All rights to the world of Harry Potter belong to J.K. Rowling and a number of very large corporations, none of which is me, and I do not intend to make any money whatsoever from this endeavour.

Particular thanks must be given to my lovely Betas Tithenai and Phoenix Writing, who have helped make this a much better story in both style and content. Any mistakes which remain are, indubitably, my own. Thanks also to Múirn for taking several years of Latin and being willing to share her knowledge and to Kirinin for her helpful reviews and gentle prodding – I've never been happy with this chapter and decided, eventually, that it was necessary to post and move on, intending to return when the story was complete. Kirinin convinced me that the revisions would be needed earlier than that.

Additional notes are available before the prologue.

Warnings for this chapter: excessive amounts of detail

Originally posted 28 Dec. '05; edited version posted 13 Dec. '07

Madness of Ancestry

or, Dumbledore channels Egeon+

The tension was practically a visible entity, stalking silently around the room. The headmaster dispensed tea and asked about Harry's day with eyes that were serious and twinkle-free, while Snape scowled at the fire with a ferocity that was extraordinary, even for him. In preparation for what was to come, Harry began Occluding his mind as tightly as he could. It was not so much the protection of his thoughts that concerned him as the distancing of his emotions. When both Snape and Dumbledore were in danger of losing their composure, there was little chance that Harry would be able to remain calm and focussed; beginning with the emotional detachment and dispassion of an Occluded mind would be his only chance.

After the incident in the Ministry in fifth year, Harry had spent a great deal of time dwelling on the many ways in which Sirius's death had been his fault. In retrospect, Harry was glad that he had been at the Dursleys in the aftermath. As a result of the warnings given by the Order, both times his temper got the better of him – with significantly less breakage than in Dumbledore's office, thankfully – he'd been given a comparatively short lecture and restricted to his room, with meals. Not much of a punishment, really, since that was all he'd been doing anyway, and his withdrawal was not only tolerated but encouraged by his relatives. He wasn't sure he'd have had any friends left if they had witnessed firsthand his weeks of working through grief and guilt. By the time he'd returned to Grimmauld Place, though, he'd realized that if the events at the Ministry had been his fault, he needed to find a way to prevent them from happening again. He'd approached Dumbledore on the subject and was unsurprised – disappointed, but unsurprised – to learn that the headmaster continued to be unable to teach him, and the only other qualified instructor was Severus Snape. Harry, resigned, had agreed to try again; unfortunately, Snape had not. Dumbledore had chided, and Harry had apologized for both the incident with the Pensieve and his attitude, but the Potions master had remained unmoved. It was not until Snape had delivered the Wolfsbane Potion to Remus, and they had been cloistered in the library at Grimmauld Place for over an hour that he had decided to relent. Harry had no idea what had been said, but since then, Snape's attitude had shown a marked improvement, at least with respect to Harry. They had even managed to build a relationship, careful and deliberate, within which they could work, and Harry had finally managed the basics of Occlumency.

Once Harry had assured Dumbledore that the weather in Hogsmeade had been exceptionally pleasant for so late in November, that the escort of Aurors had not been detrimental to his enjoyment of the day – at which Snape had snorted – and that he had indeed managed to complete his Christmas shopping, the headmaster fixed Harry with a piercing gaze which seemed to indicate the end of the pleasantries. The significance behind his next words, however, escaped Harry.

"I believe you were in the Three Broomsticks at lunch today when Narcissa Malfoy asked her son to join her in one of the private rooms on the upper level?"

He hadn't seen Malfoy since, he remembered, and wondered what had happened. "Yes, sir," he replied cautiously, "but I didn't hear what she said." If that was why he'd been summoned, it would be a very short meeting.

Dumbledore nodded absently and made it clear to Harry that that wasn't the reason. "She told her son she had a message for him from his father. What she in fact gave him was a Portkey which took him to Malfoy Manor where Lucius Malfoy and Voldemort were waiting for him."

Harry was unable to contain the sharp intake of breath he made in response to that information, and Snape was clearly not in the mood to let his interjection go unnoticed.

"Is there a problem, Mr. Potter?"

"No – I just thought... He's been different this year, quieter... I thought he was smarter than that, that's all." At Snape's silent dare to explain what, exactly, that meant, he added, "I hoped he wouldn't do it – take the Mark, I mean." Snape, surprisingly, didn't seem to take offence to that, and when he made no response but to raise an eyebrow in Harry's direction, Professor Dumbledore continued his recounting of the events of the day.

"Voldemort does not intend to make Draco a Death Eater. It appears that he and Lucius Malfoy intend to use young Draco for a far more nefarious purpose. Are you familiar with the Fidelitās Dominō bond?"

"No, sir." Moreover, he wasn't able to translate 'Dominō,' but the combination of 'faithful' and 'bond' was certainly not reassuring.

"Have you no knowledge of wizarding culture, Mr. Potter?" Snape sneered.

Harry wondered, since nearly all his time in the magical world had been spent here at Hogwarts, who exactly Snape thought would teach him the intricacies of "wizarding culture" – Uncle Vernon? He opened his mouth to ask, but Dumbledore gave him a look which very clearly told him to be polite, and Harry decided to adopt the policy of "if you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all." When Snape grew impatient with the lack of response and made to take Harry to task for it, he earned his own chiding look.

"Harry was not raised in a wizarding household, Severus; a lack of familiarity with a ritual practised a handful of times in the last three centuries is not unexpected," the headmaster reprimanded gently before beginning his explanation. "The bond began as a simple oath taken by rulers in Anglo-Saxon times. In the ninth century, however, Eustacia Sigismund crafted spells which would magically bind the oath between the bloodlines of two wizards."

Harry straightened. He'd heard of Eustacia Sigismund – she was one of the possible topics for Flitwick's end-of-term essay. The first few moments of Dumbledore's explanation were largely a repetition of what Harry had read on the list: after her father had been murdered at the hand of a traitor, she had been raised by her mother's family, a line of wizards believed to be descended from Merlin himself, and she'd become one of the most powerful witches of her day, as well as a renowned diplomat and spellcraftress. "As an adult," Dumbledore continued, "part of her acclaim as a diplomat resulted from the spells she created, many of which enabled her to guarantee the negotiators were participating in good faith. Foremost of her achievements, at the time, was a ritual she called Fidelitās Dominō."

That's not terribly reassuring. Having heard of or witnessed firsthand many of Voldemort's methods of punishing traitors, Harry was positive that, regardless of how pure her motives had been, if the ritual was being used by Voldemort, it couldn't be good.

"Ritualistic magic, by its very nature, is extraordinarily elaborate, immensely complicated, and highly advanced magic: Fidelitās Dominō is uncommonly so. Originally, the transfer of the defeated leader's fealty to a conquering king or prince was largely symbolic. Weaving magic into the pledge not only guaranteed the sincerity of the participants, it also assured the transition of the loyalty of the subjects from those who had been governing to the new leaders. Over time, it evolved, as most things do. Society changed, and formalized interactions between leaders, centralization of state, and larger armies lessened the need for such a spell. Its primary function became to settle private disputes and to solidify personal alliances between two families or individual citizens rather than warring factions. Occasionally, though only in the most conservative families, it would be used to cement betrothals, but most frequently it was used in business ventures. When the International Confederation of Wizards drafted the Statute of Wizarding Secrecy in 1692, they decided not to ban the ritual entirely but subjected it to many restrictions regulating its use, and it quickly went out of favour."

It was worse than Harry'd expected, then. Voldemort certainly wasn't going to supplicate himself to anyone, so one or both of the Malfoys – and Harry was betting on Draco – must have been bound to him. Malfoy hasn't done something as common as take the Mark, no, he's bound himself to the monster instead! Harry thought bitterly. "What does this mean for me?" Besides a great "I told you so" from Ron and several other members of the DA.

From his position by the fireplace, Snape scoffed, clearly assuming that selfishness had prompted the question.

"It isn't an unreasonable question," Harry defended himself. "I was called in here for a reason, wasn't I? What am I supposed to think?"

Before Snape could reprimand him for insolence, Dumbledore intervened. "You are correct, Harry, but the answer is not simple. There are several possibilities, depending on how the bonding manifests." He leaned forward in his chair, eyes still serious. "The ritual involves several separate spell castings over the course of – at a minimum – a lunar month. What has been completed is merely the first part, the Prīncipium. In this stage, the line being bound chooses a representative, called a vectigal – in this case, Draco Malfoy – and opens him magically, preparing him to accept the bond. Think of the bond as a magical bridge joining two wizards. A hole has been dug for one of the support beams, and it is now being built, while a suitable location for the opposite support beam is found."

Harry nodded to show his understanding, while thinking that if that were the usual method of building in the wizarding world – the project begun before it had been fully conceptualized or planned – it would explain a great deal about the examples of wizarding architecture he'd seen.

"The bond itself is not sentient, but it does have qualities which make it seem nearly so, and the first of these is the testing of the vectigal. If his desire to act as the representative of the family line or his willingness to be bound is in doubt, the vectigal will experience profound discomfort. There is not much in the way of literature detailing the specifics – the majority of those affected did not survive the experience with their faculties fully intact – but the pain is believed to manifest itself physically, emotionally, and magically. I believe, Severus, that Draco Malfoy is already beginning to feel the effects?"

Snape nodded once, stiffly, and addressed the fireplace when he clarified, "It has been only a few hours, and already his spellwork is showing signs of inconsistency, and he appears to be experiencing soreness in his neck and shoulders."

"If he's so bloody regretful, he shouldn't have agreed to be bound in the first place," Harry scoffed.

Snape turned to face Harry. "You would be better served, Mr. Potter," he coldly bit out, "by asking questions rather than making assumptions; you are not gifted with Miss Granger's perspicacity or omniscience."

"Severus," murmured the headmaster, prompting Snape to take a slow, deep breath before he continued, "Draco is underage, and, as such, the bond would not have recognized him as an acceptable blood representative if he had offered himself. His father performed the Prīncipium, presenting Draco as the vectigal."

"And he can't just say no?" questioned Harry, incredulously.

Snape pushed himself away from the mantelpiece and said, very quietly, "Not without killing himself in the process," before crossing the room to stare out the window with the same unseeing intensity he had directed at the fire.

Harry looked back at the headmaster and saw that he was looking at the head of Slytherin with an expression of such painful regret that Harry felt ashamed and horrified of the tiny part of him that had responded, So? Something of his own thoughts must have shown on his face: when Dumbledore turned back towards him, his expression changed to one of understanding and support, mixed with a hint of disappointment. Harry shifted his gaze down to the table and reached blindly for one of the sandwiches, and the older man took that as a sign to continue his explanation.

"At this point, the bond is evaluating young Mr. Malfoy's magical, physical, and emotional strength, and he faces one of three possibilities. If he is found sufficiently willing to represent his family but incapable of sustaining a connection with a bonded, the beginnings of the bond will dissipate without any direct repercussions. If he is capable of sustaining the bond but insincere in his willingness to do so, madness will set in. In the third and likeliest scenario, he will be found sincere and suitable, ready to continue to the next stage of the bonding cycle. If that is the case, and the bond has taken hold within him, the vectigal must declare his intention to be bound and select a dominus, a specific member of the line accepting the bond to whom he is pledging himself. The other support beam of the bridge, if you will.

"As in most serious ritual magic, the vectigal must choose a second, in this case another of the blood line being bound, who symbolizes the support of the rest of the line. This prevents rogues from acting against the interests of the family. With a minimum of two involved, the risk of reckless decisions made under the influence of drink or madness is greatly decreased. It is not a foolproof system – Sirius, for example, would have been unable to pledge to the Order by the same proviso, even when he was head of the family. " Snape's breathing changed, just slightly, and Harry knew he was suppressing a remark about shortage of sanity in the Black family tree.

"Additional members of the vectigal's family are given the opportunity to swear their own oaths of fidelity to the dominus, though in most cases only the person acting as the second is required to do so." Professor Dumbledore once again looked over at Professor Snape, and without saying a word, the two of them appeared to have a discussion and come to what seemed to be a mutually acceptable conclusion, though Snape seemed less than pleased. "Once the Pledging is complete, the third casting binds the two wizards together. The participants are expected to use the time before the fourth casting to adjust to the bond and begin building the bridge, the foundations of the relationship which they will share in the future. For the vectigal to feel comfortable within the bond, he must be able to please or, at the very least, not displease his master."

Harry realized with a start that, although Dumbledore had not used the word "master" before this, what they were talking about was indeed a very intimate form of slavery. Thinking about spending the rest of his life tied to a heartless, vile monster like Voldemort was enough for Harry to begin to feel sympathy for Malfoy and to be very disturbed that Lucius would do such a thing to his own child.

"Guidelines and boundaries are set and patterns of behaviour established. If the vectigal is bonded to an infant, for example, he would likely be trained as a protector; if they were of an age, depending on the level of trust and relative power between them, he could be trained to act as an advisor, a steward, or even as a companion."

"Or a whipping boy or a whore..." Snape continued, so quietly that Harry wasn't sure he'd heard him correctly. Dumbledore certainly didn't acknowledge the remark.

"How well the vectigal acclimatizes in this stage will significantly influence both the physical and mental manifestation of the bond."

"Physical? It's visible?" While the effects of magic could often be readily seen, the magic itself rarely was and never as more than flashes of colour.

"No, but the bonding process, specifically the third casting, the Joining, can be very painful. This is particularly true if the participants are unsuitable or if the vectigal is uncomfortable with the nature of the bond, as is the case here. The separation of young Draco and his expected bond mate will not only prevent him from determining what will be expected of him but will also leave him at the mercy of his imagination, which has an understanding of what will terrify him the most and will torment him most effectively – without Voldemort having to take the time to do so himself."

Having experience with both the horrors devised by Voldemort and those crafted by his own dreams, Harry nodded his agreement.

The headmaster paused, staring blankly at the painting on the wall in front of him for a moment before shaking his head. "The spell, as Voldemort intends to use it, will require that Draco spend three of the four phases as a participant but barely involved in the proceedings. With the Prīncipium performed forcibly, a prolonged state of alienation, a painful bonding, no real adjustment period – I'm not certain Draco would ever become fully comfortable within the constraints of that sort of bond. I imagine he would be in a great deal of physical discomfort as well."

"– And I'm certain that the Dark Lord has plans for him which would guarantee both physical and mental discomfort, even if your theories were simply idle speculation," Snape snapped from his position by the window. "He has always been aware of the power to be had in sexual conquest, and few things have ever deterred him in pursuit of a bedmate, certainly not age or gender."

"So Malfoy will be forced to..." Harry wasn't sure he could bring himself to say it, not in front of Snape and Dumbledore. Snape smirked at his discomfort, but the headmaster was willing to put him out of his misery.

"Indeed. Furthermore, discord is draining to the bonded, Harry. If the bond perceives that the dominus is displeased with the behaviour of the vectigal, it will drain power from him and feed it to his master, restoring what it sees as the proper balance, forcing the vectigal to submit."

"He may learn to do so," Snape interjected. "Draco is endowed with a healthy sense of self-preservation – but he was raised as a prince and given the difficult bonding..." The Potion master's control wavered for a moment, and he glared at Harry as though he were responsible. When Snape continued, his voice was once again empty of all emotion. "It is far more likely that within the year he'll be dead."

Unable to hold the stare, Harry dropped his eyes to his plate and the poor, mangled sandwich that rested on it. "Why am I here?" he repeated quietly. He didn't look up again until well after Dumbledore resumed speaking.

"A representative of the line accepting the bond must be present to choose a symbol of their line, to serve as a physical representation of the line in each of the following stages of the ritual. In part, this is to establish who is eligible to act as dominus. Another example of the near sentiency of the bond is its ability to evaluate who has the right to bear the symbol, to what extent, and for what duration. The physical symbol is also, in no small part, a statement of unity, of trust. Once a vectigal is open to the magic, there is no assured person to whom he must be bound, it is simply a guarantee that he is willing and suitable to do so. Any legitimate bearer of the symbol is an eligible candidate."

Harry was frustrated by the headmaster's refusal to simply answer the question and confused as to what, exactly, all of this had to do with him, but he was resigned to the headmaster's penchant for dramatic revelations and his determination to delay the unveiling of them. "So, choosing a prefect badge, say," he interjected, hoping he understood this, "that would be a bad symbol, since it's transitory and even those who have the right to it have other, almost certainly stronger loyalties to something else."

"Exactly, Harry! If an unexpected prefect were chosen, even one from the same house, there would be no guarantee that the services of the vectigal would be used in the manner that the selector had intended, and after graduation, they would almost certainly not be. A family crest would serve better, and is, in fact, the usual symbol chosen, since family members are already expected to be loyal to the head of the family. That being said, the only essential characteristic of the unifier is that it must encompass more than one legitimate candidate. Since Voldemort is the last of the Riddle line, it was assumed that a Death Eater would be asked to stand for Voldemort in the Prīncipium, selecting the Dark Mark as the unifying symbol in place of the heraldic crest. If he had done so, Draco was willing to bind himself to Professor Snape; instead, Draco was taken to Malfoy Manor and Voldemort himself accepted the Prīncipium, and he chose a very unusual unifier, a talent rather than a physical symbol."

Harry was suddenly very certain he knew the reason why he'd been asked to this meeting. "He spoke in Parseltongue."

"Yes."

"And you want me to take Voldemort's place in the ritual – you want to bind Draco to me," he added flatly.

"We certainly aren't going to force you to do anything, Harry. We are asking you to consider the possibility. The choice is yours."

From the way Snape was glaring at the headmaster, Harry assumed that the two men were not in agreement on that point, and for a brief moment, when Snape turned his gaze to him, Harry thought he saw a painful combination of hope and fear before Snape's expression was shuttered entirely.

Harry felt a moment of sympathy for the Potions master. Pledging himself to Voldemort, discovering he had made the wrong choice, balancing between two leaders at war – the man's life had certainly not been easy, even for a cunning Slytherin. It must be very difficult to see his protege following the same path, but there's no need to be delusional.

"There's no way Draco Malfoy will agree to pledge himself to me," Harry said emphatically. "He may be regretting being bound to Voldemort, but he's not going to abandon the Great Cause."

"It was his idea."

Harry was so caught up in his ranting that he almost missed Snape's quiet response. "What?"

"He came to me as soon as he returned from Hogsmeade this afternoon, explained what had happened, and asked if I could arrange to speak to you."

Harry stared in disbelief. "I thought your spy status was super-secret; are you trying to tell me that Malfoy's trustworthy?"

"Draco is aware that I must ... appear repentant of my past actions to maintain my position as a spy inside Hogwarts. Increasingly during our discussions the past couple of years he has been testing my relative loyalties to the Dark Lord, to the headmaster, to Draco himself. It became evident that he was looking for an audience sympathetic to his doubts."

Once, Harry would have questioned how Snape could be certain of that, but after two and a half years of Occlumency lessons – at least a year of them actually useful – Harry had developed a deep respect for his teacher's abilities as a Legilimens. He was well aware of how subtle Snape could be when he intended.

"The bonding ritual was first proposed years ago, and Voldemort was looking for candidates when he was defeated at Godric's Hollow. When he returned after the Triwizard Tournament, Lucius was quick to put forth the scheme once again and to offer Draco to him. The Dark Lord was pleased, but ... for a number of reasons, the ceremony was postponed. Once Lucius was freed from Azkaban, his ambition and Draco's potential were too great for the Dark Lord to resist. In the interim, however, Draco has observed a great deal to disillusion the fantasies spun by his father. When he received the recent messages from Narcissa confirming his involvement in the ritual –"

He knew? "Wait – if he knew what they were planning and he didn't want to be bound, why did he go to Hogsmeade?"

"That was my doing, I'm afraid, Harry." The headmaster met his gaze sorrowfully. "I expected the Malfoys to use this opportunity to officially inform Draco of specifics of the rite; his theories thus far have been based on rumour and veiled messages. Lucius has always been loyal to his lineage above all, and the torture that this form of the bond would cause is far more than most people would inflict on their greatest enemies. I believed he would convince Voldemort that other avenues would be more advantageous rather than permit his heir to be abused in such a manner."

Harry caught himself before he snorted aloud at the headmaster's continued naïveté concerning the sacrosanctity of blood relatives, but he had to look away before Dumbledore was further hurt by the bitterness in his expression. His gaze inadvertently met Snape's, and in that instant, they shared a moment of perfect understanding and agreement. Suddenly Snape's eyes narrowed, and recognizing the expression, Harry swiftly and discreetly reinforced his Occlumency shields. Whatever Snape wanted to see, Harry was certain he didn't want his teacher to find it.

While their working relationship had improved, Snape had never abandoned his preconceived ideas about Harry's background, which meant that he rarely looked for memories from Harry's time with the Dursleys. If Snape's expression was anything to go by, however, Harry's period of grace was coming to a swift end. Since this was not a conversation he wanted to have in front of the headmaster, particularly not now, Harry attempted to divert his attention.

"Why on earth would Voldemort activate the bond and then send Draco to the place with the closest known Parselmouth?"

The Potions master arched an eloquent eyebrow but accepted the delaying tactic, while Dumbledore answered serenely, "Tom has always underestimated your propensity for compassion, Harry."

Harry shifted his attention back to the older man, who was blithely refilling his teacup. You may have overestimated it, he thought, but said, instead, as calmly as he could manage, "So it's me, then, or Voldemort – there's no one else who speaks Parseltongue?"

Dumbledore was tasting the result of his efforts with deliberate slowness, and Snape, thankfully, did not have the patience to wait for him to finish. "There are few enough who speak it and fewer still who are guaranteed to have sufficient power to perform the bonding. There is no one else Draco is willing to trust with the power that would be generated." He gave a dry laugh at Harry's blank look. "You did realize that there had to be more to this bond that the binding of a servant?"

Well, there's obviously the additional oaths of fidelity, he thought defensively.

"As powerful as Lucius Malfoy likes to think he is," Snape continued, "if the Dark Lord was doing this simply to constrain servants, I rather suspect that he would choose a family more prolific than the Blacks or the Malfoys. I'm certain you can think of at least one example."

The headmaster seemed to recognize that there was only so long that Harry and Snape could speak calmly without a referee on a topic as contentious as this one because he resumed the explanation: "The more numerous the members of the line being bound, the greater the benefit to the conquerors, obviously, but the primary goal was to engender trust between the parties involved. Given that the bond was originally created to solidify alliances, Eustacia realized that few people would be willing to bind themselves if the sole outcome was a restriction, however honourably intended, of their actions. To that end, additional provisions were included which would allow the dominus to draw magical energy through the vectigal."

"How does that help the vectigal?" Harry asked incredulously.

"In the case of an honest alliance, this would benefit all parties, since the power would be used for the protection and welfare of both. The amount of power rendered is determined by conditions surrounding the bond, offering an incentive that the bonded be well treated – yet another reason why it was so surprising that Lucius and Voldemort chose this method for Draco. Any power generated would be comparatively negligible and extremely painful for both of them... "

"Unless he invoked a death sacrifice." Snape's voice had once again lost all emotion.

"Lucius could lose Narcissa, and Voldemort, Bellatrix. She's one of his most ardent supporters; it would be foolhardy to –"

"The Dark Lord has been acting rationally, then, in your opinion?" Snape was obviously at the end of his rope if he was snapping at the headmaster, especially with a student in the room.

"How would Narcissa and Bellatrix be at risk?" Harry asked quickly. The conversation was surreal enough without watching Snape and Dumbledore behave like Ron and Hermione.

While Snape pinched the bridge of his nose, the headmaster explained that the blood binding of the second of the vectigal's line as a guarantor would prevent the vectigal from having his magic drained entirely. But if the dominus continued, despite the warning that too much was being asked, to the point that his vectigal's magic – and life force – drained entirely, the ritual second and those of the line sworn could be in danger as well. In this instance, that meant Narcissa, as the second, and if the drain were strong enough, Bellatrix and any other surviving Blacks, since that was theirs is the line being bound, not the Malfoys. Harry was still confused. "Then why was Lucius involved?"

"When the patriarchate of the Black family tree transferred to Draco, Narcissa was named regent. Our assumption is that Narcissa yielded that title to Lucius, at least for the duration of the ritual."

"Can she do that? I thought he became persona non grata with the Ministry when he escaped from Azkaban?" Sirius certainly had, which meant he was unable to be any sort of guardian to Harry.

"Legally, of course, he cannot. However, as is often the case, Ministry laws have no direct influence on the spell casting. It is the spell itself which will accept authority within the context of the ritual. The majority of the literature on the subject was written by parties who were witnesses to but not participants in the bonding, and much of the information has been destroyed or hidden in recent centuries, but it appears that the bond evaluates one's state of mind."

"And Lucius Malfoy has never held Ministry legislation as sufficient reason to deny himself anything." Snape's voice was laced with memory, and he shared a knowing look with the headmaster before the latter continued the explanation: "Many factors influence the aspects of the final bond, but, traditionally, vectigals holding higher rank in the line being bound – the defeated chieftain himself, for example, or his firstborn – would generate more power for the dominus, regardless of the original levels of magic in the participants. Tom has never been able to resist the lure of great power.

"Despite being the eldest of the Black sisters, Bellatrix Lestrange and by extension, her husband were almost certainly excluded from the ritual for fear that they would be judged by the ritual as non compos mentis, and with Andromeda disowned, Narcissa is the next highest-ranking Black and Draco the highest-ranking Black male. Their claim is weakened, of course, by the fact that neither of them claim the name, but Lucius acting as regent bestows additional status: he is indisputably the ranking Malfoy, and Draco is as much the heir of Malfoy as Black. Lucius's participation would act as a justification, of sorts, for why he was chosen and a show of support from the paternal line."

Harry rolled his eyes at the nonsense old-fashioned pure-bloods put themselves through. "Yes, he's a legitimate Black, and no, there's no conflict with his Malfoy obligations," he paraphrased, and Snape gave the barest of nods in acknowledgement. "But neither his mother nor his aunt will support Draco being bound to me." Harry evaluated the candidates and came to the obvious conclusion. "You want to risk Tonks as well?"

"You're hardly likely to drain your vectigal of his life force, Mr. Potter, let alone the entire line," Snape said in the tone he'd generally reserved for berating Neville after a cauldron-melting. "You are correct, however, in your assumption that should you agree to participate, Draco will approach Tonks. Regardless of how much Walburga Black wished it otherwise, Nymphadora is aware that she is as much Black as she is Tonks. As Draco's trustee, she already shares some obligation towards him, and as a member of the Order, she can be trusted with a responsibility of this magnitude."

"So if I agree to this... That's it, right? Draco, Tonks, and me. We don't need to involve Tonks's mum or cousin three-times removed or anyone else." Harry's eyes narrowed at the silence. "Right?"

"Under normal circumstances, that would be correct," Dumbledore said carefully.

"But we're talking about me. Which specific part of this completely mad situation would you classify as abnormal?" Dumbledore gave him another disapproving look, which Harry didn't particularly appreciate: all things considered, he thought he was acting remarkably calm.

"The ritual is complicated by Draco's status as a minor. Madam Sigismund recognized that her bonding spell could be used on those who were unwilling or unaware of the significance of being bound, and she created safeguards for such eventualities. She did not conceive that anyone would be opposed to being the master in the bond, so there are no restrictions on the age of the dominus, but wizards or wizards pledging themselves as vectigals must have reached the age of majority or be sponsored by either a parent or the head of the family. I cannot state with certainty whether it would even be possible for you to pledge yourself as vectigal, for example; those who are Muggle-raised tend to retain Muggle traditions and mores, and the idea of the age of majority is often one of them. Your subconscious may well regard eighteen as the age at which you are considered an adult."

Interesting. At some point – in my copious amounts of free time, Harry snorted mentally – he'd have to examine which ones he'd kept. He suspected that the age of majority was not one of them. Between his rather dramatic departure from the Dursleys and the responsibilities in assuming control of his trust funds, he felt very much like an adult, at least when he wasn't at school. Though he didn't have much basis for comparison, Harry realized. Perhaps there should be a course about wizards in addition to the one about Muggles.

Harry returned his attention to Dumbledore's explanation: "When the Wizengamot codified the ritual, they required that the vectigal be seventeen when the bond is accepted. The law cannot stop the bond from forming, but to attempt to bind a minor is an offence punishable by the Kiss, and I suspect without the Dementors, the penalty would be death."

Harry assumed that the headmaster did not want him dead or Kissed by Dementors – there certainly had been ample opportunity to arrange either in the last six and a half years – which meant there must be a solution, but Harry couldn't see it. "Then how can..."

"Draco will turn seventeen two weeks from today," Snape interjected.

Convenient. Two weeks before – "So that should satisfy the requirements of the bond and the Ministry; how does that complicate things?"

"The bond will not recognize a change in the status of the vectigal until the ritual is complete. As a result, because Draco's father opened the bond, it will be necessary to include at least one of his parents in certain stages of the ritual cycle."

"So, Lucius is really a spy for our side as well, then? And a great guy, way," way, way, "down deep, no doubt?"

"Perhaps, Albus, we should consider offering a course in 'Wizarding Studies'; there is apparently a need." Harry started, more at Snape's echoing of his earlier thought than from any offence at the comment, but his professor looked smug at provoking a response, regardless.

The headmaster sighed deeply, and both Harry and Snape shifted uncomfortably.

"There is a variation of the standard adoption ceremony which can be performed when a young adult desires to affiliate himself with a family not his own, usually for financial or ideological reasons," Dumbledore clarified.

"Many younger sons of traditional pure-blood families will perform the ceremony when Uncle Alphard is wealthy and childless," was Snape's cynical contribution, and it earned him yet another meaningful look from the headmaster, though it was enigmatic to Harry.

"Professor Snape has offered to adopt Draco and to perform the duties required of Draco's parent in the ritual. Nevertheless, because the bond sees Draco as a child and would see you as an adult, the bond would always be unequal. Over time, he would not age in your eyes, and his legal status would be determined by your perception of him; regardless of chronology, you would treat him initially as a child and later, as the bond would see the age gap between you increase, as an intelligent pet."

"No. I can't." Harry shook his head forcefully. "That's not fair – it's not fair to me, it's not fair to him. There has to be another way."

"So you'd rather he be given to the Dark Lord as a plaything or live in pain for the rest of his life, a life which would be calculated in days rather than years?" Snape crossed his arms and stared challengingly at Harry.

"No, but –" Harry felt ready to cry in frustration. "There has to be another way."

"If you feel that strongly, Harry," Dumbledore said mildly, "you may also avail yourself of the adoption spell."

Of course I could. Harry sighed. "Which would entail what?"

"You would need to decide which adult or adults you feel would be suitable to act as a parent to you. Once a request has been made and accepted, the ritual itself is straightforward and requires little beyond the willingness of those participating, the wizard officiating, and witnesses to the ceremony. As far as the Fidelitās Dominō ritual is concerned, your parent will be required to participate, primarily as an advocate, authorizing your actions. You will enter the bond on equal footing with Draco; it would be possible for him to be recognized as an adult. There are other considerations, of course. Should you avail yourself of the adoption ceremony, for the next three years you would, in all ways, legally be a child: your place of residence would be with your parent, your inheritance would revert to its trust fund state with your new parent as the primary trustee, you would once again be subject to the laws regulating minors."

Harry had a sudden thought and interrupted, "Does that include the statute of underage wizardry?"

"In every way, Harry." The older wizard met his gaze levelly, with no sign of his customary twinkle. "You will even require parental permission to visit Hogsmeade for the remainder of the year."

"I can't be restricted to practising magic only at Hogwarts for the next three years; I graduate in the spring." Harry's eyes widened in horror. "Unless that's affected too?"

"No, Harry. Both you and Draco will graduate with your year mates. And since I assume that you aren't considering a Muggle as a potential parent," he waited for Harry to shake his head, "you shouldn't have any difficulties with the Decree. I believe both your infractions fall under the articles restricting the use of magic in front of Muggles. I assume that your choice of guardian will be living in the wizarding world, thereby negating the problem."

He had a sudden vision of life at the Burrow and all the magic that was so prevalent there. He'd never heard Ron or Ginny complain about the Decree, and there was no way the twins could have done half their inventing without magic. Yet another reason to resent life at the Dursley's. He suddenly felt caged sitting on the sofa, so he stood up and began walking slowly around the room.

"I had considered suggesting this ceremony to you before you left Hogwarts for the summer. It is possible that the blood protection spell could have been extended with your reversion to minor status if you had been willing to be adopted by your aunt and uncle –"

Harry stopped abruptly. "No!" His emphatic response earned another piercing gaze from Snape and a compassionate one from the headmaster before he turned away and began walking again.

"It is a moot point at this time, as I believe your relationship with them was quite irrevocably severed when you left them, and once lost, the blood protection cannot be renewed."

Harry found himself in Snape's earlier position by the fire. "Can the bond be ended?"

"There is no record of a means of doing so." Dumbledore's voice was so emotionless it could have been Snape's.

Harry nodded in acknowledgement and still facing the fire, asked quietly, "What would happen if he doesn't pledge?"

"If the bond remains open and unpaired beyond the lunar cycle, it would drain Draco first of his magic, then of his life force. He would be dead in a matter of months."

"I need to think about this," Harry said, pushing away from the mantelpiece.

"Of course. Though there are preparations to be made regardless of what you decide to do, and time is of the essence." Harry nodded, and the headmaster continued, "I must caution you, as well, that any discussion of these events will put a number of people in grave danger, and I must ask that you not repeat any portion of this conversation to anyone – not to anyone, Mr. Potter – without obtaining approval from myself or Professor Snape beforehand. This particularly includes Miss Granger and Mr. Weasley."

Harry nodded again, and without waiting to be excused, he left the headmaster's office.

Next Chapter: Harry does his own research!

If you have questions about anything in the unwieldy mess you just read, let me know, and I'll do my best to answer them in the upcoming chapters.

+Egeon is a character in Shakespeare's The Comedy of Errors who, in a long near soliloquy, lays out the backstory and sets up the plot.