He Who Conquers the Conqueror
ONE
The doors of the manor explode outwards. Red sparks illuminate the terrified features of Draco Malfoy as he slips on the wet stone steps under the portico. Willing himself to move faster, he runs down the drive towards the enchanted gates.
Rain is falling hard, obscuring his vision. The cold night air burns in his lungs as he forces his feet forward, the gravel crunches under his unsteady tread.
Halfway down the long drive he pauses for breath, his heart pounding in his chest. Behind him he hears the unmistakeable sound of the serpent.
Panic spreads throughout his limbs and he starts to sprint towards the gates. He can just make out their shape in the pounding rain. Willing them to hear him coming so they will let him through. Without warning he crashes into the heavy wrought iron gates. A strangled cry escapes his throat in frustration; there was no time for the usual Malfoy indignation. Glancing over his shoulder he can just make out the shape of the serpent as it glides towards him.
To his left he can see the silhouette of the estates orchard. Barely pausing to consider his options he darts towards the trees. Seeking shelter within their blackened, gnarled branches. As he reaches cover amongst the first trees a familiar glint of white catches his eye.
Feeling something akin to relief at the sight of the albino peacock, Draco quietly walks deeper into the orchard toward the oldest of the apple trees.
The startling cry of the peacocks freezes his soul. Rooted to the spot in fear & cursing himself silently for being wandless & therefore defenceless he hears the serpent as it glides effortlessly over the fallen branches and leaves.
Draco turns towards the sound, almost as if in slow motion. As he does he sees Nagini coiling her head slightly back, clearly poised to strike him.
In a flash of moonlit feathers the snake is suddenly surrounded by myriad peacocks. Before she has a chance to strike, the birds are upon her. Attacking her face and body in a flurry of talons and beaks pecking and scratching at her.
Stunned, Draco tries to make sense of the nights events. His father's anger, aunt Bella's screeching & the Dark Lord giving him a pitiful head start before setting Nagini after him.
He can just make out the sound of the serpent hissing in anger and defeat as she retreats, realising how outnumbered she is.
Breathing a sigh of relief Draco reaches out to pet the closest bird to him. Desperately wanting to convey his gratitude to the magnificent creatures for saving him.
As his hand connects with the peacock's neck a frightening sound is rent into the air from his graceful saviours. They turn their faces toward him, small and beautiful, eyes red and piercing. As he watches and admires their grace Draco's heart starts to pound a warning in his chest.
The bird closest to him starts to change. It's feathers falling out. It's eyes turning black. The bottom of its beak falls off as it tries to squawk it's indignation.
Fear coursing through his veins now as he realises all the birds are changing, all because of his touch.
Graceful wings fall away from bodies. Tail feathers are blown away on the breeze. Red slashes of blood appear against pure white breasts. Every where he looks there is chaos and blood.
A new bird wanders up to him, still perfect unlike his deformed brethren.
Draco sinks to his knees in confusion, feeling faint.
The bird leans in towards him and Draco is struck by the brilliance of its blue eyes. It opens its beak to speak to him.
Draco fights back the vomit rising in his throat as the bird merely asks "Why?"
Draco Malfoy awakes in his bed. Screaming and retching. Covered in sweat and tangled in his sheets as the voice of Albus Dumbledore still reverberates in his ears.
TWO.
The early morning sun poured into the breakfast room. The duck egg blue walls seemed to glow, while the pale lemon curtains fluttered gently at the open windows. Sitting near a large window at a big, circular cherry wood table Narcissa sipped her tea from her favourite bone china cup and saucer. She recalled the day Lucius had given it to her and a sad smile flickered across her face.
With a slow gaze she looked around the room, taking in the large cherry wood sideboard, the lavish vases and platters filled with flowers and mountains of fruit respectively. All of it matching and all perfectly complimenting the room.
Secretly she adored this room. Coming to live in a house that was already established she had little to do in the early years of her marriage, but this room was hers.
The perfect balance of light and colour seemed to revive her every morning. The immaculate smell from the tea roses in the centre of the table made her hungry for fresh air and she leaned forward to the open window to take in a large gulp. As she did so a large tawny owl appeared apologetically, sorry for obviously breaking her calm thoughts. He perched on the windowsill and lifted his left leg, Narcissa reached forward to untie the bundle of letters he had. She broke off a piece of croissant for him and he hooted his thanks at her before flying off.
Leaning back into her chair she poured herself a fresh cup of tea before looking at the letters. It was all sinfully boring, from the Ministry and Gringotts, but her heart skipped a beat as she recognised Lucius's handwriting on an envelope with a Saint Mungo's frank on the front. Casting the other letters aside she tore open the envelope when the sound of the door opening made her look up.
With careful eyes and a sad heart she watched as Draco crossed the room, padding over the thick carpet in his bare feet, wearing faded black pyjamas. He made his way to the sideboard, selected a cup, poured himself some coffee and chose a small bunch of sweet black grapes from the fruit platter.
His eyes flickered towards her, unsure if he should join her or go back to his room.
Narcissa beamed a welcoming smile to her reclusive son as he made his way over to the table. Filled with the worry and joy only a mother can feel, she was delighted he'd joined her yet worried that she would once again say the wrong thing and send him running back to his room in a rage, not to be seen for days.
"Good morning Draco, isn't it a beautiful day?" Hoping silently that this wouldn't exasperate him. He seemed to have little patience for her these days.
The sight of her son, almost broken in front of her, his white hair lank and dirty, his pale skin almost translucent. He looked far too thin and weak; she wondered how he had the strength to lift his cup. He seemed perfectly content to waste away, refusing her help and that of anyone else.
Narcissa thought her heart would shatter, but she was at a loss. He seemed to sense any reviving tonics in his drinks. Refused the potions that would ward off nightmares. The last time she had tried to sneak something into his food he'd refused to eat or speak for days. Now that he'd decided to join her she would walk on egg shells to make sure she didn't say the wrong things.
He looked at her with sunken grey eyes, but didn't acknowledge her greeting.
"I have a letter from your father" she pressed stoically on, "I haven't had a chance to read it yet, but I take it as a good sign that the Healers have allowed him to write." She was grateful that he'd maintained eye contact with her as she spoke. He seemed to be thinking and then he said, "That is good Mother. Perhaps you will allow me to read it, if it's not too personal?" His voice cracked with the effort of speaking after many days of silence.
"Certainly Draco. I'm going to see him on Friday. It might be good for you to join me, get you out of the manor for a few hours?"
"Why would I want to do that?" He spat at her, "So I can watch as people whisper about me and point at me? Why should I put myself through all that again? They look at me as if I were going to hex them all. Well. They needn't worry. I shan't be here for very much longer. The sooner I am gone, the better for you all it will be."
Alarmed, Narcissa reached across the table and took hold of Draco's hand, "What on earth do you mean Draco? You're a Malfoy. You rise above the stares and whispers as I do. Don't talk about not being here anymore. You are my life and my soul. I could not live if you weren't here." She considered pleading some more, but he cut her short. "Mother I will do with my life whatever I see fit. I have no future in this or any world. I am a marked man. For once I will do the honourable thing. It is nearly done regardless of what you want. It shan't be long now." With this he rose from the table and feebly left the room. Leaving Narcissa feeling like she had taken an Unforgivable Curse to the heart.
The letter from Lucius lay half opened and forgotten on the table beside her. The calm that was hers mere moments ago had now given way to panic.
She paced the room unsure of what to do or who to turn to. The only thing she was sure of was that she wouldn't let Draco fade away. The Healers had failed. Her pathetic attempts had failed, but new determination washed through her body. She knew what she had to do now. She didn't care about pride anymore. It was time to call in the debt.
THREE
"So Minerva said Hogwarts should partially reopen in February."
"Hmmmm? What was that? Sorry Mrs Weasley I was miles away".
Harry Potter's mind was far from The Burrow and Hogwarts. Two months had passed since he defeated Voldemort. During those two months Harry had been to more funerals than he cared to remember, but he felt responsible for every life he failed to save. The least he could do was pay everyone his last respects.
Tomorrow was his 18th birthday and the last thing he felt like doing was celebrating.
Mrs Weasley looked at him, as he sat before her. Her face softening slightly as she reached out, leaning down to cup his cheeks in her hands, "I know these last weeks have been hard on us Harry, but we can't stop living. If we give up now then everything we fought for was in vain". Her eyes filled with tears and Harry felt the guilt and shame course through his veins. He didn't realise how selfish he was being, how terrible it was for him to be taking comfort from this desolated woman before him.
Almost as if she'd read his mind she spoke in a firm voice, "Harry please don't blame yourself. Fred died doing something he was proud of, defending our way of life. I have to take comfort from that. I have to believe that. If I didn't I don't think I would even be able to get out of bed each morning. If he could see you now what do you think he would say?" Before Harry had a chance to answer Mrs Weasley carried on, "He'd be furious. He didn't sacrifice himself so that you could stop living. He'd be lighting firecrackers under your arse to make you move!"
Harry was taken aback by the force of Mrs Weasley's words. He hadn't heard her mention Fred by name since his funeral, three days after the last battle. In fact he, Ron & Hermione were worried that Mrs Weasley was in denial about Fred's death as she hadn't shed a tear. At least, she hadn't in front of them. Perhaps they were worrying for nothing.
Pulling himself out of his chair and his reverie he enveloped her in a hug. Feeling her familiar strong yet small body sag slightly in his embrace he held on to her tightly. It took him half a second to realise she was crying.
Now it was his turn to comfort her. Speaking quietly, his words muffled by her hair, "I've been incredibly selfish haven't I Mrs Weasley? I'm sorry. I don't want you to think that I'm squandering the freedom they all died for." He moved away from her slightly and gently lifted her chin so she was looking up at him. In one soft movement he wiped her wet face with the palms of his hands, he smiled at her "You said 'arse'", not caring that he sounded like a shocked child. Mrs Weasley gave him a watery smile and a small laugh that sounded like a hiccup, "Enough of this nonsense now. And enough of the Mrs Weasley. I think you've earned the right to call me Molly now dear." She patted his left cheek, looking every bit the concerned mother hen she was. She turned away from him and made her way slowly out of the room.
"Thanks Mrs We...thanks Molly" Harry called after her, his voice cracking slightly. Molly didn't turn to look at him, but he saw her nodding her head.
FOUR.
Harry lay in his bed listening to Ron softly snoring across the room. Today was his eighteenth birthday. Lying in his cosy bed, the light from the rising sun casting a beam across his chest his mind wandered. Curling himself up into a ball under his duvet he thought of his eleventh birthday, uncle Vernon loosing the plot and taking them all to that ridiculous hut in the middle of the sea. Was that really only seven years ago? Harry felt the crushing weight of his experiences and wondered if he too was going to do an 'uncle Vernon' and loose his mind.
The elation Harry had felt when Hagrid had turned up to take him away. The joy at seeing Dudley with a little pink tail and the futile attempts of his aunt and uncle trying to stand up to the giant all felt like they'd happened to someone else a very long time ago.
Although he loved it at the Burrow he couldn't help feeling like he was overstaying his welcome. No one had given him that impression, well no one other than Ginny. She had made it crystal clear that she blamed Harry for the death of Fred and had told him so. "What was it she'd said?" Harry thought, "Ah yes, 'If you weren't Ron's best friend my family would never have been destroyed.'"
Harry's stomach tensed as he remembered the venom in her voice and the hatred in her eyes. Ever since then she merely tolerated him for the sake of pleasing her parents. Fortunately for Harry she seemed to be the only one in her family who felt this way.
Despite the early hour Harry could hear movement downstairs and he suspected Mrs Weasley (he couldn't bring himself to call her Molly in his head yet) couldn't sleep either. Fed up with his own thoughts he pulled on a tee shirt and padded quietly out of the room to go and join her.
To his surprise it was Arthur he found sitting at the kitchen table. A fresh cup of tea in front of him, he had his elbows on the table and his forehead was resting on his palms. Harry hesitated unsure of disturbing him, but not really wanting to go back upstairs. He gave the door frame a quiet knock and cleared his throat, "Ummm may I join you Mr Weasley or would you rather be alone?"
Arthur slowly lifted his head, his eyes were red from exhaustion and grief, "Good morning Harry, you couldn't sleep either I take it? Yes, please join me. I'd rather not be alone with my thoughts right now." With that he flicked his wand and another cup of tea appeared. Harry took a seat next to him and for a while the two drank their tea in silence.
"Merlin's beard Harry, happy birthday!" Arthur's voice made Harry jump. They both laughed at Harry's startled reaction and although it wasn't really all that funny the pair of them couldn't stop. There were tears running down their faces and a pain in their stomachs, but every time they calmed down the laughter bubbled out again. They could hardly breathe or look at each other; the pair of them were wheezing and gasping for air. Fighting to control themselves. The sound of someone clearing their throat made them both turn to see Molly in the doorway, her hair sticking out at odd angles and a confused, semi stern look on her face. The sight of her only served to make them laugh harder and turn to point at each other, slapping their hands down on the table in another feeble attempt to control themselves. "Well," bristled Molly "I'm pleased to see that I entertain you so much." She wandered over to the stove trying to hide her own smile from them, secretly pleased to hear laughter in her kitchen once again. Arthur and Harry were red in the face and both shaking silently feeling like two little boys who'd been caught misbehaving, desperately trying to contain themselves.
"Happy birthday Harry dear, I thought we'd have a nice big lunch to celebrate a bit later, what with Ron and Hermione having to leave at dinner time." Molly told him.
Harry and Arthur stopped laughing now. Both of them reminded that today they'd be waving off Ron and Hermione for the next three months.
Now that life was slowly getting normal Hermione was going to Australia to find and restore her parents and their memories and Ron was going with her. They'd decided to make it a real holiday. It had never been in question that Harry shouldn't join them. He'd always been a third wheel in their relationship and he knew all the reasons why it was important he stay behind, but that didn't stop him from knowing that missing them was going to be painful. Without Ron at the Burrow he'd really feel out of place. It was time to move on, but Harry didn't really know how. The last thing he wanted to do was go back to Grimmauld Place. He had a vague idea of selling it and buying somewhere new.
~xXx~
Everyone agreed that Molly had outdone herself with the food. Fully satisfied with herself, Molly looked around the kitchen with a smile. Happy that Charlie hadn't returned to Romania yet. Glad that Bill and Fleur were happy to combine tomorrow's wedding anniversary with Harry's birthday and Ron and Hermione's Bon Voyage party. Her heart was full to bursting at the way Arthur, Percy and George were huddled together at the far end of the table. Even Ginny had ventured down from her room to join them all. Molly's heart skipped a beat and her cheeks flushed as she thought of those who were missing from the celebrations, especially Fred. However, she knew that this was her future now and she was trying very hard to accept it.
Wiping her hands on her apron she busied herself preparing cake and tea. Using her wand she effortlessly cleared the large table and turned her attention to the three cakes behind her. One for Harry that was a chocolate sponge covered in sticky chocolate icing, a lone Chocolate Frog was sulking on the top. The second was a Victoria Sponge, very simple with lashings of jam and cream. It was the most British cake she could think of for sending her son a reminder of home before he left for Australia. The third cake was a delicate Red Velvet sponge covered in cream cheese frosting and decorated with dainty animated rice paper butterflies, to celebrate Bill and Fleur's second wedding anniversary.
Everyone gave her whoops of joy and a round of applause as she levitated each cake one by one across to the table. As soon as she placed the butterfly cake on the table the chime from the fireplace rang, before she had chance to answer it a head appeared in the unused grate. Molly gave a startled cry and the teapot she'd been levitating fell to the floor, shattering and spilling hot tea up her legs.
The face in the fireplace looked shocked yet determined despite the fact there were several wands pointing at its nose, "I wish to speak to Harry Potter. May I come through?"
Harry was stunned and at a loss for words as several pairs of eyes turned to him. Despite her scalded feet Molly spoke first, "What on earth do you want with him Narcissa?" "It is a private matter. Harry, I won't take up too much of your time. I can see that you're busy, but it really is urgent that I speak with you. I don't want any trouble and equally I don't wish to be overheard in my house."
Ron looked as if he were about to shout something, but Harry cut him off with a nod of his head.
In a flash of green sparks Narcissa Malfoy was standing in the kitchen of The Burrow. Still surrounded by wands and gawping faces. However determined she was she was shaken to find everyone here. Looking around slightly nervously she saw the cakes on the table, "I didn't mean to interrupt a celebration."
Harry took the lead, "It's my birthday. What do you want?"
"Is there somewhere we can go to talk privately?" She asked with an almost pleading look in her eyes.
"Anything you want to say to Harry can be said in front everyone in this room. Do you honestly think we'd leave him alone with you?" Silence echoed around the busy kitchen as everyone turned to look at Ginny. Her face was turning a very deep shade of red and she looked as though she wanted the ground to swallow her up. The Weasley's were all acutely aware that Ginny blamed Harry for the deaths of the people she loved. Hermione came to her rescue and put an arm around her shoulder, "Of course we aren't going to leave them together Gin. Would you care for some cake Mrs Malfoy? Mrs Weasley really is an excellent baker and there's lots to choose from." At that Hermione leant forward and started slicing the cakes. Admitting defeat Narcissa took a seat at the table. Molly and Arthur fixed the teapot and made a fresh brew. Cups and saucers landed in front of everyone's scowling faces. Hermione elbowed Ron in the ribs and muttered something about plates and forks. Once the hustle and bustle of cake division and tea pouring was over everyone turned their attention to the Death Eater at the table. Harry was directly opposite Narcissa, she lifted her eyes to look at him, a slight flush on her cheeks, "What I have to say is not easy for me. Coming here was not easy for me. I hope you understand that. I am here to call in the life debt Mr Potter."
Eyes widened and mouths fell open yet everyone remained silent and waited for her to continue. Narcissa drew in a deep breath unnerved by the silence in the room.
"What do you need me to do Mrs Malfoy?" Harry stared at her unblinkingly.
Her voice was so quiet it was barely audible "I require you to save my sons life."
The room erupted. There were cries and shouts from everyone. "Save your son? That's rich! He's already bloody saved him you ungrateful cow." Ron's voice was by far the loudest. Narcissa reeled at his words. Chaos was quickly descending until Arthur yelled, in a decibel Dumbledore would have been proud of, "SILENCE! Be silent! All of you!" Immediately they all sat back in their seats, tutting and shaking their heads.
It was Molly who broke the silence, "If my memory serves me right, at the Ministry hearing Draco testified that Harry had saved him from the Fiend Fyre. Surely it is Draco that owes Harry not the other way around? Narcissa, I'm sure I speak for us all here when I say that your part in the Battle of Hogwarts will never be forgotten. Saving Harry's life the way you did, but surely you're clutching at straws now? Arthur, can a life debt be transferred from a parent to a child, even if that child has come of age?"
Tears pooled in Narcissa's eyes, "Yes. Clutching at straws is exactly what I'm doing Molly. Draco is intent on ending his life. He cannot see a future. He cannot see the point of anything anymore. So I'm clutching at straws and calling in my debt because it's the only way I can think of to save my son. What wouldn't you do for your children?" A single tear escaped her eye and embarrassed though she was by it she let it fall. That one solitary tear seemed to shame the whole room. Molly, although she had lost Fred was still surrounded by love. She couldn't imagine what Narcissa was going through.
Arthur cut through the tension in the room as he told them all, "While the law on life debt transfers is clear for those under seventeen, an adult requesting a life debt be transferred to their child who is of age is usually required to have full informed consent from all three parties involved. However, I do believe that there is a precedent for cases like this. Where one party might not be, errrr, of sound mind. Correct me if I'm wrong Percy? But I think you need to have full informed consent from the debtor, Harry in this case. And it's usually cemented by making." Arthur hesitated before carrying stoically on, "Well, by making an Unbreakable Vow."
Harry's eyes widened and his cheeks puffed up as he deliberated Arthur's words, "What. Exactly. Would you require of me Mrs Malfoy? I don't plan on making the Vow without knowing precisely what you'd want of me."
For the first time in a long time Narcissa felt something akin to hope, "That you are nice to Draco. Kind to him. That you encourage him to eat and sleep and talk. That you provide him with the ability to see a future." She swept a hand in front of her indicating the celebrations around her, "That you watch over him, encourage and counsel him. Protect him if and when you return to Hogwarts. In order to do all this I require you to move into the Manor. Today. I will of course give you time to say your farewells. I would also understand that you have your own affairs to attend to so you would have permission to leave the Manor from time to time. We can discuss that as and when is necessary," she watched his face for a reaction, but Harry was a blank canvass. He owed her his life, but could he bring himself to repay her this way?
"Harry, you can't seriously be considering doing this?" George's voice carried across the room, accompanied by grunts of agreement along the way.
"What choice do I have George? I do owe her my life. We all do. And she does have the right to call in the debt however and whenever she chooses." They spoke as if they were the only ones in the room, "Honestly George what choice do I have? I can't live here forever. Ron and Hermione are leaving. You and Percy will go back to London. Bill and Fleur back to Shell Cottage. Charlie to Romania. Ginny and I are over. I can't face Grimmauld Place. Molly and Arthur need space and time to heal together. It does seem to be a logical solution to the problem." Harry finished.
"Are you sure this isn't just you tapping in to your saving people thing though Harry? You know how you can be. This is the Unbreakable Vow, not a pinkie promise! You know what the consequences are." George shifted in his chair and Harry was certain he was trying to see if his left buttock was still there.
A smile broke out on Harry's face. George had hit the nail on the head. Harry had been stagnating for two months. The war that he'd been groomed for was over. All the excitement and adrenaline of his seven years in the wizarding world had drained away. He was starting to feel like there would never be any challenges in his future. Harry Potter, the Chosen One was truly lost and he missed him. A lot, " Okay. I'll do it. I'll move into the Manor. Make the Vow. Whatever it takes to have this debt off my conscience."
Narcissa seemed to slump into her chair, her shoulders fell, but her sob of relief was lost among the gasps from around the table.
"It's half past one now. I want to be here to see Ron and Hermione off so I'll come to the Manor at six this evening." Harry felt stronger somehow and knew he'd made the right decision, "Mr Weasley, will you perform the bonding for us?"
"Are you absolutely certain this is what you want to do Harry?" Arthur asked although he already knew the answer.
Harry got up from the table and walked around to Narcissa. She stood up from her chair and in front of ten shocked faces they both kneeled in front of the fireplace. Once again Narcissa found herself making the Unbreakable Vow for Draco's life. They clasped their hands together as Arthur moved to join them. He placed the tip of his wand on their entwined hands. The first red spark of flame licked forth from the wand and coiled around their hands and wrists. The oath had begun.