Narcissa looked up, startled, as Draco entered the sitting room. He sat down in front of her and grinned. She put her book down and folded her hands in her lap, waiting for him to speak. He took a deep breath.

"I want to ask Ginny to marry me." He waited for her to tell him that it was too soon, and that he hardly knew the girl, but she said neither of these. Instead, she smiled broadly and clapped.

"Oh, sweeting, how wonderful!" she gushed, moving to hug him. "I'm so happy for you!" As if on cue, his father entered the room and headed straight towards a bookshelf that stretched from floor to ceiling. He was muttering to himself as he peered through his reading glasses. Narcissa stood and cleared her throat to get his attention. When he turned around, Draco stood as well.

"Darling, Draco has something to tell you." Lucius removed his glasses and smiled distractedly at Draco.

"What is it, Son?" Draco gave his mother a quick glance, and she nodded encouragement at him.

"I want to marry Ginny." Lucius' smile widened.

"That's wonderful," he said, clapping Draco on the shoulder. "Have you asked her yet?"

"No, I wanted to get approval from you and Mother before I asked her."

"You have my approval," Lucius nodded, slipping his glasses back on. "I think that the girl will make a fine addition to the family." Draco's relief was obvious.

"Really?"

"Absolutely." His father peered down his nose at something in the book he was reading, and he frowned. He held the book out to Draco. "Can you translate this passage?" he asked. "I was never very good with Latin. French I can manage."

"And beautifully, at that," Narcissa said, smiling at him. He chuckled softly, and Draco scanned the page quickly.

"From what I can make out, it's talking about some sort of key," he said. He turned the page and continued reading.

"So, have you found a ring to give her yet?" Narcissa asked. Draco shook his head.

"Not yet. I was going to go out and look around before dinner." His frown deepened the longer he read. He was silent for so long that Narcissa grew bored and left the room.

"A key?" Lucius puzzled aloud. "What sort of key?" Draco shook his head again.

"I can't tell. It's very confusing. The text jumps around a lot – in one breath it mentions a sort of gem, and in the next it mentions the key."

"Well, perhaps you can research it a little bit more for me," Lucius said, turning to look for another book. "I've been combing every book I can think of that makes mention of it."

"Mention of what, exactly?" Draco asked, looking up.

"The necklace of Eriphyle." Draco snorted.

"You mean the necklace of doom?" Lucius turned to look at him.

"How much do you know about it?"

"It's made of jewels, and it has a decorated amphisbaena on it," Draco said, furrowing his brow as he thought. "And it was part of a set of gifts to Harmonia from her husband, said to be made by the Gods in ancient Greece." Lucius nodded his approval.

"Yes, but it wasn't made by Gods," Lucius corrected him, handing him another book. "It was made by a very powerful wizard."

"A very stupid powerful wizard," Draco murmured, eyeing the page his father had opened the book to. "He wound up cursing the necklace instead of charming it."

"He did that purposely," Lucius said, nodding. "He didn't want anyone else to use it but his wife, but she never got a chance. She was a muggle, and the moment she put it on, the object killed her."

"Unlucky," Draco said, arching an eyebrow.

"Luck has nothing to do with it," Lucius said. "The woman simply wasn't powerful enough to wield the necklace. She wasn't protected by any spells. My guess would be is that she didn't even know that her husband was a wizard."

"Wasn't there a robe that went with it, or some other article of clothing?"

"It was a robe, you're absolutely correct. Enchanted as well."

"If no one could use the items except for his wife, what did he do with them?"

"After his wife died, he took the items with him on a trip to Egypt. No one knows why he was going there or what his intentions were regarding the things when he got there, because he was killed and the items were stolen. They fell into the hands of Cadmus, who thought them to be a gift from the Gods, and presented them to Harmonia as a wedding gift."

"She wore them without incident, did she not?" he frowned, flipping through the pages.

"She did. Cadmus had unwittingly married a witch, and a very intelligent one, at that. Before she even put the items on, she could feel their magic, and cast a shielding spell."

"So what use are they now? They bring death and destruction to everyone who wears them because of their curse." Lucius shook his head impatiently.

"I'd advise you to go back and read through the first book I handed you more carefully, Draco. The curse can be countered with a key." Draco's face lit up.

"And you're looking for the key, is that it?" Lucius nodded. "Have you got the items?"

"Not yet. The Dark Lord believes he knows where they're located, and as soon as the Ministry backs down a bit, a group of us are going to go and hunt for them."

"How long do you think it will be before you're sent out to look?" Draco asked.

"A week, maybe two."

"I'll keep going through these books," he said, tucking both of them under his arm. "And I'm going out in a bit, so I'll look around and see if I can find any more books."

"You won't find anything in a conventional bookstore or library," Lucius said pointedly. "The Ministry knows how powerful these items are, so they're doing their best to keep knowledge of their existence away from the masses."

"I'll figure something out," Draco promised. "I'll find a way to get some more information." Lucius smiled.

"I knew you would. You're always making me proud, do you know that?" Draco's cheeks flushed with pleasure.

"Thanks," he smiled. "I think I'll go and find Mother now. Maybe she can help keep Ginny occupied, or something. I don't want her to know what I'm up to." Lucius nodded, and ruffled Draco's hair once before leaving the room. Draco went back to his room and put the books on his desk, then went to find his mother. When he found her again, she was in the parlor.

"Draco, darling," she said, standing. "We have guests." Draco turned and his expression turned cold. Pansy was sitting on the couch next to Ron Weasley.

"Pansy. Weasley." He gave a curt nod, then turned back to his mother. "Mother, may I speak to you alone for a moment?" She nodded.

"I won't be but a moment," she said, smiling at Pansy as she excused herself. Draco went into the hallway, and his mother followed him.

"What is he doing here?" he hissed quietly.

"Darling, Pansy invited him over for dinner."

"What? Doesn't she realize that he's part of Dumbledore's inner circle? If he sees Father, all he has to do is apparate back and alert everyone, and they'll be here within moments to cart him back off to Azkaban!"

"Calm down, sweeting. Pansy knows that your father is here, so she knows the risks of bringing him here. She has to have a reason for doing it." Draco relaxed a tiny bit.

"You're right," he breathed. "I just wonder what it is. I hope she knows what she's doing."

"Was there something else you needed to speak to me about?"

"Yes. I was going to ask if you'd keep Ginny busy while I go out and run some errands for father. I'm going to look at rings while I'm gone, too." Her face lit up.

"Before you buy anything, you must have a look at your Grandmother's wedding set," she begged. "It's beautiful, and I think it would look wonderful on Ginevra." Draco smiled indulgently at her.

"All right, then, I will. Where is the set?" Narcissa smiled brightly.

"It's in the vault. Do you need help looking for it?" Draco shook his head.

"No, I'm sure I can manage. I'll look at it on my way out." He kissed her cheek and left, and she went back into the parlor. Pansy gave her a worried glance.

"Is everything okay?" she asked. Narcissa smiled graciously and nodded.

"Everything is fine. He was a bit surprised by Mister Weasley's presence, but nothing more. He had to leave to run some errands. So," she said, picking up her tea cup. "How is your mother?"

Pansy smiled. "She's wonderful, thank you so much for asking. She did want me to ask you when you'd be coming back for tea, though." Narcissa smiled again.

"I'm not sure, dear. We have a guest right now, so I'd like to wait until she leaves before I venture out. It would be too rude to go and have tea and leave her here."

"I'm sure mother wouldn't mind if you brought her. It would give me someone to talk to while the two of you catch up."

"In that case, then, I might have to come soon. We have so much to catch up on." Narcissa couldn't help but notice that Ron was nervous. He was fidgeting with his teacup, rotating it back and forth in his hands. "Are you quite all right, Mister Weasley? Is there anything else I can get you?" Startled, Ron jumped, and a bit of tea sploshed out onto the saucer. His ears immediately turned crimson.

"No, thanks," he said, sitting his cup and saucer on the coffee table in front of him. He sat back on the couch and tried to relax.

"Well, then, I expect that you'll be wanting to see your sister." Ron's face brightened immediately, and he sat up straight.

"That would be great," he agreed. Pansy hid her smile as Narcissa rose from her chair.

"I'll go and fetch her then, shall I?" She left, and Pansy turned to Ron.

"You don't have to be nervous around her, you know. She's not Lucius, she's not Draco, and she's very nice. She loves your sister." Ron sighed.

"It's hard not to be nervous," he said, staring down at the floor. "I'm in the house of someone who hates me, and it's really unnerving. Especially after I saw the look that he gave me when he walked in here."

"He wouldn't dare be rude to you, Ron. You're a guest of a guest, and it would be in extremely bad taste to be nasty to you. Besides that, he wouldn't dare be mean to you if he thought his doing so would alienate your sister." Ron squeezed his eyes shut, then opened them slowly to look at her.

"Are you trying to say that he cares about Ginny?" She nodded.

"And I think she cares about him, too. They were playing chess the other night, and-"

"My sister played chess?" he asked, grinning. Pansy nodded, bewildered.

"Why is that funny?"

"She never plays chess," he said, shaking his head. "Because she always gets beat."

"Well, she was winning against Draco," Pansy offered. Ron slapped his knee and chortled.

"He must not be a very good player, because Ginny is awful!"

"I'll have you know that I take offense to that, Ronald Weasley!" Ron looked up when he heard Ginny's voice. She was standing in the doorway with her hands on her hips, looking regal. Ron swallowed hard and stood.

"Gin, you look – you look-" he watched as she walked to the seat that Narcissa had been occupying and sat down. "You look fabulous." She smiled.

"Thanks," she said softly. "You look good, too. What brings you here?"

"I invited him over for dinner," Pansy said. Ginny paled a bit.

"Does Draco know?"

"Does Draco know what?" he asked, striding into the room. Ron watched his sister carefully as Draco entered, noting that she did look happier when he'd come in. Draco sat on the arm of the chair, just as he had done the day that Pansy had brought Daphne over.

"I thought you'd left to run some errands?" Pansy asked, arching an eyebrow suspiciously. Draco smirked at her.

"I'm going to shortly. I was on my way back to my room to get my cloak when I heard my name mentioned. Nothing bad, I hope." He and Ron eyed each other appraisingly.

"Nothing bad," Pansy confirmed. "Ginny was just asking if you knew that I'd invited Ron to dinner." Draco turned his eyes to her and nodded.

"I know." Ginny looked tense.

"And you don't mind?" she asked quietly. He shrugged.

"Why would it bother me? Your brother came to see you. It's not my place to tell him to stay or go." Ginny's worried expression melted away, and she beamed at Ron. Pansy elbowed him in the side, a gesture that made Ron wince, and Draco raise his eyebrows in surprise.

"Now tell me why you were lying to Pansy about my chess playing skills," she teased. Ron grinned sheepishly.

"I don't know the meaning of that word, lying."

"Ron," she said, rolling her eyes. "You told her that I was a bad player. You know that you never beat me before, so why-" Ron faked a coughing fit. Draco was becoming highly amused by the exchange. It was immediately clear to him that the siblings were close, and he was envious. He'd never had a brother or sister to play games with, or to talk to. Pansy giggled.

"You've never beaten Ginny? How often do you play?"

"I play every night," he said proudly. "I've beaten lots of people."

"Yeah, Harry and Hermione. That's not something to brag about, Ron." Ginny was giggling along with Pansy.

"Why not?" he asked defensively.

"Because Hermione is terrible at any kind of chess, and Harry had no idea what it was until he was eleven. He hasn't had enough time to get good at it." Draco was having difficulty maintaining his stoic expression.

"Yes, well," Ron said, his ears burning. "Let's have another go at it sometime, and I'll put you in your place." Pansy and Draco exchanged amused glances.

"Hey, I have five minutes to spare before dinner," Ginny teased. Draco grinned proudly at her. She really was exceptional; the quickness of her verbal sparring with her brother was surprising to him. Then again, they had had their entire lives to perfect it. Ron nodded.

"Prepare to be vanquished!" Pansy couldn't help herself; she burst into a loud fit of laughter. Ron turned on her. "I'll take you too, Parkinson!" She sat up straight and looked at him in surprise, something strange washing over her as she saw the teasing light in his eyes. It was Draco's turn to laugh.

"Better enchant the pieces so they can't be taken off of the board illegally," he laughed. Ron's mouth fell open in mock surprise as he looked at Pansy.

"Oho! Do mine ears deceive me? Do I hear someone saying that you're a bad player?" Pansy turned pink and poked her tongue out at Draco, who laughed as he stood. Ginny turned to him.

"Aren't you going to stay and watch?"

"No, I've got some errands to run yet," he said, giving her a soft look. "But I'll be back as soon as I can." She nodded, and he tried not to be too pleased that she looked so disappointed. He nodded curtly to Pansy and Ron. "I'll see you both when I get back."

"Bye, Draco," Pansy waved. Ron simply returned the nod.