The Eye Of The Gazer
Chapter 18
The next day, Lucius looked across at his daughter, and wondered how to raise the question of her Parselmouth abilities. Bryony was spending the day with him, one of her last free weekdays before she was due to resume her lessons. It was raining a soft, fine drizzle outside, and the sky was grey enough to need the lamps lit inside the Manor. Bryony had brought her new kitten with her to show Daddy: it was a bundle of mostly white fur, with a black patch over one side of its face. The animal had firstly darted about playfully, and then succeeded in embedding its claws, which it had not yet learnt to control, in the material of Bryony's skirt. Lucius was not in general fond of kittens, but bore the antics of this one because it amused his child, and he thanked Merlin that Bryony was wearing traditional robes with a full skirt, else those sharp little claws might have ended up digging into her thigh instead of becoming entangled in her clothing. He examined the situation, and used his wand to free the beast. He was relieved to see that the kitten was tiring, and soon it lay down by the fire, and fell instantly asleep as young creatures do.
"So, have you chosen a name for the kitten?" he asked his daughter, as she came to sit on his knee. He put his arm about her.
"Yes. She called Nudge."
"It suits her. Why did you choose that name?" asked Lucius, stroking Bryony's hair.
"Gabrielle said Nudge French for snow, and she's a white cat."
"Oh, you mean Neige."
"That's what I said, Daddy! Nudge!"
"Yes, of course you did, I'm sorry. Anyway, she's sleeping now, you must have tired her out." He leant back in his chair, Bryony's dark head against his chest. "So, you chose the best animal in the shop!" he said, hoping this would provoke a response.
Bryony looked up at him. "Daddy, I saw a snake there too! Just like your cane! It wanted me to buy it, but I said I getting a kitten."
So there was no doubt at all that Bryony had been talking to a snake, and what was far more important, that she had understood the replies. Lucius kept his voice level as he asked her, "What did it say to you?"
"It hide when rough boys come into the shop. It doesn't like them."
"How does it hide from them?"
"At the bottom of the basket. It's right at the back. It's dark at the back."
"At the back of the shop?"
"Yes, Daddy. You can go and see. I telled it about your cane."
"Did you ask the snake's name?"
Bryony looked up. "No," she said. Then she frowned. "It called Naja," she said, uncertainly.
"How do you know if you did not ask, my little witch?"
"Daddy, I just know. It called Naja," Bryony insisted.
Lucius did not know what to make of this information. His daughter's being a Parselmouth was remarkable in itself, but her apparent knowledge of something the snake had not told her was seemingly impossible. Lucius believed in magic of course, but all magic had an explanation: there were rules and rituals. That was why people sent their children to establishments like Hogwarts: to learn how to use magic. If it were solely a matter of chance whether one could do it or not, such schooling would be unnecessary. Lucius had never heard of mind-reading that was not in reality a trick of some kind, if one excluded legilimency, for Bryony was far too young to be a Legilimens. He understood that Muggle so-called "magicians" took money from their gullible audiences for displaying such apparent ability. Lucius reluctantly congratulated them on their ingenuity: their credulous public deserved to be exploited.
But what was happening here? Bryony was a mere child, and too innocent to have invented this tale. Gabrielle had been right to be concerned: something strange was occurring with his daughter, and Lucius was determined to discover its cause.
Lucius needed to visit Borgin and Burkes. It was some considerable time since he had called there. Nowadays, living as a semi recluse, and with his Death Eater past set firmly behind him, he rarely had the need for dark magic items, or any further interest in them. But he now had a sudden urge to divest himself of the last Dark Arts objects remaining in his possession, and had set the house elves to spring clean the secret chamber under the dining room floor. Malfoy Manor had been raided while Lucius was in Azkaban, but the chamber had been too well hidden both physically and magically, and had escaped the searchers. Lucius had also carefully left a large number of suspect items hidden where they could be more easily found, in readiness for such an eventuality. Having discovered this other hiding place after a long search, the aurors were satisfied that they had found all Lucius' illegal hoard. He had kept these last few remaining objects mainly for sentimental reasons – if one could call reminders of nights of torture and murder "sentimental" – but he had finally decided that in order to be a good father, he should no longer have such items in the house. When Bryony was older, she might discover the existence of the chamber. He did not wish to retain any item which he could not explain to his daughter, or that would embarrass him in front of Cho.
Surprisingly, even after the demise of the Dark Lord, there was still a ready market for such Dark Arts items. Borgin's business had seemingly not suffered at all from Voldemort's defeat. It remained, as before, behind its dark façade on Knockturn Alley, outwardly gloomy and forbidding, but with the temptation always associated with the illicit. Nowadays, it was fashionable among rich young wizards to buy items from Borgin, and to display them openly as a kind of retro chic, with a total disregard for their Dark Arts associations. Their parents and grandparents were often shocked by this attitude, but their protests were dismissed as old-fashioned. Lucius, in contrast, found this new situation rather amusing, and also greatly to his advantage, for he would be able to command a good price for such rare and valuable objects. His sudden desire to do the right thing was in no small part due to the current boom in the Dark Arts market.
Lucius was busy in the secret chamber sorting out what to take to Borgin when Draco came down the ladder. The secret trapdoor was open at the moment, and Draco had known about the chamber since he was a child. Gabrielle was safely absent, visiting an old acquaintance from her stay at Hogwarts. Draco asked his father what he was doing, surprised to see how clean the room was, for he remembered it as a dusty place, with cobwebs catching in his hair, spiders watching through their multiple eyes from gloomy corners, and mice scurrying over the floor away from the light.
"I'm deciding which items to sell to Borgin," said Lucius, wrapping a blackened shrunken head carefully in muslin. "It is time I disposed of my souvenirs. Times are changing. You are about to be married to Gabrielle, and you have a small sister who will grow up to be at least as curious as you were."
Draco did not argue, he could see Lucius' reasoning, but he did ask if he could look around and see if there was anything he wished to keep for himself.
Lucius looked hard at his son. "Draco, I will not refuse you, but think very carefully before you choose anything that could incriminate the family further. I have served my time in Azkaban for only a fraction of the deaths for which I am responsible. I am not sorry for any of them, they were Muggles, Mudbloods and blood traitors all; but I have no desire to see the inside of a prison cell again. I am older now, and I hope wiser, at least wise enough not to wish to go back to the way we were. The Dark Lord is gone forever. His reign was doomed, he became more enamoured of his own glory than the end we all sought: it was not enough for him that we should turn all wizards into believers in blood purity, he wished us to worship him. He also betrayed us, for he was himself a half-blood. He did not tell us that his father was a Muggle.
"But enough of Voldemort. You are about to marry into a respectable French wizarding family. You surely do not wish to jeopardise that? Your fiancée is part Veela, she has powers you cannot fathom. It would be very unwise to allow her to see any of these objects, or even to sense they exist. Unless you can find something to keep that has no obvious link to any Death Eater activity, I recommend you allow me to dispose of everything."
Draco nodded his agreement, and looked around the chamber; but everything he saw was some memento Lucius had saved after the death of one of his victims. Regretfully, he decided his father was right, and everything should go to Borgin.
"Can I come with you then, Father?" he asked, "Perhaps I can buy something in the shop instead. I haven't been to Borgin and Burkes since I came home. I'd like to have a look round the old place."
Lucius agreed, and a plan was made to go to Knockturn Alley in two days' time, allowing him time to sort and pack everything beforehand. Meanwhile, Draco was to keep Gabrielle out of the way while Lucius was busy in the secret chamber, although he would also keep the secret entrance closed and warded for extra security.
"What do you plan to tell Gabrielle when we go to see Borgin?" asked Lucius, "Or does she have other plans for that day too?"
"She has an appointment to see Cho at the shop again," replied Draco. "It took so long to choose the fabric for her wedding dress that they didn't have time to choose a style, apparently. I think we can safely assume she will be busy for quite a while. She's taking Bryony with her too, to choose something for her to wear."
Lucius nodded. "I remember now, Cho told me the same thing. As Gabrielle is returning to France shortly, they want to arrange everything before she leaves, so that when she next returns, she will have a mock-up to try on. But Bryony is growing too fast to measure her yet for a dress, Cho merely wishes to decide on the fabric.
"We should arrange to meet them afterwards. We do not need to tell the witches that we were in Knockturn Alley. We can have lunch at the Italian restaurant near Gringotts. It will be good for Bryony to eat out in company, it will give her chance to show off her table manners in public. And it will be a reminder of Venice for you: the owner is Venetian, and loves to talk of the lagoon."
Narcissa Malfoy was dreaming a little. From her position on the wall, she could see out of the window, and admire the bright colours of the foliage smudged into pastels by the slight mist. She was picturing her son's wedding, her beautiful daughter-in-law looking ethereal in a white and silver gown, every man's eyes drawn irresistibly to gaze at her; her son a stark contrast in well tailored black robes with a subtle silver trim, his eyes only for his radiant bride.
Then she heard the bedroom door open, and became suddenly alert. She turned her head, expecting to see Draco or Lucius, and instead saw Jane Currer. Jane came and stood before Narcissa, greeting her respectfully: "Good afternoon, Mrs Malfoy."
"Good afternoon, Miss Currer. This is an unexpected pleasure. I don't believe we have met above a handful of times, and then always in the presence of your charge. To what do I owe this honour?" She saw Jane hesitate, and then the governess spoke:
"I would like to ask your advice, if you can spare me the time."
"Time is something of which I have an infinite amount," remarked Narcissa. "Advice? You have piqued my curiosity. Pray, take a seat, and ask away."
Jane sat on the ottoman at the foot of the bed, and Narcissa waited for her to choose her words.
"Mrs Malfoy, I find myself in a difficult situation. When I started working for Miss Chang, Lucius took a lot of interest in Bryony's education. He came to Gildenford Hall often to speak to me about what she was learning – and to see Bryony too of course. I was flattered that Lucius paid me so much attention, for he not only talked about Bryony, he asked about me too, and seemed genuinely interested in my answers."
Narcissa listened to Jane Currer, and noted her use of Lucius' given name, whereas she called Cho "Miss Chang"; and also noted the way Jane flushed a little every time she said "Lucius". Narcissa had an inkling of where this was leading, and felt slightly amazed that Lucius had decided to pay any attention at all to this rather plain and very severely dressed witch. No doubt she was unused to such attention from any wizard at all. The girl was suffering from an infatuation, that was all.
She was therefore completely unprepared when Jane continued, her face magenta with embarrassment, "… then he asked me if I was a virgin, and I said I was. He then asked me if I was saving myself for my husband. I thought he was being cruel. I know I am not pretty, and am unlikely ever to marry. But no, he said he was asking because, if I had no moral objection, he would like to be my first."
Narcissa's years of perfecting a face that showed little of what she was really thinking now stood her in good stead. In reality, she was astonished; but to Jane she presented a face merely registering interest in the speaker's words. She paused a little, and then said in reply, "And so you went to him. Who could resist such an invitation? I know I did not. Your first experience of the act of love was with Lucius, who has had years to perfect his technique, and knows better than any man how to please a woman. So now of course, you are in love with him. For what witch would not fall in love with a man after that experience?"
"Yes, I am in love with Lucius," replied Jane simply.
"My dear child, you are not the first, and you will not be the last. Women fall at Lucius' feet. He has that effect on us all. However, he remains unaffected. He accepts the adulation as his due."
"That is what I am afraid of," whispered Jane. "I do not know what he truly feels for me. But Mrs Malfoy, you forget, he is changed since your time as his wife. The fire affected him greatly. He told me he had not made love to a woman for three years when he made his offer to me. He would not allow any to look at him, he feared rejection so."
Narcissa nodded slowly. She had forgotten that fact. When Lucius called to see her, it shocked her anew each time when she saw his face, although she was careful not to let Lucius see this. It was as if her memories of him had frozen on the day of her death. "So you think perhaps he feels something for you?" she said. "Gratitude perhaps?" she added, deliberately cruelly.
"I do not know what he feels for me. Mrs Malfoy, I know you think I am young and foolish, but please allow me to continue; or if you prefer, I shall leave you in peace." Jane rose as if to leave.
Narcissa felt a new respect for the girl: she had spirit. She began to see a little why Lucius might have noticed this plain governess, if she stood up to him in the same manner. "Please sit down, Miss Currer. I will try not to interrupt again." Jane took her seat on the ottoman once more.
"Mrs Malfoy, before I allowed Lucius to make love to me, I asked him about Miss Chang. I did not wish to accept his offer if he and Miss Chang were a couple, in spite of living in separate houses. He told me they had parted: he drove Miss Chang away because he would not allow her to see his injuries, and also because he became addicted to whisky and laudanum, and Miss Chang did not wish Bryony to see her father in such a state.
"So I went to him. I will never regret it, whatever happens.
"But then something happened to change everything again: Bryony accidentally ate some laburnum peas. I assume you know the details?" Narcissa nodded to show that she had been kept informed. "That accident brought Lucius and Miss Chang together again. It was more than concern for Bryony, I could see they still cared for each other while they waited in the hospital. But that was not all – I heard them in the night…"
Jane's wide grey eyes pleaded with the portrait to understand, so that she need not describe the sounds in the night. Narcissa, however, wished there to be no room for doubt. "You heard them making love?" she said matter-of-factly. Jane nodded, crimson once more.
"So what do you want to ask me?"
"What to do now. I went to China for a week when I received an unexpected invitation. I thought it would give me time to think, separated from people and events here, and that being busy elsewhere would take my mind off Lucius. But instead, I found I dreamt about him, and I even imagined that he called out my name once during the day. So far, since I returned I have not seen Lucius. But I do not know if I can bear to see him together with Miss Chang when I feel this way about him."
"Then leave," said Narcissa airily. "There are always jobs available for a good governess. You would get an excellent reference, would you not?"
"But I love Bryony! And I love Gildenford Hall, and the Changs are very good employers."
"Then stay, and learn to let him go, like so many women have done before you. Or stay, and be his mistress, like Miss Chang was while I yet lived. If you think Lucius will still want you now she is warming his bed once more.
"Miss Currer, what do you expect me to say? The choices are obvious. Only you can decide which one will suit you best. Why did you really come to see me?"
"Mrs Malfoy, I came because I wanted to ask you: how did you bear it? Lucius had so many mistresses while you were his wife. How could you share him?"
"Miss Currer, it was the price I paid for loving Lucius. He would never have stayed with a woman who clung to him, who pleaded and sighed because he wished to seek his pleasures elsewhere. You are extremely fortunate that at present there is only Miss Chang. If you love Lucius, you must allow him to do as he will. Or walk away. In time, if he has not done so already, he will no doubt tire of you. But you will always have the consolation that for a short while, he shared himself with you. Many women would envy you even that."