forbidden to open her own private account,
inaccessible to others, by Lucius. It kinda irked her she had to leak the
money to Blacks, and therefore, her aunt.
Narcissa proceeded to send nine hundred thousand to the Black accounts
as appreciation for making her laugh so much, ninety thousand to a trust
fund for muggle-borns, in case Lucius ever found out and killed her for it.
If nothing else, it would be a hilarious 'fuck you' to see him realize 'his'
money was used for muggle-borns in need.
And the last ten thousand was for the bribe for the minister. Heh, she
always appreciated the blubbering fool. He just signs a cheque, wagging
his tail in happiness for getting a bribe. He doesn't even look at the
amount. And when Narcissa found out her husband is the same and
doesn't confirm the number of galleons used for bribing the Minister?
Millions were embezzled already by her!
Malfoy's business profits actually single-handedly hold several charities
for muggle-born and even muggles above the water surface! It is always a
source of immense joy and smugness for Narcissa when her dear husband
starts to rant after being unable to persuade the Wizengamot to close
these 'mudblood lover's nests' down, never understanding where did they
get such solid funding.
Add to that the percentage she sends to Black accounts and... voila, only
ten percent of profits from literally anything Malfoys owns is actually
deposited to their account.
Lucius is such a dear to focus on fucking Goyle and Crabbe while
buttlicking the Minister, letting her run his House finances. As long as his
account doesn't have a sharp drop, he doesn't even care to check!
And goblins? These cuties are yes men... for a fee, of course!
Yes, she was always proud to be in Slytherin.
Ch28. House-elves.
With the help of Walburga's portrait, Harry received a tour through the
house. Needless to say, it was massive.
He occupied the Lord's chambers and ended up holed in the library for
the rest of the day.
As he was reading, a voice came from behind.
"Master, Kreacher finished the task."
Harry almost jumped out of his skin from the sudden sound behind him.
He put his hand on his heart and breathed hard as he spotted the
bouncing elf, asking for praise. The idea the elf is Kreacher, kinda
disgusted and more importantly, weirded Harry out.
"Don't do that, Kreacher." He started saying but saw the confusion on the
elf. "Don't sneak up on me like that."
The confused elf nodded and waited for further instructions.
Harry observed the thin, skinny, sickly-looking creature and sighed.
"In the hall outside the library is the portrait of Walburga Black." Harry
told the elf, making him suddenly perk up. The little ball of vileness
really liked his mistress. "Go, and lock-, ahem, I mean display her in the
hall of portraits."
The elf enthusiastically nodded as if he was given a great honor and
disappeared. Shortly after that, enraged protesting shouts came from the
hall and Harry snickered.
'Hall of portraits... Funny Black's. It is more of a disposal room for
unwanted ancestors.' He wiped a stray tear of amusement. 'Otherwise, it
would not be in the darkest, most inaccessible part of the basement...
Hell, even the torture room and jail are not so hidden and out of the
way.' Harry shook his head in exasperation. Judging by the shrieks of
dear old Walburga, she knows well where she is going. Alas, at least she
will have a like-minded company there. Not like that is a win, though,
hehe.'
Harry's mind again shifted towards his new elf, Kreacher.
The first book he read in the ancient library of Black Household, was
actually about house-elves. Harry could not dismiss the probability of
Kreacher betraying him. The elf clearly knew how or was at least capable
of disregarding the servitude bond enough to cost his master his life.
Harry was not about to trust the elf blindly. Hence, he needed a little
history lesson. Get to know more about elves.
Turns out the house-elves are quite a young race. When they first popped
out, the pun intended, it was just shortly after the elven race
disappeared. Hence, these creatures were named Crazed or Cursed Elves.
Wizards and witches believed them to be the remnants of the noble race
of elves. Beings even more beautiful than veela and, on average, more
magically powerful than wizards. Naturally skilled marksmans and
hunters, progenitors of druidism and nature magic, the beings that did
not need focus to perform powerful magic, capable of creating miracles.
This being an obvious reason for petty jealousy and the trigger for many
conflicts between the peace-loving elves and humans, according to the
guesses of powerful wizards over the years, the elves relocated. They
supposedly created a pocket dimension where their race can live in peace
without conflict... copulating under a tree, as is stated in the book.
It was obvious on which side of the conflict the author was.
Anyway, nobody knows if they really did so and if yes, if the dimension
still stands or if it collapsed, deleting elven race for good. Nevertheless,
the pettiness got the humans good and they named the new, ugly, and
unruly race 'elves'.
The house-elves are more of imp-like beings, really. According to the
sources in the Black library, they were ritually created by a dark wizard
who sought perfectly obedient servants capable of either wiping armies
by sheer force or assassinating others with before unseen subtlety and
silence.
Obviously, something went very wrong.
The race was wild but peaceful. They, at first, lived in caves and fed on
magic. Unfortunately, very few places that could provide magic were not
occupied by humans already. The house-elves, in the vision of food,
started to gather at these places and were quite unseen for some time.
But because of the ritual that made them, they wanted to serve. To offer
their service for the food. So, in sheer gratitude, they remade these
magic-filled places, that were more often than not the homes of powerful
wizards, into what they perceived as homely. In short, a cave.
They vanished furniture, decorations, valuables, books...
Transformed the walls to stone...
Disabled any ward they could...
Made a big opening, more often than not in the middle of a wall...
Well, the reaction of these wizards living there was apparent. The race
was declared as dark, dangerous creatures. The hunt began.
Funnily enough, the house-elves who manipulated powerful wandless
magic that made even wizards jealous, could not defend themselves.
It was a lot later that house-elves taught themselves to speak and started
binding themselves in service to the wizards in exchange for magic. The
entire race itself decided the worst crime would be to be 'castaway' by
their masters because of decades of starvation, the new, easier life, and
their very own nature.
Blacks researched these creatures intensely in hopes to make them into
fighters for House Black, and if what the book said is right, most other
Houses, light, dark, or grey, did pretty much the same, horrendous
unspeakable experiments on the race. Arguably that is something to pity
them for. All that was understood from these experiments were, however,
that these creatures are magically bound to never hurt anyone unless
they are protecting their family, friends, or masters and their magic is too
different to perform it with a wand and too powerful to do it without.
The books only assured Harry he can trust Kreacher, as long as he
'nudged' him in the right direction and set himself as someone the little
shit could admire.
Hence...
"Kreacher!" Harry screamed, and a slight pop instantly appeared near
him. He was quite pleased the house-elf learned and didn't appear
behind.
"Yes, Master?"
"Come here." Harry beckoned him and reluctantly put his hand on his
head. "I am going to give you a gift for your service to House Black. I
hope you will use it to serve the House better." Harry told him and
released quite a few limiters on the servitude bond.
The second he did so, Kreacher's hunched up figure straightened. The
skinny elf filled out, the pale sickly grey skin gained healthy greenish-
grey luster and his magic strengthened. The blackened rotten teeth of the
house-elf whitened and repaired themselves, and Harry could swear the
flickering insanity in the eyes of Kreacher lessened. Not disappeared,
mind you.
This, in fact, suited Harry because Kreacher will remember it was Harry
who was generous enough to give him so much magic, and the servitude
bond was tightened, becoming more binding towards Harry due to excess
magic in Kreacher.
"Thank you, Master! Kreacher will!" Even his voice improved.
The elf looked at Harry in reverence and untold gratitude for what he
was just given. For the first time in his life, Kreacher's stomach felt full
and vigorous. Younger, more usable, capable of more work. Yes, his
master was a great master indeed and he will be damned if he didn't
return the gratitude!
Harry half-smiled and licked his lips. While his plans to make a special
commando of house-elves as assassins crumbled down the second he read
about them, he still had his schemes for them.
After all, they may not be able to kill but they still can get past almost
any ward without even alerting it.
Ch29. Core problems
While pondering about the history of house-elves was great, it was far
from the reason why Harry came to Grimmauld Place 12.
He needed, let's say, a quick fix for his little problem. Something that
even he loathed to do but it was necessary.
Basically, his magic was too strong.
His core was bound by Dumbledore and allowed him at most five percent
of his vast magical reserves. The same reserves that started rising quite a
lot after he started to use wandless magic on a regular basis while being
in his most affluent magic growth state since reaching eleven years old.
This made these puny five percent of his magic a lot more than what it
was previously or what it should have been if he was a normal child.
By all means, he should be only mediocre, maybe even less than that. His
severe core-binding should have seen to that and yet. Yet, his wandless
magic actually strengthens his own magical capacity. It may not be by
much but every spell enhances it by a little. After casting hundreds of
them...
Harry didn't dwell on that though. He took it in stride. After all, if it is
not broken, don't fix it. He was at best proud of himself that he did
something damn right if his magic is getting better.
The problem therefore was...
What would happen if he came to Hogwarts, wand blazing, magic
shining, robes billowing, and hair swaying? More importantly, if he was
much more capable than he should be?
He would make Twinkles suspicious, that's what. And that simply would
not do.
Harry needed to limit his core even more than it already was...
And what a sad thought that was! There was just no other way to stay
hidden from Dumbledore's meddling! But he was not looking for
something that would bind his core even tighter. That would be
shortsighted and idiotic.
Harry understood that even more after reading about several core-
binding rituals. What Dumbledore did to his core, can be undone only by
Dumbledore or his own magic.
There is also a chance of a special ritual but for that, he would need to
know what spell or ritual Dumbledore actually used to bind him. He
obviously did not have kiddies safety bind since for anyone else having
so much magic blocked would make them into either squib or very, very
dead.
When it came to that, Harry was glad. Glad for being Harry Potter. Glad
for not keeling over the second he transmigrated.
No, Harry definitely didn't need a complete bind that is hard to revert. He
was looking for a limiter that could open and close his access to magic,
either limiting or letting him use every bit available to him on his own
free will.
Harry was not sure if the Black library had something like that,
nevertheless, he preserved and with Kreacher's help, he found what he
needed.
Ah, Kreacher, the ever-spooky helper.
Someone who was living in the house, cleaning the library for decades
already. The house-elf was an immeasurable resource for Harry. He
actually knew well which part of the library to look for the books Harry
desired. He just did not know which book held it.
After hours of pondering and comparing dark and darker rituals, Harry
chose a simple one.
Core block-key ritual.
A dark ritual first used on prisoners of House Black that was later on
adjusted for the children of Blacks themselves.'
Contrary to the brutal dark ritual the Blacks mostly used on their 'toys',
aka prisoners, in medieval ages, the one restructured for children is more
lenient and safe. It is, however, still dark magic, and therefore something
unusable by non-Black.
At least that is, according to the book, how Blacks presented the ritual to
the Wizengamot to get it legalized. Nobody cared, to be honest. The
government just accepted it without even making an inquiry.
Blacks couldn't be bothered to alter an already existing ritual that
obviously worked and they wonder what made 'Black insanity' such a
famous concept.
Harry was kinda bewildered.
They used the same on prisoners and their children, with the sole
difference being, the black family magics protected the Blacks from the
corrupting and mind decaying properties of dark magic upon going
through said ritual and even undid the ritual upon their magical maturity
unless the 'key' is released sooner. The prisoners though were not so
lucky to enjoy such privileges and while it did limit their magic output,
the dark magic affected them even more so because of that. It made them
constantly feel as if they were put through a mental blender.
Harry's sole solace was he had black family magic and the ritual didn't
leave the residue of dark magic. That was, in fact, the most important
tidbit. It's un-traceability.
The ritual places a 'block' on the magic core of a child and sets a 'key', a
person with the ability to manipulate said block. The 'key' decides how
much magic the 'block' lets out, therefore limiting the output of the child.
This serves two purposes.
First, the child's accidental magic won't be too dangerous.
Second, it puts more pressure on the child as he does magic, putting
pressure on his core.
Blacks were actually aware that doing so would expand the core, giving
them more magic for use. At least, the ancient Blacks were. With how
deep the book was buried, Harry doubted anyone younger than five
hundred years would have even an inkling of that fact.
Nevertheless, the ritual will help him stay inconspicuous and as average
as they come. The less attention he pulls towards himself, the more
Dumbledore looks everywhere but him, and the more leeway will he
have to maneuver in the shadows.
Harry wasn't having any hopes to match Dumbledore or Voldemort
anytime soon if he took the standard path. He did not have time for that.
His pitiful few years of magic study would be really inadequate to face
against someone studying it for over half a century in Voldemort's case or
even longer in Dumbledore's.
After spending his days in the Black library, Harry knew one thing well.
He had to stop being childish and reckless.
Even more, caution should be enforced with impunity. As he read
through the shelves of dark magic most suited for torture, he almost
puked from the visual depiction and the methods there. Blacks were
indeed... creative. If nothing else.
As a 'Black' he will too have to get... creative.
Ch30. Regent Black 1
Andromeda Black emotionlessly stared forward as she sat in the stands of
Wizengamot, waiting for the meeting to begin. She observed the room
from the public section of the room.
Despite her cold, calculative outlook, inside she was a nervous wreck,
many thoughts flashing through her mind. It was just a day ago she
found herself in a room with Lord Black discussing what agenda to push
forward or what stance to take on various things. At least, the talk was
swift as the new Lord Black obviously wanted to lock himself in the
library more than to care about these things. The expectations on her
from his side could not really be called high and she was glad for it. Alas,
when your Lord expects you to interact with foul people like Lucius
Malfoy and his cohorts...
In hindsight, Andromeda really regretted accepting the Regency of House
Black. She was not worried about possible attacks. That would be foolish
considering Lord Black can just name a new regent if she was
'indisposed'. No, she was worried about messing her Lord's plan. One
never knows what to expect when facing Dumbledore.
Yes. Andromeda was not a happy camper at the moment. The second she
stepped inside, she understood the politics are not for her. She would
rather deal with rotten flesh, melted organs, or dark curse wounds
festering with puss than sit in one of these meetings. With a barely
audible sigh, she watched as Albus too-many-names Dumbledore walked
in as if he owned the place and called the meeting to order. Andromeda
observed the formalities from the side-lines until it was finally time to
introduce her.
"My dear Ladies and Lords," Chief Warlock Dumbledore started in a jolly
tone, knowing how the situation would go after he said the next
sentence. "I received a letter that this fine day, a new Regent of House
Black will join us. Andromeda Black, please, step forward."
Andromeda with a heavy heart but resolved to repay Lord Black who
gave her daughter higher social status and monetary means to follow
whatever career path she wants, stood up and approached the stand in
the middle of the room. As the Lords heard her name, many expressed
their outrage at someone 'fornicating' with mudblood, known 'blood-
traitor', a person who was previously disowned being a Regent to House
Black, the house famous for its traditionalism and pureblood supremacy.
They shouted, raged, and raved as loud as they could, desperately hoping
the new Lord Black didn't choose someone like 'her' as his Regent!
It was not only Dark families who had to be calmed down. Light families
didn't like her attendance either. After all, she never supported
Dumbledore and hailed from a 'dark' family that was quite vocal with its
dislike for the old coot. Just a pity her daughter liked that thrice-damned
Weasley boy. She was corrupted with ideals of 'light' and 'sunshine' going
out of her ass, forgetting her dream of being a potion mistress and
instead focusing on being Auror for no other reason than 'it is more
respectable'. Andromeda could swear the boy was subtly manipulating
her daughter, changing her values and views towards Dumbledore. It was
Lord Black that brought this specific topic on the table during their
meeting and presented his point of view. Surprisingly, what he told
Andromeda, horrified her! Her daughter was indeed changing and it was
not natural! Needless to say, she will be having words about the
relationship the second Nymphadora returns from her trip with Weasley!
No daughter of hers will be
Andromeda refocused back to Lords and noted that the grey faction was
quiet, if unimpressed with their colleagues. She was not surprised there
as they mostly consisted of people who support whoever gives them more
benefits.
Dumbledore himself was frowning something fierce at the fact someone
disliking him is getting so much authority.
'Well, sucks to be you.' Andromeda smirked as she walked forward,
keeping her eyes down, avoiding direct eye contact.
She came to the stand and started stating her oath.
"I, Andromeda Druella Black, swear on my magic to take up the Regency
of House Black in accordance with the wishes of Lord Black." She then
cast Lumos, giving proof that her Lord gave her the permission to
represent him.
She and Lord Black decided to take this particular way to prove herself.
Albeit a little dangerous and demanding of trust towards her by the Lord,
it was undeniable. There was now no way to attack her position in any
way for other Lords. No way to refute it and send her packing until the
next meeting.
"Ahem. Yes." Dumbledore, shocked at seeing Andromeda give a magically
binding Oath of all things for a simple matter such as this, almost forgot
himself for a moment. He did not understand. Why use such a dangerous
and risk her magic way when there are numerous other ways. Surely a
letter from Lord Black would suffice, would it not?
His mind understood the reason when he saw the minuscule scowls of the
Dark families led by Malfoy. He slightly coughed to cover his momentary
surprise and continued. "Anyway, Regent Black. Please, take up your
rightful place."
Andromeda walked towards the seat of House Black in the section for
Most Ancient and Noble Houses, on the upper part of seats for Lords. She
was just in time to see the scathing look Lucius Malfoy gave her as he
lifted his perfumed ass off HER family seat with audible 'huff' and
relocated to lower sections toward the seat of House Malfoy where he
promptly started pouting at the audacity of the 'disowned wench'.
Andromeda just shook her head in bemusement at his antics.
As she sat down, her delight at kicking the ponce off her family seat
quickly diminished as she realized just where her family seat was located.
Andromeda almost groaned when she found herself being surrounded by
Lords such as Avery, Carrow, Nott, Goyle, Crabbe, Lestrange, McNair,
Malfoy, and so on. And when the supposedly 'imperiused' Death Eaters
started to butter up to her...
Dear Lord.
It was an hour after Andromeda took her seat when something pertaining
to House Black finally came up. Minister Cornelius Fudge was given the
word.
"Regent Black, I think I speak for every Lady and Lord owing House Black
a debt when I ask if there is a way to adjust the arrangements of
repayment set by Lord Black." The minister asked, sweat rolling from him
in spades.
Many Lords, however, started nodding in approval. Three months was
too little to repay debts Blacks piled up for centuries. Many families had
the money but paying the debt would be financial suicide. Everybody
wanted a so-called 'way out'. Even the Ministry itself was neck-deep in
debts owed to Blacks.
Andromeda smiled, totally expecting this and wondering why it didn't
come up instantly after the hearing started.
"But of course. My Lord Black considered this possibility and for a
certain... special individuals, he is quite willing to be repaid in deeds to
buildings, businesses, artifacts, ancient books," Andromeda swept her
gaze through families known for not abandoning its heritage just because
it was banned or considered 'dark'. She gleefully watched as the
expression of various Lords contorted as she mentioned 'ancient books'.
All of them knew she basically asks for books on secret spells kept in the
family for centuries! A shrewd glint passed through Andromeda's eyes as
she purposefully paused and gave the Minister a meaningful look,
prompting him to pay attention to her next words. "... special favors."
Minister's face lit up like a Christmas tree. He was too accustomed to
getting bribed not to. If he could save galleons he can then 'borrow' to fill
his own purse by 'doing something' for House Black then...
"Of course, Regent Black. Any concern your Lord may have, my office is
always open for him." Fudge stated, trying to appear as approachable and
friendly as possible, a hint of a satisfied smile on his stressed face. "We all
know the situation is going to create a conflict with goblins if we don't
make amends. I, as the Minister, am naturally glad Lord Black is thinking
about the residents of Wizarding Britain before his own profits."
The various Lords gaped at the blatant flattery and acceptance of such
unveiled bribery by the Minister. Worse yet, they knew well they could
do nothing against it! The debts were to be enforced by god-damned
goblins! The situation was awfully close to the next goblin rebellion if
they did not pay up and even though everyone in the room, even Goyle
and Crabbe, knew Fudge is NOT doing this to avoid a war with goblins
but to fill his pockets, he still appeared as a good minister, trying to
avoid conflict by doing that! There was no way to call him or House
Black on it!
The Lords cursed as they passively watched the reporters in the public
section work their quills over time with a look of a wolf that just found a
juicy piece of meat. The title of tomorrow's Daily Prophet could be easily
guessed.
'The benevolence of Lord Black and the resourcefulness of Minister
Fudge!'.
Or some bullcrap like that. Needless to say, most Lords wanted to either
groan, weep, or in more serious cases, bang their heads on the table.
One thing was certain, the threat of House Black just rose exponentially
since they now had the Ministry on their side! Any and all nefarious
thoughts of Lords, whether they be light or dark, were snuffed out
instantly.
In the end, the Lord reluctantly accepted the outcome and decided to try
not to cross House Black. After all, the Regent Black DID promise other
payments than galleons, and even lengthening the period available for
repayment IS actually possible. For now... that sufficed.
The proceeding hours of mind-numbing discussions, propositions, or
voting for or against certain laws were boring Andromeda to the death.
She did not have any order on how to vote so she just supported what
she felt right, not caring at the glares it earned her. Oh, how that pink
toad next to the Minister fumed when it came to law about werewolves,
regulated mating, and collars. The piercing glares from dark families and
veiled glare from Dumbledore when she voted against raising the
Hogwarts fees for muggle-borns. Her personal favorite was the fed-up and
exasperated looks light faction gave her when she advocated for not
banning some dark curses that, to be honest, were not dark at all. She is
Black, she would know.
The grey faction just looked as if they were in the circus, greatly enjoying
the show while the reporters looked as if they had an orgasm during
early Christmas. Especially since Andromeda always delivered a rational
argument for any and all decisions she made.
Slowly, she was actually starting to like sitting here!
Time passed and the meeting was however about to be adjourned and
Chief Warlock Dumbledore stood up.
"This will be all for today, my Ladies and Lords." He exclaimed as the
weary Lords were glad it finally ended. If only to not have to argue
against the views of House Black, someone they owe. Their judgment was
starting to get affected by the annoyance they felt toward Andromeda
and they needed a break. And fire whiskey. Yes. Lots and lots of fire
whiskey.
"This meeting is hereby..." Dumbledore continued.
Andromeda, waiting exactly for this moment, cast a Sonorous Charm on
herself, barely suppressing the face-splitting grin on her face.
"Wait a moment." She interrupted him, glee lacing her voice. The show
was on!
Ch31. Regent Black 2
Andromeda smugly watched the groaning Lords flopping back into their
seats, trying to appear as dignified as possible.
Dumbledore frowned somewhat irritated at her timely interruption but as
per his obligations sat down and gave the word to Regent Black.
Andromeda carefully looked over the weary but expectant Lords,
annoyed yet curious what the Regent of currently the most influential
House has to say.
Maybe... she really started to relish the feeling of being the reason for
these looks! Unfortunately, she had her orders.
"Dear Lords, Lord Black requested me to push only one agenda for today.
And that is getting a trial for Sirius Orion Black." She dropped the bomb
and delightfully watched it go off.
The entirety of Wizengamot was at first stunned. This lasted a few
seconds but then the shock lessened and started to slowly transform into
anger until the outburst of the public and Lords could be only described
as full-blown outrage. People shouted various obscenities at Sirius Black,
denounced Lord Black and Andromeda for trying to help the known
Death Eater, and even went as far as to insult House Black itself.
Andromeda expected it and with another Sonorous Charm, in a
humorous tone, she said.
"You know," As her voice was heard, the entire room quieted down from
the sheer volume. She turned towards the public section. "I can have you
sued for slander towards House Black. I am sure the Ministry would
gladly help." She finished coyly, sending an amused look at the
flabbergasted and spluttering Minister.
"Just so we are on the same page," Andromeda continued in a self-assured
but expectant tone as her grin started to involuntarily widen. "We, the
House Black, requested the trial files of one, Sirius Orion Black, former
Heir Black."
That statement had many open their eyes widen, not expecting the
supposedly disowned boy to be the actual Heir! He might be the oldest
but Walburga was quite vocal about his disownment and everyone
thought...
"Nevertheless, we never received them. The reason? They apparently do
not exist." Andromeda said flippantly, her grin getting positively Cheshire
now. The more she revealed, the more certain individuals shrunk down.
"So, Lord Black asked himself... 'whyever not'? And it became extremely
obvious when he one fine morning looked at the family tapestry of House
Black." Andromeda placed her fingers against her forehead and
mockingly shook her head in exasperation, not forgetting to look straight
at Amelia Bones. "And imagine his surprise when he found one, Harry
James Potter, at the bottom of it."
Another ear-splitting screaming match began from the public section.
Reporters looked almost orgasmic as their dicta-quills wrote down every
word and their minds started to spin mysterious tales how something like
that was possible.
The Lords, on the other hand, were divided.
The Dark Families that supported Voldemort didn't want to be known
that Sirius Black is in fact, not one of them so they just sat there as if
constipated.
The Light Families couldn't swallow the fact their 'hero of the light' is
somehow related to the 'dark' House Black so they joined the screaming
match with their loud denials.
The Grey families just watched in amusement, knowing a storm is
brewing. Oh, the possibilities!
The Minister looked nonplussed but didn't pay it much mind. After all,
this should not affect the Ministry much, right? If only he knew.
Andromeda dared a quick side-glance at Dumbledore. He was frowning,
his narrowed eyes no longer twinkling as he peered pointedly at her from
above his glasses, the anger clearly visible yet contained in them.
The boy-who-lived disappeared almost a decade ago and since then
almost no one heard of him. Ever. By stating his name, Andromeda
ensured everyone paid utmost attention to her.
'Hehe, the next part is positively evil!' She fought to stop smiling like a
fool.
She softly sighed, only continuing when Chief Warlock Dumbledore
deemed it worthwhile to do his duty and ensure the silence in the room.
"We found out, Sirius Orion Black is his godfather through Godfather
Oath." Andromeda heard multiple Lords suck in a cold breath and
watched as their eyes widened at the implications of her statement. She
did not slow down her pace though. Not yet.
"So we had to dig deeper. Fortunately, the conviction order for my cousin
dearest was found in the archive since it was a matter of public record,
you see." Andromeda said with fake happiness, her eyes flashing in
childish mischief as she saw Dumbledore stiffen with the corner of her
eye. She knew she was probably enjoying it too much but damn if it was
not satisfying!
"Imagine our infinite surprise when the people signed under the
document were, Bartemius Crouch, the Head of DMLE at that time,
Milicent Bagnold, the then Minister of Magic and one esteemed Albus
Dumbledore, titles unnecessary since everyone knows them because he
writes them everywhere." She finished dryly.
"Now, why was this such a surprise?" Andromeda continued before
someone could interrupt due to her jab at the self-proclaimed resident
Light Lord. She took an old wizened book out of her bag, put it on the
table in front of her, and used duplication enchantment of the table to
make copies on the tables of other Lords.
"This here is a diary of Sirius Black found safely hidden in his personal
Vault. And yes, it was as big of a surprise to House Black as it is to you to
find out the overgrown manchild kept a diary." She drawled mockingly in
disapproval. "Nevertheless, the diary states that Potters hid under Fidelius
and their secret keeper was Pettigrew."
Shocked gasps sounded in the room at this information. Just as she saw
Dumbledore was about to interrupt, Andromeda dropped the finishing
move.
"The caster was, of course, our dear Albus Dumbledore!" She gleefully
revealed, her eyes in a full twinkle.
In contrast to a moment ago, when the audience expressed loud
bewilderment when Pettigrew was announced the secret keeper, now,
they were all shocked to silence. Some were looking around, quietly
asking what does that mean, getting promptly shushed.
Most of the people in the room, however, were quite proficient in
obscure magic. Even if they could not cast Fidelius Charm themselves,
they would at least know its effects. This meant, most people knew, the
caster had to know who was the secret keeper. Needless to say, the
situation didn't look good for Dumbledore. Not at all.
Chief Warlock Dumbledore didn't lose his composition at the blatant
accusation though. Instead, he gave Andromeda a grandfatherly
disappointed look and a gentle sigh, completely ignoring the looks of
outrage, disbelief, or indecisiveness in regard to his supposed actions.
"Andromeda, my dear, surely you do not believe what is written in an old
book belonging to a delusional known Death Eater." Dumbledore sagely
admonished with a confident tone, trying to divert the topic towards the
'known Death Eater-ship' of Sirius.
'And of course, the light families instantly leaned again towards his ass,
ready to lick or kiss it as necessary at the smallest of reassurances.'
Andromeda fought the urge to roll her eyes, not even deeming it
important to react at his improper manners for a Chief Warlock. It was,
after all, but another stalling and annoyment tactic of his.
"Amelia. Could we have Mr. Black brought here so we could verify the
statements of Regent Black with Veritaserum, please?" Dumbledore
graciously continued when he saw Andromeda won't be distracted by one
of his 'grandfatherly' insults of not using her proper title and the topic
won't be derailed.
Amelia Bones of course agreed and left the room like a whirlwind, not
liking the prospects of having an innocent man in Azkaban for over a
decade.
"Well, my Ladies and Lords, we will have to wait until they bring Mr.
Black here from Azkaban and prepare him for the trial." He continued.
"Preferably, the trial should be held at a later date but..." He gave a
meaningful glance at Andromeda who sharply shook her head in denial.
She was completely aware of the fact, she can act so dismissively and
crudely demanding, only because of the current situation around her
House, the debts. They won't be able to dismiss her due to 'tiredness' or
'insufficient time'.
"Anyway, due to the need for transport of Mr. Black, we will have a two
hours break for some refreshments. Lords, please, be here in two hours,
thank you. Ah, finally time for my Lemon Drops!" Dumbledore childishly
chuckled, making many people in the audience have a slight laugh,
completely missing the point of being dismissed by the man. The nerve!
He did not even ask others! Just commanded a pause!
Andromeda watched as he stood up and stalked away from the room in a
hurry. She did not believe in his good-natured act even for a second. A
shudder ran through her spine when she saw his gait. There was
something... angry in it. With a tired sigh, she hoped her premonition
meant nothing. It's not like there was ever a seer in their family...
With a visible distaste, she relocated her gaze toward her next, not-so-fun
'assignment' from her Lord as 'it' was about to stand up and leave.
"Lord Malfoy, Regent Lestrange." She called out, trying to keep the
disgust out of her voice. "May I have a bit of your time? My Lord desired
me to discuss certain... matters with your, ahem, esteemed Houses."
Andromeda was failing pretty hard to keep the mocking sarcasm out of
her 'request' at the end.
'Why do I even try? They owe us a lot and probably would jump like sick
puppies at bone if we offered them a chance to repay in a different way
than emptying their coffers.' She thought. 'Ugh, politicians and their
illogical need to be polite!'
Both Lords were at first very surprised that Regent Black approached
them so straightforwardly and looked at each other in confusion. It was
Lucius Malfoy who centered himself first and a pleasant smile graced his
lips. Why wouldn't it? He knew well the only reason for asking for a 'bit
of his time' would be something about the debts. Maybe he could...
negotiate? Now that was an idea.
"But of course, my Lady. Let's..."
Ch32. Sirius Problem
Dumbledore stormed to the Chief Warlock office in the Ministry, his mind
swirling with various ideas about how things could escalate so quickly
and so badly for him. He hurriedly entered, trying to appear as calm as
possible, and loudly slammed the door behind himself. He headed
towards the comfortable chair behind his lavish desk and slumped there
tiredly, letting the anger and confusion wash over him.
With his wand, Dumbledore lazily levitated a lemon drop right into his
barely opened mouth. He surveyed the old, dusty furniture in the office
he last used a few years ago. Even though he so vehemently argued it is
not necessary to give him a room in the Ministry, right now, he was glad
he had it.
For a while, he just chewed on his candy as he waited for the effects to
kick in. He was so agitated, it took almost two minutes for him to again
feel the relaxing calm, and clear-minded state his beloved sweets brought
him. His body felt pleasant and so peaceful, he could almost fall asleep in
the chair.
His eyelids started to slowly drop. Lower and lower. Until his eyes were
closed.
'Now is not the time to sleep!' Dumbledore abruptly opened his exhausted
eyes with a start.
He had to find out what to do about Sirius! That boy can NOT be given
Veritaserum! He knows too much! Just the fact he was the caster of
Potter's Fidelius in tandem with Pettigrew being the secret keeper would
have him out of his office, pronto!
Him! The great Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore! The greatest
wizard since Merlin!
That would not do! Not at all!
But that is the least of his worries! Once Black is free he will have a go at
young Potter and his plans would go crashing sooner than he could
empty his secret Lemon Drop stash! And Albus prided himself in speed
when it came to enjoying his sweets!
He sealed Potter's Will.
He gave Harry to magic-hating muggles.
He used compulsion on Petunia Dursley to keep her from actually hating
her nephew.
He obliviated the boy and Dursleys over two dozen times when the boy
was about to die from the abuse!
He used illegal blood wards that would stunt Harry's growth.
He bound Harry's core with a ritual so dark even Dark Lords would not
use it in fear of losing their mental capabilities, much less him, THE Light
Lord.
He stole willingly given blood of young Potter from his parents and used
it on illegal blood trackers.
He made sure Harry is shunned in his muggle... school if that place could
be called that. Seriously, that place did not have any flair! No towers nor
dungeons! How could anyone call such a boring place a school? Sigh,
Hogwarts is really one of a kind. This was the perfect example of the
superiority of wizards! They learned in magnificent places! Not...
whatever that plain square-like building was!
He sent people to obliviate and manipulate the public to not care about
Harry's appearance and set up wards around his neighborhood and school
to make sure they do not call the muggle authorities.
Oh, he did a lot, a lot more and it would all be revealed once Sirius gets
out and starts to inquire about his godson as is his right!
And that's just what WILL happen when he gets out. That's not even
counting the questions that are ALREADY going to be asked due to the
statements of that... that... Regent Black.
Albus gritted his teeth so hard he shattered the Lemon Drop in his mouth
without even realizing it.
Granted his stunt with Sirius was a little forced and not much thought
was put into it but Albus did his best to improvise with the incredible
opportunity the Gryffindorkish fool provided him. He did not even have
to kill Sirius to get him out of his way! No, the Black foolish sheep just
went and got himself arrested and suspected of the murder of twelve
muggles and Peter Pettigrew! It didn't take Albus even an hour to have
him sitting in Azkaban and Peter proclaimed a 'hero' of light after his
'watcher' in Auror corps reported what happened. Sirius was in his cell
sooner than he could wake up!
Albus especially asked the Minister and the then head of DMLE to sign
the papers even though his signature was enough! All to ensure these
political powerhouses and eventually, the Ministry itself would do
anything to sweep Black's case from their table if it ever resurfaced!
He also did his damnedest to hide these 'matter of public record'
documents as deep as he could without getting any scrutiny. And he
could push them deep, far too deep for anyone to ever dig them out! So
why the hell did Regent Black have them!
Albus shook his head angrily and swept everything from his desk in a
bout of rage.
'That doesn't matter. Not now!' He angrily thought. 'I have to do some
damage control!'
Albus pondered, furiously thought about what he can do to prevent his
schemes from being discovered, much less completely crumble down.
Accidentally he spotted the old perch of Fawkes that was relocated from
his Headmaster office here.
Then a solution presented itself.
"Oh, Sirius." A lone tear streaked down his wizened cheek. "It's all for
Greater Good."
...
In a damp cell in Azkaban, the most secure prison in the world, or at
least so claimed the British wizards, a black, shaggy dog laid in the
corner, shaking from the cold, covered in filth and grime.
Sirius Black.
Despite his condition, he was content. At least, as much as a prisoner in a
dementor-infested place can ever be. And sane. Yes, he was definitely still
sane! Prongs said so every so often when he came to visit! Weirdly, Sirius
felt these visits get more and more frequent.
Wait... Prongs... died. Right?
Meh, who cares.
Maybe he just pranked the afterlife by running away, stealing Augusta
Longbottom's hat and Headmaster's robes, putting on Santa Claus's fake
wig alongside Snape's hair grease, and every so often appeared in front of
him for an encouraging talk?
Now that's an idea! And they call him insane!
Needless to say, the hotel Azkaban did leave a lot to be desired, to be
honest, and Sirius knew his ratings for the place will be all-time low after
he finally gets out! He would not recommend it as a summer house, not
less as a full-time housing facility! The security is horrible and abusive,
the service is bad and he doubted the cooks could prepare an actual meal
if a gnome bit them in their arse!
The furnishing though...
He looked around his empty, stony cell.
Yes... the furnishing is oddly... missing.
Just then he heard another painful shriek of insanity from his cousin
dearest, Bellatrix, due to the current visit from the resident caretakers,
dementors.
'See? Even cousin Bella agrees the place is literal shit!' Sirius wanted to
bark in laughter but was too tired to do so.
He shifted back into his human shape, knowing the dementors are
playing with ickle Bella at the moment and won't bother him for a long,
long time.
The sole entertainment of this facility. Radio Bellatrix.
Sirius couldn't help but chuckle, even though it brought him immense
pain.
The insane bitch shrieked and screamed almost ten years straight, finally
shutting up only when sleeping. Sirius momentarily contemplated if his
cousin is not in fact his sister or something. She definitely sounded
exactly like his mother. So Loud. Loud. And Loud!
He really did not know where she got the energy. She either let out a
shrill shriek of pain whenever entertaining dementors, loud, unending
curses at her 'brother-fucking' husband, or deranged fanatical shouts of
insanity about the might of her 'beloved Master'.
Sirius remembered the time when he was thrown here. Bellatrix wasn't
yet 'acclimated' to Azkaban, looking every bit her gorgeous self. At that
time, his only entertainment was his cousin's screams of a weird mixture
of pain and pleasure as the human guards were having a little fun with
ickle Bella.
That lessened after she 'rumoredly' bit of a cock of one poor lad. Serves
him right, sticking himself into insanity called Lestrange nee Black. Well,
the guy was certainly loud enough the entire Azkaban knew what
happened in seconds!
Bella's nightly adventures abruptly stopped when her body started to
adopt the Azkaban-ish fashion of gaunt, haunted and skinny.
Sirius's thought strayed to his childhood when his favorite cousin Bella
played with him. Even his pranking was actually her teachings! He loved
the quiet rebellious know-it-all. Even if she relished in the study of Dark
Arts... It was expected. She was Black, after all.
Yes... he loved her like a sister.
A pang of hurt sprang up in his heart as the image of his cute, fun-loving,
studious partner in pranking Bellatrix Black merged with gaunt, pale,
sickly-looking, deranged Bellatrix Lestrange. It hurt.
Figures the only family member he actually liked ended up as a
murdering bitch.
Before he could relish Bellatrix Lestrange's screams for robbing him of his
cousin Bellatrix Black, a burst of flame suddenly appeared in front of
him.
Sirius was momentarily blinded and squinted his eyes to get a better
view. In front of him, he saw purple starry and a white... beard?
"Santa Claus?" He asked bewildered.
Before he could contemplate more, darkness claimed him. The last words
he heard...
"Avada Kedavra."
Ch33. Talk with Malfoy and
Lestrange
Andromeda found herself sitting in a meeting room in Gringotts. She
carefully watched Lucius Malfoy sitting opposite her, eternally thankful
for all these useless lessons on the cold facade her mother put her
through. She was able to completely mask her own nervousness and
regard Malfoy with cold indifference, as is proper for a douche like him!
Next to Malfoy, Theodore Lestrange, the current Regent Lestrange looked
as if he was out of his depth.
Andromeda quickly brainstormed what she knew about the guy from the
information she was able to gather.
As any Lestrange, Theodore was musclebrain. Plain and simple. He was
powerful magically but very insufficient mentally. It was so obvious it
almost made Andromeda giggle when every minute the dunce gave a
worrying side-glance to his owne-, ahem, Lucius Malfoy, waiting for some
indication what to do.
Tough times came for House Lestrange indeed. Since daddy Lestrange
died in Voldemort's first war and Rudolphus inherited the lordship, he
and Bellatrix became the Lord and Lady of the House Lestrange. The
problem though lied in the fact that they got caught and thrown into
Azkaban for life. Generally, in situations like this, their last will, family
magic, or blood relations decide the next Lord Lestrange.
But to become Lord of House, one needs to be first and foremost accepted
by the family magic of said House. And that's where the crux of the
problem was located.
The family magic of Lestranges was engineered to refuse a new Lord if
the old one was still alive or did not give the lordship up willingly.
Hence, Lestranges were stuck with Lord and Lady in Azkaban and at most
the situation could be amended by picking a Regent who would have
limited authority.
And so, Theodore Lestrange, a distant french relative of pure blood
gained the Regency. While Theodore could not even step into the
Lestrange family Vault, he could still vote in Wizengamot. And with that
came a fat paycheck courtesy of Malfoy for being a good little boy...
The reason Andromeda even bothered to call the Goyle-wannabe here
was that he was allowed to sign contracts in lieu of the House Lestrange.
A very... exploitable disposition, that was.
"Shall we start, Miss Black?" Malfoy droned in a flat voice, snapping
Andromeda out of her thoughts.
She politely smiled, not minding his disrespect by calling her 'Miss Black'
instead of 'Regent Black', and with a slight nod replied.
"Of course, Lord Malfoy, Regent Lestrange." She said but could not just sit
and take his disrespect so she playfully continued in a drawl. "You found
yourselves in quite a debt, my Lords."
Her eyes sparkled in glee as Malfoy's impassive facade slightly cracked at
her playful jab and the unveiled anger in Regent Lestrange's eyes made
her even more delighted. Before the idiot could burst out in rage, Malfoy
quickly intervened, frowning.
"That we did, Miss Black." He acknowledged, making Andromeda openly
roll her eyes at him due to calling her by the wrong title.
"That you did, Mr. Malfoy." She gave him an innocent smile.
If he refuses to abide by the etiquette, she can certainly do so too.
Malfoy, to give credit where it is due, stayed completely indifferent and
uncaring.
"Considering you invited us for a chat, I assume Lord Black wants to
make some kind of deal regarding our debts, Miss Black." He raised his
eyebrow at Andromeda. "So, what message were you ordered to bring us
from your Lord?"
Andromeda didn't bristle at him only due to the extensive training of the
Daughter of House Black she had to endure during her childhood. That
dipshit just compared her to a common post owl!
"My Lord indeed sent me with an offer." She told him with a resigned
sigh.
"Well?" Malfoy pressed when Andromeda just stared at him with a wary
look without elaborating.
Andromeda took a deep breath and looked at the goblin the Gringotts
provided for this meeting, giving him a nod. The goblin took out three
parchments, putting one in front of both men and the third head down in
front of Andromeda so Malfoy and Lestrange were not able to tell what it
was.
Lucius took the parchment in front of him with the intention to get a
closer look when he recognized what he was reading. His eyebrows rose
almost to his hairline. After a moment of blinking that could translate to
a complete shock, he looked at Andromeda with barely widened eyes.
"Is this what it looks like?" He asked, stupefied. "Or are you just making
fun of me?"
"I assure you, Mr. Malfoy. It will be worth your while." Andromeda gave
him a small smile, amused at his uncomprehending expression. "Malfoys
owe Blacks a little over six million galleons. My Lord agreed to forgive
you three million if you deem it worth it to accept his demands."
"Three mill...!" He blurted but stopped himself as his eyes flashed happily.
Clearing his throat he gave Andromeda an evaluating look. "Five."
"Three." She answered almost instantly.
"Four and a half million, perhaps? Do you really think this is not worth
more? After all, I love..."
"No. Three million." She stopped him instantly.
"Fou..."
"Three." Andromeda interrupted strongly with a look that clearly said 'no
negotiations'. "You paid barely a hundred thousand galleons for the
contract. Our offer is more than reasonable. In fact, it is completely
bonkers and I have no idea what my Lord is thinking! If I had my way, I
would offer fifty thousand tops. And let's face the facts, you would be
damn glad to take it!" She gave him a stink eye as she ranted.
"And that's not taking into consideration your sizable debt to us. No. This
offer is way past golden. This is simply miraculous for you and you WILL
take it or we will destroy your House." She smiled a tad bit too sweetly at
him. "This is the message my Lord wanted me to convey, Mr. Malfoy."
Malfoy blanched at that, looking as if he was just slapped but forcefully
calmed down. He couldn't afford to lose three million galleons because of
his pride! But...
"And how do you imagine this... deal to be finalized?" He asked with a
sneer in a condescending tone.
"Simple. You will sign the ownership of Narcissa Malfoy nee Black and
Bellatrix Lestrange nee Black over to Lord Black. This is as simple as
taking the quill in the middle of the table and sign the paperwork in front
of you." Andromeda replied, not minding his scowl. "The quill is a goblin
artifact specially made for occasions like this. It is akin to a blood quill
that doesn't provide signature only in blood but in blood AND magic.
Needless to say, the magic will recognize the procedure and acknowledge
it."
"Afterward, you Mr. Malfoy will divorce Narcissa. Obviously." The corner
of her mouth twitched. "And, of course, deliver her to us. Intact."
"And what about Regent Lestrange." He asked, annoyed.
Andromeda slightly turned her head to look at Theodore Lestrange who
didn't even bother looking at the paper in front of him, instead, waiting
for Lucius's decision.
"House Lestrange owes us four million galleons." She summed up. "We are
willing to forgive two million."
Andromeda quickly continued as she saw Malfoy's jaw loosening in
preparation of speech.
"Before you say something, Bellatrix is damaged goods. We know it. You
know it. Heck, even she herself knows it." She said in exasperation. "Two
million is more than enough for her."
"And the delivery?" For the first time since the meeting began, Malfoy
showed a hint of amusement.
"That's quite simple too. Lestrange won't need to deliver her because we
all know where she is and frankly, while it might be amusing seeing him
trying to devise a way to fetch her for us, we are not so cruel as to make
him break into Azkaban." Andromeda mockingly stated in the same
condescending tone Lucius used before. "Regent Lestrange will however
disown her after signing over the ownership of her contract, making her
marriage to Rudolphus a moot point."
Malfoy nodded in acknowledgment as he tightened the grip on his
walking cane.
"We need a moment to discuss it." He stated and without waiting for
Andromeda's answer, stood up and dragged Theodore to an adjacent
private room.
...
Malfoy and Theodore closed the door behind themselves and instantly
activated the runic matrix to switch on the privacy wards of the room.
"Lucius, what do you think? Two million galleons, damn, that's a lot for
an insane harlot like Bellatrix." Theodore said.
"You are right. She is not worth even the fifty thousand Rudolphus paid
for her hand in marriage. But do not forget Bellatrix still belongs to our
Master!" Lucius rebuked in a strong decisive tone. "But you are right
indeed. Three million for Narcissa. I could whore her for years but she
would be unable to earn that much." His eyes glinted in glee, completely
forgetting whom he can thank for the rise of Malfoy fortunes.
"But we can not just give them back to Blacks." His face split into a grin.
He leaned closer to Theodore and started whispering to his ear. "Listen,
Theodore, no matter the contract Bella would die for our Master and
while that bint outside was yapping about the deal, I studied the
contracts. This is what we will do..."
...
Malfoy and Lestrange returned and signed over the contracts of Narcissa
and Bellatrix to Lord Black with surprising ease. Andromeda was quite
exasperated how well they took it but shrugged it off, thinking they are
desperate to reduce their debt.
"Well, if that is all, we will be on our way." Lucius stood up a tad too
quickly, followed by Lestrange.
Unfortunately, all three humans in the room didn't spot the goblin
narrowing his eyes at Lucius and the goblin didn't deem it important to
interrupt inattentive idio... wizards.
"Not so fast, Mr. Malfoy, Regent Lestrange." Andromeda stopped them,
making them freeze on the spot. "The deal is not done yet. If you walk
away now, the ownership will be ours but the debt won't be reduced."
When Lucius and Theodore heard her, they relaxed in relief.
"What are yo..." Lucius started sharply but stopped himself when he saw
her drum her fingers on the parchment in front of her with a mile-wide
smirk. He got a really bad premonition.
"This is a... contract. It would enforce your silence and that you will not
harm Narcissa or Bellatrix physically, mentally, or in any other way,
really." She smugly explained. "The secrecy part is as strong as Fidelius
and not even the strongest Legilimens would be able to discover the
memory of this meeting nor the reason why your wife is no longer 'your'
wife. Obviously, you will not be able to talk, write, or even try to gesture
about it."
"It will also ensure that this entire transaction remains secret. As far as
the public, Ministry, or anyone else who is not in this room or is not Lord
Black is concerned, Narcissa is still Malfoy, and Bellatrix still Lestrange."
Andromeda continued her explanation despite the horrified looks Lucius
gave her. She quickly understood the little shit probably wanted to flaunt
this meeting to the Prophet as House Black 'threatening' him to
sorrowfully and under pressure sell his wife to Lord Black or else. She
shook her head in mirth. She cheerfully followed in a childishly giddy
tone. "No legal documents will be sent to Ministry so, with this single
contract, we can keep the ruse for years to come!"
Lucius and Theodore didn't want to sign it. Oh, how they didn't want to
sign it! But they didn't have a choice in the end. Not signing would be
giving without receiving benefits and that is something they were raised
to never do. The most they could accomplish was to cut their losses, sign
the damn paper, and walk away in a rage. At least their plan worked...
somehow. Not really but...
Lucius gritted his teeth and quickly walked out of the room, followed by
Theodore.
At that time they didn't yet know what their machinations would mean
for the entirety of Wizarding Britain. They didn't yet know what horrors
these contracts just unleashed...
Andromeda released a relieved sigh of relief as she watched Malfoy and
Lestrange leave the room. Looks like she fulfilled her Lord's request
without much fuss. She reached for the contracts to get a closer look. As
she looked at the blood-red, wet signature, dripping with fresh blood and
a deep feeling of satisfaction permeated her being.
The more and closer she looked, the more she couldn't get a feeling of
wrongness out of her mind.
She arched her eyebrow and frowned as she studied the signature closer.
Suddenly, her eyes went wide and a frightened gasp left her lips. She
covered her mouth with her hands and whispered, completely horrified.
"What have I done!"
Ch34. Andromeda's blunder
Andromeda entered Grimmauld Place 12 with a tear-stricken expression
twisted in sorrow. She absentmindedly headed towards the Black Library,
the most probable place Lord Black would occupy. She was so distraught
she did not even notice Kreacher popping next to her to offer greetings
and just walked past him without a word, making him scowl. The closer
to the library she got, the slower she dragged her feet behind herself as
guilt due to her inability to provide the results her Lord desired weighed
upon her.
She entered the library, stifling her sobs as she located her Lord sitting in
a comfortable chair by the warm hearth, reading an obscure book.
Andromeda came closer and slid into the chair opposite him, silently
waiting to be addressed. Her behavior was more out of remorse and
shame at how her first day of Regency turned out than subservience to
her Lord. He, after all, did tell her to treat him as a friend. Not that she
would do that, not entirely. She might have been disowned but she was
raised as a proper Black.
It took a few seconds but eventually, her Lord put the books down and
curiously arched his eyebrow at her. It was so cute, Andromeda even
stopped sobbing!
"Judging by the way you look, it didn't go all that well, did it?" He asked
tiredly.
Andromeda gave him a wry self-mocking smile.
"I-, no. It did not, my Lord." She deflated and shuffled her feet.
"Did Dumbledore delay the trial?" Her Lord, Hadrian, asked in an
exasperated tone, completely expecting a sound 'yes'.
"No," Andromeda informed him, making him frown. "Sirius is... dead."
"Dead?" Hadrian looked at her blinking in an uncomprehending shock.
"He was innocent. Veritaserum would prove that. How the hell did those
incompetent idiots they call Aurors, screw up so much to result in his
death?" He questioned in complete exasperated astonishment.
"He was found dead in his cell when Aurors came to bring him to the
trial." Andromeda released a barely audible sigh as she again teared up.
"A sick twisted coincidence, really."
"The cause of death?" Hadrian's brows furrowed.
"No, he was not murdered, my Lord. No one could have gotten to him in
time. His trial was announced and twenty minutes after that the Aurors
arrived at his cell only to find his corpse. The healer declared he died ten
minutes before the Aurors arrived. According to them, it was either a
killing curse or heart attack." Andromeda told him, running her hand
through her hair and shaking her head in denial. "No. No one could get to
him in time to murder him. Not through the Azkaban wards. Not in the
time-span of ten minutes."
Andromeda looked sad now that she told it aloud but Hadrian, oddly
enough, looked thoughtful and drummed his fingers on the armrest of his
chair but after a while of pondering shook his head.
"Impossible. He was definitely killed. Tell me everything, Andy. Start at
the beginning of the meeting." He ordered her.
Andromeda frowned but obediently started recalling the meeting.
"I was called to prove my Regency..." She started and it took her entire
hour to go through all agendas of the meeting. It was only when she was
explaining how Dumbledore called for a pause, Hadrian stopped her.
"Wait... he just... said time-out and the Wizengamot listened?" He asked
incredulously, making Andromeda widen her eyes.
"Well, to be completely honest, Sirius did need time to be called and
prepared for his trial." She looked at Hadrian but behind her eyes, a hint
of suspicion started to grow. "But yes. Now that you mention it, Chief
Warlock can not call a pause of the meeting by himself. Not like that. No
matter the reason."
"Yes." Hadrian nodded and continued in a drawl. "You should have been
tightly pressing your butts to your seats until Sirius arrived. It doesn't
matter if it would take hours. And yet, the pause was called and nobody
said a word. Damn, they must be quite used to Dumbledore doing
whatever he wants."
"Do you suspect Dumbledore of killing Sirius?" Andromeda asked,
completely flabbergasted, her eyes showing her disbelief. "You know I do
not like the man. Oh, how I dislike him but killing? No matter our
opinion, he is the Leader of the Light. Surely he wouldn't really stoop so
low as to kill someone defenseless. That would be too 'dark', wouldn't it?"
She looked weirdly at Hadrian. Andromeda didn't particularly want to
believe his hypothesis. After all, her own daughter idolized the man! Her
own daughter attended the school the man supervised. If he could
murder a man he in cold blood just because he couldn't stomach him
being free... Andromeda shuddered.
"He would. He totally would." Hadrian hollowly smirked, somewhat
without any positive feeling. He realized this round goes to ol' Twinkles,
and it grated him. "Sirius being free would crumble his plans like nothing
else. Everything was connected. If Sirius came out of Azkaban and started
poking his head where it didn't belong... Dumbledore would have to
explain so many things he would lose all his political ammunition at once
and then some." He sighed wearily. "Well, I suppose his death is on my
hands now. I didn't realize Dumbledore would be so desperate or that he
would be given time to react."
"But how do you know it was him?" Andromeda pressed for answers.
"You sound pretty sure of yourself but he would not have time to do it..."
"Phoenix." Hadrian interrupted her.
Andromeda's expression swiftly turned to grim understanding and her
eyes hardened. There weren't many who knew of the flaming abilities of
the chickens of fire. But Andromeda grew up as Black. She knew well
what Hadrian meant.
"So? Any plan to retaliate?" She asked viciously, with hope Sirius would
be avenged.
"Retaliate?" Hadrian looked at her funnily. "Surely you jest, my dear
Regent." He smirked. "Of course not. Dumbledore might have won a fight
but he lost the battle. Anyway, how come you don't particularly mourn
Sirius?"
"Ah, that." She gave him a sad smile. "I didn't know Sirius enough to miss
him. Yes, he was a family but by the time he started Hogwarts I was at
the end of my studies, and shortly after I was disowned." She slightly
shook her head in sadness. "I didn't have a chance to get to know him
enough to care."
As Andromeda wallowed in her past and sunk herself in self-pity at not
having a chance at knowing the only member of her family who would
not discriminate against her for the choice of her husband, Hadrian gave
her a knowing look.
"Yes... same here." He plainly stated. "I know I should probably feel a loss
but... I did not meet the man even once. No hard feelings here."
That earned him a sympathetic look from Andromeda which made him
roll his eyes.
"Back to Twinkle-doo." Hadrian quickly changed the topic.
"We do not need to proactively retaliate. Send letters with our suspicions
to other Lords, give whatever evidence, no matter how circumstantial to
Skeeter and pay her, say, a hundred galleons, and voila, his reputation
WILL take a crippling blow. Especially if she spins a story about how
'coincidental' Sirius's death was and adds a touch of lies about the sole
reason for his incarceration being Dumbledore. Speculate how that
helped him get the guardianship over Harry Potter and If Dumbledore
still manages to keep his position of Chief Warlock after such a public
debacle and a few rightly worded letters and monetary 'gifts' to the
Minister from our House... yeah, not happening." He snorted in derision.
"I see." Andromeda acknowledged. "Won the fight but lost the battle.
How... Fudging." She mocked.
"Well, anything else, Andy?" Hadrian asked as his legs that didn't reach
the floor swayed back and forth. "What about the... negotiation," His lips
twitched upwards. "with Malfoy and Lestrange?"
At first, Hadrian was expecting to see her laugh her ass off, ridicule them,
or even boast about how she taunted them while telling them they have
no choice but to sign. He knew well she outright hated Malfoy and
wouldn't pass up an opportunity to act like a bitch around him.
That's why it was such a surprise when instead of seeing her expression
lit up like a Christmas tree, a nervous grimace appeared as she winced.
Andromeda anxiously rubbed her hands and it was obvious a thousand
thoughts flash through her mind.
Hadrian, nevertheless, patiently waited for her to tell him what was
wrong. It took her a few minutes but in the end, she just resignedly
sighed and her expression sunk.
"Congratulation, my Lord." She exclaimed in fake-cheer, making Hadrian
tilt his head. Andromeda released sigh yet again with another slight
wince. "You are now married."
Hadrian's mind short-circuited momentarily, making him tilt his head at
her.
"Come again?" He asked and raised his eyebrow.
"You are married." Andromeda hesitantly said again.
"You don't say." He deadpanned and snarked sarcastically. "I wasn't
informed I agreed to the marriage. Who is the lucky gal?"
Andromeda shakily handed him the contracts.
He looked it over. Frowned.
Looked it over again. His left eye gained a noticeable twitch.
He looked at the contracts over the third time and became completely
still.
"How?" He croaked at her, genuinely lost.
"I don't know. Honest!" Andromeda confessed. "Somehow they did not
sign over only the ownership but the entire marriage itself!"
Hadrian folded from the sheer shock and supported his head with his
hands as he groaned. Not even having the energy to argue or be angry at
her.
"How do you even imagine it could work!" He whined quietly but then
raised his voice. "I am eleven and they are... what? Over forty!?"
"Well, yes, my Lord. It might be a little too much now that you mention
it. While physically you may look like a... starved house-elf, mentally, at
least, you are a lot older! It could work..." Andromeda tried to sound
cheerful, getting only a deadpan look in return. "Never mind. Good
night!" She squeaked and hurriedly vacated the room.
Ch35. Meeting Narcissa 1
Harry was sitting on a couch in the Library, he shamelessly used for
meetings, and awaited the arrival of Narcissa Black. His... wife.
He grimaced thinking about the blunder with contracts and was unsure
how to behave around her. He wanted her as a secretary, not a wife,
dammit!
Putting his head on the table, Harry groaned, completely nervous and
unable to focus on the book in front of him.
Suddenly Rowena flew in through the wall, disregarding the wards and
perched on his shoulder. She cawed in reassurance as if she felt his
distraught emotions.
Harry smiled at her and thanked her for her caw of confidence. Deciding
to not waste time moping around he started practicing the magic he
focused on momentarily.
He tried to mimic the intangibility of Rowena.
Intently concentrating on Rowena, he felt the shift between tangible and
intangible forms as she showed him her ability. And while it still baffled
him, Harry tried to imitate it.
He straightened up and put his hand on the opened book on the table in
front of him. He started gently pushing his hand into the book as he
channeled the magic through it in the exact same way Rowena just did.
His hand slowly sunk into the book, going past it, reaching the table and
sinking in as well. It was an exhilarating feeling. Knowing he could
probably bypass anything with an ability such as this. Alas, he heard
Rowena reproachful caw and had to quickly jerk his hand away or even
the best healer in the country wouldn't be able to help him put it back
together.
Hadrian was not yet skilled enough to maintain the flow of magic for
long durations, nor could he make more than his hand intangible. He
couldn't even feel when his hand became tangible again so Rowena had
to alert him when to pull out. Well, for three days of practice, he was
quite satisfied with his results so far.
His raven was very thorough with explaining the finer details of
becoming intangible. Needless to say, Harry was goggle-eyed at how
much knowledge he needed before Rowena allowed him to try! For hours
he had to listen to her cawing the facts at him... The things he does to
become OP!
As he pondered how to make the flow of magic in his intangibility spell
smoother, Kreacher suddenly popped into the room.
"Master Hadrian, Mistress Narcissa arrived. Shall I bring her here?" The
house-elf asked in a raspy but strong voice.
Harry looked at him and appreciated the new style of the elf. He wore
attire akin to a butler uniform and white silky gloves. His back was
straight, proudly lifting his chin, he regally waited for Harry to answer.
'Maybe it was not such a bad idea to give him those books about proper
butlers...' Harry thought, slightly awkward at the instant change.
He gave Kreacher an acknowledging nod and the house-elf popped away
to escort Narcissa to the library. Harry pushed his senses out, trying to
get a feel for her. It took him a few seconds of intense concentration since
the place was filled with magical artifacts and discerning was hard but he
managed. He felt a tug of a familiar magical presence behind the door.
Narcissa was about to enter.
The door opened and Kreacher led her inside.
"Lord Black, may I present Narcissa Black?" He stated more than asked
and waited for dismissal.
Harry gave him yet another nod, making him pop away and redirected
his gaze at Narcissa.
There she stood. A stunning woman who looked to be in her late-
twenties. He was albeit pleasantly but nevertheless surprised at her
appearance.
She was a lot smaller than he imagined. While he briefly spotted her in
Diagon Alley, he didn't think she would be of quite so small stature. Her
height was barely reaching five feet and three inches.
Her pale blonde tresses were set up into one intricate braid that flowed
from her left shoulder forward, lying across her chest, ending in the
middle of her torso. Multiple hairpins, looking like soft-blue snowflakes,
decorated her braid. Harry had no doubt these 'decorations' were pointy
and sharp enough to be weaponized quite easily.
Her attire was a black frilly Victiorian-like dress with bare shoulders,
emphasizing her chest. Like her hair, the dress also sported many catchy
decorations, mostly of black color which, in the dim places like the
ancestral house of Blacks, highlighted her pale skin, making it almost
shine. Harry had no doubt she was trying to make a good first
impression. Even him, a child was enchanted by her looks.
The next thing that took him by surprise was her eyes. They were icy
blue and naturally freezing but the second they landed on him her
disregarding and cold gaze shifted. Harry saw her eyes in the Alley and
remembered the harsh coldness and disregard of her eyes. The contempt
she projected as she watched the world around. The unveiled 'I-am-
better-than-thou' spark in her eyes. Yet, now her eyes held a certain
warmth to them. Happiness. Gratitude even. Needless to say, it baffled
Harry. Her eyes certainly showed how relaxed the woman in front of him
was. Narcissa, while slightly surprised, quickly became completely
unfazed. No predatory glint of realizing her prey is inexperienced. No
manipulative flash. No scheming twinkling. No, her eyes were serene and
quite frankly amused when they connected with his. Yes, Harry was
definitely surprised... and disconcerted.
Narcissa's gaze unwaveringly bored into his eyes, without even blinking
and he was certain she also was appraising him.
Yes, very disconcerted.
At long last, she confidently strutted closer, her nose held high as is
proper for a Lady. She gave Harry a short bow while raising her skirt and
gently smiled.
"Narcissa Black, my Lord."
"Harry Potter." Harry returned her smile and in satisfaction noted the
slight widening of her eyes. That was all the reaction he got though.
"Be seated, my Lady." Harry told her after seeing her lackluster reaction
to his identity.
Narcissa wasn't one for humbleness. With self-assured gait, she hightailed
it close to Harry, and before he could protest, instead of sitting opposite
him, she sat on his right side, pressing her shoulder to his, enough to
make him able to smell her sweet and alluring fragrance. She slightly
turned to his side, so she could look him directly in the eyes, waiting for
her husband to start the talk. Exactly as the etiquette of purebloods
dictated.
If she wanted to unsettle Harry, she definitely managed.
"Narcissa, may I call you that?" Harry asked and received a small nod.
"You may call me Hadrian, then."
"I assume you heard from Lucius why you are here?" He continued asking
and felt quite out of place. He, eleven years old kid questioning a woman
over forty who did her damnedest to look bewitching.
"Yes. Of course, I know. It would not be Lucius if he didn't gloat at how
he 'cunningly' used the situation in his advantage in order for me to
infiltrate Blacks and become his spy." Narcissa quipped, sarcasm flooding
the room. "The idiot still thinks he can order me around even without
being my 'owner'." She slightly rolled her eyes in amusement. She started
to caress her hair, directing a slight smirk at Harry.
Harry could only give her a wry grin at that, contemplating if there is
something wrong with Lucius. Well, of course, there was something
wrong with him! He willingly threw a woman like her away.
Either he plays for the other team, or there is something seriously wrong
with her that would make her beauty a moot point. Harry fervently
hoped it was the former though...
"My Lord... Harry, what I want to know is, what do you expect from me."
Narcissa pulled him out of his thoughts.
"Expect?" He asked her, not understanding what she means. When she
saw his expression she nodded.
"For example, when I was married to Lucius, I had to follow 216
stipulations set by him." She explained and an understanding dawned on
Harry's face when he suddenly blinked owlishly at her.
"Wait. Are you seriously telling me you managed to leech ninety percent
of profits from Malfoy's estates away while being bound to follow over
two hundred rules?" Harry looked at her, his jaw almost hitting the floor.
Narcissa gave him a proud nod as a vicious gleam appeared in her eyes.
"I am just that good." She sneered in imitation of Malfoy.
She reached towards him and put her smooth hand on his cheek, her
expression relaxed, startling him yet getting his undivided attention as he
subconsciously relished at her gentle touch.
"Yes, Harry. You should always remember. No matter how strong a
contract, vow, or oath are, there is ALWAYS a loophole in them." She told
him, suddenly getting serious. "For example, the marriage contract Lucius
signed over to you was a done deal. Unbreakable and unchangeable. I am
pretty much a slave. And it is forever and ever. But that doesn't mean I
won't be able to make the encounter as unpleasant as possible for my
owner. As long as he is not aware and I know how to exploit my
position..." She didn't finish but gave him a sincere smile as the light in
her eyes danced mirthfully.
"Why are you telling me this?" Harry asked quietly, putting his hand on
hers as it cradled his cheek. Only now he felt the echoes of the original,
physical-attention-starved Harry Potter. He did not feel lust towards
Narcissa. No, he was too young for that. He instead felt a need, an
insatiable desire for her gentle touch. His transmigrator's sense was really
getting alarmed at that but he just could not pull away from her hand.
Narcissa smiled at his gesture, relishing his touch even though her
expression stayed unchanged.
"I was married to Lucius Malfoy for over a decade and a half. I am tired,
Harry. At the end of my wits and completely exhausted." Her eyes
dimmed, becoming absentmindedly soulless. "So exhausted..."
She blinked and refocused her gaze on him and teased.
"I am gambling and putting my trust in you, husband."
"Are you sure that's a good idea though?" He asked back playfully. "Who
knows, I may be worse than Lucius. I may tie you to a bed and... well,
you know." He finished, his cheeks dying themselves deep red.
"In that case, you would already be an infinitely better husband than
Lucius ever was." She flippantly told him with a derisive snort. "After my
life with my previous husband, something like getting banged while tied
up would be a dream come true. In fact, when you grow up, we are
definitely doing something that, husband!" She finished with such an
unshakable conviction and fiery passionate look Harry shuddered.
Her brows suddenly furrowed and her expression twisted wistfully before
it considerably softened in resignation. A guilty look marred her face, her
eyes for the first time since she sat down and left his. She gazed
downward nervously.
"I will be completely truthful so please, do not overreact, okay dear?" She
whispered to him pleadingly.
"Okay?" Harry, quite weirded out at her quick switch from playful to
remorseful, half-asked, half-answered.
"I KNOW giving myself to you is a marvelous idea." She told him and as
he was about to open his mouth she quickly put her index finger on his
lips in a shushing motion. "I know it because..." She took a reassuring
breath. "Because I am a very gifted Legilimens."
Harry stiffened.
Ch36. Meeting Narcissa 2
"You searched through my mind." Harry accused her dryly as he squinted
his eyes at her.
It was less of a question and more of a statement, making her slightly
wince.
"I don't regret it." She confessed with a straight face but then her
expression fell and she quietly added. "I just had to know your character."
Harry was conflicted about how to go about this. On the one hand, she
invaded his privacy. On the other... she is still alive and well. If she
meant any harm by it, the contract would stop her. Painfully.
He could understand. After over a decade with Lucius... yes, he could
definitely understand why she did it. That, however, didn't make it any
less unsettling for him.
In the end, he sighed and decided to take it in strides.
"Okay..." He said, his voice showing his conflicted feelings. "While not
appreciated, I think I can get over you shuffling through my head. Just...
ask if you ever want to do it again."
"Thank you." Narcissa beamed and offered an olive branch. "How about I
tell you the story of my life as an apology?"
Getting a nod and amused eye-roll in return, she started describing her
life.
Her happy childhood with her sisters. Her privileges and difficulties as
the youngest Daughter of Blacks. The harsh upbringing of proper Lady.
Her school-years at Hogwarts and interest in Runes and Alchemy.
From then on her story gained a tinge of depression which only increased
the more she talked.
She narrated the bride auction set forth by her Aunt and parents. How
she was bought by the Rosier family and was even happy it was them
that acquired her but due to her sister, Andromeda, running away and
breaking the contract before its activation by marrying another, she had
to marry Malfoy.
She continued describing her 'marriage' to Lucius, spitting it out with
vicious venom lacing her voice. She skimmed over how Lucius relished at
giving her to his friends. Described that due to the contract, sex with
other men than her 'husband' brings her untold suffering, and the
pleasure turns to pain. Apparently, the only worse feeling she ever felt
was a full-blown Cruciatus courtesy of Voldemort.
Narcissa angrily gritted her teeth as she recalled the delighted expression
Lucius had every time he made her go through these pains and
humiliation. Explaining how it changed her for the worse, robbing her of
the last spark of innocence she had.
She hardly droned it out with great reluctance, not willing to remember
the more... vivid details.
Then, the first Wizarding War started. She told Harry how Lucius moved
his beloved Master to Malfoy manor. How her suffering only increased
hence on.
How Bellatrix, of all people, the last person Narcissa expected to be even
sane enough to care, begged her master for mercy for Narcissa. The
punishment Bellatrix received and her deranged screams. How she wept
for her sister that day.
The miraculous opportunity that arose and how she took it, becoming
unofficial Death Eater.
Her face flushed in shame but her eyes revealed firm resolve and not an
ounce of regret as she described the atrocities she caused. The torture of
children. The rendering of humans for potions. The sick pleasure
Voldemort displayed as he made her into his pleasure toy for no other
reason than it hurt her. The countless crimes she was forced to commit in
his name and how it yet again completely changed her world view,
making her more... realistic.
The oath Voldemort forced Lucius to swear. The feelings she had when
she was given young Draco and was told he is her son and she is
expected to act like it. Her eventual acceptance and effort to be the best
mother for him.
The happiness at Voldemort's downfall. The elation when she understood
she may not be free but is safe and sound and in partial control due to
the oath. The giddiness at annoying Malfoy Sr. almost daily.
And... the fears of her Master's eventual rise from death.
The disappointment she felt as she was forced to watch Draco becoming a
copy of Lucius without being able to intervene. How even the last sliver
of her self-imposed feelings for the child died completely when she
watched Draco enjoy killing old house-elf in cold, deranged joy as Lucius
tried to make him used to blood.
And ending with describing her smug elation when Lucius gloated about
his profitable business venture and her return to House Black.
When she ended, they both looked at each other, unsure of what to say.
In the end, Harry just leaned forward and embraced her in a tight hug,
trying to comfort her. Narcissa's body sagged against his, completely
engulfing him. Her tensed muscles relaxed as her head rested on the
crook of his neck. While both relished at the closeness, Harry noticed
their magic pushing against each other gently, almost merging,
eventually entwining and staying that way.
He did not feel any difference outwardly nor inwardly but his perception
told him, screamed almost, something irrevocably changed. In both of
them. He now possessed a sliver of Narcissa's magic and she possessed a
sliver of his.
Before he could contemplate more on this new discovery, Narcissa pulled
out of the hug.
"Thank you. I needed that." She told him with a greatly satisfied smile,
her eyes following him happily. "Harry, I think we should return to our
earlier discussion. What do you expect from me as your wife?" She asked
worriedly.
Harry smiled in reassurance.
"I have only one rule. Albeit it may be divided into multiple smaller
ones." He said. "My foremost rule is, no betrayals."
Narcissa bobbed her head in acknowledgment and waited. When after a
while he didn't do anything she unsurely asked.
"Are you not going to make that an order enforced by the contract?"
"No." Harry shook his head. "Maybe someday you will have to do
something behind my back for my good. I won't order you."
"I am gambling and putting my trust in you, wife." He returned her
earlier teasing, knowing his trust is more due to the unexplained
'bonding' he perceived. What betrayal did he have to fear from her? They
were now irrevocably connected. Despite the fact, she seemed to not
realize it as of yet.
"My next expectation is quite simple and obvious. While our... marriage
was quite frankly unexpected, unplanned, and complete surprise for both
of us, I am sure. You are my wife first and foremost." Harry took her
hand in his, displaying his sincerity. "I do not want you to put House
Black or your position as Lady at the forefront of your responsibilities. I
want you to further yourself in Runes and Alchemy. Reach greater
heights in magic. Become someone who can support me and advise me.
Someone I can be proud of."
Narcissa smiled and squeezed his hand in gratitude.
"You know. For all of your expectations of me, this is the most freedom I
had since I was born." She reminisced. "There were always heaps of
duties thrown on my head. Expectations. Lessons. Gude how-to trophy
wife 101." She shook her head sadly.
"If not, then it was Lucius's desires or his friends. And lastly my work as
an unmarked Death Eater. There was always something caging me,
constraining me. I could never study magic to the extent I wanted... Yes, I
agree, my Lord. I will become one of your support pillars. For as long as
you will have me." She happily leaned forward and gently pecked his
cheek.
"I'd like you to manage the Black estates." He blurted out and tried to
distract himself from his embarrassment as he gained a red hue due to
the kiss.
Narcissa gave him a knowing look.
"Sure. No worries, I won't even leach the profits away this time!" She
cheekily agreed, making Harry share a chuckle with her. She looked him
straight into the eyes with dedication and honesty. "I will show you my
worth and make you the richest wizard in Britain, Harry."
"I don't care about money." He informed her. "My aim lies somewhere
else."
"Interesting." She hummed and saucily winked. "So, what do you need of
me, then, husband?"
"I want you," Harry grinned at her pleased expression as he said that and
continued. "to carefully and subtly drain the coffers of the Death Eaters
you are aware of. You will have the full financial might and political pull
of House Black at your disposal, of course. Cause as much chaos and
mayhem as you can to the economy of Wizarding Britain. Just go wild
but don't be discovered."
Narcissa couldn't help the full-blown happy grin appearing on her face.
She hardly believed her luck! Not once did she think she would be given
an opportunity such as this. It was time for some long-overdue righteous
revenge!
She grabbed Harry's hand and tightly pressed her lips to his. When she
realized she just snogged a kid she turned crimson-red, trying to cough
her shame away.
"Ahem, care for some refreshments, husband?" She asked, averting her
eyes from Harry, covering her slight smile.
"I see, offering refreshments already. You must take your duties as Lady
Black seriously indeed." Harry teased, deepening Narcissa's blush. "Makes
me wonder what kind of wifey duties do you take just as dutifully!" He
cheekily quipped, still relishing at the softness of her lips.
"You cheeky little..." Narcissa good-naturedly scowled and weakly
slapped his shoulder, trying to restrain her smile. It took them a while to
get out of a pleasant atmosphere and Narcissa decided it was time for tea.
"Kreacher!"
The house-elf popped out near her.
"Yes, Mistress Narcissa?"
"Be dear and bring some refreshments." She ordered in a no-nonsense,
cold tone.
"The refreshments are already prepared." Kreacher replied indifferently
and snapped his finger and two teacups with a stream coming out of
them appeared alongside a tray of cookies.
Narcissa arched her elegant eyebrow at his attentiveness and decided to
be more polite to him.
"Thank you." She lightly thanked and Kreacher looked like a kid who just
realized Santa is not real. Harry guessed he never expected a Black... any
Black to ever thank him for his work.
"My pleasure, Milady." Kreacher bowed in appreciation and quickly
disappeared to hide his embarrassment.
Before Harry could react, Narcissa was leaning towards the table and
handing him one of the teacups.
"Here you go." She told him as she sipped her tea.
Harry nodded and tried it.
"Wow, this is quite good!" He exclaimed.
"Yes. Blacks have their tastes well sorted. A pity it only applies to food."
Narcissa almost snorted in ridicule.
For the next twenty minutes, they bantered and drank their tea, just
leisurely enjoying the presence of each other. They tried to get closer and
get to know each other better. While neither of them actually could say
there was any love between them just yet, the spark of affection was
clearly there.
If Harry didn't know Narcissa couldn't harm him due to the contract, he
would have to be a hell of a lot more careful around the witch. The
woman definitely had the making of a skilled manipulator. And now he
knows she is actually beyond master at Legilimens. She was dangerous.
That much was obvious.
Fortunately, she was a Black, and lying to Lord Black in the ancestral
house of Blacks is a foolish notion at best. His family magic showed him
exactly how sincere she is and he was flabbergasted at how much she
meant everything she said. Yes... Harry could trust her. And he was
infinitely glad for that.
As he thought these thoughts, he suddenly started to feel dizzy and his
view went dim. He tried to blink a few times and groaned at the
momentary sickness he felt.
"Do not worry, dear. It will be over in a moment." He heard Narcissa's
tempting voice but couldn't quite yet see where it came from.
She uncaringly leaned closer and reached her hand and casually took his
cup straight out of his hands and put it back on the table. Harry could
not move and was only able to observe as her eyes started to gleam with
a predatory glint as she licked her lips hungrily at him.
"What did you do to me?" He asked her with wide eyes.
Ch37. Narcissa's plot
Harry's head spun and his sight started to darken. His body was shaking
and his stomach churned. He was on the verge of throwing up yet unable
to actually do so for a better part of five minutes when finally it all
stopped.
He tiredly looked at Narcissa, a question in his eyes, as she patiently yet
playfully watched him while cutely nibbling the edge of her teacup. Her
eyes betraying her anticipation as she waited with bated breath.
He was about to ask her what she did to him when his body suddenly
shifted. Before he could even blink his body got older, and older and
stopped only when it was around twenty. He was astonished and looked
at his bigger hands with an uncomprehending gaze.
"Aging potion." Narcissa smiled eagerly. "Sorry for the sickness. This one
was a bit too potent. We have a few hours."
Her eyes shined expectantly as she swung herself on his lap while he was
not paying attention, still admiring the change of his body. She straddled
him and before he could even realize what she just did, her lips again
connected to his, her hand snaking around his head, pressing it tighter to
hers. This time, however, it was no chaste kiss of gratitude, this time she
stuck her tongue as deep as she could with untold ferocity. Only after she
was thoroughly satisfied by a realization her target is poking her privates
with his stiff erection did she pull back for some highly needed air.
"And that, my dear, was the activation of the lust potion." She proudly
proclaimed.
She smirked temptingly and with an almost lazy swish of her wand
vanished Harry's clothes. Yet again, he didn't manage to react as his head
was full of desire. She leaped from the coach to the floor, kneeling and
quickly took his entire length into her mouth. A wave of pleasure
engulfed him as both moaned, her moan making it even more stimulating
for him. Harry put his hands on her head, entwining his fingers into her
silky smooth hair, absentmindedly massaging her scalp. Narcissa's tongue
flickered around his shaft with practiced ease as she eagerly bobbed her
head up and down while playing with herself.
It didn't take her long to make Harry cum and as he was about to release,
she pressed herself even closer to his crotch, gulping his seeds as if
starved, her eyes tightly closed in delight.
Narcissa pulled him out of her mouth and watched him enjoy the post-
orgasmic pleasure before she again straddled him and without warning
slid down on his length.
"Mmm. This is good." She moaned, her eyes fluttering. "I didn't have
pleasurable sex in over two decades!"
She started gently rocking her body back and forth while pecking Harry
on lips, neck, and shoulder. After they were both aroused enough, her
pace quickened and the only sound coming from the library was flesh
meeting flesh, loud moans, and gasps of pleasure.
Half-way through it, Harry finally came out of his pleasure-induced shock
and hugged Narcissa closer to his body, squishing her breasts to his chest
as he returned her fleeting kisses while gently caressing her back, gently
dragging his nails on her skin, stimulating her.
He started to push himself up, making the woman who rode him widen
her eyes and reveal a gorgeous smile of indulgence as her pace yet again
quickened. Both were at the end of the rope and couldn't hold for much
longer. Their eyes met and understanding flashed between them. One last
time, both of them strongly pressed their bodies together, Narcissa
downward and Harry upward as both came at the same time.
Narcissa bit her lips to prevent herself from moaning.
"You are filling me." She tightly hugged Harry and just laid her bare body
on him, enjoying the warmth of his embrace as she rode on the waves of
pleasure.
Harry wasn't about to let her take control though. As she was still out of
it, he toppled her over, letting her back fall onto the couch with an
audible 'thump'. Watching her enchanting body just sprawled there, a
sheen of sweat covering her as she squirms in orgasmic tremors. It woke
something primal in him.
He lowered himself on her body and started to gently kiss her while
gripping and kneading her breasts. Harry knew he won't beat her can't
give her the time of her life. Not with his subpar technique so he...
cheated. He focused his wandless telekinesis on the tip of his fingers,
making him able to fine-control it. As he kneaded her breasts, his
telekinesis gently caressed them deeply under her skin, reaching all the
way to nerve endings, sending Narcissa to yet another orgasm-filled
thrashing as she screamed from all the pleasure. Only Harry's body that
tightly pressed her into the couch prevented her from falling onto the
floor. He did not stop giving her more caresses with his 'magical' touch
though.
After two minutes of doing so while watching her squirm and
occasionally squirt her juices, he stopped using his telekinesis and ever so
slowly slid his cock into her sensitive pussy. Narcissa's heavy breath
hitched as her eyes gained a fearful glint. Harry immediately froze.
"Sorry, Cissy." He whispered to her affectionately. "Does it hurt? Should I
stop?"
Hearing him, Narcissa's gaze softened and gained an appreciative glint.
She put her hand on his cheek.
"Is my dear little Hadrian concerned for me?" She cooed seductively.
She spread her legs even wider and clasped them behind his back,
pushing him into herself with fervent desire, still minutely shaking from
her previous orgasm but licking her lips at the delicious feeling of
fullness.
Narcissa was happy. A little too shaky but she didn't feel such a rush in...
forever! Her body was hot and sweaty and her mind went into overdrive
due to pleasure. Yes, she definitely didn't regret a dime of her actions.
She moved her legs alongside Harry's body, making him fuck her quicker
and quicker, her body pleading for that amorous feeling of orgasm.
Harry didn't let her rest though, he happily started yet another battle of
tongues, and Narcissa barely hanged on a thread in a vain attempt to win
it!
As she felt his orgasm approaching again, she used his momentary
weakness to flip their bodies over, getting to the top. She sat on his
crotch, straddling him with a smug winning smile, and pressed her hands
on his chest, gesturing him to stay down.
"Be good." She purred. "Now it's my time to be on the top."
She frantically pressed her hips to his and set a tempo.
Harry's hands quickly found themselves on her hips, pushing them
downward in askance of more pleasure. They both were far too ahead to
stop now and as Harry came, he applied his telekinesis again onto his
arms, sending a stimulating electrical jolt through her hips, going up her
spine. Her body shuddered, her eyes widened as her mouth opened in a
silent scream. Yet another orgasm shook her core.
Both Harry and Narcissa fell into a heap of flesh on the drenched coach.
Narcissa's head gently laid on Harry's chest as she reveled at the feeling
of his penis still in her. They both smiled in satisfaction at each other and
Harry put his hand on her head, caressing her head which made her
smile a magnitude wider.
"Do me a favor, Cissy." He told her absentmindedly as he watched her
beautiful hair. "Let this," He gave her a soft head pat, making her angelic
smile morph into a cute pout while also sending a tingling sensation
through her back. "grow."
"Mmm." She hummed, stifling her moan, and took a strand of her long
pale hair, twirling it on her finger as she buried her cheek even deeper
into his chest.
"How long would you want it to be, my Lord?" She teased.
"Long enough to sit on them." Harry told her and snaked his hand under
the hair covering her back, putting it on her neck.
"I may consider it if you do this to me more often." She cheekily replied.
Harry didn't let the taunt phase him. He only applied magic to his hand
near her neck and Narcissa's body shuddered as a girlish squeal came
from her mouth.
"Okay, okay. I get it. You win!" She hastily whined, preventing him from
doing more.
Both knew they were barely able to move anymore, let alone go for
another round. They reached their bodily limits and just laid there
savoring the presence of the other.
"Why?" Harry asked after a few moments.
"Elaborate." Narcissa lazily drawled.
"Why did you do this?" He tried to sound relaxed but his voice strained in
curiosity.
Narcissa was silent for a moment but then sighed.
"I-, when I heard that I am married to Lord Black, I decided to have this...
exercise, no matter who Lord Black is or his age. To be honest, I half-
expected it to be my grandfather Arcturus and prepared a ton of
aphrodisiac for the occasion." She snickered and pressed her face into
Harry's chest in sheer embarrassment. "I just... I think I didn't really
think. It was over a decade since a man touched me, you know? And I
just wanted... I-"
"Shhh." Harry interrupted her calmingly and dragged his hand up and
down her back in cooing motion. "And the aging potion?" He curiously
quipped.
"Oh, I always carry a few of them of various potencies. You never know
when you will need to appear as an old hag to overhear a juicy
blackmai-, ahem, rumor." Narcissa said sagely.
"I see." Harry deadpanned. "So, I guess you put it into my tea when I
wasn't watching, or was Kreacher also onto it?"
She shook her head, tickling his chest with her hair.
"He didn't know. But do expect to be ambushed like this more often if
you won't fulfill your duty, husband." She seductively winked.
"In that case, do keep a supply of aging potions on hand." Harry said
simply, sending Narcissa over the moon.
"You know when I looked into your mind..." She started unsurely. "I saw
that mentally you are much older than a child should be. That actually
made this so much easier." She confessed.
"I-" Harry stammered.
"I won't ask difficult questions, Harry." Narcissa continued without letting
him react but gave him a hopeful look. "One day, maybe?"
"Maybe." He relented after a while of pondering.
"Narcissa?" Harry asked in an amused tone, getting a 'hum' in return. "Are
you channeling some healing spells?" He wondered when her wand left
the table and appeared in her hand.
"Muscle relaxant, invigoration spell, and stamina spell to be exact." She
beamed proudly.
"And, pray tell, for what would we need those spells?" His amused tone
intensified.
"Eh?" She looked at him innocently. "So... second round?"
Harry laughed mirthfully.
"Certainly. Second round is it."
------------
Well... First time writing something like this so... eh, comment?
Ch38. Narcissa's resolve
Narcissa stared at the animated puppet that wore Death Eater attire in
front of her as she raised her wand in preparation for a fight.
She didn't attack. Instead, she let the puppet start the fight and send a red
bolt of energy at her. Narcissa's eyes attentively focused on the energy
bolt that flew faster than a human eye could follow. Her instincts
screamed at her to duck, roll, or simply lean to the side, yet, she did not
dodge. Narcissa patiently waited and in a moment, the bolt was too close
to dodge. Suddenly a rune shined on the ground in front of Narcissa,
completely dissipating the bolt.
That was when she burst into motion. She made to chain several spells,
starting with bone-crusher to the center of the puppet, fluidly swishing
her wand slightly downward for a blood-boiler to the right side and
ending her chain with a bludgeoning spell to the left of the puppet,
completely cutting any and all directions for evading. All three flew at
the puppet as if they were cast simultaneously.
The puppet was not some cheap toy, however. It was the pinnacle of
enchanting and reacted accordingly. Determining the blood-boiler to be
the weakest of the chain, it quickly jumped towards it, letting the two
other spells sail harmlessly past it.
The calculations of the puppet were correct. Since it had no blood, the
blood-boiler didn't do anything to it. The second the curse impacted the
puppet, however, a wordless and motionless Expeliarmus also impacted it
like a truck, sending it flying ten meters back.
The puppet was made out of very magic resistant material and quite
sturdy. Unfortunately for Narcissa, the blow was not registered as lethal,
so it stood up, sporting at most a few scratches, ready to continue.
Two other puppets sprang into action from the side-lines. Both firing
another bolt of energy at Narcissa. As with the previous bolt, they quickly
dissipated as they came in contact with the rune, giving Narcissa a
chance to swish her wand at them.
She transfigured the ground behind one to a small hole while forcing it to
take a step back due to quick Reducto. As it tripped on the hole, another
well-aimed Reducto impacted its head, not leaving even a scratch but the
blow was considered lethal. The puppet didn't stand up anymore.
The other puppet was made to side-step an Organ-liquefying curse, dodge
Bludgeoning curse, leap out of the way of Difindo, all the while it cast
bolt after bolt at Narcissa who quite contently stood in the same place
she started at, protected by her rune while sending curse after curse at
the puppet.
Suddenly the first puppet Narcissa fought against, joined the fray, trying
to circle around Narcissa.
Clicking her tongue, she spun on her heel, her wand in her outstretched
arm, pointing at the ground as she did a full circle around herself. Runes
started appearing in the place her wand was pointing until they formed a
full circle around Narcissa. As a bolt from the first puppet impacted the
runic circle, it got deflected away from Narcissa. The second it impacted
the circle, Narcissa's wand, and mind, led by the magic of the runes,
snapped faster than the eye could follow right to the direction of the
puppet, her magic flaring. Not even second after the puppet cast its
energy bolt, it found itself at the Narcissa's wand point and the ground
beneath it erupted in Bombarda Maxima, sending it flailing through the
air, out of commission.
The last puppet used the minute distraction to get closer to Narcissa. She
quickly understood the reason. Since the bolts aren't a threat, the puppet
aimed for a body tackle.
A slight smile appeared on Narcissa's face as she waited for the puppet to
get closer and as it was ten meters from her, She swished her wand.
"Avada Kedavra."
And the puppet fell lifelessly on the ground, registering a lethal blow.
A clapping sound reverberated through the training ground, coming from
behind Narcissa. She swiftly spun towards it, her wand on the ready, only
relaxing when she saw Andromeda approaching.
"Damn sister. These puppets may be old but still are fast enough to give
problems to professional duelers! Three at once? Count me impressed."
"Well, Andy. When you live among Death Eaters..." Narcissa trailed off,
making the atmosphere awkward.
Andromeda harrumphed.
"What's the reason for this workout, Cissy?" She asked.
"Ah, was trying out my magic absorbing rune..." Narcissa smiled but then
grimaced as she saw her sister's expression lit in interest. It almost pained
her to dash her sister's hopes. "No, it is a failure. It can't stop anything
more powerful than Bone-shattering Curse."
"As if so many wizards actually knew a spell that packs more power than
Bone-Shatterer." Andromeda grumbled.
"Well... anyway, Killing Curse? Aren't you afraid of being discovered by
the government?" She asked as she handed Narcissa a bottle of water.
"Discovered?" Narcissa's lip twitched upwards.
"Here, dear sister?" She mockingly spread her arms.
"Ninety percent of the time, they won't report anything and the
remaining ten percent can't penetrate wards of common households, least
Black family wards." She informed Andromeda with an amused scoff.
"But... what do you mean most of the time they do not report anything!?
They worked! Even some Death Eaters have been captured thanks to
them. The tests clearly showed..." Andromeda looked incredulously at
Narcissa.
"Of course they did, Andy." Narcissa openly laughed. "After all, it was
Lucius's father who helped to set them up at the order of the Dark Lord
himself. It would not do if they didn't get at least some of the more
useless variety of Death Eaters."
Andromeda froze in her tracks with her jaw hanging open.
"Close your mouth before a house-elf makes a nest in there." Narcissa
rolled her eyes. "So? What would you like to discuss, sister?"
Andromeda recollected herself and her lips thinned.
"Can't I just visit my sister?"
"You can." Narcissa's brows started twitching in annoyance. "But if you
wanted to have a sister's talk you would give me a proper heads-up. No.
You appeared out of nowhere. Here. In the training room of Grimmauld
Place 12. One of the most out of the way rooms there is in the house."
Do not make me doubt your intelligence by saying your visit is a
coincidence, Andromeda. You are clearly bothered by something."
Narcissa coldly rebuked.
Andromeda deflated and released a defeated sigh.
"I'd like to know your intentions towards Lord Black." She asked bluntly.
"My intentions?" Narcissa asked, not understanding what exactly
Andromeda wanted to know.
Andromeda's cheek reddened.
"You forgot to apply the silencing spell yesterday, Cissy. I... your squeals
were quite loud." She whispered, making Narcissa's pale skin flare into
crimson-red and start spluttering.
Andromeda, as amused as she was due to her sister's embarrassment,
pressed more.
"I-, If this is some intricate manipulation you..."
Narcissa's embarrassment abruptly turned to anger and her eyes
narrowed.
"Manipulation?" She sharply interrupted her sister, making her shut up,
but then grit her teeth. "In a way, yes. I do intend to manipulate
Hadrian."
Before Andromeda could protest, Narcissa continued in a resolute and
firm tone.
"But me having sex with him was just that. I wanted to again feel the
pleasure while showing my Lord my worth. I wanted to make him
understand that keeping me near will be worth it."
"Like a sex toy?" Andromeda asked, not liking the way her sister talked
about her actions, momentarily forgetting her reason for confronting her
sister.
"Yes." Narcissa spat venomously and her voice raised. "If he desires a sex
toy, I will gladly be just that!"
Both sisters glared at each other, Narcissa with a slight hostility while
Andromeda in confusion but an unwillingness to back down.
"I served Lord Voldemort." Narcissa eventually said, her tone bland. "He
was a cruel master. Very painful too." She unconsciously rubbed her neck
as if massaging a bruise.
Andromeda's gaze softened and a sudden urge to comfort her sister flared
in her chest.
"Before that, I served Lucius. These were the most painful years of my
existence." Narcissa's eyes got even more deadpan and lifeless than before
and Andromeda's eyes gained a pitying glint.
"And after Lord Voldemort's fall, I again had to serve Lucius but now
without him being able to make me suffer. So... he tried to do anything to
make my life as uncomfortable as possible without actually hurting me or
his House."
Narcissa's eyes peered straight into Andromeda's, hardened, cold, and
dangerous.
"Now I have a new master. One who cares." She uttered, her voice
gaining a slightly happier undertone but was still as hard as steel. "When
I used my Legilimency on him, the first thought he had was how to make
this marriage more comfortable for me. For the first time in my life, a
man who owned me cared about my feelings. So yes, dear sister, if my
master wants a sex toy, I will be there to provide him as much sex as he
wants and make it damn enjoyable. If he wants me to bring Wizarding
Britain to ruin, I will do exactly that. And, if I am ordered to find a way
to kill Dumbledore, I WILL find it!" She strongly stated.
Andromeda gulped, unable to gather her thoughts at the absurdity of
what her sister just said.
"What about your manipulations then." She blurted out the first thing
that came to her mind and instantly regretted it.
Narcissa's face slacked, anger leaving her. She, as if aged suddenly,
showed a tired expression.
"Andy," She slowly drawled, resisting the urge to give her sister a
ridiculing sneer. "our Lord is eleven."
Seeing Andromeda's uncomprehending expression Narcissa wanted to
facepalm but continued in a calm voice as if explaining something to a
child.
"Yes. He is mentally an adult. But... a lord, he is not. He is too childish,
too prone to mistakes." Seeing Andromeda cross her hands on her chest,
Narcissa knew her sister was not listening fully, and she would have to
provide better arguments if he wanted to make her point clear.
"Yes. I am going to take care of every mistake Hadrian makes. But I am
also going to show him when and exactly what he did wrong and how
could he do it better in the future. Teach him how to make effective use
of his Lordship. Teach him his privileges and how to take advantage of
the law. And among those things, I will show him my worth."
Narcissa's face again bloomed in a sweet smile.
"That is the extent of my manipulations, dear sister. I will make sure he
damn well knows I will do anything for him. Even if it means meeting my
end at the Dark Lord's wand when he comes back, as Lucius likes to
preach." Her eyes shone in determination.
"I was never loved by any man who had power over me so I certainly do
hope my services will make Hadrian genuinely fall in love with me and
cherish me. I will do it because I want to feel safe and loved. Even if it is
possible to call what I do a plain manipulation. The contract allows it
because I mean no harm to my master, Andy."
"I just hope you won't go too far, sister." Andromeda quietly relented.
"Don't worry. Everything I do, will, in the end, benefit Hadrian more than
myself." Narcissa nodded and walked away.
Ch39. Bellatrix? What about her?
Harry was sitting in his comfortable chair near the hearth in the Black
Library. Opposite him was Rowena, tightly perched on the table. They
were intently staring into each other's eyes without blinking, nor moving
a muscle.
Harry suddenly gripped his head in pain and let out a muffled gasp as he
broke the eye-contact.
Rowena cawed in disapproval.
"Yes, I know I should have held it through the pain, Row." He plainly told
her, massaging his temples, trying to relieve his headache.
His uncaring reply earned him another five minutes of fervent cawing
courtesy of Rowena, leaving him no other opinion than to sigh and admit
defeat.
"Yes. Of course, you are right." He agreed and Rowena puffed out. "But it
is not as easy as you make it out to be."
That earned him a harsh glare and another disapproving caw.
"No, Row. I can't detect you without the utmost focus. Your Legilimency
probe is just too subtle. And..."
An angry caw interrupted him.
"Suuuure, of course, my incompetency is due to my human brain's
inability to keep up with your bird brain..." Harry rolled his eyes
exaggeratedly, getting yet another cawing ceremony.
"I know you are trying to make your probes seem obvious. I just have a
hard time picking them up!"
"Caw Caw Ca..." Rowena started but was interrupted by a loud knock on
the door.
Harry looked at his familiar and sighed while inwardly thanking whoever
decided to disturb them.
"Look, we will continue this later, okay?" He smiled at Rowena and
lovingly nudged her head.
"Come in!" He shouted towards the door and a second later, Narcissa
stepped through the door.
"Hello." She smiled at him and sat down on a nearby chair.
Three days passed since their first coupling and since then they became
closer by the day. Both Harry and Narcissa gave their all to understand
each other and it brought visible results in their relationship. The more
Harry spent with his Cissa, the less reluctant he became due to the age-
gap. While not yet love, the budding sparks of affections began to show.
"Hi." He greeted back. "Surprise seeing you here at this hour. Something
bothering you?"
Narcissa's lips thinned and her eyes showed uncertainty on how to start.
'Oh, boy. Something does bother her then! More work for me. Uh, the
headache.' Harry thought dryly and waited for her to breach the subject.
"It is about Bella." Narcissa eventually managed to utter, making Harry
tilt his head.
"Bellatrix?" His face morphed into confusion. "What about her?"
"She is... my sister." She pursed her lips and carefully started telling him
the reason for her visit. "I would like to know what your plans are for
her, Hadrian."
He looked at her nervous expression and gave her an affirmative nod.
"Preferably?" He dragged his hand through his hair. "I would love to have
her in the exact same position you are in right now. But I doubt me
getting the ownership of her contract and canceling all previous orders
would make her into, ahem, capable of coexistence with us, the peaceful
folks. Plus she definitely doesn't smell like daisies nor does she shit
rainbow. Just getting her out of Azkaban will be a chore. And even if we
got her out, we would have to persuade her to be as obedient as a type of
Magical Sheep called Wizards which with her personality is kinda hard to
achieve."
Harry told her and grimaced slightly at her disheartened expression.
"No. She certainly is not one of us, the peaceful folks." Narcissa gave him
a wry smile.
"I would know..." She trailed off. "Deep down, I always knew she was
evil."
"Yes?" Harry's curiosity peaked at her peculiar wording. "Was she like
that even when young?"
"On top of my skill in mind arts, I am an empath, Hadrian. When I was
younger, I never put much stock into my 'instincts'. I did not know what
they meant." She shook her head in sadness. "Bellatrix was raised for
combat. Born a second child just a few years after Grindelwald's fall.
Blacks wanted a witch capable of destruction in their name. Her training
started as soon as five years old. I can't count how many times I felt her
hurt or sadness coming from her when we played together. Funnily
enough, she always had a mile-wide smile plastered on her face that
fooled everyone. As time went on, her feelings dulled, her sadness
morphed to rage, and then Voldemort came."
!I only realized this after I was married to Lucius. By then, it was far too
late to do anything." She sighed, her head lowered as she fought tears
from spilling.
"Anyway, my sister was enamored with the Dark Lord. Hanging on his
every word... Still is, I guess. But she wasn't quite as bad as she is now.
She was a supporter, pureblood supremacist of the highest order. But
every Black was raised to be one. Then her marriage with Lestrange
happened and she disappeared for some time, only to reemerge as
Bellatrix Lestrange, the Death Eater. More insane than ever. I... lost my
sister that day."
Narcissa quieted down only to reveal a slight smile a moment later.
"But when I was suffering under my former husband, it was Bella who
attempted to help me. She was the last person I expected to lift a finger
for me. Bella knew she will be punished for it and her request won't even
faze her Master but she nevertheless begged him for my sake." Narcissa
said. "I owe her. That's why I want to know."
Harry leaned back into his chair and pondered what could be done,
shooting blanks.
"Cissa, the only thing we could probably do is to break her out of
Azkaban. No legal way exists for a murderer of her caliber. And even
then... it would be imperative to somehow make her actually stop
adoring her Lord Voldemort and listen to us."
"Yes..." Narcissa looked defeated at being told the truth she already knew.
She closed her eyes and when she opened them again, a very scary but
unshakable resolve appeared in them. Harry started to get a really bad
premonition due to her gaze though. "I want to break my sister out of
Azkaban, my Lord. Will you allow it?"
Harry almost groaned but then shrugged.
"Make sure you won't get caught and don't forget about her fanatical faith
in Voldemort if you want to deal with her. Other than that, do whatever."
Narcissa's face lit up like a sun.
"Do not worry, it might just take me years to get her out of the prison
and see the 'light' but I have a plan for that." Her face split in a menacing
grin and Harry started to feel a little pity for Bellatrix. May she rest in
peace.
"So... empath?" He lamely changed the topic, getting spooked by the
conviction in Narcissa's eyes. Apparently the question was a good one
because her expression softened and her tone became happier.
"Yes. You are now the only person who knows that about me. Even Dark
Lord wasn't able to gleam it from my mind, no matter how many times
he used Legilimecy on me, and I never boasted. Poor idiot never got it
into his thick skull to just give me the order to outright tell him all my
abilities." She showed a ridiculing sneer. "He instead thought his
Legilimency would reveal everything about his followers to him."
"Is your Occlumecy really so good?" Harry asked and a spark of hope
ignited in his eyes.
Narcissa questioningly arched her eyebrow at him.
"Well, I AM gifted in Mind Arts but even I could not block the Dark Lord's
Legilimency at that time. Was not allowed to practice, you see." She
stated and as she saw Harry's expression sinking, her lips curled into a
mischievous smirk. "But I could redirect it and lead it through
unimportant memories without him knowing I am doing it."
Harry beamed at her. Almost as if he teleported he got in front of her,
took her hand in his, and stared at her hopefully.
"Will you teach me?" He asked. "Rowena is such a bad tea..."
"CAW!" Rowena gave her protests painfully obvious when her beak ended
poking the side of Harry's head.
"What! You know it! Your method is way too painful!" Harry protested
and glared at Rowena.
Narcissa amused at their antics, shrugged in exasperation.
"Sure. Why though?"
"Two reasons. Dumbledore and Snape." Harry told her as he tried to
appease his familiar with head rubs.
"Oh... Makes sense." She raised her wand in front of his head and a smile
that promised a lot of pain bloomed on her face and Harry suddenly
wished he didn't ask.
"Now, show me your shields, my Lord." Narcissa goaded. "Legilimens."
Before he could protest, Harry's head exploded in pain far worse than
what he felt with Rowena.
Ch40. Occlumency training
The next few days were a blur for Hadrian.
He experienced untold pains at Narcissa's wand and her brutal
Legilimency probes. She was so ferocious, even Hadrian wondered why
the contract didn't lash out against her. The more and deeper she pushed,
the more he felt as if his head was about to explode. The only thing his
mind was capable of focusing on through the horrendous pains was her
gentle voice, leading him, softly coaxing him what to do. Telling him
how to defend against her, to focus while she pushed deeper, uncaring
about his memories, causing painful havoc without doing any damage to
his mind.
But... it worked. Miraculously at that. He couldn't begrudge her that. Her
instructions and wand-in-front-of-face method made Hadrian learn in
minutes what he was unable to do in days through studying books or
'clearing his mind'.
After a day spent sweating in pain in the chair as Narcissa's hardened
eyes peered directly into his and a stream of blood flowed down her chin
as she bit through her lower lip...
Narcissa made it her twisted responsibility to let him know exactly how
much her heart wept from seeing him in all the pain she caused him. As
well as she made sure to send her hardened determination of continuing
until he forms his shields through her probe directly to his mind.
His shields now could mitigate her probe. Somewhat. She was not so
unrestrained anymore at least. But even if his shields, albeit shakily but
nevertheless stood strong against her gentler probes, he was still unable
to do anything about sneaky and subtle or her real probes. He wasn't
even able to detect the subtle ones! She could still read him like an open
book anytime she desired and with extreme smugness made sure he knew
it.
Hadrian decided he did not like the smirk Narcissa gave him when he
asked about it and was informed he is ready for the second phase of his
Occlumency training. Not in the slightest.
...
"Do we really have to do it this way?" Hadrian groaned as Narcissa gave
him a rare break from the subtle Legilimency probe.
Instead, she focused on rocking her back and forth more savagely on the
crotch of his twenty years old body. Her expression made it obvious that
despite stifling her moans, she is highly amused by his ecstatic expression
contradicting the question.
"Yes, dear husband, we do." She softly pecked him on his lips. "There are
but, mmm, two supreme distractions." She leaned closer, pushing her
chest deeper into his as her mouth reached his ear. For a moment her
tongue gave a tempting lick but with a soft squeeze to her hips, Narcissa
recollected herself and continued her lecture while sending her warm
breath to his ear. "Pleasure and pain. Only those two, dear."
Hadrian started pushing her hips down with more force.
"This is weird. Aging potions, I mean." He moaned into her neck and
continued in a sensual whisper. "In my original age I do not have any
sexual urges whatsoever but the second I 'grow up' I am all over you,
Cissy." He pinched her, letting her face pull away from his ear. With a
cheeky smile, he put his forehead to hers and trusted his hips upwards.
"Say, do you actually add something vile into these potions?"
"N-no! It's ma-magic." Narcissa gasped at the sudden jolt of pleasure that
rang through her spine. She was dazed but started to apply her
Occlumency, regaining her cool, indifferent expression even though
Hadrian could feel the tremors her body sent through him as she bounced
up and down on his shaft. "The potion ages you through magic. That
means the magic flares and well, we do have a contract between us.
Magic is making us physically attracted to each other. Without
Occlumency you won't be able to resist me." She gave him a controlled
saucy wink, beautifully contrasting with her flushed cheeks. It was her
hands that revealed her body was not as controlled as her mind was.
Their tightening their grip on Hadrian's sides was almost needy.
Hadrian resisted the urge to roll his eyes at her simplistic explanation and
reasoned it will have something with the contract affecting her
pheromones and his hormones once they are of a certain age.
"Pheromones?" Narcissa asked, tilting her head in confusion, making
Hadrian groan and blink.
"Again reading my thoughts?" He asked, exasperated.
"Well, you should pay attention, then! We are not having sex to enjoy
ourselves, Hadrian!" Narcissa admonished but it was too clear to Hadrian
that she is having a blast of a lifetime. Her megawatt grin made sure of
that.
"But..." His breath hitched and his eyes glazed over. All his senses could
pick up were her fingers carefully sliding through his back, softly yet
sensually scratching their way down. Her stiff nipples and soft breasts
pressing to his chest. Her warm body, comforting him, hugging him softly
but firmly, melting him inside of herself. Her long, pale locks tickling him
as they fleetingly caressed his body. Her warmly cold oceanic-blue eyes
gazing directly into his emeralds with fondness.
Every time he was about to cum, Narcissa overstimulated his body,
making his mind reeling from the pleasure. As his shields were barely
withstanding the carnal pleasure, she brutally smashed her probe into
them, more often than not completely disintegrating them, making his
body spasm in orgasmic-high while his mind exploded in blinding pain.
Needless to say, Hadrian learned fast. He now knew how to keep his
shields up no matter what. Narcissa still could destroy them with her full
force but any average Legilimens had no chance to breach them.
The problem was the subtle probes of hers. Narcissa was very thorough.
Hadrian was sure he would be able to show Dumbledore fake thoughts
and even do the trick with probe redirecting if the old coot decided to
push deeper.
But Narcissa wanted more. She demanded more. She expected him to
resist her method. Her incredibly advanced and nimble eye-to-eye subtle
Legilimency. The method that makes use of her Empathy. The method
that allows her to completely bypass the Occlumency shields by 'going
through the emotional holes in them' as she put it. She can weasel her
way to the mind so quickly and discreetly, Hadrian had a lot of problems
just discovering her probes at first. But he learned. As his body reeled
from the pleasure and mind was distracted by the odd mix of the
overpowering feeling of protectiveness Narcissa projected, ecstatic
pleasure her body gave him, and explosive pain he knew she deeply
regretted inflicting upon him, Hadrian learned. And his mind came more
focused, firmer out of it.
Hadrian's Occlumency barely held through sheer will and practice
Narcissa pushed him through for the last three days in the bed. Without
the short irregular breaks for food, loo, and short sleep, he would be a
completely unthinking, writhing mess of pleasure.
Another jolt of hot pleasure flared through in his mind.
His mind trembled in pleasure as he desperately tried to manipulate
Narcissa's subtle probe and lead her through his most unpleasant
memories again and again in order to deter her. Narcissa's probe, just like
Hadrian's shields, was also trembling in delight and jolts of ecstasy but
held strong and steadfast, determinedly pushing, weaving through his
defenses, completely bypassing them as if they didn't even prove an
obstacle. The more he saw her peeking at his mind while not being the
least bothered by his defenses, the more exasperated Hadrian became.
But he managed. Her probe did not get to the designated memory they
set up as Narcissa's goal. Not for hours now.
Hadrian could feel Narcissa's body speeding up as it heated up. He could
feel himself about to give in to her hot insides as his unstoppable release
approached. He started ramming his rod to her with more passion,
pushing his lips deeper into hers, and starting a battle with her lithe yet
nimble tongue. His eyes steeled themselves, knowing what will come
next.
As his last thrust released and filled Narcissa's folds with fiery hot cum,
her body spasmed, pressing itself tighter to Hadrian's, both trembling in
post-orgasmic bliss, hugging each other. Hadrian could feel the hard
wood of her wand, pressing into his back and knew what would shortly
come.
A ruthless Legilimency attack left Narcissa's eyes and slammed into
Hadrian's Occlumency shields with the force of a sledgehammer. He felt
as if an elephant trampled him and his hands dug deeper into Narcissa's
soft flesh, pushing her body and face closer to him on sheer instinct.
Narcissa, not breaking the eye contact, viciously rammed her probe into
his shields again and again with such a determination, she unknowingly
started pressing her forehead to his just to lessen the distance between
their eyes. Their noses, next to each other, dug into their cheeks as their
tongues didn't break their connection.
Hadrian was reforming his shields with ferocious abandon while resisting
just curling up and cuddling the gorgeous woman in his arms. The
woman who brought him such joy and made his body feel as if floating in
the clouds. The woman who was currently haphazardly tearing through
his mental shields but whose firm hug encouraged him to resist her.
A minute later, suddenly both Hadrian and Narcissa, panting from the
exertion of sex and mind magic, lurched backward, their hips
disconnecting, sending globs of cum onto the sheets, as they both flopped
on the soft bed. Their chest heaving up and down in labored breaths,
both tried to center themselves and calm down their racing hearts.
Narcissa's face bloomed in an angelic, proud smile as she inclined her
head to the side to look at Hadrian. She tiredly shuffled her body, slowly
weaseling her way into his embrace. Her cheek tightly pressed itself onto
his chest as their feet entangled themselves. Only now she realized the
height difference between her and his adult body. Narcissa was pleased
to be engulfed in the body of her dear man. The way he gently held onto
her small frame, making their bodies melt into each other, even though
he barely managed to keep his eyes open due to his exhaustion, made her
filled with happiness and hardened her resolve even more.
She belongs to him, to Hadrian, to the man who spent the last three days
inside of her, to the man in whose mind she spent the last three days, to
the man she was starting to genuinely fall in love with.
Her smile grew wider as she caringly caressed his back and softly,
affectionately whispered to him.
"You withstood my probe at half of its strength. I am so proud of you,
dear."
Ch41. Rune Protection and
Weapon
Hadrian sat in the Black Library with his head leaning back and his
mouth wide open as Narcissa's wand, slightly glowing, pointed at the
inner upper part of his mouth, almost entering it.
"Aaaa?" Hadrian let out of his throat and Narcissa barely understood the
meaning due to his questioning uncomfortable gaze.
"No, Hadrian, for the tenth time, I am not done yet." She quipped in
annoyance as she leaned closer to have a better view of his inner mouth
and firmly gripped his chin.
"Tsk." Narcissa poured more magic into her wand and felt her focus
waver. Hadrian clutched the armrest as he felt his mouth burn. She
blinked and gave him an apologetic look without really meaning it
anymore since it happened quite a lot in the previous hour. "Sorry, dear."
"Aaa." He responded in discontent.
"Yes, yes. I will try to speed it up a little." Narcissa rolled her eyes,
amused at his antics, and proceeded to feed her wand magic at the exact
same pace.
She was simultaneously administering anesthetic magic, carving a rune,
and instantly healing the burned spot at once. The focus required was
tremendous, therefore, Narcissa had to be careful but still sometimes
slipped. In those instances, poor Hadrian felt every bit of having a rune
carved in the upper part, inside of his mouth.
Hadrian tried to relax yet again as the pain receded. He was quite
annoyed at Narcissa's nonchalant tone and almost started regretting
letting her persuade him into doing this! No matter the benefits, he just
lost a lot of his manly pride!
"Aaaaaaa!" He shrieked again, trying to not move as his mouth when he
felt as if acid was spilled there. He started to feel the coppery taste in his
mouth as blood filled it.
Right there! That was when he lost most of his pride. See!?
Narcissa didn't even acknowledge him this time and just healed the
damaged part as if nothing happened. Yet, her eyes literally danced in
mirth at his panic!
"Do not worry." She cooed. "I did this to Draco too." Her smirk got
positively menacing and Hadrian got a sudden overpowering urge to feel
enormous pity for poor young Draco.
"I must say, you are doing quite fine. Overall, there is a lot less blood and
whining." Narcissa flippantly quipped. "I really do not know how that boy
will survive serving the Dark Lord when he can't even withstand having a
rune burned into the insides of his mouth. Crucio will destroy him."
Hadrian really thanked Narcissa for teaching him to veil his thoughts
because just now some very colorful curses about her sprang to his mind.
"And done." Narcissa smugly put her wand to her holster and her eyes
flashed mischievously.
Hadrian relieved he survived the experience, took a relieving breath.
Obviously, appearing worried was not a good idea at the moment as
Narcissa engulfed him in a playful comforting hug.
"Who is my brave little boy." She mockingly and exaggeratedly shook his
small eleven years old form from side to side, only stopping when she felt
him getting more and more annoyed.
"Aww." She pinched his cheek playfully.
"Yes, you are." And cooed in a childish voice, receiving a stink eye from
Hadrian, making her barely contain her laughter.
"Do not worry, let me kiss the boo." Smirk momentarily appeared on her
face and before Hadrian could give her a piece of his mind, she pressed
her soft lips to his in a sloppy kiss.
"Well, that is disgusting, sister dearest."
Suddenly sounded from behind them and Narcissa quickly jumped away
from Hadrian as if she was just caught doing something wrong.
"I would never think my prim and proper sister is the naughty sort."
Andromeda teased yet her eyes betrayed a hint of disgust.
Narcissa speechlessly looked at Andromeda and turned to Hadrian for
help but then understood. She just pushed her tongue deep into the
mouth of an eleven years old boy.
"Ew." She scowled in a hint of self-disgust as her complexion turned a
little green. "I was so focused on the rune I forgot he is not under aging
potion."
Hadrian, highly annoyed by the Black sisters just crossed his arms.
"Rune?" Andromeda asked.
"Yup." Narcissa pounced at the opportunity to change the topic. "I was
carving a Mental-interference rune into Hadrian's mouth."
Andromeda looked at Narcissa, her eyes showing not an ounce of
understanding.
"It will prevent him from being affected by mind-altering potions or food.
Good enough to even stop Amortentia if the victi-, ahem, the user is good
enough Occlumens. You know... the one father carved to each of us." She
told her, irked at having to explain it to Andromeda who should know
about it already.
"Oh..." Andromeda intelligently replied with a grimace as she
remembered the painful experience but quickly turned to Hadrian with
an apologetic gaze. "Anyway, sorry my Lord, Narcissa, I have to cancel
the invitation to the diner and request clearing my schedule for the
following days. My Nymphadora returned from her vacation with the
Weasley boy and is bawling her eyes out. The prick bluntly told her the
dragons are more important to him after having what he called a
'goodbye sex' without actually telling her it is goodbye sex." She said,
positively murderous.
"Oh... Sure, no problem. Do comfort her. If..." Hadrian responded.
"No problem!" Narcissa interrupted, nodding, and beaming happily. "We
can use the aging potion we prepared for the diner in more... productive
way." She winked at Hadrian and Andromeda rolled her eyes.
Hadrian decided to quickly change the topic.
"So, Andy, did you get what I asked for?" He asked her, eyeing the
briefcase in her left hand with great anticipation.
Both women smiled at his childish joy and Andromeda nodded.
"Ah, I tried to contact that Mr. Smith you told me about but..." She
awkwardly trailed off and the joy in Hadrian instantly died.
"Go on." He ordered, having a bad premonition.
"Ah, he was arrested. Trying to use a lot of banknotes with the exact
same serial number, they said." Andromeda rolled her eyes as Hadrian's
world shattered.
"I fucked up." He mumbled lifelessly as he sat in the chair, completely
ignoring both women.
Narcissa took the opportunity of his distraught state and quickly sent a
Legilimency probe. It didn't take long for her charming melodious
laughter to fill the room.
She walked around Hadrian and as she was facing his back, she leaned
forward, squishing her breast on his back, reddening his cheeks from
shame at his failure more than anything else. Her highly amused voice
rang straight into his ear in a playful mocking tone.
"Do not worry, dear. I will take care of setting up a business in the
muggle world for you. You do not need an incompetent thug to do it.
What actually made you do something so idiotic..." She yet again released
another round of laughter, making Hadrian's cheeks go even redder.
"Whatever." He pouted and gestured for Andromeda to put the briefcase
on the table.
"Well, here you are." She opened it, revealing a handgun.
Seeing it, Narcissa scowled.
"Why do you need one of those muggle gans, Hadrian?" She admonished
harshly, flinching at the cold glare she received back.
"Firstly, it is called 'gun'. Not 'gan'. Secondly, let me show you, Cissy."
Hadrian told her as he reached for the gun. "Cast three shielding charms
one after the other, would you?" He ordered her and pointed at a wall.
Narcissa still didn't understand why her husband needed such an inferior
tool but she received a direct order. With a meek subdued nod, she
waved her wand in the direction of the wall, casting three strong Protego
Charms.
Hadrian nodded in satisfaction and took aim directly into the middle of
the first Protego charm. He fired, making Narcissa flinch back due to the
sudden noise. The bullet flew towards the first shield, completely
shattering it. The second didn't fare any better as it was disintegrated on
the impact just as easily. It was the third that finally had a slight effect. It
redirected the bullet, slowed by the two previous shields, slightly to the
right before the bullet impacted the wall and harmlessly bounced away
from it. The wards completely mitigated the impact.
Narcissa looked at the spectacle, completely shocked. She understood
well what this 'gun' would mean for a wizard in a fight. This gun was
completely different than those her grandparents told her they
encountered during the war against Grindelwald!
Even Andromeda and Hadrian were quite surprised the bullet went
through all three Shielding Charms, revealing a wry smile. Both clearly
disturbed at the fact.
"How..." Narcissa uttered as her head swirled in thoughts, her teachings
about muggle inferiority deeply challenged.
Hadrian tapped her arm in reassurance and smiled at her when she
suddenly gained that determined look he didn't like in the slightest. She
cast another Protego Charm in front of the wall and nibbled her lips as
she pondered. Both Andromeda and Hadrian let her, patiently waiting for
what she would do.
After ten minutes, Narcissa finally smiled and created another Protego
Charm next to it.
"Try now." She proudly exclaimed and Hadrian obliged.
He shot at the newly-made Shielding Charm and instantly a surprised
expression appeared on his face. The bullet impacted the shield, both
started fighting for dominance. The bullet was rotating at incredibly high
speed, trying to drill its way through the Charm as the Shielding Charm
pulsed with magic.
Narcissa's smug expression fell, however, when the Charm, after a three-
second long tug-war, shattered and the bullet harmlessly flopped to the
ground. Yes, the Shielding Charm stopped the bullet. No, it was not a
viable opinion in a fight. Narcissa was pissed.
"What did you change?" Hadrian curiously asked Narcissa.
"Well, you know, there are shielding spells that are made to shield
against transfigured mass hurled at the user. A variant of these was
mostly used against, uhm, what were they called again?" Narcissa pouted.
"Tunks? Tonks? No, no, that is Andromeda's husband." She pondered.
"Tanks." Hadrian quipped, getting a grateful look from Narcissa.
"Uh, yes. These shielding spells are not readily taught. Not since
Dumbledore got rid of them from the Hogwarts curriculum after he
became the Headmaster. But, they have enough strength to stop the fire
from these Tanks. Even if they take a lot of magic." Narcissa nodded,
mostly to herself but her knowledge astonished Hadrian.
"To be honest, looking at the gun, these tanks became better too. Right?"
She gave a questioning look at Andromeda who just sadly nodded.
"A lot better, sister. I doubt these shielding spells will be able to stop a
modern tank. And if they can, then not more than a couple of times
before being breached."
A groan ripped itself from Narcissa's mouth as she again started to go
through everything she knew in her head.
"So, how did you enhance the Protego Charm?" Hadrian asked again,
pulling Narcissa from her reverie.
"Ah? Yes, yes. I just tried redistributing the power all over the shield."
She frowned. "Apparently it didn't work."
Hadrian looked at her as a proverbial light-bulb appeared above his head.
He just realized he has a genius as a wife. Seeing a gun for the first time
and already modifying a quite useless spell into a lot less useless
defensive means! She basically described the redistribution of kinetic
force on the shield to make it more durable without even reading a book
about physics!
"Andy, buy books explaining science and give them to Narcissa." Hadrian
said and before Narcissa could protest he continued. "She will learn
mostly physics and chemistry. If her interest is piqued, then, you can get
her books on other muggle subjects. And no, Cissy, that is an order."
He turned to Narcissa who couldn't decide if her gaze should be scathing
or grateful, her affection towards her husband fighting her upbringing.
"Cissy, you will get a helluva lot better at runes and magic due to the
knowledge." Hadrian softly commented with a gentle smile and
gratefulness momentarily won in Narcissa's mind as she hugged him from
the behind.
"Now," Hadrian's expression turned gleeful and his gentle smile morphed
into a menacing grin as his eyes flashed in a vicious light. Andromeda
squeaked something close to 'oh, shit' as she decided to promptly retreat
from the room. "I want you, Narcissa, to carve various runes onto the
handgun. Let's make it a magical weapon, shall we?"
Ch42. Muggles here, Muggles
there, Muggles everywhere!
Narcissa leaned closer to Hadrian, kissing his forehead.
"Are you ready? Do you have everything?" She sadly asked. "I still say,
these," She sniffed in disgust. "ugh, clothes you wear are very bad."
Hadrian looked over the clothes he inherited after Dudley grew out of
them.
"Yes, and yes." He quipped. "And anyway, I gotta keep up the
appearances, don't I? They expect a shy orphan. Not... me." He smirked
derisively.
He was ready for Hogwarts. Occlumency capable enough to shrug off
passive probes. His core properly bound enough to not appear
'extraordinary'. And the ability to unlock his core whenever he wanted.
And wasn't that the kicker of the month?
After Narcissa used the Core block-key ritual and made Hadrian the block
and the key at the same time, his permanent block suddenly became
controllable! He could not unseal it still. But he could unlock up to
ninety-nine percent of his core without problems and block it up to
ALMOST a hundred percent too! He could now turn from wizard to squib
and back with the snap of his finger. Oh, the joys he could get thanks to
that ability!
He never expected the ritual would have such a side-effect. Alas, he was
completely sincere when he proclaimed his eternal thanks to
Dumbledore. Without him, such an overpowered ability would not be
possible. Especially since most magical detection wards do not really
work properly on squibs due to insufficient amounts of magic... Hehe.
A custom-made trunk, shrunken and hanging on his neck on a silver,
unbreakable chain with an anti-theft charm and a light lightning zap
spell if somebody got clever, trying to rip it off his neck.
The trunk was a masterpiece. The insides were astonishing but had only
two compartments. The first contained everything from clothes to potion
ingredients needed for school. The second was the size of a quite spacious
flat. It had a bathroom, potion lab, bedroom, and a fully stocked kitchen.
Anytime he wanted, he could pull things from the first compartment out
of thin air while being in the second.
The trunk had also anti-theft, slightly offensive defense charms, and was
locked by a magical signature with a curiously complicated self-locking
function activated every time anyone but the owner touches the trunk.
To unlock it then would require blood, magic, and a verbal password.
Attempt to get inside by force activates the more... hidden... wards on the
trunk. While kids are safe since the spells they could muster are on the
level of Alohomora, not much would be left of someone experienced who
really tried to force his way with powerful spells. These actually contain
the magic, charge an offensive spell with it and fire it back at the thief.
"Okay, dear. Stay safe and have fun. Do not worry, I will take care of
anything family and business-related while you are gone." Narcissa told
him but contrary to her words her hand tightly gripped his arm, refusing
to let go.
"Uhm, Cissy?" Hadrian gave her a wry smile and she, with quite a
difficulty, let his arm go.
"I just... I know you barely over a week but I already know I will miss
you." She warmly told him.
"I will miss you too, Cissy." Hadrian returned her warm smile, earning a
quick peck on the lips. "Well, time to go. See you during the Christmas
break." He waved his wife goodbye and entered the floo to the Train
Station.
As he entered, the first thing he had to do was side-step a grumpy idiot
who almost rammed into him. Looking around for the first time, he saw
Hogwarts Express. It was... underwhelming. Old train. Big deal.
Hadrian really didn't understand wizards. They get excited about riding
that monstrosity for hours even though they could be in Hogwarts in a
blink of an eye. The only reason being, it is a tradition.
He shook his head in exasperation.
If anything, the magical system enables the train to use pure magic to
propel itself... Now that is interesting! Albeit, Hadrian was sure the train
had to be recharged on a magical ley-line for at least a week to make the
trip to and from Hogwarts. His special magic perception didn't let him
ignore that sad little tidbit.
As he looked around, he saw many families. Some familiar, others not so
much. He also saw a few lone adults, sneaking glances around. Aurors.
Well, figures the kids would be protected.
He was about to head towards the train in order to board it when he saw
a guy flash through what seemed to be a brick wall and his eyes flashed,
a plan forming in his mind. With a creepy smile, he approached the wall.
...
Outside the wall, Hadrian waited and waited, and waited some more and
it was getting quite boring when his target finally appeared.
A squabble of carrot-headed children led by a chubby woman yelling
about muggles.
He grinned.
...
He waited until the redheaded family entered and then followed them
two minutes later, hightailing it to the closest Auror.
Hadrian did not know if the yelling was staged to meet him.
To him, it did not seem that way. The family was in quite a hurry, to be
fair. Nevertheless, he did not care. But he knew who did.
Dumbledore!
Weasleys were the foremost ally of Dumbledore!
If let's say, Weasley Matriarch, somehow, unknowingly, gets into trouble
for an attempt at breaking the Statute of Secrecy... who would have to
act in order to preserve his allies, saving his reputation as a kind and
caring grandfatherly figure? A proper Leader of the Light would not let
his allies suffer! It is just not done!
If he did, his allies might notice and start to distance themselves.
If he did not, well, his political rivals would eat him alive.
Hadrian was delighted at the opportunity he was about to present to his
Cissy. For a second he even pitied the old Twinkles, shuddering at what
Narcissa would do if Dumbledore tried to use his political clout to get
Weasley big momma out of trouble. Especially since his position as a
Chief Warlock is hanging by a thread.
Heh, happy thoughts.
Hadrian came directly in front of the Auror who looked at him with
confusion.
"Excuse me, sir. I am muggle-born and I'd like to ask a question." Hadrian
made sure to appear curious but out of the place. Well, his baggy, poor
attire certainly helped a lot. His lack of glasses and scar covered by his
hair did it's fair share too!
"Yes?" The tall Auror gruffly replied with a sound dismissal.
"I read that breaking the Statute of Secrecy is a serious criminal act, is it
true?" Hadrian gave him a puzzled look as if he did not understand
something fundamental, ignoring his uncaring attitude.
His question made the auror fully focus on the boy in front of him and
furrow his eyebrows. The boy was asking something quite interesting for
someone his age!
"Well, yes. We wizards see the Statute very seriously. Why do you ask,
boy?"
Hadrian stifled the urge to give the guy an annoyed eye-roll and hexing
him for calling him a boy.
Instead, he pointed at Mrs. Weasley who was currently yelling at George
and Fred as they were loading their trunks onto the train.
"When I came to the Train Station, I saw that woman loudly yelling about
Muggles on the muggle side of the station. That's why I got puzzled!
Thanks for clearing it up for me!" Hadrian exclaimed and was about to
leave with a happy skip in his step. In reality, however, he was watching
the auror from the corner of his eye, curious how he would act.
"STOP!" As expected, the auror quickly stopped Hadrian. "Could you give
me the memory, boy?"
Hadrian's eye twitched at being called a boy but he nodded nevertheless.
"How?" He tilted his head and looked to the ground.
"Ah, nevermind, I will extract it myself. Just think about that moment,
okay?" The auror tried to smile reassuringly and extracted the memory
into a special vial in a jiffy.
What a convenience that Hadrian was quite good at Occlumency and
could 'delete' all those unwanted tidbits indicating he actually planned to
point out Mrs. Weasley.
"Do you always carry these vials with you?" Hadrian innocently asked.
"Yes, boy, we do. It is a part of our mandatory equipment." The aurora
explained impatiently. "Now, I gotta have a swift talk with Mrs. Weasley.
Can you get onto the train without help?"
A prompt nod from Hadrian later and the auror was on his merry way
towards a chubby yell-happy housewife. Poor guy.
Hadrian entered the train, found an empty compartment, and enjoyed the
show outside.
Mrs. Weasley yelled at the entirety of the station, red as a tomato.
Pureblood parents watched her in contempt and disgust. The light
families associated with the Weasleys ashamed, trying to keep their
distance. Aurors coming closer to the situation. And the auror with the
memory annoyed, barely seconds away from grabbing her by her hair
and marching her to the DMLE.
Unfortunately, the train started to move and Hadrian missed the arrest of
one overgrown Weasel. Oh, what a misfortune! Maybe next time.
Ch43. I Know Who?
Hadrian quietly sat in his compartment, reading the first year Charm
book when suddenly his door flew open and a girl walked inside. Her
glistered face was strained by tears as she sat down with a 'huff'.
Hadrian suddenly felt a deep regret not learning silencing, notice-me-not,
and locking charms from Narcissa.
Only when he shuffled his legs did the girl realize the compartment was
not as empty as she hoped and her eyes bulged out in unveiled surprise.
"I-," She lowered her head, deeply ashamed. "Sorry."
She was about to stand up and storm out of the compartment when her
blond hair went pastel red and Hadrian realized exactly who was just
sitting in front of him.
Nymphadora Tonks. Someone belonging to his family. Someone, he had a
responsibility to protect.
"Stay." He told her with a silent sigh when she grabbed the side of the
door. "There are enough seats for two here."
With a barely visible nod, she sat down, trying to wipe her tears.
"So... a firstie right?" She asked, giving Hadrian what could be said to be
a poor attempt at a cheery grin. It came out kinda broken though and
that's not counting her tearstained face.
Before answering, Hadrian reluctantly called his family magic out,
marking everything that happens in the compartment a family secret.
Nymphadora was still able to talk about it, the family magic would just
make it so she won't have any urge nor need to reveal anything to even
her closest friends.
"Yup... so? What got you so sad?" He asked firmly, subtly applying a bit
of black family magic to his voice.
When she heard his firm, ordering question, it was as if a dam broke,
Nymphadora started openly sobbing yet again, trying to stop as she
brokenly told him the story.
As Andromeda hinted, little Nymphy was delighted to sleep with her
boyfriend, Charlie Weasley, at the end of their summer vacation. She did
her damnedest so the prick enjoyed himself. She even changed her
appearance to what he wanted.
It was only after they both laid on the bed in post-coital bliss that he
sprung the entire spiel on her.
How he was sorry for dumping her but it just would not work.
How he adores dragons too much.
How he got a spot in Romania.
Yadda, yadda, yadda...
Well, Hadrian could see why Nymphadora cried rivers right now. Her
rebellious side is but a mask. She is, in fact, a very fragile girl with
everyone making fun of her due to either her name or her ability.
He realized he is witnessing the verge of a very big life-changing decision
of Nymphadora. This must be when she decided to be strong and started
to pursue her career as an Auror.
Andromeda always claimed her daughter will become the best Potion
Mistress in Britain, no matter how Snape tries to hinder her.
Hadrian resisted the urge to roll his eyes in annoyance, he stood up and
patted the seventh year girl on her head. If she decides to be Auror, that's
her decision. But emotional support, he will provide nevertheless.
"It will be fine. One idiot should not make you feel so down." Hadrian
started to caringly wipe her tears with his sleeve. "You will meet a fair
share of those just yet. Do not get all teary because of them. They will
come and go."
Nymphadora's face bloomed into a genuine smile at his attempt to cheer
her up and giggled at his exasperated eye-roll. This barely eleven-year-
old boy was giving her a piece of life advice. Her pride felt a bit insulted
but her heart felt warm and oddly giddy.
"Thank you for trying to cheer me up." She said, her voice happy. "Oh, I
am Tonks, by the way."
She beamed and reached her hand out to Hadrian who took it and
smirked.
"Is that your first or last name... Tonks?"
"Eh..." 'Tonks' promptly showed a difficult expression.
"Nymphadora Tonks." She whispered and cutely pouted.
Hadrian's eyes sparkled in amusement as his smirk grew.
"Sure thing, Dora."
Dora's expression lit up at not being called by her first name, granting
Hadrian an appreciative grin.
"So... what is your na-" She started her question when the door forcefully
flew open.
A ginger-haired boy with dirt on his nose and scruffy robes stood in the
middle of them, inquisitively looking around the compartment.
Dora was about to scowl and give the boy a piece of her mind but
stopped herself abruptly.
Was she really about to curse at a firstie?
Her eyes grew horrified. She... was! Her mind flashed through various
reasons for it in a slip of a second when her eyes landed on the raven-
haired boy sitting opposite her.
It was because he didn't make fun of her either due to her name nor due
to her hair changing color. She felt oddly okay and comfortable in his
presence and now someone interrupted her time with him!
She looked properly at the boy in the door and froze. Ginger hair, poor-
looking second-hand robes, and dirt on his nose.
Weasley.
Dora's eyes narrowed and she saw red, still angry at Charlie, she was
about to vent her anger on the small ginger in front of her when
Hadrian's hand patted her knee, stopping her short.
Looking into his eyes, she saw amused glint with a hint of danger as he
winked at her, earning himself a curious but grateful look.
"Hello." Hadrian greeted Weasley.
"Hi." The boy said and flopped next to Dora who quickly changed her seat
to sit next to Hadrian. "I am Ron Weasley, and you?"
"Dora." Nymphadora quipped, surprising even herself how easy it came
out. She never liked any form of her name but... this would do. It sounds
oddly... nice. Her lips twisted into a wry grin.
Hadrian, watching Dora with the corner of his eye, was pleased. Using
his family magic to make her more 'accepting' of her new nickname,
letting her put to the grave some of her hate for her name was not an
easy task. He instinctively knew how to use his family magic on the
members of his family but affecting 'acceptance' was almost impossible.
Anything other than giving her a comforting feeling when hearing her
new nickname was far beyond his capabilities.
"I am Harry Potter." Hadrian uncaringly said, making Dora's eyes go wide
and Weasley's jaw hit the floor.
"So it is true, then" Ron exclaimed in a breathless whisper and leaned
forward. "Do you have the..." He nudged his hand, not-so-subtly gesturing
at his forehead.
"The?" Hadrian raised his eyebrow.
"Scar." Ron let out as if he was telling some deep secret, making Dora roll
her eyes in exasperation.
"Which one?" Hadrian flippantly answered, earning himself a snicker
from Dora and an awkward expression from Ron. As he saw Ron again
about to open his mouth he shrugged and raised his raven locks from his
forehead. "Oh... sure."
"Do you remember it?" Ron tactlessly asked and Dora scowled at him,
protective of Hadrian while not being sure why exactly was she feeling
like that.
"What?" Hadrian asked, trying to appear puzzled.
"You-Know-Who." Ron asked with barely hidden anticipation and fear in
his gaze.
"I know who?" Hadrian's upper lip twitched in amusement.
"Yes! You-Know-Who!" Ron, not getting it, again asked with a nod.
"Who?" Hadrian quipped, trying to appear puzzled.
Ron's expression soured and he loudly exclaimed.
"The Dark Lord!"
"Oh... yes." Hadrian tried to appear pondering as Dora tried to sniffle her
laughter. Ron's expression started to glow at Hadrian's acknowledgment.
Now that just would not do, would it?
"Which one?" Hadrian deadpanned and Dora let out a chuckle.
"You-Know-Who!" Ron shrieked, irritated.
"And I tell you, I don't know any Who." Hadrian carefreely told him.
Ron went cross-eyed and his face morphed into determination.
"V-v-vo-v-vol-vold..." He stuttered until finally. "Voldemort!" He
exclaimed.
"Oh... him." Hadrian gave a sagely nod, making Ron happily nod along.
Then Dora saw Hadrian's eyes flash yet again.
"Who?" He turned to her and asked, innocently blinking, appearing
genuinely baffled.
Dora couldn't take it anymore and burst out in hysterical laughter
reverberating through the compartment, making the Weasley's face
redder than his hair when Hadrian started to chuckle along.
Ron angrily stood up and ran out of the compartment, realizing he is
being made fun of by the Boy-Who-Lived.
Ch44. Bad Faith
As Dora finally straightened herself, her laughter dying down, she asked
teasingly.
"Do you really not know Who?"
"Of course I do not know any Who. Never met anybody named Who
either. I also do not know if the person You-Know-Who you are talking
about is the same person I think You-Know-Who is, or if you are referring
to someone only You-know-Who it is. And I do not know Who you are
talking about." Harry summed up with a straight face, making Dora hold
her head.
"Uh, you are confusing, you know that?"
"Rotten luck then, you are stuck with me." Harry smiled at her in a good
mood. "By the way, I do know who."
She nudged his shoulder with a roll of her eyes.
"Really now... that was not nice, was it?" Dora teased when the door to
the compartment went again wide with a 'bang'. Her expression darkened
in annoyance as she whipped her head at the intruding idiot.
In the middle of the door now stood a completely different boy.
Pale blond hair, greyish eyes, and noble features with pompous body
language.
Behind him, two oversized, fat eleven-years-olds tried to appear as
menacing as they could and Hadrian had to give it to them. They would
probably scare any six-year-old quite easily.
He also marveled at their figures. It is needed to be said, wizards and
witches have a very hard time getting far. Magic is keeping their bodies
in an optimal state, after all. Aurors are more often than not very fit and
sporty even though they do not exercise a lot. Some kids may be slightly
chubby but that goes away quickly with age.
The size these two sported though... they must be quite over-fed indeed.
"I heard there is Harry Potter in this compartment." The pale boy sneered
as he looked around until his eyes fell onto Hadrian. Unfortunately, his
scar was uncovered because he forgot to cover it after showing Ron. The
boy reached his hand out, his expression contorting in disgust when he
saw what Hadrian wore. "I am Draco, Draco Malfoy." He condescendingly
said.
Hadrian was sure what is currently happening. Draco wanted him to be
one of his flunkies. Hence the condescending, I-am-better-than-thou
attitude. He did not come asking for friendship. Far from it. He wanted to
be in charge of the Boy-Who-Lived.
It kinda irritated Hadrian and made him stare at Draco a second too long.
The boy, seeing Harry didn't jump at the opportunity and took his offered
hand, looked around, and spotted scowling Nymphadora.
"Ah... the result of the disowned disgrace of Black and mud-blood dirt, I
see." Draco sneered at her. "Just you wait till I get the Lordship over the
Black family. My father said we may even let you get back into the
family if your abilities prove to be enjoyable. Make sure your cunt is
pleasurable enough!" He exclaimed proudly, shocking everyone in the
compartment bar Crabbe and Goyle who just looked as out of it as
always.
Hadrian was about to punch the little shit.
He did not only proclaim the intention to steal HIS Lordship but also
insulted the member of HIS family, calling her a common whore! Alas,
Draco's expression stayed his hand.
The boy was just that. A boy. His expression showed he had no
understanding of what he said. He just repeated what he heard his father
saying.
Dora was on the verge of hexing the boy, consequences be damned!
Nobody insults her like that!
Before she could spring onto her feet and jab her wand in Draco's
direction, however, Hadrian stood up and took Draco's hand, confusing
and disappointing Dora. She felt betrayed as tears started to well in her
eyes.
Draco, on the other hand, felt as if he owned the world. The Boy-Who-
Lived acknowledged his kindness and will shortly become his minion n1!
Before he could relish at the thought some more, he heard Hadrian's
voice.
"Oh, nice to meet you, ferret." His blunt insult froze Dora and Draco in
their tracks. Draco couldn't believe what he just heard and checked
Hadrian's expression but could see only a welcoming smile.
He was about to open his mouth to question if he heard right when his
pants got suddenly down and Hadrian's expression turned into
astonishment.
"Eh, Mr. Malfoy. I think... you should buy more fitting pants. Trying to
wear the adult ones would do you no good." Hadrian commented with a
regrettable undertone as he glanced at Draco's trunks with dragons
printed all over them, making the already embarrassed Draco speechless.
Draco quickly bent forward, trying to pull his pants up when suddenly a
ripping sound filled the compartment and the eyes of Crabbe and Goyle
behind Draco bulged out.
Dora couldn't help herself and started to laugh into her palm at Draco's
bewildered expression when he realized his trunks just split on his arse.
Hadrian gave him a weak chuckle.
"Mr. Malfoy, it is a show of Bad Faith to come knocking into the
compartment and start insulting everyone. I am sure your current
predicament is a righteous punishment from God." He preached, trying to
sound priestly. "Fear not though, lost sheep. Unless you live your entire
life under the influence of Bad Faith Sr., you may yet gain your
redemption and join the ranks of common wizards, becoming the sheep
of light!" Hadrian spread his hands magnanimously and firmly
proclaimed. "Sever the bond of unfaithful one from you and become the
light of the new generations of unthinking and useless! Become the Dra-,
cough, Ferret, cough,-gon you were born to be!".
Both Dora and Draco looked at Harry, blinking in shock.
"Wha-?" Draco finally asked, completely confused, still bent forward
trying to get his pants up.
Hadrian came closer and put his hand on his shoulder, smiling as if on a
naughty child.
"Forgive and forget, Draco. Only through a real commitment of love and
snuggles can you be freed from the clutches of the wicked ones. Mud rolls
true in your blood, dear Draco." Harry's eyes peered at Draco with
concern and pity. "Squib bore you, and your father pure of shit lied to
you. For the Dark one is approaching." Hadrian exclaimed. "Fear for his
arrival, young Draco! For pain is coming with him as the witless
followers bully the sheep on the order of the noseless and you, my dear
ferret, are a sheep. Understand little Draco, it is all for the Greater Good!"
Hadrian ended his speech with a pitying sigh while stopping his
telekinesis affecting Draco's pants.
Draco quickly pulled his pants up and ran away, partly from shame but
mostly from being spooked as he shouted.
"Potter is barmy!"
His two book-end followed him and with blank uncomprehending
expressions closed the door with a 'thump'.
Hadrian, completely unconcerned, walked to his previous seat and sat
down, giving Dora who was looking at him with her jaw hanging open a
winning smile.
"What was that!" She screamed.
"Oh... I pulled Luna on him." Hadrian explained as if it was obvious.
"Lu-... what?"
"Well, in an even simpler manner of speech," He said, getting a scowl in
return, "I wonder, how will Heir Malfoy appear to his political allies and
friends when he comes to Hogwarts and starts loudly declaring that
'Potter is barmy' without even confronting me first..." A devious smile
formed on Hadrian's face. "Especially when it comes from the Heir of
NOBLE House to the Heir of Most Ancient AND Noble House in front of,
let's say, the entirety of his class? Well, that is basically a slight on the
honor of House Potter, did you know that? Hehe, it would give me some
political... leeway... in dealing with the ferret and his father, perjury, as
they would say." Hadrian's smile twisted into a vicious grin and Dora
shivered.
Ch45. Arrival at Hogwarts
After Draco left, Dora and Hadrian continued their good-natured banter.
It was a few hours later they decided to stop chatting and opened their
books. Dora started reading the NEWT potion theory while Hadrian
decided to continue his Charm book while trying to cast the Charms.
Hadrian was quite smug when he learned Alohomora and asked Dora to
lock the door to the compartment. Dora, seeing his expression, narrowed
her eyes in mischief and used her strongest lock on the door.
"Hehe, show me what you got, Harry." She playfully quipped, knowing
well no Alohomora can open the lock she used.
"You are such an excitable Puff." Hadrian rolled his eyes at her, getting a
cheeky scowl in return. "Alohomora." He swished his wand at the door
and... nothing happened.
He blinked, not understanding why the spell malfunctioned, and swished
his wand again, now with more force.
"Your wand-movement is wrong." Dora delivered her jab with glee,
amused at Hadrian's attempts.
He knew it is not in wand-movements though. His wand was useless! He
was casting wandlessly no matter how he moved his wand.
He closed his eyes, appearing to be pondering on the outside but instead
he focused his perception toward the door.
An angry scowl marred his face as he understood he won't be able to
force the door open with a simple Alohomora. Dora made it too
magically strong and his Alohomora just seeped inside her magical Lock,
doing nothing.
He turned to Dora and crossed his arms.
"Oops." She stuck out her tongue and took her wand when it was clear
she was caught. As she prepared to unlock the door, a girl suddenly
grabbed the handle and pulled, expecting the door to open. She didn't
wait though and ran straight into them when they didn't open, her head
impacted the door and rebounded backward, sending the girl falling on
her ass.
Dora and Hadrian looked at each other and started laughing. Dora circled
her wand in anti-clockwise motion, unlocking the door.
"That was golden. What did the door do to you, girl?" She asked
mirthfully.
"Wow, you really do know how to use your head, don't you?" Hadrian
quipped, chuckling some more.
The girl just stood up, not knowing what to do, meekly staring at her feet
in embarrassment as she rubbed her forehead.
"Come here." Dora warmly invited her in. "Sorry, sorry. We aren't really
laughing at you. We are laughing at the situation you caused." She
apologetically explained.
Hadrian swept the girl with his eyes. Bushy brown hair. Brown eyes. That
was all that clued him on the identity of the girl.
While she was definitely not bossy... Well, no one who ran headfirst into
the door would act bossy, now, would they? But it was definitely
Hermione Granger.
"Did you see a toad? A boy called Neville lost it." She asked, ordering
tone seeping into her voice.
Dora and Hadrian shrugged and said simultaneously.
"Nah."
"Oh," She exclaimed sadly. "Okay." And she left.
'How… underwhelming.' Hadrian thought.
"Who the hell was that?" Dora asked, miffed about the girl's swift leave.
"She did not even introduce herself. Tsk. Tsk. No manners."
Just then the bushy-haired girl appeared again, flushing crimson.
"You should don your robes. We are almost there." She said in a full
'bossy' mode, covering her embarrassment but her cheeks reddened even
more and she added in a quiet tone. "Hermione Granger, by the way."
And disappeared again.
Hadrian, amused at Dora's flushed face, just shrugged, and continued to
read his book.
...
Hadrian blanked out for the majority of the following events. Focusing
mostly on feeling the magic around him. When the boats sailed through
the Black Lake, he could feel the mermaid city underneath and the giant
squid made him quite uneasy.
But it was the Hogwarts that made the biggest impression on him so far.
The amount of magic seeping from the castle was staggering. But mostly,
it was the first time Hadrian saw a magical ley-line up close.
The Earth was as if a chimney spewing highly concentrated magic to the
world and in the middle of these eruptions, Hogwarts stood. Just by
being present, Hadrian could feel his core maturing slightly faster, slowly
growing more efficient. It filled him with glee.
As he followed Professor McGonnagal to the Great Hall, he subtly swept
his perception over the Professors.
They were... nothing much. Above-average adult wizards.
Minerva was the fourth-strongest in the staff, magic strength considered.
Snape was third. His magic showed some dark magic residue and
Hadrian deeply wondered if the git did never discover purifying ritual.
Flitwick, the half-goblin had surprisingly a lot more magic than Snape
coursing through his body. He was the strongest wizard Hadrian
perceived so far, even surpassing Narcissa by a slight margin power-wise.
But it was Dumbledore who almost stopped Hadrian up short. His magic
was immense. Layer after layer, tightly compressed, and definitely
powerful. The amounts made Hadrian grit his teeth in frustration.
Dumbledore easily towered above Flitwick's magic by at least three
times!
As Hadrian's group came closer to the Staff Table, Hadrian ceased his
perception and started to sweep the teachers with his eyes.
As his eyes fell on Snape's glare, he instantly felt the Legilimency probe.
He did not panic though. The probe was a child's play compared to what
Narcissa was capable of.
Hadrian felt the probe was shallow and will only reveal his thoughts so
with barely veiled urge to smirk, he let the probe in while busying
himself thinking.
'Why is the crook-nosed man looking at me like that?'
'Is he one of these pheedopheeles, my Aunt warned me about?'
'Does he like children?'
'He looks like a bat!'
'He is a teacher, of course, he must like children!'
'I don't feel safe being taught by someone who looks at me so heatedly!'
'Mister! I am not tasty!'
The more thoughts Hadrian fed to the probe with a completely innocent
expression, the more Snape's face contorted until it was in a full-blown
scowl, sneer, and snarl joined together in a weird mix as he was fuming
so much, it was a wonder he did not release foam from his mouth.
Hadrian's gaze left Snape and continued its path through the teachers.
Dumbledore's twinkling eyes stopped him short. They really did tempt
people to look into it.
And as with Snape, he instantly felt a probe. This time a much stronger
and deeper one. He yet again started feeding it the thoughts.
'Is that weird old man also a child lover as the greasy-haired man?'
As Hadrian saw Dumbledore's smile to widen he continued that train of
thought, projecting feeling danger.
'I bet he will offer me candy and try to kidnap me!'
Dumbledore's eyes bulged slightly as he frowned in alarm but Hadrian
cut the probe by diverting his eyes, looking at his feet, trying to appear
shy and meek.
Ch46. Sorting
I started a new story: In Naruto: Reborn with Talent
do check it out if you are interested.
--------------------------------------------------
McGonagall took a parchment with names and started calling the kids to
the sorting hat.
Everything proceeded as in cannon and Hadrian was quite bored as he
shuffled his feet, 'nervously' clenched his fists and looked all around the
castle, feigning astonishment. It was hard to keep the facade but
Dumbledore's gaze was on him full time and he had no choice.
"Harry Potter!" McGonagall called out, quieting the entire Great Hall for a
moment.
The silence quickly passed as the kids started whispering around, trying
to take a good look at their resident childhood hero.
Hadrian restlessly approached the stool, his head lowered, meekly
looking at the floor.
The hat was dropped onto his head and he could feel its magic invading
his mind, not differently than Narcissa's probe.
'Heh, lad, do not try to lead me astray.' He heard the hat in his mind,
chuckling amusedly as he tried to do what Narcissa taught him.
'Sorry, it was instinct.' Hadrian mentally shrugged.
'Liar.' The hat rebuked. 'Now... Since you are already aware, I can tell you
that Mr. Twinkledydoo, good nickname, by the way, wants you badly in
Gryffindor.'
'And where do you want me, Mr. Hat?' Hadrian innocently asked.
'Oh, kid, we both know you know how this works.' The hat mentally
rolled its eyes at him.
'Indeed, Mr. Hat but be a good artifact and tell me your assessment of
me, will you?'
An exasperated sigh resounded in his mind as the hat annoyedly
grumbled about snotty brats and whatnot.
'You are no Hufflepuff. That's for sure. Yes, you can be loyal but you are
too reclusive to be a part of the badger's den. You wouldn't try to protect
those you care about, instead, you would prefer teaching them how to
protect themselves. While admirable quality, it just doesn't fit the puffs
who would rather be the ones getting hit for their comrades than let
them learn a valuable lesson. You can be rather cold too and you also
hate the simple-minded 'going with the flow' kind of thinking that is so
prevalent in Puffs. You are also no budding Dark Lord in need of a friend
or cheering up. So, no, Hufflepuff is out at all counts.
As for Gryffindor... Yes, your view of the house is rather negative. Wow…
rash, stupid, loud, hypocritical. Well, Salazar would praise you for your
'accurate' assessment, I am sure. Anyway, that house is out due to the
simple reason you vehemently refuse to be part of Lions. I can not place
you somewhere you do not want to be. A pity really. I would place you
there just for laughs if nothing else. Sigh, so many students would be in
different colors if only I could do so.
Ravenclaw, yes. You would fit in there. Albeit that's mostly due to your
wonder of magic and liking to skulk around the dark corners of the
library rather than spending time with other kids. Oh, you have a pet
raven you called Rowena! Hmm, definitely a fit for Ravenclaw. Rowena
would be proud of your vanity...
Slytherin. I would just chuck you there and be done with it, Mr. Potter.
You are Lord Slytherin, after all...
And yes, Hogwarts recognizes your claim. You have the blood of Godric
Gryffindor in your veins while having the Lordship over the Slytherin
line. Through magic, I can feel your wife being at least partially related
to Rowena. And while Hogwarts can not discern the depth or strength of
the lineage of your wife, your family is due to it related to three of the
four founders. Without the Lordship, it would be a moot point but with
it... You are recognized.'
'Oh, any advantages?' Hadrian asked excitedly as ideas swirled in his
mind, getting a chuckle in return.
'No. Not really. This is a school, young Slytherin. And while the castle
can be your home, Founders made sure no heir of theirs is able to
circumvent their wishes and claim the castle. Hogwarts will stay a school
as it will be independent. You have all that Hogwarts offers at your
disposal but you won't be able to alter anything.'
'Bummer. What good is it when I can't even sack the old man...' Hadrian
sullenly whined.
'Always happy to disappoint! Nevertheless, back to the assessment... So,
Slytherin. Uh, it is full of purebloods who would not look kindly at you.
As sad as the current state of House Slytherin is, I know you would be
able to get them in line but you are also not looking for gullible
followers. Yet again, Dark Lord you are not. Just a selfish bastard, really.
Which would arguably fit right in with the more ambitious sort of
Slytherins. You would be able to form many beneficial connections and
gain powerful allies. Alas, as I said, I would just throw you there and be
done with it but we both know the choice depends on you.'
'I want to go into...'
The hat mentally gagged.
'I'd rather not...'
Hadrian tilted his head and interrupted it, peeved.
'And why ever not?'
'There are too many people with the predisposition to becoming Dark
Lords in that house! Are you seriously wanting me to send YOU there!?'
'Yes.' Hadrian deadpanned as the hat groaned in resignation.
'Better be...' It started to grumble.
"HUFFLEPUFF!" The hat exclaimed as the entirety of the Great Hall
stilled.
Slytherins were looking with their jaws on the floor, expecting Potter to
be Lion as per tradition.
Ravenclaws showed mild interest but their logical side just shrugged it
off and wrote Harry Potter as somebody useless, as per prejudice.
Most Gryffindors were bewildered and some were angry that their poster
boy went to the house of the hard-working duffers instead of the proud
lions. They also had loyalty, alright! They had it in spades! Why would
Potter forsake Lion's Den for some pathetic bunch of Badgers? They had
no idea. There was just no logical or illogical way to understand it! They
were the best and the Boy-Who-Lived belonged to them! His father and
mother were both Lions, for goodness sake!
Hufflepuffs were just glad to have a new friend in their midst, clapping
loudly.
Hadrian walked towards the Hufflepuff table and immediately saw Dora
waving at him, beckoning him to come closer. He was quickly deposited
on her lap as the other Puffs gawked with wide-eyes at him and Dora as
they introduced themselves.
Hadrian had to give it to the woman. She could really make her tights
soft and comfortable. A boon of metamorph, he was sure. His mind was,
however, quite confused as to why she was so friendly and showing so
much affection as he distractedly returned the introductions of his new
housemates.
It would be still a long time until poor Hadrian understood that what
Dora craved most was someone giving her recognition. He cheered her
'Puffy' self up on the train when she was at her lowest and the 'friends'
she shared with Charlie made fun of her for being too 'clingy' and
'emotional'. That instant, Hadrian unknowingly gained a very loyal friend
for life. She was a badger, after all.
McGonagall was happy for the boy as she saw him in the lap of the
resident metamorph and vowed to herself to have a long, very detailed
talk with Miss Tonks. She owed it to the boy's parents.
Snape sneered as he saw the insufferable brat sitting at the house of the
useless and thought that it is oddly fitting.
Other Professors just clapped, Pomona more enthusiastically than others
at gaining a new badger.
Dumbledore was intently watching the boy with a calm grandfatherly
smile as he internally seethed. Yes, his plan was fine. Maybe even more
than fine but there were too many disadvantages in Harry being a
Hufflepuff! He won't be able to naturally bring out his rashness and
selflessness now. Plus he actually might get genuinely loyal... friends.
What a disaster!
Then the boy sat on the lap of Nymphadora and Dumbledore paled. Of all
people, the little shit could choose to approach he chose the girl with a
connection to House Black!?
His mind instantly recoiled as he vowed to use his resources more
actively now that the boy is not a Gryffindor and is out of the 'constant
vigilance' of Dumbledore's redheaded allies. It was time for Professor
Snape to finally showcase his brewing skills.
At that time Dumbledore had yet no idea what a clusterfuck was waiting
for him after the Feast...
Ch47. Badger's Den and Surprise
Hadrian followed the prefects to the Basement as they showed the order
of knocks needed to enter the Common Room.
The room was incredibly cozy and poured the feelings of warmth and
safety. All kinds of mysterious plants hung and in some instances even
danced all around the room, bringing smiles to many first years.
Hadrian also smiled. He quite liked the feel of Hufflepuff house. The
friendliness and kindness. He remembered what little he remembered,
what little he could remember about the house from the movies and his
heart felt at ease. He chose the right crowd for himself. He really
wouldn't mind spending the next few years in such a place.
His decision was proved completely right when they were given rooms.
The Hufflepuffs lived in something like flats. Four people per flat where
each flat had four rooms with their separate showers and bathrooms. No
need to share the rooms as basements were vast and spacious. Each
student managed to get his own room.
Dora quickly pulled bewildered Hadrian to her flat while other Puffs
good-naturedly laughed at his predicament. She dropped him in a
neighboring room as he blinked owlishly, not knowing how to react
when she excitedly told him she would come for him in the morning to
show him the way to the Great Hall and closed the door behind herself,
her entire head beet-red.
As his mind was still processing what just happened, Rowena flew
through the wall to his room, completely bypassing the wards of
Hogwarts.
"Hello, girl." Hadrian shook his head in amusement. He watched the
raven flop next to a small bronze statue of badger cuddled up in a ball
next to the hearth and started to peck on the top of its head. "It's just a
statue." Hadrian laughed but blanched when Rowena sent him a scathing
glare.
"Ah? You think so?" He looked weirdly at her and focused his perception
and realized the statue of badger was flickering with magic.
Hadrian approached it cautiously, putting his hand on the place Rowena
pecked previously and gently pushed his magic into it. The bronze badger
statue blinked and Hadrian took a surprised step back. It uncurled itself
and stood up on all four where it froze, displaying a cautious badger
ready to pounce at the drop of a hat. Hadrian was so enamored with the
animation of the statue he didn't notice the hearth disappearing, creating
a passage.
Only Rowena's beak, clutching a strand of his hair could get his attention
away from the statue, as she pulled him head-first into the newly-opened
passage.
Inside, he saw a room three times as big as the room he just left, with a
king-sized ancient feathery bed and old-looking furniture. The room was
clean as if it just left a stasis charm and marred with many portraits,
none of them magical in nature. Hadrian checked.
Seeing the portrait of what appeared to be twenty-five years old Helga
Hufflepuff he was pretty sure whose room he just 'invaded'. Rowena
found a perch in the corner and happily took it for herself as she gave
Hadrian a stern gaze.
He knew what she wanted and could only sigh.
"Sure girl, from now on, this room is ours. I doubt the previous occupant
would mind…"
Only when the raven nodded, Hadrian pulled his shrunken trunk from
the chain on his neck and enlarged it. He opened it to take out his
possession but his eyes widened when the first thing he saw was an
envelope signed by Narcissa.
Curious, he opened it as the room was filled with smoke that clung to the
walls, covering them in some kind of a clear, see-through barrier.
Hadrian marveled at the clever way of enacting a privacy-ward when the
letter glowed, Hadrian, noticing it contained only one complicated rune,
swiftly threw it onto the ground.
Before he could wonder about the effects though he had to blink in
surprise, completely speechless as his mouth gaped at the sight in front of
him.
"Ah, ah. You did not really think I would let you leave me for months to
no end, now, did you, dear?" A melodious teasing feminine voice
resounded through the room as Narcissa Black, his wife, stood in front of
him in a very revealing nightgown, looking saucily at him as her hands
held a bottle of aging potion.
...
Hadrian, in his adult form, and Narcissa dropped onto the bed,
completely exhausted and drenched in the fluids of each other. Both
peered at the other with a happy content smile as Narcissa's hand coursed
through Hadrian's hair, massaging his scalp while Hadrian made sure to
gently rub her back as they laid next to each other.
"That was nice." Narcissa released a satisfied sigh and leaned closer,
kissing Hadrian.
"How did you get here?" He asked her before returning the quick kiss.
"I am a prodigy at runes." She whispered to him as if it explained
everything and rested her forehead on his. Seeing his 'uh-oh' gaze she
continued with eye-roll. "Developing a rune that could transport me
through wards unnoticed is not as hard as it sounds."
"You could have hurt yourself." Hadrian weakly chided her in a worried
tone.
"I tried it on the wards of Grimmauld Place and even Malfoy Manor when
I asked Doby to 'deliver' a letter on the table in the library there." She
rolled her eyes and continued in an amused tone. "Let's just say, we have
a nice assortment of newly acquired books in the Black Library courtesy
of one unknowing Lucius Malfoy. But I had many fail-safes in place and
frankly, seventy percent of the runes is to prevent me from getting caught
by the wards or splinching slash killing myself by transporting."
"Okay, I will let it go." Hadrian unwillingly relented, earning himself yet
another chuckle followed by a heated kiss.
"What about Lucius though? Won't the missing books be a problem?"
"I doubt it. At least not for a long time. I only took the really old, really
useful but not-much-used books and replaced them with blank copies. He
may be smart and cunning but he is a lazy bigot. He won't go into the
library searching through these books. After all, I had management rights
to Malfoy Estates for over a decade, and not once did he check deeper
than the final financial reports I put on his table. Hence my ability to
take away ninety percent of the profits."
"As long as he saw an increase in his coffers while not having to even lift
a finger for it, he was content." Narcissa's smile widened. "But I am sure
by now he knows I was stealing the profits. After all, now he has to
manage the Malfoy Estates himself. Oh, what would I give to see his
expression!" She giddily exclaimed.
"That's mildly worrying. You build quite the extensive web of businesses
for the Malfoy family." Hadrian poked her nose with his, making her
giggle.
"Not really," Narcissa said after her giggling fit receded. "I already signed
whatever I could over to myself. Fifteen percent of previous Malfoy
Estates now belong to the Black family. Thirty-five percent is confirmed
to be bankrupt and by now people are surely asking, 'How could that
happen!?'" She gasped in a fake-horrified voice.
"And his remaining fifty percent are in decline due to me taking over the
suppliers with Black Estates, stealing his clients and so on, and so on. You
trusted me with your businesses and I intend to make it worth your
while, dear." She purred, earning herself another kiss. "Well, Lucius is
smart and he surely will find a way out of the situation considerably
intact but it will take him time."
"Glad to hear that, Cissy." Hadrian smiled.
"But really, we just did it in the bed of Helga Hufflepuff?" Narcissa rolled
on her back as she gazed around herself in interest. Her gaze stopped on
Helga's portrait. "Damn, I kinda regret my youth is over. She did look
well. I could imagine most purebloods drooling over her beauty."
Narcissa nodded to herself.
"Well, I certainly do drool but I think the cause is more your naked form
than the portrait in front of the bed. You realize you look twenty-five,
don't you?" Hadrian asked, getting a playful swat on the shoulder as he
also rolled onto his back, gazing at the portrait. "I am just glad it is not a
magical one."
"There is no magical portrait of the Founders." Narcissa offhandedly
replied, leaning her head closer to Hadrian's.
"How so?"
"The magical portraits were first created after their death." Narcissa
smiled, her gaze showing her love for history.
"Ah..." Hadrian acknowledged.
"Did you know she was the only Founder who agreed with Slytherin's
point of view regarding muggles and muggle-borns?" Narcissa stated as
Hadrian's both eyebrows rose.
"She did?" He pointed at the portrait in shock.
"Yes, but their supposed beliefs were so twisted in the hearsay and claims
of people like Dumbledore that whatever you heard about them is most
likely stupidity of the highest order." She rolled her eyes. "Really, nobody
cares to pick up old records... Instead, they listen to the prattling of old
coots. No wonder the house rivalry is so fierce nowadays." She huffed.
"Tell me then, oh wise Cissa, how the past ensued." Hadrian chuckled.
"Both believed in the superiority of purebloods." She rolled her eyes and
scowled at him playfully. "But that was mostly because these children of
magical people were raised around magic. Their mindset was easier to
mold towards it. They were easier to teach, got the material quicker, just
better overall."
"While Slytherin focused on purebloods, Helga agreed with him but she
was a very kind woman and muggle-born herself. She focused on muggle-
borns." Narcissa stopped herself, her eyes flickering in mirth. "Did you
know among those muggle-borns she taught was certain Nott, Crabbe,
and even Avery? Quite the irony, is it not?" She barked out in laughter.
"Figures..." Hadrian muttered. "Oh, I the hat told me you have some of
Ravenclaw's blood in you."
"Do I?" Narcissa blinked. "Hmm, never knew."
"Did you not try the inheritance blood ritual at Gringotts?" Hadrian asked
curiously.
"That?" Narcissa snorted and continued in the haughty tone of 'proper
pureblood lady'. "Dear beloved, we wizards are above such things as
goblin magic! You mentioning it made me sick, how could you! This is
grounds for a divorce!" She pouted. "That's how purebloods view such
things."
"Aha…" Harry deadpanned. "Nevertheless, divorce is something you can't
manage to do. You will go and get the ritual done." He plainly told her,
glad to see her happy acknowledging nod.
Narcissa again rolled her body, landing on Harry's as her soft breast
pressed themselves on his stomach, her head landing on his chest while
her cheek pressed into it. She intertwined her legs with his and her hands
snaked around his torso as her long pale hair covered most of their upper
bodies.
"You are poking me into the belly." She giggled. "But I think I had enough
for today. I am exhausted." She kissed his chest and promptly closed her
eyes. "Goodnight."
Hadrian could only sigh in exasperation at her antics and gently caress
her scalp with his hand as his face marred a happy smile.
"Goodnight, honey."
Ch48. Dumbledore's ruined
morning
It was the morning after the welcoming feast and utterly exhausted
Dumbledore flopped onto his chair in the Great Hall. He had to apply
cosmetic magic, of all things, to appear energetic and it showed. He
picked the brightest of his pinkes-, ahem, most violet robes, he bought
when he was drunk, without even noticing it until he was already in the
Great Hall.
It was just a morning and he had enough for the day.
He just returned from DMLE where he had to argue his point with Amelia
Bones. The woman was a member of the light family but she was also
one of the fiercest opponents of Dumbledore himself.
Yesterday after the Welcoming Feast his 'informant' in DMLE informed
him that Mrs. Weasley was apprehended at the train station due to
shouting about muggles into the air.
'Seriously, how mentally incapacitated must that woman be!? She has
how many kids again? And she doesn't even remember the platform
number? I could really do better at choosing allies...' Dumbledore
grumbled in his mind.
But the woman was a superb potion mistress that was of use when
Severus was… otherwise preoccupied.
Dumbledore didn't want to think of a situation where the already too
chatty woman was actually dosed with Veritaserum and asked about her
brewing activities.
He shuddered.
At least he never told the gullible woman why he needs loyalty potions
keyed to him.
So, he had to come to the DMLE as fast as possible to resolve this...
misunderstanding. He pulled out his entire charm of a grandfatherly
educator but Amelia Bones quickly shot him down with a 'are you
serious' stare.
And she was such an obedient inquisitive girl during her studies!
Alas, he was forced to pull out 'the Champion of the Light' persona but he
quickly stopped being 'insistent' when he saw himself being surrounded
by twenty top-tier aurors, reaching for their wands. So much for a
forceful approach.
The woman was MEANING it and he barely managed to persuade her to
not go public with Molly's case. That would be a disaster. His Chief
Warlock position was already threatened but if his actions about this
came out...
After the debacle with poor young Sirius, Amelia suspected him.
Misguidedly, might he add...
But, however small her suspicion was, it was enough for her to hound
after him and oppose him on every turn. She didn't even notice how she
is actually playing right according to the tunes of the dark sides! Yet, he,
the almighty Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore, couldn't do
anything to her.
His eyes strayed to the young Susan sitting at the Hufflepuff table, all
alone, awkwardly eating. Maybe he could push young Hannah more
towards Susan? Abbotts may not be wealthy but they are after all one of
his more trusted allies. And young Hannah is already a friend with Susan.
Albeit both girls are quite distant, Albus knew they talked from time to
time. Getting them even closer would surely be a good thing, no matter
the method. And if it could further the Greater Good...
His mood again soured as he spotted young Ronald stuffing his mouth
full in a plentiful and mildly disturbing display of what it means to have
manners of a pig.
Albus shook his head sadly. For all her motherly nature, Molly really
didn't do right by the boy. Not even teaching him table manners… He
will remember to give her another of his trademark disappointed looks
later.
Albus remembered her overbearing nature and the way she shouted at
the officers in the DMLE, proclaiming them all bigots and idiots, ordering
them to release her or else! The woman was clearly too furious then and
didn't care what came out of her mouth.
But it was him that had to apologize for her behavior! Even his best
disappointed look didn't stop her tirade! He yet again remembered just
why he was so mentally tired and started to pity young Ronald.
He could now understand why William ran to Gringotts, of all places,
working as far away from England as possible with goblins, of all
creatures.
He also understood why Charlie left such a convenie-, ahem, he meant,
good find such as Nymphadora for dragons of all things. Heck! If she
tried she probably could morph into something scaly for the boy so he
could be happy! Albus wouldn't even mind being the influence for her
willingness to do such a thing for the boy. Alas, the boy was already in
Romania...
His gaze strayed to Percy, one of the Weasleys he could never manipu-,
depend on. Sigh, he was really tired and his thoughts were playing with
him. Anyway, Percy was too law-abiding to do his bidding.
The twins while useful were too clever and cunning to not discover
something fishy if he let them work for him.
That left him with Ronald and Ginerva.
Ronald was... not much of a thinker. He could play chess, sure... but that
was all he could do except eating and lazing around. He was basically the
perfect influence on young Harry! At least until Harry joined Puffs...
Ginerva... well, Dumbledore was glad young Harry was, at least, not
knowledgeable of the magical world. He could still make sure he falls in
love with young Ginerva and then come out as their trusty friend when
he orchestrates a contract between the young lovers.
Dumbledore's eyes finally fell on young Harry's back, happily joking with
Nymphadora. He urgently fought the scowl trying to appear on his face.
The girl will need to be guided away. Thoroughly guided, indeed.
Maybe a love potion? But who should he choose? No… who could he
choose!?
Snape? No, the man would never agr-, wait, or maybe he will? It WOULD
all depend on how he puts it. Maybe Nymphadora could serve as a kind
of an 'outlet' for young Severus during this year. Anything that won't
make her interfere with his plans, right? And after she leaves the
Hogwarts? Who cares then…
The girl wants to be Potion Mistress so becoming closer with her Potion
Teacher won't be anything weird. Albus could even close one eye and let
young Severus have his fun with young Nymphadora. He would surely be
grateful to him for arranging it. After all, the girl could always shift to
look like Lily Evans.
At the Hufflepuff table, Hadrian sat next to Dora, teasing her as he
watched her goofy innocent grin, playfully returning his verbal jabs. In
his mind, though he was fiercely scowling, if not snarling.
His back was turned to Dumbledore but opposite Hadrian, Rowena, in
the middle of the table, was staring straight into unknowing
Dumbledore's eyes, relaying his thoughts to Hadrian. Nobody cares about
birds, after all.
Oh, the old shit was driving Hadrian mad. Dora was HIS and nobody
would be GIFTING her to anyone, much less Snape! He will make sure of
THAT! Looks like Snape will have to be in an unfortunate accident that
will see him outta the school for an unforeseeable future sooner rather
than later.
The only reason why Hadrian didn't pull Dora away from the Great Hall
and the creepy stares of the old meddler, was that he trusted Narcissa
and wanted to see her 'surprise' for him.
After they woke up in the very, very early morning, he told her about
Mrs. Weasley and she playfully commented that he should be expecting a
good article in the Daily Prophet.
He wanted to see Dumbledore's expression in the morning and wanted to
know his thoughts. That's why he had Rowena probe him. But he never
expected something like this!
Just then the owls came and started dropping the Prophet everywhere.
Hadrian picked one and his sour mood quickly brightened as he put his
hands on his mouth in order to muffle his laughter.
One Rita Skeeter apparently wrote a 'factual' article on how Chief
Warlock Dumbledore circumvented the laws about the most sacred
Statute of Secrecy and let an offender, one, Molly Weasley, walk away
free after she broke it, endangering the WHOLE Wizarding World. She
implied to the sheep that this action will surely backfire and endanger
their children... yadda yadda yadda... How could a man like that be a
Headmaster of School... yadda yadda yadda…
The best part? She had 'statements' from various influential people.
Hadrian just didn't know when she managed to ask for a statement from
Lord Black… But it still amused him to no end.
In short, Dumbledore was outta his Chief Warlock position for sure, and
now that he was accused of breaking the law by the most 'diligent'
'investigative' reporter the Wizarding Britain had. Let's just say the
Supreme Mugwump has to have a supremely clean record and the
investigations will be surely launched into his actions...
Rita even went at it from the angle of him being a dangerous influence
on kids. While he doubted anything would come out of that, it was an
attack at his Headmaster position.
He looked at the paper noting Dumbledore walking past him, tightly
clenching his fist while his cheeks flushed in rage while he tried to
appear as calm and collected as possible.
'When the heck did Narcissa manage to pull this out? She left the bed at
five in the morning after our cuddles and the Prophet was printed at six...
' Harry furiously tried to work his head around it.
"Harry?" He heard Dora asking him. "Anything wrong?" He looked at her,
his face morphing into a smile.
"No, no. Here, Prophet." He gave it to her and relished at her horrified
gasp as she read the article.
Looks like he would have to correct her 'sheep-ish' attitude.
And reward Narcissa for this...
Dumbledore stumbled on his excessively long pink robe as the students
pointed at him, whispering in a hushed tone until his figure left the Great
Hall.
Definitely reward his Cissy.
Ch49 Transfiguration Class
Hadrian entered the first class of Transfiguration, observing the
Hufflepuffs sitting on the left side while Gryffindors sat on the right.
Everybody was excited to finally learn some magic.
Hadrian found an empty seat in the middle of the classroom and sat
behind a bunch of girls giggling and pointing at the cat calmly observing
the class. He looked forward and realized the only girl in the group who
was looking out of place, quietly playing with her fingers was sitting
right in front of him. She was throwing timid glances at the pigtailed
blonde sitting next to her, Hannah Abbott, Hadrian noted. It was clear
that the girl and Hannah were not yet as close friends as he thought
because Hannah wasn't really paying attention to her while the girl was
too shy to join the group.
Susan Bones.
The other... target of the ol' Twinkles. Hadrian's lips twitched upward.
Maybe, just maybe he might be able to prevent it? Or at least make
manipulating her as hard as possible.
He poked the girl in the back, making her meekly turn around. As she
faced Hadrian, her unsure restless brown eyes met with Hadrian's
emerald gaze for a second. Hadrian noted the thick Occlumency shields
behind those big cute eyes but not even an ounce of emotion control.
Amelia probably wanted Susan's mind to be protected but didn't teach
her how to use it for quieting down her emotions, fearing it would stunt
her emotional growth. Well, there was a reason why the skill was not
taught to kids... mostly.
Susan quickly diverted her gaze downward as her round cheeks pinked,
highlighting her numerous freckles. She lowered her head with practiced
ease as her red hair slid down, covering her face from sight.
"Yes?" She asked so quietly Hadrian had to strain his ears to hear her.
'Bad in a new environment and quite anti-social, I see.' He concluded.
'Maybe this was what the hat meant by sorting people who need a friend
into the Hufflepuff... Sigh, it's always the quiet ones, isn't it?'
"Hello, I am Harry." He whispered to her and enthusiastically reached his
hand forward.
Susan looked his hand like a deer into the headlights, almost breathless.
'This is it. Auntie told me to make friends!' Her gaze gained resolve as she
timidly reached forward and weakly grabbed his fingers instead of his
entire hand. She shook it ever so slightly as she introduced herself in an
unsure tone.
"Susan Bones. Pleasure."
Hadrian nodded at her while putting his best reassuring smile on his face.
"Any experience with Transfiguration? I heard many people already tried
it with their friends." He asked, breaching the topic he wanted to know
about.
The girl shuffled uncomfortably as she fought her urge to run but still
answered.
"Wouldn't know, I wasn't allowed outside the house." She muttered
unconsciously with a pout but then realized the words actually came out
of her mouth rather than staying in her mind and her cheeks reddened
even more.
"I-, no, I have no experience." Her voice got progressively weaker and
Hadrian could see her biting her lower lip in embarrassment.
'So... lonely, insecure, and seeking positive attention.' He concluded
Susan's current state. 'Oh, the horrors Dumbledore would be able to do
with somebody like this!'
"I see." Hadrian stated plainly and noted her awkward upturned gaze, his
mind running through probable paths he could take with her. In a split of
a second, his mind was made as he tilted his head. "Say, Sue," Her mouth
slightly opened in bafflement at hearing such an affectionate nickname
but Hadrian pretended to not notice. "wanna be friends?"
Susan stared at him for a while until for the first time a big sweet smile
spread through her face.
"Yes." She exclaimed and started nodding enthusiastically.
"Well, we can..." He stopped himself when he realized the previously
giggling girls were now looking at him and Susan with stars in their
expectant eyes. He blinked, completely speechless when Susan also
noticed and yelped, unconsciously pulling her body away from Hannah.
Fortunately for the duo, the bell rang and their observers just turned
around with a pout.
"Great Hall?" Susan asked Hadrian with a hopeful stare, conveying her
intentions.
Hadrian nodded at her, getting another bashful smile in return as she too
turned around, not wanting to be caught talking when the Professor
came.
Hadrian looked at the cat that was now pointedly staring at him and
Susan. He averted his gaze and looked down at his desk in a feign
shyness.
The next few minutes were excruciatingly boring as he just sat there,
looking in front of him in silence.
For the first two minutes of staring ahead, Hadrian watched the form of
happily fidgeting Susan and found her quite adorable.
He drummed his finger onto the table as he eventually slowly strayed his
gaze to the cat in a curious manner but inside he was mentally
deadpanning at McGonagall for wasting time just to catch some idiot
who is late.
Hadrian, fed up, opened his coursebook, and started reading, not
impressed at all. He offhandedly noticed Susan slightly turning her head
towards him as she heard the flipping of pages and when she saw his
opened book she also opened hers, starting to read.
McGonagall observed the children as she performed her yearly ritual,
happy that no catnip appeared nowhere in her classroom due to a
certain... Weasley duo.
In the entire classroom, only Granger, Potter, and Bones actually had the
wits to open their books while the Professor was 'away'. It was kind of a
pitiful sight for her, looking at the bored faces of the children, so excited
to learn about magic yet having no will to open the books.
Every year, she repeated this, and every year she found only a minuscule
amount of children sensible enough to strive for their own studies
without being led by their hands. For McGonagall, these dedicated first
years were her reason for teaching, her resolve.
Just as she was about to transform into her human form and start the
lesson, the doors flew wide open as Weasley, judging by his carrot-like
head, and Longbottom boy entered the classroom, huffing and puffing in
exertion.
"... imagine McGonagall's face if she found out we were late?" She heard,
gaining a protruding vein on her cat-ish forehead. It was time to give
them some much needed verbal lashing!
The class was quite interesting for Hadrian as McGonagall explained the
workings of Transfiguration. In the last ten minutes, she handed over
matchsticks and told them what to do.
Hadrian tried it the old-fashioned wizardry way but... nothing happened.
Annoyed, he raised his hand.
"Yes, Mr. Potter?" McGonagall approached him, curious.
"Professor, may I ask you to show me the demonstration again, please?"
McGonagall was taken aback. It has been years since a first year asked
her for a second demonstration. Shrugging it off, she relented as she
slowly transfigured the matchstick in front of Mr. Potter to an intricate
needle, watching him intently staring at it.
"Thank you, Professor." He beamed at her as she went to help other
students.
Hadrian used his perception to its fullest as he watched the second
demonstration and couldn't help but be enamored at it. He barely
quipped thanks to McGonagall and waited until she left as he gripped his
wand and pointed at his matchstick.
His magic invaded the wood and slowly flipped the inner structure off.
What really made Hadrian astonished was that it did not use an ounce of
science known to him. No molecular interaction, no restructuration of
atomical set-up in order to enforce a change as he previously guessed.
No, the wood was directly changed to metal and then shaped according
to the intent of the user. What distinguished Transfiguration from other
magics was the process itself. The magic was literally imbued into the
object, seeping it in itself before twisting its structure according to the
imagination.
Hadrian was completely enamored with it, the world around himself lost
all color as his interest mixed with curiosity peaked, his excitement and
wonder forcing his mind to completely disregard his surroundings. He
didn't even notice the looks of the class and McGonagall as he casually
started to flip the color of the needle from metallic to blue, green, red,
yellow, purple.
He was about to change the needle to a spiky star when his ears heard a
sharp gasp of awe in front of him. Lifting his eyes, he met Susan's
admiring look head-on and realized.
He fucked up.
He let himself be too focused on the marvelous use of magic in front of
him that he showed his skill! Such a childish mistake, he chided himself
angrily.
Only thanks to the sweet girl in front of him he stopped before he
showed too much. Changing colors at high speed was... advanced. Third-
year stuff. But if he started to change shapes as fast as eye blinks? Ugh,
he doesn't really want to think about the problems that would cause.
He gave Susan a grateful smile. He will have to return the unintentional
favor sometimes!
"That was marvelous, Mr. Potter. You read quite a bit ahead, I see.
Twenty points to Hufflepuff." McGonagall appreciatively nodded, her
eyes showing happiness at the conclusion her mind reached as she stood
before Granger's desk, appraising her work as the girl was scowling at
Hadrian because she got only ten for being first.
The class continued and Hadrian deemed it unsafe to practice in a place
with so many 'witnesses'. He relocated himself next to flushing Susan,
telling her to try it. She flicked her wand and Hadrian's brows furrowed.
She had the same problem as him at the start. She had no idea what to
do. Neither of the kids in the class did. Even Granger only did it due to
extraordinary focus and intent. They had, however, no flunking idea
what the heck it was they were doing.
During the short interaction Hadrian had with the redhead next to him,
he quite came to like her. Albeit increasingly shy, she was very friendly.
Her reactions were amusing to say the least too.
With a calming smile, he gently grabbed her wrist, making her squeak.
"Sue, will you keep a secret for me?" He whispered to her, getting a
bashful nod in return as she nibbled her lower lip. "In that case focus on
what I do, okay?"
Seeing another nod, Hadrian pointed Susan's wand at the matchstick and
guided his magic, intertwining it with hers so she could feel what he did
as he changed it.
Susan widened her eyes. She felt it. Harry just changed the matchstick
and he did it wandlessly!
"Try it." He told her but she was too shaken up to give him a reply.
Her Aunt always told her wandless Transfiguration is impossible! Yet,
here it was. Did her Aunt lie to her? Surely not, she probably didn't
know! But... she promised to keep it a secret for Harry. Uuuu, she will
have to keep it quiet.
After her mind finally cleared up, she did not want to disappoint her new
friend and tried to imitate what he did. The results were... ugh. She
transfigured the matchstick into a metallic shape with blunt ends but
when she expected a disappointed look from Harry, he just patiently told
her to try again.
Susan wasn't about to give up when he trusted her! She tried, and tried,
and tried again but IT... JUST... DIDN'T... WORK!
She sadly looked at her new friend trying to keep her tears and sobs
inside.
Hadrian didn't understand what she did wrong. He looked at her hand,
desperately clutching her wand and... her wand... wait, her wand!
He let Susan's wrist go, hearing her whimper, and reached for her wand.
The girl quickly let go of her wand, giving it to him as he put it on the
table. He pointed his wand on the matchstick with his left hand as his
right yet again gently grabbed Susan's wrist.
"Try now. Exactly as I did." He whispered to her calmingly, getting a
jerky nod in return.
Susan pushed her magic and her eyes widened when a perfect, intricate
iron needle appeared in front of her. She mutely looked at her hand,
noting the soft, gentle hold Harry had on it, her face flushed deep red as
the bell rang, signifying the end of the class.
Susan looked at Harry's satisfied expression. She was happy! He just
taught her a wandless spell! She leaned closer, pecking his cheek but then
realized what she just did.
"See you in the Great Hall!" She barely squeaked as she abruptly stood up
and ran away.
Hadrian raised his eyebrow, ignoring the girlish giggles from Hannah and
co.
'Cute.' he mused, internally rolling his eyes at the giggles, amused at
Susan's beet-red face.
Ch50. Dinner annoyances
It was finally evening and Hadrian dragged bemused Dora to the Great
Hall, straight towards Susan.
He sat down opposite the girl who gave him a bashful smile and
curiously peeked at Dora as she played with her fork.
"Hi, Susan. This is Dora Tonks. Dora this is Susan Bones." He introduced
them as the two girls nodded at each other.
"Getting new friends Harry, I see." Dora teased, nudging his shoulder as
he rolled his eyes at her and ignored her in favor of the pancakes on the
table.
Inside, Dora was quite uncomfortable. She didn't know... no, actually, she
didn't want to acknowledge the reason. She was somewhat aware she
held some affection towards Hadrian but... it was quite hard to admit it
to herself. He was much too young!
Dora was sad and angry at herself for feeling like that. Worst of all, she
would have to ask for advice from her freaking mother! The woman that
named her Nymphadora for laughs and giggles! Ah, she could already
feel the teasing, probably should start picking an appropriate shovel for
digging herself a hole too!
Susan was wondering about the older girl next to Hadrian and pondered
if she will also become her friend with an inquisitive expression.
"Oh, Susan, was it? Fancy joining us in the library during the evenings?
It's kind of Harry's and my ritual to study there near to each other. I find
his presence quite calming." Dora wiggled her eyebrows at the younger
girl, and as the Puff she was, she tried to shrug her uglier thoughts off by
being friendly.
Susan looked at Dora, smiling gratefully but then she threw Hadrian a
questioning look. Unfortunately, to his annoyance, Dora quickly spotted
it.
"Oooh! Would you look at that! The girl is asking him for approval with
her eyes!" She mischievously grinned at Hadrian. "Harry, I didn't know
you are so close to each other!"
Hadrian groaned as his immediate Puff-overfilled surroundings burst into
snickers at his predicament around while Susan wanted to hide in a hole.
He shot Dora a reproachful look, noting her sheepish expression as she
also saw Susan's reaction. But before he could chastise her, he heard an
even more annoying voice calling him.
"Harry, mate, what are you doing among the duffers! Come and sit with
me!"
He turned around and deadpanned at the youngest Weasley male,
throwing a look at the twins who just gaped with wide-eyes at their
brother's stupidity. He just insulted every Puff right at their table. The
entirety of the Hufflepuff table was now glaring at the clueless brother of
theirs. Unfortunately for him, they had no intention of getting him out of
that predicament.
Hadrian was about to lash out at Ron when yet another annoying voice
yet again interrupted him as a blond ponce approached, his two goons
right behind him, trying to appear menacing.
"Weasley, let the Potter be. A barmy Potter among the house of useless?
It is almost poetic. You on the other hand," Draco sneered in disgust as he
saw the blotches on Ron's robe and his scruffy appearance, "are typical
Weasley, dirty and stupid."
Hadrian gave one last longing look to his pancakes as he clutched Dora's
hand tightly, preventing her from cursing Draco while Susan was holding
her tears at the insults hurled at her house.
'Sigh, I will have to readjust her attitude.' He thought as his eyes brushed
through her expression.
He turned to face Draco as Ron shouted his reply.
"And what would you know Malfoy! You are just a filthy snake!" He
smugly looked at Draco, expecting applause or something for his witty
remark.
Hadrian sighed in exasperation and opened his mouth but then a dry
drawl joined the 'debate', sending his declining mood to negatives.
"Weasley, breaking the rules are we? That will be ten points from
Gryffindor for calling names." Snape, as if right on time, appeared at that
moment.
Hadrian understood then. It was not that Draco is stupid. He did not
come charging forward, loudly jeering at everybody. Of course, the boy
who was unofficial leader of Slytherins of his year had to have at least a
smudge of cunning. He charged forward because he knew Snape had his
back.
"As for Potter," Snape turned to him impassively. "you just could not
suffer not being in the middle of attention, could you? Twenty points
from Hufflepuff for instigating a fight." He said, almost happily. It was
then that Hadrian saw him throw a quick pondering look at
Nymphadora, his expression in extreme conflict but a glint of acceptance
and... lust flashing through his eyes.
Hadrian had to hold himself from throwing the creepy bat through the
Great Hall back into his seat but Snape made it easy for him when he
again turned to him with a sneer.
"Nothing to say for yourself? Hmm, Potter?"
Hadrian felt the mind probe as he answered in deadpan.
"I wonder if I could finally eat in peace, Professor."
But his mind leaked his 'thoughts' to Snape quite loudly.
'Wow, this perverted idiot really hates me, doesn't he? I never thought I
would see such a manchild teaching. Well, with magic, everything is
possible, I guess. I just hope his knowledge is sufficient to teach at least
the first years... He sure as hell doesn't look it, though.'
"Potter you cheeky little...!" Snape's face contorted in rage.
But he was unable to continue as he heard quite a loud 'Hem, Hem'
behind him. Snape schooled his expression and impassively turned
around but minutely flinched as he saw the fierce look on Professor
Sprout's scowling face.
"Professor Snape, I would advise you to leave, your point deductions are
hereby voided. I hope this will not repeat. I won't stand for you bullying
my badgers. If you have any problem we can always inform the Board of
Governors and discuss it among ourselves." She told him with extreme
calm, contrasting her angry protective stare.
Snape blanched, throwing a glance at Dumbledore but found no support
there.
'I am sorry Severus, my boy. You brought this on yourself.' Dumbledore
thought sadly.
He was aware he couldn't get into another public scandal after Mrs.
Weasley and supporting a teacher bullying students, well... Let's just say
it was way too different from unknowingly 'allowing' it to occur under his
nose.
With gritted teeth, Snape left as Professor Sprout turned to Draco and
Weasley, her eyes unusually cold.
"As for you, both of your houses will lose twenty points for inappropriate
behavior. Insulting your classmates is in no way proper. Now, go back to
your tables." She ordered, sending Hadrian into bewilderment as he did
not expect any teacher to actually know that allowing bullying is NOT an
acceptable teaching method.
'Looks like not all teachers are completely mentally inept due to the
natural influence of magic.' He mused.
Albeit reluctantly both boys obeyed as Draco scurried away with a scowl
muttering about daddies and whatnot while Ron was dragged by his twin
brothers with an incomprehensible face as if he did not understand the
situation.
Hadrian was quite curious at that and used his perception, noting the
boy's magic was muddled.
'Hm? Some kind of influencing magic, perhaps?' He wondered.
It almost mave sense. The Weasley boy stared at him quite a lot but never
approached. He also doubted the kid was an idiot. Stupid, yes.
Mannerless, yes. But full-blown idiotic to insult the entire house to their
faces? No. Hadrian suspected the potion, spell, or whatever influenced
the kid had to have some intelligence-lowering effects while it was
coursing through his body.
Quite frankly, Ronald Weasley was like a rocket. Unless you set him in a
certain direction while making him all fired up for his goal, he was
harmless. Yes, he was an ordinary bigoted git without manners but would
never approach a Puff, of all people, by himself. He was too biased for
that.
"Thank you, Professor Sprout!" The entirety of the Puff table exclaimed at
once.
And while Hadrian found it cringey and embarrassing he couldn't smile
at the camaraderie of Puffs.
Nevertheless, he didn't forget the look Snape threw at Dora, nor did he
miss Malfoy calling him Barmy in front of the middle of the student-filled
Great Hall. At least the defeated expression Dumbledore showed as he
watched Ron leaving Hufflepuff's table was reinvigorating.
'Oh, no worries, I will have my revenge.' Hadrian thought.
Ch51. Underestimating
Dumbledore?
Narcissa Black with one last groan felt her body dropping forward and
flopped her head on her husband's chest, feeling warm and filled up to
the brim, unexplainable happiness coursing through her body. She tightly
cuddled her head deeper into her husband's chest as she relished the
euphoric feeling when she felt his hand snaking around her shoulder,
softly caressing her skin as it started gently rubbing her back. She stifled
a sensual moan as she felt his touch affect her, her inner walls tightening,
pressing on his cock still inside of her, making it hard again as it pushed
its way through her folds. It was then she felt her husband's other hand
gently pat her head as it started scratching her scalp, his fingers coursing
through her hairs and suddenly she was unable to suppress it anymore. A
long, hot moan ripped itself out of her throat, no matter how much she
tried to press her mouth shut to prevent herself from such an
embarrassing display.
She looked accusingly at the amused face of Hadrian who calmly
continued delivering such a pleasant feeling to her, unable to even
verbally rebuke him as her body was leaning toward his touch.
"You have no idea what you are doing to me." She weakly protested. Too
weakly for her pride to like it but her body was exhausted.
She felt herself heating up again as her mind started to be overly
conscious by her chest being pressed into his stomach. The toes on her
feet curled up, back into the position they were not even ten minutes
earlier as she could feel the body's overpowering desire. Unfortunately, to
her extreme dissatisfaction, that was the extent of the movement she was
able to do as every cell in her body was as tired as it was exhausted. She
cried internally due to her old, easily-tired body. No matter how many
beautification spells she could invent or how many potions she ingested,
her body was getting old and it was hammered into her every night she
found herself in a similar position as right now.
"Hmm, I don't?" Hadrian quipped smugly as Narcissa couldn't help but
gasp.
The tips of his fingers as if vibrated deep under her skin and she
immediately understood what is to follow. He was using his damned
telekinesis to pressurize her nerve endings!
"No!" She was able to tersely scream out before her body betrayed her as
her world was painted in pleasure. Her eyes bulged out at the unbearable
ecstasy it felt, her mind trembling, trying to stay coherent. Her mouth
stayed open from her previous denial, unable to close itself as she felt a
sliver of drool exiting the corner of her mouth, right onto Hadrian's chest.
Her entire body went stiff, shaking minutely, squirting her juices on
Hadrian's crotch while her pussy squeezed him in warm vice-grip.
As soon as the feeling came, it again left when Hadrian stopped using his
telekinesis on her. The effects though stayed and Narcissa could only
dumbly stare in front of her while letting the afterglow rock through her
body. It was then she felt Hadrian's body shift underneath her in
discomfort at her wetness, starting to unconsciously ever so slowly and
gently rock itself up and down, his hands snaking around her body,
embracing it slightly as it made it easier for him to move in and out of
her.
She doubted he did it on purpose and her mind guessed it was more the
desire taking over. Closing her eyes, she decided to enjoy the pleasant
feelings and let him do his thing. She was his so complaining would be
unsightly. Even then... her body wanted it so badly!
It took barely a few minutes of their bodies gently rubbing on each other
as Narcissa registered Hadrian's panting and clamped her Occlumency
shield on her feelings hard.
A second later, she could feel herself being filled up by his sperm again as
her body exploded in warmth and feeling of fulfillment yet again. Her
mind barely fought the overload of euphory, making her glad she had the
foresight to use Occlumency, otherwise, she would be already deep in
unconsciousness by now.
"I hate and love this part of the contract." She mumbled into his chest
more to herself but when she felt Hadrian's curious gaze on the top of her
head, she decided to elaborate.
"We don't have a child." Feeling him stiffen, it was hard for her not to
drag this out and tease him but with a sad sigh, she decided to forego her
fun. "Not that we could, I am barren as they come." She said in an
unbothered drawl and gleefully snuggled into Hadrian's reassuring head
pat. "But the contract was between pureblood families after all. They
wanted an heir eventually."
"Does it compel you to have sex with me?" Hadrian worriedly asked, and
while Narcissa was unable to raise her head to look at him, she imagined
his expression must be increasingly difficult right now.
She smiled at that imagination and slowly shuffled her head from side to
side, dragging her nose on his chest as she could feel him squirm due to
her hair tickling him.
"No, but the feeling of you coming inside of me is simply... heavenly. The
contract is set up to ensure willingness to make children. While men are
usually not affected in any way…," She snorted. "the women are...
different. I... love the feeling, to be honest." She told him, her voice laced
in a conflicting tone.
"Lucius..." Hadrian started and Narcissa felt as if he poured her with cold
water as she understood where he was going with that.
"Yes. But not for long." She said evenly, uncaring. It happened too long
ago and wasn't even that high in her list of most unhappy memories, after
all. "One day, suddenly I could stop hating myself as I stopped feeling the
overpowering pleasure as he was having his fun while beating me
senseless."
"I am sorry." Hadrian apologized for making her remember and Narcissa
snorted.
"I don't care anymore. I didn't know what the feeling signified then." She
rebuffed strongly. "Mostly I didn't even notice. When I did notice
something wrong it was at most a pain in my abdomen and frankly, I was
hurting all day all over at that time... I didn't have any time to even
contemplate being a mother, you know?" She weakly stated. "I don't
know the feeling of loss of a child. Yes, I was bewildered when the Healer
told me the pain was a miscarriage but at that time, I can remember
myself staring at him dumbly not understanding his words. Then he told
me he is sorry for miscarrying my fourth child and I blinked owlishly,
unable to even feel sad as I was not even aware of ever being pregnant. It
was all too impersonal to me. I-"
"Narcissa." Hadrian stopped her distressed rant with a gentle voice. "It's
fine. You will be fine."
"Thank you." She melted into his chest, her agitation leaving her.
"Anyway, the crux is I am damaged enough to not be able to conceive a
child. Hence I can happily relish the feeling the contract gives me with
the man I love until the end of my days." She said flippantly and giggled
happily into his chest, caressing it with her breath.
Hadrian rolled his eyes at her attitude and was glad that there was really
nothing bothering her about it. And if she was, well… magic.
They laid in the bed, enjoying each other's presence when Hadrian
remembered what he called her today for. Embarrassed, he decided to
breach the topic.
"Cissy, I will need something from you." He told her.
"Well, as long as you don't need my kidney for a ritual, I am all for it."
She quipped with an eye-roll.
"Tomorrow I have Potions with Snape... I want you to be ready for
whatever will ensue afterward." He decided to ignore her witty remark.
"Oh, I see. You want me to blow anything you cause out of proportions.
Probably to get him sacked, right?" She asked lightly.
"Yes." Hadrian agreed.
"Is that due to my niece?" Narcissa remembered what Hadrian told her of
Dumbledore's schemes. As she felt her body rested enough she raised her
head slightly, putting her chin on his chest as she peered at him.
"Yes." Hadrian bluntly asked and proceeded to pinch her cheek. "Is my
little Cissy jealous?"
So childish, Narcissa thought and rolled her eyes but her the light in
them danced mirthfully.
"Hmm, not really. I can share." She uttered plainly, mentally pumping her
fist at his disbelieving look.
Narcissa 1, Hadrian 0!, she imitated Bellatrix's cackle in her mind.
Hadrian recollected himself and decided to get far, far away from that
topic for as long as he manages.
"Yes, it is because of Dora." He tried to get the topic back on the initial
rails.
"I can try but I have no idea what you expect from me." She saw him
opening his mouth but didn't give him time. "You are underestimating
Dumbledore too much."
Hadrian's mouth snapped shut, completely baffled at what he heard.
Underestimate? He would like to believe he was overestimating the old
coot!
As Narcissa noted his expression she gave him a ridiculing gaze.
"I heard about the debacle around my dear cousin. You Sirius-ly screwed
that. But then again, there was no winning that. Sirius would not be
getting out unscathed anyway."
"What do you mean?" Hadrian asked, not understanding her meaning.
"You pulled the request for a trial out on the drop of a hat, during the
Wizengamot meeting. These things are usually announced days before
but if you did so, Sirius would be deader than dead the next day they
escorted him to a cell in DMLE." Narcissa methodically explained. "Your
request was good. The timing was excellent. You had Dumbledore where
you needed him. Right in front of the Lords, living proof about to walk
in, it was incredible, perfect even. But Andromeda didn't study the
proceedings of the meetings and was nervous for her meeting with Lord
Malfoy and Lestrange about my and Bella's contracts. She let Dumbledore
walk out of the room. Hence, a complete fuck up." She concluded.
"Well, it was my fuck-up too. I didn't think he would really go for a kill.
Nor did I believe he would get through the wards of Azkaban. It is, after
all, one of the few places where even house-elves can not penetrate."
Hadrian pouted.
"Well, the point is, it was Andy who came up with it. With something
that could damage Dumbledore. I am sure he didn't care about her
specifically and aimed for the mysterious Lord Black instead otherwise
Andy would have much bigger problems nowadays. But then her
daughter starts loitering around THE Harry Potter? From what you told
me about his plans, of course, he would want to get rid of her..." Narcissa
admonished him for his actions and released an insufferable sigh.
Before Hadrian could defend himself she flung her upper body up, her
hips pressing on his as she supported her body with her hands on his
chest, tightly pressing him down, demanding him to shut up and listen.
"Moreover, you underestimate Dumbledore. He is the Defeater of
Grindelwald. He 'single-handedly' ended the war muggles call the worst
conflict in recent history. While that statement is as far from the truth as
possible, Dumbledore made sure that is how the wizarding world
remembers it. He won one duel and was at most a few hours on the
battlefield. While soldiers fought, died, and killed, he sat in his comfy
chair, spending time by sipping hot chocolate and choking on his Lemon
Drops. But he is remembered as THE hero because he defeated, no,
utterly destroyed Grindelwald. But then again, that was AFTER
Grindelwald fought and annihilated four squads of battle wizards by
himself. Nonetheless, the kind of reputation Dumbledore gained for it
opened a lot of doors and begot influence."
She took a deep shuddering breath as Harry hit her weak spot.
"With Weasley matriarch, you gave me enough influence and dirt on him
to get him out of his Chief Warlock position. But that only means he can't
do things openly. He basically whispers opinions into three-quarters of
light houses while at least half grey houses owe him a favor or two. Not
to mention that he has a certain... sway on dark houses too. He was the
one who helped the 'imperiused' Death Eaters out. If he came up with a
'research' that the mark can't be taken while under imperius... well. Let's
just say the dark houses knew well their position but Dumbledore also
couldn't use this willy-nilly. It is a very volatile card and he has to be
extremely cautious because it could backfire and taint his reputation. But
as blackmail material in some lesser cases, it suffices to give him enough
sway over them. I know for a fact he used it on a few occasions in the
past as Lucius was cursing him to heavens when it happened."
"I see. He really is firmly attached in his influence, isn't he?" Hadrian
groaned, trying to make it sound as if it was out of annoyance, instead of
Narcissa's driving his cock deeper into herself.
"You have no idea." She smirked and started to slowly rock her body back
and forth, relishing at his twitching face.
"Anyway, Dumbledore was a teacher for a long fifty years. He molded the
minds of the young according to his wishes for the entirety of his
teaching career. There is a reason why he is willing to forsake all of his
positions except being the Headmaster of Hogwarts. When you look at
Wizarding Britain of nowadays, you can see people. People who all went
through Dumbledore's fingers at one point in the past."
"Yes, some left his influence after they graduated and realized he is not
unflappable. Some had it drilled to their heads even before they came to
Hogwarts by their parents... Well, he can not really influence everybody.
But children are malleable. He gets enough of them in his camp and all it
takes is to act grandfatherly, potion here, potion there. It became a less
known fact after it was taken from the curriculum, that weak dosages of
loyalty potion over long periods of time creates faux-loyalty even after it
is stopped being administered. All he has to do is prove he is worth the
loyalty by helping them in a hard situation and voila, he has a willing
minion with high potential that would die for him."
"Also, he has many people hidden in the ministry and in important
positions, Harry. Just look at what happened with the debacle of Sirius. It
was obvious he threw my cousin into the prison without trial but he still
managed to keep his position. It took yet another scandal to boot him out
of Wizengamot and even then there were no charges against him. Heck,
he could weasel his way out of it if the Prophet article was not so sudden.
If we pressed the Ministry to go after him with our influence as House
Black it could backfire due to the sheer amount of favors Dumbledore is
owed after his fifty years of playing 'the game' and I am really not in the
mood to deal with that can of worms. That's why I do not actively
antagonize him."
"This will be a very long run, won't it." Hadrian uttered, disgruntled.
"Yes. Yes, it will." Narcissa admitted and put her hand on his cheek in
affection. "But don't worry, I will be here with you for every step of the
journey. I will think of something. We will get him eventually, Harry."
"But... who said my goal is toppling Dumbledore." He grinned at her
playfully as she widened her eyes in surprise. "I couldn't care less about
him if he left me alone. I just need you to nibble at his reputation and
positions slowly and discreetly. As long as nobody finds out I am Lord
Black... Well, Dumbledore won't really try to harm me for years to come
yet."
"True..." She nodded in agreement but then her smile went naughty. "So,
up for the second round?"
"Do you even need to ask?" Hadrian grabbed her hips and their fun
started all over again.
Ch52. Potion Lesson, make it
Snappy
Hadrian sat next to Susan in the Potion classroom as he observed the
class. Surprisingly or not, Hufflepuffs had the potions with Slytherins.
'What gives.' He thought sarcastically when he remembered originally it
was Lions with Snakes.
It didn't take long for 'Professor' Snape to enter the classroom with his
tirade about wand-waving while 'subtly' praising Draco.
'Well, time to be a complete git.' He thought.
Hadrian made sure to listen to it even though his eyes were drooping
from boredom. Snape didn't care much about his attention, it seemed.
"Mr. Potter. Our... new... celebrity." He slowly intoned, emphasizing
every word mockingly.
"Potter! What would I get if I added the powdered root of asphodel to an
infusion of wormwood?"
And while Hadrian knew the original Harry would be touched if he knew
the meaning behind those words...
"The Draught of Living Death, sir." Hadrian answered and his melancholy
was extinguished the second he felt the Legilimency probe smash into his
mind. He quickly put fake thoughts on the forefront of his mind.
'What does he mean by those plants? Does he regret the death of some
Lily? Well, what a jerk to pull his ineptitude and insufficient love life at
me. Who cares about his failures as a man.'
He tried to make his thought as snarky while still appearing as if he
didn't understand the meaning behind it.
Snape actually had a flash of recognition pass as he was about to sneer
through his eyes but when he heard Hadrian's thoughts he quickly
became enraged.
"Potter, where would you look if I told you to find me a bezoar?"
"The stomach of a goat, Sir."
'Is he real? Of course, I would look into his cabinet first. He is the potion
teacher here. What an utter dunderhead.'
Snape opened his mouth but could only silently stare at Harry, unable to
even rebuke his thoughts. Legilimency was, after all, a highly forbidden
magic. If he was caught performing it on a student...
Hadrian knew what Snape was thinking the second he saw his
expression. He cursed his luck that the Professor didn't reveal himself.
These lessons were a prime opportunity for that. Next to him was Susan,
the niece of the head of the DMLE, around him were his loyal badgers,
just ready to jump into a fight if it means protecting one of their own,
and even among Slytherins the more grey inclined families would most
probably help if it meant discreetly push Dumbledore down. Greengrass,
the prime example among them.
"What is the difference, Potter, between monkshood and wolfsbane?"
Snape asked, keeping his cool only due to being strong Occlumens.
"They are the same." Hadrian answered, calmly staring into Snape's eyes
with a serious demeanor.
'Seriously though, maybe his knowledge of potions really isn't up to par
as I feared if he asks things such as this...'
His thoughts yet again viciously grated at Snape's nerves as they attacked
his pride as Potion Master. Snape gritted his teeth as he sat down in his
chair, looking at the classroom with fury in his eyes.
"Well? Do I have to write it for you?" He barked silently while making
sure everybody heard him. "Why are you not writing it down yet?"
The class then went on and Hadrian was getting quite frustrated as Snape
kept his cool pretty well. He was almost sorrowful as he thought about
how to make him snap.
Hadrian was so distracted, he didn't notice Snape's eyes on him nor his
brow twitching when he saw him cutting the ingredients down to small
bite-sized squares instead of throwing it all intact into the cauldron as
written in the instruction. Hadrian as he was reminiscing about his one
month period of cooking for Dursleys started to cut even smaller triangles
out of the small squares, humming to himself as he plotted his next move.
Suddenly he heard the enraged voice of Snape snapping at him.
"Potter! What do you think you are doing! This is not a cooking class!
That will be ten points from Gryffindor for making fun of Potions!" He
hatefully snarled on reflex, as he glared at the bite-sized triangles on the
chopping board, not thinking about what he just said.
Hadrian gaped at him, not expecting something like that to happen.
Slowly, his face morphed into an uncaring look as he replied.
"Okay, I am sure Gryffindors will be pleased, then." He said cooly,
making sure to meet Snape's stone-cold dark eyes containing bottomless
fury.
'Stupid git. No wonder that Lily left him.'
It was at that time that Snape's anger boiled over and his mind was
completely hazed by anger. He, in one swift, fluid motion, swished his
hand out, a curse on his lips.
Hadrian didn't have much time as his eyes widened. He really didn't
expect him to lose his cool so much he would actually attack. He pushed
his magic, veering Snape's hand off of him, sending it to the right side.
All of that happened in a slit of a second and Snape was unable to stop
his curse when it left his wand and to everybody's surprise, impacted
Draco's cauldron. As Snape drew his wand from his left pocket in his
robe, the motion seemed fluid and the redirection wasn't apparent. It all
looked as if he targeted Draco from the start.
The boiling cauldron with half-finished potion blew up, covering Draco,
his partner Parkinson and two closest students, which happened to be
Goyle and Crabbe, in the boiling fluids as the children screamed in
untold amounts of pain.
Next to Draco Malfoy, Daphne Greengrass was gripping her right hand
burned by the potion tightly to her chest, tearing up in pain as she was
gritting her teeth, trying to not whimper.
The entire class looked at the scene completely horrified in silent
bewilderment. Nobody expected this to happen and the kids did what
kids do best. They got loud.
Wails, screams, and yells resounded through the classroom when
suddenly the doors flew open and McGonagall rushed in. She quickly saw
the scene of crying children and her eyes went cold when she spotted
Professor Snape with his wand out, pointing in their direction.
One quick Expelliarmus later, Snape finally snapped out of it when he felt
his wand leave his hand and found himself staring at the enraged
Transfiguration Mistress. He didn't even manage to utter a coherent
sentence before a stunner promptly sent him crashing to the ground,
stunned.
Hadrian thanked all gods for having the foresight to send an anonymous
letter to McGonagall's table via Rowena express, stating the twins are
planning a prank during the potion class of the first years in order to
welcome their brother in Hogwarts. He was also glad she decided to
spend her free period patrolling around the classroom to prevent her
Lions from angering Snape.
While not according to his plan, the results were better than he hoped.
Five Heirs and Heiresses of quite prominent families were wounded by
Snape's wand.
Hadrian glanced at shocked Susan with the corner of his eyes. Maybe his
'advice' of, instead of writing a letter to her Aunt, she should call her to
Hogwarts and talk to her in person, say, right after potion classes, will
really come quite in handy.
Only a pang of regret went through his chest as he watched the pain-
filled expression of Daphne Greengrass but he quickly squashed it for
being irrational.
"Potions are hereby canceled." McGonagall firmly stated as she knocked
Malfoy and Parkinson out.
Both were covered from head to toes in the boiling liquid, their screams
the loudest as they tried to anyhow stop the pain. By the time he was
stunned, Draco was thrashing on the floor, harshly scratching his face as
blood pooled out of it while Pansy was shrieking and strongly banging
her head on the wall in an attempt to knock herself out, leaving a bloody
smear on it.
Grabbe and Goyle had mostly burned their backs as they managed to turn
around before the potion hit them but both of them were also wailing,
sobbing while pissing themselves from enormous amounts of pain.
McGonagall applied some basic soothing charms and ordered them to
follow her to the infirmary but it was obvious both boys were still out of
it as they barely panted through the pain of their harsh red backs.
Daphnee was taking her burned hand as a real champ. Not even a
whimper left her lips but her eyes were obviously clouded by tears as her
entire body shook minutely. Hadrian had to give it to the girl. She really
deserved the title of The Ice Queen if she still managed to act as if
nothing bothered her with boiling potion on her hand.
Hadrian couldn't help but feel pity for these children as it was his
redirection that caused their pain. They were not yet Death Eaters. Albeit
arrogant and snobbish, they were still but children. He also couldn't
believe his luck at making Snape hit Draco Malfoy's cauldron, of all
things, with his curse.
His illogical remorse was swiftly put away when he understood one
simple truth. Instead of Draco and Pansy, trying to get a sweet release
from the pain, it might just have been him and Susan covered in the
boiling potion. He snaked his hand around Susan's shoulders as he pulled
her closer to him in a comforting notion as he decided to be more careful
from now on.
Looking at Susan, he sighed. The girl definitely needed a shoulder to lean
on after the horrid sight.
'Yes. Definitely gotta adjust her attitude sometimes soon.'
Ch53. Susan's talent
Hadrian was on his morning run.
Since he found out the more fit his body is, the more potent will his
magic turn out, he started to train some exercises that will in the long
run improve his agility and dexterity. He was going for the so-called lean
muscular build.
This was not his first run as he quickly decided his route the next day he
came to Hogwarts. The grounds were enormous so there was always
someplace where he could exercise in peace. He would prefer the Room
of Requirements but unfortunately, Dumbledore was watching him like a
hawk. He could feel the eyes of portraits following him. Occasional
'accidental' ghost popping up here and there with some lame excuse...
well, at least he didn't feel any house-elves with his perception. It was
such a pity Kreacher as an elf bound to House Black could not enter the
grounds without the Headmaster getting a notice.
Alas, he had to make do with what was available.
Looking behind himself, a bemused smile crept up his face. There, Susan
Bones was huffing and puffing as her clothes were drenched in sweat, her
eyes sleepy, and the girl barely kept running. This was the second day
she joined him for his exercises as when she found out, she vehemently
demanded to be taken along. Then, she proceeded to give up mid-run and
Hadrian thought that would be the end of it but he was wrong. The next
day, today more precisely, she showed up as he was leaving the common
room, all fired up with great resolve in her eyes. Now, she is barely
dragging her feet.
Hadrian was at first annoyed that she slowed him down but could only
sigh in exasperation. She was his friend and so far he had only two in
Hogwarts.
He stopped to almost crawl as he waited until she reached him and gave
her a smile she promptly tried to weakly reciprocate, sending him more
of a wince than an actual smile.
"Sue, let's rest for a moment." Hadrian quipped and nodded in the
direction of the grass-filled clearing.
Susan's eyes instantly lit up as she bobbed her head up and down in total
agreement.
They sat down, surrounded by the grass. Hadrian watched Susan trying
to regain her breath in amusement, her chest going up and down as he
asked.
"Why did you decide to join me in my exercises?"
"I am sorry." Susan quietly answered, her eyes tearing up as she thought
he is unhappy with her presence.
"No, no. I didn't mean it like that." Hadrian assured her as he waved his
hands in denial.
"I just wanted to spend my time with you." Susan said sincerely with red
cheeks. "I didn't have any idea it would be this demanding though." She
huffed in good humor, making Hadrian roll his eyes at her.
"You can always quit."
"Nope." She intoned the 'p'.
"Whatever. So, any information about Snape?" Hadrian 'offhandedly'
asked.
"Oh..." Susan's face scrunched into a dejected expression. "He will be
suspended for a year but other than that, nothing."
Hadrian's eyes widened at that.
"But..."
"Headmaster Dumbledore vouched for him in DMLE and even Lucius
Malfoy relented eventually and demanded lighter punishment before the
Board of Governors. None of the injured will have any permanent scars
as it was quite a low-grade potion so that weighed a lot in his favor."
Susan shook her head sadly. "Aunt was so angry. She tried to hide it but I
know her enough. Dumbledore dragged Minister into it and well..."
"I see. Any idea who will be the new Potion Professor?" He tried to
distract himself from the information.
Snape injured five Heirs and got only the suspension? Heck, that's a
dream come true for the git. He now has time to focus on brewing while
being free from his duties as a teacher. 'His' actions would see any other
man in Azkaban for years.
"Ah, one of Aunties aurors. She at least persuaded the Minister into being
better informed of what is going on in Hogwarts. 'After all, it would not
do well for more heirs to be injured.', were her words." Susan chuckled.
"She was laughing herself silly on the sour expression Dumbledore
showed when Minister and the Board of Governors approved."
"And the name?" He asked, praying to not hear any Shacklebolt or Moody
come out of her mouth as that would make it a moot point.
"Peter Horple." Susan furrowed her brows as she searched her memory.
"He is one of the five Potion Masters in the auror force."
Hadrian nodded satisfied but disgruntled as he will have to factor into his
plans an auror roaming the school.
"Oh, I tried more wandless transfiguration!" Susan suddenly exclaimed
and Hadrian almost jumped out of his skin.
Quickly channeling his perception he sent a pulse of magic around. Only
when he was assured no one was in the immediate surrounding and no
scrying spell was on him, his shoulders sagged as he glared at Susan.
"Oh, sorry." She looked sheepishly at the ground.
"Never mind, just be more careful. Now. Show me your new trick." He
excitedly prompted her.
Susan reached her hand out and grabbed a handful of grass. She showed
it to Hadrian as the stalks laid on her outstretched palm. He felt her
channeling magic into her palm, exactly as he showed her. Peeking at her
expression he found it cute how it was scrunched up in extreme focus.
The magic started affecting the grass as it slowly started disappearing
from the view. Hadrian reached his hand towards Susan's and as he ran
his index finger over her palm, he felt her squirm.
"You are tickling me." Susan giggled.
Hadrian was astonished when his finger felt the grass. She made it
invisible... No. She made the surface reflect the light. She transfigured it
to contain some kind of invisibility coating. If nothing else, this was a
new spell and Susan invented it all by herself, in under a week since
Hadrian showed her the wandless transfiguration in their Transfiguration
Class.
Hadrian's gaze towards Susan changed. She was no longer a good friend
but a slightly above average talented witch. He remembered from the
movies she was not incredibly exceptional. Her most redeeming quality
was her being a relative of the head of DMLE. But now, now he knew she
was quite prodigious and innovative. Hadrian will just have to nudge her
in the right direction and show her that 'how it is done' in the Wizarding
World may not have been the 'best way'.
He wondered if he should have her start learning the niche of the Bones
family... Amelia did send their Family Tomes as debt repayment to Lord
Black in fear Susan would one day discover them and try to learn, after
all.
'No. Not yet. First I have to ensure Susan is loyal to me first and
foremost... but then, I am really curious if the old legends about the
Bones family ring true.' He mused, perhaps for too long.
Pouting Susan poked him in the shoulder, thinking he was ignoring her.
As he turned his eyes towards her, he was greeted with an angry glare at
ignoring her.
"Yes, yes. I didn't ignore you." Hadrian patted her head, turning her anger
into embarrassment. "I just thought about your new spell. It is amazing.
But can still be improved."
"Did you try to experiment too?" She asked eagerly.
Rolling his eyes he took his wand. Susan knew he could do wandless
transfiguration. Not that he can do wandless everything.
"Incendio." He intoned and a small flickering flame appeared on the tip of
his wand.
"Watch." He said as he saw the confused expression on Susan's face.
Incendio was a spell they learned this week. It was one of the most basic
ones.
Hadrian reached his free hand and put it a few inches above the small
flickering flame. Suddenly Susan squeaked as she saw the flame turn into
emerald green and burst out, covering Hadrian's hand. A rush of panic
ran through Susan in fear Hadrian was injured when he heard his voice.
"Calm down, Sue. Look." He told her, making her stare wide-eyed at his
hand, encompassed in killing-curse green flames as it licked his skin
without burning it. Hadrian moved his fingers and the flame danced
according to his movements. For Susan, it was an amazing sight.
She slowly reached her hand, completely enamored, ignoring the
increasing heat. When Hadrian's wand arm suddenly dropped his wand
and gripped her approaching hand, snapping her out of her musings.
"No, Sue. It won't burn me because it is basically my magic. It is the fire
created by Transfiguration and my magic is the main component. Anyone
else than me, it will devour. So no touchy-feely, Sue." He cheekily
admonished, making her cutely pout.
"Well, let's go. We are kinda missing breakfast." Hadrian quipped as the
fire extinguished itself with an uncaring wave of his hand. He grasped
Susan's hand into his previously burning, now comfortably warm grip
and left the clearing with the flushed girl.
Ch54. Meeting in the library
Dora, Hadrian, and Susan sat in the library, in their corner, studying.
Dora was reading some NEWT level potion book while
Susan was holding her head above DADA as that was her weak point, she
thought. She often complained to Hadrian she doesn't like how Professor
Quirrell stutters since she doesn't understand a word from him. He
advised her to learn by herself from books and she looked at him as if he
grew a second head but after actually trying it, she was really liking it.
Especially since Hadrian was right next to her if she needed help and
Dora would always give her advice when she found herself really
stumped.
Susan felt very fortunate for befriending Hadrian and Dora.
Hadrian was coursing through the theory of Transfiguration for the fifth
year. It was mid-October and during the last month, he already went
through the books for every year. He found out he needed someone to
demonstrate to him the process if he wanted to recreate it wandlessly
since his theory knowledge was quite lacking. It was Dora who
volunteered herself, albeit reluctantly with a pout the size of Hogwarts,
to show him the transfiguration since she was natural in it due to being
Metamorph.
Hadrian found it such a pity Dora's complete dismissal of the field. He
knew she had some unresolved issues and conflicting feelings about the
field. She was picked on a lot due to being Metamorphmagus, after all.
Dora found the field useful but didn't deem it important enough to
practice since it always came naturally to her and she was able to get by
the subject with apparent ease on her natural talent. Hadrian long
stopped pestering her about getting better at the theory and practicing
more in Transfiguration. She was good, but a person can go only so far
when relying purely on talent. And Dora reached her bottleneck long ago.
Not that she particularly cared.
Through his perception, Hadrian recreated the transfiguration exercises
for students after Dora gave him a demonstration and he was now able to
perform animate to inanimate and vice versa transfigurations. He then
wrote down his findings and differences about the reaction of his magic
during said exercises and compared them to the course books theory. By
now he had a notebook full of what he deemed 'bullshit' and another of
what he thought was true.
As he was working on his understanding of Transfiguration, he
occasionally peeked at Susan. The girl might have looked completely out
of her depth for strangers. It was almost cute how depressingly she was
clutching her head while pouting, looking as if she studied hard her most
hated subject and still understood nothing. The book for the second year
DADA in front of her was telling a different story though. Especially if
Hadrian took into consideration that Susan, after seeing the speed he
rushed through the books got really motivated and also started studying
hard her favorite subject, Charms. She was, after the month of their
evening library meetings at the start of the fourth year book as Dora
complained at her speed.
As the group studied suddenly, a small figure bolted from behind the
shelf, only to freeze in shock as she saw the table in the corner occupied.
Hadrian lifted his head and saw a small bushy haired shy mouse-like girl
watching them with an unsure eyes.
"Hello, want to join us?" He smiled in invitation at the girl and for a
second thought she would run away.
Hermione didn't expect to be invited to a study group of her classmates.
After a month and half at Hogwarts, she was of the notion everybody
found her annoying. But she just could not help herself! So much
knowledge! So much to learn! How come nobody wanted to listen to her
explanations! She knew better! She had read it!
So when the invitation came, she wanted to run for it. But she soldiered
on and with an unsure step, took the last remaining seat behind their
table.
She recognized some of them. Harry Potter, the boy-who-should-have-
been-a-Gryffindor, and Susan Bones, the no-so-chubby-anymore-redhead.
It was rumored she started exercising with Harry and since then her
chubby cheeks flattened and became firmer, showing her high-
cheekbones and previously unseen aristocratic features. Her small round
figure also became slender quickly since magic helped her to burn the
unnecessary fat and her clothes now hung on her, much to the girl's
embarrassment.
Hermione also noticed Susan's developing bust and thought that boys
would really like her when they grow up. She had read that the boys
liked bigger breasts more! That's why she always drank milk before going
to bed! But the most prominent change in Susan during the last month
was her eyes. She was still uncomfortable around others and quite shy
but when she was next to Harry, she was almost fearless, glaring at
Malfoy or Ron every time they came to bother them, clutching her wand
protectively. Hermione found it scary.
Hermione didn't know the last woman sitting behind the table. She
obviously remembered seeing her sitting most of the time next to Harry
at the Hufflepuff table but never got to know her name.
Dora seeing the inquisitive gaze aimed at her, smiled as she introduced
herself.
"Wotcher, I am Dora Tonks. Nice to meet you!" She gave the girl a
cheerful wave.
"Hermione Granger." Hermion unsurely presented her name but then
gathered her courage and slipped into her bossy mode. "Pleasure."
"Harry Potter." Hadrian chuckled.
"Susan Bones." Susan quipped, not raising her head from the book.
She did not like the bushy haired rabbit. If only because the girl always
angrily glared at Harry when he always finished first in Transfiguration
lessons and then started helping Susan.
At first, Susan was uncomfortable with the glares but after she spent time
with Harry, she just found them increasingly annoying. Which might or
might not have turned to dislike over the course of time.
"So, what are you studying!?" Hermione quickly forgot the awkward
introduction of Susan as she saw the advanced books on the table.
"Ah... we are..." Hadrian blinked as he just now realized the state of their
table. "well, we are studying some easy spells ahead." He then politely
lied.
Hermione started bobbing her head in understanding.
"Yes! I also studied some spells ahead! Look!" She then whipped her wand
out and proceeded to transfigure an empty cup into a book in thirty
seconds. Something that was at the end of the curriculum for first years.
Hermione smugly swept her gaze through the people in front of her and
found herself baffled at their nonplussed expressions showing no praise
or recognition. It was then she remembered Harry Potter always took the
first place from her in Transfiguration and her eyes sparkled. While she
found it annoying being a second in academics, maybe she could improve
herself and overcome him if she was tutored by him!
Hadrian suddenly felt chills run through his spine and a sudden pang of
regret at inviting the little bushy-haired munchkin impacted his feeble
heart.
Hermione sat down and peered over to the book under Susan's head.
"What are you reading?"
Susan scowled at her in irritation due to that but Hermione didn't even
notice her reaction as she saw the fourth year book on DADA.
"MY GOSH! You read the book for fourth year students!" The sparkling of
her eyes intensified and Hadrian discreetly dragged the fifth year
Transfiguration book in front of him, under the table, out of Hermione's
view.
Dora noticed, utterly bemused at their antics as Susan gave Hadrian a
stink eye which he promptly returned with a kind eye-smile.
"You should totally tell Professor Quirrell!" Hermione gushed at Susan.
"He could help you further!"
"No." Susan answered with a deadpan voice, still intently staring at
Hadrian for inviting the girl over.
"But... but he is a teacher! He could give you more advanced books!"
Hermione replied, affronted at the dismissal.
"No." Susan repeated in the exact same disinterested tone.
"Then, then, if you do not like Quirrell we could ask Professor
McGonagall! She could tell the Headmaster! I am sure he could give you
a few tips! He is the Headmaster, after all!"
"NO!" Both Hadrian and Susan shrieked. Susan more angrily at being
pestered while Hadrian somewhat hastily at the notion of Dumbledore
being involved in anything related to him or his friends.
Hermione blanched at their refusal to tell the teachers and looked sadly
downwards.
"Look Hermione, was it? Susan's Aunt is the head of DMLE. Susan has to
study ahead and has tutors during summer holidays. No need to tell the
Professors, kay?" Hadrian used his bullshit skill full throttle at the sad
confused bookworm to confuse her further and bullshit his way out by
comforting her feelings.
Hermione nodded, somewhat cowed, and the air became quickly
awkward.
"Hey, don't be such a bore, guys. Wanna learn more about potions?"
Dora, the ever savior, waved a NEWT potions books around, emphasizing
her 'wisdom', bringing a smile to Hermione's face as Hadrian sighed in
relief and Susan shuffled closer to him, still glancing mistrustfully at
Hermione with the corner of her eye.
Ch55. Halloween, looks like I
inherited Potter's luck
Hermione started joining the library meetings every Tuesday and
Thursday. Hadrian quickly found a use for the organized, researcher-like
mind of the girl. Mentioning the efforts to create a spell that could 'read
an entire book' by touching it, fired Hermione up, and suddenly, Hadrian
didn't need to look for references anymore. They were delivered to him
by her with a puppy look and expectant sparkling eyes. Even Susan
became less cold to her after seeing that display and Dora remembered
the face and started teasing Hermione by shifting her head to it ever so
often.
Hermione was very helpful to the group and Hadrian noticed the girl was
brilliant if only limited by her belief in books and authority. Something
he vehemently tried to break her off of. And while he couldn't do much
about the authority, he did his damnedest to show her the mistakes in
some books, compared to others, and by the end of it, he was sure she
spotted it long ago but never admitted it to herself. Alas, she was still
sitting on a fence when it came to the issue but Hadrian was nothing but
patient with her.
Halloween came and Hadrian knew what would follow. He warned
Hermione to not be too upset if someone doesn't take her advice to heart
but could not prevent anything since Hufflepuffs had Charms with
Ravenclaws so he was not in that class.
Right now, he sat down behind the table with Dora, as the feast began.
Unable to enjoy the food, he started to look around in worry, and
immediately spotted Hermione missing. He could only shake his head
sadly.
'Looks like I would have to do the saving people shtick.' He sighed in
indignation.
He leaned closer to Dora's ear.
"Ah, does the ickle Potty want to give Dora a kiss?" She teased with a
kissy face, and for a second Harry pictured Bellatrix. He saw her
appearance in a photo Narcissa kept and could not deny the similarities.
If Dora was not blonde, she would look exactly like younger Bellatrix.
Add the cackling and baby talk and... Hadrian shivered.
"I just wanted to ask if you have seen Susan." He asked bluntly.
"No, she will come later." Dora told him uncaringly, making his worries
increase.
"Any idea where she is?" He impatiently inquired.
"Why so worried? Last time I saw her she was going to help Hermione
because she saw her cry." Dora said and Hadrian stiffened.
"Oh, shit..." Before he managed to finish it, Quirrell barreled into the
Great Hall, throwing the door wide open with a 'bang'.
"Troooooll! There is a trooooll in the dungeons!" He stopped, swaying
from side to side as the foremost expert on trolls he was... "Thought you
ought to know." And fell down, fainting forward... somehow.
The panic ensued as Dumbledore gave his famous order to head to the
Common Rooms. The kids stood up, rushedly heading towards the door
only for Professor Horple to loudly protest.
"Are you insane, you old goat!?" He burst out, looking at the entire staff
like they were criminals. His anger increased at their puzzled expressions.
"Slytherin's Common Room is in the dungeons, idiots!" He elaborated and
Slytherins promptly paled alongside their so-called Professors.
Dumbledore only frowned at being proven incorrect but as he was about
to give different orders, Professor Horple interrupted him before he could
start.
"Students." He said under the influence of Sonorus Charm, his voice
booming through the Great Hall. "You will stay here. Get far away from
the door. Half of the staff will stay here with you while the other half will
go investigate.
Hadrian was sure Quirrell must be cursing right about now as he was still
laying on the floor and judging by the direction the things proceeded he
would be there for a long, long time since no one was leaving Great Hall.
Nobody noticed two missing girls from the feast. Only Dora was
somewhat worried about Susan but as she was about to turn to Hadrian
she found... nothing.
Hadrian used Susan's invisibility transfiguration on his clothes, pulled his
hood up during the commotion, and while the teachers argued, slipped
away. He had a girl to save and no time to waste.
Rushing towards the girl's bathrooms on the first floor. As he was about
to enter, he heard the shrill shriek of two girls, and his guts twisted in
worry.
Hermione was not very close to him yet. She may have spent a lot of time
with him and the girls but her nature and personality prevented Hadrian
from seeing her as someone endearing. Their friendship was far too
recent for that.
But Susan... that was a different cup of coffee! He spent almost every
waking second with that girl since they became friends! He was not
about to lose her!
He threw the door open and marched inside, instantly seeing a green
ugly mountain troll swinging its club, breaking the washbasins on the
right wall of the room while Susan embraced Hermione and threw both
of their bodies to the left side of the troll. Hermione, frightened out of
her wits, could only watch as terrified Susan bravely pointed her wand at
the troll and tried to cast a cutting charm only for the spell to dissipate as
it came into contact with its magic-resistant hide.
Hadrian saw the troll getting annoyed at being attacked and knew he had
to intervene. He instantly transfigured the floor to a frozen state and as
the troll was about to approach the girls, it slipped.
Unfortunately for Hadrian, instead of the troll crumbling down onto the
floor, it was sent crashing towards Hadrian with its full weight. Hadrian
knew he had no time to dodge so he did the only thing he could. He
raised a spike out of the floor in front of him impacting the troll's body.
Its thick hide saved the creature as its mid-air body wasn't pierced but
instead, the spike raised it higher, flying over Hadrian's ducked head as
he pushed the troll's body with his wandless telekinesis upward. Hadrian
threw himself to the right, in case the troll attacks the second he lands
and it proved the right decision as when he was standing up, the club
impacted the spot he stood at just five seconds ago.
The troll landed at the door, its body completely blocking them. Hadrian
didn' give him chance to stand up. He quickly used yet another
transfiguration to create thick chains from the wall around the door,
snaking them around the trolls body as if they were alive, chaining it to
the place.
Hadrian, releasing a relieved sigh, miscalculated.
He forgot to bind the troll's left hand. If nothing else, the creature was
very good at handling the club and promptly released the club from its
right hand, grabbing it with its free left hand and hurling it at Hadrian.
Hadrian's eyes constricted as the massive wooden club was nearing his
head. The time slowed and he had no time to dodge. He would be barely
able to slow it down with his wandless telekinesis but that would not
save him.
He was screwed.
As his mind was going through the use of his telekinesis to buy him time,
suddenly an idea lit up in his mind. He braced himself for the pain and
gritted his teeth.
Hermione could only watch the club approaching Hadrian's head in mute
shock.
Tears streamed down Susan's face, staining her clothes. Dread and
despair way more horrible than when her own life was in danger gripped
her head. Oh, what would she give to swap places with Hadrian right
about now!
Hadrian used his wandless telekinesis to send his own body...
somewhere. His mind didn't care where at that moment, so to the right
side it went. He was flung at break-neck speed, just in time to have the
club sail harmlessly an inch from him. Hadrian didn't have time to
celebrate as he flung his body violently and barely managed to cushion
his impact.
The club and Hadrian's body impacted the wall together, he near the
corner of the room, and the club to the glass above the smashed
washbasins, shattering it as it flew through the room, making Hermione
shriek in horror and pain as the flying shards cut her body.
"Watch out!" Susan screamed in horror at Hadrian, ignoring the pain and
cuts her body was suffering from. She didn't even care about her blood
streaming from a deep cut on her cheek as she didn't shield her face from
the shards, deeming Hadrian more important. Nevertheless, she was
forced to flop onto her bum due to a painful cut that ripped apart her
calf, bloodying the floor and her lower robes.
Hadrian heard her and quickly understood. He landed in the corner near
the door. The same door the troll was chained to. The right hand of the
troll was pushing its way through the air in an attempt to smash him as
he laid there, motionlessly.
Hadrian felt he tore a few muscles but his bones were intact if only a bit
cracked. He, at least, definitely had a few cracked ribs from the impact
on the wall as he didn't have time to slow himself at the speed he sent
himself flying. but he could not move much less dodge the fist.
He decided that secrets or not, his life was more important.
The troll's fist smashed his body.
Hermione sobbed in despair.
"NO!" Susan shrieked in horror, her heart tearing itself from sorrow. She
thought she was going to die from the sheer feeling of loss she felt as she
saw the fist cover Hadrian's body, only his legs visible. Tears streamed
down her cheeks as rage filled her. Trembling, she stifled her sobs and
reached for her wand but couldn't find it as she let it go when the shards
impacted her hand.
The troll raised his hand in victory with a snort, expecting the chains to
come off now that the human was dead.
They didn't.
"Phew. Surprise, surprise." Hadrian mocked as he raised his right hand,
pointing it at the troll's head. His wrist glowed, a storage rune Narcissa
tattooed into it activated, releasing the gun she enchanted before he
came to Hogwarts. The gun appeared, the muzzle pointed at the troll's
head.
The troll only managed to tilt its head, not understanding why is the
puny human next to him not smashed to a pulp when a loud bang
resounded through the room and the transfigured bullet gained speed due
to velocity-increasing enchantment while gaining explosion properties via
exploding enchantment.
The head of the troll exploded into a spray of blood, brain, and gore,
leaving only blood gush from its neck.
"Damn, that was way stronger than expected." Hadrian commented
offhandedly with a tired chuckle, still leaning on the wall, breathing
hard. He was supremely happy Rowena made him train the intangibility
magic. He never made such a big part of him intangible but... somewhat
he managed. He shuddered at what would happen if he botched the spell
up. Getting smashed to death by the troll would be much kinder fate in
comparison.
But, he was alive.
He shakily stood up and instantly a red missile impacted him but the girl
made sure she was gentle. Susan fussed around him worriedly asking
questions at such a speed Hadrian's shaken head didn't understand.
He knew one thing though. He had to keep his secrets.
"I am sorry, Hermione." He resolutely told the speechless girl, sitting in
the devastated bathroom, her stare traveling between the headless troll
and Hadrian's ruffled appearance.
She did not understand what he was sorry about and uncomprehendingly
tilted her head, not unlike the troll. Still in shock. "I, Harry James Potter,
invoke the life debt of one Hermione Granger. She will from hence on be
keeping all I and my family deem as secret, voluntarily or not, she will
reveal them to no one. She will also remember one Harry James Potter
saving her by dropping the troll's club on its head."
Hermione's eyes glazed over and her mouth opened in protest but she
was not able to form it, opting to stare in front of her in disbelief,
wondering what just happened.
Hadrian could make her his slave but he deemed that excessive. She was
not even that useful. Just smart but nevertheless useless baggage. He
already had more useful, and in his opinion smarter witch with a wicked
body and gorgeous pale icy blue eyes and silky blond locks. He had no
need for Hermione.
Susan helped Hadrian to the other end of the room, away from the door
as both knew the Professors will probably Bombarda the shit outta the
troll when they come barging in.
"What about me?" Susan quietly asked.
"Ah, you have strong Occlumency." Hadrian tried to shrug only to wince.
"And I trust you."
Susan leaned closer, surprising him with a full-blown grateful kiss on the
lips.
Hermione just stared at them, still baffled at what just happened, making
sure to check what does life debt even means. She hoped nothing wrong
as the shudder her body went through as Harry bound her with it was
very unpleasant.
"I deserved that." Hadrian quipped jokingly, making Susan chuckle.
"Bind me also." Susan whispered to him.
At first, he wanted to rebuff her but then he noticed the determination in
her eyes and relented. In a way, this was also an easy out from the life
debt. She would keep his secrets regardless and now she would not be
indebted to him.
Shrugging he called her life debt with the same conditions as for
Hermione without the memory alteration part.
Not a second later a loud boom sent the troll body flying, destroying
Hadrian's Transfiguration, and gave a clever excuse as to why it's head
was now missing.
The troll's body landed in the middle of the bathroom only for the
Professors to barge in, seeing Hermione's blank, shocked, disbelieving
look and exhausted, disheveled, bloodied appearance of Harry with Susan
in the same state sitting in his lap, leaning on him as both fainted the
second the troll's body impacted the floor.
They could only sigh in extreme relief the first years survived it.
Ch56. Narcissa's tender care
Lost motivation, yadda, yadda...
Taking it down from Pat.reon so I am uploading the chapters I have so
far during this week so each day there will be 5 chapters. After this week
I will continue leisurely, depending on if I find motivation and drive to
continue the story.
I actually tried to find motivation and for the first time seriously opened
reviews of this story and clicked on LIKED and started reading... well,
anybody who did the same probably knows how 'that' went.
----------------------
It took two days until Hadrian was released from the infirmary wing and
he was ever so glad for it!
He had enough of Dora's rants about him running off WITHOUT her.
Damn, she put it as if she didn't even care he was hurt! Just her ego was
rattled that he was hurt without her being there! Yet, he could feel her
magic resonating with concern and worry.
He really appreciated the sentiment, at least. Her rants though, he could
do without.
His nightmares started all over again when after these two boring days he
came into his Hufflepuff chambers, only to find a peeved Narcissa
waiting for him with an angry scowl and her hands on her hips in a
commandeering pose.
"Harry James Potter! What the hell did you think you were doing!?"
Unlike the heated scream of Nymphadora, Narcissa's voice was cold.
Almost chillingly so.
Hadrian could see the worry and concern in her eyes as she scrutinized
his entire body for any scratch she could find while still appearing as
angry as possible.
"Fighting a troll." Hadrian deadpanned.
"And why exactly were you fighting the troll?" Narcissa's calm voice
grated at Hadrian with cold fury. "Why exactly were YOU fighting the
troll when there are Professors and even a blasted auror here?"
"You know why." He blankly told her as he sat on the bed, noting a
bunch of books in the middle of it. "You were in my head enough to
know."
"But..." Narcissa's voice and demeanor cracked as she gave up. She
shakily walked closer to the bed, sitting next to him she tightly hugged
him to her chest.
"I was so scared for you." She whispered with concern as Hadrian could
feel tears wetting the top of his head.
"Don't worry, I had it all under control." He reassured her with an
awkward tone and softly but unsurely patted her back.
"Liar." Narcissa gave him a broken smile. "You are a horrible liar."
"I hope not!" Hadrian jokingly quipped. "That would be my death."
She sniffed and wiped her tears, making her face presentable.
"Here." She patted the books on the bed. "If you absolutely need to worry
me to the early grave, at least learn how to properly defend yourself."
"What are these?" He asked curiously as he took one into his hands.
"Combat Transfiguration and Animation books." Narcissa told him. "All
from Malfoy and Black libraries. These are the best you could find in
England."
"Now, I heard you fought valiantly because of two girls." She smirked at
him, trying to get her worries out of her head. "Sooo, should I start
preparing to receive a new sister?" She cooed saucily. "Granger, perhaps?"
She saw his indifferent shrug as her smirk widened.
"The Bones girl, then?" Her smirk was now splitting her face as she saw
Hadrian shift uncomfortably under her gaze. "Ah, so it IS the Bones girl,
after all. Hmm..."
"No. It's nothing like that." Hadrian weakly rebuffed. "Not yet, anyway."
And added when he saw Narcissa's knowing look.
"Ohoo. Not yet, is it?" She teased, giggling at his annoyed eye-twitch
increasing.
"Alright, alright. No need to snap at me, dear. Do you need anything?"
Narcissa asked concerned but then with a serious disgusted undertone
added. "A proper healer, perhaps?"
"No, I am fine already." Hadrian smiled at her.
"Should I order Kreacher to prepare some food for you then?"
"No, Cissy. I am really fine. I ate in the infirmary wing." He rolled his
eyes good-naturedly, happy for her concern.
"Sex, then?"
Hadrian's mind stopped short but when he saw her gentle gaze he
understood she was asking only out of the concern and just wanted to
make everything in her power to make him feel better. There was not an
ounce of the typical lust she excluded when she wants to have sex.
"You need only to lie down, I can do everything by myself, just enjoy it
and..." Narcissa continued, her cheeks red.
Hadrian squeezed her hand in reassurance.
"Cissy, I am fine. Honest." He chuckled at her stern gaze. "I am in fact so
fine I am going on a trip!" He stated excitedly.
"Oh, boy. He really hit his head pretty hard, didn't he?" Narcissa muttered
to herself.
"Hey!"
"No, husband dearest. You are staying in the bed. No trips for you until I
deem you able to think straight." Narcissa ordered, releasing a yelp as she
was pinched on her butt by Hadrian.
"I can think pretty straight, mind you!" He indignantly uttered, making
Narcissa glare at him in exasperation. "But fine. My trip to the Room of
Requirement can wait." He huffed and laid down on the bed.
"Room of Requirement? Didn't you want to wait until you get the cloak
because there is that Barmy portrait watching?" Narcissa's eye-brow
twitched at the notion of Hadrian crawling his way from the basement to
the seventh floor. Not on her watch!
"Ah, but Susan is such a genius! She invented invisibility transfiguration!
I could probably sneak there without the cloak! I finally mastered it
during my stay in the infirmary. Was sooo bored!"
"Yes, you could, dear. Will you though? No, you most definitely won't.
Not until you fully heal!" Narcissa didn't let Hadrian protest as she
flipped her body up, proceeding to straddle him, a bowl of steaming soup
in her hand. "Now, you will eat." She victoriously declared and Hadrian
could only pout as he was being fed by Narcissa.
"So... again, the Bones girl, huh?" She nibbled at her lower lip as she put
the spoon into Hadrian's mouth. "I should probably invite her for a few
days to the Black Mansion. Nobody uses that place and we could get to
know each other... real... well." Her lips curled up at the idea.
"No, you ain't inviting Susan anywhere!" Hadrian harshly spoke but then
added with a mock-sad sigh. "At least let me corrupt her first before you
sink your claws into her juicy innocent personality, you minx."
Narcissa rolled her eyes at him in amusement because both knew that
will be exactly what will happen once she meets the girl. After all, it is
her duty as a wife to make sure the girl will be loyal to her husband,
now, isn't it?
"Anyway, on a happier note, Dumbledore is being flayed alive by the
media for letting the troll in. Even his blunder with sending the students
into the Common Rooms was not left alone by the Prophet." Narcissa said
as she put the bowl away, released Hadrian from under herself, made
him turn around on his belly, and straddled him yet again.
"What would you like me to do, husband?" Her eyes glinted. She knew
well what she would have done but she wanted to see the opinion of her
husband and judge it.
Hadrian moaned as Narcissa put her hands on his back and started
massaging him. He felt her pressing into his stiff muscles, kneading, and
caressing them in circular motions as she waited for his answer.
"Make sure he doesn't lose his position as Headmaster but his reputation
and political position suffer. It is better to have him busy with school and
monitoring me, than at large. We can't afford him being away from a
place where we have such a clear view of him and his actions." Hadrian
said in the middle of the moans she induced with her skillful hands.
"As you wish." She purred, enjoying his moans at her touch.
"How about you?" He asked, feeling her hands run along his spine so
gently he shivered.
"Me?" She hummed, her eyes not leaving Hadrian's back as she dragged
her nails from his upper back to his lower, scratching it tenderly.
"Bellatrix. You wanted to deal with her." Hadrian stated, stifling a moan
as he felt himself go stiff at her scratches. "I know you care about her."
Narcissa again hummed, her fingers happily dancing on his lower back.
"My preparations are finished." She pressed her fingers into his back as
she dragged them upward. "I will be visiting Bellatrix sometime before
Christmas." She whispered as she licked her lips, her hands firmly
kneading Hadrian's shoulders. "My dear sister will be 'dead' before Boxing
Day."
"Okay." Hadrian melted to the bed, enjoying Narcissa's care for the rest of
the night.
Ch57. The slight against the
honor of House Black
Draco Malfoy was called into the office of Headmaster Dumbledore,
unknowing what to expect or even the reason.
Professor Sinistra, the new head of House Slytherin, told the password to
the gargoyle and Draco could only watch in awe as the entrance
appeared.
Who knows, maybe Dumbledore finally admitted Malfoys are his betters
and want to beg his way into servitude...
Sinistra, on the other hand, was annoyed. Extremely so. Now, at eight in
the evening, she had to escort the little arrogant ingrate and even be
polite about it! Why did she take the position of head of the house again?
...
Narcissa, sitting opposite Dumbledore, looked the man straight in the
eyes, plainly inviting him to use Legilimency while playfully presenting
only thought in front of her mental shields again and again.
'I know about your mind-raping escapades Twinkly!'
The smug smirk on her face only widened every time Dumbledore's frown
deepened.
Her fun was interrupted when the hearth's flame changed to green and
Lucius Malfoy stepped into the room.
"Narcissa." He coldly greeted, trying to appear calm and collected while
his hand strayed towards his wand in anger. After starting to manage the
Malfoy Estates, he found out that...
The bitch stole hundreds of millions of Galleons during her management
of Malfoy businesses! Now she even claimed fifteen percent as hers and
completely decimated another thirty-five percent! But she didn't stop
there! Oh, no!
Lucius had to use every waking second to salvage the businesses in order
to keep the remaining fifty percent working since 'somehow' 'suddenly'
their clients and suppliers started changing sides, canceling the contracts
through some blasted inbuilt back-doors in them! Oh, Lucius was not
angry. He was downright furious at her when he realized these clients
and suppliers changed over to Blacks!
"Now, now. You wouldn't want to be taken by aurors... again, would you
Lucius?" Narcissa quipped with a mirthful grin. "After all, there would be
no wife to bribe you out of there anymore."
Lucius glared at her as she took great pleasure in taunting him.
"Children, please." Dumbledore's voice immediately broke the impasse as
both turned to the old coot with deadpan looks.
They were about to rebuke him when the door flew open and Malfoy Jr.
walked inside as if he owned the place.
When Draco saw his mother his expression lit up! She was always the one
who bought him costly presents!
Narcissa rolled her eyes as she recognized that gaze. Honestly, she did so
because she cared at first. In the later years though when Draco became
Lucius-mini it was only to keep him out of her hair.
"Mother!" Draco exclaimed and Dumbledore smiled at the 'family'
interaction. "You finally returned from your world tour!?"
Narcissa looked at scowling Lucius while Sinistra looked in bemusement
at the situation.
"World tour... Really?" She sighed in indignation. "That's pathetic even for
you, Lucius."
"Let's skip the formalities and come to the matter at hand. Why did you
orchestrate this little gathering." Lucius coldly 'ordered' as he was not
about to be belittled by some whore.
Narcissa shrugged uncaringly at him.
"Well, let's do this, then. I, Narcissa Black swear on my very life," She
started making all four occupants of the room widen their eyes when
they heard her declaration. "that I say the truth in the following
statement. Heir Draco Malfoy slighted the honor of Lord Black with his
words."
As she uttered her oath and accusations Lucius instantly paled as he
realized the implications.
"Wait! When did I insult him!?" Draco witlessly uttered in confusion.
"Who is Lord Black, anyway!?"
Narcissa rolled her eyes at Draco but didn't answer. If they wanted her to
give an oath on where, when, how it would be impossible for her to
provide. It was better to keep quiet now. She couldn't just tell them that
it was when he called Potter barmy in the Great Hall, now, could she?
Sinistra gasped as she also understood where this was going and suddenly
she cursed her luck even more for becoming the head of house Slytherin
as it would most likely send the 'house politics' into chaos while she
would have to glue the pieces back together!
"Narcissa, is this really necessary?" Dumbledore grandfatherly asked and
added 'sorrowfully'. "You are his mother."
Narcissa thanked her luck as the change in topic completely diverted
everyone, making them lose interest in Draco's question. After all,
Narcissa did swear on her life. Meaning Draco indeed DID insult Lord
Black and it was TAKEN as an insult. Who cares when and where?
"Yes, it is necessary. An heir of Noble House insulted my Lord." Narcissa
threw him an impassive stare.
"It's just some words. Let it go." Dumbledore coaxed.
"I will not let it go you goat-fucking imbecilic old meddling retard." She
barked at him as everyone in the room gaped at her.
Hearing the insults, Dumbledore's gaze hardened.
"Narcissa, you were raised better than tha..." He started.
"See? You DID NOT let it go." Narcissa interrupted him nonchalantly.
"Hence, shut up."
She turned back to Lucius, knowing well that Dumbledore would have no
guts nor political clout to threaten her the same way she now threatens
Malfoys. And if he did... oh, would she have a field day!
"What do you want." Lucius grumbled knowing he had to compromise. If
she went in front of Wizengamot with such an oath on her life of all
things... Their House could be very well ruined!
"I am generous... I only want twenty-five percent of your businesses."
Narcissa declared, and everybody in the room dropped their jaws to the
floor.
What generous! Bullshit! That's basically the most Lord Black HIMSELF
could win in front of Wizengamot for slight on his honor! And even then
it would be very unlikely to get the full penalty!
"Narci..." Lucius condescendingly started and tried to bargain as he coldly
stared at the hated woman in front of him. She was really pushing his
patience with her ridiculous actions.
"Reputation, Lucy." Narcissa interrupted him calmly, stopping him short.
"Think about your reputation."
Lucius instantly knew he was in the corner and she was not about to
negotiate her demands. If this came in front of Wizengamot...
Everybody would KNOW that Narcissa was given to Lord Black by him
and he would not be able to create some elaborate story about her
betrayal because of the secrecy contract he signed over the matter. It
would be the height of shame for House Malfoy.
Everybody would KNOW that Malfoy Estates are in tatters. It would hurt
his political position and his ties with the Minister.
But most of all, everybody would KNOW it was Narcissa Black, formerly
Malfoy who was RESPONSIBLE for such a humiliation to her former
husband and son. They would start to ask questions and would be prone
to find out the truth!
Narcissa, of course, also didn't want to go in front of Wizengamot because
the public would become aware that she was not a Malfoy anymore. They
would find out her affiliation with Blacks and her scheming would
become harder.
Even Dumbledore didn't know yet. He thought she had 'protection' of
Lord Black and was currently in a dispute with her 'husband' Lucius. At
most, he saw her as a woman selling her body to Lord Black for benefits.
As for her actually being an active part of House Black? He had not even
an inkling she was actually allowed anywhere near anything important
by Lord Black, much less managing the House!
Only Lucius knew the truth as it was him that made her into Lady Black.
And then... the misfortune followed. He was made aware quite fast of her
new place in the House Black, Narcissa supposed with glee.
Anyway, for anyone without insider knowledge, this was seen only as a
grab for easy money by using Lord Black and Draco's supposed blunder.
At worst, they would now think Narcissa was a very vicious and heartless
woman. Something she could live with.
"What kind of mother are you." Sinistra asked, disgust palpable in her
tone. "How could you use your own son's actions to blackmail your
husband. That's disgusting." She blurted out at Narcissa, not even
thinking about her position or that her opinion right now didn't matter.
Now that the black-skinned teacher asked her about her intentions and
made this so much easier? She grinned.
"Oh, I am not Draco's mother." She said lightly.
Lucius wanted to faint as he heard her words so casually spoken in front
of Albus freaking Dumbledore! By the next day, half of the Ministry
would know that he had a dispute with his 'wife' but now they would also
get it into their ears that she was not actually the mother of his Heir!
'Oh, shit!' His eyes widened at Narcissa as he finally understood her true
angle.
People would start questioning Draco's mother. Her identity. Her blood
status. Her family line. But even if they discovered she was magically
powerful, pureblood, and... Lucius's cousin. They would always see Draco
as a child out of wedlock. It would hurt the political position of House
Malfoy even more than revealing Narcissa's marital status! Moreover, any
and all connection to House Black would be disproved!
"What!?" Sinistra shrieked and even Dumbledore widened his eyes.
"That's a family secret." Lucius coldly demanded and put his hand on
Draco's shoulder to prevent him from asking more questions.
"I will make sure to punish anyone who reveals it!" He glared at Sinistra
who gulped but his magic was more threatening towards Dumbledore.
"Of course." The old coot knew it but Lucius's glare didn't cease when he
'reassured' him. With an audible sigh, Dumbledore took his wand. "I,
Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore, swear on my magic to never
reveal the secret I just heard."
He could not make an enemy of a man close to the Minister for
something as petty as this.
Sinistra was not made into the head of Slytherins for no reason. She also
whipped her wand and gave the same oath. This way, she won't have to
look over her shoulder due to knowing too much...
Narcissa's empathy registered the shift in Lucius from infuriated to calm
and gave him a sweet smile, making him infuriated yet again.
"I am sure you will provide generous donations to me for keeping that
secret, won't you?" Narcissa innocently asked.
"We will sign a contract. Magically binding contract." Lucius gritted out.
"Sure." Narcissa agreed but then she pulled out a contract from her purse.
"Here."
Lucius gaped at that because it meant she aimed for exactly this result
from the start.
He read through it and his head spun. The contract was for fifty percent
of his PROFITABLE businesses. He could not even give her those in near-
bankruptcy! He had to give her those that earned actual money! His
income will be cut in half!
But the contract stated that neither Narcissa nor Lord Black would bring
up this particular insult and Narcissa would never reveal the secret of
Draco's birth.
To add insult to the injury, the contract also stated that half of Malfoy
house-elves, three in total, would be given to Narcissa. The only
stipulation being, Dobby was not to be one of them.
Lucius signed. He had no other choice. This... was a complete defeat for
House Malfoy.
But... he will rise again! And when he does, Narcissa will suffer! Lucius
swore it!
Narcissa looked at the fool. For all his smarts and cunning Lucius had one
fatal weakness. He couldn't keep a tight grip on his emotions. That's why
he studied Occlumency to appear impassive and cold. But inside? He is
always raging inferno of various emotions. It... clouds his judgment. It
did so when he signed over her contract and it did so yet again now.
Narcissa wondered if he was actually calm, would he realize that while
she can not reveal the birth circumstances of Draco to the public, she
could always tell to, say, her sister who was already in the know anyway,
and have her reveal it?
She shook her head in bemusement.
"Well, thank you." She strutted towards the table and took the contract,
rolling it up.
"You were all so forthcoming!" And with that, she left the bewildered
fuming idiots to their own devices.
Draco could only stare in shock as his apparently not-mother just
scammed half of their properties from his father while the man just
fumed and glared, unable to do anything. The view of his father's
invincibility, shifted slightly that day.
Ch58. Room of Requirements
It was mid-November, a little over two weeks since Hadrian faced the
troll.
Narcissa procured three very young house-elves from Malfoy and made a
deal with Dumbledore.
Hadrian rolled in laughter at how she decided to profit from his order of
'make sure Dumbledore stays as Headmaster'.
She actually promised him to persuade Lord Black to give Dumbledore
the support of House Black in matters of that position. Narcissa of course
didn't forget to add a lot of innuendos to cement Dumbledore's belief that
she is in a sexual give-and-take relationship with Lord Black.
With the current influence of House Black added to Dumbledore's own
reputation, he would be literally unable to lose the position so he didn't
even do his grandfatherly spiel and pretend to care that Narcissa was
'selling' her body.
Narcissa's demands were simple. Dumbledore had to employ two of her
new house-elves at Hogwarts and pay Narcissa monthly wages as high as
Professors earned for each elf. Then she even asked for a monthly wage
for herself in a show of 'greed'.
It took quite a bit of bickering, mostly due to Dumbledore not wanting to
reveal he was instantly all for it. Yes, the wages were a lot. After all,
Hogwarts was the 'best' school in the world and it showed on the tuition!
But then again, he needed the support of House Black, and even if
Narcissa didn't deliver it was just some money that didn't even belong to
him. The vision of getting an additional strong backer without even
giving anything his in return was too enticing. If she fulfilled her promise
then, awesome. If not, he would not really care. Hogwarts would have
two additional elves if only a bit costly ones.
Dumbledore actually misunderstood because she didn't ask anything for
House Black from him. He still thought she was but a sort of concubine
for Lord Black who humored her by letting her promise this in order to
earn a little money on the side. Three wages for such support was quite a
cheap price, to be honest. These things were quite common in the
Wizarding World, after all, and Narcissa was a sly woman, looking
incredibly well for her age. Dumbledore could imagine her using her
womanly charms to get a few benefits.
The deal could be cut at any time as it was not magically binding but
then again the payment for that promise was not something vital to
Dumbledore and also could be terminated anytime. Not once did
Dumbledore realize, Narcissa's real intentions were the elves themselves.
And so, Hadrian found his accounts receiving three Professor wages from
Hogwarts each month. Additionally, now two house-elves were approved
by Dumbledore himself and registered into wards so they would not
notify Dumbledore when the elves pop in and out.
The best part? Nobody cares about house-elves if they are where they are
expected to be! Hadrian just acquired two perfect spies for Hogwarts
under his orders!
And all it took was a verbal promise...
He sometimes found his wife quite scary.
Nevertheless, Hadrian quickly ordered his elves to empty the Come and
Go room and bring the things into the basement of Grimmauld Place 12.
Who knows, some of those things might be useful and still working, no?
Today was the first time he actually ventured into the Room of
Requirements by himself and it made him excited. He put his invisibility
coating onto his clothes, pulled up the hood, and happily marched
towards the seventh floor.
He saw the portrait but was not overly worried as he was invisible. The
portraits do not report to Dumbledore everything. They are only obliged
to answer if he asks. Hadrian doubted Dumbledore would ask about
doors appearing out of nowhere on the seventh floor anytime soon.
Hadrian entered the Room of Requirements and wished for the door to
promptly disappear. As they were blending into the wall, he released a
relieved sigh and pulled down his hood.
"Well, well, well. Let's try it, then!"
He wished for the books on dark arts from the Hogwarts library to appear
on shelves, organized in alphabetical order. Just for fun and giggles.
It was a second later when his jaw hit the floor as he saw four long
shelves thrice as tall as he was completely filled with dark arts books to
the brim.
"Uh? How come?" He rubbed the back of his head in confusion only for
books to appear in front of him.
Looking at it, he blinked in realization.
'Dark Arts for First Years by Arnold Dumbledore'
The date of publishing was 1634.
The other books were also Dark Arts course books for Hogwarts and
Hadrian understood that the curriculum was a lot more limited
nowadays.
Wishing the books and shelves to vanish he stopped playing around as he
promised to himself to return and have all these books copied.
For now, his goal was to further study the room with his perception. He
could do other things later.
"I wonder, how do you work..." He closed his eyes and started feeling the
magic around him.
The first plainly obvious fact was that the Room itself was some kind of
sub-dimension inwoven into the wards, connected by the walls. That was
the reason it did not show on the Marauder Map which took information
from the wards themselves. It was not registered as a part of the school,
the same as the Chamber of Secrets.
The connection with the walls allowed Umbridge and her inquisition to
barge in through other means than doors which Hadrian found stupid. If
there was nothing like that, the Room of Requirements would be unable
to be invaded altogether. But Rowena most likely never expected the
room to be used for training a secret 'army'.
The more disheartening fact was that the Room could only materialize
things that were registered by the Hogwarts wards into the database of
the Room. A similar concept to the Marauder Map, only… insanely a lot
more complicated. Sadly, this meant that If Harry wanted Lucius Malfoy
to appear in front of him for a good beating... nope.
Jokes aside, this meant he could at most use it as an expandable training
space or massive library since even the books that were already disposed
of, could still be replicated due to the wards still remembering them. All
in all, it was a nifty piece of enchantment and rune usage but it was
obvious it was geared towards stashing and easily sorting all the
knowledge gathered in Hogwarts rather than being a secret hideout.
Judging by the wards, Rowena certainly intended the room to be used a
lot.
Oh, Hadrian was so glad for Potter Family magic and the wards
recognition it gave him!
As he was coursing through the protections and peeking at the runes that
made it possible to create a sub-dimension of all things, Hadrian felt a
slight disturbance in the magic behind the wall on the left side. He
approached it and put his hand on the brick that was a little too
magically charged for it to be a coincidence. He pushed a sliver of his
magic into it only to have the wall part exactly like the one in the Leaky
Cauldron.
Hadrian cautiously walked in and saw a passage to... the Chambers of
Rowena Ravenclaw.
Blinking owlishly, his lips curled into a grin.
There was a similar bed to Helga's room but other than that, the room
was expanded multiple times to hold the numerous massive shelves filled
to the brim with Ravenclaws personal library. Hadrian hit the jackpot!
After spending four hours looking around, he walked to the hearth as he
saw something incredibly intriguing there.
Something he saw in Hufflepuff chambers and knew it to be some kind of
trigger but even with his perception, he was unable to activate it due to a
block from the other side.
Three bronze statues rested near the hearth. A coiled snake, a curled
badger, and a sleeping lion. On top of the hearth, there was a perched
eagle.
In Hufflepuff's Chambers, the perched eagle was in the place of the
badger in front of the hearth but nevertheless the usage was obvious.
Hadrian walked closer to the eagle on the top, and with his magic opened
the connection towards the 'Badger' as he previously did in the Hufflepuff
Chamber.
The hearth suddenly burst into earthly-yellow flames and Hadrian
smirked. He just found a predecessor of the floo travel...
Ch59. Hello Bella
It was twentieth December and Narcissa was on a boat, heading to
Azkaban for the visit scheduled a month ago.
Tomorrow, Hadrian will come home for the holidays and Narcissa
wanted to surprise him!
"We are here." A gruff man told her as the boat stopped near the shore as
if it was not obvious.
Rolling her eyes in a perfect show of a proud, pureblood Lady, she
sneered at him and reached her hand in askance of help. The man
reluctantly obliged, helping her exit the boat as she was smirking at his
sour expression.
"Who knew the aurors are taught manners nowadays." Narcissa told him
bluntly in amusement as his face tightened.
What! She was petty! The man annoyed the hell out of her with his witty
remarks as he tried to flirt half of the journey! The next half was him
scowling and fuming as she politely rebuked his advances as he asked
what man she prefers, by bluntly telling him she enjoys what her
HUSBAND was giving her every evening.
The debate died down that instant, much to her utter bemusement.
Narcissa was led through the Azkaban. The deeper she went, the more
her body started shivering.
It was to the point that even the guards got wary of her. It was a well-
known fact that people with bad and brutal memories are affected more.
And those are mostly either abused victims or bloody murderers.
The problem was, Narcissa's proud straightened bearing did not look
abused at all. The guards were wizards and wizards loved to jump to
hasty conclusions. And she was the wife of a Death Eater, wasn't she?
Imperiused or not...
As she approached the cell containing her sister, Narcissa was sinking her
nails into her palm so deeply, blood started dripping on the floor. Her
worst memories flashed through her eyes. Her own torture and suffering.
The torture and suffering she was responsible for. The number of people
she killed.
Narcissa clasped her Occlumency shields tightly on the magic trying to
invade her.
'Well, no wonder every Death Eater is almost a vegetable after a few
weeks of the presence of Dementors.' She thought bitterly when she
reached Bella's cell, hearing the mad cackling of her sister reverberating
through the air.
'Ah, how I admire you, sister dearest. So insane even mental torture such
as this has no effect on you, bringing you joy instead.' Narcissa's lips
twitched.
"We are here, Mrs. Malfoy." The guard said, feeling twitchy as her cold
glare landed on him.
"I see." She intently peered at him until he gave up.
"I will wait for you at the end of the corridor then." The guard nodded,
realizing she wanted privacy.
"Geez, wizards really believe in the invincibility of Azkaban, don't they?"
Narcissa quietly whispered as she watched him leave and entered the
cell, her wand drawn.
Not a second after the doors opened, Bellatrix leaped at her, a savage
grin on her face.
Narcissa completely unbothered sent her sister's starved body flying back
with a chantless banishing charm as she rolled her eyes.
"Bella, Bella. You never learned the common courtesy, did you?" Narcissa
quipped. "It is not polite to rip your guests apart, you know?"
"Eeeeh, if it isn't Cissy!" Bellatrix giggled as her crumbled body laid
unmoving, leaning on the wall it impacted not a second ago, blood
trickling down her forehead. "What do I owe such an honor that Lucius
let you visit!"
Bellatrix exclaimed with childish giddiness in her voice contrasting with
her gaunt lifeless appearance and haunted soulless eyes.
"I see. My hopes didn't come true, after all." Narcissa concluded as
Bellatrix tilted her head at her, wondering what did her sister mean. "Tell
me, Bella, how do you feel about the Dark Lord?"
Bellatrix's gaze sharpened.
"Why do you ask?"
Narcissa shrugged and leaned forward as if she was going to tell her a
very important secret.
"If he returned, would you serve him again?"
Bellatrix's eyes widened, a happy grin splitting her face.
"Of course! He is my Master! The sole reason for my life is to serve him!
He is invincible!" Bellatrix started her tirade when she suddenly stopped
her rant and looked at Narcissa with unadulterated joy. "Don't tell me... Is
he already back!?" Bella's body shook with glee at that thought as she
started happily cackling.
"I see." Narcissa looked at her sister with a sad gaze as she realized the
years with Legilimens such as the Dark Lord did leave their mark on
Bella. Narcissa was glad the wizards, while capable of tracking wand-
magic in Azkaban, were unable to discern the usage of runes. She tapped
the rune on her hand with steely determination in her eyes.
Bellatrix didn't even manage to react as her body hit the ground.
Narcissa reached towards her expanded purse and approached Bellatrix's
body.
"I am incredibly sorry for what I will put you through, sister. But I can't
have you endanger our husband." Narcissa whispered to her as she put a
paper with a rune she invented on Bella's chest, transporting Bella into
the sub-dimension in the paper.
Narcissa could only praise Hadrian for finding such useful knowledge...
She then pulled out another paper with the exact same rune and put it on
the ground, activating it.
Suddenly a female body appeared in the cell. It was Mariana Avery, an
unmarked Death Eater. Narcissa delivered a sharp kick into her abdomen
to wake her up.
Mariana quickly woke up with a painful groan and found herself tightly
bound, her last memory being a trip to Knockturn Alley. Mariana's eyes
widened as she met Narcissa's cold gaze.
Her eyes clearly displayed her question as they frightfully shook at the
cruel woman in front of her. Out of every unmarked servant of the Dark
Lord, Narcissa was always considered the cruelest one. She, in the
shadows while her sister Bella in the light.
Mariana couldn't curse herself more for laughing at Narcissa and adding
to her suffering before she became precious to the Dark Lord. But… who
could expect the bitch would gain His favor! Mariana always expected
retribution for her actions but after the years she started hoping...
Narcissa smirked.
"I must admit... waiting decades for this opportunity was quite
suffocating. Alas, it is finally here." Narcissa chuckled at the disheartened
look Mariana showed. "Don't you worry. You won't suffer... much."
Narcissa activated the rune on Mariana's back that changed her
appearance, voice, smell, and even magical signature to Bellatrix's after
Narcissa registered Bella's magical signature when she stored her
unconscious body.
The same rune that was basically undetectable unless a guard looks at
her lower back. Even then he would have to realize it is not a tattoo and
probe it with magic to discover it was magical. But Narcissa doubted the
guards visited Bellatrix's cell of all places to relieve their urges.
The rune would slowly kill Mariana by lowering the temperature of her
body during the following days. With dementor exposure, the
temperature of the cell, the insufficient and disgusting food, and water…
Only the magic kept the prisoners alive. Even the cold temperature of the
cells was measured to weaken them and make the prisoners suffer but
was high enough to make sure the magic kept them alive. Therefore, the
basic temperature lowering rune will be enough to kill Mariana before
Christmas through a heart attack from the stress.
Narcissa left the door as she vanished the bindings on Mariana.
Not a second after the door closed behind her, she could hear frightened
banging noise as the person behind repeatedly screamed her name.
Approaching the guard at the end of the corridor, she sweetly smiled.
"My dear sister became even crazier and more delusional than the last
time I saw her." She told him, feigning sadness.
"Yes. She is completely mad... ah, sorry." The guard rubbed the back of
his head awkwardly as he realized he was talking badly about the sister
of hers straight to her face.
"No, no." Narcissa shook her head. "You wouldn't believe her newest
delusion... She actually believes she is Mariana Avery! ..." Narcissa
started a relaxed banter with the guard as he was leading her out of
Azkaban,
The poor guy just went ahead with it, not realizing she was getting his
mental state and opinion of the 'new Bella' exactly where she wanted.
It would not take even an hour after her departure, for the entire
Azkaban to know that Bellatrix again mentally flipped after her sister
visited.
Ch60. I am sorry, dear sister.
Bellatrix opened her eyes groggily, looking around herself only to realize
she was bound to a chair. She tried to forcefully move her hands but
couldn't, blinking her eyes fast in order to regain clarity in her vision.
Then, Bellatrix tried to use a small wandless rope releasing spell. That
was when her mind froze as she realized she was not bound by ropes but
something else.
Her vision finally returned in full and she saw her hands on the armrest
and her ankles near the lower parts of chair legs, invisible pressure
holding them in the place. Then it clicked.
Runes.
She was bound by freaking runes!
Groaning, she realized there is no way out of this one without getting the
caster somehow to release her or scratch the runes. But... she realized the
runes are all on the lower parts of the armrest. Cursing, she bit her lip in
order to not let out a sound.
She was so enamored in it, she did not notice the icy blue stare observing
her actions from the shadows in the corner of the room.
"I see you are still very resourceful, sister."
Bellatrix heard the voice and instantly recognized it as Narcissa's.
"Sister?" She asked hopefully only to lose said hope a second later as the
flashback of how exactly she got into this situation appeared in her mind.
"You were the one who bound me..." Bellatrix trailed off in disbelief.
Narcissa impassively stared at her sister, not confirming nor denying but
for both, the answer was obvious.
"Why?" Bellatrix screamed, feeling betrayed.
"Well, since I doubt you would be able to come by this information in
resort Azkaban," Narcissa chuckled hollowly. "let me explain."
"You are now Bellatrix Black, the new wife of Lord Black.
Congratulations." Narcissa quipped sarcastically.
"WHAT!?" Bellatrix exclaimed in distraught. "How!"
"Lestranges sold you... not important." Narcissa dismissively waved her
hand and Bellatrix wanted to retort.
"What is important though is that you are a firm believer in the Dark
Lord even without the influence of the contract."
"Sister!" Bellatrix screamed, feeling that her sister is not on the side of her
master anymore. "The Dark Lord will return! Stop this! We can still be by
his side together, serving him faithfully!"
"Oh, Bella. He really did a number on your mind, didn't he?" Narcissa
uttered quietly in a pitying tone, stopping Bellatrix short as she realized
where her sister is going with this.
"Cissy! I will rip you to shreds for disrespecting the Dark Lord!" Bellatrix
raged, thrashing her body.
"I inspected it when you slept, sister. The Dark Lord clearly used his
Legilimency prowess to slowly and painstakingly convert your mind over
a long period of time." Narcissa started explaining as if she was a mind
healer but by that point, Bellatrix was fuming and fighting against her
restraints in a vain attempt to free herself.
"Confundus, obliviate, redirecting your mind to reach a certain
conclusion, slowly but surely making you dependent on him... Quite
frankly, sister, you are a lost cause." Narcissa shook her head in sadness.
"You would die for him even if he betrayed you. So fucked up is your
mind by now."
"I am not mad! I love my Master!" Bellatrix raved in fury, venomously
glaring at Narcissa as her magic tried to flare to damage the runes. "He is
my reason for living!"
"Exactly my point."
Narcissa's warm and sisterly attitude instantly grew cold. Her eyes coldly
stared at Bellatrix, making her nervous. Bellatrix recognized that gaze.
After all, it was the same look she had when staring at a hated enemy.
"In that case, I am sorry, sister dearest. I will have to slightly adjust your
attitude."
Bellatrix instantly found herself staring at the tip of Narcissa's wand and
before she could react, she heard her sister's menacing voice.
"Legilimens."
And her world burst into pain.
Narcissa's probe violently slammed into Bellatrix's oh-so-feeble
Occlumency. A holiday in Azkaban clearly didn't do her sister well.
Narcissa didn't penetrate Bellatrix's shields, she shattered them to dust.
This, of course, brought Bella such amounts of mental pain, she was
shaking in the seat, her eyes wide and her teeth gritted hard. She was not
screaming though... yet.
After disposing of Bellatrix's shields, Narcissa ventured further, and
further, until she was in the core of Bellatrix's mind. The thing that made
her, her. Narcissa's probe squeezed, and started stretching until she
finally grabbed a 'handful' of her mind and... forcefully pulled away.
Bellatrix's head slammed back into the backrest with a crunch, a silent
scream leaving her lips as her mouth opened wide in agony as tears
streamed down her gaunt cheeks from her wide and horrified eyes.
Narcissa wasn't done though. She didn't want to torture her sister and by
now, tears of sadness fell from her eyes as she saw Bellatrix in pain.
Nevertheless, she continued. The probe holding a part of Bellatrix's mind,
pulling it 'out', suddenly twisted into tearing motion so violently it caused
a partial rip.
Bellatrix's mind experienced a large crack but still fought Narcissa at
every turn as the twist tore half of the bit the probe held but the next
part still clung to the rest. The part that was ripped away was minuscule
and Narcissa discarded it away, making it float around the core of Bella's
mind, unable to rejoin it as her probe was expelled from Bellatrix's mind.
At being forced to violently part from a part of her mind, Bellatrix started
screaming in pain, much louder than what Crucio could ever make her,
her mind throbbing as if her brain was just mixed into a soup. Her entire
body was tensed, tersely jerking from side to side, only her eyes tightly
set in Narcissa's direction as blood trickled from her nose and ears.
Narcissa ended the probe and flopped down on the chair behind her, her
wand arm just freely hanging down. She put her free hand over her eyes
tiredly as she noted her magic considerably depleted from the struggle
between Bella's mind and herself.
Bellatrix finally stopped screaming as the pain receded and hung her
head low as her body leaned forward as she started dry heaving her
empty guts onto her lap. Her dirty curly black hair covered her face and
the blood slowly dripped onto her lap from her nose, mixing with her
spit. Her toes curled up from the intense pain as her nails bloodied
themselves from the force they clung to the armrests as her nails cracked
or completely broke.
"Hehe." Bellatrix chuckled breathlessly in pain. "You failed, sister." She
snickered hollowly.
"Did I?" Narcissa groaned in annoyance. "I tore a chunk from you."
"No, no. You might have done that but you are too WEAK to do more
than that." Bellatrix started madly laughing only to have a dry coughing
fit stop her. She finally stopped gasping for breath and her voice turned
serious. "You don't have enough power." She cackled in happiness.
"True." Narcissa rolled her eyes, admitting it calmly. "But I am a master at
runes and I spent considerable time at Hogwarts."
Bellatrix didn't understand but stayed quiet, waiting for her next torture.
She was sure they were far from over.
"I, of course, placed a few runes there. Six of which are my new
prototypes. You see, being able to recharge my magic from Hogwarts
directly is quite a marvelous power-boost." Narcissa flippantly said as she
activated the six leeching runes at Hogwarts, directing the flow of magic
into a rune near her heart, and into herself.
She approached Bellatrix and gripped her hair. Flinging her head up to
look at her. Narcissa teared up as she spotted Bellatrix had one eye half-
closed while the other was wide-open, a clear sign of mental damage. She
saw something she never imagined she would see on her sister's face.
Fear. Her sister didn't fear even Crucio but right now, she was staring at
Narcissa as if she was the devil himself, about to eat a little girl.
Narcissa steeled her heart and pointed her wand at Bellatrix and again
called out.
"Legilimens"
The mind probe ravaged Bella's mind with the sheer weight of magic
leached from Hogwarts itself as it this time took a quarter of Bella's mind
into its clutches and squeezed, kneading it painfully as Bellatrix's violent
thrashes completely stopped. The poor murderer could only release a
whimper and tremble at the horrendous agony she was experiencing.
Even her body refused to expend energy on thrashing anymore.
Narcissa viciously pulled, twisted, ripped, mixed, and meticulously
discarded memory after memory from Bella's mind, letting it just float
around in a broken mess.
It took her four screams, wailing, and pleading-filed hours to finally
dismantle the core of Bellatrix's mind so utterly, even Voldemort wouldn't
be able to put the pieces together. Bellatrix Lestrange… became no
longer a possibility.
Narcissa didn't stop there. She continued for the next two hours, staring
into the soulless black eyes of her sister that didn't contain even a spark
of life anymore and made sure every single memory, moment,
experience, or feeling of Bellatrix was fragmented and put into the
whirlwind of pieces that were swirling in the chaos called Bellatrix's
mind.
If one had to describe what just transpired, the closest comparison would
be that Bellatrix's mind was albeit rotten but a whole loaf of bread.
Narcissa needed to cut the bread but instead of a knife... hell, even a
meat chopper, she brought a bonafide chainsaw with her and started
shredding the bread to crumbs. Nobody would be able to put these
numerous crumbs together to form the same bread as before.
Only after seeing that a point-blank Bombarda Maxima would cause a
lesser mess of Bella's head, was Narcissa satisfied with her work.
"Oh?" She suddenly noticed that using the runes to leach Hogwarts magic
during these hours made her own reserves soar by a whole ten percent. A
smirk appeared on her face as she realized that maybe she could help her
beloved even on the frontlines if her magic strengthened so much every
day... What worst Dark Lord in the history of Britain! She will be the
worst Dark Lady of the entire freaking world if Hadrian needed it from
her!
She left the room with a happy skip in her step as she remembered
Hadrian would come home in a short few hours. She needed to bathe and
prepare herself!
As the door closed, the bloodied drooling mess that was former Bellatrix
brokenly stared into nothingness as IT was still firmly bound to the chair,
its hair messily sticking to its sweat-covered face. There was no mind in
its eyes anymore.
Ch61. Christmas 1
Hadrian came home for the holidays and enjoyed his time, just chilling
on the couch with Narcissa as they watched TV.
His smart wife apparently found a rune that coated electrical appliances
in a protective invisible barrier so the magic won't harm them. It was
actually derived from the master ward around Diagon Alley and Ministry
that Narcissa promptly and carefully researched when she noted it
prevents the Ministry, which was in the underground UNDER the
government buildings in London, to fry the electronics in said
government buildings.
Wizards had the wards to make them able to use technology and they
didn't even know it. All it took Narcissa was a bit of tweaking and here
we go...
Her response when Hadrian asked how and when she found this out was
to give him an exaggerated eye-roll and utter mockingly.
"I found out years ago, really. It's just... stupid, you know? Diagon is in
the middle of London, literally bathing in magic. If there was nothing
preventing the magic from spilling to the outer world, half of London
would be a mysterious technology dead-zone. And I am not even going to
mention the Ministry and their Department of Mysteries that have their
own skeletons in the closet, hence abundant magic all around."
But no matter they had TV, most of their time was spent watching each
other and snogging, feeling each other up. While in Hogwarts they did
meet up to have sex almost every other night and the nights in between
they spent snuggled to each other on the bed as they slept, they missed
casual spending of time with each other with 'occasional' touch and
'innocent' kiss.
For Hadrian, this blissful peace with Narcissa was much needed for him
as his mind completely relaxed and he cherished every second of her
presence near him. Even if he was quite curious where she disappeared to
on hours to end every day, only to turn up later exhausted with dried
tears on her cheeks.
Every time he asked, he only got a dejected answer.
"Nothing to worry about."
He just shrugged it off as he saw a worried and concerned expression on
Narcissa's face, peering at him with conflicted feelings only to lovingly
caress him with her eyes a moment later. Hadrian found it weird and
hoped it would stop sometime around Christmas. He decided to trust her
to take care of whatever is hounding her until then.
...
The Christmas morning started and both Hadrian and Narcissa woke up
at five in the morning. The day to 'liberate' Slytherin vaults finally came.
Hadrian and Narcissa stood in front of Kreacher and Narcissa's three
house-elves, patiently waiting in a row with straightened backs and
impassive faces. On their bodies was a chibi Death-eaters attire with
white masks and hoods.
Even the elves working at Hogwarts were relieved from their duties at
school for this day when Narcissa sent a notice she would need them for
Christmas to Dumbledore.
"Butler Kreacher!" Hadrian shouted, trying to sound stern. Behind him,
Narcissa was trying to hold snickers as she was mentally rolling her eyes
at him.
Kreacher as the good obedient house-elf he was, saluted and stood at
attention.
"Sir, yes, sir!"
"What is your mission for this fine day!" Hadrian asked with a severe
expression.
"Elfe-hop to Gringotts! Avoid Wards! Avoid Dragons! Avoid patrols!
Avoid Idiots! Avoid Wizards! In that order!
Elfe-hop to Slytherin Vault! Register Blood of Master! Elfe-hop inside!
Clean it out! Bring everything to the basement here! Leave one Knut for
Goblins! OVER!"
The little elf enthusiastically recited his orders and Hadrian nodded his
head in pride. He will make a valiant soldie-, ahem, butler out of him
yet!
"Get to it, butler Kreacher!" Hadrian ordered and the little guys popped
out.
"Well... that was entertaining." Narcissa quipped with snickers.
"What! They are like puppies. You have to train them!" Hadrian turned to
her mirthfully.
"Sure they are." She told him in a mock-innocent tone. "Anyway, I am
going to prepare myself for the dinner Andromeda invited us for." She
turned around and exited the room.
Hadrian shrugged at her leaving form and hoped the operation Fuck-
Goblins would go well.
Hadrian wanted to empty the Slytherin Vault the second he heard about
it!
He waited because if it opened and he refused to pay the fees that were
being piled up for centuries, as the little shits were inept enough to be
unable to access the gold inside, he would lose a chunk of that vault for
these fees alone. His account manager, the little goblin shit, even
attempted to persuade him to register himself and open the Vault.
WITHOUT telling Hadrian he would lose it in less than a few hours after
it was opened.
The fees were not a problem. Hadrian was sure he could pay them...
centuries or not. The problem was that goblins are too greedy for their
own good. You don't pay fees? You get interests on top of interests on top
of fees. Since the Vault was closed off and they could not do anything
about it, no matter how they tried, for centuries...
Uh, yeah, the interest...
Hadrian doubted he would be able to pay it even with all three of his
accounts. After all, after such a long time goblins can just scribe the
number, forge papers, and be done with it. The final sum would be at
their 'discretion' and nobody can say two-shits about it since even the
records would not 'remember'. It would literally take years only to go
through financial statements and get the final number. And even then
that number would be idiotic because goblins know how to play the long
game and surely added more interests than they should since no one
watched over their shoulder.
Fortunately for Hadrian, he had read the services Gringotts' introductory
book and didn't open the vault. His account manager could only gnash
his teeth and be polite as both knew what he tried to do. Funny or not,
Hadrian was irked at the guy.
The next ray of sunshine in the situation was that even though he could
not pay the fees and interests, goblins were unable to touch his other
accounts to collect these fees as they belonged to different families. No
matter that the owner was the same.
This rule was enforced after one of the goblin's rebellions that started
when they did EXACTLY that. A Hufflepuff family descendant returned
and was a Lord of Noble House at that time. They took the Vault of said
Noble House alongside the Hufflepuff vault... Hadrian thought the family
was Smiths or something...
Bumbadabum, wizards started suppressing them. What the heck did the
little shits think would happen, Hadrian had no idea. What they did to
the poor guy with tons of influence was a daylight robbery as they
emptied his Vaults for taking the inheritance test and being dumb enough
for opening the vault.
Long story short, goblins lost. Badly at that and had to return most of the
Vaults.
It was the ONLY rebellion that ended in such bloodshed that goblins
themselves surrendered before wizards offered a peace treaty. They
would not DARE to do a stunt like that EVER again. And it was not only
due to the clause in the treaty forbidding it. But... if he opened the
Slytherin Vault, said vault would be free game. Only his other Family
Vaults were outta their reach, legally speaking.
Hence, this mission.
It was Christmas time. Goblins may not celebrate Christmas but today
was their most important celebration! Gringotts was open but today the
fees were quintupled! No goblin in the bank was there voluntarily. They
were those that lost bets, fights, or were punished. While other goblins
feasted, dueled, mated, these suckers had to guard the bank.
Well, let's just say the security was all-time low and the bank was
severely understaffed. A chance for a heist, right?
No.
The wards were in war-time settings and quite frankly, Hadrian pitied
any idiot who would try something today.
His method though was legal. His house-elves are his property, not
people. The magical wards would not even notify the goblins they
entered the vaults as that is how the wizards get things from their vaults
most of the year. Especially during days like this!
So the house-elves can enter and wouldn't even need to be sneaky about
it! But, why would Hadrian pass an opportunity to make it a little more
interesting, right!?
The house-elves were clad in Death Eater attire and had orders to make
sure they are seen by wizards a moment before popping away AFTER
they finish their job.
The thing is, opening the Slytherin Vault needed Hadrian blood. But
ONLY his blood. Not his presence. Therefore the little guys could open
the Vault which would turn off the locks and the more dangerous wards
that goblins had problems to breach. This would make it possible for
goblins to start the procedure of withdrawing the 'fees' from the Vault, as
they would like to call it.
Of course, it was Christmas so the paperwork would have to wait until
tomorrow since today there was no high enough goblin to approve it. Oh,
Hadrian had no delusions that the first thing tomorrow goblins would
barge into Slytherin Vault, all paperwork filed and properly approved. He
would be only able to weep and lament as Gringotts owl would notify
him of the seizure of his Vault, at that time.
But the house-elves, due to the bond, can get inside the Slytherin Vault
after it is opened and empty it out before the goblins. They have an
entire day for it before the goblins can even try getting in legally.
Let's just say, Hadrian would just play dumb when asked and pretend
that to his knowledge the honorary one knut was all the Vault held. He
would not even have to be sincere about it!
Oh, he would certainly say it with a gleeful mile-wide shitty smirk
straight into his account manager's face!
Happy times!
Ch62. Christmas 2
Hadrian in his adult form and a black business suit, and Narcissa in a
black victorian dress flooed to Andromeda's and Ted's house. Only to be
greeted by the sight of happy Andromeda, resigned Ted, and scowling
Dora.
"Hello." They chorused with a smile as they saw Dora's scowl.
"Hi, welcome, Lord Black, Cissy." Andromeda greeted them while Ted
waved.
Dora was quiet, her eyes sweeping through Hadrian's adult form. She
suddenly got a deja-vu and thought Lord Black was quite similar to her
Harry...
Her eyes darted to his forehead but no scar could be found.
She shook her that thought from her head and kept the urge to groan in
frustration at her haywire feelings at bay, only to be nudged by her father
who looked at her with an awkward face.
"Ah, sorry. Hi, Lord Black, I am Dora Tonks." She slightly bowed as she
realized her manners were lacking but... Eh, Whatever?
Both Narcissa and Hadrian chuckled while Dora's parents gave them
apologetic wry grins.
"Hello, Nymphadora."
"Good, to see you again, Nymphadora."
They both again said Nymphadora together, making Dora's scowl return.
Hadrian couldn't help himself but approach Dora and pat her head.
"Kay, kay, girl. We just couldn't resist." He snickered only for his hand to
be swept from Dora's head by her hand. With a huff, she turned around
and went to her room as Hadrian rubbed the back of his head
awkwardly.
"I will come for dinner." Dora shouted from the stairs, her voice miffed.
"Eh, you forgot you are not in your kid-form, mate. That's the one my
little girl wants to shag." Ted quipped, bemused as he led them towards
the table.
"Sigh, what will I do with that girl. Since she came home, she can not
shut up about some Harry Potter. Do you happen to know him, perhaps?"
Andromeda quipped jokingly as she mockingly put her hand on her
forehead.
"Suuuuure. Mock me, why won't you." Hadrian grumbled and sat down
behind the table.
Narcissa followed him and put her chair right next to him to be able to
hold his hand and lean on him.
"Well, the girl is in love, dear." She joined the conversation. "Her actions
don't fit the wild girl Nymphadora is supposed to be." She shook her head
sadly. "From her reaction, she does realize it and is quite undecided what
to think about it. She wants it badly though."
They all knew Narcissa was natural in Mind Arts. That also included
some degree of ability to read people. Andromeda could only genuinely
grimace.
"You know... she did give her virginity to Charlie Weasley only to be
dumped not even half-hour later." Andromeda squeezed Ted's hand so
hard he was gritting his teeth while giving stink-eye at Hadrian's amused
expression. "It was Harry who cheered her up and was her emotional
support for the entirety of her stay at Hogwarts." Andromeda smiled at
him sweetly.
Hadrian was focused on Andromeda... He liked Dora and didn't know it
happened quite like that. He always thought…
"Let me guess." Andromeda continued a bit peeved but also amused. "You
thought Dora lost it when she was somewhere around fourth or fifth
year."
Hadrian was about to lie through his lips and deny it only to be rebuked
before he even began talking.
"Don't try to deny it. Dora is wild. Everybody thinks she just took her
Quidditch captain by the tie and shagged him senseless as a graduation
gift at the end of her fourth year. There are rumors of it in Hogwarts and
quite frankly, it was driving Dora mad for a while. The boy was a real
friend though and tried to make her feel better. A pity he played for the
other team and moved to the States."
Andromeda leaned on Ted for support as Narcissa delightedly mirrored
her and leaned on Hadrian.
"But Dora really cherished her chastity, you know?" Andromeda sadly
told them. "That's why I want to kill Charlie Weasley so much." She
finished with venom in her tone.
"As fifth year our little girl had five different boyfriends during the year
but she never went further than kissing. She was proud of herself for that
stunt." Ted continued for Andromeda with a chuckle. "We? Not so much.
Five boys! In a year... if that was going to be her luck in dating then I
worried about her future."
"Well... I was also feisty during my Hogwarts years." Narcissa quipped
only to be pinched by Hadrian.
"Hey!!" She barked indignantly and then licked his cheek playfully. "But
don't worry. I belong only to you." She tightly pressed his arm between
her breasts as her head rested on Hadrian's shoulder in delight.
"So, how does Weasley fit into the story?" Hadrian continued the previous
topic as he was interested in the story. It might very well decide the well-
being if not the life of one Charlie Weasley.
"Ah... yes, it was kind of weird, you know. Our girl wasn't big of a fan of
that boy. He was Gryffindor... her quidditch competition. He was
Weasley... well, Andromeda was always vocal about them. And not in a
good way." Ted continued a little confused. "But one day, out of nowhere,
she just came singing gospel about the boy."
"Did you suspect foul play?" Narcissa asked bluntly, stopping Ted short.
"Yes." Andromeda said, making Ted gape at her.
"When!" He burst out.
"Not important." Andromeda rebuffed him chidingly. "There was no love
potion used. I was really spooked with Dora's mood swings. When she
came from school she was gushing about him and then at the end of the
holiday, nothing. It was confusing so I had her tested."
"Ah... there was nothing found, wasn't there?" Narcissa rolled her eyes.
"When did you test her?"
"When she came home from... Hogwarts... for... Christmas." Realization
dawned on Andromeda as she stared at Narcissa in horror. "You don't
mean to say that..."
"Exactly, dear sister. If she really had such swings in her feelings towards
the boy... Yes, it is entirely possible." Narcissa concluded.
"How?" Ted asked, murder in his eyes. If it was true then...
"Dora is a teenager. One love potion is enough to make her feel in love
for a short while. Three in short duration one after the other would
reinforce those feelings."
"But the effects would disappear!" Andromeda shouted.
"Yes... But." Narcissa sighed. "But she was a teenager. Too hormonal. In
short, craving sex and love. Her mind got to feel love, no matter if it was
a fake one. Then it was reinforced and well... her own hormones-filled
body did the rest and persuaded her mind the boy is the right one for
her. At least for a while. Hence, her mood swings. A week without seeing
him or getting a dose of love potion and her feelings would start to fade.
But if she had contact with him..."
Narcissa shook her head and shrugged.
"You would not find love potion in her system unless you incidentally
took her from school by surprise during a week when she was being
dosed and had her tested. Three days and it would be flushed from her
system while effects would be sustained due to self-suggestion of her
mind. If 'someone' added a slight Confundus on top of that... well, it
would be actually perfectly undetectable yet held strong for weeks if not
months. There is an entire study about the effects of mind-altering
potions on the mind and how the effects can be preserved for some time
even after the effect of the potion ceased. It could be worse though. She
could actually persuade herself she is madly in love with him and become
obsessed. There is a reason why these potions are restricted, after all."
Narcissa finished with a shrug, leaving both Tonkses gape at her.
An awkward silence ensued in the room only for a broken teary voice
from the direction of the door to be heard.
"Is it true?" Dora stood in the middle of the door, her expression twisted
in deep sorrow and anguish at hearing what Narcissa said.
"Sweety..." Andromeda tried to calm Nymphadora down while feeling
horror crept up her mind.
"Is it true?" Dora just repeated her question, a little harsher this time but
still softly.
Narcissa looked directly at the girl and sighed.
"It was just speculation but..."
"I meant about the reason for mood swings and the self-suggestion." Dora
interrupted her.
"Yes." Narcissa bluntly told her as she realized the girl had to have her
own suspicions if she asked that question. There was no point in lying to
her now.
"Oh…" Dora turned around and rushed to her room while sobs shook her
body.
"Narcissa!" Andromeda angrily screamed only to be pulled back into her
seat by her husband.
"It's fine dear. Our Nymphy had to hear it. If not now, then eventually…
God, she looked as if..." He tried to finish that sentence with difficulty.
"She had a revelation." Narcissa nodded and finished for him. "That's why
I answered. For her to ask that question... she must have suspected
something was wrong but couldn't quite put it. But now..." She helplessly
sighed.
"Well... so much for Christmas." Hadrian uttered dryly and received three
awkward grins. "Never mind, Narcissa," He stood up, pulling Narcissa
with him. "let's go, we have a girl to console."
He left with her, heading upstairs as grateful Tonkses watched their back.
"Our girl chose well this time, didn't she?" Andromeda snuggled deeper
into Ted, trying to stifle her anger.
"She did." Ted nodded and held on Andromeda tightly, not liking what he
learned.
Ch63. Christmas 3
Hadrian and Narcissa entered Dora's room and found the poor girl
warped in her blanket on her bed as her terse sobs resounded through the
air and tears streamed down her cheeks.
Hadrian sat on the edge of her bed and pulled Dora into his embrace. The
usually fiery girl didn't even fight him as she was too tired for that.
"Shhh, it will be fine." He cooed to her as he gently caressed her hair.
It took a while of whispering encouraging words to Dora's ear but the girl
eventually calmed down. She still clung tightly to Hadrian, just resting
her head on his shoulder.
"What should I do now..." She asked him hollowly.
"Nothing." Hadrian answered instantly without even thinking which
made Dora raise her head and look him straight into the eyes, waiting for
him to elaborate. "You can do nothing but live your life well. Learn to
defend yourself and your mind and accomplish your goals. Narcissa here
will make sure to train you in combat and mind arts."
He didn't want Dora anywhere close to fighting but he would be damned
if he didn't make her suffer in order for her to learn how to kick ass. His
little Dora had to learn how to defend herself.
Dora was at first grateful but that feeling quickly disappeared when she
saw the smug, blood-thirsty smirk of Narcissa. Instead, she gulped in
worry, her previous worries forgotten.
"On the second thought..." She was suddenly unsure if she wanted to train
under her Aunt. Mother always told her Bella was the vicious one of the
sisterly trio but as she saw Narcissa's expression, Dora was not entirely
convinced about that.
"You have no choice in the matter, dear." Hadrian sweetly told her.
"Order from you Lord."
Dora scowled at him and stuck out her tongue.
"Will you sit in my lap for long?" Hadrian asked jokingly, interrupting the
angry ranting she was about to deliver to him.
It was only then that Dora realized she was sitting in his lap, her hands
snaked behind his neck while her head was only inches from his. She
blushed deeply and meekly looked in another direction only to see
smirking Narcissa. Dora was so embarrassed, steam was almost visibly
rising from her head as she yet again relocated her gaze.
She unhanded Hadrian and sat next to him unable to look up.
Hadrian sighed and pulled out a book from the storage rune on his left
glove.
"Here, Dora. Your Christmas present." He gave her the book.
Dora was surprised but she took the book and read the title.
'Blacks and their minds. How to make suffer anyone who probes you, by
Darius Black'
The book was ancient and was written in 1310. In a bookstore, it would
cost at least a thousand galleons! Dora was surprised to see such an
expensive book handed to her. She looked hesitantly on Hadrian with an
uncertain expression.
"Don't look at me like that. I need you to learn the contents. Your
Occlumency is good. Incredibly so for your age but you miss several vital
aspects of the skill. Emotional control is one, as is ability to attack the
mind probe. You can guard your emotions but your mind is not enclosed
enough to shelter from outer influences. That is actually the reason why
you so easily..." Hadrian hesitated to finish the sentence but Dora did it
for him in a whisper.
"Why I was affected by love potions and didn't even know it."
Hadrian nodded.
"Well, don't you worry. I will whip you to acceptable shape in
Occlumency before you return to Hogwarts." Narcissa joined the
conversation and Dora shuddered. "You will come to Grimmauld Place 12
every day at 4 pm sharp. The lesson will last two hours. Prepare to return
home half-unconscious."
Narcissa laughed in anticipation and Dora deadpanned at her. But then
her eyes filled with resolve.
"I will do my best, teacher!" She exclaimed, trying to cheer herself up,
making Narcissa chuckle.
"Well, let's go back, shall we?" Said Narcissa and Hadrian took hold of
Dora's hand and pulled her to the dining room.
The rest of the evening was quite subdued and awkward but they still
discussed various light-hearted topics and had fun. Andromeda observed
Dora for any sign of discomfort or sadness but was happy when she found
none. She had yet another thing to be grateful for towards her Lord.
The dinner was over and the family relocated to the living room where
Dora swiftly grabbed the Daily Prophet as she casually flopped on the
cozy couch.
When Ted saw Dora holding the newspaper his heart almost jumped to
his throat but it was too late.
"What!" Dora exclaimed, attracting attention.
"What is it, sweety?" Andromeda who sat near Dora leaned closer and her
jaw dropped.
"And here I wanted to tell you tomorrow." Ted resignedly rubbed his
eyes. "Today is really not a good day." He chuckled.
"What happened?" Hadrian asked and Dora handed him the newspaper.
He looked at the main headline and instantly froze.
'Bellatrix Lestrange found dead in her cell! Heart-attack!'
His eyes quickly snapped to Narcissa who looked at him in confusion. It
was only after she discerned he wanted her to read his mind she flinched
slightly, getting an inkling of what's going on.
'Is Bellatrix dead?' Hadrian asked Narcissa in his mind.
Narcissa shook her head in denial.
'You will show me tomorrow.' He thought with finality.
Narcissa nodded reluctantly, not wanting to show him Bella's state but…
it was order. She knew that much.
The entire exchange lasted at most three seconds so they didn't miss
anything.
"Bella is dead?" Andromeda shrieked, not knowing if she should rejoice or
weep.
"Seems so." Narcissa quickly acknowledged.
"Oh, Cissy... Our sister is dead." Andromeda looked empty at that. This
day was...
"I think we should go." Hadrian interrupted and slowly stood up. "Today
was a disaster on many counts but it was also fun. Let's just break it up
before the heavy atmosphere returns. For all its worth, I give you my
condolences Andromeda." He bowed slightly.
Narcissa also stood up, knowing well Hadrian wanted to avoid talking
about Bellatrix lest something slip out of them. Nobody, not even
Andromeda knew Bellatrix was alive. And it will be best for it to stay that
way.
"No, no. It's fine. I am fine. I just..." Andromeda tried to persuade them to
stay but it was obvious she was not in the right mental state.
"Andy," Ted put his hand on her shoulder. "Just, let's just rest for today.
Okay?"
Andromeda's shoulders sagged, completely tired from the revelations of
this supposedly joyful day.
A few moments later, Hadrian and Narcissa departed.
...
Later that evening Andromeda sat in the living room, her feet on the
couch as she cradled a glass of wine in her hand, thinking about Bellatrix
in a glum mood.
Dora approached her and sat next to her as she also poured herself a
glass and downed it at once.
"What's up, sweety?" Andromeda asked Dora, seeing her conflicted
expression.
"You know I love Harry Potter, right?"
"Well, it is kinda obvious!" Andromeda softly laughed.
"I think I am also in love with Lord Black." Dora bit her lower lip and
closed her eyes in shame.
Andromeda stared at her with her eyes wide and the only thing her mind
could reply with was.
"Oh, boy..."
Ch64. Bellatrix Black, recreation.
It was Boxing Day and Narcissa and Hadrian exchanged their gifts.
Hadrian also received the Cloak from Dumbledore and could only sigh
that he didn't need it anymore.
Narcissa cast every scanning charm or spell she knew on the cloak. She
was at it for two hours but still did not find any tracking charm on it.
Expect a small sewn part of cloth to the inside of the cloak. That part had
a tracking charm.
Well, figures that ol' mighty Dumbles can't actually enchant an item
given out by Death. There is no way he could cast a tracking charm onto
it so he just sewed a small cloth inside so it would not impair its
invisibility but could be tracked.
It was quite clever, Hadrian thought. If Narcissa didn't find the tracking
charm by looking very meticulously over the entirety of the cloak, even
she would miss it.
Well, something like this was expected. There is no way Dumbledore
would be able to look past the cloak even Death is unable to find. While
Hadrian didn't need it anymore as he had his transfiguration... he was
glad it was not in the hands of Dumbledore anymore.
The duo enjoyed themselves until noon, cuddling and talking.
At noon, Hadrian sighed.
"Ok, Cissy." He patted her head lying in his lap. "It's time. I want to see
Bellatrix."
Narcissa groaned as she turned around to face her lover.
"Is it really necessary? I can handle Bella just fine..."
"Yes, I want to see what you are doing to her. I saw it on your face.
Remorse and sorrow. It clearly pains you to continue." Hadrian shushed
her and gave her a long emotion-filled kiss.
As their lips parted, the two looked into each other's eyes until Narcissa
relented.
"Okay." She quietly whispered and her gaze softened.
Standing up, they went deep into the basement of Grimmauld Place 12.
Narcissa stopped near one door and put her hand on the handle in
hesitation. She turned to Hadrian with a wry smile.
"Whatever you see... know I had no other choice."
Hadrian nodded but started to be quite freaked out.
Narcissa opened the door and he could see Bellatrix. Her small frame
sprawled on the chair, bound to it. Her messy curly unkempt hair. Her
gaunt but still pretty face. But most of all... her hollow soulless eyes.
"She is looking quite good." Narcissa nodded at the corner where a house-
elf stood. "She was much worse when I brought her here. Malnourished
skin and bones." She turned to Hadrian.
Hadrian hummed in acknowledgment, his eyes looking at his second
wife.
"The elves are taking care of her. Cleaning and feeding her. Her figure is
getting a lot fuller too." Narcissa stated.
"And her eyes?" He asked Narcissa directly.
Narcissa flinched and looked to the floor but answered.
"I had to shatter her mind."
Hadrian clearly saw she expected to be admonished or even punished but
he only sighed, walked closer to her, and embraced her warmly. He
might not know what that meant… not fully, but Narcissa was his
supporting pillar for half a year already.
"I don't care. I love you, Cissy."
Feeling his arms around her, and hearing his soft words Narcissa felt all
tension leave her. Her worries disappeared as tears trailed down her
cheeks.
"I had to... There was no way she would join us." She wailed as her arms
tightly clung to his form.
"What exactly does shattering the mind entails?" Hadrian gently asked.
"I destroyed everything she ever was." Narcissa sadly uttered. "Bellatrix
Lestrange as you knew her, is dead. She won't return no matter what we
try. Not entirely like she was before but close. She might be worse or
better but the influence the Dark Lord's Legilimency had on her would be
gone.."
"Like a puzzle." Hadrian said and Narcissa chuckled.
"Yes... like a puzzle." Her expression was saddened. "But, it is impossible
to say how her new expression turns out. She was still psychotic. I
understood it is impossible to change her psycho personality with the
pieces I have. But I didn't yet find anything that could be used as a
foundation for Bellatrix that would make her less of a... wild card."
Narcissa's eyes again teared up in exhaustion as she hung her head on
Hadrian's shoulder. "I even tried our happiest childhood memories but
they would still be insufficient. I am honestly at the end of the rope."
The two lovers spent the next half an hour looking at the unfocused eyes
of Bella, thinking about what to do.
Hadrian suddenly stood up and approached Bellatrix.
"Hello." He didn't get any reaction. "It is such a pity, you know? I am
married to you, yet, you are but a mindless doll..." He sighed and gently
put his hand on her cheek.
It was then that Narcissa's eyes bulged out from what happened.
Bellatrix shuddered and raised her head.
She reacted!
Hadrian was about to pull his hand away in disappointment when
Narcissa stopped him.
"No! Keep it on her cheek!" She shrieked and quickly walked closer.
Hadrian obliged and noted that Bellatrix's hollow gaze was aimed
directly at him, still completely blank and mindless. It was weirding him
out somewhat.
"Incredible." Narcissa muttered and hysterical laughter filled the room.
"What are the odds!"
"Uh, Cissy? Care to enlighten us magic-noobs?" Hadrian asked her
awkwardly.
Narcissa recollected herself after her outburst. She was just so happy! She
finally found the solution to the problem that was her sister!
"Simply put, you and Bellatrix are soulmates." She answered with a slight
smile.
"Soulmates..." Hadrian's expression became dull as he stared at Narcissa.
"It doesn't mean that you will love each other." Narcissa rolled her eyes.
"It just makes you feel better in each other's presence. It is a magical
connection on a deeper level."
"Really now." Hadrian deadpanned, receiving another smile from
Narcissa.
"It does have a few advantages though..."
"Oh, do tell, wife dearest." He dryly quipped.
"It shows compatibility. Not everyone has soulmates, you know? But if
you found one, then there are probably up to a hundred in the entire
world." She lectured.
"Anyway, soulmates that have at least neutral feelings towards each other
are more in tune. If you start a relationship, you will be protective of
each other... and the sex. Well, you know, feels better." Narcissa blushed.
"Basically it is only a magical indication and empowering of our feelings
of satisfaction when we are near each other?" Hadrian summed up as he
understood it, he had read something similar somewhere...
"Yeah... but! But I can use this since Bella clearly reacted to you."
"Is there something wrong?" Hadrian blinked at Narcissa, not
understanding what's so incredible at Bellatrix raising her head at his
touch.
"Oh, simple. Bellatrix has NO working mind right now. She IS a doll. No
matter what you do... hell, you could rape her and she would not even
groan like a zombie. Even pleasure would not be registered in her mind.
Similarly, you could chop off her limbs and she wouldn't even feel it."
Narcissa explained. "Her mind is in pieces, Hadrian. Her personality core
is not connected to her memories therefore Bellatrix is not a SHE but an
IT right now. A thing." Narcissa stopped to see if he understood.
Hadrian nodded and Narcissa continued.
"But she reacted. A thing reacted! The connection from her side is so
STRONG she, an unfeeling mindless thing, felt something AND her body
instinctively reacted. It is a lot stronger than the happiest memories of
our childhood! I can use it to rebuild her!" Narcissa excitedly shouted.
"The catch?" Hadrian though knew there will be something... more...
involved. He was not such a lucky guy, after all.
"Ah... you know, it is not such a bad thing." Narcissa averted her eyes.
"Narcis..." Hadrian was about to press but Narcissa interrupted him.
"Her mind will be rebuilt with your soulmate bond as the foundation...
She will be almost the same as Bellatrix Lestrange, maybe a little less
crazy and more obedient. Just... not loyal to Voldemort." Narcissa was
getting progressively quieter as she was saying it.
"Narcissa, what. Is. The. Catch." Hadrian strongly asked.
"Ah... It will do the exact same thing Voldemort did to her mind. Just
instead of years, it would take a few seconds as there is a soulmate bond
as the foundation and... well, thanks to the process of piecing together
her memories. She will remember everything. Her servitude to
Voldemort. Her marriage. Everything. Only her view on some things can
be altered. With the bond as the foundation, however, I can direct the
changes somewhat. Well, not really. I can only really aim her at the bond
and piece her together. She might be even more brutal but one thing is
certain..." Narcissa ranted but was interrupted by Hadrian.
"Just... tell it to me in direct simple terms, okay?" Hadrian sighed in
exasperation.
"She will be a fanatic who will love you beyond the grave and would not
mind burning the world for you." Narcissa told him.
"So... nothing changes except I will take Voldemort's place in her mind?"
Hadrian deadpanned.
"Yes, only, worse... much worse. Or better... It all depends on the
perspective." Narcissa smirked and aimed her wand at Bellatrix. "Now,
keep your hand on her cheek. It wouldn't hurt to occasionally kiss her
either. You know, to reinforce the newly made personality and its
changes. She is your wife, after all." She playfully quipped.
Hadrian could only groan as he spent the next few hours touching and
kissing Bellatrix Black while Narcissa was sweating as she was putting
Bella's mind together and making it focus on the bond, binding itself to
Hadrian through magic in much similar way the slavery contract, only
with a different result.
What Narcissa didn't tell Hadrian, is that what she was doing will have a
much worse effect than a love potion on Bellatrix. It would make
Bellatrix literally unable to stop loving Hadrian forevermore. A true love,
at that. Forget Voldemort... the effect will be much stronger than even
years of mind-alteration!
Alas, no matter how much she loved her sister, her love towards Hadrian
was stronger. She would not mind showing a bit of that love to her sister,
ufufufu.
She only hoped it would cull a little of Bella's craziness as after creating
new Bella through the magical bond her sister shared with Hadrian,
steeping magic DIRECTLY into Bella's entire being during the CREATION
of her mind from mixing available pieces of memories, the magically-
enforced feelings towards Hadrian, Bella's and Hadrian's magic, it would
be impossible to shatter Bella's magically strengthened mind anymore.
This process was final.
Alas, it was not simply piecing together pieces of memories as she made
Hadrian assume...
Ch65. Dora's Dilemma 1
Gringotts, in front of Slytherin Vaults:
"Ras'un Simba! How long till you breach the wards?" A high-ranked
goblin asked a goblin ward breaker who led the team to try to get inside
and collect 'fees'.
"We will be inside in a few minutes! Clan Leader Rugh'uh Ra!" Ras'un
called out to his superior in glee, imagining the amount of gold the Vault
would hold! If they are lucky, they may even find some goblin-crafted
artifacts!
"Hihihi! Our glorious Nation will be even richer!" One goblin guard
exclaimed in glee! They were about to take money from stupid Wizard!
Why not be happy about it! Stupid! Dumb! Ugly! Wizards!
Alas, the guards of goblins might be quite skilled in combat but they
were not the smartest of the litter. These were in higher positions, after
all.
"I really pity Lord Black... So young, so stupid!" Rugh'uh shook his head
but a vicious grin didn't leave his face. "We should at least send him a
proper 'sorrowful' notice of what we 'had to' do to his Slytherin Vaults...
maybe with a fruit basket?"
The goblins snickered at that. Their version of fruit basket was either
filled with gold or with sharp pointy metal... it was obvious which would
be sent to young Lord Black.
"What's funny, you shits!" Rugh'uh shrieked. "Listen up! Uncle Rag'na Rok
IX, the king of the Goblin Nation wants the Vault breached as far as
possible so stop snickering and hurry up! If we do not provide, it will be
our heads that will roll! Each of us volunteered for this highly rewarding
job, after all!" He sneered at the working goblins. He always knew he was
something higher than those under him. Be it his fighting skills or his
birthright. He had it all. And now... now he will have achievements!
Rugh'uh heard a click from the Vault door and his grin started widening
as he saw the door opening. His anticipation peaked as he was almost
giddy from the vision of gold, gold, and more gold! He could almost see
the dancing goblin females with golden knickers! The fame of conquering
the Slytherin Vault!
He was almost hyperventilating! Maybe he would become the next king?
Or... the richest goblin? Hehe, what's the difference anyway!? He would
be the most sought after bachelor in the goblin race right after the king
anyway! He will be able to make many little goblins!
The door was finally fully opened and the gleefully greedy creatures that
intended to rob-, ahem, collect what's theirs, stopped in their tracks.
Rugh'uh's wide grin dropped as his skin paled as if he had seen a ghost.
There in the middle of the Vault... one knut laid.
Only one thought was passing by through the horrified goblin's heads...
Our heads will roll!
...
Hadrian woke up as he felt his hips buckle and shoot his hot seed. He
looked down and saw Narcissa working her mouth hard, trying to
swallow everything with the glee of a goblin who saw gold. Hadrian
wryly observed as his cock was granting Narcissa's loved juices. She
really found a taste for his cum... it was quite embarrassing for Hadrian.
But he was slowly getting used to waking up with his rod deep in her
throat.
They were both tired yesterday. Narcissa magically and he mentally as
they finished building Bellatrix's mind like a lego from her memories. It
took them hours and in the end, they just flopped into bed, cuddling each
other as they fell asleep.
Hadrian saw Narcissa release his cock from her mouth with audible 'pop'
and a wide smile spread on her face.
"Morning, husband." She purred and instantly took him into her mouth
again, her eyes narrowing in delight.
"Narcissa!" Hadrian's hands shot to her head, firmly gripping it. "Stop!"
He groaned as she still worked her tongue even if her head was stopped.
"Dora will come in an hour for her first lesson!"
Hadrian groaned but saw Narcissa was not budging... She licked and
pushed her head closer to his crotch until Hadrian gave up and enjoyed
her making him cum for the second time while she moaned as her throat
greedily gulped his cum.
Hadrian wasn't about to leave her hanging! He quickly threw her onto
the bed and ravaged her slit with his tongue.
In the end, they had a morning quickie in the bed... another morning
quickie during breakfast right on the table while feeding each other...
and another in the shower as they washed the cum from their bodies...
well... a productive morning, really.
They barely managed to messily don some clothes and come closer to the
hearth in order to greet their guests with heavy breaths when Dora and
Andromeda were already stepping through the connection.
"Wotcher!" Dora's eyes strayed fast to Lord Black, conflict in her gaze as
she completely ignored the awkward air.
"Greetings, Lord Black. Sister.." Andromeda bowed slightly but furrowed
her brows at the still wet hair of her sister. She knew Narcissa. She would
never let others see her unprepared. Wet hair from a shower? Now that
would be an embarrassment! Couldn't she dry them with a spell in like
thirty seconds? What would their dead mother and father say!?
Andromeda's eyes widened as she saw a wet place on Lord Black's
shoulder. His hair was also wet a few seconds ago! Then the realization
hit her. After all, she and Ted were also having their shower time quite
often! She threw them a knowing smirk.
Narcissa blushed slightly with a small glare at Andromeda.
"What a... pleasure." Her snide side came out as she was miffed that
Hadrian stopped right before she could reach her second orgasm due to
insufficient time. Oh, Dora will pay for that... That she will. Even if it was
her who offered to teach the girl... Nobody steals her hanky-panky time
from her!
"Well, Dora. Let's go to the library." Narcissa sweetly smiled at Dora and
led her out of the room, her hand on the back of the fidgeting girl. "It is
time to further your Occlumency with some 'proper' training! Shall we go
through the basics of Occlumecy first? Oh, no. It would probably be best
to learn by 'doing'!"
Was the last thing gaping Hadrian heard as he saw Narcissa's back leave
through the door. His wife just ran, leaving him to deal with her tease of
a sister alone! He looked at Andromeda in resignation.
Instead of being all smirk and laughter as he expected, he found a serious
expression on her face.
"Lord Black, I need a word with you."
They sat down behind the table.
"What would you need, Andy?" Hadrian asked casually, earning himself a
smile.
"Dora, she... fell for you." Andromeda stated, making Hadrian chuckle.
Well, it was kinda obvious. He knew since the third week of Hogwarts.
Alas, Andromeda was probably worried about her daughter's future. He
could understand.
"I am young. Not dense. Trust me, I know." He told her with a smile, only
to be surprised at her bitter expression and head shake
"No, no. She fell for Lord Black." She sighed in exasperation and Hadrian
blinked. "She knows she loves Harry Potter but now her heart is tearing
apart, not knowing if she desires Lord Black, a mature man who was kind
to her... or Harry Potter, the boy who is her closest friend. It really grates
on my nerves looking at her pacing around the kitchen in indecision."
"Oh, fuck! I don't need any unnecessary drama!" He groaned, wordlessly
taking Andromeda's hand and dragging her to the library.
Ch66 Dora's Dilemma 2
Hadrian barged into the library with Andromeda, stopping both girls
short.
He looked at Dora and groaned.
"Dora. No matter what you do, don't freak out, okay? Stay calm and
everything will be explained." Hadrian told the baffled girl.
Dora was bewildered. What the hell was going on?
"Narcissa, disable the aging rune, would you?" Hadrian ordered and
Narcissa widened her eyes.
She didn't expect Hadrian wanting to show Dora his true form. Her eyes
flickered to the wry expression of Andromeda and she understood
something must have happened. With a quiet sigh, she did as asked.
Dora could only gape as Lord Black's body started to compress into
smaller and smaller form. Her eyes stared at the mouth-watering body
and firm muscles started receding into still a well-toned but not as
muscled form of a... boy. A boy she knew well. A boy she loved. A boy
who was her only reason for not jumping Lord Black's bones and giving
in to her lust.
"Harry?" She breathlessly asked.
"Yes, Dora..." Hadrian awkwardly looked at his friend. "Well... this will
take a long while to explain..."
"We have all the time in the world." Dorra blurted.
Smiling Hadrian came closer and flopped onto the couch next to her.
"You see, it started when..."
He told her about the Dursleys and comforted her, telling her it was
bearable, not noticing the dangerous flash in Narcissa's eyes.
She knew well what to do with these swine. But for that, she would need
an... expert.
Hadrian continued telling Dora about his experience at Gringotts, his
meeting of her parents, his marriage to Narcissa...
Dora was openly weeping and staring at Narcissa when she heard. Not
because of pity for Narcissa but because Harry was married!
Narcissa knew the look on Dora and with a gentle smile, she encouraged
the girl.
"Dora, Harry is married to my sister Bellatrix too. I would not mind
sharing him with one more witch."
The people in the room stilled but Dora's eyes were filled with fire as she
gratefully nodded.
"Yes! I will do my best to become his wife!" She blurted out from the
sheer joy she felt, making the entire room again silent in awkwardness.
After a while of awkwardly staring at each other, Hadrian decided to
continue his story, telling Dora about how he didn't expect her to
approach him and their time at Hogwarts.
"Did Dumbledore really give you to an abusive family when you were
young?" Dora asked as tears streamed down her cheeks.
"Yes." Hadrian calmly answered.
"Did he really bind most of your magic with a ritual that can't be
undone?" Dora asked, completely terrified.
"Yes."
"Does he really read student's minds?"
"Only those who have no shields." Harry nodded.
"I... Is Dumbledore really responsible for Uncle Siri's death?" She asked
quietly.
"Yes." It was Andromeda who answered with venom lacing her voice.
"I was always admiring that asshole!" Dora burst out angrily. "I... I... He
was my idol... I..." She started sobbing and engulfed Hadrian in a hug.
"It's fine, Dora." He cooed. "This is a life-lesson too. You should not trust
old shady men offering you candy."
That brought a smile on her face.
"I will get stronger! Auntie Cissy, will you help me?" Dora pleadingly
asked with puppy-dog eyes.
"Of course, I will. But for these holidays, it is only Occlumency."
Narcissa enjoyed how Dora's expression fell when she learned she won't
learn anything more... combat-oriented.
"After you earn your NEWTS and still want to be heavily involved in the
family business... I will train you to serve your Lord and family." She
added, making Dora beam at her.
Hadrian felt a little off. What serving your 'Lord'. Everybody in the room
sans Dora knew that it was innuendo! His eyes strayed to Andy.
'Andromeda! Do something! Are you going to leave your innocent little
girl in the care of Cissy-demoness?' He asked her with his look.
'What can I do... My innocent little girl wants to learn how to properly...
Serve. Her. Lord.' Andromeda returned his look with a little sarcasm at
the end.
Both Hadrian and her were completely sure how this would end.
Androma knew her little girl inside out. She knew how her head worked
and knew how much trauma her ability brought her. Yet, Hadrian came
and her daughter's worries as if flew out of the window. She saw her
happy. If it meant her daughter would marry the Lord of her family, the
Lord of her disgustingly rich family, then why not? Her daughter would
be taken care of for life and she would be happy with him. There was
nothing to complain about, really.
Hadrian was already resigned that Dora will, eventually, join him and
Narcissa in their bed and later on even in their marriage. Narcissa got her
claws in her and that ending was inevitable with her brainwa-, ahem,
teaching methods. Hadrian knew that poor Dora will most likely lose
some of her innocence by the end of her holiday training but... in a
dangerous world like this that was a good thing.
But then again... Deep down, he truly does see Dora as his. He... likes the
girl. He wouldn't mind marrying her. Even if Dora was a little wild soul,
she was always ready to help. Hadrian was very aware of the almost
illogical trust and loyalty the girl held for Harry Potter. Now that she
started liking Lord Black... a complete stranger she never met and her
feelings were neutral towards him and it turned out to be Harry?
Dora's mind probably jumped from friendship to Fuck-me right in one
jump.
But, was there really something to complain about?
Just then his eyes again met Andromeda's.
'Just imagine what a metamorph can do in the sack!' Her eyes mirthfully
conveyed as the mile-wide smirk on her face was very telling.
He came to a decision that, yes... there was a lot to complain about. In-
laws being the prime object.
Hadrian decided to give Dora space so her feelings could stabilize. He
totally didn't do it to avoid dealing with Andromeda and her teasing.
That he did not. Honest!
...
Andromeda and Dora finally left and Hadrian activated the aging rune.
He and Narcissa flopped onto their couch.
"Did we do the right thing?" He asked Narcissa as he rubbed his eyes.
"The betrothal contract between you and Dora?" Narcissa asked.
"Definitely. It will give the girl a certain amount of protection.
Dumbledore will be less inclined to probe her mind as if he was
discovered it would alienate our support for his Headmaster position. It
will also present opportunities for Dora."
Hadrian nodded. He knew it was the right thing. He remembered Dora's
jumping form as she giddily showered his face with wet, sloppy kisses
when they offered her the possibility of betrothal between her and
Hadrian. The girl had to be pried from him by Narcissa after she started
making out with him in the middle of the library.
In the end, they promised Dora that she may sleep with them in the
Hufflepuff Chambers. Hadrian had no delusions that she will become his
there and then, on the first night in Hogwarts.
He better stopped thinking about it but instantly got oversensitive due to
Narcissa's chest.
"So... wanna finish what we started in the morning?" He asked Narcissa
who was leaning on his shoulder.
She perked up, a smile splitting her face. Leaning closer towards his
crotch, her hands started working on his belt with vigor but it was not to
be...
"Mister and Mistress, Mistress Bellatrix has woken up." He informed them
and disappeared with 'pop'.
Both Narcissa and Hadrian looked at the empty place the elf stood a
second ago, only one word coursing through their minds.
"Fuck."
Ch67. Bellatrix awakens
Hadrian and Narcissa rushed to the basement and entered the room
where Bellatrix sat, still bound to the chair. The second they entered,
Bellatrix raised her head and her black orbs peered at Narcissa, only to
swiftly snap towards Hadrian. They widened as Bellatrix was overcome
with a strong feeling of attachment and adorations. She started to thrash
her body in her bindings but her eyes didn't leave Hadrian's.
"Troublesome hag." Narcissa muttered as she released the binding runes.
She clearly saw the adoration in Bellatrix's eyes so there was nothing to
worry about. Her spellwork was a success.
The runes vanished, freeing Bellatrix, and not even a second later,
Hadrian was impacted by a Black blur of Mrs. Black, the second. Bellatrix
rubbed her sunken cheeks on his chest as her skinny hands clutched him.
Hadrian didn't know what to think but he knew well what he felt. He felt
comfort, peace, warmth. Bellatrix was giving him such a beautiful
plethora of feelings! He couldn't help but unconsciously snake his hands
around her and hug her tightly to himself with wide eyes.
He didn't think the connection would be so... so... pleasant.
Hadrian could only marvel at how much better it must be for Bellatrix
since her mind was built upon it.
Bellatrix was in heaven. Even a day under Crucio with regular time-outs
didn't feel so good!
The second she saw Hadrian, her mind froze and instincts took over. She
wanted that man near her. She wanted to be hugged. Patted on the head.
Praised!
So, when the bindings came off, she quickly embraced him. That's when
she was overcome with... enjoyable cozy feeling. She snuggled closer.
And closer. As close as she could! And... and she couldn't believe
someone managed to make her feel alive even more than when she was
torturing someone.
Yet, it happened.
"You done yet?"
Bellatrix's plushie-time was interrupted as she heard her sister call out on
her... She would normally ignore Narcissa but... she remembered the
glorious torture her sister put her through. Bellatrix was the first who
accepted the truth. She was... scared of her sister.
"Yes?" She asked as she took a step back from Hadrian but took his hand
in hers, squeezing tightly.
"I need to look if everything is as it should." Narcissa stated, more for
Hadrian than Bellatrix, and raised her wand.
Bellatrix instantly stiffened and got into a defensive position, fear
creeping into her eyes. In this world, she feared only two things. Being
thrown away by Hadrian and her sister. Both for a good reason too!
Hadrian noticed her tension as her hand suddenly gripped his really
tightly. He smiled at her and squeezed his hand firmer, getting Bellatrix's
attention.
"Don't worry. She won't harm you."
With a reluctant nod, Bellatrix relaxed and let Narcissa shift through her
head. Her body shuddering from the sheer anticipation of debilitating
mental torture.
But, Narcissa was gentle and at best a prick, if even that, was felt by
Bellatrix.
The second Narcissa was finished, Bellatrix embraced Hadrian again and
Narcissa chuckled at his exasperated sigh.
"Hm, looks like she is channeling her want for attention from her
childhood at you." Narcissa smirked and then cooed. "It is sooo cute!"
Hadrian was sure Narcissa was burning the image into her head... He
sighed yet again.
"She is... childish." Hadrian remarked.
"More like insane." Narcissa rolled her eyes.
Bellatrix just nodded her head up and down happily in agreement.
"You have to understand that Bellatrix is still the same person. Only with
a slightly different personality... ok, that would de facto make her into a
different person but my point being... she is still Bellatrix. She was
ALWAYS like this. She just never had anyone she truly loved or with
whom she could be so open and carefree. This is her 'light' side" Narcissa
explained.
"I see. Are you feeling fine, Bella?" Hadrian turned to the woman pressing
her head to his chest and couldn't help to notice how boney and skinny
she was. It was really getting uncomfortable being held by her So many
pointy ends...
"Yes!" Bellatrix exclaimed, then her eyes revealed a slightly pondering
look and she turned to Narcissa.
There went Hadrian's hopes at being released...
"Sister? You are... my plushies wifey?"
Hadrian facepalmed. Narcissa snickered. Bellatrix tilted her head.
Great, I was officially demoted... Hadrian thought.
"Yes. I am this teddy-bear's wife." Narcissa beamed at her sister teasingly.
Bellatrix pointed at her face with a confused expression.
"Me too?"
"Ah... so you do remember." Narcissa nodded. She told her before she
broke her. "Are your memories intact?"
"Yes. I remember everything." Bellatrix shrugged uncaringly.
"Regret anything?" Narcissa asked curiously but instantly understood the
answer as she saw Bellatrix's confused look.
"Why? I did what I did because they were weak."
Hadrian could only look bewildered between Narcissa and Bellatrix.
"Sister, but... you won't be able to torture people if you want to stay with
Hadrian." Narcissa patiently explained.
"Bella won't be able to play?" Bellatrix pouted and Hadrian thought it
looked so wrong at her gaunt face. He would have to do something about
it. It would be so cute too! Similar to Narcissa's face. But.. Narcissa Black
did not pout! Such a pity, really.
"No, Bella won't be able to play. How about Bella let Hadrian play with
her, instead?" Narcissa smiled ingeniously at her sister who bobbed her
head up and down, desire seeping into her eyes.
"Hadrian." Narcissa addressed her husband. "Bellatrix will always be
childish but for the next few days, it might be slightly uncomfortable. She
needs to adjust. We will need to stay with her. At least until her mind is
done processing the changes and starts working in full capacity."
"Oh... thank god. I would not survive someone who wants to 'play' with
me twenty-four-seven." Hadrian grumbled as he stroked Bellatrix's head
gently.
Bellatrix was not listening to the conversation anymore. She enjoyed the
head pats! That was important! Un!
"Yes. But... I would be more glad if she was this childish. After her mind
gets into its normal state... well, if you point her in someone's direction
or someone annoys her… She is still Bellatrix." Narcissa showed helpless
expression.
"At least she will be more mature." Hadrian bit out.
"True." Narcissa shrugged.
Bellatrix in the meantime started to frown at the state of her hair as she
curled a strand on her finger. It reminded her about her wand and she
wondered when she would receive one! Bella wanted to make things
glowy! Shiny! Red! Screaming!
Preferably her new plushie! In pleasure!
Hadrian quickly patted her head again and it was quite awkward for him.
The woman was over forty but he was treating her like an oversized
child. Moreover, she did not look even remotely as good as Narcissa. The
years in Azkaban showed... a lot. He released a sigh. At least it made the
lust in her eyes switch to delight at gentle touches. There is just no way
he would sleep with Bellatrix when she looked like a skeleton enwrapped
in human skin. Yes... the house-elves fed her. Yes... she got better. But in
these little over six days she was outta Azakaban not that much changed.
She was still looking like a hag.
Hadrian was taken out of his reverie by Narcissa.
"Well... what to do with her." She mused out loud.
"Wait... you want to tell me you had no plan for her?" Hadrian gave
Narcissa a bewildered look. She was the main schemer out of the two of
them! She always had a ploy! "Seriously?"
"Seriously." Narcissa deadpanned.
"Well... I could think of a few people who need a visit..." Hadrian grinned
menacingly and looked directly into Bellatrix's eyes, making her shudder.
Bellatrix couldn't help but feel it was very, very smexy! Bella likey!
Ch68. Hogwarts infiltration!
It was finally New Year's eve. The last few days were demanding for
Hadrian and Narcissa as Bellatrix was a handful of a child. Fortunately,
she got progressively better and more mature. Unfortunately, this meant
she pleaded, begged, tried to entice, and used many other methods to get
Hadrian to sleep with her. The more mature she got, the more she
wanted the 'attention' from Hadrian and he could only groan.
He and Narcissa now stood in front of the hearth ready to floo away.
Narcissa had an intricate dress on herself, Showcasing wealth, influence,
and most important of all for Hadrian, it showed a little skin. He was not
possessive! He just loved the thought of Narcissa belonging to him. She
was his and it would stay that way. If anybody tried to take her from
him...
He could not change her past. And her tormentors will suffer for it. But
her future was his.
Narcissa was about to attend New Year's party at the Ministry and mingle
with the vain, aristocratic sort. She wasn't very thrilled about this new
development. Her picture of perfect New Year's eve is she and Hadrian
naked in the bed but... the situation called for a 'sacrifice'.
It was Dumbledore who asked her to come to this party so the least she
could do was to attend and make sure the old fool was far away from his
Hogwarts office while Hadrian goes through with his plan.
Hadrian looked all over himself, checking if he had everything he
needed. He had a plain black hooded robe, few runic gadgets from Cissa,
his wand, and in a pocket his invisibility cloak.
He was ready.
While the portrait of Phineas Black could not give Hadrian a more in-
depth description of defenses nor could it relay information or spy on
Dumbledore. It could nod and shake its head at Hadrian's questions. Even
if said questions were forbidden to be relayed... verbally. Phineas might
have been the Headmaster but he was Black first and foremost. He was
loyal first to the family so having his portrait in Dumbledore's office was
really beneficial to Hadrian.
He even invented a very primitive system. Phineas had three portraits.
Every time there would be an emergency or important information, he
would appear in a specified portrait and Hadrian would know something
happened. Pollux would either try to give Hadrian clues through his
actions or gestures or Hadrian would ask questions and Pollux would nod
or shake his head.
It was almost sad... the fabled security system of portraits was breached
by childish arm-waving and head shakes.
Anyway, Hadrian's last bout of questions pertained to one... Fawkes.
He had to get that chicken out of the equation.
Narcissa flooed to her destination and Hadrian entered their bedroom
and entered the Vanishing Cabinet they bought from Borgin and Burkes.
It took a few weeks to repair but now it was in working condition. He
appeared in its pair, right in the Hufflepuff Chambers.
From there Hadrian went to Ravenclaw Chambers and to the Room of
Requirement through the secret passages.
Hadrian stood in front of the door out of the Room of Requirement and
took a deep breath.
"Come on, Harry. You will be fine."
He set the exit location and the door opened. In front of him was the
office of Headmaster. He could see the table, various gadgets, the perch
with curious Phoenix...
Wait... gadgets?
"Fuck!"
Hadrian only now remembered! Dumbledore had some blood magic on
him! The kind his perception would not be able to detect!
Hadrian immediately blocked his core to maximum, making him akin to
a squib. He could not cast any spell but no magic-sensitive ward would
notice him. Hogwarts was filled mostly with those as it was a school for
magical children. Only the outer perimeter had wards that could help
against fighting muggle armies. But those were lethal wards, activated by
the Headmaster only in the times of war. It did help Hadrian that most of
the normal anti-bullying, anti-rape, and anti-dark wards were turned
permanently off by Dumbledore.
In the office was a detection ward, a few offensive and defensive ones...
well, his Potter-senses were tingling! They told him it will be fine if he
made a squib out of himself.
Hadrian didn't step inside yet, he took out a gadget from Narcissa and
rolled it inside.
The portraits, except Phineas Black who was missing, could only see a
small ball rolling along the floor from one corner of the room and then...
nothing. Only darkness. For these portraits, it was an almost painful
experience.
The ball had many runes and the wards and portraits were temporarily
out. Hadrian sighed and stepped inside, hightailing it to the gadgets that
monitored him, ignoring Fawkes's indignant squeak.
Hadrian looked over them and cursed. Dumbledore must have gotten his
blood from his parents as only they could get a willingly given blood
from an infant. Hadrian doubted the blood was given willingly to
Dumbledore by his parents though... No matter how utterly retarded they
were, they would not give the life and death of their only child to the
hand of another man, would they? Oh, who was he kidding!
The good news though, was that the trinkets didn't report nearly as much
as he thought. His general location. Right now it was Hogwarts. His time
in Grimmauld Place probably showed London.
His health. Well, nothing to worry about there.
The dark magic indicator... Hadrian was glad he didn't yet devise a plan
to get rid of the magic leech. For now, that leach was one of the things
that were continuously feeding on his magic, making it rise at a
breakneck pace.
Hadrian then looked through the office, stashing away anything useful.
Especially Grimoires and books from various families that Dumbledore
somehow 'borrowed'. Even the Potter ones were there.
Then he approached Fawkes.
"Hello, chicken." He cheerfully waved and got a reproaching squeak in
return.
"I know, I know. But you do look like a chicken!" Hadrian rebuked only
for Fawkes to start screeching at him.
"What magnificent bird! Magnificent your ass! You are just burning
chicken!"
"No, no, no. Calm down. I did not come here to challenge you for an
honor duel!"
"What do you mean by may the better bird win!"
"Stop pecking me you overrated firework wannabe!"
Both the bird and Hadrian were gulping air, glaring at each other after
their tirade of screeches and heated words. Both nodded at each other.
Their honor duel was a tie!
Time for round two!
"Okay, hold on." Hadrian held up his hand in a pacifying motion. "I can
set you free."
Fawkes immediately quieted down and nodded, mentally asking Hadrian
what he wanted in return.
"Aha! You are a smart birdie, aren't you?" Hadrian smugly smirked only
to get a swat on his head courtesy of Fawkes's wing.
"Fine, fine." He rubbed the spot in annoyance. "I need you to..."
Fawkes leaned closer and the more he heard of the 'favor' the more he
liked it! He happily trilled at Hadrian.
"Stupid bird." Hadrian muttered and took out another runic gadget from
Narcissa. He put it on Dumbledore's table and the last drawer
miraculously appeared. Hadrian then put a paper with unlocking rune
onto the drawer and with a click, he took out the necklace binding
Fawkes to Dumbledore.
Hadrian happily exited the office, his loot in his expandable pouch,
twirling the necklace on his finger as the door to the Room of
Requirement closed behind him.
In the office, Fawkes watched the spot where the door closed and waited
for the moment he would be finally free!
It took a moment but he heard a snap as if a glass shattered inside of
him. His bird sight sweeping through the room... the phoenix's beak
widened into a savage grin!
Ch69. Ball and Fawkes's freedom
Ministry Ballroom:
Narcissa was bored. Extremely so. She would rather get a good pounding
from her husband during this fine evening rather than have to interact
with these manipulative idiots. Alas, she was still Narcissa 'Malfoy', hehe.
She had to show some of her social abilities to not embarrass her
'husband'. The same husband who was scowling, sneering, fuming, and
snarling at her from across the room. At least some good points her
attendance had.
Seeing Lucius completely livid could be, by now, called her hobby!
Narcissa doubted Dumbledore had any idea what him asking her to
attend would mean. She was gleeful when she saw his own lackeys look
at him completely flabbergasted at inviting a 'Malfoy'. Alas, he probably
thought he would be able to spread her hostilities with Lucius and make
their conflict a public knowledge, weakening Malfoys and with them,
other Dark Families. But... Why would Narcissa explain herself to a
bunch of Light Munchers? When she was asked why she was invited by
him, she just smiled and courteously nodded while stating.
"Ask Dumbledore."
But... the poor old chap couldn't reveal it! He swore an oath to Lucius…
and her! Even if it was unknowingly. Dumbledore probably didn't think it
would cover the secret of her being with Lord Black. He should clearly
study oaths more, idiot.
Oaths are intent-based. All Narcissa had to do was to secretly grab her
wand when Dumbledore was giving the oath and subtly connect her
magic, a trick she learned from Hadrian during sex, with the magical link
of the oath between Lucius and Dumbledore as it was forming.
Her position was the one who was being given a promise and her intent
was to protect the secret of her relationship with Lord Black.
Dumbledore's wording.
'I swear to protect the secret I just heard.'
Was vague enough to pull it off. Yes. He should definitely study oaths
more...
So, when the light families oh so subtly asked Dumbledore why he asked
a 'wife' of a Death Eater to attend on his insistence...
Narcissa enjoyed his sour look and side-glances to her as he realized his
plan was fucked up. Narcissa just shrugged at him with a smirk.
"I am sorry, Lord Dumbledore. I am a taken woman. If I knew your
intentions I would never have accepted. No matter how much you insist,
we can't be together."
She told him impassively when quite a few of his allies came closer and
left his side. It was glorious! The old coot was gaping in the middle of the
Ministry Ball in his indigo starry robe as he was swarmed with indignant
questions and angry allies.
She walked away and tried to keep herself out of the spotlight while
keeping watch over the old goat. It wouldn't do for him to leave. Her sole
role was to make him stay in the Ballroom, after all.
Narcissa was approached by many people. To talk. To do business. To
gossip. To flirt. These gatherings were always boring like that.
"Hello, Lady Malfoy." Andromeda approached her, followed by Amelia
Bones and Susan Bones.
'Oho, this will be fun!' Narcissa thought.
"Greetings Regent Black. Hello Regent Bones, Heiress Bones." Narcissa
curtsied herself properly.
"I saw you sitting here alone, drinking wine, and thought you would like
company." Andromeda quipped.
"Ah. Yes, having a company would be nice." Narcissa smiled and Amelia
narrowed her eyes.
"Susan is half-blood." She bluntly told Narcissa who just waved her head
dismissively.
"Let that be a problem for my 'husband'." Narcissa giggled, from the
corner of her eyes observing Lucius's snarl. "Hello, Susan. I heard a lot
about you." She pleasantly greeted the girl.
"You did?" Susan asked shyly.
"Oh, yeah. I heard you are one of the Potter little half-blood group."
Narcissa rolled her eyes. "As is my niece, Andromeda's daughter. Big
deal… really."
"Oh..." Susan bashfully lowered her head, getting Amelia's encouraging
hand on her shoulder.
"So? Do you love Potter?" Narcissa asked curiously, making the little girl
even redder than her hair. Looks like her fun just delivered itself right to
her front door!
"I-, I" Susan sputtered with wide eyes.
Amelia smiled knowingly at Narcissa and decided to join the fun.
"Well, he did save my little princess from the big bad troll."
"Oh, do tell, his heroic tale about saving the little damsel in distress!"
Narcissa clapped.
"You two..." Andromeda looked at them speechless while Susan wanted to
dig a hole and hide there.
"But seriously... troll." Amelia scowled. "We are lucky the boy managed to
fight in long enough for Dumbledore to dispatch it."
"Dumbledore did not defeat it!" Susan instantly screamed, defending her
friend while attracting attention.
Narcissa quickly sent the crowd an apologetic gaze that basically meant
'fuck-off' while Amelia scolded Susan for being loud.
After the crowd finally looked away, Amelia asked.
"What do you mean? My auror reported it was Dumbledore who defeated
the troll."
"Blasting a corpse with Bombarda is considered defeating it?" Susan
huffed.
"Okay, princess..." Amelia nodded slowly. "Tell me what really happened,
then."
Narcissa also listened about the bravery of her lover and couldn't help
but smile at the indulgent, wishful, and happy smile Susan had when
talking about Hadrian.
'Oh, we will have so much fun with this girl!' Narcissa couldn't help but
think giddily.
The rest of the evening Narcissa spent probing and teasing Susan while
Andromeda and Amelia talked about old times when they went to the
class together.
Amelia was really amused at this 'new' Lady Malfoy. She never saw Susan
so engaged in conversation. So bashful but so happy. It was such a pity
that Narcissa was Malfoy. She would not mind having Narcissa teach
Susan a few lessons on etiquette, manners, or politics but if Bones
associated with Dark Families... Sigh, at least Blacks started to be seen
more of a grey than dark. Gotta be happy for small mercies.
The evening was nearing its end and Narcissa was wondering if Hadrian
managed to get into Dumbledore's office when it happened.
A bright flash of orange exploded near Dumbledore, blinding everyone.
When the light show finally subsided, a majestic phoenix... chicken in
Narcissa's opinion... could be seen flying in front of Dumbledore.
Dumbledore who was talking to several light-sided families furrowed his
brows and approached the phoenix.
"Fawkes? Why are you here? Go home, my friend." The old coot goaded.
The phoenix didn't take it well and screeched hatefully... cue another
bright flash of heat.
When all was done and gone, the flash subsided. Fawkes was already
long gone.
Dumbledore stared wide-eyed forward as his body suffered several
serious burns. He registered the pain and started screaming his lungs out.
His body was charred except his head. It must have been insanely
painful, Narcissa surmised.
Dumbledore's body slowly crumbled to the ground, unconscious.
The panic ensued. A phoenix just attacked his owner and ran away!
Well, let's just say, the rumors saying that only a light wizard can have
phoenix as a familiar would now bite Dumbledore in the ass. Serves him
right, he should not have circulated them in the first place. His phoenix
just burned him before a huge crowd of important people right in the
Ministry building before leaving. This will have far-reaching effects on
Dumbledore's reputation. Especially if the phoenix left for good!
Somewhat, Narcissa understood that Hadrian's mission was a success and
he was behind this. She counted this as a great success if she took into
account Dumbledore's complete lack of hair, beard, and eyebrows!
Ch70. Philosopher's stone
The next morning Hadrian and Narcissa ate their breakfast.
"Hear this..." Hadrian told her and took the Daily Prophet into his hands.
"Yesterday in the evening hours the house of Headmaster Dumbledore
mysteriously burned down. No possession was recovered."
"Or this..."
"Yesterday, a mysterious fire destroyed the Headmaster's office at
Hogwarts. The entire room was burned to the ground and it is suspected
someone is targeting Dumbledore."
"Or..."
"Yesterday, on the Ministry sanctioned New Year's Ball, Headmaster
Dumbledore was attacked by his OWN Phoenix! Does this mean the man
we believed to be the greatest light wizard, the second coming of Merlin
is actually a Dark Wizard!? This reporter doesn't know. But what this
reporter knows is that Headmaster Dumbledore lost his bond with
Phoenix. A being that is rumored to only be with light wizards..."
"Well, that one is Skeeter, alright." Narcissa snorted.
"Yup. So, tell me, how did you enjoy the show yesterday?" Hadrian asked
in glee.
"Oh, it was certainly entertaining!" Narcissa giddily stated. "At first..."
She started explaining how her evening went.
In short... Dumbledore scheming. Boring. Idiots. Boring. Andromeda.
Susan Bones. Interesting. Dumbledore. Phoenix. Fire. Cooking.
"It is such a pity Dumbledore survived too!" Narcissa sighed.
"Well, that's given. He had a bond with Fawkes. The chicken can't kill
him. Even hurting him so much was already pushing it." Hadrian sadly
noted.
"But... wait." He read the next article. "... the suspected time until
Headmaster Dumbledore wakes up from his coma is five days..."
Narcissa watched as Hadrian lit up like a Christmas tree. He stood up in
pure happiness.
"Go and fetch Bellatrix!"
Bellatrix was still recuperating in her own room because her
malnourishment was quite serious. Unfortunately, while there are
nutrition potions, Narcissa explained to Hadrian they are bad in the long
run. They limit the body's potential which is a big no-no for a battle
witch such as Bellatrix.
Narcissa looked at her half-unfinished cereals and gave her excited
husband a deadpan glare which promptly sent his posterior back onto the
chair.
"On the second thought, it can wait until you finish eating." Hadrian
dryly chuckled.
"Good." Narcissa smirked. "I will have to reward you later." She
murmured more to herself, making Hadrian blush.
...
Hadrian and Narcissa were watching an excited Bellatrix with blank
faces.
The witch was changing the Room of Requirement faster than they could
perceive what exactly it was changed to.
Hadrian glanced at Narcissa and nodded in Bellatrix's direction.
Narcissa shook her head and looked at him, gesturing with her eyes to
Bella.
They had a stare off for a few seconds until Hadrian sighed and
approached Bellatrix.
"Bella, could you please stop messing with the room?"
Bellatrix spun and started bobbing her head up and down.
"What are we gonna do?" She asked, her entire body itching for some
action.
"You are going to wait and be quiet."
Bellatrix winced but with a sad expression nodded. Hadrian sighed to
himself in exasperation and patted the downtrodden woman on her head
and smiled when she leaned into his touch.
"Just wait for a second, kay?" He softly whispered to her.
She got more enthusiastic and nodded to him in agreement. Hadrian
turned towards the door leading out of the Room of Requirements.
Narcissa and Bellatrix watched as he took a deep breath, obviously
wished where they should open and opened them only to instantly side-
step.
A mirror flew into the room and Hadrian barely managed to catch it with
his telekinesis as he quickly closed the door.
"And that ladies," He smugly turned to Bellatrix and Narcissa. "is how you
steal without even having to leave your room."
Narcissa rolled her eyes but Bellatrix hopped towards the mirror and
started poking it with her wand.
"That's the Mirror of Erised."
Bellatrix blanched at that and quickly turned around. There were various
tales of powerful wizards who slowly wasted away after they became
addicted to the mirror. Anyone who placed that thing in the school full of
children was clearly several wands out of the whole collection.
Narcissa on the other hand curiously peered at it and started beaming.
Her Mind Arts expertise instantly recognized what the mirror did and
how she could exploit it.
"This will be an immense help in perfecting your Occlumency, Hadrian!"
Hadrian nodded but then grinned.
"But the best part is that no one will be able to find it here. This room is
kind of a sub-dimension therefore tracking charms won't work. And now
that Dumbles don't have phoenix and is in a coma, I doubt anyone will be
informed their precious thing is missing!"
Narcissa snickered. Yes. Hiding the stolen good here is a very good way
to hide it. Especially since the mirror had so many tracking charms on it,
it was not even funny.
"So, what is the thing you want? You certainly did not steal this mirror
for its nice reflection."
"You know me so well!" Hadrian exclaimed. "The uber super bestest part?
There is an enchantment that allows one, Harry Potter, to withdraw the
thing stored inside!"
Hadrian reached his hand towards his pocket as he stared into the mirror
and took out a red gem. Narcissa almost fainted.
"I-is tha-that a Philosopher's Stone!?" She shrieked.
"Yes. Yes, dear. That's exactly what this is!"
It didn't take long until both Bella and Narcissa sported two conjured
goblets full of water of life, making the stone unusable for a week. What
a broken tool. A week of cooldown to become young again...
Shaky Narcissa slowly put the edge of the goblet to her lips.
"Finally." She whispered and with closed eyes drank it all at once.
The change was almost instantaneous.
Her skin smothered, her bones cracked, and her muscles gained strength.
She could feel her organs pulsing with life as she was completely
refreshed and full of energy.
"This is great!" She quickly hugged Hadrian.
"I am glad, Cissy." Hadrian softly told her. "I quite like how it made you
look twenty."
"Wait! I look even younger!?" She squealed and quickly pulled her own
mirror to inspect her face.
Hadrian turned to Bella.
"Your turn." He told the bewildered girl.
Bellatrix also drank it at once and the change was much more visible.
Her gaunt figure filled up. Her sunken pale cheeks gained rosy tint and
her eyes brightened. Her dull black hair with some gray strands
completely changed. Bellatrix's chest gained a nice increase as her
posterior also became much more curvaceous. Her forty years old
haunted look of Azkaban resident changed to a young woman of twenty
with vibrant curly black hair and shining black eyes. She was... beautiful.
Hadrian could only stare at her.
"Well, sister dearest." Bellatrix quipped to Narcissa, the tip of her wand
scratching her temple. "I think it is time to double-team our dear
husband." She purred in excitement.
"Oh, yes, dear Bella. You are completely correct!" Narcissa put away her
mirror and skipped quickly towards the still bewildered Hadrian.
And with that, poor Hadrian was dragged into the Ravenclaw Chambers
by two over-enthusiastic eager women.
Ch71. Eager Bella and Cissy
Bellatrix was very unrelenting. Hadrian could evade her only so long and
decided to accept her now that she at least looks young and healthy.
Bellatrix dragged Hadrian to the Ravenclaw Chambers while Narcissa
eagerly followed with a skip in her step.
The door didn't even close behind them as Hadrian felt the aging rune
activate and was dragged by his hands into the king-sized bed with fluffy
pillows and soft sheets.
The women swiftly proceeded to double-tag Hadrian, making him sit on
the edge of the bed as Narcissa quickly dropped on her knees and undid
his pants while Bellatrix distracted him by pressing her chest on his, and
started kissing the hell out of him. Hadrian was not about to be defeated
so easily. His hand promptly snaked under the skirt of her dress, into her
knickers.
He suddenly heard Narcissa gag and felt his cock embraced by wet, tight
walls as she took him deep into her throat. She continued to bob her
head without stopping until he couldn't hold it in anymore and burst
straight into her mouth.
Narcissa didn't like having cum shot into her throat. She always moved
back so only the head of Hadrian's cock was in her mouth when she felt
he was about to cum... She wanted to taste it in her mouth. The woman
was developing quite a fetish for the taste of the cum of her master since
she realized the contract makes it taste so heavenly for her.
The women swapped and Narcissa relocated behind Hadrian's back and
started to massage his shoulders while he rubbed her clit as Bellatrix
quickly started licking his shaft. Bellatrix was more passionate and
started to play with his balls. She knew what spots to lick to make him
come and the woman took his entire cock into her throat when he was
about to release.
The foreplay done, Hadrian knew the women wanted more. Bellatrix
stood up from her kneeling position in-between his thighs and pushed his
upper part down, making it fall onto the bed. He didn't even notice when
Narcissa relocated from behind him and didn't get time to contemplate as
she quickly sat on his face, demanding his tongue to give her attention
while her hands were gently caressing his chest. Hadrian, of course,
returned the favor and started to taste her with fervor, making her gasp
in appreciation.
Bellatrix was horny. She had to endure days of wanting to be fucked by
her master! Now that his dick was in front of her and he didn't protest
nor there was anything to distract her from giving herself to him, she
didn't hesitate. She straddled Hadrian and instantly lowered herself on
his cock, straight up to the deepest part she could reach. Even her hymen
tearing didn't beget any reaction from her. Neither of them cared that the
elixir of life restored it. For Bellatrix, it was only a momentary enjoyment
from slight pain. She started to rock her body back and forth with fervor
as her hands hugged Narcissa and the women started kissing.
It took for Hadrian to cum two times until Bellatrix reluctantly released
him to Narcissa. Narcissa didn't want to be on top though. She laid on the
bed and spread her long white milky legs as her hand reached to her slit,
spreading it wide in invitation. She wanted the exact same thing Bellatrix
received. Hadrian wasn't about to refuse the request of his precious wife!
Plunging himself deep into her, he ferociously pumped in and out of her,
making her moan into Bellatrix's pussy as she sat on Narcissa's face,
letting Narcissa lick Hadrian's seed from her pussy while pleasuring her
with a tongue. Bellatrix also started a steamy make-out session with
Hadrian while her hands massaged Narcissa small bust, playing with her
nipples as Hadrian's hands kneaded Bellatrix's breasts, his fingers sinking
into them.
Hadrian didn't stop pounding Narcissa until she was overflowing with hot
milky cum. He released deep inside of her two times and managed to
make her have two orgasms when he finally pulled out.
Bellatrix promptly laid on spasming, panting, and gasping Narcissa who
enjoyed the after-glow and the feeling of cum gushing out of her pussy.
Bellatrix's and Narcissa's breasts pressed tightly into each other's as
Bellatrix started to kiss Narcissa, heedless of her still breathless state.
Bellatrix also raised her ass expectantly into the air, making Hadrian
chuckle. He sank his fingers into her posterior and started rubbing his
cock on her ass-hole. Before Bellatrix could widen her eyes as she felt
where he was aiming, he sheathed his dick into her ass, up to his balls
while he coursed wandless telekinesis through his fingers to her ass-
cheeks, making her moan in orgasm. Her body thrashed, her ass
tightened and loosened with each spasm, squeezing his cock. He didn't
even start moving but he was already about to paint her ass white.
The slight waver in Bellatrix made Narcissa able to recover and her
vindictiveness showed as she quickly cupped Bellatrix's womanhood,
rubbing her slit, knowing well she is still mid-orgasm and it would be a
heavenly pleasure but also very painful experience for her. Bellatrix
gasped as she felt the hand, and more importantly, the fingers invading
her. That was when Hadrian started moving in and out of her ass while
grunting and cumming his warm spunk into her. He didn't stop to enjoy
his orgasm. Bellatrix was in for some very rough but very pleasurable
handling.
Hadrian didn't forget about Narcissa though. He released Bellatrix's left
ass-cheek, making her whimper at the loss of the 'massage' he was
delivering, and put it on top of Narcissa raised knee next to Bellatrix's
ass.
Narcissa orgasmed again in sheer ecstasy of feeling his wandless
telekinesis tinglingly course from her knee up to her thigh, flaring every
single nerve ending, flooding it with indescribable pleasure, all the way
up to her pussy. Narcissa was a very happy woman. Her screaming mouth
wanted to sing praises that Hadrian improved his telekinesis to such a
degree! She felt as if she was just being fucked hard and had his cock
again inside her the second his telekinesis reached the insides of her
womanhood. Her body didn't expect the sudden rush of pleasure and
with a shriek, she started shuddering under Bellatrix.
Bellatrix also didn't expect Hadrian to put his other hand on her lower
back and do the exact same thing, only instead of aiming at her pussy
and indirectly, his cock, he targeted the pleasure points in her breasts.
The second his telekinesis went through her lower back, all the way up
her spine, around her torso, straight to the ample amount of flesh on her
breasts, they perked up as her stiff nipples became rock hard and she
threw her head back. Bellatrix'seyes rolled back and her body powerlessly
flopped on the still spasming Narcissa.
Alas, Hadrian was still plowing her ass and was not about to do an
unconscious woman. Another shuddering jolt of pleasure straight through
her spine to her brain woke Bellatrix up with a girlish shriek as Hadrian's
telekinesis directly caressed her nerve endings on her back. Hadrian
emptied himself into her ass for the second time as her pussy started to
gush her juices onto his knees. She promptly fainted again. Hadrian loved
the books on anatomy.
Breathing hard, he looked at Narcissa who was still conscious.
That just wouldn't do, now would it?
He kneeled down to be on the level of her ass. The poor woman had
Bellatrix lying on her and didn't expect him to invade her ass with his
cock. He enjoyed her tight ass for a while, just listening to her hot
panting. But he knew the woman was barely conscious and trying to stay
that way for his sake. The more she endured, the more her master would
enjoy it.
Hadrian smiled to himself at the thoughtfulness of Narcissa. He could see
her body wanted nothing but faint already but her mind held. For him.
He put his hands on Narcissa's hips. Before she could even widen her eyes
as her mind comprehended what's to come, he sent his wandless
telekinesis, tickling her mercilessly. Narcissa didn't shriek from joy or
orgasm. Oh, she did orgasm and hard, covering Hadrian's crotch in the
mixture of his own cum and her juices that was pushed out of her pussy.
But she didn't manage to scream as she fainted the second her mind
registered the pleasure.
With a grunt Hadrian pulled out of her and admired his work, the two
unconscious sweaty beauties lying on top of each other. Somehow, he
was proud of himself.
His exhausted self noted that Bellatrix rolled to the right and flopped on
top of his girls, falling asleep.
Ch72. Why one should not try to
take Bella down a peg
The rest of Hadrian's holidays was spent with Bellatrix as she was making
sure to pour the knowledge of practical use of transfiguration in the
battle into his head.
Bellatrix heard about the situation with the troll and she would be
damned if something like that happened ever again to her... husband.
How happy that little previously insignificant word made her! Even she
hardly believed it. Her first husband... Rudolphus. Well, she would
probably kill him one of these days. If only because he didn't make her
feel as good and appreciated as Hadrian did! Hehe, Bellatrix made it her
job to make Hadrian happy!
Hadrian almost wept from the number of bruises he had on his body.
Bellatrix Black DID NOT pull punches during training. He was fed-up
from having human-sized boulders hurled at him. Or from having wolf-
sized statues chasing him. Or from having a cobra-like creature made out
of carpet trying to squeeze him like a restrictor! Or... Well, you get it.
Sigh. He was completely done. But, on the brighter side, during these five
days, he learned more than he did in Hogwarts and its library in a half-
year. He could create those chains he bound the troll with on the drop of
a hat and animate them to act like snakes. He could create a dozen of
those wolf-like jagged rocky creatures with sharp spikes all over them.
He could make big golems and he could do all that completely
wandlessly.
Even Bellatrix pouted at him for hours due to that.
Today they had a mock battle between Bellatrix and Hadrian. Not for his
sake but for hers. Hadrian wanted to take her down a peg and he knew
exactly how to do so.
"So, Hadri, how would you fight little Bella?" Bellatrix cooed at him, her
wand not even pointing at Hadrian.
But he knew better. She was always trying to appear above the situation.
Cheerful. Childish. As if it didn't matter. It was poise. In reality, Bellatrix
was anything but. Hadrian was sure she would snap her wand at him
sooner than he could finish his spell the second she feels him casting
something.
Bellatrix was still childish and a whole lot crazy but she was a battle
expert. If there was something she had a knack for, it was killing things
with her magic. Or finding easy and convenient ways to kill things with
her magic. But she was arrogant.
Hadrian would have none of that.
"Why, my little Bella. I will use Flipendo." He smiled at her beamingly
and was satisfied as he saw her falter a bit.
"A flipendo..." Bella gave him an exasperated look of wonder. "Really
now. That I gotta see." She giggled.
Flipendo was utterly useless in a fight. Yes, it can trip a person and it is
fast but it is also a first-year spell that doesn't even need to be guarded
against as the magic dissipates the second it hits a moderately powerful
wizard.
"Sure. I won't even guard myself." Bellatrix shrugged and stashed her
wand to her sleeve, as she crossed her hands on her chest with a smirk.
"Oya, are you sure about that?"
"Yea, pre-"
And the completely and utterly low-powered first-year flipendo impacted.
Not her. But the ground under her feet and Bellatrix suddenly found
herself staring at the ceiling while her back ached from the unplanned
meeting with the floor.
"Wow." She breathlessly exclaimed. "This was incredible! Again!"
Bellatrix giddily stood up, completely happy that Hadrian bested her and
proved her wrong. If anything Bellatrix was not stupid and knew that he
just gave her a lesson. Not only a lesson in humility but also in power. He
showed her how she, one of the most dangerous witches of the modern
era, could be bested with an ordinary and very forgettable flipendo
charm! Bellatrix found it amazing! Being 'flipped backward' in battle is
pretty much game over. Especially since the charm uses one-hundredth of
the magic needed for some cutting hex or other battle-ready dark curses
and in the time a wizard uses a dark curse, five flipendo could be cast!
Hadrian didn't yet know how he would curse at himself with immense
regret for what he just did. He just woke a very unwanted skeleton in the
closet and the skeleton took a liking to finding ways how to kill with
first-year spells. Oh, the woes of Hadrian in years to come as his second
wife has her fun!
But for now, Hadrian had no clue yet about his future.
He just looked at serious Bella whose wand was at the ready, waiting for
his flipendo. He was sure she would try to block it. But he had his ways.
"Flipendo." He said and Bella cast a Protego. But no Flipendo flew at her.
It was then that she realized she was tricked and was about to send her
own flipendo at Hadrian in sheer vindictiveness but he was faster. Three
flipendo charms impacted the Protego of Bella in the exact same location
one after the other, making a small hole through which the fourth hit the
ground under Bella.
She could only stare with wide-eyes as the world spun and her back
again impacted the floor.
"Fuck. That hurt." A groan came from her mouth.
She stood up with a pout but her mind was getting more and more
interested in the special way Hadrian was handling her.
Oh, they both knew in a real fight this would be completely and utterly
useless. She would kill Hadrian in seconds. She was not yet as idiotic nor
weak to lose to flipendo when her life is on the line. Nor would she cast
Protego, the weakest shielding charm.
"Cast your strongest shield, Bella. I want to try something." Hadrian told
her... well, more like ordered but Bella didn't care. She had only one
master and that was Hadrian.
Suddenly a swirl of dark-grey something appeared in front of Bella,
shielding her.
"Uh... what's that?" Hadrian asked, weirded out.
"Dunno." Bella answered while looking at her nails as she kept minimal
focus to keep the spell going. "Some dark shit I never used because other
shields could do its job a whole lot better at a lesser cost. But it IS my
strongest shielding charm when it comes to durability."
"Ah. In that case..."
Hadrian cast another flipendo. This time, he added a tweak.
The invisible Charm impacted the dark shield and sent ripples through it.
The spells looked like they fought on the collision but then the flipendo
slipped through and Bella's eyes yet again met the ceiling as she thanked
every deity she applied the cushioning charm on the back of her head
even though she didn't think it would work.
She stood up and saw her dark shield still active. The flipendo completely
bypassed it. Marvelous!
"What was that!?" She asked as she deactivated her shield.
"Flipendo can not be overpowered. Usually. It is a precaution since it is
taught to children. I tweaked it a bit. My version is as strong as much
magic you supply. With enough precision and if I aim my magic on the
sufficiently small spot... It just kinda slipped through your shield."
Hadrian explained sheepishly. "Anyway, I am done, I spent seventy
percent of my magic on that."
He saw that Bellatrix was already in a world of her own.
"Bella, are you listening?"
"Oh? Ah... yes... no... don't care?" Bellatrix half-answered, half-asked with
a mix of confusion and annoyance at being interrupted from her thinking.
"What are you plotting?" Hadrian warily asked. He knew that look! It was
the same look she used when she wanted to be chained to bed! He
probably wouldn't like what will follow! OR he would like it. It would
depend...
"Well, I was just thinking you know?" She started, gleefully rubbing the
tip of her wand on her temple. "You used seventy percent but your magic
is still very underdeveloped. You have at most five percent of what I do.
IF I used ten whole percent for that spell..."
"What?" He got a bad premonition as Bella's face lit up like a Christmas
tree. "Would you flip somebody off so hard he would not be able to stand
up? Please..."
"With a good aim, I could kill a man with it! Just imagine it! Using
flipendo directly on somebody's heart!"
"Okay..." Hadrian trailed off, not about to discuss how an innocent
pranking first-year spell could be used to rip somebody's heart from
arteries by making it do a flip still inside the body. He had a clear picture
that Bella is fully able to pervert the spell to a killing machine on par
with Bombarda. Maybe this trying to take her down a peg was a bad idea
after all...
"You, me, bedroom, now! You made me shooo horny!" Bellatrix giddily
shrieked getting Hadrian back to reality.
He shrugged. Maybe it would get her to stop thinking about this?
Doubtful but he can still try!
He came to her and swept her up into a princess carry. Bellatrix girlishly
squealed in anticipation of their fun-time! Unfortunately for Hadrian, she
already had an entire list of first-year spells she was about to 'experiment'
with. Tehehehe.
Ch73. Dumbledore's nightmarish
awakening
Dumbledore's eyes fluttered. They groggily opened as the man groaned.
He managed to gather enough strength to sit and rub his eyes wearily. He
didn't know what happened. He was at the Ministry Ball when...
The memories flooded his brain as his eyes widened.
The blasted bird! It burned him!
Wait...
Fire. Fire burns... hair.
His head snapped to the side with the speed of light, right towards a
mirror. His eyes widened even more as his mouth was in a silent 'O' when
he saw his visage. His heart sank almost to his pants. His marvelous
fabulous uber special astoundingly awesome sensational breathtaking,
and staggeringly phenomenal beard! It was... simply gone! His hand
clasped his chin... only to find his old eyes didn't fool him.
He didn't even care that he was bald! But his stupendous remarkable
astonishing ... add adjectives ... beeeaaaard!!!
Tears started pouring down his cheeks like a waterfall as he just frozenly
stared into the mirror while his hand was patting his chin in a vain
attempt to find his lost beard.
That was the state the nurse found him. Utterly out of it.
"Hello. You already awake? I heard you were quite heavily injured! You
are a quite lucky man, Mister! Nobody told you it is very dangerous to
play with magical beasts? Especially those of fiery nature? Tsk. Tsk. Tsk."
These words stung Dumbledore's ego to its deepest parts. He almost
blanched at the accusations.
Unfortunately for him, the nurse was new and had no idea who he was.
She also didn't know why he was there except for a few bits the other
nurses fed her. A fire magical beast attack. That was all she knew.
Dumbledore stared in horror at the calm and collected nurse. His bears!
She did not recognize him!
This was even worse than he thought! He lost his entire image! Without
his facial hair, the common chumps did not recognize the awesomeness
that is Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore! It was a disaster!
His mind realizing the severity of the situation and the need to stay calm
but his emotions flaring nevertheless he could not take it and scream.
"FAAAAWKEEEEESSSS!"
His shout resounded through the entire St. Mungo. Unfortunately for
Dumbledore, his magic was depleted because of medical procedures and
potions he was fed to repair his body.
His outburst was quickly handled by a few Aurors that handed him his
ass and tucked him back into the bed.
Even more unfortunate was one beetle bug in the flower pot. Tomorrow's
headlines would surely be interesting! With an insane hairless
Headmasters and an epic battle between mighty Dumbledore and Aurors!
Rita Skeeter was a happy woman, indeed!
...
Dumbledore huffed. It took him three whole blasted hours to get out of
the hospital.
Worse yet, the second he stepped into Diagon Alley, nobody recognized
him! No boot-lic-, ahem, support. No 'hello, how are you, oh, mighty
Dumbledore!', nor 'The champion of light, we are saved'! While people
weren't THAT desperate, Dumbledore was aware that was what their
praises meant! He was their Greater Good! Or was it Greater God?
But now? Now nobody even gave a shit about him! Except for a few
unruly children... But those don't count! He did not enjoy the shit-
flavored Bertie Botts Beans... Stupid pranksters!
What really disappointed him and he used his power of disappointing
gaze all around, was that people looked at him in horror. They no longer
revered his attire! His incredible silky smooth bombastic colorful starry
attire! His style!
The people only stared at him as if he was a common weirdo!
Dumbledore irked and annoyed beyond reason, finally reached common
floo to Godric Hollow. His house was for some reason completely cut off.
It took him a bit of walking but he reached... it.
He reached a house that was charred-black. Almost in ruin. Devastated.
Falling apart by just existing. Finito. Nada. Zilch.
His eyes were blinking at the sight.
"Did I mistake the address?" Dumbledore mumbled to himself. "This can't
be right. Someone is playing tricks on me, right?"
He rang the bell on his neighbor that was almost worshipful of him.
"Hell-" He started as the door opened only for a newspaper to land on his
face. Hard.
"Dunno who yer are, sparky but I don't buy any magical weed!" The
neighbor sneered at him. Weird.
"You are mistaken." Dumbledore calmly said in a calm, sageous voice. "I
am only interested in the house next to-"
"Ah?" The neighbor eyed him suspiciously. "Burned down on New Year's
Eve. Tche. Must have been some dark wizard, I tell you! It was like a
firework! Fium, fium, bang, fium, boom!" The neighbor shrieked and
closed the door with a 'bang'.
Dumbledore could only stare at the door and his gaze brokenly trailed to
the house next-, to his house, he realized.
He couldn't even count the amount of how many priceless artifacts and
books were in his fortified house. He could, however, imagine what
would happen if they came into contact with magical fire.
Fium, fium, bang, fium, boom, indeed...
He dazedly walked towards floo. He needed to get to Hogwarts.
...
Dumbledore walked through Hogwarts and luckily didn't meet any of his
colleagues. He approached the gargoyle statue and noted everything was
in order. His heart almost jumped as he saw no burns on the entrance! He
and his secret stash of Lemon Drops still had a chance to end up together!
He needed his Lemon Drops!
He approached the gargoyle and noted the suspicious look it gave him.
Alongside with the disgusted look, it gave his clothes.
'Great, even Hogwarts is mocking me...' Dumbledore wanted to cry but
soldiered on.
"Lemon Drops." He cheerfully exclaimed and the gargoyle slowly opened,
keeping its eyes on him.
He walked inside and... froze.
What was previously his office, his trinkets-filled, book-littered, pensieve-
containing, Lemon Drops-providing, fluffy chair-having office was now a
black smudge on the floor and the walls. Heck, even the ceiling was all in
black!
His mind instantly went to the trinkets monitoring Potter. His mind
reeled as it understood the truth. They were gone. Irrevocably gone. He
could never ask Potter for blood. He can't even order Poppy to do so as
that wouldn't work. He just effectively lost the way to track Potter, his
boy!
Dumbledore fell on his knees. His mind swirling from Lemon Drops to
magical trinkets, back to Lemon Drops, and then to various Grimoires
people would want back, only to come again back to Lemon Drops.
Fuck... he lost his stash of LEMON DROPS!
It was then that McGonagall walked in and saw a man kneeling on the
floor, looking as if he was on the brink of despair-induced insanity.
"Excuse me, who ar-, ah! Dumbledore, you are back!" She exclaimed
surprised.
Dumbledore robotically turned to her with a frozen grimace.
"Minerva..." He sniffed and barely let out of himself the next sentence.
"Nice to see you this fine day."
"What happened to you!" McGonagall exclaimed with an utterly
bewildered expression. "You look... shaven."
Dumbledore processed what he just heard his student say and... broke
down crying, his body curling into a ball on the black floor as his sobs
reverberated through the room.
"My lemon drops..."
McGonagall approached him, pity on her face.
"There, there," McGonagall patted his back encouragingly as if she was
cheering up a child. "Don't worry. It is very... smooth."
He stopped crying and gave her a deadpan look, snot still covering his
face.
"Fuck it, I am going to overdose on magical hair-growth potions..."
Ch74. Hogwarts after holidays
Hogwarts started again and Hadrian met up with giddy Dora and happy
Susan on the train. Hadrian had a plan for little Susan. That he did! And
it will commence in the following months. He was finally sure he could
trust the girl.
Narcissa gave him a neat overview of her opinions about him from her
conversation with the girl during the Ministry Ball. Hadrian had to
sheepishly smile when he heard it.
Obsessed.
Loyal.
Trustworthy.
Shy.
That was Narcissa's words from her perspective as Mind Arts master. It
really took a weight from Hadrian's shoulders as he was now sure he
could actively depend on the girl.
His eyes strayed to Dora and he sighed. He trusted Dora. Especially now.
Narcissa trained the girl for days in Occlumency. Every day, Dora was
leaving Grimmauld Place with a horror-stricken expression, making
Hadrian curious about the method Narcissa used to teach the girl. It
clearly worked as Bella said that she is not able to rummage in Dora's
head. For Dumbledore's passive probes, that was enough.
Hadrian's problem with Dora was more of her new status. She was
engaged to him. While Dora knew nobody was to know, Hadrian was
sure she would try to get some... concessions from him. Dora was too
wild not to. He only hoped she would behave in front of Susan...
Thankfully, the trip back to Hogwarts was peaceful.
...
They arrived and badgers instantly greeted them. The chatter about the
holidays began.
Hadrian barely stayed calm as Dora's hand instantly found his and her
fingers interwoven with his under the table. She didn't even indicate that
anything is wrong, yet... she was clearly gushing happiness at the touch.
"So... Susan, I heard you had a long chat with Narcissa Malfoy at the
Ball." Dora smiled playfully at Susan.
"How did you... ah. Your mother." Susan pouted. "Yes. Mrs. Malfoy is,
contrary to the expectations. a very lovely woman." Susan nodded and
every badger in immediate surroundings stilled.
Susan looked around when she perceived the quiet around her and found
her housemates gaping at what she just said.
"Don't look at me! It's the truth." She exclaimed, barely noticing Dora's
snickers as she covered her mouth with her free hand.
"Yes, yes. Our cute little Sue would not try to deceive us, now, would
she?" Dora teased and Susan started blushing.
"No, no, she would not. She is a good girl, right?" Hadrian joined, making
Susan even redder.
"You two... stop bullying her." A Hufflepuff prefect rebuked them. "She
may puff due to it."
The table burst into laughter as Susan groaned in exasperation, dropping
her head on the table.
That was when the door flew open and Dumbledore in his purple starry
robe entered. His back was straight, his eyes regally set forward and his
chin raised. A long white locks of his hair were being dragged through
the floor as they were longer than his body. His front was covered in a
massive white beard, reaching his ankles!
It was visible the man was smug and felt self-important.
Dumbledore had a time of his life. And it was totally not because he was
still a bit high from hair-growth potions! Nope. He was completely and
utterly in control of his act-, auch... He almost tripped on his beard.
Where was he? Ah, yes. He was completely and utterly in con-...
The students looked as their Headmaster fought his long beard, trying to
walk regally towards his seat but even his most eager admirers were
deadpanning at him as he was tripping on his beard every two steps
while stroking the upper part of his beard, trying to appear calm and
collected.
He finally reached his seat after five minutes of stumbling across the
Great Hall... That gotta be some kind of record.
"How come he has a beard? He was completely hair-free last time I saw
him!" Susan asked in a whisper.
"Hair-growth potions." Hadrian shrugged.
"Oh? That makes sense actually. The side-effects contain self-importance,
obsession with hair, and drop in situational awareness." Dora explained
and then snickered. "But to actually see all three at once. Just how many
of them did the man drink?"
"Thirty." Hadrian grinned. "He bought them from a Potion Shop owned
by Blacks."
"Oh... neat. You must have earned quite a bit." Susan sweetly smiled.
"Well, they may or may not add a few... uh. You know. Just look at him."
Hadrian resisted the urge to start laughing as Dumbledore started
twirling a thick strand of his hair on his finger with an ecstatic
expression.
"You are evil." Susan accused him.
"Me?" Hadrian pointed at himself. "You saw nothing! Watch this."
Both Dora and Susan perked up as Hadrian whispered.
"Fawkes."
The bird didn't appear. They agreed that when Hadrian calls him, he
would discretely peek at the situation and act accordingly. But Hadrian
was only allowed to ask for help in most dire circumstances!
And as expected, blissfully unaware Dumbledore was playing with his
hair when an orange flash appeared in front of him, almost giving him a
heart stroke.
Fawkes flamed, sending tendrils of fire straight at Dumbledore's hair as
they burned. This time the fire was extremely controlled as Fawkes was
not as angry anymore and only Dumbledore's hair was affected.
The Professors gaped as the Headmaster lost his hair again. They didn't
want to take care of him more than they had to! These last days were
excruciating for them! They could swear that Dumbledore was worse
than a child!
The students? They laughed.
Dumbledore was again well-shaven as he looked forward with a head-tilt,
not comprehending what just happened.
His hand slowly reached to his chin and looked for his beard. It tried to
grip the facial hair that just wasn't there. The more it failed, the more
distressed his expression became. With a loud crack, Dumbledore
disappeared, only a loud...
"My beeeeeaaaaard!"
Could be heard after him.
Fawkes too flashed away with a smugly satisfied trill.
"Where did he go?" Susan asked.
"Dunno, probably flying around with Rowena." Hadrian answered
uncaringly.
"I meant Dumbledore."
"Ah, maybe overdose on the hair-growth potion again? Oh, I can already
see his money filling my pockets!" Hadrian lightly answered as he was
buttering his bread.
Completely ignoring the deadpan looks of Dora and Susan.
"You... really are evil." Susan snickered. "I like it."
Ch75. Just a peek
A week has passed since the Hogwarts started again and all returned to
the same old.
Hadrian showed Dora how to get into the Hufflepuff chambers the second
day after returning and took great pleasure in seeing her pacing from one
side of her room to the other side in tempting lingerie every evening,
only to decide that no, today is not THE day. She looked cute, all
distraught, nervous, and insecure. He often snickered when he saw her
ruffling her carefully combed hair from frustration, only to whimper later
as she realized she completely destroyed her look!
They were engaged. There was no need for her to feel that way. Hadrian
didn't really care if her hair was a bit messy. They were going to spend a
lifetime together, after all.
Yet, night by night, the girl just could not find the courage to step
through the hearth into the Hufflepuff Chambers.
Hadrian was really looking forward to telling her that once she opened
the connection, he could see into the room! Especially since she started
changing herself to his visage to have a mock-dialogue, or monologue, in
this case, alternating between his and her look. Dora was a mess. And
Hadrian enjoyed every second of it.
Alas, he promised her, he would let HER be the one to approach him
when she was ready.
...
The next day, Hadrian ate pancakes in the great hall, smiling to himself
as he reminisced about Dora's new escapade. She changed herself to
Narcissa, Bellatrix, and her own look to compare their bodies, only to
pout, huff, and groan at her still teenage body.
Narcissa is bigger. Bella is firmer. Narcissa is softer. Bella is more
tempting.
Oh, Hadrian could hear her not-so-quiet whining even now... He was
really glad the connection was one-way only, making Dora unable to hear
his laughter. When a woman that can change herself to anyone else starts
complaining her own body is insufficient... He could only shake his head
in exasperation.
The Great Hall suddenly went quiet as everyone stilled, their eyes
shooting towards the door.
Hadrian, curious, also looked up and instantly snorted, diverting his gaze,
trying to stifle his snickers with his palm.
"Yes, yes, laugh it up, Hadri." Dora mocked, going as far as using
Bellatrix's nickname for him. It would maybe work too if she wasn't...
Hadrian started laughing a little louder.
"So-sorry, Dora. You are just so... plumy this fine morning." He nodded to
her in greeting, his lips still stretched in a wide grin. "You too Sue. You
also look fluffy."
"Hahaha." Susan dryly huffed as she sat next to Hadrian.
Both girls were covered in feathers as their robes were painted pink and
hair resembled a duck. Somebody really tried to pull Uchiha on them!
"Weasleys?" Hadrian asked, getting a nod in return as Dora sat on his
other side. Except, her hand quickly took his and her fingers started to
play with his knuckles. This week, she did it almost every time they were
in the Great Hall. Dora really loved the physical contact.
"When I get these two shits into my hands!" Dora's eyebrow twitched, as
her lips snarled menacingly at the prospect of wringing their necks.
"It can't even be dispelled! It is a magical paint! Our hair is so tangled
and oily, and messy, and..." Susan whined. "It will take hours to get them
clean again!"
"Sure, sure." Hadrian wanted to pat the cute girl on her head but didn't
want to wake ducky. "Leave their punishment to me, kay? Nobody bullies
my girls!"
Both girls went as pink as their robes and Hadrian again burst into
laughter.
Hadrian found it funny, alright. But it was just that. Bullying. Pranks
should be harmless. Not something that could make you depressed for
weeks. This was too much and Hadrian vowed to make sure the two shits
will never try to prank his girls.
...
Later that evening, Hadrian and Susan met in the Room of Requirements.
He showed it to both Dora and Susan after getting an oath to never
reveal it without his permission.
But he only showed Dora how to get there through Ravenclaw Chambers.
He was not about to show Susan. Not even Hufflepuff Chambers. It would
be embarrassing to have her walk on him and one of his wives having
fun, after all!
"What did you need from me?" Susan asked curiously, looking at the dim,
serious, gloomy place the room changed into. It had a warm hearth and
two comfortable chairs near it. Hadrian sat in one of those chairs, in his
lap a closed book with a skull painted on top.
Susan tilted her head as she walked closer, flopping into the other chair.
"Susan. I can give you an opportunity to learn Bones family magic."
Hadrian told her seriously, making the girl shocked.
"Why do you have Bones family magic!" She exclaimed.
"Your aunt... gave it to Lord Black as repayment of the debts towards his
House. As you swore an oath to keep my secrets, I can tell you that I
know him. He lent me this book," Hadrian tapped the book on his lap. "in
case you would like to take the opportunity to learn about the magic of
your House. Of course, for that, you would need to offer an oath to never
reveal what happened in this room."
Susan was unsure. She was never told of any family magic by her Aunt.
That meant it was dangerous. But... she wanted to know of it. She also
trusted Hadrian. She... wanted to know more.
"I do." She meekly looked towards the ground as she understood that the
grimoire no longer belonged to the House Bones. She really wondered
what made her Aunt do something like giving THEIR family magic away.
"Susan, are you sure? The family magic of your House is... Necromancy."
Hadrian asked with concern.
Susan gasped. Their family practiced the... darkest of the dark!?
"Every Bones in ancient times was an extraordinary necromancer. They
were called 'Bones' for a reason, you see... It is only in the last two
centuries that your family stopped and joined the light side. And then... it
fell. There were tens of Bones every generation yet now since it joined
the light side in politics, you and your aunt are the only Bones remaining.
One hates anything dark and you... well, that is up to you." Hadrian gave
her a little overview of the past of her family.
It was a hard decision for Susan. She was always told dark was bad! But...
it was Harry who was asking her! Uuuuu... Maybe just a peek?
In the end, Hadrian watched as Susan opened the book after she gave
him the oath. The second she glanced at the first page, he knew he won.
Bones... extraordinary necromancers. No Bones who even peeked at the
family Grimoire was able to pull away from Necromancy. To resist the
family magic that urged, coaxed, even forced them to learn. They always
reached their peak in the art. Willingly or not. That was why the family
Bones was feared. Every Bones was ABLE to become a necromancer with
frightening skills. Especially since their family magic made them
completely immune to death magic corruption the same way as Blacks
were protected from dark magic corruption.
Blacks might have practiced dark magic and had a library full of
necromantic spells but even they were not stupid enough to use them.
They were not immune to death magic, after all. But Bones were. It was
the ultimate cheat for Necromancy.
Not the inferior shit that Voldemort called Necromancy. Not Inferi. No.
The real deal. The discipline that was forgotten, purged from the history
books for its vileness and utility. Necromancers could create entire
armies. They were too strong for other wizards to compete with. Maybe
only the darkest of the wizards or the most brilliant like founders were
able to go blow for blow with Necromancer who had gathered an army.
Bones converted to the light side because they didn't want to be ganged
upon and purged alongside the discipline. But... they always kept their
books. Their findings. Their skills. And their spells. Until... Amelia Bones
gave it away. Such a silly woman, really.
Hadrian wouldn't deprive himself of a skilled necromancer. He knew
Susan loved him even if she didn't admit it to herself yet. She would be
his and he will be damned if he gave her anything but the best.
Ch76. Nymphadora's courage
Hadrian laid in his bed, reading a book when he heard a sound from the
hearth. He raised his head and smiled. He expected this so he was
already in his adult form.
In front of him was fidgety blonde. Her eyes inquisitively looked at
Hadrian as she fumbled with her fingers. She wore very revealing black
lingerie and unconsciously licked her lips as she gazed at him.
"Eh, finally here to fulfill your wifey duties, are we, Dora?" Hadrian
quipped, making the girl blush.
"I was... busy." She looked away as her blush intensified when she
remembered what she did the previous nights.
Hadrian wanted to tease her but he was half-sure she would just run
away.
That wouldn't do, now, would it?
He spread his arms into an open hug, waiting for her to come to him.
Dora bit her lower lip. Her dream was about to come true. She wanted to
give herself to him since she admitted to herself she loved him. And then
the fiasco with Lord Black. Her feelings only increased. So, when she saw
his accepting widely spread arms, she almost squealed as she quickly ran
into his embrace, snaking her arms around his torso.
Hadrian smiled sweetly at Dora and she took it as an encouragement. She
didn't know he was smiling because she was in his hands, unable to run!
"Ah, ah, ah. Ickle Nymphy." Hadrian grinned. "I know you were busy..."
He trailed off, letting her mind compute what he just said.
Dora went rigid in his arms. His tone. His expression. He couldn't
possibly!
"After all, if you open the connection and let it that way, I... can... see."
He told her in a sing-song voice as he bopped her nose with his own
nose, putting his forehead on hers.
Dora was frozen.
"Tha-tha-tat means, y-you!"
"Saw everything? Yes, dear Dora, I definitely did. And I must say... you
look delicious in this piece of clothing!"
Dora wanted to crawl into a hole! Partly from his compliment and partly
from what he just said!
"Everything..." She breathlessly noted.
"Everything." Hadrian nodded with a chuckle, making Dora groan and
since she couldn't run, she buried her head into his chest. Suddenly, she
could feel Hadrian's arm kneading her left breast, she stifled her moan,
her body heating up.
"But you are not here for me to make fun of you, are you?"
She heard his voice sweetly whispering to her ear, making her whimper
in agreement.
Dora was quivering in Hadrian's arms as he played with her left breast.
He slightly distanced his head from hers, cupping her chin with his free
hand and raised it. He could see her teary and puffy eyes. He was sure
this was going a long way from her imagination.
He gently kissed her, making her freeze again, only to melt into it in a
few seconds. The more comfortable she got, the more wildly she kissed
back.
Nymphadora Tonks hated losing and she was not about to lose to
Hadrian! Despite how embarrassed she felt, she kept her head close to
Hadrian's. She kept her lips on his. She kept her tongue in his mouth!
This is so embarrassing, I wanna kill myself... She thought as her head
was overheating.
Hadrian, seeing her fight back, smirked. He put his hands on her hips and
heaved her up, making her squeal as he threw her body on the bed. Her
back impacted it, sending her body again up, making it bounce a few
times on the bed.
Hadrian quickly towered above her with a smile, reassuringly looking
into her eyes. He started to slowly pull her lingerie off, inch by inch
while his fingers caressed Dora's skin under it the second it was
uncovered.
Dora's breath hitched as she desperately tried not to moan from the
gentle touches.
It was when she felt his fingers enter her slit she gasped and bit her lower
lip afterward. She could feel Hadrian's fingers going in and out, making
her wetter and wetter down there. With a burst of courage, she trapped
Hadrian's head and pushed his lips to hers. He was not the only one who
could take initiative!
Hadrian happily snogged Dora as he felt her body coil, around his
fingers. He mentally smirked. It was time to take out the big guns. With
telekinesis, he pushed a soft pressure on her inner walls... Dora climaxed.
Her eyes went wide, her body shuddered, and her hands pressed Hadrian
tighter into herself as she whimpered from the feeling he gave her. For
twenty seconds, he could only kiss her neck as even his hand was trapped
between her thighs in a vice-grip.
"I want to feel you inside." He suddenly heard Dora's soft voice.
"I will happily oblige." He noted as he pecked her lips, seeing her close
eyes and completely entrusting herself to him.
Hadrian quickly vanished his clothes and continued to kiss Dora's neck.
He put his cock near to her pussy and pushed himself inside, groaning at
her warmness.
"You are wet." He whispered to her, making her whimper.
His hands took a hold of her breasts, kneading them with slight
telekinesis reaching deep under her skin, massaging them. He pulled his
head away from hers and enjoyed moving in and out of her while he
gazed directly into her eyes, watching her pant more and more by the
second.
He was about to cum and Dora surely felt it too. But he found himself
bound. Her legs were tightly pressing him faster and faster into herself,
making him unable to pull out as he shot every bit of his seeds deep into
Dora while his head fell on her chest, breathing hard while pushing his
telekinesis to make body reach over the edge, sending her to yet another
shuddering orgasm.
They laid there on top of each other while trying to reclaim their breath
as they enjoyed the after-glow.
He could suddenly hear Dora's sweet voice.
"Don't worry. I have the anti-pregnancy spell on." She gently reassured as
her arms snaked around Hadrian's shoulders. "That felt nice." She
lovingly caressed his hair. "I heard you love having your hair caressed. I
will make sure to do it a lot!" Dora cooed but Hadrian gently but firmly
left her embrace.
"Who said that was it?" He rolled his eyes at her astonished expression
and started a second round.
That night, Dora experienced heaven as Hadrian made her go through
hell to reach it. But she would have it no other way. But she would still
vehemently refuse any claims of her purring during it!
...
Dora laid exhausted on Hadrian's chest after their lovemaking. She could
feel the bed completely drenched from sweat and her juices. She was too
tired to even get embarrassed about it anymore. She also felt her
sensitive pussy still pumping his cum out of her and barely restrained her
moans. She felt Hadrian's hand caressing her hair, the same way she
boasted she would do for him. And she felt her relaxed body after he
gave her massage while he was taking her from behind.
Nymphadora Tonks did not regret a second of it.
"Oh, I already punished the Weasleys. You can look forward to it."
Hadrian quietly hummed, making her body delightfully shiver.
'Could this get any better?' Nymphadora groggily thought as she finally
fell asleep.
Ch77. Weasley twins pranked
While Hadrian and Nymphadora enjoyed their night, embracing and
pleasuring each other into exhaustion, two weasel-haired boys hung
around, sleeping peacefully.
Fred suddenly snorted in his sleep, making him groggily wake up. He
tried to rub his eyes but felt a weird kind of pull. Downwards.
Nevertheless, he raised his arm and rubbed his groggy eyes while
yawning before he shivered from the cold.
'Brrrr! Did George again forget to close the window?' He sluggishly
thought as his eyes finally opened in full, gaining clarity.
They immediately widened as the boy became speechless, looking down
while his mouth was wide open in shock, his heart on the verge of a
stroke. He robotically raised, or better yet, lowered his head, he was not
sure which, to look up and blinked several times.
He was hanging on a rope that tied his feet together. It was fastened to
something in the highest tower of the Hogwarts where the Astronomy
was usually taught. He looked down again, whimpering at the very nasty
and long fall that would await him if the rope snapped.
Fred Weasley did the only thing he could. He screamed his lungs out
from fear.
...
George Weasley was suddenly jerked up from his peaceful slumber by his
loud brother.
"Fred, shut up." He bit out. "I am tired."
"George, George, George! We were left hanging!"
George would give Fred a stink-eye as this was one of those extremely
rare times he had no idea what his brother talked about. But the horror
in Fred's voice stopped him. His mind stilled before it rebooted and
George started to take in the surroundings. Rope. Mid-air. Tens of meters
above the ground. Three meters below the Astronomy Tower's platform...
Oh shit!
George Weasley did the only thing he could. He screamed his lungs out
from fear.
...
They were panicking for ten whole minutes, screaming and screeching
for help... alas, Hadrian learned a very nifty silencing rune from Narcissa.
One that could nicely tune out the buzz in the surroundings. No annoying
shouting would be heard for the rest of the night.
Both Fred and George were trembling in terror when George spotted
letters appearing on the ground.
"Enjoy pranking? Twats? Gotta love hanging. Prats."
George read out loud.
"George and Fred, you are just a bully," Fred continued, getting bad vibes
from it.
"Let's see how far you can fall, truly." George finished.
The eyes of the boys widened. They were not pranksters for nothing. Far
and fall... in their situation... they got it, alright!
"Fu-"
"Shi-"
The rope was magicked to flexibly lengthen the second the words are
read out loud...
Both George and Fred were falling towards the ground, flailing their arms
in the air while their feet were still bound, fear surging through their
bodies the closer the ground got.
'Ah... this is it.' George closed his eyes, whimpering, expecting a loud
'splat'.
Fred's mind was blank. He saw his approaching death and... pissed
himself.
The quivering boys approached the ground at a break-neck speed when
suddenly... their bodies stopped. Their heads half a meter from being
opened like watermelons by the ground.
On the ground, they could see smaller words.
'Consider yourself pranked.'
Their minds blanked at that. They were unable to think anything about
what just happened when the words shifted.
'And enjoy the ride.'
Now both boys felt the fear creep up their spine again but before they
could say anything, both were yanked upward by the rope with loud
yelps. They flew upward through the air, up and up until... their bodies
went past the platform on the Astronomy Tower, flying way past the
highest point of the Hogwarts.
'Ah... such a nice view...' Both boys thought tearily as they stopped for a
moment at the highest point the rope enabled them to reach before being
stretched to its maximum.
Then... they fell again. This time though both veered slightly to the side.
Fred to the right while George to the left. But the worst of it was just
coming. Hadrian used quite a useful ping-pong rune.
It did just that. The boys were thrown from side to side in the air like
ping-pong balls, the length of the rope determining when they bounce
backward. Their world was no longer going only up and down. It was
going right, left, up, down, ground, air, bricks, Fred, George, pain, down,
up, fuck...
Both boys would enjoy hours of swinging from side to side, from up to
down and from down to up, puking from all that fun as their throats got
hoarse from screaming!
Wasn't pranking a marvelous past-time activity!? Bella would be shoo
proud!
Hadrian made sure there were enough protection runes so the boys were
safer than the Headmaster in his bed. Especially since the anti-suicide
protections on the Astronomy Tower were working. No one died from
jumping down from the highest tower in the Hogwarts yet. Not for the
lack of trying though. Rowena had quite a lot of ideas to ensure the
students were protected.
Hadrian wanted to prank the Weasley twins. Not kill them. Except, he
never gave them the note that they were completely safe. Ah, such a
grave oversight!
This was a completely harmless prank too! It was just a magical bungee-
jumping rope with a ping-pong rune. Nothing than these two and a few
runes that ensured protection was used! What made it scary was that
they woke up in the situation without any preparation or time to think
while not telling them it was safe. Hadrian was sure the boys would
actually enjoy it if they knew! He felt like praising himself when he was
setting it up! It was so evil it made him shiver pleasantly!
He also made sure that a recording rune was set up on the ground and
the Astronomy Tower, recording this marvelous piece of art which will
be later broadcasted to the ENTIRE school for years to come! Exactly the
same as they did to Dora and Susan since the entire Great Hall saw them
pink and ducky.
Hadrian had nothing against harmless pranks. He would laugh them off.
But once the pranks cease to be harmless and start to be offensive and
humiliating? All because Dora and Susan called Ron stupid and hanged
out with Hadrian? Because the twins were forced to listen to Ron
grumble about stupid whores who want to monopolize the Boy-Who-
Lived and had enough of it? Because they wanted to humiliate Dora and
Susan so Ron would shut up?
Ah, ah, ah. Nobody makes fun of Hadrian's girls.
Oh, he promised Dora retribution and she will get loads of laughter from
it, alright. He would never care if they targeted anyone else but they
choose the wrong targets to try out their more vicious pranks.
It would be only in the morning that McGonagall would find two of her
lions hanging around, pale as white, stinking, and shaking more from
fright than cold. Both boys will be harshly reprimanded for trying to set
up a prank during the night getting caught in it! This was a school!
Astronomy Tower? What were they thinking!?
Ch78. Study group
Hadrian walked through the corridors of Hogwarts, distractedly thinking
about Dora's soft and smooth skin and her... sigh.
When he woke up in the morning, the first sight that greeted him was
Dora looking at him with wide frightful eyes as she realized they had sex.
It must have clicked in her mind and before Hadrian could even utter a
word, she was already through the floo connection in her room.
Alas, she again forgot to close the connection and Hadrian had a good
show of Dora berating herself for running away. Then it intensified and
Dora started cutely punching her pillow and scolding herself for not
waking Hadrian with her mouth. And his personal favorite, when she
grabbed the pillow to her chest and started rolling on the bed while
releasing whiny sounds due to not going for a 'second round' in the
morning.
Hadrian decided to let her cool off on her own.
As he was walking, his ears were offhandedly listening to the whispering
rumor mill.
"... Dumbledore is getting barmy!..."
'You don't' say.' Hadrian thought.
"...Professor Trelawney... St. Mungo... drunk..."
Hadrian just snorted at that as he continued walking.
"... yesterday Draco shat himself..."
'Oh, okay... wait, what?' Hadrian stopped but the topic was already over
when the gossiping Slytherin girls saw him. Hadrian shuddered as
Milicent Bulstrode made eyes on him and decided for a tactical retreat.
"... Weasley twins... scared to death..." "...kidding! Impossible..."
Hadrian straightened up. Heh, he was wondering how Dora would react
to that.
"...Hagrid's hut exploded!..."
Hadrian again stopped but this time he could hear more.
"...dragon? Really?..."
"...are they going to arrest him?..."
"...no, Dumbledore..."
Hadrian tilted his head and continued on his walk to the library.
'Now that they mention it... I totally forgot about Norbert. Looks like
Hagrid managed to raise him! At least until the dragon blew his hut...'
Hadrian shrugged. It was none of his concern.
Hadrian finally reached the library and headed straight to the corner
where his study group was having a meeting.
He turned around the corner and saw his table full of girls. There was
Dora whose head was deep in the NEWT potion book but Hadrian could
see her blush as the girl refused to look at him. With a smirk he looked at
Susan who was intently studying... he looked closer and made sure to
disperse any magic with his senses... Necromantic book in the middle of
Hogwarts library, great...
Hadrian at least sighed in relief as these books had Family Magic
Protections so only Dumbledore, and even that was questionable, would
be able to get a slight peek at what the book is really about.
Hadrian turned to the right side of the table and saw Hermione Granger
with three homework on the table, continuously swapping between them
as she wrote them simultaneously.
Next to her, was a fidgeting form of someone new.
'Longbottom... Ne... Nevu... Nevul... ah blast it. He shall introduce himself
anyway!' Hadrian decided and approached the table, sitting next to Dora.
The second he was seated, he saw Dora curling up into herself, her blush
deepening. He smirked and was about to tease her when he felt Dora's
hand reach between his legs, squeezing slightly as his eyes went wide.
'Huh... she probably heard about the Weasley twins then.' Hadrian's mind
surmised as he could feel the affectionate touch of Dora that sent a
shudder through his spine.
Dora leaned closer to him and pecked his cheek.
"Thank you." She whispered and fortunately her hand relocated to his
thigh instead of staying between his legs. They both completely ignored
the curious look of Granger and insecure peek from Ni...Na...Uh,
Longbottom boy.
Susan didn't care, it seemed at the first glance. Hadrian sat on the left
side, closer to Susan so he could see the very quick momentary pouty
looks she was sending Dora. It was adorable.
"Something happened?" Hermione asked Done in 'I need to know!' tone.
"Nothing!" Dora answered in a teasing sing-song tone, clearly saying 'Nu-
uh~, you don't'.
Hermione pouted but her eyes intently stared at Dora.
"So..." Hadrian decided to change the topic. Hermione might have been
only a memorization genius but she was also quite observant. Well, she
was, when she didn't do homework. The last thing he needed was her
snooping around Dora and him.
"You are..." Hadrian turned to the twitching pudgy boy.
"Ne-Nevile Longbottom!" He exclaimed, louder than needed.
"Nice to meet you, Nevile." Hadrian smiled politely.
"Thank you!" The boy exclaimed.
"You like herbology, ...I heard?" Hadrian asked, getting eager nods from
the boy. He took out one book from his book-case aka portable runic
library and gave the ancient herblore to the boy who almost started
crying while hyperventilating when he started reading it. Needless to say,
Hadrian was disturbed.
He turned to Suzie and smiled at her when he saw her peek at him,
making her blush and lower her head into her book again.
'The distinct difference between life, death, and unlife
by Marcellus Arcturion Romulus,
the founder of House Bones.'
Hadrian gaped at Suzan. It was the second book! Not even a week passed
and she already completed the first volume!?
"Sue?" He asked. "Are you finished with the first book?"
"Yes! It wasn't that hard!" Susan nodded enthusiastically.
Hadrian felt faint. Wasn't that hard...
"Sue... look at the completely final page." He uncomfortably stated and
Susan while confused, did take out the first book and looked at it.
It had a summary of the Bones family members of the past and the time it
took them to complete the book.
Fastest - 'Uranus Bones - 3 months.'
The average time was one year. Susan looked at it with childish
bewilderment and unconsciously mumbled.
"Damn, my ancestors were dumb..."
Thankfully it was only Hadrian and Dora who heard it and they promptly
face-faulted.
"What's that book!" Hermione decided to intrude and attempted to grab
it, only for Susan to squeeze her hand very painfully, making her shriek.
Hermione was about to protest and berate Susan that 'sharing is caring'
but Susan's cold brown eyes stopped her in her tracks, her body
unconsciously shivering as her words refused to leave her throat.
Something in that gaze was... dangerous.
Even Nevile stopped fidgeting and Dora narrowed her eyes at Granger.
Hermione sat on her chair, spooked and Susan sighed in exasperation.
With an eye-roll, he raised her book so the cover would be visible to
Hermione. Susan knew it would appease Granger immediately. She might
have 'warmed up' to the girl but that didn't mean she liked her.
Hermione may have been frightened but it was a book! It instantly
cheered her up. Her eyes went to the cover. She read the cover and
blanched.
'Rats, snakes, and worms and how to munch them to death correctly for
potions
by Severus Wormtail.'
Well, it was Hadrian who set up that cover... The entire study group
blinked, completely speechless.
"Ew..." Granger exclaimed, disgusted.
"Well... let's talk about the progress with the book-reading spell!" Hadrian
awkwardly interrupted, trying to let Susan read in peace as his hand took
Dora's and put it back on his thigh. If it meant suffering through her
knowing and suggestive looks? So be it.
As he watched the group, especially blushing Dora and studious Susan...
yes.
For now, life was good.
Ch79. Christmas Gift 1
Dumbledore was in his office. The new office, as the old one was
completely destroyed. He couldn't help but mull over all the precious
artifacts lost... Artifacts that nobody will ever use again. His artifacts!
This office was smaller than his previous one. But it was also cozier and
had a special drawer solely for his Lemon Drops! He was starting to
warm up to this office.
Of course, as a great wizard, he wouldn't let some blasted bird have a
jump at him tw-, ahem, three times in a row!
He fortified the office with various wards, spells, enchantments... hell,
even dark curses! All for the safety of his candy!
The saddest part was that he lost the monitoring trinkets keyed to Harry
Potter. But... he trusted his boy! The boy looked so meek and afraid!
Then, that bitch Nymphadora approached him and he started to get out
of his shell.
Sadly, Dumbledore couldn't just make Dora fall in love... say, with
Remus, to make her suffer an incompetent coward as a husband.
That boy was a huge success! Dumbledore himself couldn't really believe
that this self-proclaimed best friend of Sirius Black, completely
abandoned him on the drop of a hat and one word from his illustrious
self, supported by Daily Prophet, of all things! And when the boy didn't
approach Harry for a decade because it would be 'dangerous'?
Dumbledore loved when things went smoothly!
Unfortunately, Narcissa Malfoy informed him that Nymphadora is
already betrothed to Lord Black! He even had to act courteously to the
girl because she would be the future Lady Black! The things he did for
the Greater Good!
He knew what she was saying. She was not 'informing' but 'warning' him.
Nymphadora was off-limits.
But really. Nymphadora's new status baffled him. He could understand
that as a metamorphmagus, she would be of interest to Lord Black. But to
make her a wife? Dumbledore couldn't understand why Lord Black didn't
make Nymphadora into a concubine. A mistress, even. The girl was half-
blood and will always be taken with a grain of salt in the higher society.
Dumbledore could only sadly sigh at the oversight of Lord Black in
choosing his wife. The girl might have lower status as a mistress and
would be frowned upon as everybody would know she is only a pleasure
relief for the Lord but in the end, she would be taken at least somewhat
seriously. As Lady? She would be politely rebuked at every turn.
Her being Lady Black was a big oversight to his plans. Especially since
she was close to his Harry!
No... Nymphadora would have some serious trouble in higher society due
to her blood-status. Dumbledore would make sure of that!
His musing was interrupted when a Hogwarts post owl brought him a
letter. He smiled to himself as he popped another Lemon Drop into his
mouth and started reading.
---
Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore,
we have the misfortune to inform you that your dear friend Nicholas
Flamel died yesterday of old age alongside his wife, Perenelle Flamel.
Their funeral will be in two days. They both invited you as their guest of
honor.
by the French Ministry
---
Dumbledore's eyes teared up and a lone tear streamed down his face.
"See, my friend? Even you died." He shook his head as he wistfully
thought about the philosopher stone he 'borrowed' a few years ago. His
friend probably ran out of his supply of water of life. That thing couldn't
stay fresh for long so the stone was a very precious thing. Even he,
Dumbledore, would never let it out of his sight if he could afford it. Alas,
it was only this year that he dared to relocate it from a very secret vault
to Hogwarts! Closer to him!
Sadly, he couldn't use the water of life yet. He was saving it for when
Harry dies to Voldemort. It would be a MARVELOUS feat of LOVE and
PASSION and SACRIFICIAL MAGIC that will make Dumbledore
YOUNGER and STRONGER, enabling him to defeat the vicious and feared
Dark Lord Voldemort!
At least, that will be what the public would know. He will become the
Greater Good incarnate!
Oh, but immortality was just a step towards it! It was a very considerate
thing that Tom was researching it so fervently for him!
"Now that I think about it..." Dumbledore remembered he didn't caress
his precious stone in months!
He instantly activated one of the hundred and seventy-three monitoring
magics on the third floor that always reported the state of the rooms with
traps and the stone.
"Oh... Tom is again trying to get to the stone!" Dumbledore excitedly
bounded up and down as he was eating his candy and watched as Tom
tried to get past the traps. Anyone older than eighteen would have to go
through five hundred fifty-five enchantments, hundred eleven protection
spells, and twenty-two wards!
It was such a good shot! Watching Tom being bounced from right to left,
being blasted with a blasting curse, and then seeing him being chased by
a herd of Boggarts.
Tom was coming closer and closer to the room with the stone and
Dumbledore was starting to frown. Sure, the stone had hundreds of spells
protecting it. Nothing short of the mirror getting up by itself and walking
away would move it. Plus the stone would leave the mirror only for
Dumbledore and anyone he keyed to it. And so far, only Harry was keyed
as Dumbledore wanted to use it as a test for him at the end of the year.
"Tsk. Tsk. Tsk. Tom. You are too impatient." Dumbledore shook his head
with a slight smile as he started leaning more and more forward in
anticipation of Tom's expression as he entered the room.
Dumbledore wanted to see his elated look! It would make it so much
sweeter when he realizes, he is unable to withdraw the stone or move the
mirror!
As for destroying it? Hah, inside Hogwarts? With hundreds of wards
around it? Dumbledore doubted even in his crazed and corrupted state,
Tom would be as insane.
Just then he saw Quirrelmort enter the room. His anticipation peaked as
he almost giddily giggled to himself, already imagining the look on Tom's
face. Suddenly, both he and Quirrelmort froze.
"How!" Dumbledore exclaimed in utter bewilderment, abruptly standing
up. The room! It lacked the mirror! It was gone!
His stone was... missing!?
Dumbledore quickly apparated to the room, heedless of any
consequences. He completely ignored the gaping Quirrelmort as his eyes
looked all around for anything out of place. With tears, he realized his
eyes were not tricking him and he could only stare at the place where the
mirror previously stood.
In its place was a pile of... coal.
Ch80. Christmas Gift 2
Dumbledore stared at the pile of coal with wide eyes, thousands of
thoughts going through his mind at once when he suddenly heard.
"Avada Kedavra!"
Dumbledore barely managed to get out of his stupor and turn around. As
he was turning he transfigured the ground into a thick wall, making the
Killing Curse hit it. The wall exploded, sending debris all around but
Dumbledore already had a very advanced shielding charm in front of him
that protected him from them. He swished his wand in the direction of
the Quirrelmort and fired a stunner.
Quirrelmort was panicking until... he froze.
"Give me the control!" A sinister voice sounded from behind the turban as
Voldemort took control of Quirrel's body, killing the man. He knew this
would mean he lost the chance to be reborn but he could possibly kill
Dumbledore!
Quirrel's body would last for twenty minutes but it was already dead.
Voldemort didn't have to take care of it and could use his firepower
carelessly!
Dumbledore's eyes widened as he suddenly jumped to the side, a dark
blasting curse missing him by an inch. The wall behind him exploded as
the curse hit it, sending dust flying all around and Dumbledore was sure
that the entire castle felt that impact.
"Well, well, well... Rolling on the ground, are we?" Voldemort taunted as
he tapped the tip of the wand he held on his free palm in a mocking
gesture and slowly but confidently walked to the side with a menacing
grin on Quirrel's face.
Dumbledore was lying on the floor, he suddenly swiftly twisted his body
to face Voldemort and sent an overpowered Patronus onto him.
Voldemort may have had a body for now but he was still a wraith. The
Patronus burned him but that was not such a problem. The problem was
that it blinded him!
He could suddenly feel his body being impaled by a rock spear, most
likely conjured and banished by Dumbledore.
"Tom, give up. We can still strive for the light together. Give up and let
me show you the magnificence of the Lemon Drops!"
Voldemort didn't feel pain. But he was helluva confused. Lemon Drops?
Wha-
Dumbledore felt Tom's momentary lack of concentration and cut off a
hand with a cutter. Voldemort screamed in pain as the hand fell to the
ground. This body was… insufficient.
"Tom. It is meaningless. You don't have your own body. Your magic is
weake-"
As Voldemort listened to him talking he suddenly shrieked.
Weak!? Him!?
He raised his remaining hand clutching the wand. "Fiendfyre!" He
screamed.
"Oh, shit." Dumbledore mumbled as he quickly pulled out the big guns.
The walls started to be transfigured into big golems that started to
wrestle with the fiery snake vying to annihilate anything around. The
golems were six meters tall and two meters wide as they took hold of the
snake and didn't let it go, no matter how it thrashed.
Dumbledore knew Voldemort could possibly just dissolve the snake into
flames and bypass the golems by reforming it a bit away so he quickly
transfigured a few big debris into lions that promptly attacked him,
keeping him busy.
Voldemort saw the lions and his hand blurred into a spell chain of a
bone-shattering curse, blood-boiling curse, and a killing curse, killing the
three lions almost simultaneously and then ending the chain with a bone-
breaker in Dumbledore's direction.
Dumbledore was casting a very complicated transfiguration when he
noticed the spell flying at him. He had no time and if he didn't do
anything, it would impact his wand arm! He quickly twisted to the side
and put his free hand in the path of the curse and his hand was impacted
by the bone-breaker. He could feel his bones shattering but gritted his
teeth as his wand arm jabbed his wand in Voldemort's direction.
For Voldemort, it was just a second after he finished the spell chain that
he felt a banishing spell hit him and Quirrel's body flew five meters
backward, skidding on the floor as many bones broke in it.
Snarling he stood up, feeling the bones creaking.
"You will never defeat me!" He shouted and caught the spell Dumbledore
sent with his wand.
"Another banishing spell... really." He mocked and sent the spell back at
Dumbledore twice as fast.
Dumbledore just sent another banisher when he saw his previous coming
back at him. He halted it with his wand and rebounded it back onto
Voldemort right before sidestepping another killing curse.
"Tom, you can't win! You can only accept your second chance!"
Dumbledore shouted.
Voldemort sidestepped the banisher and was about to taunt again but
then he heard Dumbledore's voice.
"Enough of this!" He shrieked and Dumbledore's eyes got serious.
'Fucker, can't he just flee? I need him to kill Harry in some grand
spectacle of a battle, not me!' Dumbledore inwardly cursed.
The two wizards started to exchange spell after spell, side-stepping,
blocking, and parrying while rebounding them. It was a flurry of
variously colored bolts as the two combatants fought. Neither used any
long-casting spells as the clash was so high-speed that neither had a
chance to use these.
Dumbledore had no time for any meaningful transfiguration in the
onslaught of the killing, blasting, blood-boiling, and bone-breaking
curses. He was supremely glad about that. These weren't like the really
advanced dark curses that had various effects from poisoning to corrosion
or even prevention from healing. These were basic spells. Basic but fast
as fuck and he had to spend every second making split-decisions to deal
with the quickness Voldemort was throwing them at him. He knew the
second one hits, it would give Voldemort time to cast something more…
exotic.
Voldemort was guarding against small transfigured felines and hawks,
killing them with his spell chains almost as quickly as they were created
while evading any direct stunner, body-binder, or banisher sent in his
direction.
They didn't fight with their best. Dumbledore was injured and Voldemort
didn't have his own body. The fight was slowly ending as the time passed
twenty minutes and Quirrel's body barely held on by Voldemorts will
alone.
But eventually, it crumbled to dust as the shrieking black wraith of the
Dark Lord fled and Dumbledore slumped onto the ground.
He looked around the room and saw it totally wrecked.
"Now... how to explain this." He mumbled to himself, already growing a
headache from the shitstorm this would cause.
His eyes set at the pile of coal that was surprisingly protected by the
strong wards he put up to protect the mirror! That meant nobody
dismantled them!
"Did the mirror really walk away by itself?" Dumbledore mused darkly.
As he eyed the pile, he spotted a letter there. He came closer and opened
it, his eyes going wide.
---
Albus, my boy!
You were a bad, bad boy! I took it upon myself to reward your misdeeds
by a pile of coal! You didn't even deserve one coal but I am generous and
gave you an entire pile! I must say, am so proud of you, my bearded
colleague!
Oh, by the way, I also took the shiny red gem. It would go well with my
costume, you see. Not like you would ever need that useless rock. Just
think of it as a payment for the incredible coal that can be used in your
hearth for warming you up during the cold, cold nights.
By the way, which beard wax do you use? You look silly. Here, advice
from your eternal idol Santa, reindeer piss mixed with fresh snow and
House-elven ear wax is the best for shiny beards! As your senior, I felt the
need to enlighten you, my dear boy!
Yours truly, Santa Claus.
---
Dumbledore stared dumbly at the letter with his mouth open.
"Santa Claus... I will find you and we will have a 'friendly talk'." He
gritted out. "I will show you exactly the greatness of my Wizarding Wax
for Balding Gentlemen! And then, after you accept your defeat at the
sight of the hair of my magnificent beard, my dear unknown friend... I
will take my philosopher stone back, painfully!"
He once again peered at the destroyed room and frowned.
"Fifty points to Gryffindor. For the great supporting skill and not getting
in the way of this fight." He whispered, cheering himself up.
Just then the various Professors, some still in nightgowns burst into the
room.
"Albus! What happened?" Minerva was the first to approach him and
gasped at his injured arm.
"I fought Voldemort." He said gravely, making them all gasp even more.
"Thankfully, I was strong enough to drive him away." He said sagely.
"What will we do, Albus!" Minerva worriedly asked.
"Alas, Minerva, let's go sleep." He uttered and with a hum, he strode it
out, his left arm still shattered, hanging from his shoulder.
"And he wonders why we call him senile..." The Auror/Potion teacher for
the year exclaimed in exasperation.
Ch81. Dora and Bella
The rumors of Dumbledore chasing away Voldemort spread through the
castle. No one really admitted anything and when the Minister of magic
walked all red to the Great Hall to question Dumbledore why was he
spooking the populace with false alarms, Dumbledore just raised his
eyebrow and said.
"I don't know what you are talking about." He cooly went back to eating
while Fudge fumed and seethed rooted to the place.
"You proclaimed You-know-who is back!" He shouted, making the Great
Hall completely quiet as Amelia Bones who accompanied him facepalmed
with a groan.
Dumbledore chewed the piece of meat he just put in his mouth. Slowly
and deliberately as he watched Fudge go redder and redder...
And when the Minister was about to fudge himself, Dumbledore spoke.
"I did?" He appeared totally surprised by the news. "When?"
Fudge's jaw dropped at that.
"But... you," He pointed at Dumbledore. "no, you," His hand trailed to
Amelia. "and you..." Then it pointed to the Auror who taught potions who
just shrugged.
"I only reported what the old man said."
"See!" The Fudge smugly turned back to Dumbledore who appeared
unamused.
"Oh... I must have again sleepwalked." He smiled fakely, making Fudge
exasperated again.
"You... I... Agh!" Fudge huffed and turned around with. "This is not over
yet!"
Dumbledore just calmly resumed his eating. He couldn't afford being
'crucified' because of his claim. Especially not now when his position was
so shaky.
Down at the Hufflepuff table, Hadrian pouted. The old goat battled
Quirrelmort.
And here he had already prepared his rubber ducky, magical honey, XXX-
rank Boiling Ants, and a toothbrush for his grand final show with him!
...
It was evening and Dora cuddled with Hadrian in their bed. Her hand
was firmly on his member as she purred into his ear how she would
like...
Well, Hadrian was shivering from her 'care'.
Dora liked these evenings. It gave her something to look forward to.
Something precious. She remembered how he 'handled' her during their
first night and when she saw Hadrian so powerless from her touch... it
boosted her ego immensely.
She would be the first to admit that half of her enjoyment came from that
alone.
She knew that these past two weeks she spent with Hadrian alone were a
gift from her Aunt Narcissa. Not once did her aunt turn up. It made
Dora's heart very grateful. After all, if she did turn up... would Hadrian
pay so much attention to Dora?
She didn't think so. She knew Hadrian loved her but his feelings for
Narcissa were just... more.
Hadrian was indeed having a Narcissa-deficiency. During the past few
months since they married, he found out he loved the woman more than
he probably should.
There may be this 'soulbond' with Bellatrix and he would of course
cherish her but... really. Narcissa was there for him. Despite everything,
he knew what she did for him and it made him feel especially loved. She
put her own sister through immeasurable pain for him for example. She
took care of a shitton of work for him...
Narcissa passed the stage of just 'lover' a long time ago.
Hadrian looked at Dora who had her forehead in the crook of his neck,
smiling in satisfaction at the cuddling.
"You are beautiful." He whispered to her, making her smile widen.
"Of course I am... I am a metamorph." She purred. These two weeks...
Hadrian repeated again and again how it didn't matter. And slowly, Dora
was getting to accept it. These small jokes about her 'nature' were a good
start.
Hadrian smiled at her.
"Yup, the hand around her hips suddenly jerked her body and Dora found
herself under Hadrian as she stared at him with expectant eyes, biting her
lower lip.
"Are we going to..." She blushed.
It was still an embarrassing feeling Hadrian in... uh. And then the
stickiness and… no matter how Dora loved the feeling, it always made
her blush like a maiden.
Hadrian cupped her cheek and shook his head.
"Not now. A... guest is supposed to arrive shortly."
"Oh..." Dora blinked.
Dora knew what that meant. Her alone time with Hadrian was officially
over. It made her sad but... she could always have more of Hadrian later.
Alone. For herself.
The hearth connection suddenly opened and a figure of a young woman
in a black Victorian dress walked in. Dora turned her head to look at it
and almost blanched. She watched as the figure curled a strand of her
darkness-like hair while watching her with a very amused smirk and
predatory eyes. No matter if it was a young woman, Dora could recognize
that gaze anywhere. Dora shivered and couldn't help but gulp as she
blurted out the first thing on her mind.
"Shouldn't you be dead, aunt Bellatrix?"
Bella stilled, her smirk faltering slightly before she was forced to bend
forward and started to heave with laughter.
"Sure, ickle Nymphy." She wiped a tear from under her eye with
satisfaction apparent on her face. "Hadriaaaan~" Bellatrix giddily skipped
towards Hadrian's form and tackled him into the sheets into a tight
embrace. "I missed you~."
Hadrian smiled and patted her head indulgently, as the woman was
incorrigible. It was a waste of time to get her to change.
Bellatrix giggled. She waited two weeks as her sister wanted to let her
niece have her fun. But now that she was again in Hadrian's arm, the
soulbond flaring, she couldn't help but relish and moan in satisfaction.
Dora watched with an awe-filled gaze as her murderous insane bitch of a
supposedly-dead aunt who apparently somehow got younger was purring
into her fiance's chest and her mind clicked as she remembered her talk
with Narcissa before she accepted the betrothal.
"More wives... oh." Dora almost choked. "Bellatrix Black is your second
wife." She croaked with a very conflicted expression at Hadrian who was
looking at her in complete and utter shameless bemusement.
Hadrian smirked devilishly about to deliver a finishing blow.
"We are soulmates."
Dora fainted. She was unconscious before her body impacted the sheets.
Bellatrix slightly raised her head from Hadrian's chest, looking at her
niece with a raised eyebrow.
She took out her wand and poked Dora's prone form with a childish
curiosity sparkling in her eyes.
"She is out cold..." She stated and her smile got positively giddy evil. "She
will be so much fun to tease!"
Hadrian chuckled and kissed Bella's forehead.
"Don't be too hard on her. She has to be eased into things slowly."
"Oh~, don't worry I will 'ease' her into things very, very thoroughly."
Bellatrix snickered as her eyes met Hadrian's. "Now... I didn't see you for
weeks, Hadri! Kiss me!" She lunged forward and started making out with
Hadrian.
Needless to say, that night was filled with lustful moans, gleeful cackles,
and hitched gasps of ecstasy that only doubled as Dora woke up and
decided to just 'screw it' as she joined the duo in their nightly fun.
Ch82. End of the first year
The time passed as Hadrian spent a great deal of it with Dora, Narcissa,
and Bellatrix. They studied, trained, joked, talked, and of course, slept
together. It was awkward for Dora at first but Bellatrix quickly set the
girl straight.
Hadrian spent a lot of time with Susan, discussing Necromancy. Contrary
to the popular belief, it was not only about animating corpses. It was a
study of unlife.
Their debates started with Susan quoting the founder of the Bones family.
"There is life and then there is death. In that case, what exactly are un-
dead? Are they alive or dead? I think a bit of both..."
She quoted excitedly and it pulled Hadrian's interest to the topic.
Susan was already starting to get past the theory-only stage and began
practicing her first dead magic, Withering Hex.
That little thing was dangerous as heck...
It was just a concentrated death magic shot at the target. The problem
was that death magic nullified life energy so the impacted spot started to
decay. The effect can be countered easily enough with normal magic as it
was quite a low-level spell but... the life force used to power up the
decaying would be forever lost. That means every time a person was hit
by this withering hex, even if he managed to counter it in time and not
get injured, a bit of his life-span would be consumed.
Of course, Susan practiced it only on the wooden dummies in the Room
of Requirement.
Dora pouted as she got to know what Hadrian practiced with Susan. She
was still a bit apprehensive about anything dubbed dark... even though
she didn't mind Bellatrix all that much.
It was kinda baffling when Dora and Bella became quite good friends
despite their differences. They bonded over their trash-talking about
Narcissa. Bella had a bit of a fear of her sister from the time her mind
was destroyed as she could remember that moment vividly and Dora had
nightmares from her Occlumency lessons with Narcissa.
Narcissa definitely didn't use the method she did with Hadrian... instead
of the pleasurable one, she opted for the painful path with Dora. Needless
to say, Dora had much, much to shudder about in the following months.
Tomorrow would be the End-of-Term feast and that meant Hadrian had
to have a serious talk with Susan.
They both sat in the Room of Requirement near the hearth as Hadrian
looked at the confused girl. He sighed. this was not going to be without
problems...
"Susan, I need you to return the books I lent you."
Susan looked like a deer in headlights but soon enough her expression
turned to imitate a kicked puppy.
"Why?" She lowered her head and bit her lips as she held back tears.
Hadrian knew that she was in an intense internal struggle. Bones... once
they start studying Necromancy, they can't stop themselves. It is in their
blood, in their magic. That was most likely the reason why Amelia never
even opened the Necromancy books and merrily gave them to 'Lord
Black'.
Susan would never part with them willingly but that wasn't Hadrian's
goal.
"Susan," He caught her attention. "you can read them but you would have
to come to the Grimmauld Place library. Ask your aunt to contact
Andromeda Tonks or Narcissa Bl-, ahem, Malfoy," Damn, he almost
misspoke! "and set a date. Lord Black will surely accommodate you. Just
say you want to meet with Dora or something."
Susan mutely nodded with a defeated look.
"Sue," Hadrian tried to make this easier for the girl. "You know that if
your aunt discovers you having these books... you will never be able to
read more of them."
Susan sobbed but knew it was the truth.
"I will make sure to visit..." She whispered. "Lord Black."
Hadrian tilted his head at her, making her chuckle.
"I am not stupid, Harry. The way Dora acts around you... the rumors of
her being betrothed to Lord Black. It's simple math." Susan told him
bluntly as he could only dryly laugh.
"Well, at least I don't have to keep it from you." He shrugged, making
Susan smile.
"Un, we can see each other during the holidays!" She beamed but Hadrian
quickly put a stop to that.
"Sorry, Sue, I won't be in England during the holidays." Hadrian sadly
shook his head.
"Uh? Why not!?" Susan shouted, her hopes to spend time with Hadrian
crushed.
"Sorry." Hadrian smiled apologetically at her but didn't elaborate.
"Fine..." Susan sullenly pouted and Hadrian vowed to get his trip over
with fast so he could spend at least a part of his holidays with her.
...
The end-of-term feast was nothing extraordinary. Same as always with
the expectation of total bullshit when Dumbledore awarded twenty
points to Gryffindor for showing their inner fire in Quidditch. Wood of
course cheered.
Then Hermione got twenty points for writing long-ass essays. She was
bouncing in her seat at the praise and Hadrian just awkwardly clapped.
He tried to 'convert' the girl and make her see the 'light' but... it was a
work in progress. Maybe if she attended the study group more?
And when Ron got twenty points for eating more than the whole first-
year class of Gryffindor...
At that, even McGonagal was looking at him weirdly but nobody
interrupted his tirade of courage, love, and friendship. With one last 'I am
so disappointed' look at the Slytherin table, his speech finally ended.
As such, Gryffindors won the house cup by two points, taking the victory
from Ravenclaw.
Slytherins without Snape were actually at a two-digit number when it
came to house points while Puffs just didn't care... Only Ravenclaws were
staring at Dumbledore with their jaws on the ground as he completely
screwed them over.
...
Hadrian entered the Grimmauld Place 12. He was home.
He smiled at Dora who held his hand but before he could open his
mouth, Narcissa-bullet impacted him in a tight hug.
"I am home, Cissy." Hadrian whispered to her gently.
"Welcome back." Narcissa cuddled into his hair, happy that now she
would spend the entire two months with him.
They had a major project in front of them and it would require them to
work together for quite some time! And in between... Narcissa couldn't
help but smile at her imagination. After all, they couldn't work all the
time, now, could they?
Ch83. Susan's visit to Grimmauld
Place 12
It was the third day of the holidays and Amelia was being dragged by
very enthusiastic Susan towards the place she never even remotely
thought she would enter. Grimmauld Place 12. The home of the darkest
family of Wizarding Britain.
"Come, come! Faster!" Susan exclaimed as she literally bounced up and
down and Amelia was seriously wondering what exactly is the book that
she borrowed from Nymphadora Tonks. Amelia never saw her little girl
so excited and it made her happy but she was still wary.
"Okay, okay. Slow down or you will tri-"
Ah... she tripped.
Amelia chuckled at the pouting Susan as she heaved her up.
"Really now... you really like that Dora girl." Amelia 'offhandedly'
commented.
"Yes!" Susan exclaimed. "She is very good at potions and helped me a lot!"
"Oh... so the book is about potions?" Amelia curiously inquired but Susan
shook her head.
"It is about..." Susan started and Amelia leaned closer and closer until...
"Secret!"
Susan giggled at the blank look of her aunt.
Amelia sighed. She knew she wouldn't be able to get anything from the
girl when she became like this. But really. What was the worst that could
happen? They surely won't teach her little Susan dark arts. For that, they
are too clever. Amelia wasn't too worried about that.
...
They arrived and rung the bell only to wait for five minutes until
Andromeda Tonks opened the door with a smile.
"You were expected." She told them and let them in.
"I never thought this house would be so well-hidden. It took us twenty
minutes of looking until I finally spotted the magic fluctuations." Amelia
praised.
"Well... I saw you coming so I released the more advanced wards fifteen
minutes after you showed up." Andromeda sheepishly rubbed the back of
her neck while Amelia's jaw dropped.
"You are kidding me, right? No ward can be so powerful!" She exclaimed
but Andromeda just shook her head.
"No. But Narcissa is rune mistress for a reason." She said and didn't
elaborate.
The whole house was covered in runes from top to bottom. It could be
even said the entire street was one big rune matrix created with the sole
purpose of defending the ancestral house of House Black. It was mind-
boggling to Andromeda how her sister created such a masterpiece. The
runes supported each other, fed magic to parts that needed it from parts
that were inactive. Two thousand two hundred and twenty-two runes all
over the street that continuously sucked magic into the array and shared
it among themselves. To find the runes was an almost impossible feat as
they were all hidden and to disable one would mean activating another...
more offensive runes. Each rune was covered by at least three other
runes.
All in all, Andromeda doubted anyone could attack their house. They still
had the ancient wards of House Black which were powerful defenses on
their own but when one added Narcissa's Runic Fortress, as she called it...
"I see..." Amelia nodded. She had no idea what magic was used but as
Andromeda so helpfully implied, it was runes. Runes she didn't discover.
She was specially trained at detecting those during her Auror training...
Sigh, she was getting rusty, wasn't she?
She of course thought there would be at most ten to thirty runes. Even in
her worst nightmare, she wouldn't think she missed over two thousand of
them!
Andromeda led them to the library and as she saw the worried Amelia
glancing around she couldn't help but chuckle.
"No need to worry. This is a danger-free child-friendly library. The real
Black Library is in the basement. Only books that are available to Black
children are stored here. It is completely safe." Andromeda said and
turned to Amelia with a slight smile when suddenly behind her, a book
snapped open on the shelf, showing rows upon rows of shark-like sharp
teeth as its tongue sprang out and caught a mouse on the ground. It
quickly pulled it into itself, chewing it as a bit of blood splashed all
around.
Andromeda, still facing Amelia and Susan who looked at the scene in a
healthy amount of horror, stilled. Her soft smile froze on her face as her
eye started twitching.
"Don't mind our mouse traps." She tried to sound reassuring but both
Amelia and even the small Susan were giving her unamused glances.
Andromeda could only mutter under her nose about dark-haired insane
witches who leave potentially lethal books just lying around to scare
guests.
They came close to a nice cozy hearth and Susan was seated in the chair
near it.
"A house-elf will bring the book, maybe with Dora still attached to it."
Andromeda told Susan and turned to Amelia. "Can I offer you a cup of tea
or coffee?"
"Hm? No, thanks. I still have to return to the DMLE. Long day, today."
"Ah, I see..." Andromeda nodded and the two women left Susan alone in
the room.
Susan drummed her finger on the armrest as she waited for the books on
the Necromancy. Suddenly she felt a hand on her shoulder and flinched
as her breath hitched.
"Well, well, well~, if it isn't a little Bonesy..." A teasing voice sounded
from behind her with an undertone of bemusement.
Susan slowly turned around, finding herself facing a young woman in her
early twenties with aristocratic features so common for Blacks and curly
black hair. Another common trait of Blacks. The woman was pale and her
black orbs of darkness gave Susan chills. She didn't recognize the woman
but before she could react, the woman continued.
"So~, you are interested in Necromancy... Good pick, girl!"
That was all Susan needed to know the woman would be her good friend!
The gears in her mind started turning as the young woman sat opposite
her and the debate about the darkest of the dark started.
Bellatrix watched the girl that spent so much time with Hadrian. Dora
told her quite a lot about what was going on in Hogwarts. And from
Hadrian, she heard about the prodigious talent of the young Bones girl.
As she listened to the girl's tirade about death magic... she just had to
smile.
The girl knew her stuff! If only elementary but very important and
dangerous stuff!
They talked for a whole two hours, ideas flying back and forth when the
topics finally ran out. That was the time Susan looked properly at Bella
and her eyes entered a doubt.
"Who are you actually?"
"Oh... I didn't introduce myself, did I?" Bellatrix's black eyes shined as her
playful smile widened as she casually introduced herself.
"I am Bellatrix Black. Nice to meet you."
Susan's face paled and her breath hitched as her eyes widened into
saucers and her mouth opened in shock.
And Bella? She only cackled. Oh, yes, she could already see it. The girl
and she will be on very friendly terms, indeed!
Ch84. Situation in the Wizarding
Britain
It was only Narcissa and Dora that came on the trip with Hadrian. They
were currently in Egypt, in the biggest library of its magical community.
It was almost funny how much knowledge was made public and how
much of it would be considered 'dark' back in England.
The real dark arts were, of course, tightly locked somewhere else but the
library was still almost as big as the one in Hogwarts.
Dora and Hadrian sat behind a table in the Library when Narcissa finally
showed up after half-hour of coursing through the shelves.
"I finally found it." She smiled.
"Oh? Will you two finally tell me why we are here?" Dora giddily asked.
"'We'," Narcissa gestured to herself and Hadrian, "are here to devise a
ritual and enjoy each other now that we have two whole months of time."
She gave Dora a slight glare. "After all, I didn't spend most of the day
with my husband in a Boarding School like a certain someone."
Dora looked sheepish at that. She knew her aunt was not pissed. That,
she made obvious yesterday night. No, Aunt Narcissa was disappointed
and sad. She wanted her alone time with Hadrian and this was looking
up to be such but then Dora butted in and decided to tag along and…
Well, she didn't know about the intentions of her aunt until after they
were already in the hotel in Egypt!
Now even Dora felt slightly ashamed for doing it. Cockblocking your own
aunt?
She lowered her head with a slight flush and her eyes landed on the
Alchemy book she was reading and the feeling of shame quickly
evaporated. After all, if she didn't tag along, she would never discover
something as interesting as this!
She gave Narcissa a defiant stare, making her chuckle as she sat next to
Hadrian and put the book in-between them as Hadrian's hand reached for
the back of Narcissa's head and pulled her into a deep appreciative kiss.
Dora saw Narcissa's tongue quickly enter Hadrian's mouth and she
couldn't help but pout but then the book on the table in front of them got
her attention.
"What is it?" Dora quickly forgot their staring contest as curiosity gripped
her, she leaned closer and read the title. As Narcissa and Hadrian heard
her, they separated and Narcissa cuddled into his shoulder.
'The Study of Core and Sacrificial Rituals to strengthen it.'
Dora blinked as her mouth opened, her eyes trailing from Narcissa to
Hadrian and back. She didn't know what to say to that...
"Nope, we are not gonna sacrifice anyone." Hadrian told her with
bemusement apparent on his face as he saw her speechless expression.
"But the references for Magic Core are very scarce so we need to make
do."
"I see." Dora eventually stated. "In that case check 'Alchemical Pill Effects'
and 'Magical Ingredients and their properties'. I remember there being
something on Magic Cores... well, never really cared so dunno if it will be
useful." Dora shrugged.
Hadrian smiled and kissed her cheek. "Thank you."
Dora flushed bright red and grumbled as she concentrated on her book.
The following two weeks were spent in the library, going from book to
book, looking for reference after reference. Narcissa was carving runes as
if possessed, new variety after new variety that would be a good
component for the ritual as she checked, double-checked, and triple-
checked the arithmancy and if it all clicked together.
Dora found her new hobby. Or obsession, according to Hadrian. Her
dream was being potion mistress but Snape basically took it and tore that
to shreds with his seven years of potion torture and unfairness. Yes, Dora
was not a prodigy at potions but she loved them nevertheless.
But right now, Dora found out what she was a prodigy at. The alchemy.
In a week she understood something others needed at least two years to
comprehend and quite honestly it was so much fun! She only lacked
practice as the ingredients in Egypt were hard to get. Especially for
foreigners.
Hadrian was happy to spend gold on Dora's alchemy experiments. He saw
how excited she was about it and it warmed his heart. Especially when
he saw her silly smile after her experiment exploded in her face, messing
up her hair and covering her face in black smudge. Since then, he would
provide any and all monetary support for a right to take photos...
He also showered Narcissa with heaps of attention every night. He knew
she utterly adored runes but even then... The woman was doing her
damnedest for him and his little project so that was the least he could do
for her. Make her relax and enjoy this trip.
He also hit the books and tried to help but really, he only had the idea
and Narcissa latched onto it. His time was spent looking for ingredients
in the market and studying more Transfiguration. He didn't really plan to
attempt making this ritual this soon. It was all Narcissa's doing. Secretly,
Hadrian suspected she only wanted to drag him out of the country so
they would be alone...
He was kinda glad though. There were a lot of things to do in Africa.
Checking wandless magic, druidic tribes, libraries, new food...
Both Dora and Narcissa enjoyed shopping a bit too much so Hadrian had
to suffer through it too! Poor him! He had no idea how many sets of
clothes he tried on that day or how many restaurants they sampled!
But their two weeks in Egypt were coming to an end and their flight to
Tanzania was already booked.
They came to Egypt via portkey and when Hadrian told Narcissa they
would travel by muggle-means... She looked like a little girl in a candy
store. It was so adorable Hadrian gave her some head pats which earned
him being dragged into the bed, Dora earnestly following behind them
while giggling.
Since Hadrian asked Narcissa to invest some money in muggle
companies, she started to pay more attention to that side of the world.
And while she was no Arthur Weasley, she was interested in the
technological advance of muggles. But unlike him, she didn't let it be
known to the public. She was a perfect pureblood, after all. A Malfoy…
heh, Hadrian was astonished her 'cover' still worked and nobody
suspected anything else than a buthurt wife of Malfoy trying to rebel by
fucking Lord Black.
By now, everyone knew that the 'Lady Malfoy' was with her birth family
and that she was in a relationship with Lord Black. A mistress… It was
disturbing for the public. She became a slut, whore, and much more vivid
names in secret but as someone with the favor of Lord Black, nobody
called her that to her face.
Funnily enough, Lucius blamed Dumbledore for the spreading of the
rumours when it was actually Narcissa herself to do so. Hadrian just
gaped at how her plans just click in the place. She tarnished her
reputation… no Lord would EVER think it was her own doing. Due to the
rumors Malfoy was now opposing every step of Dumbledore and
Dumbledore had no idea why. The domino effect started and these two
respective leaders of their factions dragged others into it. Light and Dark
families were at each other's political throats while she lent money,
favors, debts… House Black was again beginning to gather some debtors
while deals with the Grey faction were becoming a common thing for
Narcissa.
In the muggle world, her company was well known in the financial
sphere as one of the richest as they owned stakes in companies
worldwide. It was only the magical world that her advance somewhat
halted.
Lucius Malfoy and his butt-buddies were definitely no pushovers once
they decided to act. They were steadily pushing and clashing against
Narcissa's companies. Lucius even managed to salvage his remaining
businesses and reap profits. On paper, his situation looked good. But in
reality, he was seething for losing so much money to Narcissa. But he
now had Dumbledore to fend off and no time to scheme against her. But
neither did Narcissa focus on him.
It was the same with other Death Eaters. Hadrian nor Narcissa focused on
them. It was one thing to hurt them economically and completely
different to exterminate them. These people were the best shield and
target for Dumbledore.
House Black was keeping their cards close to their chest. And while
Bellatrix was itchy for some good ol' fashioned battle and Narcissa
wanted her revenge... they listened to play the long game. It was obvious.
Neither could face Dumbledore or Voldemort yet. Revealing themselves
would be silly. They were the third side in the shadows and it was good
that way.
Even when they almost bankrupted Wizarding Britain, it didn't make
them a target as they flooded it with the gold they received and people
started to get it slowly back. The catch was that this gold now bought
Narcissa almost ten percent of businesses of Wizarding Britain, forty
percent of Wizarding France, twenty-five of Wizarding Germany... and so
it went. She was slowly starting to take over the Wizarding communities
through money and Hadrian could only laugh awkwardly.
When he asked her why she didn't invest more in Britain... her answer
was simple.
The Ministry.
The current laws were, for the lack of a better word, completely
ridiculous. Sure, they could be exploited and they WERE being exploited
by Narcissa so with ten percent she actually received enough profit as if
she owned thirty... and with her investing the money mostly overseas...
She was basically slowly making Wizarding Britain lose its gold. Simple
as that.
Ch85. A guide
The trio was currently flying in towards Tanzania, on their 'quest'
towards the druidic tribes living around Lake Victoria. Apparently, those
used nature magic of sorts, something rare nowadays that was definitely
not used in big amounts. From what he knew, only Tanzanian tribes and
some of the Amazonian magical communities were able to use it. Hadrian
was very eager to find out about their nature magic they according to
rumors could perform wandlessly. So far, he saw some of it in Egypt and
it was kinda different than what he did. Inefficient and crude without any
focus. What these wizards did was basically using the bones in their hand
as a focus. Instead of a part of a magical animal, they used themselves.
The idea was quite praiseworthy but... it certainly didn't work all that
well. That was why he was so expectant of visiting a tribe of nature
magic users as if they could cast nature magic wandlessly, it would be an
incredible referencing material.
Contrary to Hadrian's quiet excitement, Narcissa was uncharacteristically
bouncing like a child as she watched the world from the small window of
the airplane. No broom could fly so high as the airplanes so it brought
her a massive joy to see the world below. Dora on the other hand decided
to sit as far away from the window as possible, trying to ignore that they
were currently a few thousands of meters above the ground. Hadrian
could only chuckle at how cute her paleness was. She tried to appear
calm by 'reading' a book but... firstly, she had the book upside down, and
secondly, her hands were quivering slightly. Hadrian let her quake in her
boots for a bit before he reassuringly put his hand on her knee, squeezing
a bit. The gesture instantly attracted Dora's attention, making her give
him a weak smile. Chuckling to himself, Hadrian leaned closer and kissed
her.
"Just think of it like Quidditch. You are now a big girl. Relax." He
quipped with an unveiled amusement in his voice, making her happy
gaze vanish as a scowl resurfaced on her face. Dora certainly didn't share
his sentiment!
"Quidditch!?" She glared at Hadrian and he was thankful she kept her
voice low. "Quidditch is completely safe compared to this lunacy!" She
huffed at him, offended that such a blasphemy even left his lips. Hadrian
chuckled hearing her 'reasoning' but Dora continued nevertheless,
heedless of his eye-roll.
"If you fall from a broom in Quidditch, you won't necessarily die! But
what if the airplane crashed!?" Dora heatedly whispered, wiping the
sweat from her forehead. Hadrian found her concern quite cute and put
his hand on her head and patted it with an amused head shake, making
her scowl at him. It was then that Narcissa decided to join the
conversation as she turned towards Dora and rolled her eyes at her.
"Relax, Nymphadora. These airplanes are less dangerous than Hogwarts
express." Narcissa explained lazily to Dora what she read in a brochure
on the airport and Hadrian resisted the urge to facepalm. He wouldn't
really bet on that thing for knowledge. His eyes started twitching
nevertheless as Narcissa continued. "And anyway, what could possibly go
wrong?"
Hadrian froze at these words and really facepalmed this time.
'Uh-oh. Did she really have to say it?'
...
"Raise your hands! This plane is hijacked!"
Hadrian groaned and glared at Narcissa whose chest suspiciously
trembled as if she was holding in her laughter while her head was
averted from him, facing the window. Dora looked with a blank
expression at the man with an automatic rifle and then turned to
Hadrian.
"Still think this is safe?" She whispered in a deadpan voice, making
Hadrian give her a stink eye.
"Fuck my luck." He grumbled, not answering Dora.
"Hey, you!" One of the hijackers apparently heard Hadrian and decided to
pay attention to him. He started to approach his seat.
"Fuck my luck double time." Hadrian repeated, his gaze completely blank
as both Dora and Narcissa took out their wands while the man was
getting closer. They looked discreetly at Hadrian, making him sigh in
exasperation. Of course, something like this just had to happen to him!
He turned to Narcissa with a question obvious in his gaze, heedless of the
approaching man. "Narcissa?"
"Got it." She acknowledged with a smile, making Hadrian decide the
course of their actions as their eyes were firmly locked together. A smile
appeared on Narcissa's face "I also have everything I would need with
me." She added and turned towards the assailants her eyes scouting all of
them, their positions, and weaponry.
Hadrian smiled at her. "In that case," He took out five rubber balls out of
his pocket as he looked directly into the eyes of the hijacker who was
now quite close to them. As their eyes met, Hadrian smiled widely at the
man whose eyes widened. The man didn't have a good feeling from that
grin as a chill ran through his spine but it was too late. Hadrian threw
the five balls up while transfiguring them into sharp nails made out of
metal. "here." He finished his signal for Narcissa.
The five hijackers had only a second to notice something wrong as they
spotted five nails in the air before Narcissa banished all five of them into
their heads, hitting each of them, sending their bodies onto the floor,
dead. The panic ensued.
"Well, nice. This can be counted as a successful surprise attack." Hadrian
praised Narcissa. "We can make a combo out of this." He quipped
jokingly as his other hand snaked around Dora's shoulder, calming the
distraught girl down. After all, she did just witness the murder of five
people. She was shaken but Hadrian didn't really feel any need to coddle
her. Comfort? Yes. Be there for her as a supporting pillar in this
situation? Definitely. Coddle her? Nuh-uh. Dora would just have to get
used to it like the big girl she was.
"Yes, this can definitely be our combo." Contrary to Hadrian's
expectations, Narcissa agreed to him wholeheartedly. This was a fast and
surprising attack. It took barely three seconds for Hadrian to throw the
balls up, transfigure them, and for her to banish them. The men didn't
have even a chance to react.
"Well, then. Time to shut the crowd up." Narcissa put her wand on her
throat and used Sonorous charm. "Shut up!" She screamed with a very
annoyed voice with a touch of threat in it.
The loud voice made the plane quiet down in instant. Every single person
was cowed except one. The trio watched as a man from the front seats
slowly stood up, showing them his empty palms, a wand visible in his
sleeve in a wand-holster. The man was of black skin and had quite a
worried expression on his face. He carefully approached the seats of the
trio and when he got to them without being cursed, Hadrian could see a
visible relief on his face.
"Hello, I am Juma Keinth." The man introduced himself, his eyes not
leaving Narcissa, ignoring Hadrian and Dora. He was watching her every
move with worry as he thought it was her who killed the assailants. For
him, Hadrian and Dora presented no threat.
"Narcissa... Malfoy." Narcissa returned the introductions but decided
against declaring herself a Black. It wouldn't be nice if the man was
somehow connected to someone in Wizarding Britain and spilled the
secrets. Her introductions earned her a loud gulp but the man's eyes
showed he had no idea what the name 'Malfoy' meant. This little tidbit
pleased Narcissa as she gestured to Hadrian. "If you want to talk to
someone, talk to him." She stood up and left her seat which made her
come closer to Juma who quickly and fearfully scooted away. He might
have been a wizard and killed his fair share but the coldblooded and
unbothered way this woman dispatched the five terrorists made even his
blood boil.
"Yes... if you have Occlumency, you should probably activate it." Hadrian
told Juma as he nudged Dora whose face morphed into an understanding
and her Occlumency shields rose. This action earned him an inquisitive
gaze from Narcissa as she took out a paper with a rune and put it on the
floor. Juma didn't question the 'suggestion' and also raised his
Occlumency shields.
Juma watched as the extremely complex rune on the paper shined and
felt something brush his Occlumency shields. It made him blankly blink
at the pale-blond-haired woman who set up that kind of rune. He had his
own understanding of runes and knew that... mind-altering runes are the
top of the crop and nobody really learns them nowadays as Legilimency
was easier and faster to learn. They were up there with sub-dimension
creation runes so the woman in front of him must have attained an utter
pinnacle of rune-making.
"So... Mr. Keinth, how can I help you?"
Juma heard the voice of the boy... Hadrian, asking him and it took him a
moment to reboot his brain in order to answer. In his defense, he did just
witness an area of effect mind-alteration that should not have been
possible according to so many rules of magic that it made him as
impressed as sick. He tore his eyes from the small paper with the
dangerous rune and turned to Hadrian with a conflicted expression.
"I just..." He started politely but instantly stopped, not knowing how to
continue. His eyes landed on patiently waiting Hadrian and his chest
deflated. "I just wanted to warn you that while Tanzania is not a part of
ICW, the Secrecy is a serious thing and you should make sure this doesn't
get out..." He awkwardly pointed out while rubbing the back of his head
in an exasperated manner. "But... I see you have that handled."
"Hm... Mr. Keinth, you are Tanzanian wizard?" Hadrian asked.
"Yes, I studied in Egypt and occasionally do some odd..." Juma's face
tightened as he threw Hadrian a meaningful look. "jobs there."
"Ah... so a mercenary, then." Hadrian understood his meaning. Juma just
nodded while noting the second woman, the young pink-haired girl
tensed up and gripped her wand tighter, only for Hadrian to calm her by
putting his hand on her shoulder. "In that case, you must know
Tanzania... the tribes there... quite well, no?" Hadrian smirked. He
intended to get a guide anyway so this might be quite a 'fruitful'
encounter.
Juma instantly knew where this was going. Sure, he knew these madmen.
He had a choice. Go to Egypt or some other school for Wizards in Africa
or join a tribe. Considering he hightailed it away from Tanzania the
second the offer was made, his opinion on these 'tradition' protecting
tribes was obvious. But... the people in front of him seemed wealthy. In
the end, he was a mercenary.
"I... I do."
And with that... Hadrian gained a local guide.
--------
Author: Okay guys, I was told the dialogues are bland and short
paragraphs make the story seem rushed so I tried to 'correct' that in this
chapter. If you feel so inclined, feel free to leave me a comment and
compare this chapter to the previous ones. I am mostly interested in how
it felt like to read it after reading the previous chapters in terms of format
and if the interaction between the characters is better or not...
Ch86. Bella visiting her cousin!
Ch86. Bella visiting her cousin!
Neville Longbottom sat in the hospital room of his parents, thinking
about the death of Bellatrix Lestrange. He didn't have a chance to visit his
parents since Christmas and was busy with his duties as the heir of House
Longbottom so this was the first time he saw them since he got to know
of her death. It infuriated him, to be honest. The woman caused this! His
eyes looked at his catatonic parents as his thoughts started turning 'dark'.
These years were quite hard on Neville. Not only was he drowned in
expectations by his grandmother as the sole heir of the House
Longbottom but he also had to watch as other kids had caring parents
while his parents just lifelessly stared at the ceiling, not responding no
matter what he did.
Neville looked towards his parents and his heart lightened. He lived his
entire life, knowing his parents are alive but can't be with him. At times,
he even thought about if it wouldn't be easier if they just died that fateful
night. At least, he wouldn't feel so lonely and his mind wouldn't be full of
those dark thoughts of revenge and hatred. He hated the woman who
was responsible for his parent's state. Many nights did he spent crying
due to his powerlessness and insufficient magical talent as it meant he
would be powerless if a chance to end the woman was presented. But
now... times have changed. Neville smiled to himself, happiness plainly
visible on his face. "Mom, Dad, don't worry. The madwoman who did this
to you is already dead." A lone tear streamed down his cheek.
Suddenly a hand grabbed his shoulder while an eery and elated feminine
voice whispered into his ear. "Are you sure of that?" Neville would jump
at the scare if the hand didn't hold his body firmly in the chair, not giving
him much freedom of movement. As he was about to turn around to see
who startled him, the person continued speaking despite his discomfort
as her harsh bony fingers strongly buried into his shoulders. "Longbottom
boy..." The voice stated and Neville could almost see the grin on the
unknown person. He could feel a warm breath caress his earlobe as the
person ever-so-quietly cooed into his ear. "It's not nice to proclaim people
dead in their presence." Neville's body went instantly rigid. He tried to
grab his wand but as he grasped it, in his nervousness, he actually
dropped it, letting it fall onto the floor. As he watched his wand rolling
away from him and felt his body unable to move due to the strength of
the person that was pressing him into his chair, his heart started to be
drowned in despair. He now had an inkling who was behind him and he
didn't want to believe it, hoping it was a nightmare.
Bellatrix watched the Longbottom boy with a bemused gaze, seeing him
nervously sputtering and flailed his hands around like a child he was
while looking at his wand on the floor. In a way, it was cute and Bellatrix
even momentarily pondered about getting her own kid from Hadrian.
Well, at least she did for two seconds before she mentally laughed that
idea off. She would be a horrible mother... similar to her own. Of that,
she was sure.
"Be-Be-Bellatrix! What d-do you want!" The boy exclaimed bravely and
Bellatrix raised her eyebrow even though he couldn't see her since she
was behind him. With a smirk, she let go of his left shoulder and started
to slowly trail her finger over it, towards his neck where she made a
slitting motion, cackling at how frightened the boy looked. As if she came
here to kill him or something...
Surprisingly, while she did get a measure of sadistic glee from what she
was doing, she no longer felt satisfaction from it. She scared a kid... Big
deal. Mentally sighing to herself, her eyes redirected at the two people
she showed the meaning of pain after they were such a pain in the ass. It
was a peculiar feeling, seeing her handiwork.
"If you came to k-kill me, then be quick!" She heard Neville and turned to
him. He was fearfully fidgeting in her hands and it made her roll her
eyes. "Gryffindor... how distasteful." She commented while sniffing her
nose. "But no, I just came to visit my cousin, of course!" Bellatrix said,
enjoying the gaze of the boy as the realization hit him somewhat hard.
"Yes... your mother's mother was the sister of my mother. We are family."
She cackled at that.
"We are NOT a family!" Neville screamed. "No! You are murdering bitch!
We are definitely not a family!" He shook in rage, uncaring about the
consequences anymore. The bitch wanted to proclaim being HIS family
after she mentally crippled his parents!?
Bellatrix only laughed again. "Boy, no matter what you want to believe,
the reality won't change." She released his shoulders fully and started
slowly approaching the beds with Neville's parents. Neville tried to jerk
himself towards his wand but found out he was as if glued towards the
chair! "Don't bother, I used a slightly modified pranking spell to make
sure your butt doesn't leave the chair." Bellatrix offhandedly stated as she
leaned towards her 'cousin'. "Hmm... she has such a peaceful expression."
She stated and quickly cast a silencing charm at Neville. "Shh, we don't
want to wake them, now, do we?" Bellatrix quipped but then corrected
herself. "Well, I don't want to wake them. You most likely do... but even
then, I'd like it if you were quiet." She told the boy.
Bellatrix leaned forward and put the tip of her wand on Alice's forehead
while closing her eyes. Neville watched her warily, hoping the
madwoman won't hurt his mother. After a few minutes of just staring at
her unmoving form, her wand still on his mother's forehead, he started to
get antsy and even forgot he was silenced. But before he could say
anything, Bellatrix finally moved. Neville observed as she quietly strutted
around his mother's bed and now approached his father, doing the exact
same thing. Another few minutes passed and Neville could only
powerlessly watch as Bellatrix Lestrange did something to his parents.
Bellatrix finished and opened her eyes, nodding to herself with
satisfaction. Her eyes trailed towards the bound and silenced boy, finding
the mix of peeved and worried expression he had on his face quite
amusing. "Don't look at me as if I killed your kitten. I just unlocked their
mind." Bellatrix rolled her eyes at the boy in exasperation as she removed
the silencing charm.
Her statement stopped Neville short. "Unlocked... minds?" He blurted out
in disbelief. "Wait... I can talk!" He exclaimed.
"Yes... I am sure your parents will be proud of that feat." Bellatrix
sarcastically quipped.
"I-, I will tell everybody you are alive!" Neville shouted at her, trying to
sound threatening but failing miserably at it.
Bellatrix just tilted her head at him. "Do as you wish." She said, making
Neville gape at her. "I mean... Sure, tell everybody that the 'dead'
Bellatrix Lestrange whose body was witnessed by no less than twenty
Aurors and then burned is alive, had a conversation with you that didn't
start and end up with the word 'Crucio', AND that she betrayed
Voldemort by waking up your parents" She snickered. "Yeah, that will go
so well!" Bellatrix shrugged and left through the doors, making herself
again invisible with the nifty transfiguration trick of the young Bones
girl.
"Wait! ..." Neville shouted and tried to jump at her. Due to thinking he
was still bound to the chair, he used too much power and was sent
sprawling on the ground with painful groans. It was only then that his
mind registered her good-bye sentence. "Did she say 'waking up your
parents'" He turned his head, only to find two pairs of emotion-filled eyes
intently watching him.
Ch87. Tanzania 1
Hiring Juma was indeed one of the best things Hadrian could do. The
man was a local and goldmine of information. More so due to his special
circumstances. He had the 'gift' as they called it in these parts of the
world. Which meant he was an exceptionally powerful wizard. Well,
exceptionally powerful was a debatable bit according to Narcissa but it
was clear he was no pushover. Anyway, he knew his fair share of people
from the magical tribes in Tanzania and that helped Hadrian and the
company a lot, especially when it came to saving time. And that's how
they just in two days after coming to Tanzania managed to get to their
target.
"Magnificent, isn't it?" Juma knowingly asked. "When I was first brought
here as a kid, I remember spending the entire night up, admiring it." He
nostalgically added. Hadrian nodded as he looked up. Above them,
covering the entire place of the tribe was a huge tree as big as a
skyscraper, with dense twine of uncountable branches going deep
underground, creating a sort of an umbrella over the dwellings of the
tribesmen. In the middle of the 'village', a big main trunk of the tree
could be seen. "That's the 'sacred' place. You shouldn't get too close." He
warned the group after seeing Hadrian's eyeing it.
A local man with long hair done up resembling an afro that sported many
branches in it, walked towards the group while supporting himself with a
branch. His hands had wooden bracelets and even his shoes were made
of wood. Juma saw how Dora looked at the man funnily. "It's all made
out of the Mother Tree's fallen branches. Don't underestimate these plain-
looking things, they are all magical and in this village, only the best
craftsman can get opportunities to work with the fallen branches of the
Mother Tree and hence, the position of the village chief." Juma told her
and even Hadrian and Narcissa listened intently, their feelings covered
with their impassive masks.
The chieftain came closer to them and instantly locked Juma in an
intense debate in some Tanzanian dialect or something that neither of the
group understood. The topic was all too clear to them, however, as both
occasionally glanced towards them. Fortunately, the chieftain didn't look
all that angry at 'outsiders' being in his village. After they were done
talking, the two men turned towards Hadrian and his girls. "Wilcume."
The chieftain said in a 'broken English', making Juma snicker which
earned him a scowl and a slap on his shoulder.
"Fine, fine," Juma said in an appeasing manner. "Just let me talk." He told
the chieftain. Apparently, the man understood English perfectly and it
was just talking that was problematic for him. The chieftain nodded and
Juma chuckled one last time before he took a deep breath to calm
himself. "The chieftain would like to welcome you."
"Is this normal? I thought they wouldn't like strangers." Hadrian asked
and Juma just shrugged.
"He also hopes for 'knowledge trading'." Juma said and the chieftain
nodded hopefully, making the trio quickly understand just why he was so
forthcoming. "The village has many magical artifacts it can trade as the
settlements focus more on crafting so despite the outsiders being a rare
sight here, they are welcomed. Especially those willing to teach a bit of
their knowledge." Juma said.
Before Hadrian could say anything, Narcissa butted in. "I don't mind
showing them a bit of runecrafting in exchange for a bit of their own
magic crafting knowledge." She said and Hadrian closed his mouth after
he spotted the veiled excitement on her face. The chieftain smiled widely
at her, it was obvious the deal was to his liking. Narcissa then turned to
Hadrian, asking for permission to which, he just shrugged helplessly.
"You are my wife, not my slave. Do what you want." He told her, earning
himself a peck on the cheek and silent 'thank you'.
"Do you have some alchemy knowledge? I can trade for teaching some
potions to you." Dora suddenly said and the chieftain blinked at her. A
pondering frown appeared on his face but in the end, he nodded
somewhat cautiously while his eyes found Juma and he quickly said
something to him, making him widen his eyes.
Juma pursed his lips and slowly turned to Dora. "They indeed do have
alchemy knowledge. But I don't think someone from Britain would
appreciate it." He carefully said, watching for any sort of reaction from
the group. Dora looked a bit miffed and that but Juma continued. "They
have a bit of knowledge in flesh-crafting from one of the Chinese wizards
who visited two centuries ago." He told her and Dora's jaw dropped. She
showed quite a conflicted expression but then her eyes hardened.
"I would like to learn it." She said, surprising everyone. Even Narcissa and
Hadrian didn't think she would actually agree. Dora was very tolerant of
the so-called dark arts but she was nevertheless a witch raised in magical
Britain, therefore prejudiced. She grew up with these prejudices and even
though Hadrian tried a lot to get her out of that mindset, it was a slow
process. Hadrian was quite happy Dora reacted like this as it was a clear
show of progress for his efforts!
Juma then turned towards Hadrian with a questioning look. Hadrian just
shrugged. "I am knowledgeable only in transfiguration and I don't think I
will have time for it as I am in the middle of devising a ritual." He told
Juma who nodded in understanding. The discussion about knowledge
trading concluded, the trio was shown to their living arrangements which
was basically a hut... that had magically expanded interior and was kinda
luxurious.
It was evening and both Dora and Narcissa already left for their classes
while Hadrian was straddled with Juma, thinking about how to get away
from him. He wanted to inspect the 'Mother Tree' as he needed to know
just how was the tree capable of 'generate' magic outta its ass. Sadly, his
perception quite couldn't reach it so he had to get closer. Juma watched
Hadrian with a tinge of amusement but after a while decided he had
enough fun. "I can take you towards the tree." He said, making Hadrian
look at him with a spooked look, earning himself an eye-roll. "Come on,
since we came, you didn't try too much to hide your interest in it. I talked
with the chieftain and as long as you won't touch it, we can get a closer
look." Juma said, making Hadrian surprised.
"Am I really that bad at hiding my interest?" He asked his guide who just
snorted. "You are worse." And with that, the duo left towards the Mother
Tree.
------
Author: Didn't really have time to check grammar as I am busy IRL.
Ch88. Tanzania 2
Juma and Hadrian walked through the village. Their accommodation
might have been luxurious but it was on the very edge of the village so
this was actually the very first time he was able to see more of it. The
houses were made of wood but they were not cottages. Far from it. They
were not made from planks, instead, they were living in trees. Juma saw
where Hadrian was looking and instantly understood what was going
through his head. "The clan is focusing on druidic magic." He told
Hadrian with a slight smile. "Growing trees is the very basics of it."
Hadrian nodded in understanding. "So they live inside hollowed trees?
Isn't that kinda anti-natural or something?" He asked, making Juma
snicker.
"They are not hollowed trees. These are a special type of magical tree.
They are quite wide but short. Most of the real tree is on the edges and
the middle is actually empty. The natives just used this knowledge to
build their dwellings inside the trees. It's kind of a symbiotic relationship,
really. I don't know much about it but supposedly the inhabitants give
the tree magic for being able to live in it." Juma said, making Hadrian
nod. His curiosity now peaked so he started using his perception to
actually find out how does that work.
The second he did so, his jaw almost dropped and he had to turn his head
away to not alert Juma. The natives... these druids or whatever they call
themselves... they become 'one' with the tree the second they enter it. Or
at least, their magic does. It connects and stays that way as long as they
are inside the tree. This has two effects. Firstly, their attunement to
druidic magic is strengthened by the second and their magic is getting a
small boost over time. This solved the mystery of 'why' there were no
'muggles' in the village. Supposedly, every child born here was actually
magical! And secondly, it makes them a bit disadvantaged in other
magical arts than druidic ones as their magic is geared towards them.
That bit was quite disappointing for Hadrian. He perceived how the
magic flowed through the trees and the bodies of natives and he surmised
this connection to the druidic arts was the sole reason they actually could
use strong wandless magic without much effort as long as it was a druidic
spell.
The rest of the journey through the village was spent in sillence as
Hadrian took the sights of the isolated magical community and stored
them away in his memory. They had many magical artifacts that were
quite innovative even for the more modern wizards and yet, they were
actually an isolated magical community that had almost no contact with
other wizards.
They didn't need stairs. They had magical tree branches that could
deliver them to higher places. It was the main transportation system in
the entire village! Branches and vines that could carry a person from one
spot to another.
They didn't need soil to grow things. They could just use tree barks and
some druidic magic to do so! Almost every house was actually covered in
weird flowers of various colors which, according to Juma, were
equivalent to a glasshouse! Hadrian had no idea how... since the main
source of light was the shining-green moss on the underside of the
Mother Tree that gave the entire place a light-green gleam. Not much
natural light could reach the village through the Mother Tree.
They didn't use brooms. They had a wooden bracelet that made them
capable of floating. These bracelets might not reach the speed of a
broom, but they were much more comfortable and the people mostly
used them to gather the moss from the Mother Tree or work on their tree
bark-farms... since most of those were on branches high above the
grounds.
It was kinda weird in a good sort of way. Hadrian felt as if he was in
some sort of fantasy about wood elves... except the elves were all black
and didn't have pointy ears. The fashion wasn't much of a thing in the
village either. The people certainly had quite comfortable looking robes
but they lookded as if they were made out of the vines, which was most
likely the truth.
"We are here." Juma suddenly said, making Hadrian's head snap to the
front, making his eyes widen. In front of him, all he could see was a part
of the insanely huge trunk of the Mother Tree.
"Damn," Hadrian said. "how could this be hidden from the world? It's
massive!"
Juma chuckled and shrugged. "The tree is naturally camouflaging itself.
That was the very reason why the tribe settled in here. It's damn hard to
find this place and outright impossible if you are not magical. This was
the sanctuary of Tanzanian's druids for millennia already." He said.
Hadrian turned to Juma with an awkward expression. "May I ask a
question?" Juma raised his eyebrow but nodded so Hadrian continued.
"Why did you not join them?"
Juma opened his mouth at that but no sound came out of it. He sighed
and sheepishly started to rub the back of his head with an uncomfortable
expression. "They... have their own culture." He slowly and carefully
started. "You won't see much of it but... I wouldn't recommend anyone
who didn't grow amongst them to spend a prolonged amount of time
here. Even I try to limit my visits and I am actually the biggest
connection they have to the outer world." He turned away from Hadrian.
"No matter how nice it all looks, some of their customs... are outright
disturbing." He mumbled, making Hadrian barely hear him.
Hadrian now knew the guy wasn't very comfortable with the topic so he
let it go. He looked back at the intricate bark of the Mother Tree and
activated his perception. This was, after all, the sole reason he was here.
He wanted to know how the tree generates its own magic. What he saw,
almost floored him. Turns out he was wrong. The tree did NOT generate
its own magic, instead, it was directly connected to the leyline under it!
This was even more precious than Hadrian previously thought! This was
an example of how the magic is actually produced by the planet itself!
He tried to sense every bit of what was in front of him and he was
definitely having quite a bit of trouble doing so. The structure was
massive and the magic was going from the leylines to the roots of the tree
and continued to go to the surface with them, entering the tree itself only
to exit to the ground or the air through branches. 'Yeah... no wonder they
can actually grow things on tree bark of all things...' Hadrian thought as
the corner of his lips twitched. His perception didn't have that big of a
range yet so he could sense only a tiny bit of leylines but even this small
part of them would bring immense gains for Hadrian.
A genuine smile spread through his lips even though he couldn't really
comprehend the way the leylines worked yet. This was his ticket to no
longer having to depend on the magic from the surroundings! Once one
looked at the history of magic... and no, Hadrian didn't mean goblin
wars... it would become apparent that the magic was slowly decreasing in
the world. There were still places like this village with a high amount of
magic but overall, right now was not the brightest age for magic.
Creating his own magic source was a very important thing! But it was
apparent he would need more time near it to understand more of the
process. But this was the jackpot for him. This little discovery would push
the making of the ritual forward by months... once he understood how
leylines produced magic.
Ch 89. Tanzania 3
Kun'in'ans was heading to his farm in the middle part of the Mother Tree.
He was very proud of himself for being able to procure it! After all, it was
a sign of his high social standing in the tribe! Nobody was allowed to
make a farm on the upper part so the people who had it in the middle
one were usually influential and rich! As he finally reached the small plot
of his bark, his body froze in fright. In front of him was a black bird he
never saw before, pecking into the bark of a branch above his bark-field.
The atmosphere around the bird was soul-rendering as it was giving out a
chilling vibe. Kun'in'ans gulped with his eyes wide when the bird
momentarily stopped pecking the bark and raised its head in his
direction. His eyes met the blood-red eyes of the bird and... he fainted.
Later when he woke up, he found out the branch was pecked out up to
the core and instantly ran off to the chieftain to inform him about this
disaster! The Bird of Doom descended!
...
In his room, Hadrian was stroking the feathers of Rowena who clutched a
blue crystal-like branch she pecked out of the Mother Tree. This was the
core of it. Or at least a small part. It was a very important thing to
Hadrian and the main component of every artifact the natives crafted. It
was an energy source. Hadrian needed it because it was actually a part of
crystalized Leyline and it would help him tremendously. "Good girl." He
praised Rowena who cawed at him indignantly at having to do such a
menial task for him. Hadrian just gave her another owl treat...
surprisingly she quite liked them... and chuckled but didn't take her
'protest-caw' seriously which earned him a halfhearted peck from her.
He opened the storage rune made by Narcissa and deposited the
crystallized core inside. This was the twentieth Rowena gathered this
past week. If the villagers knew, they would probably take pitchforks and
hoes to chase Hadrian to the end of the world. These cores were almost
sacred for them and taking them is strictly prohibited unless it's from a
branch that fell off. And even then... if they found out that an outsider
had the audacity to take it! It would surely cause a headache for Hadrian.
One he didn't really need so he decided to be sneaky about it. After all, to
whom could they complain if the 'thief' was a bird? Mother Nature?
"You say you were seen..." Hadrian stated to which Rowena nodded.
"Hmm... okay, stop with it. We got twenty samples already, no need to
get more." Rowena just cawed in agreement, happy she was released
from the task she considered below her station. Hadrian could only sigh
in exasperation at his feathery friend. So much complaining but in the
end, for an owl treat, she would reluctantly do it... But he supposed he
was happy about that. Without her, it wouldn't be so easy to get the
cores.
...
It was the last days of their stay in the village and Hadrian laughed hard
as the village still panicked about the Bird of Doom or whatever insanity
they came up with. According to the latest rumors, the end of the world
was coming! Juma was actually unable to accompany Hadrian on his
daily stroll to the Mother Tree in the evenings since he was busy helping
the villagers investigate. They were searching for Rowena all around the
village but Hadrian sent her away long ago. Right about now, she should
be somewhere near London... Juma being busy however meant Hadrian
couldn't approach the tree without setting up alarms and getting into
trouble with the locals. Not that he overly cared, he had enough of the
cores stashed away for his purpose. Their leaving wasn't even noticed
much in the turmoil Rowena's sighting caused and so...
It was early afternoon and they were about to leave the village. Juma
was frowning as the chieftain didn't even bother sending them off... But
the trio didn't really care. They all had things to ponder about and were
busy going through their gains from this little excursion.
Narcissa was quite happy about this trip as she learned a lot of new
methods of crafting. While artifact creation wasn't really her forte but the
principles could be used to create new runes. To her eternal happiness,
the tribe even had knowledge about some really old runes that would
make her own runic spells progress leaps and bounds. Hadrian already
feared for the poor bastards who annoy her enough to smite them.
Narcissa started to for some reason like making really nasty and irritating
runes. She didn't go for max damage, instead, she went for the ones that
could annoy the hell out of the enemies.
In exchange, Narcissa taught the natives some minor runes. After a year
of being married to Narcissa, Hadrian had a clear image of the kind of
person she was. She would never give them any substantial knowledge in
runes. Not when they had no clue about the things she was teaching. In
her mind, if they asked about specific knowledge, she would teach them
but since they did not, she gave them some basics and flashy but useless
runes and the rest was up to them.
Dora on the other hand learned flesh-crafting. It was mostly in tomes as
no one from the tribe focusing on druidic magic would even touch the
discipline with a stuffed dead skunk and these tomes were very, very old
but she got the hang of it eventually. The chieftain even gifted her the
tomes as it was useless for them.
Now... Hadrian was certain Dora would never use these skills for what
they were meant to be... but she learned a lot about handling
ingredients... especially those made out of humans, and she also learned
very advanced rules of alchemy, no matter how 'dark' they were. They
would later be applicable for other things too and that was the main
reason why she learned it. Flesh-crafting was, after all, an incredibly
advanced alchemical field and the underlying principles of it were up
there with the hardest spells and mostly forgotten. If one tried to learn
the craft in the modern age, it would be nigh impossible. Not because of
lack of understanding but due to insufficient learning material! Dora
really lucked out with these tomes. Also... they destroyed them the
second she got all the knowledge stored in her mind through
Occlumency. No way would they risk it being stolen! Hadrian, however,
told Dora to make a copy for the black library in the safety of Grimmauld
Place 12. With Narcissa's defenses, that place was almost unbreachable.
Hadrian spent the time studying the Mother Tree and Leylines and his
ritual was coming along quite well. He had almost everything he needed
and knew how to make sure the effect was what he desired but wasn't yet
confident enough to actually perform the ritual without somebody
learning the art near him. He would have to show his results to Bellatrix
as she was the most knowledgeable in the field out of all of Hadrian's
trusted acquaintances.
The way back towards the city was quiet and uneventful as the girls
leaned on Hadrian, enjoying the time together as they quite neglected
each other due to being busy learning. It was then the old van Juma
rented abruptly stopped, pulling the trio out of their thoughts.
"What's up?" Hadrian asked. And saw Juma's furrowed eyebrows and
worried expression.
"The road is blocked..."
(Cliff-kun! Sorry, kinda lost my drive so I will end the chapter here and
continue in another...)
Ch90. Juma...
Ch90. Juma...
"The road is blocked." Juma said, eyeing the people barricading the road
with a frown on his lips. "This is not good. These people are probably
bandits." He wasn't really sure about that because they were hiding their
identity by sitting in the car. Suddenly, a loud voice resounded, saying
something in a native tongue. Juma frowned even more as he turned to
Hadrian. "They demand we get out of the car. Let me go alone and ask
what's going on." Juma told Hadrian who instantly shook his head in
disagreement.
"These people don't seem to be a reasonable sort." He started. "I'd rather
be out of the car if a fight breaks up." Hadrian said and narrowed his
eyes. His magical perception was flaring, telling him these people were
magical and it didn't bode well for... them. The only reason why magical
people would barricade the road in wild Tanzania was some nefarious
purpose. Which meant fight. Which meant they would be getting
massacred. Not that they knew it yet but Narcissa already got that small
smirk which might be almost unnoticeable but it still told Hadrian she
was getting excited. Even Dora knew something was wrong with the
current situation and she was also getting antsy. "Well, girls, prepare for
a fight... I guess." Hadrian said and Juma saw it was useless to argue so
he nodded and they got out of the car together.
The more they approached the men, the more was Juma distraught. He
now knew who they were and cursed himself for agreeing to the trio
exiting the car. He could see the men eyeing them and his mercenary
senses were certainly tingling. His eyes clouded as he was sure the fight
was inevitable but nevertheless, he would first try the peaceful approach.
When they finally came sufficiently close, a tall black man with a bony
necklace clad in brown shirt and trousers shouted at Juma who sighed.
He turned to Hadrian and said. "They want to talk to me first. Wait here
for a second, please." With that, he left the group and went towards the
man where he started exchanging words with the man. They talked in
their native tongue so it was impossible for Hadrian to understand but he
could see Juma's mood souring no matter how good the man was at
concealing his body language.
In the end, Juma came towards the group with a bitter expression. "They
said I can go but they want you to stay." He told them.
"Us to stay?" Narcissa asked with an amused undertone as if this was just
an attraction in an amusement park but Juma mistook her tone for a
worried one and gave her a reassuring look which made her even almost
snicker.
"Yes... I could have negotiated to make it only women but I knew
Hadrian would never accept that so I didn't even try. We will have to
fight our way through." Juma stated and Hadrian tilted his head in
curiosity.
"An idiotic question it may be but I will nevertheless ask. For what do
they want MY women?" He narrowed his eyes, already thinking which
transfiguration will he use to show them the wrongness of their path.
Juma blinked at Hadrian before he understood what he asked and only
then realized Hadrian nor the girls knew who stopped them.
"Ah... they belong to the Kurmia tribe. They practice more... unorthodox
rituals." Juma started, making Hadrian's frown widen but the next
sentence made all three foreigners speechless. "They are the local
cannibals." Juma scratched his cheek awkwardly as he said that. All three
of Hadrian's group dropped their jaws at that.
"How are they still alive." Narcissa mumbled to herself but when she saw
Dora's inquisitive look, she decided to elaborate. "Similar to
necromancers, the cannibals were also killed off a few centuries ago.
They were not dangerous per se but they were inhuman in their practices
even compared to dark wizards of this era. It might seem ridiculous but
the reason why humans see eating other humans as inhuman is from the
big part the achievement of wizards of the past when our worlds weren't
yet separated. Sometimes it was necessary for survival and a good
neighbor was always a welcome change in the menu. Meat was meat,
after all. But this changed when people started forming bigger
civilizations and food became more abundant. Wizards started too and
some practices started to be abhorred and later, banned. The easiest way
to do that was to do it through laws and so, cannibalism became
'outlawed'. China, the Roman Empire, Persia, Ancient Greece... all of
these countries did it. It became a necessity as these wizards weren't
exactly the shining beacons of a good example for the community. They
had to be dealt with." She summed up.
"Now then..." Hadrian started with a smile. "I think this is where we will
part ways, Juma." That made Juma instantly on guard but he was too
late.
"Avada Kedavra." Resounded from his right side, and before he could
even turn around, the spell hit his side, killing him instantly. Narcissa
huffed as Juma's dead body landed on the ground. She then half-turned
towards the bewildered Kurmia tribesmen who were processing what just
happened. "Well... but honestly. That guy was an atrocious actor." She
smirked towards them. "I mean... you see powerful wizards who don't
care about killing in a plane full of people and the first thing he does is
approach us?"
"To be perfectly fair... if you didn't learn the basics of their tongue, I
doubt we would know the man approached us on the plane only to 'sell'
us to the Kurmia tribe." Hadrian offhandedly stated, preparing for a fight
as he watched the Kurmia tribesmen getting agitated.
"Not really, the man was an open book for my Legilimency." Narcissa
snorted. "It was just convenient to have him as a guide." She shrugged.
"Uh... am I the only one who is startled and GREATLY disturbed that
Aunt Cissa cast an unforgivable into the man's back?" Dora asked quietly
to herself but was ignored. She let out a loud whine but too prepared her
wand for a fight.
The battle started as the trio found themselves under the fire of
something Hadrian thought he would never see. Fireballs... wandlessly
conjured at that started flying at them, making him frown. Narcissa
quickly threw a paper containing a rune on the ground while charging it
with magic with her wand. As the fireballs were above the rune, they
quickly dissipated, not reaching the trio. The Kurmia tribesmen were
bewildered but not for long. Hadrian was happy to see their usage of fire
so he decided to show them his own. His hands burst with an emerald-
green flame. With a flick of his hand, these flames were molded into two
spears of fire and thrown onto his enemies who barely scrambled out of
their way. But this proved to be quite a wrong move as Dora wasn't idle
either and they found themselves being flung by banishers of hers.
The men weren't pushovers however and soon enough, they spread
around. Hadrian was conjuring earth shield after earth shield to cover the
fire of fireballs from sides while Narcissa's runes were covering the front.
The trio was slowly pushed towards the car which they used to cover
their back. The spells might have been strong enough to injure a human
but the van would prove to be quite tough to breach even for their spells.
The trio could actually use the van to escape but they wanted to try their
new spells in a 'safe' environment and these thugs would do. It was
infinitely better and most importantly safer than trying it on Bellatrix...
who was the only willing participant for these kinds of activities.
Narcissa smirked as a new rune suddenly lit up in front of her in the air
at the wave of her wand, she pulled her wand arm back and then fiercely
jabbed her wand forward. The rune started growing until it was as big as
her body and that's when the show started. The men were still furiously
spamming fireballs at the trio, so much that Hadrian actually started to
grow bored and wondered if this was their only spell, but as the fireballs
impacted Narcissa's new rune, they... got reflected. Two out of the eight
men got roasted by their own fireballs which startled the rest and Dora
used that opening to give her own input to the clash. She quickly cast a
charm of her own making and three more men started floating briefly
before being pulled into each other with such a force, Hadrian clearly
heard a deadly loud crack. He almost cringed at how disgusting that
sound was but noted Dora didn't notice due to smirking at Narcissa in
victory.
The remaining three men were now panicking and for the first time, it
wasn't a fireball they used. They cast one spell together and a huge fire
elemental rose in front of the trio, plunging its hand onto them. Hadrian
barely managed to create a massive hand from the ground and stopped
the hand of the elemental. The elemental and Hadrian's transfigured
earth hand started wrestling for a few moments but it was obvious the
stalemate would continue. Hadrian might have learned battle
transfiguration spells and him being able to hold three wizards off by
himself was commendable but he was still a kid and his magic wasn't
fully developed. Narcissa and Dora quickly decided to help him and two
of the men who were conjuring the fire elemental started to promptly feel
all ticklish due to the girls' tickling charms which disrupted their synergy.
Something nobody expected instantly happened and the elemental
exploded with a violent boom and flurry of flames, sending dust, debris,
and earth flying all around.
The dust started slowly clearing, revealing charred ground in the
surroundings. Even the trees nearby were for the most part nothing but
ashes... "Damn..." Hadrian coughed out as he released the earth dome he
transfigured over them.
"Damn right..." Narcissa said exasperatedly as she released the runic
shield that was right under the earth dome.
"Seriously..." Dora also joined in with their dry remarks as she canceled
the cushioning charm she cast on all three of them. "What the heck was
that!" She exclaimed, making Narcissa turn to her.
"That, dear niece, were wizards who played with unstable elemental
spells..." Narcissa deadpanned, and then started slowly laughing. This
made Dora also laugh as she looked around the devastated surroundings,
spotting the tree charred corpses of the idiots who almost blew them up.
Hadrian snaked his arms around the girls' shoulders and embraced them
while also laughing in relief.
"Well, that was enough for an adventure, I think." He said. "Time to go
home..." The girls leaned into his embrace and both nodded into his
shoulder. No matter how they wanted to have a test run of their new
spells, they didn't think it would result in almost being cooked up!
Hadrian smiled and uttered. "Kreacher!"
Ch91. Back home
Hadrian, Dora, and Narcissa appeared in the library after Kreacher
teleported them back home. Hadrian was at first doubtful the little guy
would be able to do it in one jump as it took time for him to show up
even when they were in the same country but apparently, the house-elf
magic was working on a different concept than the human one. Distance
is quite an ambiguous term for them.
The second they arrived, Hadrian was without even knowing how,
promptly hugged by excited Bellatrix. 'How the heck did she appear here
so fast!?' All three of them thought, completely bewildered by her sudden
appearance. Bellatrix however wasn't even a bit shaken by their weirded-
out stares and just kept hugging Hadrian tightly to her chest, twisting her
hips from side to side with his entire body.
When even after five minutes of cuddly hugs Bellatrix didn't let Hadrian
go, Narcissa who was already glaring at her sister and tapping her foot on
the floor couldn't take it anymore and spoke, "Bella! That's enough! You
can cuddle later!" She scowled.
"No!" Bellatrix huffed out and her hands refused to let Hadrian go. He
could only awkwardly chuckle at her childish antics but he was indeed
feeling quite tired so he crouched slightly, putting his right hand around
her waist he lifted her feet from the ground, making her let out a girlish
shriek, and carried her towards the couch where he sat down, putting her
on his lap. Bellatrix was staring at him with wonder in her gaze before
she decided to just go with the flow and again leaned onto him. Narcissa
just sat next to him with her arms crossed, a bit peeved her sister didn't
even say hello before hoarding her husband for herself which was shown
by her facing away from the woman. Dora quickly decided it was high
time to make herself scarce, leaving via the floo to her parent's house.
After they rested in comfortable silence for a while, Bellatrix raised her
head and threw a question at Narcissa. "So... how was your honeymoon,
sister?" She teasingly asked while wiggling her eyebrows at Narcissa,
making it obvious what she meant.
"Ei, stop it, sister!" Narcissa swatted Bellatrix's shoulder with a visible
scowl on her lips, making the former madwoman cackle in gleeful
amusement as she started reciting in a sing-song voice.
"You are blushing! Blushing! Blushing like a virgin!" Bellatrix was almost
bouncing on Hadrian's lap while Narcissa's right eye started twitching but
her face was beep red anyway. "Blushi-" Bellatrix was about to continue
when Narcissa suddenly decided it was enough and interrupted her.
"So, sister dearest did you manage to complete your task?" She turned her
head to Bella, her eyes showing the answering was mandatory, and
forcibly changed the topic. Bellatrix whined for a few moments but when
Narcissa pinched her side with considerable force, making her almost
jump in pain, Bellatrix started talking.
"Yes, yes!" She screamed as Narcissa was still holding a bit of skin on her
side. "I did it, alright!"
"You did what?" A voice resounded through the room, making both
women stop bickering as they froze, robotically turning towards Hadrian.
Both forget he was even there during their little sisterly exchange and
now, he wanted to know what they did!
"Uh..." Narcissa intelligently started. "ah... I may... er,"
"Just say it!" Hadrian irritably stated when he saw she was growing
quieter and quieter. He was not in a mood for riddles nor any stalling
tactics and his voice was quite clear in that aspect. It told Narcissa all she
needed to know. That being it was time to come clean.
"Well, okay." Narcissa took a deep breath. "I may or may not order
Bellatrix to wake up Longbottoms." She said, biting her teeth as she was
really unsure how Hadrian would react to it.
"Oh... that?" Contrary to her expectations, Hadrian didn't really have any
reaction, he just shrugged disinterestedly which made both Narcissa and
Bellatrix stare at him in bewilderment which turned momentarily to
confusion before they gained an understanding look almost at the same
time.
"You heard us..." Their voices chorused at once as they both concluded
why his reaction was so bland.
"Well, you were acting weird and I was curious so I eavesdropped while
pretending to be asleep." Hadrian chuckled, gently putting his hands on
Bellatrix's sides and tenderly embracing her. He was indeed missing the
woman. Her childishness was almost contagious and when she wasn't
acting madly, she could be even called somewhat cute. Both women were
quite embarrassed due to being overheard so Hadrian decided to throw
Narcissa a helping hand. "But you can always refresh my memory by
describing your plan again." He smiled at her, making her return his
smile with a beaming one as this lessened the awkwardness of the entire
situation.
"I wanted to surprise you and here you already know it all." She shook
her head. "I don't think there is a need for me to explain again. But thank
you for the sentiment." Narcissa softly gripped his forearm in a show of
affection and gratitude.
Hadrian was trying to keep a straight face but mentally he was twitching
in annoyance. 'Wut? She... didn't explain? Damn... that plan didn't go half
as good as I hoped! Obviously, I have no idea what your plan was! Can't
a man flex a bit in front of his wives without there being any unwanted
consequences!?' He was inwardly weeping bitter tears of failure when he
noticed Narcissa's smirk. He closed his eyes for a second and took a deep
breath in order to recollect himself and push down the shame that was
rearing its ugly head to the surface of his mind. "Forgot you are an
empath for a moment." He wryly smiled, making Narcissa let out an
amused chuckle while even Bellatrix snickered at him.
"But the attempt counts." Narcissa told him and pecked his cheek to
lighten his mood. "Anyway, my plan is simple, I am going to put
Dumbledore and Longbottoms on opposite sides of the light faction.
Nothing better than a little civil war before lunch. "The Longbottoms
were never big fans of Dumbledore, hence he didn't really warn them as
he did with Potters when the hunt for their kid was starting. This could
make some waves that could eventually help us keep Dumbledore
preoccupied." She lightly stated. "The only issue is..." Turning to Bellatrix,
she continued. "Did you lock the memory of yourself in the boy's mind?"
Bellatrix nodded. "Yes, he was keeping his eyes on mine for the entire
time. Wasn't even that hard and didn't need to use even a bit of violence.
How regrettable..." Bella pouted, earning herself a nudge from Hadrian
which made her happy again. Narcissa looked satisfied at this
information and her only comment was...
"And now, the next episode in Dumbledore's Problems can begin."
…
A few days later, Dowager Longbottom was sitting on the left side of the
newly awakened Lord Longbottom, happy that her son was again on his
feet! Well, not literally of course. He still had to use a wheeling chair but
he was getting there! Little Neville was also almost flying from happiness
and she decided to ignore his remark about seeing the already deceased
Bellatrix Lestrange. She really didn't know what to do with the boy.
When he said it was Bellatrix who woke his parents… she almost face-
faulted there and then! The boy almost ruined her image of a proper
lady!
Anyway, she was opening her mail when suddenly, she found a black
envelope depicting a bearded man in a red costume with reindeer,
waving in her direction. Contrary to common expectations, she knew
what Santa Claus was and smiled to herself at getting something like this
even though Christmas was still far away.
She started reading out loud. "Dear Mr. and Mrs. Longbottom, I, the
almighty Santa Claus who brings presents to good kids, decided to gift
you your overdue. In the past ten plus years, you two were extremely
good kids!" She chuckled at that before continuing. By now, the entire
table was listening to her. "Ah… er, not like lying unresponding on the
bed could make you anything but good kids, *awkward shrug and beard
caress*," A snicker from her son distracted her so she had to refocus, swat
his shoulder, and find where she ended. "I decided to give you
information about the fateful night! Look into the attachments!
Hohohohoho!" She ended and put the letter down, only for another thing
to pop into existence in front of her. It was… a book.
She opened it and this time, read it quietly as any information about that
night was definitely not for young Neville's ears. No matter how he tried
to take a peek by stretching his neck. When she was done, she was
completely pale from what she just read. The problem was… it was a
diary written by Dumbledore, she knew his handwriting well! There was
even his personal seal that can't be plagiarized as it was magically
protected! It was real! The only blemish was the 'Gleefully stealing
Kreacher' mark under it!
"What's up mom?" Frank suddenly asked when he saw the state of his
mother. Madam Longbottom was instantly pulled out of her reverie and
just silently gave him the book. He curiously peeked in and almost fell
comatose again! The book didn't contain much, it described barely a
month from Dumbledore's life but it had real proof that Dumbledore
basically 'forgot' to warn them when he 'clearly' knew they were about to
get a visit from Dark Lord himself! His words! Frank was pissed…
"Dumbledore!" He gritted out, his mind already deciding how to 'deal'
with this new information.
Ch92. Ritual
Hadrian was standing in front of intricate circles made from various
runes that were being checked and rechecked for the nth time by
Narcissa. "Are you really sure this will succeed?" She worriedly asked,
putting her hand on Hadrian's shoulder and squeezing it as if trying to
prevent him from doing the ritual.
"I am positive." Hadrian put his own hand on top of hers, looking straight
into her worried eyes with a smile. "Don't worry. We already tried it with
a not-so-willing test subject and it went fine. You checked the runes at
least twenty times too! It will be ok." He rolled his eyes and Narcissa let
out a whine as she embraced him.
"I am still worried, you know?" She put her head in the crook of his neck
and nuzzled her nose into his skin affectionately. Hadrian didn't respond
and just snaked his arms around her waist, pulling her deeper into the
embrace, enjoying her warmth. They stood there like that for a time
until...
Bellatrix came and stopped in her tracks, her brows furrowing as she
gave the two hugging people a weird look. Her expression however
morphed into a mischievous one almost instantly and in no time she was
sneaking up on them. When she was almost next to them, she, with a
wide grin, whispered into their ears. "Booo!"
The duo heard her giddy voice and instantly jumped away from each
other from the surprise. making Bellatrix giggle at them childishly.
Narcissa glared at her sister a bit when she realized it was her but
Hadrian just laughed and snaked his hand around Bella's shoulder,
tenderly pulling her closer to his body as he did the exact same thing
with his other hand for Narcissa.
"See? Bella is not worried at all." He said, looking at Narcissa but could
instantly feel Bellatrix pinching him in the side.
"I AM worried!" Bellatrix exclaimed with a huff. "I still think you should
let me go first! If something is wrong..." She trailed off but her hands
worriedly clutched Hadrian's clothing. Despite the protests from both of
his women, Hadrian wasn't about to listen. He knew it would succeed as
he carefully observed the previous experimental try-out with a thug from
Knockturn alley. His perception showed him every flaw the process had
and he corrected it. The ritual was ready and it was not getting any
better any time soon. The only thing that was missing was...
It was then that the door to the ritual chamber in the basement of the
Grimmauld Place 12 opened and inside walked Dora with a frown on her
lips. From the way she walked, Hadrian instantly knew he would most
likely have to listen to the third worried woman and barely resisted the
urge to groan. He better unhanded Bella and Narcissa in preparation to
handle Dora.
Dora came closer and she didn't even manage to open her mouth when
she was stopped by Hadrian who instantly silenced her by kissing her.
They separated after a while, not minding the pouting Bella or Cissa, and
Hadrian whispered to her. "Don't worry, kay?" Dora was reluctant but in
the end, she just nodded obediently while frowning as Hadrian squeezed
her hand in thanks.
"Well, then. Everything is ready, time to go, I guess..." He said and all
three women sighed in exasperation at once. They nevertheless started.
Dora and Bella took a few steps back while Narcissa readied herself up as
she was the person who would power up and direct the entire ritual. She
went through the ingredients with her gaze for one last time to check
them.
"Let's see... Four sources of magic. A bit of phoenix fire signifying rebirth
and regrowth, courtesy of Fawkes, check. Fiendfyre... it would be better
to have the fabled goblet of fire but this must do. Check. Drag-, ahem,
wyvern's," Narcissa corrected herself as she knew Hadrian didn't like to
refer to these creatures as dragons. "heart... check. And the core of the
Tanzanian Mother Tree which is apparently a part of leyline... check. All
these are capable of producing their own magic." She let out a steady
breath as she checked everything and saw Hadrian lie in the middle of
her runic circles. "Well, then... let's start." She pushed her magic into the
runes that instantly lit up with green light.
All three women watched with bated breaths as the magic pulsed and
was dragged towards Hadrian through the complex system of runes. The
magic was visibly swirling around Hadrian in the center of the runic
circles, enwrapping him like a fire.
Hadrian on the other hand was feeling as if he was on a rollercoaster. In
one instance, he felt full of energy he surmised was magic, in another he
felt utterly empty. His mind couldn't even recognize up and down nor left
and right as it was being overloaded. His magic was spiking only to hit
rock bottom while his body was barely holding without thrashing due to
pain. The pain was quite bearable to his surprise and the disorientation
was far worse.
That was when the four magic-producing ingredients caught on fire.
Green, soul-rendering fire that blazed like bonfire suddenly sprang up
and consumed these ingredients only to form a bridge of fire straight
towards Hadrian, engulfing also his entire body. Bella had to hold Dora
with her entire strength lest the silly girl interrupts the ritual but even for
her it was a nerve-wracking experience. Narcissa also minutely shook
when the fire enwrapped Hadrian due to not being sure if it would harm
him but calmed down when she saw his skin not being burned. She
released a relieved breath she wasn't even aware she was holding as her
body relaxed and continued the ritual.
A few minutes passed and Rei was still 'burning' but the flames were
getting weaker and weaker by the second, entering his body,
concentrating in the chest area. When they completely vanished and the
runes dimmed, Narcissa had to support herself with the nearby wall as
she wobbly stood exhausted, barely keeping herself on her feet but
despite her momentary weakness, her eyes were intently staring at
Hadrian's body in worry.
Hadrian felt like utter crap. Despite the feeling of dwelling energy in his
body, he couldn't help but find it bothersome that he had to give
enormous effort to only stay awake right now. He was exhausted from his
magical insides being destroyed, remolded, mixed, squeezed, and then
regrown. Not standing up, he just waited for his girls to approach him as
he didn't trust his legs to actually carry him anywhere at the moment.
Dora and Bellatrix approached Narcissa and supported her body as they
relocated towards Hadrian. They all leaned over to him, only to see his
eyes open and a sleepy smile on his face. "Hi, girls. Looks like it was a
success." He drawled to them, which made them return the smile.
"Well, good to know it's possible to create a magic factory." Narcissa
quipped to which Hadrian just raised his hand in acknowledgment and lit
an emerald green fire on his hand. A fire, that was no longer just a
transfiguration but a representation of his very own magic. It quickly
spread through the entire room, engulfing it from one wall to the
opposite one. All three women were at first startled but then realized that
while their bodies were burning, it didn't bring them anything but
comfort and a feeling of safety. They felt wrapped in Hadrian's magic and
could perceive his feelings for them due to that as he opened to them and
their magic connected to his, them opening to him. All four of them
hugged and stayed like that for a long time amidst the room lit by green
fire… until they felt asleep.
Ch93. Getting onto the train.
Ch93. Getting onto the train.
Hadrian was at platform 9 and 3/4 at the Charing Cross, about to get on
the train with only Dora accompanying him. It would be too suspicious if
Narcissa showed up and even Dora's parents were too closely linked with
the mysterious Lord Black to show up. Dora, however, is already widely
known for being a good friend of the 'Boy-Who-Lived', or his newest
nickname courtesy of one, Rita Skeeters, the 'Boy-Who-Trolled'.
Obviously, he gained that after his rodeo with the troll.
"Do you have ever-" Dora started worriedly only to be stopped by
Hadrian.
"Dora! We did this four times already." He said irritably. "Yes, I have
everything. Yes, I brushed my teeth. Yes, I have the teddy bear you gave
me as a present. Yes, I have your pink pajamas. Yes, I do have packed
magical napkins for all situations! And finally, no I don't need a portable
toilet." His face was set in deep deadpan as he added the last bit.
Dora just grinned at him and shrugged. "I packed it for you anyway."
Hadrian's head whipped to her and his jaw dropped almost on the floor
at that. "You wha-" But he was quickly interrupted by a human missile
impacting his back. His body was hugged from behind but he wasn't
worried as he mostly knew who it was due to the squishiness... ahem.
"Susan?" Hadrian asked and the hug tightened, making it obvious it really
was Susan.
"Well, I see that Sue is in good hands... or rather on a good back already."
A feminine voice said, revealing Amelia Bones when they turned to it.
"Hello Dora. I didn't expect you to escort Mr. Potter." She stated but Dora
just lazily waved her hand.
"I was available..." She said.
"Sure you were..." Amelia quipped with narrowed eyes. "And anyway,
what did you say you were doing now that you received your NEWTs?"
"I didn't." Dora deadpanned and for a second, both Susan and Hadrian
could almost see the sparks flying between the women until Amelia
chuckled and handed Dora something akin to a business card.
"We need people like you in the DMLE. Feel free to show up if you will
get an itch for some actions. New Aurors are always welcomed." Amelia
said, and Hadrian frowned. Dora however just took the business card and
put it into her pocket without even looking at it. Hadrian was actually
proud of how disinterested she looked when she was offered the position.
He knew that Dora would not have time to even think of accepting. She
decided to commit to the study of alchemy so for the next two years, she
would be deep in books from all around the world that Narcissa managed
to gather through her connections and the massive wealth she
commanded.
The atmosphere turned awkward so Hadrian quietly asked Susan. "Did
you say your goodbyes to your aunt?" The girl nodded so Hadrian said a
quick 'bye' to Dora as he knew they would be seeing each other tonight.
Dora, getting the message, pulled out her wand and shrunk Susan's
baggage, making Hadrian put it into his empty pocket as he piggy-carried
Susan into the train.
Inside, he found many empty compartments but didn't enter either as he
was looking for someone. Susan was quite confused about why Hadrian
was just passing every empty compartment until they entered one that
had a silly-looking blond girl with Hadrian's familiar on her shoulder.
Susan's mood instantly dropped as she mentally screamed in her head. 'I
thought now that Dora graduated I would be alone with Hadrian... who is
this harlot!' She barely resisted the urge to glare at the girl whose face lip
up like a Christmas tree when she saw Hadrian.
While Susan was on his back, his front was quickly embraced by the girl,
making him chuckle at startled Rowena that flew up when the girl
abruptly moved. "Hi to you too, Luna." He greeted her but Luna only
nuzzled her nose into his neck as she tightened her hold on him.
"Thank you for sending me letters... and Rowena." Luna said, not in her
usual dreamy voice but in a happy but lonely-sounding one. Hadrian
knew the girl had it hard as her father tried but couldn't really pull his
weight when it came to parenting. He often requested Rowena to spend
some time with the girl.
"Sure thing." Hadrian said and patted Luna's head while Susan slid down
his back, her feet safely planting onto the ground. The trio took their
seats and Hadrian quickly found himself in between them, as each took
one of his hands. 'If Bella saw this, she would laugh her ass off at me.' He
thought with a sweatdrop as silence spread through the compartment.
Luna suddenly raised her head, her curious gaze meeting Susan's petulant
one which made both girls surprised at each other. Hadrian surmised
they did some womanly mental voodoo because it didn't take even a
minute for them to be talking to each other as if they were best friends
for years. It was weird... But at least it made the girls talk and Hadrian
happily kept quiet, appearing to listen to them. He had many things to
think about for the upcoming year so he just tuned the two girls out for a
bit.
...
At the entrance to platform 9 3/4 from the muggle London, a ginger-
haired kid was currently trying to enter but every time, they felt as if
they ran into a brick wall.
"What the hell is this!" Ron exclaimed angrily as he stared at the brick
wall that was usually an entrance towards the platform. It was only the
muggle-repelling wards that kept his cursing secret.
He was as always late due to oversleeping and somehow, he couldn't
enter the platform! With exasperation he looked around, hoping to find a
solution, only to get a bright idea... his face lit up and he marched his
way away from the station, completely intent to go with his brilliant plan
of how to get to Hogwarts!
...
A bit away, a hiding green creature with big eyes, bald head, and
wearing a sack, was wondering why no Harry Potter showed up yet. He
was Dobby and Dobby was trying to find Mister Harry Potter Sir for the
entire summer but couldn't! Dobby was almost despairing but also
praising Mister Harry Potter Sir for being so good at hiding! In the end,
he decided to prevent Mister Harry Potter Sir from getting to Hogwarts
by blocking the entrance... but he only caught some redhead salmon…
Dobby decided to wait a bit more for Harry Potter as he felt it was his
duty to save the famous wizard! After all, Dobby is a good elf!
Behind a corner, another green creature was watching Dobby waiting. It
was Kreacher who was widely smiling with malice barely hidden in his
eyes. He was given a task to prevent the annoying green creature from
approaching Master and he would do his best to fulfill it. He could only
sigh in exasperation at the knowledge that after this year, the annoying
green thing would be under his command and Kreacher would have to
train him into a proper fanati-, ahem, house-elf for House Black. As he
watched Dobby bouncing from side to side with expectant gaze… he
somehow found the task too much for his pay-grade. How could one
change a useless fanatic into a useful one? With magic, of course. But
would he have enough magic to manage such a feat with the ADHD
house-elf in front of him? Now that was the question!
The long awaited... Hiatus
Well, it's high time, to be honest with myself and accept the defeat...
The last few weeks I was dragging this story, trying to make something
out of it but I honestly lost my drive and interest in it long ago. When I
started writing this, it was my 'first' (not really, I just never posted the
very first) fanfic and right now, I would do many things differently. But
that doesn't matter. I had times when I was able to write 5 chapters a day
and now, I am glad if I somehow manage 1 per week. That's due to
disinterest from my side and I see that it is not getting any better with
time. I am also quite busy but that feels more like an excuse than an
actual reason :D.
Therefore, I finally decided to put this story on 'Hiatus'.
I have no idea if I will ever continue it and this is it for the story but I am
not saying it can't happen. It all depends on how I will feel in the future.
Well, we will see.
Thank you for reading it till now and I hope it managed to bring a few
bright moments into your life. Hopefully, see you somewhere else...
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