Chapter 22 – The Black Library

Harry and Draco spent a quiet night in their Common room after bidding goodbye to Lucius and Narcissa. Harry was surprised by the warm hug Narcissa had given him and the equally surprising friendly handclasp from Lucius.

"I told you, Harry" Draco said with a smile after his parents left. "You're family now. You accepted my family as part of the bond and my parents recognize that. They see you as a son now."

Harry shook his head, trying to comprehend that. "I know you said that, Draco. It's still surprising to me to be to be hugged by your mother."

The blonde grinned. "Wait until she starts sending you enhancements to your wardrobe for what she deems 'suitable' for your position." At his Mate's groan, he chuckled and said "At least she has superior taste. You can be assured of always being appropriately attired with the best colors and materials with her choices."

"I look forward to it" Harry replied wryly.

Draco smirked and snapped his fingers to call Dobby to request dinner. The house elf appeared with a pop and bowed to the teens. "Dobby is very happy for your bond, Masters Draco and Harry sirs! All the house elves felt the magic." His large eyes seemed gigantic with emotion. "Such powerful magic my Masters has, sirs! Many have not felt the like. But here Dobby is not being slow and not giving you dinner. Bad Dobby!" He snapped his fingers and the table filled with steaming dishes. He gave them immense smile and disappeared with a pop.

The teens quickly filled their plates and even Draco's impeccable manners slipped a bit with his hunger and no parents to remind him. When their immediate hunger was assuaged, Draco sipped his drink and asked ""Have you thought of what you would like to do for the next several days, Harry?"

Harry swallowed his chicken and considered. "I think we should write a note to our friends as well as the professors to let them know of the bond yet tonight as well as the fact that we'll be avoiding classes and crowds for several days. Perhaps tomorrow we can visit the Black library to look for the Salazar Slytherin journals so that I can copy them for Professor Snape. I would also like to pick up the motorcycle Sirius left for me. What would you like to do?"

Draco nodded at Harry's comments. "We should also review our properties. You need to choose a Black property as part of your godfather's legacy. We can compare what you have and choose one that is somewhere you don't already have something. Perhaps over the Winter break, we can visit some of the properties as well." He paused and toyed with his fork a bit. "Harry, besides letting the bond settle and spending time together, Veelas also spend time with immediate family, letting that bond grow as well. Who do you consider your 'family'?"

Several emotions played across the Gryffindor's face. "Sirius was the closest to family that I had. Remus is a bit like an uncle. The Weasleys have said they consider me another son, but I don't think we need to spend time with the entire family; perhaps just Ron. Other than that, Hermione is my best female friend and Neville is a good friend as well." He offered a silent apology to his lowaar. "I'm not quite sure when and how to share my Clan family" he murmured to them. Amused acknowledgment flowed over him and he relaxed. "What about you, Draco? Besides your parents, how many relatives should I expect to meet this week?"

The blonde smirked a bit. "The extended family isn't included in the bonding. Besides my parents, the only other close relative would be my godfather." He raised an elegant eyebrow at his Mate and waited for the reaction.

Harry closed his eyes and inhaled deeply. He exhaled slowly and opened his eyes to nod at Draco. "OK, I can understand your closeness to your godfather. Merlin knows I would want to spend time with Sirius if he was here. How much time should we plan on spending with relatives?"

Draco's smirk was replaced with a pleased smile. "Perhaps a few dinners this week if that's all right with you. Do you want to include your Gryffindor friends with my family or meet with them on different nights?"

A quick grin flickered over Harry's face as he considered forcing the Gryffindors to share an intimate meal with their Potions Master. "Separate, I think. Although perhaps we could invite Remus for one meal with your parents and godfather."

The blonde nodded and agreed. Dobby popped in to replace their dinner dishes with several desserts. Draco smiled widely at treacle tart, trifle and spotted dick. "You really do have a sweet tooth, don't you?" chuckled Harry.

"Veelas have the ability to appreciate gourmet confections" the blonde replied haughtily as he took one of each of the selections. Harry just rolled his eyes and enjoyed his treacle tart.

After dinner, Draco wrote a note to the Headmaster announcing the bond and explaining they would be spending the next three to five days apart as the bond settled. Each teen wrote a similar note to the Heads of their House, although Draco's note ended with much greater familiarity to his Godfather. They also wrote short notes to their friends. With Harry's agreement, he invited his parents and godfather to dinner the following night.

Harry struggled with his notes to Ron, Hermione and Neville. He finally said that Draco was recovering from the assault, that he had accepted the bond, and appreciated their support before and hoped they could continue to offer their support in the future. He explained they would be away from class for a week, but hoped they would join the pair for dinner in the next few days. "Your friends understood before, ghergo'ir; Ron and Neville especially. They will not forsake you" Ortinoth reassured him. Comforted, Harry wrote a similar message to Remus ending that he hoped he would join them for dinner soon.

Draco summoned Dobby when the notes were complete and asked him to deliver all those within the castle. "Yes Master Draco." He turned to Harry. "Does Master Harry Potter sir want Dobby to deliver any outside the castle? Or does Master Harry's Hedwig want exercise?"

"I just have one outside the castle, Dobby. Hedwig can take it in the morning. But thank you for asking."

With a broad smile for being thanked by the great Harry Potter, the house elf gave another bow and disappeared with a loud pop to deliver their notes.

The teens agreed to visit the Black Library in the morning and then pick up Harry's motorcycle and deliver it to the Potter Manor. "Hmm, perhaps I should visit the solicitor and write a Will" Harry suggested. "As my...bond mate, you should be named."

Draco looked up at him in surprise. He reached over and clasped his Mate's hand and responded in a soft tone. "Harry, there is no need to add me to your Will." He shook his head as the Gryffindor opened his mouth to object. "The only way a Veela survives the loss of his Mate is if they have children; then they live for them. Otherwise, a Veela follows their Mate within hours."

Intense green eyes met grey, finding the truth of the statement and then nodded abruptly. "Then maybe we'll be talking about adopting sooner rather than later. I'm not letting Voldemort take a single more life if I can prevent it."

Draco's eyes widened in shock and he gripped his Mate's hand more tightly. "I..I hadn't realized that you would consider children with me, Harry." He swallowed hard as emotions played over his face. Shaking his head he said tightly "We will defeat the Dark Lord and then decide what kind of a family we want." Harry opened his mouth to argue and Draco shook his head. "That's non-negotiable. We are bond mates. I offered you my devotion and support, which you accepted. I will do whatever is necessary to help defeat the Dark Lord, if only to return to the discussion of children." He ended with a slight smirk which widened as Harry dropped his eyes and his cheeks colored faintly.

Harry stood and said "OK, enough of the heavy conversations. I'm going to head to bed. Good night, Draco."

"Strategic retreat, ghergo'ir?" laughed Ydraith. "Hush you" he replied mentally, ignoring the laughter chiming in his mind. He failed to see Draco's stricken expression as he headed to his bedroom.

Once in bed, Harry found himself tossing and turning. His skin tingled uncomfortably and he rubbed it without relief. "Grr, what the heck?" he muttered. Amusement filtered in from his lowaar, but they refused to comment. He headed towards the bathroom to splash water on his face and noticed the discomfort faded the closer he got; in fact, he seemed drawn…. "Oh Merlin" he moaned silently.

He knocked quietly on the dividing door to Draco's bedroom and was rewarded with an immediate "Come in".

"Draco, are you having trouble sleeping?" he asked hesitantly.

The blonde nodded. "It's the bond. Until it's settled, we can't be that far apart." He moved over and lifted the blankets. At Harry's hesitation he smirked "I promise not to attempt any debauchery tonight. I just want the prickling on my skin to stop."

Harry rolled his eyes and joined the blonde in the bed. Almost immediately, the uncomfortable tingling stopped and he sighed in relief. "Good night, Draco."

"Good night, Harry." With a smile clearly heard in his voice he added "We can discuss debauchery again tomorrow."

Harry reached out a hand and swatted the blonde. "Prat." He just knew Draco was smirking in satisfaction on the other side of the bed. The rumbling laughter in his mind from his lowaar wasn't helping.


The teens decided to visit Castle Black and through there, the Black Library. From what Draco found in the Black vaults, the castle was a 14th century stronghold on the western coast of Scotland in Ayrshire. The teens waited until the first class was in progress before exiting their rooms and heading out of Hogwarts. Once outside the wards, Draco had Harry clasp his arm and then tapped the Black signet ring and called out "Castle Black". A few moments later, they found themselves outside the castle, near steep hills and sea cliffs. From their vantage point, they could just make out white sand beaches and a turquoise sea. Draco paused a moment as the wards transferred to him and then nodded as his senses expanded to perceive the entire estate.

They walked to the large double door entrance, enjoying the view around the castle. The doors opened and a lean balding middle-aged man met them and bowed deeply. "Welcome Lord Black. We all felt your ascension and the wards transfer. We are honored to host the new Lord Black. I am Alfred Dumner, the castle steward."

Draco inclined his head regally, holding himself between the steward and Harry. "Lord Draco Malfoy-Black and this is my bond mate, Mr. Harry Potter, Head of the Ancient House of Potter." Harry felt odd being introduced as Draco's bond mate, but recognized it was something to which he would need to become accustomed. He followed Draco's lead and inclined his head to the steward.

Draco continued as they entered the castle "I am just reviewing the properties left to me. What can you tell me about the castle and its inhabitants?"

The steward replied immediately "The castle was originally constructed in the 14th century by Alysandir Black. The estate currently encompasses 10,000 unplottable acres including the coast line, and several remote glens and lochs. Most of the principal rooms are on the main floor. In addition to fifteen bedchambers, there is a great hall, a grand paneled dining room, a drawing room, sitting room, library and billiards room. You will find that all of the western rooms offer dramatic sea views. Most of the castle is furnished with antiques acquired over the centuries by the Black family. We are staffed with six internal human employees and three house elves."

The new Lord raised an elegant eyebrow. "I'm surprised to see so few house elves on the staff."

Dumner nodded. "Yes, my Lord. Lord Nigellus Black from the 18th century started the tradition of primarily staffing with squibs that otherwise were unable to find employment in the Wizarding world. Most of us are capable of minimal magic, leaving more difficult tasks to the house elves."

Draco was surprised to hear that a pureblood was willing to employ squibs so long ago, but simply nodded in acknowledgement. They allowed the castle steward to show them the house, which was fine as a small castle, but couldn't compare to either the Malfoy or Potter Manors.

"This might make a very nice small hotel, if you weren't thinking of using it often" Harry mentioned in an undertone to Draco. "Muggles love to stay in old castles, especially if there is a resident ghost."

The blonde filed that as a potential option for the property. Once Dumner finished the tour, they proceeded to the castle library. A quick perusal of the books found them to be ones Draco recognized as already part of the Malfoy library. They looked for a separate doorway and found one set into the wall that was nearly unnoticeable that could lead them to the Black Library.

"From what I could discover" Draco said "the Black House library is a separate underground vault with no connecting house. Rouland Black was fairly paranoid and built it in the 15th century to avoid risking - or perhaps sharing - any of his prize possessions. The journal said that from any library on Black property, the Head of House or the Heir will be able to see a door unseen by others." He opened the door to find a passage that lit automatically as they entered. They followed the passage for several long minutes, passing through several shimmering wards which Draco thought brought them to a defined wizarding space set aside for the Library. At the end of the passage, they found a vault door. Draco placed the Black signet ring in an indentation on the vault door and it slowly but noisily unlocked and opened.

They found themselves in a round room apparently carved out of stone. Five archways led off the entry room with runes carved over each archway. Draco easily translated them as "Enchantments and Charms" on the far right, followed by "Transfiguration", then "Alchemy and Potions". "Wards, Runes and Rituals" was on the fourth archway and the last arch on the left was identified as "Curses and Counter Spells". Following the directions Sirius provided, they entered the first room on the left, "Curses and Counter Spells".

Wooden shelves lined the room with several hundred books dedicated to the topic. Several chairs and tables were scattered around the room. They spent time reviewing the titles and Draco was excited to find books he had never seen before, some of them hundreds of years old while others were published in the last fifty years. Eventually, the discovered shelves dedicated to journals and from there found Salazar Slytherin's journal and personal potion book.

Draco reverently laid the books on one of the tables and turned the aged pages. "There appears to be good preservation spells on the pages" he murmured approvingly. "Unfortunately, I can't make out much of it. These lines appear to be only squiggles to me. I only find a few words of English scattered throughout the book. Oh, here's the spell your godfather mentioned, I think." He turned to his Mate. "What do you make of them, Harry?"

The Gryffindor glanced over the pages. "I think Salazar Slytherin did write in parselmouth" he said. "They look like English to me. Considering it was a rare gift, it was probably an effective way to keep his secrets."

"Do you think you can cast the copy spell" Draco asked? Harry looked over the spell and recorded wand movements. "It looks pretty simple actually. Let me give it a try."

Draco said quickly "Hold a minute." He withdrew a small item from his robe pocket and enlarged it to reveal a large bag. From that, he withdrew parchment and ink and set it on the table. At Harry's questioning look, he explained "Copying requires having some form of base material to use for the copy. If you just conjured it, it wouldn't last more than a few days."

Harry laid out the parchment and ink next to the first journal. Fortunately, there was an engraved serpent on the front of the journal. Focusing on that, Harry intoned the duplication spell. The journal glowed briefly and then the parchment and ink transformed into another journal. The teens grinned at each other and Harry mimed wiping his brow. "Brilliant! I was afraid I was going to have to copy them all by hand. "Oh wait…the duplicate is also in parselmouth."

He scanned each page and then smiled in relief as Draco watched. Focusing on the serpent he used the translation spell he found, causing the words to twist on the page until Draco could read them, although they were in Olde English. "Well done, Harry! Look at this…even the creases and ink smears are copied. Severus is going to be beside himself."

After Harry copied and translated the other journals and the personal potion manual, the teens spent time browsing through each of the rooms. Draco was thrilled with the discoveries they made. He made tentative plans to spend several hours a day there during the summer months. Harry used the parselmouth spell to copy several books that particularly excited Draco on Runes. The lowaar were enjoying the books as well. Every book previously unknown to them that Harry leafed through added to the knowledge of the Juanth Darastrix.

Harry was starting to become a little overwhelmed by the sheer volume of materials, although the lowaar were still eager and energized as he began browsing through the room for "Wards, Runes and Rituals". Looking at one of the older books on Wards, he thought he would like to learn them better, especially as he held the wards for Potter Manor. "A good course of study" Treith said with pleasure. "I would be pleased to assist you with it. I am mostly familiar with Clan wards and would enjoy comparing them."

Harry called out to Draco who was several yards away. "Draco, do you mind if I copy this Ward book? I'm interested in seeing if I can add to the Potter Manor wards."

The blonde looked up from the book he was currently engrossed in and nodded absently. "Of course, Harry."

The Gryffindor quickly copied the book and tucked it in the bag Draco had brought. "We're running out of parchment and ink. We won't be able to copy much more. We should probably keep a chest here with supplies." The blonde nodded absently again, absorbed by the book he was reading. Finally when Harry's stomach began rumbling loudly he said "Draco, aren't your parents coming for dinner?"

Draco cast a quick tempus and said "Salazar, why didn't you say something earlier! We barely have time to shower and change into decent robes before they arrive!"

Harry shook his head and grinned. They returned to the castle and set the wards to permit Floo'ing for the two of them. They quickly Floo'd to Hogsmeade and walked rapidly to Hogwarts before dinner.


"Harry, what are you wearing tonight" Draco called from his room.

"I was thinking it would be informal again, so was wearing black trousers, white shirt and a black robe."

Draco entered his room and looked at Harry. "We're close to the same size. Let me loan you a vest and I'll wear a complimentary one." He smirked at his Mate. "Just wait until Mother takes you shopping."

Harry added the black brocade vest embroidered with gold thread. He had to admit it looked good with his black informal robes with the gold trim. When Draco entered the common room, he could appreciate the loan. Draco was in black trousers and a white shirt as well, but had a light gold brocade vest with black embroidery. His light gold robe had black runes along the open front.

A tingle in the ward outside of the room announced one of their dinner guests. Draco opened the door and Severus Snape came in. While in all black, instead of his many buttoned frock coat, he was wearing an open black robe with a jacquard pattern embroidered on the trim.

To Harry's surprise, the taciturn man gave a warm smile to his godson and embraced him in a hug as he said "Congratulations on your bonding, Draco." He pulled slightly back and inspected the teen's face intently. "Are you well?"

Draco smiled warmly and replied "Thank you, Severus and yes, I'm recovering. Nothing could detract from my joy in Harry accepting the bond."

The Potions Master's smile faded only slightly as he turned his attention to Harry, slightly behind Draco. "Congratulations to you as well, Mr. Potter." His smile became a smirk as he added "I can see my godson is already attacking your wardrobe."

Harry smiled wryly. "I've been warned to expect significant changes when Narcissa becomes involved." At Severus' wider smirk he added "Welcome and thank you for joining us, Professor."

Lucius and Narcissa joined them, and Harry accepted the hug from Narcissa and the warm handshake from Lucius. Once everyone was seated, Harry brought the copied books to Severus. "Draco and I visited the Black Library today, sir. The duplication spell worked well, and a translation spell changed them from parselmouth to English. I hope you don't mind that they are in Olde English."

Severus accepted the books almost reverently. He carefully turned each page, his normal taciturn face lively with interest. Lucius moved behind him to look over his shoulder as each page was turned. After several minutes of awed and absorbed silence, Severus looked up at both boys. "This is priceless. Thank you."

Narcissa smiled indulgently at their old friend. She turned to Draco and asked "Where is the Black Library, Dragon?"

The blonde smiled at his mother. "The Blacks set up an underground vault that can be accessed by any of the Black libraries. We went to Castle Black in Aryeshire, Scotland. A small holding, but still capable of housing small parties quite well. You would appreciate many of the antiques, Mother."

"I look forward to seeing it then, darling." She smiled tolerantly at her husband. "I think your Father is hoping for an invitation to visit the library."

At Lucius' raised eyebrow, his son nodded regally. "Of course." His stately composure was broken by Harry's snort of amusement at Draco's haughtiness.

After dinner, they discussed the other books and subject matter found in the Black library. "There are so many topics I saw on the shelves that I didn't have the opportunity to review" Draco lamented. "I especially am interested in the older books on Occlumency and Legilmens. If the titles were any indication, there might be methods of training that aren't being followed today."

Harry's face closed off at the mention of Occlumency. His lessons with Snape had been nothing less than tortuous and he still harbored resentment over the Professor's treatment. He had looked for books in the Hogwarts library, but hadn't found any. He tried to mask his emotions and appear indifferent to the conversation. Severus noticed however and said "Please speak up, Mr. Potter. You obviously have thoughts on the topic."

Harry kept his face indifferent and his tone courteous. "I wondered why you never suggested any Occlumency books for me to read last year, sir. There were none in the library."

Severus narrowed his eyes and his tone became acerbic. "What do you mean? I gave you my own very rare book that clearly explained Occlumency, meditation and how to clear the mind. I never received a thank you, nor did it appear from our lessons that you paid any attention to the book."

Harry looked at him and said carefully "You never gave me a book, sir. You only said to 'clear my mind' and then cast Legilmens."

Severus gave a martyred sigh and rolled his eyes. "I gave the book to Mundungus Fletcher at Grimmauld Place with instructions to…" He looked at Harry with dawning comprehension. "Are you saying that he never gave you that book?"

Harry shook his head. "He never mentioned it. If he knew it was a rare book that would explain it though. He probably sold it." His eyes narrowed at another example of Fletcher's dishonesty.

The Potion Master leaned back in his chair, his eyes never leaving Harry's. Anger was followed by shock and then revulsion as the older man realized what had occurred. "But if you never read anything…if you had no knowledge…no understanding…" His face twisted and he bolted for the bathroom. Retching was heard before Narcissus cast a silencing spell.

Draco reached out and laid his hand over Harry's. "Harry, when did you have Occlumency lessons with Severus?"

The Gryffindor exhaled slowly. "Do you remember all the times you laughed at me for 'remedial potion lessons'? That's when I was supposed to be receiving Occlumency training. However, all Professor Snape did was snap at me to 'clear my mind' and then he cast Legilmens over and over and over again and shouted at how pathetic I was when I couldn't keep him out. I had a migraine after every single session." He shut his eyes against the memory of those brutal sessions and how shredded his mind felt afterwards and felt his lowaar's love and support that the wards around his mind would never falter.

Draco's hand tightened on his own until he thought the bones would break and opened his eyes to frown at the Slytherin. He was surprised at the horror he saw on all three Malfoy faces. Narcissa spoke first. "Harry, if you had no training in meditation, no background information then…"

"Then I regularly ravaged and violated his mind all last year." Snape stood in the bathroom doorway, his normal pale skin waxen in color, his face twisted with revulsion. "The note I left in the book specifically instructed you to ask questions about anything that needed clarification, otherwise I would assume you comprehended and mastered the material." He met Harry's eyes and swallowed hard. "Mr. Potter…I apologize. I thought your lack of questions was arrogance, your lack of progress laziness and treated you even more roughly as a result. I have no excuse…" He pinched the bridge of his nose and looked like he might be ill again.

Harry closed his eyes and took another deep breath. All of those nights spent reliving memories, Snape's spiteful callousness, his own blinding headaches, everything was because Snape thought Harry had access to basic material and deliberately chose not to read or question it. He felt Draco rise and face his godfather and grabbed his bond mate's hand, not willing to cause a confrontation. "Sit down, Draco" he murmured, then drew and released several more breaths slowly. He felt his lowaar's love and encouragement flow through him, but they were silent awaiting his response.

He opened his eyes and met Snape's obsidian gaze. For the first time, he saw sincere regret in their dark depths. He nodded slowly. He and Draco had recovered from five years of animosity, why couldn't he and Snape move on as well? He drew a deep breath and spoke softly but sincerely. "What is past is past and cannot be changed. However, we can agree to leave yesterday in the past where it belongs and move on." He stood and walked over to the other man, then slowly extended his hand. "Truce?"

Severus raised a hand and gripped Harry's. "Truce, Mr. Potter." Even more quietly he added "and thank you."

The tense moment was broken by Narcissa asking "Tell me Dragon, what are you and Harry planning for the rest of the week?" Draco began to respond quietly as Severus and Harry stood by one another, trying to start anew. Severus finally released Harry's hand and indicated the seating area with a slightly raised eyebrow. Harry nodded and resumed his seat, permitting Draco to clasp his hand. The Veela seemed to need to touch his mate.

As the evening was nearing its completion, Harry remembered a question he had. "Lucius, are you going to tell Tom about Draco and I being bonded?"

Lucius inclined his head and said gravely "It is better to reveal something to the Dark Lord than have him learn from someone else. Your bonding was very powerful, and it is likely that several children of his servants recognized that it involved you and Draco." He offered a small smile to Harry. "Your public disagreement with the Headmaster was also helpful. It strengthened the perception that we are working hard to turn you away from the Light."

Severus raised an eyebrow. "That was a deliberate deception?"

A brief smile played across Harry's lips. "While the words were sincere, the actions were planned where a few gossips would be sure to overhear us."

"Well done, Mr. Potter. You have hidden Slytherin tendencies."

Harry grinned and looked at Draco. "You didn't tell him?" Draco smirked and said "I didn't think his heart could stand it."

Both teens chuckled at the curiosity on the three adults faces. Harry relented and said "The Sorting Hat wanted to put me in Slytherin. It said Slytherin would help me on the road to greatness." He grinned broadly at the shocked look on the Slytherin Head of House. "However, Hagrid had shared his concerns about the House and then both times I met Draco he acted like a prat, so I kept telling it 'not Slytherin, not Slytherin' until it relented and put me in Gryffindor."

Lucius slapped a hand on his friend's shoulder. "The mind is incapable of comprehending a Potter in Slytherin, isn't it Severus?"

The Potion Master said dryly "The notion will likely feed my nightmares for months."


Lowaar = Indwellers

Ghergo'ir = Young one