Prompt used: A Family Outing

Word Count: 1,357

Chapter Two

Afternoon Tea with Vows

December 24th, 1974

In a dim, candlelit tearoom in Muggle London, three people had gathered together for afternoon tea.

They wouldn't be recognisable to any witch or wizard, due to the way that two of them appeared to the naked eye.

The first woman stood out drastically; mainly due to the fact that she had tried a little too hard to appear ordinary. Her hair was jet black, streaked excessively with white and grey, and she was wearing a large pair of circular framed sunglasses on her forehead, despite being indoors. She was wearing a suit that consisted of a pin drop, knee length skirt and a blazer jacket with thick, puffy sleeves. The suit would have been considered fairly average, if not for the emerald green velvet it was made from.

Beneath the guise of a potent Polyjuice Potion, the woman was Minerva McGonagall.

Sat opposite her was the only male at the table. The many glamouring spells he had cast gave him the appearance of a large, podgy gentleman, with a shiny bald head and a thick, grey moustache, causing him to appear very reminiscent of a walrus. He was wearing corduroy trousers and a yellow and brown woollen tank top over a cream coloured shirt.

The camouflage was so well executed, no one would ever suspect that this chubby old man was really the Dark Lord beneath a very intricate disguise.

Sitting beside Minerva was a younger, thin woman, with a pale, pointed face, dark green eyes and chestnut brown hair, twirled up in a high up-do. She didn't need any kind of disguise charm or potion, due to the fact that no one in the wizarding world had any knowledge of her existence. Beside her in the empty space under the window was a large blue pram, containing a sleeping infant, named William, with a mop of ebony fluff upon his peaky head.

The three adults remained silent as they waited for their order to arrive at the table. During the lack of communication, Minerva and Voldemort eyed each other quietly, neither appearing to care about the disguises they wore.

Eventually, a short Muggle waitress with a blonde beehive decorated with Christmas holly sauntered over to the table, holding a large tray which contained a teapot and three teacups. "Merry Christmas, folks! Mince pies are on the house, today!" She placed the tray on the wooden table, and then smiled at the three of them, momentarily cooing at baby William in the pram, before heading back to the kitchens.

No one moved for several moments, but then suddenly both Minerva and Voldemort reached for the teapot at the same time, their hands brushing. The two of them clutched at a section of the china teapot, and glared across the table at one another.

"I've got it, Minerva," Voldemort assured her in a smooth voice. It was odd to see the silky tone leaving the mouth of this large, ugly man, but Minerva wasn't swayed.

"Don't worry, Tom. I can handle pouring our daughter some tea," she replied. Voldemort's eyes flickered dangerously.

"I don't go by that name any more. Surely you've heard, Minerva."

"Of course," she answered in a crisp tone. "But I refuse to call you by the ridiculous name you insist your followers refer to you as, Tom."

They continued to bore their eyes into each other venomously. After several minutes of deafening silence, during which the young woman beside Minerva gave a slight cough, Voldemort removed his hands from the teapot, his wide mouth stretching in to a smile.

Minerva lifted the teapot from the tray and slowly poured three of the cups, and they each added sugar and milk to their tastes. After taking a long drink from his cup, Voldemort was the first to speak. "So, the last several months have been quite unusual, Minerva," he began in his slithery voice. "First, you contact me out of the blue to tell me that we have a daughter together; something you neglected to tell me for two decades. Then it turns out that she has given birth to a child of her own, which is acceptable. But now we are meeting here, undercover on Christmas Eve. What is the meaning of this rendezvous?"

"I think you know exactly why we're meeting here, Tom," Minerva responded, taking a sip of her tea. "It's in my general knowledge that you and your gang of baboons have been committing a particularly atrocious level of crimes in the last four years. I know for a fact that it won't be considered beneath you to use people born from your blood in some of your unspeakable dark rituals."

Voldemort continued to smile, his eyes glittering menacingly. "It pains me, Minerva, to know that you think so low of me."

Minerva pursed her lips. "You know perfectly well that I do," she paused to take another sip of her tea, continuing to glare at him over the rim of her cup. "Nadine here is well aware of what you are capable of. We have both decided that—measures—need to be taken to ensure that Nadine and the baby are kept safe."

The young woman—Nadine—shuffled uncomfortably as Voldemort rested his gaze upon her.

"What on earth do you think I would do to our daughter and grandchild, Minerva?" he sneered, his moustache twitching.

"Don't humour yourself," she returned, and drained her cup. "Many years ago you told me that you didn't want anyone to ever find out about our...relationship, to which I agreed. I think I would be right in assuming that your reluctance to let anyone know about it would stretch to our daughter."

Voldemort opened his mouth as if to answer, but then closed it, allowing another smirk to creep onto his heavily glamoured face. "You have my word that no harm will come to them, Minerva."

Nadine looked fearfully up at Minerva, and then allowed her gaze to shift over to the child in the pram. Minerva edged closer to her daughter protectively.

"Unfortunately that's not a good enough offer for me, Tom."

"Then what do you propose we do to solve this dilemma?" Voldemort replied. Minerva raised her eyebrow at Tom, offering him a knowing expression. Now it was his turn to purse his lips. "I'm afraid that option isn't on the cards, Minerva. I do not make spellbound promises with anyone."

Minerva placed a hand gently on Nadine's beneath the table. The young woman was shivering in fright at Voldemort's presence, and was rocking the pram in frustration, despite the William already being asleep.

"I think you will find that it's the only option, Tom," Minerva finalised in her icy voice.

Voldemort and Minerva stared over at one another, each clearly in the depths of thought. "You don't fear me, do you, Minerva?"

"I never feared you," she retorted softly.

Voldemort released a short, shrill laugh—something which looked awfully unusual coming from the mouth of the person he was disguised as. Minerva continued to glare at him stoically, and eventually Voldemort spoke again. "Very well. We will perform the Unbreakable Vow."

Luckily, the tearoom they were occupying was empty, due to their presence there on Christmas Eve. The waitress was in the kitchen, so, after what could only be described as the more uneventful family outing, Nadine withdrew her wand and proceeded to perform the Unbreakable Vow upon her parents.

It was the only way to ensure that herself and her son, William, would be kept safe.