Everything is J.K. Rowlings. I only claim the plot. Everything else is hers, all the characters and the magic, all of it. Please let me know what you think though, I encourage feedback of all kinds, just be nice about it!
So, this chapter is kinda long. But let me know what you think about the Slytherins.
Also, I'm not going to be able to keep up with posting every single day. So if anyone has opinions about which days of the week they would prefer me posting on that would be awesome and I'd like to hear it. I'm thinking probably twice a week. So suggestions on the days are welcome.
Chapter Six
"Merlin help me," Harry muttered standing before the door that would lead into the room that Nadrig had created for the meeting. It was exactly ten o'clock and according to Nadrig the other people had all shown up about ten minutes ago. Harry wasn't sure what he should be expecting walking into the room. What would they say? Would they accept his proposal? Pushing aside his nervous and concerns, Harry walked into the room.
It was a cozy little room. A large conference table sat in the center surrounded by nine large, rolling, cushioned chairs. Four chairs on either side of the table with one at the head. The other eight were occupied already, leaving just the head chair for Harry to sit. Aside from the table, the walls were painted with a light yellow – Cheerful, Harry thought grimly - there was a large window that let in light though the scene that it displayed was not Diagon Alley, it looked like a peaceful meadow – Calming, Harry added inwardly. Was Nadrig trying to set the mood?
At first the eight Slytherins didn't notice Harry as he walked swiftly to the head seat. But that didn't last long. "Is this some kind of joke?" Theodore Nott spat as he spotted Harry walking across the room. Theodore was an attractive man, dark brown hair and light blue eyes with an impressive build, but the sneer on his face did nothing to help him neither did the sallow color of his skin.
"Bloody hell, of course it's Saint Potter," Draco Malfoy muttered. The years with the evil maniac living under his roof had not done the blonde well. Draco's face was haggard and drawn and he was far too thin -they all were- making his already prominent cheekbones stick out making him resemble a skeleton more than an aristocrat.
A handful of the Slytherins muttered and spat out their disgust and confusion as Harry took his seat, placing the large book on the table in front of him. He noticed that it was mainly the usual perpetrators: Nott, Malfoy, Parkinson and Zabini. The rest stared at him with unblinking, confused eyes. He sat silently for a moment. Surveying all of them, his former classmates. Soon enough the outspoken ones all quieted as well and took stock of him too. Their eyes were all haunted by the crimes they had seen and committed. Though they all looked like ghosts of their former selves they still clung to their Slytherin pride, holding their heads high and unwavering. Harry allowed himself to admire their courage, even showing up here today.
"Um...well thank you for coming today. I know you didn't need to necessarily, not everyone did in fact. But because of this they have lost their chance at redemption and are on their way to Azkaban at the moment." His words were met with narrowed eyes and silent sneers.
"Are you telling me that Saint Potter is just up and sending people to Azkaban just for refusing to meet with him? Wow, and I thought your Gryffindor goodness was too high and mighty for that," Draco sneered.
Biting back a retort, Harry took a breath. He had to keep himself composed if anything was to come of this meeting. "I'm not saying that I wanted that outcome, but merely the result was out of my control. Since they disobeyed an order from their life owner, well, it was out of my hands."
"What the bloody hell do you mean, life owner?" Blaise Zabini snapped. "Thought you were too good to own slaves." The dark-skinned Italian man looked like a shadow in his dark robes, his slender fingers crossed elegantly in front of him.
"Are you aware that your parents...donated...you to Lord Voldemort?" Harry asked instead. There were some uncomfortable shifts from the attendees. "Well, turns out that Right of Conquest is a thing," Harry continued with a bitter chuckle. "This book here, now annotates all of the possessions that were once Voldemorts that now belong to me." Harry let the group rest their eyes on the large book. "This includes the vaults of families in his services, their properties, and those who he was given life ownership of."
Harry surveyed the room at these words, letting them sink in. He saw most of their already pale and drawn faces grow tight with worry and fear flickered in their eyes.
"You mean to tell me, that you now own...us?" a girl spoke. She had reddish-blonde hair and an oval face. Tracey Davis, if Harry remembered correctly.
"In a manner of speaking, yes. Not only you but everything that your family's own like their properties as well as everything in their vaults. And not just you and your families, but everyone who was a Death Eater or had dedicated their services willingly to the lunatic. I now own it all."
"Bloody hell. Of course you fucking do," Draco muttered. "As if everything wasn't horrible to begin with, now our lives are in your hands? That's just bloody fucking perfect."
"You mentioned a chance at redemption," a blonde spoke. Daphne Greengrass was gorgeous despite the hardships she had suffered, her blonde hair in wavy locks down her back and her blueish-grey eyes were striking against her pale and drawn skin. Her formerly delicate and soft hands were calloused and rough and there were a few scars along her temple.
"Yes, I'm glad you brought me back to that. Now, it seems that I have three options on what to do with all of you. Option one, send you all to Azkaban, no questions asked. Option two, have you all killed, no questions asked. Or option three, and my personal favorite, offer you the chance to work for your freedom. Now, I'm rather against the first two options morally but if you refuse my offer then those are the routes I will be forced to take. I already checked and I am unable to simply free you outright. So, who is willing to hear my offer?"
The Slytherins were silent, each holding their inner debates. Harry watched their eyes, noticing when each finally gave in to hear what he had to say. Hermione was right, their self-preservation instincts really did hold a lot of power.
After a slight nod from Daphne, Harry continued. "It has been brought to my attention that your families and your families reputations are ruined. You now have no hold on your fortune or your properties. Essentially you are broke and homeless-"
"Do you really need to rub it in more, Potter?" Theodore asked wearily.
"Sorry, just stating the facts. Now, I offer you a home at least while you work in servitude and at the end of the sentence I will relinquish your vaults and properties back, but I can't give you back your influences or power. So I will remain with your Wizengamot votes, but I have a solution for that that won't actually benefit you at all but your future generations and families. But anyway, we will get to that eventually. As I was saying. I am offering you a chance to earn back your money and homes."
"What's the catch?" Pansy Parkinson asked shrewdly. Her once perfectly kept dark hair was now chopped short and frizzy, her once manicured nails were broken and jagged.
"The catch, yes, well. I don't like to think of it as a catch….more like a mutually benefiting deal. Here's the thing, you actually have to work to some extent in order for this to work. And I know you all want to rebuild your families reputations and I'm going to need a lot of help with what I plan on doing." This had eyebrows raised. He definitely had their attention now, taking a deep breath Harry pressed onwards. "Five years. That is the sentence. If you help me and follow my terms for five years, then you get your property and fortunes back. Now the work you would be doing is this: I recommend you each start up a charity or a business of some kind that is oriented around the rebuilding or the betterment of the wizarding society. This will not only provide you with work but it can also help rebuild your reputations. I will give you half a year to determine what exactly you want to do but after that it has to be put into motion. Now, the other half of the work you would need to do is help me in the political arena." Silence and then outright laughter.
"Potter you can't be serious! How the hell are we supposed to help you? As you keep reminding us our reputations are shit," Blaise scoffed.
"Yes, you have no reputation or influence, but you have knowledge that I don't. I don't know anything about how politics work in the wizarding or muggle world. I don't know how to do dealings with people, I don't know how to write or suggest policies. You all do though. You've all been taught how to work the political game since childhood. So I would call upon your knowledge and expertise to help me do what I want to do."
"And what is it that you want to do?" Daphne asked.
"I want to make the wizarding world better."
"Damn Potter, you just took out the Dark Lord, don't you think the world's already a better place without that nutter? Ever heard of taking a break?" Zabini asked, reclining easily in his chair. "You don't always have to play the hero."
"No. It's not enough. And I don't play the hero. The world is still in ruins. I want to bring forth policies that will shut down bigoted and prejudiced laws. I want to disband with thousand year old legislation that is outdated and of no use to progress. And to do that I am going to need help." Harry held his breath as he watched the Slytherins debate inwardly.
"So let me get this straight," Tracey said, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear and leaning forward into the more direct light. Doing this caused Harry to notice that her skin was near translucent and there were faint scar lines along her hands and arms. "You want us to work out our ownership through servitude to you by creating a business or charity that benefits the wizarding community and educating you on how politics are done. And if we do this then in five years we get our money and homes back?"
"Pretty much yeah. Oh and you would be living in one of my estates during those five years...with me."
"Bloody hell," Draco moaned, rubbing his eyes.
"You would each get your own rooms and bathrooms, and full access to everything the estate provides, whatever it actually provides…. I've yet to actually go there. So I don't really know what to expect. Think of it as a sanctuary of sorts. None of you have homes and this could be your home. Your place to rebuild not only yourselves but your ideas to help the wizarding world. And yes, much to your disappointment, I will be there too. As well as anyone else who is seeking refuge or needing a place to stay that I deem fit to live there. My only stipulations for living there, besides the ones for your servitude, would be the request that you leave any prejudiced beliefs about blood status or purity or beliefs about treatment of other creatures at the door and treat each other and anyone else living there with respect and civility. I don't expect us to be best friends at the end but I don't want us to be enemies either."
Silence again. Harry's temper was running thin. Why weren't they leaping at this opportunity? Where could they go wrong with this deal? Was living with him and working for him for five years really this miserable that they would rather Azkaban?
Five minutes and still no one had spoken.
"Bloody hell are you lot seriously this against me that you would rather Azkaban than the chance to redeem yourselves in the eyes of the world?" Harry cried out, causing the others to jump in fright. In all honesty, Harry shocked himself as well. This was the loudest he had spoken since before the war. He hadn't even raised his voice when arguing with Ginny and Ron that morning. But that didn't stop him continuing to vent his frustrations. "I am offering you a bloody chance to make things right, to change the world for the better! And you can bloody well bet that no one else in this damn world is going to give you this chance or even have the means of offering it. You are all children of Death Eaters, you aren't going to find a forgiving face anytime soon, maybe ever again. The world is broken and I'm offering you a chance to mend it. For fucks' sakes, you are Slytherins for crying out loud. How are you not seeing the benefits of my offer? It is not a trick. I swear to you it isn't. I don't play those games. So are your prides really so big that you can't accept an olive branch over imprisonment?"
Harry was standing now and panting after his rant, his emerald eyes alive with fury and disbelief. How could he make them see that this was the best way for them to go?
Right as he was about to speak again, throwing in the towel and storming out of the office, Daphne spoke. "Alright. You have yourself a deal. My sister and I will work in servitude to you for the next five years, following the requirements you have laid out." Harry let out a breath he didn't realize he had been holding. Looking to the right of Daphne he saw a miniature version of the woman who had bluer eyes and black hair instead of blonde. The young girl didn't look older than fifteen. "My only request in return is that you still allow Astoria to attend Hogwarts. She still has two years left of education and I want her to finish it."
"Granted," Harry said without any hesitation. "Because of this, I'll give you until you graduate to start your business or charity, Astoria. So you will have a shorter time to construct it but also longer to think on it. Now, thank you for your agreement and I look forward to the work we can create together. Anyone else?" He cast his emerald orbs about the room and after a minute or so Pansy, Tracey, Blaise, Theodore, and Gregory Goyle had all nodded their acceptance. "Mal-Draco? What do you say?"
Draco glared at Harry for what seemed like an eternity. "You know I'm already Death Eater scum right?"
"Yes I do," Harry replied, a bit taken aback by his response. "But I don't believe you enjoyed your time as one very much. I was there that night at the Astronomy Tower, I know you didn't want to kill him." Draco's eyes widened at these words and his back stiffened. "You also refused to sell me out when I was brought to your manor, that alone tells me that you were through with the mania that Voldemort created. And yes, you have the mark, which is why I think this offer is your best bet at any semblance of a life. You need it more than anyone else."
Draco continued to stare at Harry, his enemy-well his former enemy at least. "Fine. You've got yourself a deal, Potter."
"Harry, please. If we are all to be living and working together for the next five years I think we can use our first names." Draco huffed but said nothing against this.
"Ugh, let's not push the niceties. Potter has worked for seven years, it will still work now," Pansy sniffed. "Besides, you should know it really is the nicest possible name that we've called you."
"Fine," Harry ground out through gritted teeth. What the hell was he getting himself into? "Now for the formalities. Nadrig! Can you join us please?" Harry called, moments later the little goblin lass scuttled into the room with parchments in her hands. "These are the contracts. Feel free to read them over I asked Nadrig to write them up yesterday."
"So sure we would join you Potter?" Pansy sneered.
Smirking, Harry continued. "Let's just say I was hopeful and counting on your Slytherin instincts. Please read them over. Astoria, yours will be adjusted to fit the new terms. Nadrig, please adjust the contract terms to include Astoria Greengrass finishing your education, extending the terms of creating a charity or business until six months after she graduates. Though this doesn't affect her five years of servitude." Nadrig nodded and shuffled through the papers before pulling one out and writing on it. "Now, like I said, read them over and you should see that it outlines everything I just said. Five years of service, living in my place of residence, disbanding former prejudices, creating a charity or business for the betterment of society to begin in six months. Once you've read through it, please sign. As you can see, I already have."
Harry was silent as he watched the eight Slytherins read over their paperwork and one by one and they all added their signatures. "Brilliant!" Harry cried, finally feeling like he was making progress in the goals he had envisioned. "Now, next thing…..um….do you lot have any questions before we proceed?" He asked, buying time while he decided how to continue.
Harry had planned up to this point but now he was at a loss. He hadn't thought this far ahead in reality. Next on the list he had half constructed in his mind, was how to get the group from this room to the Peverell Estate, a place he had never been to before either.
"Yeah, just out of curiosity, who else was put into your ownership. You said not everyone was here," Gregory said, speaking up for the first time since the meeting started. His voice was a lot softer than Harry remembered, and while the man was still the hulky form of his Hogwarts bully days, he was nowhere near as intimidating, it was as if he had lost all spirit.
"Yes, I'll read off the list. I think you will all be able to tell what had happened to the others," Harry said, shifting slightly as he opened the book to the last page. He knew that he was about to read off some of the fallen comrades of these people and he hoped it wasn't about to disrupt the waters. "The names are: Millicent Bulstrode, Hestia Carrow, Flora Carrow, Vincent Crabbe, Lukah Davis, Tracey Davis, Marcus Flint, Gregory Goyle, Astoria Greengrass, Daphne Greengrass, Draco Malfoy, Theodore Nott, Pansy Parkinson, Adrian Pucey, and Blaise Zabini."
Looking up from the list, Harry tried to gage the reactions, everyone looked crestfallen and lost in thought as they remembered those that had fallen.
"Figures that lot didn't show up here," Theodore sighed, the others nodded.
"What do you mean?" Harry asked.
"Well for one, ever since that lot graduated they have been head over heels devoted to the Dark Lord," Tracey explained. "To serve anyone but him wouldn't even be fathomable. To even entertain the thought by showing up would be disloyalty to the extreme in their eyes. I'm surprised that Carrow hadn't already become a Death Eater. So Azkaban was the only logical solution for them."
Judging by her words it seemed that the Slytherins' before him weren't as diehard as their comrades. Maybe he could work with that on building a foundation. Harry thought on that for a moment before Theodore's voice called him back. "What about how you plan on returning our influences back to us? You mentioned it earlier."
"Oh yes, well I'm going to put it in my will. So after I die, I am going to put in my will that your Wizengamot seats be returned to your bloodlines, so your future generations will have that given back to them. Sorry I can't provide anything more immediate and that you have to wait for my death. Any other questions?" No one spoke up. "Alright then...I guess the next order of business is to...move?"
"Where is it that we are moving to exactly?" Astoria asked, the first thing she had said the whole meeting as well. If he didn't know any better he would say the young girl actually looked eager and excited at the prospect of going somewhere new. He hoped that was the case.
"We will be going to the Peverell Estate. Turns out I've inherited that and I thought it was the best place seeing as it has no ties to any side, at least none that I know of. So I thought it would be a good place for us to start over." Saying his thought process out loud, though it had been great in his mind and Hermione had smiled when he explained it, he realized how pathetic he sounded.
"Wow, Potter, didn't realize you were such a sentimental wuss," Blaise snickered. Glaring at the dark Italian, Harry carried on unable to think of a good comeback.
"Now, I've never been to this place either, so in all honesty, I'm not overly sure how to get there. Or what to do about all of your things. Nadrig?"
"Mr. Potter, as it is one of your properties you can apparate there without worry. The rest can side-along apparate. As for their things, I'm sure the House Elves at the Estate will be more than happy to go get them."
"There are House Elves at the Estate?" Harry asked, eyes wide in shock.
"Well, of course, Mr. Potter. All of the estates have their own House Elves it is how they have been run without live-in Masters there, and they all now belong to you."
"Hermione is going to kill me when she finds out," Harry sighed, causing the other Slytherins to snicker. "Alright then, I guess, we will be going then. Do any of you want to notify your parents of the change?"
"For fucks sake Potter. All our parents are dead or in Azkaban, no thanks to you might I add. So stop being so damn polite and let's get on with it," Pansy fumed.
"Right. Sorry...so let's link up," he said, feeling immensely awkward.
"Merlin, Potter, have you always been this awkward or is that a new thing you've inherited too?" Blaise teased.
"Just hurry up," Harry muttered. Rolling their eyes and with a great deal of disdain the Slytherins all stood and walked over to where Harry stood. After all eight had grabbed hold, Harry twisted on the spot and allowed the tug of apparition to pull him.