Guide: "Speech", Thoughts, ~letters and other written things
Beta: Destiny1195. All remaining errors are my own.
AN: Thank you so much for your feedback on this story in the reviews and comments. ^_^ Also a big thanks for the favourites, follows and kudos, they really motivated me to continue with this story. :) And I got a beta-reader: Destiny1195. Thank you so much for your work!
As a thank you gift for all the feedback, enjoy the next chapter.
-~-~- Toujours pur, toujours du sang de Black -~-~-
-~-~-by Stillwatersaredeep-~-~-
-~-~- Chapter 2 -~-~-
Friday, 1st August 1997, late evening
Harry went upstairs to the bathroom he usually used when he stayed at Grimmauld Place. Taking off the robe and dress-shirt he wore for the wedding, Harry folded them and put them on the closed lid of the toilet seat.
First, Harry looked down at his chest and arms to make sure that he did not have the mark Narcissa mention there. Not seeing anything that looked like a five-pointed star, only noticing that he'd got a new freckle near his navel, Harry stepped in front of the mirror and turned around.
While he did need to crane his neck a bit, the five-pointed star on his shoulder blade could not be overlooked. It was deep black in colour and about the size of a tennis ball. At least she did not lie about the mark, Harry thought, thinking back to the last time he looked at his back. When I was still at Hogwarts? Harry wondered. I did not look into the mirror when I was at Privet Drive and the days at the Burrow were so hectic that I didn't have the time to take a look at my back. But who regularly looks at his back?
When Harry put his dress shirt back on—he would need to get some casual clothes from Hermione—Harry wondered why he had not felt anything at all when the mark appeared. It must have happened yesterday, but when? he asked himself, not finding an answer.
While he now had to concede that Mrs Malfoy had been right about the mark, he was still not one hundred percent convinced that the mark meant that he would die if he did not marry Draco. For all he knew, the mark could just be the symbol of Lord Black.
"Hermione," Harry called as he entered the library, where Hermione was still searching the shelves for the journal Narcissa mentioned.
"Yes?" she asked.
"Can you give me a change of clothes and also pen and paper?"
"Of course," she said, already searching in her bag for the items. "I gather you have the mark Mrs Malfoy mentioned."
"Yes," Harry answered as he took the sweatshirt Hermione handed him. "It's on my back," he said as he took of his dress-shirt and turned around for Hermione to look at it.
"Wow! It's much larger than I thought it would be," she told him, her hand hovering over the mark.
"Yeah," Harry said, turning around again. He was about to put on the sweatshirt, when Ron entered the library.
"Good news," the red-head said, but stopped when he saw the mark. "She certainly was not joking about the mark."
"No," Harry said. "I'm slowly starting to believe that what she told us is true. You said that you have good news?"
"Ah, yes. Dad sent a Patronus, telling me that everyone is safe. They were mainly just asked some questions about where you are. And I also got the Patronus to tell my dad about the Taboo Curse."
"That's great," Hermione said with a smile as she placed the pen and paper on the table. "Though it would still be a good idea to tell Andromeda about the Taboo Curse. The more people who know about it, the faster the news can be spread around."
Harry nodded in acknowledgement. Sitting down at the table, Harry started to write the letter to Andromeda. With Hedwig dead, he had no choice but to use Kreacher to deliver it. Wait! I can ask Dobby, Harry suddenly remembered that there was a more trustworthy house-elf he could ask. At least with Andromead there is no risk that someone would intercept Dobby.
-~-~- Toujours pur, toujours du sang de Black -~-~-
"And?" Draco asked when his mother finally joined him in his room, late that night.
Draco had anxiously waited for his mother to come back home. When she went out to go to Grimmauld Place, he feared that she would not be back in time and that her absence would be noticed by the Dark Lord. His fear grew worse, when the first Death Eaters returned and his mother was still not back. Luckily, his mother appeared just a moment before Bellatrix and the Dark Lord entered the manor. In the following celebration of the successful Ministry takeover, they had not found a moment to talk in private, but the small smile his mother sent his way had somewhat pacified him.
"I was able to meet with him," Narcissa began, sitting down at the edge of his bed. "As we expected, he did not believe me right away. But he was kind enough to let me explain the most important aspects. When I left, I reminded him how much time was of the essence. Now we can only hope that Bartolomeo's journal, and maybe Andromeda's testament, will be enough to persuade him."
"How will we know that he believes us?" Draco asked. Both of them intentionally avoided saying Harry's name out loud.
"There will be a marriage announcement in the Daily Prophet. Depending on the order of the names, he will either say that he believes us, or not," she answered.
"So we will hear back from him by Sunday at the earliest. The day of the new moon," Draco said in resignation. He had hoped that the marriage bond could be performed on Sunday, now it wouldn't happen before the second of September. Even more time for things to go downhill, he thought. But at least Potter listened toMum's explanation.
"At least this way we can be sure that he won't change his mind and send us back here. We will be able to stay," she tried to cheer her son up. They both knew that once they left the manor, they would need Harry's and maybe even the Order's help to stay safe from the Dark Lord's retaliation.
"Will we be safe there?" Draco asked.
"I think so, yes," she answered, laying a reassuring hand on Draco's shoulder before she walked towards the door.
"What about father?" Draco asked. Before they had news from Potter, they'd decided to keep Draco's current predicament from him. While both loved Lucius dearly, they did not know if Lucius' love for his family was greater than his love for the Dark Lord.
"You know the Malfoy motto," she said with a smile.
"Sanctimonia Vincet Semper," they said in unison.
"And we will also conquer this. Together," Narcissa reassured him, then left her son's room.
-~-~- Toujours pur, toujours du sang de Black -~-~-
Saturday, 2nd August 1997
Since it was already well past ten in the evening when Harry finished his letter to Andromeda, he only sent it to her the following morning. He was just laying out everything he would need to prepare some sandwiches for himself and his friends for lunch, when Dobby returned with Andromeda's reply. Eagerly, Harry opened the letter.
~Dear Harry,
Thank you for your letter. I informed Nymphadora about the Taboo. She will make sure that it reaches the right ears. As for the other curse, I am sad to say that my sister told you the truth. I hope you will forgive me for not warning you about it. After I married Ted, it completely escaped my mind.
What I can tell you about it is only what my mother told me when I became of age, which probably is even less than my sister told you already, as I stopped listening to her once she said that it would not affect me once I'm married. She said that Bartolomeo protected our "noble" family from getting sullied. In the case that someone tried to steal the title of Lord Black, he would die after the third new moon if the marked Black daughter did not marry him. She warned me that until I married, I would be the marked daughter as I was the closest unmarried female Black of the current rightful Lord Black.
Only in the case that there should not be a male Black to inherit the title and a worthy pureblood was named the new Lord Black should he be allowed to marry into the Black family to save his life and to continue our line by mixing our blood. She did not tell me that the marked Black would die with the Lord if they do not marry. However, I can well imagine that she knowingly forgot that little detail.
In any case, I would advise you to listen to my sister and to follow her instructions on this matter. Though, to be on the safe side, since we cannot be sure that my mother told her everything, I would also advise you to consult the journal. Only what is written there should be taken at face value.
With kind regards,
Andromeda Tonks~
Harry laid the letter down. Of course, Andromeda's mother could have told all of her daughters the same old family legend that held not an ounce of truth, but Hermione had found the journal Narcissa mentioned and was currently reading through it. The evidence in Narcissa's favour was certainly building up, Harry thought as he started to cut the ham for their sandwiches.
It was half an hour later, Ron having dragged Hermione down to the kitchens with him, when Hermione confirmed that Narcissa's claims were true. Bartolomeo's journal explicitly mentioned that if a Lord Black with the star shaped mark did not marry the chosen Black who had the same mark, both would die when the sun rises after the third new moon of his Lordship.
It was only when Hermione hesitantly told him details of the curse and marriage bond that Narcissa had not told them, either because she had not known it herself or because she did not have enough time, when Harry was sorely tempted to blast the picture of Bartolomeo off the family tree tapestry.
"I don't like it either, Harry," Hermione said. "We all hate it." Ron nodded his head in affirmation. "But we need to keep cool and consider what we can do now to limit the damage. I read through the whole journal but I can see no way to remove the curse. So the only course of action open to us is to ensure we pacify the curse."
"By marrying Draco," Harry said.
"Yes," Hermione answered. "Though it has to be the L'union de la nouvelle lune marriage bond. While we can try to find another one that leads to a similar bond, we cannot be sure that the curse will accept it."
"So what do you suggest we do?" Ron asked.
"We will need to take out the wedding add to let the Malfoys know that we believe them. Though, it will be too late to perform the bonding tomorrow," Hermione said.
"If we cannot do anything until the following new moon, why don't we wait a bit more until we invite them here?" Ron asked.
"Because Mrs Malfoy is right. If Bellatrix remembers the curse, then she will do everything to keep me and Malfoy apart," Harry said.
"Should we prepare a room for them?" Hermione asked.
"I'm sure Kreacher will be more than happy to prepare a room for the ohhh so noble Malfoys," Ron said. And he was not wrong. By Sunday morning, Kreacher had cleaned one of the largest rooms on the upper floor for Narcissa, as well as the master bedroom for Draco.
-~-~- Toujours pur, toujours du sang de Black -~-~-
Sunday, 3rd August 1997
Today was the earliest day that Potter could have posted the wedding announcement. While Draco had tried to get his mother to reveal the names, she did not move. Regardless, he still searched the Prophet for marriage announcements. There were three; of the three only, one stood out:
~Sherlock Holmes to marry John Watson~
This has to be Potter's announcement. If I only knew if it is a yes or no, Draco thought. But at least he made up his mind quickly.
After breakfast, his mother found an excuse to spend some alone time with him. "So, have any announcements caught your attention?" she asked. To avoid having her emotions give her away at the breakfast table, where they were all closely watched she'd avoided reading the paper.
"There was one. Sherlock Holmes to marry John Watson," Draco repeated.
"In this order?"
"Yes," Draco confirmed.
"Good. Pack the things you want to take with you, but be discreet," she told him and it took a load off Draco's mind. Potter believed them. Or at least believed them enough to ask immediately ask them to Grimmauld Place.
"I'll get into contact with Severus and then talk with your father," his mother told him as Draco got one of his school trunks from the back of his walk-in closet. "I'll return here once I send off the letter."
Nearly half an hour later, Draco had packed some of his clothes, toiletries, money, school supplies and his broom, when his mother returned.
"Here," she said handing him two old leather bound books. "Take them with you. They'll serve as wedding gifts in case we're unable to procure something better from our vault." Dutifully Draco packed the books away and then shrunk the trunk to put it into his pocket.
"I'm ready. Shall we go to father?" he asked.
"No, you'll leave now. I'll talk with your father, explain everything to him and then he and I will wait together for Severus. Once he knows the address, we will follow you," Narcissa told him.
On the one hand, she hated that due to the Fidelius Charm, she and Lucius would have to wait until Severus arrived before they could leave. But on the other hand, this way, if Lucius decided to stay with the Dark Lord, Draco would already be out of reach, safe from his father and the Dark Lord. Only she would need to pay the price for the betrayal, but for Draco she would endure everything.
"Are you sure?" Draco asked, not wanting to leave his mother behind.
"I am, my dear. Now go. We do not know when Bellatrix will remember the curse's existance."
"I love you, Mum," Draco said before he left the manor behind, not knowing if his father and mother would be joining him at Grimmauld Place.
-~-~- Toujours pur, toujours du sang de Black -~-~-
AN2: The next update will take a bit longer as I need to finish the new chapter of my other 3 stories first.
Question: Shall Lucius join his son and Narcissa? Or is he too loyal to the Dark Lord? Tell me your thoughts in a review.