Chapter 2: A Mother's Love
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Narcissa lay on the ground, tears streaming down her face and into her hair. She was unable to move a muscle to wipe them due to being left in the whole body bind.
'I'm very lucky they did not do worse to me' she thought, although it did not help her current predicament.
She silently willed the house elf to her side, inventing new curses for the creature that could not read her mind.
"Twippy is being scared, mistress." The elf said from somewhere above her head.
"Hmmmh hmmm!" Was all Narcissa could get to come from her mouth. 'That was supposed to be 'help me'. Curse this full body bind!'
Twippy crept into Narcissa's field of vision, the timid elf twisting her tea towel in her spindly fingers nervously. Her mouth formed a small 'O' and she dropped the tea towel to snap her fingers loudly. Narcissa instantly felt her muscles sag from the magic hold. She stood quickly, brushing imaginary dust from the soft frilly robe.
"Let's to the library, Twippy. I require strong tea." The elf bowed before disappearing.
When Narcissa arrived in her favorite room, Twippy was standing next to the gilded tea tray.
'She must be quite afraid, if she is being seen.'
The mark of a good house elf would have been to disappear before Narcissa arrived. Lucius would never have stood for it. But he was in prison. And Narcissa had never cared about such protocols when there was nobody around to see.
"You may stay as long as you are quiet." Narcissa didn't even look at the elf as she strode purposefully to the back of the library, hearing the elf's quick pattering steps on the carpet behind her. The lamps magically lit as she strode towards them, illuminating the charming library. The cherrywood shelves stood two stories high, and the room was comfortably furnished with chaise lounges and loveseats.
Narcissa quickly reached the back of the comfortable library. She found a new copy of "Magick Moste Evile" and rocked it back on its spine. The floor-to-ceiling glamor vanished, and the bookshelf's true contents were revealed to the two. They were suddenly looking at well-read copies of books that many bibliophiles would kill for. Reaching for one on the bottom shelf, titled Family Magic, Narcissa hesitated just a moment.
Her mind was racing, trying to find another way. But…'just reading about it couldn't hurt, could it?'
She closed her eyes in resignation and snatched Family Magic up. Narcissa rifled through the tome and found the page she was looking for:
Motina's Mantra
NOT TO BE USED EXCEPT IN EXTREME CIRCUMSTANCES
A mother can cast this spell after brewing a blood replenishing potion, with one important alteration. The mother must add her own blood to the mixture during the third clockwise stir after adding the valerian root. The spell calls a soul bond into effect for the child.
What kind of instructions are those?! Narcissa knew the spell was to call help to Draco, but what kind of soul mate would it call? She was stuck on house arrest, and Lucius was in prison. Who else did Draco have? Then again, the book never said that he would know the person…
Narcissa's thoughts raced, as she carried the book to a nearby shelf. Behind her, the bookshelf rearranged itself back to its original contents.
She plucked from the shelf a book titled Bonds and their Mates, before sitting on the chaise lounge closest to the fire. The unobtrusive Twippy magicked a roaring fire into the grate, and the tea tray appeared on the nearest end table. Narcissa settled in for a long read, opening the book.
Soul bonds are a magical tie between the souls of two people. It can refer to familial bonds (parent-child, sibling, etc.), friendship bonds, or mate bonds. Some bonds are stronger than others, allowing the members to feel the emotions or danger of one another. Weaker bonds merely instill a sense of duty between the souls. Familial bonds are generally of the weaker variety, as they are often formed from merely being in another magic user's home for many years. These bonds must be created through time, whereas a soul bond is latent in a person's soul until the feelings of the nature of the bond have been discovered. Bonds such as soul bonds can be revealed by a magical ceremony found in chapter eight: How to Invoke a Soul Bond. Muggles are immune to bonds as far as this writer can tell.
Narcissa knew all of this. She closed her eyes in a pensive moment. Her son's angelic face swam before her eyes and she had to blink away tears.
Draco was gone, taken by the worst people she could think of that were still alive. She had no way to leave the house as her magical house arrest had another 362 days left. She couldn't even contact anyone! The magical bind that they'd put on her core kept her from even using the Floo. Their eagle owl, Sebastian, had been sent to Azkaban earlier with her latest letter to Lucius. It wasn't expected back for a few days. Draco had been her go-between for the world.
She needed him for that, but she needed him more as her son. Her boy that she had promised to protect the first time he had been placed into her arms. The happy little child with the platinum blonde hair that he liked to style after his father's. The nervous boy he'd been before starting school, scared to show anyone else his anxiety. The emerging teen, so eager to please. Then the tortured boy he'd been when the Dark Lord set him to his task. She had done then what she needed to keep him safe, and she would do it again this time.
But what kind of soul bond would it call into effect? He had no other family that he didn't have a bond with already. Draco's soulmate seemed most likely. Who would she be? It couldn't be a he, could it? No Draco had never been of that persuasion. What if she was a muggleborn? Or a Death Eater? Either would be reprehensible. If Narcissa invoked the bond prematurely, she would not be able to sever it… or could she? The woman flipped the slim volume to almost the end.
Chapter Nineteen: Severing a Soul Bond
Attempting to sever a soul bond of any type is heavily discouraged. The stronger the bond, the harder it is to break. Certain types of bonds, such as sibling bonds, can be broken. Familial bonds such as this may be terminated at great emotional cost to the individuals involved. It is nearly impossible to sever a romantic soul bond and should never be attempted. Every case that this author has heard of has ended in the immediate death of one of the mates, and a slow agonizing death for the partner.
Well, that answers that. She made her decision, and quickly. Who knew how much time had already elapsed, or how much time before the insane brothers tired of whatever game they were playing?
She had to potentially tie her son to some harlot for the rest of his life. If she did not, who knew how long the rest of his life would be?
….
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Well, sorry it's so late at night! It's nearly 2am here. I have been hard at work writing today, and have a lot written. The only problem is that it's not all in chronological order!
Review, review, review!
