Guide: "Speech", Thoughts, ~letters and other written things
Beta: Destiny1195. All remaining errors are my own.
AN: I hope you'll still leave reviews and comments even though the updates will be slower from now on. I cannot promise that they'll get longer though. :(
-~-~- Toujours pur, toujours du sang de Black -~-~-
-~-~-by Stillwatersaredeep-~-~-
-~-~- Chapter 4 -~-~-
Sunday, 3rd August 1997
The Golden Trio did not have to wait long before the Malfoy family joined them. Harry motioned them to take a seat on the sofa. Draco sitting down between his parents, like he needed them to protect him from harm.
"Thank you for joining us," Harry said formally. "I would like to start with the Unbreakable Vow before we discuss anything else. Hermione, will you be the bonder?" he asked and got into position to accept the first vow from Lucius Malfoy, holding out his hand to the older man.
"Mr Potter," Narcissa interrupted. "I know that we are guests in your house; however, we would still like to know beforehand what we are about to swear." While Severus had blindly agreed to perform the Unbreakable Vow without knowing what he would swear; neither she nor the rest of her family would ever do such a thing.
At Harry's nod, Hermione told them what they intended them to swear, "Do you swear your allegiance to Harry James Potter? And will you do everything in your power to help Harry defeat the Dark Lord? And will you not harm Harry, me or Ron?"
"While I can agree with the first two demands, the last one must be changed," Narcissa told them, her voice hard as steel. The Malfoys had designated her to be their spokesperson as she was the one with whom the Gryffindors had the least bad blood with.
Getting the feeling that this would take longer, Harry got up from the floor and retook his seat.
"First, you need to change it to 'not intentionally harm,' as neither of us wants to die because of an accident or due to a stray hex in battle," Narcissa demanded.
The three teenagers look at each other. While it would leave the Malfoys some leeway to harm them, they could not deny that her demand was just and right. Harry could all too well imagine Draco saying something that would anger Ron and would ultimately end in a fight between the two. Draco would just have to get a single in punch and the Unbreakable Vow would take the blond's life. This made Harry think about something else.
"Should we add self-defence as an exception?" he asked Hermione, but it was Ron who answered.
"It could be uses to harm us if someone from outside threatens to harm them if they do not kill us," Ron pointed out.
"You could specify it further, like 'with the exception of defending ourselves from harm that originates from you,'" Narcissa suggested. She agreed with Harry that being able to defend themselves would be useful, especially if Mr Weasley's temper was as bad as her son made it out to be.
"I'll think about an alternative formulation," Hermione answered.
"There's also a second point you should consider," Narcissa said. "What if Miss Granger is placed under the Imperius Curse and is forced to kill Mr Potter?" she asked. Ignoring Ron's outburst on how Hermione would never do such a thing, she continued. "In that case, we would be forced to harm her in order to fulfil the second part of the vow. Therefore, Miss Granger, I suggest that you include something along the lines of 'if it doesn't hinder us from fulfilling our other obligations, primarily to assist Mr Potter in defeating the Dark Lord.'"
Patiently the Malfoys waited as Hermione took out pen and paper to write down a new wording of the third vow. About five minutes later, Ron, Hermione and Harry were all satisfied with the result. "We decided on 'And will you not intentionally harm Harry, Ron or myself, from being in the need to protect yourself or one of us from danger that emanates from us and to do so with as minimal damage as possible as long as it does not interferes with your previous two vows?'" Hermione announced the new wording of the third vow to them.
Ron had been the one to insist on the 'with as minimal damage as possible' part as he feared that especially the two male Malfoys would misuse the defence mechanism to kill them if they got the chance. Harry and Hermione had pointed out that the second part of the vow would cover such a situation, but still Ron insisted. "Better to be safe than sorry," he'd mumbled.
As the Malfoys voiced no more concerns with the wording of the Unbreakable Vow, Harry knelt down on the floor once more and was this time joined by Lucius. After all three Malfoys had sworn the vow, Harry finally returned Lucius' wand.
Before Harry could voice his other demands, Lucius spoke up, "Now that we have sworn the Unbreakable Vows, thus assuring our allegiance, it's time that you too make a vow, Mr Potter."
"You would like that, wouldn't you?" Ron asked sarcastically, jumping up from his seat, ready to protect his friend by force if necessary. "Maybe Harry should swear to deliver himself to You-know-who or to reveal all of the Order's secrets to you?"
Narcissa gave her husband a look that said 'Why did you not let me speak?' before she calmly spoke to Harry whilst Hermione forced Ron back down into his seat.
"What my husband indented to say was that we, due to the nature of the Black curse, would like to have some assurance that our son will be treated correctly."
It did not go unnoticed by Harry and Hermione that they only asked for Draco's well-being, and not for their own. "What do you have in mind?" Harry asked, curious s to what they would demand.
"First, we would like you to swear that you will do everything in your power to ensure that Draco does not suffer from the Black curse," Narcissa voiced their wish.
"I do not think that will be possible," Harry answered.
"Why not, Potter?" Draco spoke up for the first time. "Do you want me to suffer as repayment for what I was forced to do?"
"No," Harry answered, though internally he would have liked to say 'Yes' as his fist connected with the blond's pointy nose. Hadn't he and his friends suffered under Draco during their time in school; not to forget how the school and Dumbledore had suffered from Draco letting Death Eaters enter the school a month ago? But a quick reminder that his life depended on Draco's cooperation stopped Harry from doing anything drastic. Instead, he decided to explain his reasoning to the blond, "I just cannot guaranty that you won't suffer from the curse. For all I know, you consider marrying me to be suffering." Will I be able to divorce him? Harry briefly wondered, but shoved the thought away for later when he had some time to think about it.
"Then we can try a softer formulation," Narcissa suggested. "Perhaps 'Try everything in your power to minimize the suffering Draco has to endure due to the Black curse?'" she asked.
"Anything else?" Harry asked after he nodded his agreement.
"We also want you to promise that Draco is independent. While the war and our current situation constrict our freedom, once the war is over we do not want Draco to be a prisoner in this house, or to need your permission to do anything, be it his choice of career or what friends he meets," Narcissa stated.
Harry and Hermione were surprised by the demand. What they had read about the marriage bond they would be performing did not give them the impression that Draco would be submitting to Harry.
"This is agreeable with me," Harry said. Though it seems he would need to ask either Ron or Andromeda why the Malfoys would deem it necessary to ask for this in the first place.
"Our final demand for the vow is that Draco has an equal right when it comes to the upbringing of any children that may arise from this union, that one of them will be the Malfoy heir and that both I and Lucius will be able to spend time with them."
"That's three demands," Ron unnecessarily pointed out.
"But reasonable," Hermione said. Especially coming from a mother that would do everything to protect her son.
Harry thought about the wording she'd used. 'Equal rights' was fine with him. If she'd said 'final say,' he certainly would have protested. That they, as purebloods, would also want an heir was understandable too. And since they only wanted the right to see their grandchildren and not to take an active role in raising the children, Harry thought that he could agree to the demands. Finally he said, "As long as you'll use exactly the same wording, I'll take the vow."
Hermione once again functioned as their bonder and she could see that all three Malfoys looked a bit more at ease after the Unbreakable Vow was completed. "Thank you, Mr Potter," Narcissa said; and Lucius slightly inclined his head in agreement to his wife's words.
Ron expected them to next ask for him and Hermione to swear a Vow but nothing like this happened. "If you do not mind, we would like to take a look at Bartolomeo's journal," Narcissa asked.
"I'll show it to you later," Hermione offered.
"Thank you."
"Anything else?" Harry asked.
While Narcissa would have liked to take a quick trip to Gringotts or to at least contact them via owl to get a more suitable wedding present, she had the feeling that asking now would not lead to the desired result. They still had one month, she could wait.
"Not right now."
"Good," Harry said, nodding his head. He did not have much time to think about how he could use the Malfoys' changed allegiance to his advantage, but one very important thing came to mind. And no, it was not asking Malfoy senior what Voldemort's plans were or where Voldemort lived. One does not need to be a Seer to know that he stayed at Malfoy manor and that his plans were: 1) Kill Harry Potter, 2) Take over Britain, 3) Imprison the Muggleborns and 4) Kill or enslave all Muggles. With the Ministry takeover on Friday, and with Snape's appointment as Hogwarts' new Headmaster, Voldemort had already achieved goal number 2). He would soon have the authority to 'legally' enforce goal 3), meaning it would only be a matter of time before he could complete his other aims. That was if Harry did not hinder him from goal 1) and defeated the most powerful Dark Lord that ever lived. And for him to kill Voldemort, Harry would need to destroy the Horcruxes first. And here was where Lucius Malfoy came in.
"Mr Malfoy," Harry addressed the older man, "Do you remember the diary you gave to Gin―Dobby," Harry changed the name at the last moment. Mentioning how Malfoy's action had nearly cost Ron's sister her life certainly would not help the still slightly strained atmosphere in the room, and would do even less to cool his best friend's temper.
"Yes," Lucius confirmed. He could all too well remember how Potter had stolen his house-elf and how years later the Dark Lord had severely punished him for the destroyed diary.
"Do you know if the Dark Lord gave similar items to other Death Eaters?" he asked, saying the name 'Dark Lord' with disdain, though he'd rather say Dark Lord than 'You-know-who'.
All three Gryffindors were waiting on pins and needles for his answer. Can it really be this easy? they wondered. If Voldemort gave all of his Horcruxes to his followers, they would just need to figure out who RAB was and then they would know where all the Horcruxes were, or at least who knew where they were.
"I did not see him give a similar item to any of his followers. When I received the diary, I was alone with him," Lucius said and the teens' faces fell. "However," here their ears perked up again, "when I was asked about the whereabouts of the diary," he intentionally left out the long punishment under the Cruciatus Curse he received for the destroyed item, "he also asked Bella if her charge was safe. She reassured him that while she was sent to Azkaban, they had not touched her Gringotts vault."
The Gryffindors groaned. How are we supposed to break into Gringotts?
"He also briefly mentioned Regulus," Lucius added.
"Regulus? Harry asked. Could he be the mysterious RAB?
"Yes, Regulus Black. He went missing about a year before the Dark Lord's first fall."
"What is his middle name?" Harry asked. So far, the initials were fitting.
"Arcturus," Narcissa supplied.
"R. A. B. We have him, Harry," Hermione cried out joyfully, surprising the Malfoys. Was what Lucius just revealed really so important?
"We have the diary, the ring, the locket, whatever is in Bellatrix's vault," Ron counted with his hands to four. "So only two more to go. Who would have thought that we would make progress so fast?"
"Ron," Hermione said softly, laying a hand on his shoulder. "We may know where another one is and who RAB is, but we still have no idea how to get it out of Gringotts or where the real locket ended up."
"Must you destroy my good mood," Ron mumbled, his smiling faltering.
"While Hermione is right, we still have made progress," Harry emphasised and then turned his attention back to Lucius. "Was there anything else he said?" he asked. "Did he mention an object or a place?"
"Nothing I could understand. But he was saying something to his snake as he dismissed us," the elder blond answered.
If I could only hear it myself, then I could translate what he said, Harry thought.
"So we need a Pensive," Hermione stated, answering Harry's thought.
"Or Harry could learn Legilimency," Ron added lamely. With how well Harry'd mastered Occlumency they all doubted that Harry would be any better at the converse art. But it gave Harry an idea. Maybe he could repeat what he did to Snape during one of their Occlumency lessons.
"Do you know Legilimency?" Harry asked Lucius.
The blond answered in the negative. So we need to get our hands on a pensive…
"I do," Draco said. "I may not be as skilled as the Dark Lord, but it is enough. I could try to teach you. If father moves the memory to the forefront of his mind, you would just need to learn how to enter his mind to see the memory.
"I'll think about it," was all Harry said. He looked at Ron and Hermione, silently asking them if they had more questions for the Malfoys. They did not.
As if sensing that their conversation was over, Kreacher popped in. "Lunch is ready," he announced, bowing in front of sofa where the Malfoys were sitting.
"I hate him," Ron said as he got up, earning himself an elbow in the ribs from Hermione.
"See it positively, Ron," Harry said as they walked out of the door, "At least we do not have to worry about him poisoning our food anymore. Or spitting into it."
-~-~- Toujours pur, toujours du sang de Black -~-~-
Lunch went by uneventfully. The Malfoys quickly prepared a plate of sandwiches for themselves before they left the kitchen in favour of their room, where they discussed their talk with the Golden Trio as the Gryffindors did the same in the bedroom Harry and Ron shared.
Around two Narcissa left her husband and son to search for Hermione. The young woman had promised to show her Bartolomeo's journal. The moment she'd left the room, the door softly clicking shut behind her, both men's Dark marks flared to live. With minute that passed the pain in their arms got worse; the Dark Lord was calling them to his side.
Draco was panting harshly when the pain finally stopped.
"Over...two...hours," Lucius gasped out. "I never thought...that it would...take him...so long."
"It'll be back?" Draco asked, hoping to hear a negative response but already knowing deep down that it would not be the case.
"Yes. Though I hope he'll tire of it soon. At least you'll be safe once the marriage bond is completed," Lucius tried to cheer up his son. Seeing his son's surprised expression he explained, "The union of the new moon bond doesn't allow you to have more than one lord. That's why his Death Eaters are forbidden to enter such marriage bonds."
"So you and Mum will re-marry?" Draco asked.
"We can't use the union of the new moon. One needs to be single for it to work and the bond your mother and I share can only be broken by death," he told Draco.
"Surely there are other bonds that will work for you?" Draco asked. He was relieved that it would be over for him in one month and wished that the same could be said for his father.
"I do not know one. But, as I said, the Dark Lord forbade his followers from even considering them. If we're lucky, the library here has a suitable tome on the topic," Lucius said, laying a comforting hand on his son's shoulder. "You should get some rest. We do not know when he'll call us again."
Now that his father mentioned it, Draco felt the exhaustion take over. He'd been stressed ever since the Black curse activated and while they were finally staying with Potter, he had the feeling that there were still some more trials to overcome before he could lean back and relax.
-~-~- Toujours pur, toujours du sang de Black -~-~-
For those we need a time schedule: Draco left the manor around 9am, his parents followed at 11:20am, the Talk was from 12-12:30pm, Voldemort called them at 2pm.
AN: So, do you think Harry will accept Draco's offer to learn Legilimency? Will they find a marriage bond that works for the elder Malfoys?
Next: What happens inside Malfoy manor. Updated in at the latest on Harry's birthday.