All characters are property of JK Rowling and I do not make a profit from this story.
Chapter Sixty-Four: Narcissa's Intentions
Draco Malfoy – Present Day
March 24, 2001
It had been a very ugly morning. It was one of those days where it was cold, but not cold enough for the rain to freeze, and so the rain was coming down hard and the snow on the ground was melting, so everything was slush and dirty and brought down the mood of everyone outside. Not that it was a happy time, however, since Draco, his mother, and a few family members and friends had just finished burying Lucius in the Malfoy crypt. The handful of people who had attended (which consisted of the few Death Eaters who didn't make it into Azkaban, their families, the Greengrass family, and some old man in a pinstriped suit whom Draco did not recognize) made their way back to Malfoy Manor, where Twinkle, the Malfoy house elf, prepared a small reception. Draco watched his mother speaking to Astoria Greengrass' father in a hush whisper. He saw Astoria look over at him but he looked away. His mother had told him not to speak to them until the Ritual Knot, and he knew better than to cross his mother. He looked over to his left and saw Theodore Nott speaking to the man in the pinstriped suit. When they noticed Draco looking at them, Theo gave the man a nod and headed over to Draco.
"Wasn't he at your fathers funeral yesterday, too?" Draco asked Theo, once he was in earshot.
Theo nodded. "It's Pius in disguise," he whispered.
"What? But why?"
"Because, this was the plan." Theo was speaking so quietly, that Draco had to resort to reading his lips. "Tomorrow, our fathers will be removed from their crypts and transferred somewhere safe. So, we will have them back-"
"But the rest of the world will think they are dead," Draco finished, catching on. "But how? Unless they used the spell…"
"You know of it?"
Draco nodded. "My father told me about it once."
"We are to meet with our contact next week; until then, be sure to act like a grieving son."
"Of course," he responded. He was waiting for his mother to walk over to him so he could fill her in, when, instead, he was beckoned over to her and the Greengrass family. As he approached, he caught the very brief look his mother gave him which silently told him to hold his tongue, and hold his tongue he would.
"Draco," spoke his mother, "This is Curtis Greengrass," she said, beckoning to Astoria's father. "Melanie Greengrass," nodding to Astoria's mother, "and Daphne and Astoria Greengrass," she stated, indicating the two daughters.
"It is a pleasure to meet you all," Draco said, taking Mister Greengrass' hand and shaking it firmly.
"My condolences on the passing of your father," said Curtis.
"Thank you," responded Draco, carefully avoiding Astoria's gaze.
"Draco, Curtis and Melanie have something for you," Narcissa said to her son.
"Yes, I apologize that this is to be done in such troubling times, but since the Ritual Knot is scheduled for next week, I'm afraid there isn't any other time before hand to give this to you." Draco tried to keep a straight face; he had no idea that his Ritual Knot ceremony was next week, and all he could think about at the moment was Hermione. "As you know, of course, being a pureblood and all, it is customary for the witch's family to provide you with a gift." Draco nodded, but in truth, he was unfamiliar with this. "We thought a practical gift would be the best option." Curtis was silent for a while and Draco almost thought that he expected a response. He opened his mouth to speak, but before he could, Melanie spoke.
"I thought she was advised to be here?" she asked angrily.
"Maybe if we called her, father?" asked Daphne.
"Muffy!" Curtis bellowed. At once, a small house elf appeared next to the man. "Ah, there we are!" he said. "Draco, please accept Muffy as our gift to you, to serve as an obedient house elf to you and our daughter, Astoria."
"That is most appreciative, thank you," Draco responded, not overly excited on having a house elf, but keeping up appearances as advised by his mother.
"That is very considerate, Curtis, thank you," Narcissa said.
"Of course!" Curtis said. "What pureblood family doesn't have one? It was definitely necessary."
"Where will Muffy stay for the time-being?" Draco asked, hoping he wasn't speaking out of turn.
"Well, she belongs to you and Astoria now, so I suppose she will stay between the two of you. Whenever one of you are in need of her, simply call, otherwise, she will stay confined to either your Manor or ours until you have one of your own. Is that understood, Muffy?" he asked, looking at the house elf. The little house elf nodded. "Very good, then get going." Muffy didn't move, but she looked afraid.
"Father, only Draco and Astoria can tell her what to do!" stated Daphne knowledgably.
"Muffy, go help Twinkle in the kitchen," Draco said.
"Yes, master," said Muffy, and she disappeared obediently.
"Well, now that that's settled, I suppose we best be off," said Curtis.
"Thank you for coming," said Narcissa, grabbing Curtis' hand.
"Our condolences once more," said Melanie, taking her turn to say goodbye to Narcissa. Once the pleasant goodbyes were said, (which Draco managed to do without having to speak to Astoria) he turned to his mother.
"Mother, where are Astoria and I going to live after the wedding?" he asked, genuinely curious.
"This is the Malfoy Manor, Draco; it will become your home."
"But then, we already have a house elf."
"You can never have too many house elves, Draco. Come, we still have more guests."
"But I need to speak to you about-"
"Not here, Draco!" Clearly, Narcissa had assumed what Draco was going to tell her, and so he quietly stood by her, and joined her in thanking the guests who had come to pay their respects for (what they assumed was) Lucius' passing.
Ginny Weasley – Present Day
March 24, 2001
"Come on guys, I know we can figure this out!" Ginny was standing inside the Dobwig Association, leaning against Harry's (or rather, her) desk, along with Luna and Neville. She had invited them to join her, and had filled them in on the mysterious letter she received, in the hopes that they could figure it out together.
"Let's list everything that comes in threes," suggested Luna.
"Harry, Ron, and Hermione are three," said Neville.
Ginny frowned. "If they were referring to them, that would mean they already had one of them and had means of getting another."
"Yes, and they needed your help getting the last one, which could mean Harry. I would probably assume that you would have access to him as well," Luna said.
"I would rather not think that it be them," Ginny replied.
"The Deathly Hallows?" Neville suggested.
Yes, the Death Hallows. Ginny had thought about that last night as well, and with a pang in her stomach, she thought of Harry's missing cloak. Ginny sighed, but confided in her friends. "Guys, Harry's cloak is missing."
"You have no idea where it could be?" Luna asked.
Ginny shook her head no. "Harry always keeps it in the same place and it's no longer there and he has no idea where it is either."
"So then, this person must have it, and must know where another one is, which means there's only one left," said Neville.
"If that were true, then what would I know about it? The only Deathly Hallow that I knew the location of was the cloak and now that's gone!"
"Who could have taken it?" Neville wondered out loud.
Ginny shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know but it was hidden in our flat which means only someone with access could have taken it."
"You don't think there is a rogue in the Order, do you?" asked Luna.
"Oh, I most definitely think there is! I've already re-done the Fidelius Charm on our flat, and nobody but me and Harry can enter now. Sorry," she added, looking at her friends.
"Let's think about this," said Luna, disregarding what Ginny just said. "If it is the Hallows, and they have the cloak, and there is in fact a mole in the Order, then that means the second one that they almost have is the resurrection stone."
"What makes you say that?" asked Ginny.
"Harry accidentally mentioned that the stone was in the Forbidden Forest during a meeting once."
"I remember that!" exclaimed Neville.
"Okay," said Ginny, thinking hard. "So, if they have the cloak and know where the stone is, then all that's left is the elder wand."
"Do you know anything about the wand?" Neville asked her.
"Not a thing. Harry kept that very private."
"For good reason," added Neville.
"Definitely, which is why I can't see this being the thing that the person is referring to."
"Well, what else could it be?" asked Neville. When neither girls responded, Neville said, "maybe we should figure out who wrote the letter; that might help us."
"I truly have no idea," Ginny responded. "I don't recognize the penmanship at all!"
"What did it say again?" asked Luna.
"One of three I have received, two of three is coming to me. Three of three lies waiting on you, bring it to me or they all die too," Ginny recited from memory.
"Or they all die too," repeated Neville. "That means people; I really think they mean Harry, Ron, and Hermione."
"Yes, but Neville, if Ginny failed to bring Harry, how could they kill him? They would need him in order to kill him."
Ginny placed her head in her hands. "Who the hell wrote this!" she said out loud, frustrated. Suddenly, the three of them heard some noise outside of the office, and they moved silently together towards the door, with their wands raised.
"But I don't understand," came a familiar voice from the other side of the door. "When someone loses a Department, the door magically reveals itself to the Ministry!"
"Umbridge," Ginny whispered, lowering her wand and opening the door. "Hello, Dolores," she said, using Harry's trick and calling her by her first name since she hated it so very much. "This door did not reveal itself to you since the owner of the department did not lose it!"
"What are you doing in there?" she snapped at once. "What do you mean Potter did not lose it? Of course he did! He is wanted by the Ministry!"
"My fiancé did not lose the Dobwig Association, Dolores, because it did not belong to him." Smiling, Ginny handed her the document that she found inside the box given to her by Aberforth.
"What nonsense is this?" asked Umbridge, snatching the parchment and reading it.
"This is my department," said Ginny coldly, "and I require you to leave."
She watched Umbridge pass the parchment to some Ministry official that Ginny did not recognize, but after reading it, the official nodded. "This is legal, Dolores, it belongs to Miss Weasley."
Ginny smiled. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have important business to attend to." She made her way to close the door, but Umbridge stopped her.
"Regardless of whose department this is, it is my right to search it!"
"On what grounds?" asked Neville angrily.
"On the grounds that I, Dolores Jane Umbridge, am-"
"Nobody cares who you are!" interrupted Ginny. "Besides, I am quite familiar with the Ministry Standards. You may search my department, but I do require you to make an appointment first."
"An appointment?" stammered Umbridge. "This is ridiculous!"
"But it is Ministry standards!" said Luna.
"Fine!" Umbridge nearly yelled. "I wish to make a bloody appointment for today!"
"Oh, I'm terribly sorry, but I'm afraid I do not have any available appointments for this week."
"When do you have an available appointment?" Umbridge asked her through gritted teeth.
Ginny thought back to the Ministry standards pamphlet that she had read up on this morning. She knew that the longest she could hold off a Ministry Official was two weeks. "Next week, I'm sure," she responded. "As long as you check in with my secretary within the given amount of time, she will be able to fit you right in."
"And which one of you is the secretary?" she asked, clearly irritated.
"Neither, actually," said Ginny; she was quite enjoying herself. "She isn't in today, but if you send an owl, she will be sure to respond." With that, Ginny closed the door in her face.
The three of them started laughing. "What now?" asked Neville.
"Now, we search this place high and low and remove anything that she shouldn't get her hands on, and-" Ginny thought quickly to another piece of parchment that Harry had left for her. "-I hire a secretary."
Narcissa Malfoy – Present Day
March 31, 2001
Narcissa stormed into the lair, and headed straight for Theo. "I told you not to give me a reason to come back here," she said, with so much rage.
Theo beckoned to Blaise, and the pair of them walked over to a secluded corner for privacy, and Narcissa followed, exhaling deeply as she felt the anger rise in her face. "Madam Malfoy," Theo started, but Narcissa stopped him.
"My son's Ritual Knot is scheduled for tomorrow and I have yet to have Lucius back!"
"There has been a slight complication," said Theo.
"A complication?" repeated Narcissa. "I had plans for my husband to die so that there would be no complications for my son's Ritual Knot ceremony!"
"We didn't know this was going to happen, honestly!" cried Blaise, as if he was pleading for Narcissa to have mercy.
"Draco wanted his father alive and so I honored his wishes, but with the condition that he be at Draco's Ritual Knot ceremony tomorrow to promise my son to the Greengrass' daughter. Explain to me how this ceremony is going to happen now?"
"Well, everyone thinks he is dead, so can't you just go through with it without him?" asked Blaise.
"Is my husband dead, Zambini?"
"No…"
"Then how the bloody hell do you expect it to work? Do you think we can fool magic into thinking that he actually is dead?" It was very rare for Narcissa to yell, but she was, and had no intentions of stopping.
"Please, Madam Malfoy, if you give us just a little more time…"
"There is no more time, Nott! What is it that you do not understand? The Ritual Knot ceremony is tomorrow!" When neither boys said anything, she asked, "what happened?" She could not rely on these idiots to solve her problems and so she needed the facts to solve them herself.
"We, uh, we…"
"OUT WITH IT!" she screamed.
Theo gave Blaise a small nod, before starting his story. "Our contact had promised to break them out of Azkaban alive," he started, telling her the full story. "He kept his word, but he used the Abracadabra spell to trick the guards and everyone else in thinking that they were dead so that it would end quietly."
"And how did he get in to cast the charm?" she asked him.
"We don't know; apparently he has someone on the inside helping him; she did all the work."
Narcissa made a mental note of the fact that it was a woman. "And then?" she asked, prompting Theo to continue.
"And then he got the bodies out of their crypts to a safe place, where they'll stay until…"
"Until…?"
Theo sighed. "Until we give our contact what he wants in return."
"And what is that exactly?"
"The Deathly Hallows."
"You've already given him one," she said. "I know that you've used Draco to get one."
"And we gave it to him," replied Blaise. "But he said that he wants all of them first, then he will release the remaining Death Eaters and then wake them all up."
"But that could take months! Years!"
"I assure you that it won't!" Blaise stated.
"Do you know where the other two Hallows are, Zambini?"
"Uh, no…"
"THEN HOW THE HELL DO YOU KNOW HOW LONG IT WILL TAKE?"
"Madam Malfoy…"
"No, enough of this, Nott. Give me the location of where he is kept."
"You're going to kill him, aren't you?" asked Blaise.
"What other choice do I have? Draco's Ritual Knot is tomorrow and I will not be rescheduling it!"
"We don't know where he actually has them," Blaise said quietly.
"You have until midnight to return my husband to his crypt," she demanded, tired of this conversation. "I'll take her for insurance," she added, tilting her head towards Pansy Parkinson.
"No way!" spat Blaise.
"Perhaps you do not understand the importance of what is required of you. Midnight." Narcissa walked over to Pansy and grabbed her by the arm. "With me," she said, walking towards the exit.
"Narcissa, please…" Pansy pleaded, once they were out of the lair.
"Oh, be quiet you stupid girl; do you honestly think I would bring you to my Manor near my son?"
"Then where are you taking me?" she asked, afraid.
Narcissa rolled her eyes. "Go home, but you are not to contact anyone until after my husband is back in his crypt, do you understand me?" Pansy nodded. "If he is not there, I will have your entire family slaughtered."
"As long as Blaise thinks I'm in danger, he will do it," she responded.
"Good; then let him think you are in danger." Narcissa watched Pansy apparate home, and she headed towards her own home. Her stomach was in knots as she thought about tomorrow. After everything she had done to make this happen, she could not have the Ritual Knot fail tomorrow. Sighing, she arrived back home and sat in Lucius' study, waiting for the clock to strike midnight. Right now, all she could do is wait, and hope very much that she did not have to have three pureblood families slaughtered.
Dolores Umbridge – The Past
December 22, 2000
"Enter," said Dolores, responding to the knock on her office door. It wasn't her usual sweet response either, as the anger building up inside of her was too intense to sound like the sweet, childlike voice of hers.
"Dolores, if I may explain," came the voice from the woman who just entered her office.
"Oh, you best explain, Narcissa! You told me that the Grangers had their memory wiped and that they would not be there!"
"They did have their memories wiped; it seems that someone had convinced them to show up regardless. I assure you that I had no knowledge of this!"
"I don't think I need to remind you, Narcissa, that I know perfectly well that there was no Ritual Knot, considering Lucius is currently locked up in Azkaban! I agreed to let your son off the hook, provided that you hand me Hermione Granger!"
"And I still will," Narcissa reassured her.
"How?" demanded Dolores.
"At Draco's next hearing. As long as I have your word that my son will not go to Azkaban, then we both will deny the engagement, and you may arrest Miss Granger for lying on her application."
"I've seen the way your son looks at her; he will not do anything to incriminate her!"
"Leave my son to me," Narcissa responded calmly, but sternly. "Do we have an understanding?" she then asked, when Umbridge did not respond.
"Fine," Umbridge agreed. "But if Draco does not cooperate, I will have you both locked up!"
"Dolores, do not underestimate me; my son will cooperate," and without another word, Narcissa left the office.
Author's notes: Hello! So, I think this chapter gives insight to what kind of witch Narcissa is. I wouldn't say she's evil, but she will do whatever it is, right or wrong, to protect her son. (And having him marry a pureblood witch is a way of protecting him in her mind).
Just to clarify something in my previous chapter as it was questioned in a review, it's not that Remus and Ginny were the only two people to suspect there was something fishy about the food poisoning, it's that they were the only two who wanted to look into the matter further. The remaining Order members thought that there were other things they needed to focus on, and the three Death Eaters were dead so there was no need to concern themselves with it. (But oh boy, how wrong they are!)
Coming up in the next few chapters will be the outcome of Draco's potential Ritual Knot ceremony, what's going on with Harry, Ron, and Hermione, Ginny's new secretary, and what happened to Hermione's parents as well as Crookshanks.
Thanks as always and please keep reviewing!