CHAPTER 26
06 December 1991 - Seneschal Selwyn's Office - 6:16AM
"I am so pleased we could meet Cousin Corban. While our written correspondence has been satisfactory, meeting face-to-face is so much better." Cassilda gave what passed as a kindly smile to Corban Yaxley, who in turn, politely nodded back. He'd been all but ordered to meet with the Selwyn Seneschal near the crack of dawn, and his simmering apprehension was keeping him very alert. Though he would never admit it out loud, being in close unsupervised territory with the woman always… unnerved him, in spite of their familial relation.
"It is my pleasure Cousin Cassilda," he said, waiting for her to nod back before he began preparing a cup of very strong Earl Gray. He allowed his eyes to rove over the oppressively austere office, taking in the walls painted nearly black with occasional blood-red and dark green accents. Save the gothic-style desk and high-backed chairs, the room was mostly empty. Behind Cassilda's seat and positioned perfectly above her head was a small painting of a blood-red rose dripping small droplets of even darker, almost black-colored blood. Three of the drops were pooled near the thorny stem, spelling the Selwyn family motto: Oderint dum metuunt.
"Of course it is," she replied, smiling once more before taking a delicate sip of her tea. Her mismatched green and blue eyes closed as she savored its flavor, nostrils flaring delicately at its aroma. The tea was an uncommon shade of red, and Corban swore he could smell whiffs of tangy copper emanating from the cup. Cassilda's eyes suddenly opened to catch him staring at her tea, and the startled wizard looked away, cheeks pinking in embarrassment.
"So, tell me dearest Cousin; how have you progressed with our little Potter Project?"
"Well, things have been going rather well. As I've mentioned before, Lord Potter is surprisingly easy to read, wearing every last emotion on his sleeve. His bitterness at losing his mudblood wife has festered delightfully, eager to be unleashed. Potter is still piteously jealous of the men in the mudblood's life, and given Black's propensity to pant in the direction of any woman with a pulse, it will be all too easy to instigate a… clash between the two." Cassilda tilted her head and blinked twice, before giving what passed as an approving smile.
"I am pleased to hear that you have plans geared towards deteriorating the relationship between the two Lords. We must ensure that Potter is completely isolated from any of his allies, to ensure that he can be bent to the fullness of our will." She paused to take a sip of her tea, unblinking eyes never leaving Corban's. "And how was he on your… boys weekend?"
"Well he was mostly well-behaved, with a rather ghastly propensity for singing when he's well and truly drunk." Corban snorted at the memory of a sloshed James hopping on stage with an equally inebriated Alec and Francis, as they all sang a rather tone-deaf iteration of A Cauldron Full of Hot, Burning Love. "Potter also made use of the… VIP services offered by the Cabaret." With this, Yaxley reached into the side pocket of his robe and with a light flourish, pulled out an Unbreakable Vial swirling with the blue-white mists of a memory. He gently placed it in front of Cassilda, whose placid expression grew a touch… ravenous.
"Oh! And what do we have here dear cousin?"
"A memory from one of the… performers who serviced Potter in his suite. The memory was provided to me by the Cabaret's owner, as…recompense for a past favor owed."
"Indeed? Well, it seems a Fletcher can never make his way in the world without being in someone's debt," replied Cassilda, examining the memory vial like a cat would a rather tasty mouse. "Have you viewed the memory?" she tilted her head and blinked once, the gaze of her mismatched eyes intense. Resisting the urge to fidget, Corban calmly answered:
"Yes, I did. And I must say, it is a bit… disturbing, especially as it relates to the mudblood. As I've already noted, Potter's flame for her still burns very brightly, and he has not taken their divorce well. I personally could never understand such an infatuation with a filthy little mudblood, but thankfully, I have never sullied myself in such a shameful manner." Yaxley gave a disdainful sniff while Cassilda lightly tittered, unblinking eyes fixed on the vial.
"I imagine it should be." With a quick flick of her fingers, Cassilda banished the vial to her private study in Cauchemar Abbey - the Selwyn ancestral manor - for her and Lord Selwyn to review later. "Grandfather will be most pleased, and I am certain that bit of memory will be exceptionally useful to our cause. You must continue working over Potter, utilizing the necessary discretion you've already been taking. We cannot make a move now as our motives would be too obvious; we'll have to wait until we're assured that Potter is firmly in our grasp, before using him to remove that filthy little mudblood once and for all." Yaxley nodded in polite thanks, resisting the urge to preen. Cassilda wasn't very fond of preening, especially when done in her presence. "You've done well. Grandfather will be certain to grant you and your House an additional boon this coming Yule."
"Thank you Cousin. I am deeply appreciative, and please, thank Grandfather on my behalf of myself and my fam-" The words died on his lips as a Ministry owl flew through its appointed owl flap in the room's door, dropping the Daily Prophet before flying back out. Both Corban and Cassilda looked down at the paper simultaneously - the former with interest, the latter with a keenly hateful stare- reading the current headline.
A massive text depicted the engagement announcement of Thomas Riddle Lord Gaunt and Libra Kolumbiko, coupled with a resplendent photo of the couple as they waltzed, staring adoringly into each other's eyes. Her beautiful emerald engagement ring was on full display, sparkling in the multiple camera flashes. In spite of himself, Yaxley stared appreciatively at Libra's image; the woman was exceptionally beautiful, intelligent, and was born of a powerful and very influential family, not unlike the Selwyns. Marriage to her would be a boon for any wizard, and it seemed Lord Gaunt had been the one to win her (lucky bastard).
"Is that right?" Cassilda's deadly whisper slithered across his ears, and Yaxley started; shocked that she'd seemingly read his mind, and terrified at the lingering danger he sensed in her voice. She was staring directly into his eyes, unblinking mismatched green and blue orbs downright chilling. The room seemed to shrink in on itself as the increasingly agitated wizard couldn't seem to tear his gaze away from her unyielding one, everything fading to a dull roar. With a foreboding sense of terror, Yaxley felt the sensation of spindly cold hands slowly climbing up his back, over his neck, and Merlin's beard the hands were around his neck! And they were freezing, and so strong, and the flesh was rotted, and he couldn't breathe, and bloody hell he was choking, and he was going to die!
Suddenly the hands disappeared as Yaxley choked in a breath, coughing and sputtering in an attempt to get air back into his lungs and brain. The black spots that had dotted his vision slowly disappeared, his reddened face regaining its usual creamy pallor. His body was no longer immobile, and with as much dignity as he could muster, he retrieved his handkerchief to wipe his face and eyes. Cassilda tittered at his actions, unblinking eyes amused as she took a delicate sip of her tea.
"You are dismissed," she said, voice as dulcet as ever. Quickly nodding, Yaxley jumped out of his seat and all but ran out of the office, grateful to have made it out alive.
Master Bedroom, Potter Manor - 11:26AM
A yawning James stretched languidly in his bed, grateful for the extra hours of sleep. Mad-Eye was still putting him through the ringer, forcing him to spend double time doing grueling drills with the new Auror trainees. To his lingering regret, he was still on the outs with most of his so-called friends in the Auror Department. Shacklebolt, Bones, and Varens were coolly polite, and Sirius made a point to outright ignore him. No eye contact, no exchanged words, nothing but a persistently cold shoulder. James would be lying if he said he wasn't hurt by his former best friend's behavior. While he knew Sirius was prone to temper tantrums, James never believed that he would be at the receiving end of one, much less for this long. That it was his fault for cruelly threatening his erstwhile friend's godson and said godson's mother never crossed Lord Potter's mind.
Corban had proven to be a dedicated and actually caring friend. He'd been a quiet but encouraging presence in James' work life; they'd partnered frequently on the numerous drills Moody had him supervise, they ate lunch together, and did their administrative work together too. Corban - per the man's insistence - was surprisingly understanding of James' circumstances. He understood how badly Lily had hurt and shamed him when she'd initiated a divorce. He understood how truly saddened James was by his deteriorated friendship with Sirius. And he understood - in spite of his own Sorting - James' worry about Harry's current Slytherin status, and the unfortunate influence Lily's parenting had wrought on the poor boy.
Yaxley had proven himself to be a dependable and reliable ally, and James was ashamed to admit that he had wrongly misjudged the man.
"Ugh I need another vacation," he mumbled, wiggling his toes as pleasant memories of his boy's night at the Crazy Unicorn Cabaret. While a considerable amount of the weekend was cloaked in a pleasantly drunken haze, James was very aware that he'd had a delightful weekend. Chuckling, James recalled Lucius Malfoy's priggishness that night, preferring to sip his vintage wine and sneer at everyone while they were actually having a good time. Lightly blushing, James also remembered his evening with the… dancer the Cabaret provided their VIP members. As always, it made him realize how much he missed his ex-wife. And how much he hated her for abandoning him and their family. And now, she'd succeeded in raising a Potter Slytherin, one who would rise to be the-
The sound of a house elf's pop interrupted his thoughts, and he smiled as Gia (his personal elf) laid out a massive breakfast tray filled with his favorites, along with a copy of the Daily Prophet. He thanked her with a bright smile, and the elf graciously bowed before popping out of his bedroom. James eagerly dug into his scrambled cheese eggs while reading through the paper. The cover bore a stunning photo of Lord Gaunt and his new fiancée Libra Kolumbiko, coupled with an engagement announcement.
'Lucky bastard,' thought James, staring admiringly at Libra's stunning form. He knew little of her; only that she was a French-educated lawyer who supported the Youth Liaison Program's legal needs, and who also served as House Gaunt's Seneschal. Not bothering to read the accompanying article, James quickly flipped to the next page, only to stop short at the sight presented to him: a photo of Lily and Sirius dancing with each other at the Reunion Seminar. As with all magical photos, the image was cycling through one particular moment; Sirius leaning down to whisper in a smiling Lily's ear, causing her to laugh, green eyes crinkled in delight. In turn, she'd lean in (and up, given Sirius' greater height) and whisper something in his ear, causing him to laugh uproariously. The rather intimate image played in a loop, almost mocking the increasingly incensed Lord Potter.
A scream of pure rage thundered throughout Potter Manor, startling the house elves in the middle of their tasks. Gia - who had been in the middle of dusting the rarely-used ballroom chandelier - gasped in shock at the depth of anger she detected in her master's voice, shivering in spite of herself.
With skin growing increasingly purple in its fury, James Potter could only growl one word as the offensive image burned into his mind: "Traitor."
Astronomy Tower, Hogwarts - 3:38 PM
"I really can't believe you're going to go through with all this Hermione," Theo said, rifling through the lavender-scented pages of Madam Milburga's etiquette school packet. The young wizard was quite familiar with the bulk of the course material, since he and his brother Alex - the current Heir Nott - had been enrolled in Madam Milburga's classes since they were in shortpants.
"Well, I've already explained my reasoning. I'm interested in having a future at the Ministry, and in order to do that, I have to be willing to 'play the game' so to speak. Granted, I won't be willing to bend to any pureblood prejudices, feel ashamed of being a muggleborn, or anything ridiculous like that," she paused to take a breath, impatiently brushing her wild curls from her face. Theo stared in mild amazement at her revelation, though he wasn't really surprised to hear that the headstrong muggleborn was already plotting government domination. "But in order to change the system, one must first understand it and know its workings. So, I'll be committing to these classes to learn as much as I can. Besides, I promised my parents I'd learn to ballroom dance, and Madam Milburga offers six whole classes." Hermione wiggled her eyebrows keenly reminiscent of Harry, causing Theo to chortle in amusement.
"Well, if you require any additional lessons to brush up on your waltz, I'll be more than willing to oblige." He gave as deep a bow as he could while seated, causing the young witch to laugh uproariously.
"Why, thank you kind sir! I'll be more than obliged." The two started to laugh in tandem, heads angled forward. They suddenly jumped apart when the sound of a loud 'CLICK!' and the accompanying flash echoed through the tower. From the shadows near the Tower's entrance emerged Draco Malfoy, carrying a large wizarding camera and wearing a downright devious smirk. Flanking him were his usual goons Crabbe and Goyle, with the unexpected addition of Fourth Years Donovan Urquhart and Conrad Vaisey. That gave Theo pause; those two were extremely bigoted purebloods born of equally bigoted families. Given what he'd gleaned from Lord Nott's occasional drunken rants, Messrs Urquhart and Vaisey were attempting to curry favor with Lord Malfoy, hoping to worm their way into becoming Noble Houses by becoming Vassals to House Malfoy. It seemed the two heirs were following in their fathers' stead by allying with Draco.
"What a beautiful moment, absolutely adorable," sneered Draco, as he smiled evilly in Hermione and Theo's direction. "Lord Nott will be most pleased to see the evidence of his son's traitorous consorting with a filthy little mudblood." In spite of his anger at Draco's nasty insult towards Hermione, Theo felt the blood drain from his face, terrified of his father's would-be reaction. Tiberius Nott was an abusive tyrant on his best of days; if he were to gain photographic proof that Theo was consorting with an… undesirable, his violent wrath would devour Theo whole.
As observant as ever, Hermione noted Theo's horrified reaction. She felt more than saw him shudder in terrified fear at Draco's threatening insinuation, his entire body becoming rigid. With knowledge of Lord Nott's appalling true nature, the young witch felt a surge of protective anger course through her, rousing her Gryffindor courage. Turning to glare at the assembled Slytherins, Hermione stood and marched to stand a few feet from Draco, placing her body protectively between them and Theo. Draco frowned, certainly not expecting that reaction. Crabbe and Goyle looked stunned, their expressions mirrored by Urquhart and Vaisey. As Draco made to speak, Hermione struck.
"ACCIO CAMERA!" A slash of her wand sent the object sailing into her free hand as Draco and his cronies openly gawked. Eyes glinting viciously, Hermione forcefully flung the camera to the ground, satisfied at Draco's indignant gawk of "Hey!" as the object broke into three large pieces. Maintaining eye contact with the stupefied snakes, Hermione took her left heel and stomped down savagely on the parts, blatantly grinding the screeching parts into the cobbled floor. When the object was rendered into multiple pieces of useless junk, Hermione kicked the largest remaining piece into Draco's direction, pleased when it hit the cruel boy right on his shin, forcing him to howl indignantly.
"There, you can send that to Lord Nott as all the proof that you need." Hermione sneered viciously, and the would-be bullies all fidgeted nervously, not at all expecting such a visceral reaction. "Now leave us alone!" Her commanding tone broke no argument and she spun furiously on her heel, turning to face a stunned Theo. She heard Draco swear furiously as he fumbled for his wand, just as he screamed:
"Look here you filthy little mudblood!" Hermione scowled angrily, whirling around to tell the pureblood prat off for his continued use of that disgusting slur. Just as she turned, several things happened.
"FLIPENDO!" The Knockback Jinx hit her dead center, sending the startled witch sailing right past a shocked Theo to crash painfully into the Tower's protective railing, the impact forcing her to drop her wand. Before Theo could react, he found himself grabbed on each side by the hulking forms of Crabbe and Goyle, who dragged the screaming boy away from the railing, physically holding him hostage. Grinning wickedly, Draco nodded to Urquhart and Vaisey, their expressions menacing as they brandished their wands.
"WINGARDIUM LEVIOSA!" Their twin levitation spells forced Hermione to become airborne, the witch immediately panicking as her acrophobia kicked in.
"NO! Stop it! Put me down this instant! STOP!" Her terrified screams rang out as she struggled to place her feet on the ground. Theo's screams of "Hermione!" rang out in vain, unable to escape the iron clutches of Crabbe and Goyle. He could only watch in mounting horror as a screaming Hermione was levitated just slightly beyond the protective railing, the implication of being dropped crystal clear. A smirking Draco slowly approached her, eyes gleaming in malice.
"There, that's much better, isn't it mudblood?" His cruel laughter rang out, as Urquhart and Vaisey joined in. Crabbe and Goyle chuckled, though the latter was growing increasingly more uncomfortable at the ensuing spectacle.
"Draco please, STOP! I'm sorry please, I'll leave you alone, please just put me down!" Hermione was openly weeping in her distress, which seemed to please Draco all the more.
"Oh, put you down?" he replied, his tone patently condescending. A quick gesture to his goons saw Hermione lowered an inch as she screamed, flailing in her distress. Theo screamed as well, tears streaming down his face as he outright begged Draco:
"Please, let her down, please Draco! She won't bother you, we won't bother you ever again, just please stop this mad-"
"Quiet blood traitor!" Draco hissed, blue-gray eyes glinting maliciously. "I gave you several chances to not consort with this filth, and you chose not to listen to me. Let this be a lesson to the both of you." He turned away from a horrified Theo to glare at a crying Hermione, who was now shaking in plain fear. The terrified witch silently prayed to every deity she knew she wouldn't be dropped to her death. "Are you afraid mudblood?" She nodded as tears streaked down her face, hoping he'd release her. "Do you finally know your proper place?" She nodded once more, eyes closed in fright.
With each statement Vaisey and Urquhart lowered her by another inch, until she was directly beneath Draco's line of vision, allowing the blonde to look down at her. "You see, this is true power; you believed yourself to be my equal, to be any true wizard's equal. Let this be a lesson to you mudblood, that your place is and always will be beneath me and all other purebloods like me. Do you understand?" Hermione nodded with her eyes closed, before Draco's angry voice thundered at her: "OPEN YOUR EYES! AND SAY IT TO MY FACE!" Slowly, Hermione opened her terrified eyes and responded in a quivering voice:
"Y-y-yes Draco, I- I understand m-m-my place is b-b-beneath you, a-a-always." Her usual confident voice was gone, replaced by a tremulous stuttering that sounded nothing like the Hermione Granger anyone knew. Draco's responding smile was venomous in its satisfaction. Signaling to his two lackeys, Urquhart and Vaisey finally raised Hermione and dumped her in a graceless heap against the railing where she immediately curled in on herself, shaking and weeping. Draco signaled to Crabbe and Goyle (the latter whom was internally horrified at the blonde's blatant cruelty) to release Theo, which they immediately did. Together, the five Slytherins made their way to the exit, but not before Draco shot some parting words to Theo, who'd crawled over to place himself near Hermione:
"Let this be a lesson to you as well, blood traitor; next time, I won't be so acquiescing." His portentous words ended on a furious hiss, and for the first time ever, Theo felt genuinely intimidated by pureblood ponce, quickly nodding his agreement. Satisfied, Draco and his cronies left. Waiting until he was fully gone, Theo immediately gathered the traumatized witch in his arms, shielding her as great wracking sobs shook her body.
Agneta - the venomous viper curled around the base of a painting of a Tychonic armillary sphere - started in alarm at the horrific scene before her, hissing vehemently. She immediately fled her frame to get help, hoping she reached Solon in time.
AN 1: Told you, Draco went too far. He really is Narcissa's son in more ways than one, since this is very much her MO.
AN 2: Urquhart & Vaisey will make continued cameos, in one capacity or another. They too will face the Hydra's judgement.
AN 3: Just how did Cassilda manage to do that to Yaxley? We'll find out more soon enough!
Next Up: Fallout & Reactions, then Christmas at Hogwarts! The Hydra's discovery is on its way!