chapter 2: REVELATION - a dark past comes to light
Ron's father had set him down in a new chair and muttered another incantation over his head. Ron had felt his consciousness return in a rush and with it the chaos of emotions that had been suppressed while the spell held him. "WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?!" he had yelled, jumping up from the chair and backing into a corner.
His father had held up his hands, soothingly, looking pained. "Now, I know you have every
right to be upset, but there's something I really must tell you. I probably should have told
you before but it's very important that you listen to me now." Ron had still been angry but he
really had wanted to know what WAS going on and so he had tried to calm down and listen to
what his father had to say.
Despite his determination to remain calm, he had had several outbursts before his father finished his explanation. It was so convoluted and drawn out that Ron would have found it utterly ridiculous if the events of the night hadn't confirmed its truth. Apparently it dated back to the days of Godric Gryffindor, the other three great wizards and the founding of Hogwart's. Salazar Slytherin along with a faction of his supporters had made a powerful bid to take over Hogwart's that had ended in chaos and destruction. The damage had been barely contained by the aid of Goddrick Gryffindor.
Salazar's supporters, lead by, surprise of surprises, Nathaniel Malfoy, had usedblood magic to call up a demon. The demon had been supposed to give them great powers over and above that of other wizards, to make them invincible. And it had. No one had been able to stand in their way. But the price had been too high for even Slytherin's followers to pay. The demon had proven too powerful and possessed the dark wizards in turn, using them to wreck havoc and death on all those around them, even their own families. Many of these wizards themselves had died. Throughout all of this Salazar had stayed carefully in the background, spinning his evil webs and so no blame could be placed directly on him.
In the guise of aiding the school, and to formally distance himself from the catastrophe, Slytherin had approached Gryffindor and the two had found a way to contain the demon. It had required two sacrifices. The first was obvious and a punishment. The demon had required a human vessel to contain it and had been forced into Nathaniel Malfoy, and his bloodline, so that his line was forever cursed to bear its burden. But this was not enough. A second sacrifice was
required to appease the demon or it would take over its host and become demon in human form, powers undiminished and lust for destruction insatiable. And this second sacrifice had to be voluntary.
Not surprisingly, none of the other wizards had been willing to sacrifice themselves to a demon and they had despaired. But finally a young wizard had come forward, offering himself. Geoffrey Weasley had surrendered the greater part of his life and become the shadow of Nathaniel Malfoy. The demon had required the taste of blood daily to remain repressed and this Geoffrey Weasley had given. On the new moon the demon moved more powerfully within Nathaniel Malfoy and more than a taste of blood was required to keep it chained. This
went on for years and always Geoffrey stayed with Nathaniel.
Though Geoffrey Weasley had never wavered in his resolution, Nathaniel had chafed at his dependence on him. One dark of moon, as the blood lust swept over him once more, he had let it take him and instead of merely sating his thirst on Geoffrey, he had drained him dry. For a while it seemed that this ultimate of sacrifices had vanquished the demon, driven him back to the pits from whence he had come, but Nathaniel began to show signs of madness. It was said that, having taken Geoffrey Weasley's lifeblood Nathaniel Malfoy had taken Geoffrey Weasley into himself, their two minds inhabiting a single body and battling for dominion. A year after the death of Geoffrey Weasley, Nathaniel Malfoy had killed himself.
As soon as Nathaniel Malfoy's son came of age, the demon had manifested itself in him and Geoffrey Weasley's oldest brother's youngest son had stepped forward to take his place. Thus the chain continued down the centuries. Learning from his father's example, the new Malfoy had never killed the boy but some of his descendants had not been so restrained. Believing that it was only that Nathaniel Malfoy had lacked the strength of will necessary, some Malfoys had killed their Weasley counterparts, thus ridding themselves of the burden of dependence. It was uncertain, what the effects of this action were but, in all such cases, the demon had never been seen to manifest again, and in all cases the men were known to have iron wills. It was thought that they suppressed the spirits in their minds until the ends of their days.
Arthur Weasley's narration had finally drawm to a close and he had stared into son's eyes, searching for understanding. Ron had just had one question, which, he felt, was PRETTY DAMNED VALID. "Why didn't you ever tell me about this before?" he had grated from between clenched teeth.
His father had looked uncomfortable. "We thought it would be best if you grew up without the burden of it," he had finally managed. "Of course there was no way we could tell you when you were little, before we were sure how many children we would have. But we really did mean to tell you before it all happened like this. The demon has seized Draco unexpectedly early. No one was expecting it for at least another year …" He had trailed off.
Ron really hadn't been able to remain too angry with his father who was obviously feeling miserable, but he had still be freaked out by the situation in general. "Why me!?" he had finally squeaked out. His father had looked momentarily puzzled and so he had continued. "I mean, I know you said that it was the youngest son of the oldest brother, but WHY!? I thought you also said it had to be willing. Why couldn't it be just anyone? Why not even someone who isn't a Weasley?"
"Oh, I thought I was clear on that." His father had rubbed at his temples. "When Geoffrey Weasley was first bound to Nathaniel Malfoy, his whole family was bound to the demon's fate as well. Because he was childless, and the youngest son in his family, the curse took that specific form." Arthur Weasley had thrown his hands up. "I don't know. It does seem rather random. It was probably some strange twist Salazar Slytherin built into the curse out of malice. All I know is that," here he had paused, a little too dramatically for Ron's taste, "you are the only one who can do it. And if you don't, then the demon will possess Draco and come into the world once more."
"But he could KILL me, right?" At that moment all Ron had really wanted was for his father to say, 'oh, just kidding, it's all a joke,' because right then things were way too serious and anyway, Harry was the only one to have weird, scary things happen to him. Ron was supposed to only be an extra in the story of Harry Potter, right?
His father's face had assumed a wooden expression that had scared Ron more than anything he could have said. "Yes, he could kill you," he had said, staring at Ron unblinkingly. "He could kill you the way that Lucius Malfoy killed my brother, Andrew." Ron had frozen at these words but remained silent. Of course Lucius killing his uncle made sense. "Or you could refuse, and hope that, after centuries of looking for another way, that way will be found and the demon can be contained before too much is destroyed. But the curse has had centuries to set. The odds are not good."
Ron had wanted to scream. How could every one be accepting this so passively? It was utterly ridiculous. He was supposed to give up any semblance of a real life to follow around DRACO MALFOY!? And why hadn't the other wizards just forced the Malfoys not to have any children? Let the line die out so the demon does too, right? Before he had had a chance to ask this question, however, the door had opened and Lucius Malfoy and Draco had stepped into the room. Draco had looked sullen but Lucius had still worn his perpetual sneer.
Ron's father had set him down in a new chair and muttered another incantation over his head. Ron had felt his consciousness return in a rush and with it the chaos of emotions that had been suppressed while the spell held him. "WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?!" he had yelled, jumping up from the chair and backing into a corner.
His father had held up his hands, soothingly, looking pained. "Now, I know you have every
right to be upset, but there's something I really must tell you. I probably should have told
you before but it's very important that you listen to me now." Ron had still been angry but he
really had wanted to know what WAS going on and so he had tried to calm down and listen to
what his father had to say.
Despite his determination to remain calm, he had had several outbursts before his father finished his explanation. It was so convoluted and drawn out that Ron would have found it utterly ridiculous if the events of the night hadn't confirmed its truth. Apparently it dated back to the days of Godric Gryffindor, the other three great wizards and the founding of Hogwart's. Salazar Slytherin along with a faction of his supporters had made a powerful bid to take over Hogwart's that had ended in chaos and destruction. The damage had been barely contained by the aid of Goddrick Gryffindor.
Salazar's supporters, lead by, surprise of surprises, Nathaniel Malfoy, had usedblood magic to call up a demon. The demon had been supposed to give them great powers over and above that of other wizards, to make them invincible. And it had. No one had been able to stand in their way. But the price had been too high for even Slytherin's followers to pay. The demon had proven too powerful and possessed the dark wizards in turn, using them to wreck havoc and death on all those around them, even their own families. Many of these wizards themselves had died. Throughout all of this Salazar had stayed carefully in the background, spinning his evil webs and so no blame could be placed directly on him.
In the guise of aiding the school, and to formally distance himself from the catastrophe, Slytherin had approached Gryffindor and the two had found a way to contain the demon. It had required two sacrifices. The first was obvious and a punishment. The demon had required a human vessel to contain it and had been forced into Nathaniel Malfoy, and his bloodline, so that his line was forever cursed to bear its burden. But this was not enough. A second sacrifice was
required to appease the demon or it would take over its host and become demon in human form, powers undiminished and lust for destruction insatiable. And this second sacrifice had to be voluntary.
Not surprisingly, none of the other wizards had been willing to sacrifice themselves to a demon and they had despaired. But finally a young wizard had come forward, offering himself. Geoffrey Weasley had surrendered the greater part of his life and become the shadow of Nathaniel Malfoy. The demon had required the taste of blood daily to remain repressed and this Geoffrey Weasley had given. On the new moon the demon moved more powerfully within Nathaniel Malfoy and more than a taste of blood was required to keep it chained. This
went on for years and always Geoffrey stayed with Nathaniel.
Though Geoffrey Weasley had never wavered in his resolution, Nathaniel had chafed at his dependence on him. One dark of moon, as the blood lust swept over him once more, he had let it take him and instead of merely sating his thirst on Geoffrey, he had drained him dry. For a while it seemed that this ultimate of sacrifices had vanquished the demon, driven him back to the pits from whence he had come, but Nathaniel began to show signs of madness. It was said that, having taken Geoffrey Weasley's lifeblood Nathaniel Malfoy had taken Geoffrey Weasley into himself, their two minds inhabiting a single body and battling for dominion. A year after the death of Geoffrey Weasley, Nathaniel Malfoy had killed himself.
As soon as Nathaniel Malfoy's son came of age, the demon had manifested itself in him and Geoffrey Weasley's oldest brother's youngest son had stepped forward to take his place. Thus the chain continued down the centuries. Learning from his father's example, the new Malfoy had never killed the boy but some of his descendants had not been so restrained. Believing that it was only that Nathaniel Malfoy had lacked the strength of will necessary, some Malfoys had killed their Weasley counterparts, thus ridding themselves of the burden of dependence. It was uncertain, what the effects of this action were but, in all such cases, the demon had never been seen to manifest again, and in all cases the men were known to have iron wills. It was thought that they suppressed the spirits in their minds until the ends of their days.
Arthur Weasley's narration had finally drawm to a close and he had stared into son's eyes, searching for understanding. Ron had just had one question, which, he felt, was PRETTY DAMNED VALID. "Why didn't you ever tell me about this before?" he had grated from between clenched teeth.
His father had looked uncomfortable. "We thought it would be best if you grew up without the burden of it," he had finally managed. "Of course there was no way we could tell you when you were little, before we were sure how many children we would have. But we really did mean to tell you before it all happened like this. The demon has seized Draco unexpectedly early. No one was expecting it for at least another year …" He had trailed off.
Ron really hadn't been able to remain too angry with his father who was obviously feeling miserable, but he had still be freaked out by the situation in general. "Why me!?" he had finally squeaked out. His father had looked momentarily puzzled and so he had continued. "I mean, I know you said that it was the youngest son of the oldest brother, but WHY!? I thought you also said it had to be willing. Why couldn't it be just anyone? Why not even someone who isn't a Weasley?"
"Oh, I thought I was clear on that." His father had rubbed at his temples. "When Geoffrey Weasley was first bound to Nathaniel Malfoy, his whole family was bound to the demon's fate as well. Because he was childless, and the youngest son in his family, the curse took that specific form." Arthur Weasley had thrown his hands up. "I don't know. It does seem rather random. It was probably some strange twist Salazar Slytherin built into the curse out of malice. All I know is that," here he had paused, a little too dramatically for Ron's taste, "you are the only one who can do it. And if you don't, then the demon will possess Draco and come into the world once more."
"But he could KILL me, right?" At that moment all Ron had really wanted was for his father to say, 'oh, just kidding, it's all a joke,' because right then things were way too serious and anyway, Harry was the only one to have weird, scary things happen to him. Ron was supposed to only be an extra in the story of Harry Potter, right?
His father's face had assumed a wooden expression that had scared Ron more than anything he could have said. "Yes, he could kill you," he had said, staring at Ron unblinkingly. "He could kill you the way that Lucius Malfoy killed my brother, Andrew." Ron had frozen at these words but remained silent. Of course Lucius killing his uncle made sense. "Or you could refuse, and hope that, after centuries of looking for another way, that way will be found and the demon can be contained before too much is destroyed. But the curse has had centuries to set. The odds are not good."
Ron had wanted to scream. How could every one be accepting this so passively? It was utterly ridiculous. He was supposed to give up any semblance of a real life to follow around DRACO MALFOY!? And why hadn't the other wizards just forced the Malfoys not to have any children? Let the line die out so the demon does too, right? Before he had had a chance to ask this question, however, the door had opened and Lucius Malfoy and Draco had stepped into the room. Draco had looked sullen but Lucius had still worn his perpetual sneer.
