Black Heir [R]
By Hawk
Summary: This is the Hawk-style version of the heavily overused Harry-gets-a-letter-from-dead-Sirius plotline and stuff happens due to this. Hopefully a good read in spite of this boring premise...
Disclaimer: Harry Potter, Hogwarts and whatnot are not mine, though I certainly wish they were. The story is mine though, all mine.
Feedback/Flames: Yes, please. Both of them are equally fun to read, although I must admit that I greatly prefer the first variety. :)
I can be found at iamhawk at yahoo dot com, though not very frequently as real life lately interferes with my online existance more then I'd like.
Chapter Nine:
"Ow!" Harry exclaimed as Narcissa gently pressed the needle into the skin just above his heart.
"Shhh..." she absently hushed him and he winced as she pressed the needle in a little bit further. "Hold it there for me." she breathed and Harry slowly moved his right hand up and carefully grasped the needle. Narcissa pulled out her wand and muttered a few invocations, before she ever so carefully pressed it against the end of the glimmering copper needle.
It shimmered for a few moments and Harry felt a sharp sting, causing him to emit a pained whimper.
"Shhh..." Narcissa repeated and ran her left hand through his hair in what was probably meant as a comforting gesture, but which only served to make Harry more nervous then before. It freaked him out somewhat as he wasn't really used to her being gentle, either in words or actions. She put her wand away and instead picked up a silver rod from the kitchen table. The rod had a hollowed core and as Harry held on to the needle, Narcissa carefully inserted the needle into the hollowed rod. "You can let go now." she instructed him and Harry did as instructed, then watched with morbid fascination as the needle slowly turned blood-red.
Narcissa murmured words just under her breath that Harry couldn't quite make out, leaving him feeling somewhat bored as the redness of the needle slowly spread to the silver. It took almost five whole minutes before the silver colouring was completely gone and the entire silver rod had turned blood-red.
"Finite incantem." Narcissa said and tapped the needle with her wand, then she pulled back on the rod and Harry exhaled with relief as the needle was extracted along with it. She gently touched the small wound with her wand and with a murmured incation, the small injury healed itself.
"Finally!" Harry exclaimed and rubbed the sore spot where he'd been pierced. "Was all that really necessary?" he demanded to know.
"The checks can only be preformed with your Hearts Blood after it has been purified by Hallowed Silver." Narcissa confirmed and nodded.
"You didn't penetrate as far as my heart, did you?" Harry asked with a worried expression, looking down at his chest for a few moments, before he started buttoning his shirt up again.
"No, I only needed to pierce your skin. The magic handles the rest." she revealed and handed the needle-tipped rod to Harry. "Carefully dip it into one of the potions, then the cleaning vial, wait until I tell you to and then move along and do the same to the next potion." she told him and seated herself at the table, picking up a quill and putting her left hand on a very thick tome she'd brought down from her bedroom. Harry looked out over the table and shook his head at the cluttered mess. Other then the tome, a stack of parchment, an ink pot and Narcissa's quill, the entire dining room table was filled with small saucers, vials and tiny cups. A vile stench permeated the entire room and his expression was somewhat apprehensive as he observed what some of the saucers contained.
Black potions, blue potions, green potions, bubbling potions, smoking potions, hissing potions, what looked like a human eye resting on a thin layer of vile-looking yellow-greenish fluid, a rabbits paw covered with a white-greyish liquid, a set of shrivelled human lips floating on top of a black bubbling potion, a glowing yellow potion that made his eyes water whenever he looked towards it and many, many, many others. There had to be at least a hundred and fifty different containers on the table, each one more exotic and weird-looking then the previous. The entire collection had cost almost three thousand Galleons to purchase, which he'd reluctantly dipped into his trust vault to pay for.
"You may begin." she said and stared over at where he was standing, an unusually intent expression on her face.
It sort of reminded him of how Hermione looked when she was about to learn something new and exciting, or Ron when he started ranting about the Cannons and Oliver Wood when he spoke about anything related to Quidditch. It was the expression of a die-hard fanatic doing something or talking about something they loved to bits and it surprised him a great deal to see Narcissa so seemingly enthusiastic about something.
Harry sighed and looked around for a few moments, before he cautiously dipped the needle into a nasty-looking purple potion that had what appeared to be fur or hair of some sort floating around in it. There was a faint bit of resistance as the needle approached and penetrated the splatter protection charm Narcissa had carefully applied to every single thing on the table, as she had explained that the testing could be somewhat messy depending on the results. He blinked as the potion swiftly turned into a bright red and the fur evaporated into foul-smelling pink smoke. He blinked at the odd-looking smoke for a few moments, before he dipped the needle into the cleansing vial, which would prevent previous tests to contaminate the results of any upcoming ones.
"Well, you're not an Enchanter anyway." Narcissa commented and made a note on the parchment in the top of her pile. "Next." she instructed him and Harry did as she requested.
The process took almost four hours to complete and was dreadfully boring. In his first year, he'd constantly been amazed and awed at how Wizarding Potions sometimes reacted when they were being manufactured and/or put to use. Sometimes, he still felt like that.
But after the fifth green cloud, the fourth shrieking noise and the dreadful brown potion that had *jumped* up from the saucer and exploded, showering the room with foul-smelling and dripping brown ooze, Harry was simply feeling bored and faintly apprehensive about the strange tests. Especially whenever Narcissa had seemed confused and had to consult the tome, before she'd scribbled something down on the notes she was taking, before asking him to continue. During those times, he had absolutely nothing to do and Narcissa had dissuaded him from disturbing her after the first two times he'd tried to strike up a conversation with her.
When Narcissa announced that they were finished, both of them headed off to refresh themselves while Dobby and Winky disposed of the mess they'd made in the dining room. Narcissa had thrown up a shield to protect him, herself, the tome and her notes, but she had still been splattered with some very disgusting smelling things and Harry privately thought that he must smell just about the same as Snape's potion storage would if Peeves had decided to just empty everything out onto the floor.
Then brought in Hagrid's entire menagerie, fed them a powerful laxative and giggled as the poltergeist was prone to do as the various animals added to the already existing mess.
The two of them had a quick meal, before they retreated to the living room where Narcissa brought out her notes and turned to Harry.
"Well... You're a full Wardtalker." Narcissa announced after consulting her notes.
"A Wardwossname?" Harry exclaimed in surprise.
"A Wardtalker." she repeated.
"I have no idea what you're talking about. What is a Wardtalker?" Harry inquired.
"Someone with a natural affinity for Wards of all kinds. Any Wards you put up will be more powerful and longer lasting then any put up by a wizard of comparable power and skill who isn't a Wardtalker. You will have an easier time breaking down or confusing Wards. It's even supposed to be possible for a talented Wardtalker to change and take control over Wards cast by others without destroying them." she explained and smiled faintly. "It's a rare skill, not full Metamorphmagi unique, but still very rare. Especially to such a degree as you apparently possess. William Weasley is a partial Wardtalker according to what I've heard, though his affinity for the gift only extends to the breaking down of Wards centred on dead matter. That is why he's as successful as a Curse Breaker, though he's no better then anyone else with equal skills when it comes to Wards centred on living beings. Bellatrix has a minor talent in this area as well, though her gift only enables her to confuse Wards somewhat more easily. As many as one out of a hundred witches and wizards may have the ability to some lesser degree, but the amount of full Wardtalkers in the last century can probably be counted on my two hands with a few fingers left to spare. It's not one of the lost Talents, but it's certainly gotten rarer over the centuries."
"Do these Talents run in a family?" Harry asked.
"They usually do, but they will on occasion manifest in somebody who hasn't had it in their family for dozens of generations. So just because both parents have a particular Talent, isn't a guarantee that their children will share their gift. But yes, most of the time Talents do run in families." Narcissa admitted.
"So... If Bellatrix is a Wardtalker, are you one too? Or Tonks and her mother?" Harry wondered.
"There are traces of Wardtalking in both me and Andromeda, but not so much as to make any real difference. Bellatrix is the only one who got enough of it that it becomes a noticeable difference from one who completely lacks the Talent." Narcissa replied, then smiled. "Metamorphmagus is another Talent that runs in our family. None have it as strongly as Nymphadora however. I can just barely change the length of my hair and with a great deal of effort, somewhat alter the colouring of it. Not completely change the colour, but I can shift between different shades of blonde. Bellatrix can change the colour of her eyes, though it gives her a dreadful headache for hours afterwards whenever she does so. Draco just barely manages to whiten his teeth and make his hair shinier, though he did receive partial Mage-sight from Lucius side of the family. We Black's are also Stormwardens, but Andromeda is the only Black who has even partially manifested that particular Talent since the seventeenth century."
"Stormwardens?" Harry exclaimed with a bewildered expression.
"A Stormwarden has an easier time manipulating the weather, which is a great boon as only the most powerful of witches and wizards are able to affect the weather otherwise. Myself or a witch of my power levels could probably make it rain for a little while or halt a minor breeze, but it would drain me completely for several hours afterwards. The amount of energy required to affect the weather, even on a minor scale, is immense! Andromeda however... She could turn a cloudless sky into a furious rainstorm in minutes and have a hurricane breathe down your neck a few minutes later, with energy left to spare afterwards. But in terms of pure magical power and the size of our energy reserves, I actually have more then her, though Bellatrix has us both beat hands down in that department."
"Cool..." Harry breathed and blinked. "Do you have a full Talent?" he asked.
"No, unfortunately not." Narcissa admitted with a faintly disappointed expression. "Partially Manifested Metamorph. There are hints of Stormwarden, Wardtalker and Silvertongue although not enough to make any difference compared to someone who doesn't have those Talents at all, but no full Talents." she revealed after a few moments to consider if she really should tell him, but she shrugged and decided that it wouldn't do any harm to tell him the truth.
"Silvertongue?" Harry inquired.
"The ability to sway the minds and emotions of others with words, also providing the option of imbuing what you say with magic, enabling you to make irresistible commands to those around you. A command uttered by a fully manifested Silvertongue has nearly as much power and effect as the Imperio, but it's nearly impossible to defend against it unless you are deaf or silence the Silvertongue." Narcissa revealed and shook her head. "That is one of the Lost Talents, there has been no confirmed Silvertongue since the sixth century, though hints of it pop up from time to time in some of the older noble families." she said with a somewhat wistful tone of voice.
"That must irk you something fiercely, having the potential but not the ability." Harry commented with an almost gloating expression.
"Thin ice, dear. You're not only standing on it, but jumping on it." Narcissa acidly responded with an angry expression and Harry carefully schooled his expression to neutrality. "You're also a Partially Manifested Metamorph, centred around your hair and face. I can give you a few pointers and get you started on how to use it for your hair, but Nymphadora will have to teach you how to manipulate your face. Parseltongue, as you already knew. Hints of Stormwarden, Conjurer and Charms Master."
"Conjurer?" Harry asked.
"The ability to conjure permanent objects instead of temporary ones." Narcissa replied. "Some say that your mother was a Partial Charms Master, but as far as I know, she never tested for Talents so that may just be a rumour. The Potters have had several Conjurers over the centuries, so that's likely something from your fathers side of the family while Charm Master likely comes from your mother. Charms Masters have an easier time learning and using Charms, they're also slightly more powerful then if cast by someone who's not a Charms Master. You only have hints of it, so perhaps it'll never manifest or if it does, it'll only affect one or a small number of Charms, not all of them. The Stormwarden likely comes from Black blood on your fathers side."
"Animagus? How about that? Am I an Animagus?" Harry asked somewhat eagerly.
"There are hints of Animagi, but that's even weaker then your Stormwarden, Conjurer and Charms Master Talents. It may be possible to force it to manifest, but I wouldn't bet on it." Narcissa replied after consulting her notes from earlier.
"So, I won't be able to become an Animagus." Harry sighed, feeling rather down about that.
"The Animagus Talent only enhances the Animagus Skill. You might very well be able to train yourself to become an Animagus, but you wouldn't reap the benefits of that Skill like somebody with the actual Talent would. Just one form throughout your entire life, slower transformations and the chance of getting stuck in your animal form unlike what would be the case for someone with an actual manifested Talent." Narcissa replied.
"Are you an Animagus?" Harry asked and Narcissa hesitated for a few moments, until she replied.
"Yes. Yes, I Am." she admitted.
"What is your form?" Harry asked and Narcissa hesitated for a bit longer, before she reluctantly nodded towards a very life-like painting of a beautiful white swan that adorned one of the walls, Malfoy manor partly visible in the background. After a few moments of staring at it, Harry realized that the swan had Narcissas eyes.
"Can you teach me?" Harry eagerly asked as he stared intently at what he now realized was a painting of Narcissa in her Animagus form.
"I could." she admitted. "But don't you think that you have more pressing things to learn before you try your hand at turning yourself into an animal? Even if you manage to learn it before having to face off with Voldemort, what good would that skill do you?" she asked and Harry blinked. "If you desire the ability to fly, then take a broom with you. If you want to spy, send someone else or use a Scrying Bowl. If you want to attack, use the Avada Kedavra. If you want to avoid an attack, transfigure something to protect yourself with or just dodge. No matter what form you might gain, it's unlikely that it would provide you with an edge you couldn't get in some other way, easier to learn and quicker to achieve."
"I guess..." Harry sighed. "I guess you're right."
"I think you'll find that I am right most of the time." Narcissa agreed. "You would do well to remember that." she added somewhat smugly. "I guess we can get you the potion to see what your form is, to find out if I am wrong in this particular instance. But unless by some miracle you turn out to have a Nundu form or something of the sort, it's unlikely that it will be worth the time investment to develop your form as long as the Dark Lord is around."
Harry shook his head and rolled his eyes at that. Granted, his life had always been screwed up and normality seemed like an impossible dream for him, but how likely was it that on top of everything else, he had some seriously cool Animagus form?
"So, Wardtalker and Metamorph." Harry summed things up and Narcissa nodded.
"One full and one partial Talent, hints of others but not enough that it's a certainty that they'll ever even partially manifest. That's very good, extremely so, even." she agreed and looked intently at him. "Nymphadora can tutor you for the later, I can get you started on Wards but you'll require a different teacher for the more advanced lore in the subject. I'll ask around and see whom I can find, as William Weasley is unlikely to be willing, considering the current circumstances."
She didn't bother to tell him that those circumstances were likely to change, if things went as planned and Harry acted as she suspected that he would.
Harry winced. He didn't really want to think about the mess the Weasley's had wound up in because of his wife.
"Why did you do that to them? They're a nice family and good friends of mine!" Harry asked.
"You've just answered your own question, Harry." she replied. "They're nice people, friends of yours and influential in the Order of the Phoenix. Things have to change in the Order and they would have fought those changes every step of the way, so I ensured that they would have other matters to concern themselves with for a while." she explained, not revealing that these things were just bonuses.
Her *real* reason for what she had done to them, was something quite different.
"Is there anything you won't stoop to, Narcissa?" Harry demanded to know and the two of them glared at each other in silence for a while, until Narcissa stood up and walked over to stand right in front of him.
"There are very few things I wouldn't do if they served my purposes. *Our* purposes, Harry." she replied. "*Very* few." she added in the calmest voice Harry had ever come across. Then from right out of the blue, she leaned forward and kissed him. It was soft and brief, but it was on the lips. "Case in point." she declared, then walked out of the room and left Harry wondering just what sort of mysterious and nefarious purpose kissing him could possibly serve.
Narcissa closed the door behind her and allowed herself a victorious amused grin at Harry's simultaneously stunned and suspicious expression.
Amusement had been brief and far between after her marriage to Lucius.
It seemed that it would be far more plentiful now when she was married to the boy who lived.
And he had yet to learn that sometimes a kiss was just a kiss.
Even if it did serve a purpose of sort now, even if it was just to satisfy a faintly lingering curiosity of hers and also provide a brief chuckle.
Even if it was an astonishingly good kiss.
She shook her head, wondering just how much better it would have been if he hadn't just been sitting there in shock. She'd apparently shocked him so much, that kissing a wall might have gotten her more response and yet she still felt a pleasant tingle from it.
"Good night, oh beloved husband of mine." Narcissa drawled as she poked her head into the master bedroom.
"What do you want?" Harry asked, pausing for a moment in the act of slipping into a t-shirt for the night at the unexpected interruption, before he continued.
"Since my niece wasn't feeling up to the task of preparing you for consummating our marriage, I enlisted outside assistance from our neighbour." Narcissa revealed, damn well nearly causing Harry to die of a heart attack as Rosmerta strolled into the room, dressed in nothing but a high-cut pair of white lacy panties and a wide grin.
"What?!" Harry exclaimed, his eyes nearly departing from their sockets due to the shock.
"I was merely wishing you a good night. There's no need to get all weird about it." Narcissa responded with a confused expression, nobody else present in the room besides the two of them.
Harry took a deep breath and dismissed the freaky fantasy he'd slipped into for a few seconds, wondering if he might not be better off checking in at St Mungos for a while. Marriage obviously wasn't doing his mental health any good and he suspected things would only grow worse as time wore on.
Although if all his fantasies were as intriguing as a topless Rosmerta, then perhaps it wouldn't be so bad.
"Nite." he said and Narcissa nodded, before closing the door behind her and heading for her own bedroom.
He shook his head. Ever since that 'anything you won't stoop to' conversation and the kiss at the end, he'd been plagued by weird thoughts and suspicions through the remainder of the day. As night approached, they'd gotten progressively naughtier, so he guessed that one like this was only to be expected when Narcissa bid him a good night.
The weird part of it was that he could actually see her arranging something along those lines, what with all her talk about concubines, secondary wives, devirginization schemes and whatnot.
Especially considering the mountain of books and magazines that Dobby had left on his desk at her request. Everything from Playwizard magazines to the Kama Sutra with moving pictures, raunchy magazines to instructive pamphlets to grimoires on sex magic.
He wondered if Narcissa had actually told Dobby to bring everything, or just told him what Harry needed and left the excitable house elf to his own devices. Well, whichever case was true, Harry Potter now had enough 'study material' that he probably wouldn't be able to finish it all even if he spent three weeks doing nothing but read his way through that impressive pile.
He scratched the back of his head and headed for his desk, grabbing one book at random, glancing at the cover.
"'Divine Skeeters Guide to the Sexual Arts'." Harry read off the cover, then blanched. "A relative of Rita's? Or worse yet, Rita under a phoney name?" he mumbled, then shoved the book into the bottom of the pile. Instead, he grabbed 'Theresa Willard's Sex for Wizards and Witches of all ages, a Muggleborns point of view' and headed for his bed.
If the two of them were actually going to consummate the marriage, he didn't want to make a complete fool out of himself.
Especially not if there was something completely outlandish involved in Wizarding sex that someone with a Muggle upbringing never could have imagined. For all he knew, Wizarding sex might involve a herd of sheep, a riding crop, odd-smelling potions at irregular intervals and a crowd of intrigued drunken bystanders chanting encouragingly.
As it turned out, it didn't.
Or well...
At least it hadn't since Roderic the Demented seduced Marianne Darkwaters during a wild party at the Darkwater summer mansion back in 1634 according to the introduction in the book he was reading. Harry shook his head in utter bewilderment at the rampant insanity that occasionally seemed to plague the Wizarding world and kept on reading.
"Oh, for crying out loud!" Narcissa snapped and threw her covers aside, then stormed out of her bedroom. She yanked the door to the master bedroom open and stalked over to Harry's bed, glaring down at her husband.
He was sweating like a pig and while the screaming had stopped by now, he twitched and shuddered in his sleep.
"I will not hit him, even if I do need my beauty sleep. I will not hit him, even if I do need my beauty sleep..." Narcissa chanted to herself, took a deep breath and seated herself on the side of the bed. She put her right hand against his cheek and used her left on his shoulder to gently shake him awake.
"No! Don't!" Harry exclaimed and looked as if he was about to start fighting with her, before he blinked and returned from whatever dark place he'd been in, staring in confusion at her. "Narcissa?" he questioned.
"You were having a nightmare, Potter." she informed him.
"A vision." he corrected her and looked away. "Draco has been marked." was all he said, causing her to gasp and flinch away from him.
"What?!" she exclaimed. "How? He's supposed to be in a Ministry holding cell, safe and sound from that sort of nonsense!"
"Voldemort sent your sister to liberate him. He's been marked and initiated now. He... He just..." Harry started, but trailed off into an uncomfortable silence.
"I gather killing was involved in finishing the Mark?" Narcissa eventually asked in a strained tone of voice and Harry nodded, wiping a few tears out of the corner of his eyes. "Somebody you knew?" she asked in an almost gentle tone of voice.
"Fellow Gryffindors... I wasn't all that fond of them, but they didn't deserve... They weren't... It was Colin and Dennis Creevy." Harry replied, causing Narcissa to flinch and gasp.
"I went to school with their mothers older sister, she was in my year and house. Their mother was two years below me, in Hufflepuff." she responded and looked away for a few moments. "Look... I know that the two of you hate each other, but... I want you to promise me that you'll try your hardest to capture Draco alive if you cross paths with him." Narcissa requested and averted her gaze as Harry simply stared at her. "He *is* my son." she said, but in a tone of voice that was much gentler and hesitant then he was used to.
"You didn't see him... I saw..." Harry shuddered.
"Harry, please... He's my son!" Narcissa pleaded with him, even foregoing her usual 'Potter' for once.
"What did you use the Oath for?" Harry asked after a few seconds of silence.
"You're a quick learner, Potter..." Narcissa responded after a few moments of utter shock. "Please!" she requested again, tears gathering in the corner of her eyes.
"The Oath, Narcissa. What did you use it to do before destroying it?" Harry asked again.
"I'm his mother!" Narcissa repeated.
"The Creevy's had a mother too." Harry countered, causing Narcissa to flinch again before she sighed and gave up, slumping faintly where she sat.
"I won't visibly age until you reach my physical age, Harry. After that, I'll only visibly age half as quick as I otherwise would." she started. "I won't *unwillingly* betray the secrets of this family. I added a part about 'not even under the influence of Veritaserum and Imperious', but I'm not sure if that'll work or not." she continued and looked away for a moment, before she almost defiantly looked back at him. "I won't feel uncomfortable about being married to you or having sex with you in regards to your age. I'll find having sex with you pleasurable and be able to bear you heirs, should I so desire." she finished.
"Is that all and are you telling the truth?" Harry asked after a few moments of shocked astonishment.
"That is all and the truth, on my magic, so do I swear. So mote it be." Narcissa responded.
"So mote it be." Harry mumbled and blinked in faint bewilderment. He'd harboured *extremely* grave worries about what she'd used it for and how it would affect him. But all she'd really used it for was apparently to make herself look prettier for a longer amount of time then she otherwise would and make herself feel more comfortable in their marriage.
That wasn't anything at all like he'd imagined what she'd done, though he had been tremendously uncertain as to what she could have done with it, as it only affected Narcissa herself, not him.
"Please, Harry. I'm not all that fond of how he turned out and I don't approve of what he's done now, but Draco is my *son*!" she insisted, grasping his hands in hers as she directed a pleading expression and watery eyes at him.
"If our paths should cross, I'll do my best to capture him. I promise." Harry replied, looking away from her as he promised something that he really didn't want to promise. After seeing for himself what Draco did for his initiation, he wanted to repay that bastard in kind for it.
"Thank you." Narcissa replied, then leaned forward and captured his lips with hers for a swift but moderately deep kiss. "Thank you." she repeated as she pulled away and put a little distance between the two of them.
"Smnoprbl." Harry eloquently responded with a dazed look on his face, causing Narcissa's lips to twitch into a half-smile for a split second, in spite of the horrible news she'd just received.
"Do you think you'll be able to go back to sleep?" Narcissa asked and Harry shrugged uncertainly. "Well, me neither." she said and stood up, then walked over and moved the comfortable chair over towards the bed. "How about the two of us talk for a while?" she asked as she seated herself in the chair and Harry eventually nodded.
Narcissa could be a very pleasant and stimulating conversationalist when she was in the mood for it and not being an utter bitch. A talk with 'nice' Narcissa sounded far more appealing then trying to sleep again so soon after his vision.
And it was pleasant, very much so.
Though he must have fallen asleep sometime during the conversation, because when he woke up, he was alone, tucked into his bed and the chair was back in its place, no trace of Narcissa anywhere in his room.
Narcissa had already left when Harry woke up, but she had at least left a note for him on the kitchen table this time, to let her know what she was doing.
Somewhat.
"'Left to try and find Draco. Back later. Narcissa.'." Harry read off the note, then settled down to read the paper and eat his breakfast, enthusiastically served by Dobby and Winky who almost got into a fight over who got to serve him. Without Narcissa around, they seemed more animated and 'less proper' then when she was present, likely sensing somehow that Narcissa wouldn't stand for any sort of nonsense in her presence. Draco and his 'jailbreak' was front page news and Harry carefully read the article. Bellatrix hadn't really reported how the jailbreak was accomplished to Voldemort, just brought Draco in.
Apparently, she'd killed four Auror guards and seven other Ministry workers, injured another seven Aurors and four workers, though the Prophet wasn't aware that it was Bellatrix who'd done the deed as she had been in disguise and used another wand. The wand and the disguise that had been registered in the Ministry reception had belonged to a Patricia Adams, a Muggleborn witch from Coventry who had gone missing three weeks ago.
Fudge had announced that all suspected Death Eater trials would involve the use of Veritaserum and would be held swiftly. As of now, the trials of captured Death Eaters would have top priority in the Wizarding justice system and their sentences would be executed equally swiftly. Harry nodded to himself, Narcissa had informed him that such would be the case after her meeting/blackmailing session with Fudge earlier in the week.
Dumbledore's arrest was still newsworthy, the questioning of the Weasley's and the capture of several entire families of suspected Death Eaters also got a bit of the media spotlight, but it seemed as if Draco's breakout was the most newsworthy piece of news at the time the Prophet was published.
Harry had moved and was sitting in the living room, reading the last few pages in the paper and sipping from a cup of tea, when he heard the loud pop of somebody Apparating in. As only he, Narcissa and Tonks were keyed into the Goblin Wards, he quite calmly and slowly lowered his paper after finishing the sentence he was reading, only to spit-choke on his tea at the sight that greeted him.
"Narcissa?! What in the name of all that's holy?!" Harry exclaimed as he let the paper and cup of tea drop, shooting out of his seat and staring in shock at the scene in front of him.
Narcissa had a large and seemingly deep gash going down her forehead, down across her left eyebrow and crossing half her left cheek before it stopped. It should have been bleeding profusely, but the flow of blood had apparently been slowed somehow, as it was just a slow trickle at the moment. She was wearing a light blue dress, or at least it had been light blue at some point. Now it was splattered with blood, torn and coated with dust and grime. She was unsteady on her feet, her wand was tightly clenched in her right hand and her left was being used to support the unmoving and unconscious form of one Bellatrix Lestrange.
"Help me put her on the couch, would you?" Narcissa requested in an exhausted tone of voice. "She's a lot heavier then she was twenty years ago." she added with a dazed half-smile that probably had more to do with a possible concussion then any real humour.
The End! ( For now... )
AN:
After she had erased everything else on it, this is what Narcissa wrote on the OoL...
Your physical appearance will no longer age until Harry Potter-Black has become the same physical age as you appear to be and once he does, only age half as quick as you otherwise would.
No matter what his actual age is, you'll always view Harry Potter-Black as being of an appropriate age for your husband and as a sexual partner.
Being with Harry Potter-Black in a sexual manner is always a pleasurable experience for you, as any pleasure resulting from a sensual touch by him is magically enhanced.
You will not unwillingly betray the secrets of the Potter-Black family, not even under the influence of Veritaserum or Imperious. ( She's unsure if the last part will actually work, but figured that it wouldn't hurt to try... )
You will be capable of bearing Harry Potter-Black several heirs, should you so desire.
There. That's it, that's 'all' the OoL is good for at this point and from now onwards, as Narcissa destroyed it.
Since I so rarely decide to add author notes to my stuff these days, I also thought I'd take the chance to recommend an awesome Harry/Narcissa fic. "The Volunteer" by , you can find it here on fanfiction dot net. It's great, it's complete, I found it delightful and you should all read'n review it. Go, go, go!