The Unbreakable Vow B

by

Ash Darklighter

It all belongs to JK Rowling and I thank her for her inspiration – There are no galleons to be made from me. This little story is my first Harry Potter fic. It is AU and of course comments are welcome. My thanks to Tad and Mona for their help.

Part 15

Madam Malkin's – Diagon Alley

Narcissa Malfoy glanced discreetly at the gem encrusted watch on her slender wrist. What was taking the girl so long this time? She guessed that the young witch was unused to dressing in robes of such quality and was hardly enthusiastic about this marriage but…

"Is Miss Weasley ready yet?" she enquired, with a delicate sniff of impatience.

"Miss Weasley requested a visit to the ladies room," the saleswitch answered politely. "We have placed your next choice of robes in the dressing room. As soon as she is ready I will bring her to you."

"Good." Narcissa smiled. "I will have the glass of champagne you offered me earlier now, thank you." The girl would realise her good fortune in time. Draco could have had any witch he desired. It was a pity the Parkinson arrangement had fallen through but living with a witch with that nose for the rest of his life would have been most difficult for her boy. He was so susceptible to the beautiful things in life.

"Of course, Mistress Malfoy." The saleswitch retreated to the tiny kitchenette just of the main sales area and began pouring the drinks. After handing the champagne flute to the cool blonde, she murmured. "I'll just go and check on Miss Weasley."

"Please," said Narcissa, taking a sip of the champagne. "Lovely." She knew that Lucius had arranged this little treat for her. Marrying into the Malfoy family had been everything she'd hoped for. The Black family had been wealthy but nothing on the scale of the Malfoys. The little Weasley would also find that fact true in time and would enjoy her new life.

The bell above the shop door tinkled lightly indicating the presence of another customer entering the premises.

"I hope you didn't book anyone else in for a private fitting this afternoon?" Narcissa said coldly. "We could have taken our valuable custom elsewhere."

"That's what we did, Ma'am," said the saleswitch. "The schedule was completely cleared. I will go and check with Madam Malkin…"

"Mistress Malfoy?" Madam Malkin herself entered the showing room. "Your husband is here."

"Lucius? Already?" Narcissa looked surprised. "But we're not finished yet. Ginevra has several more styles to try on."

Madam Malkin stepped aside and the tall elegant figure of Lucius Malfoy stepped forward. "Madam," Lucius intoned haughtily, "the Weasley chit should be dressed and ready to depart within the hour,"

"An hour! Whatever for?" Narcissa's eyes widened. "You weren't joking earlier on, were you? My Draco really is to be wed this very day? But…"

"The wedding has been moved forward. I informed Madam Malkin of that fact."

"Lucius…" Narcissa began to protest.

"I told you that this might happen, Narcissa," he hissed. "Draco gets married today."

"I am ready, mother."

Narcissa stared at her son, seeing him in a new light. He was no longer a boy, but a handsome young man, dressed in the finest robes of silver embroidered with green, his hair tied back in a manner similar to his father's. "Oh, my son," she murmured, tears in her eyes.

"You may be ready, Draco, but the bride definitely is not."

Lucius shook his head at his wife. "You have an hour to make her presentable. It has to happen today."

The silent message was sent and received. Narcissa swallowed and managed a cool smile. It was a lot to achieve in such a short space of time. "You are right. A quiet ceremony as the bride is still in mourning for her father. We will hold a grand ball in your honour after a suitable period of time has passed."

"That will be acceptable," Draco declared. "Where is my bride?"

"I'll go and fetch her," the saleswitch offered nervously.

Narcissa moved to her son, her arms outstretched. Placing her hands on his shoulders, she smiled warmly up at him. "I'm so proud of you, Draco."

The young wizard smiled smugly. "Thank you, Mother. I endeavour to make you and father pleased with my actions."

"Draco…you do want this?" Narcissa asked softly. "Because if you don't…"

"Mother…I…"

Suddenly there was a cry of horror and the saleswitch rushed back into the room. "Miss Weasley has gone. Someone has used a blasting hex on the window. She's not in the building." Not realising that the bride was actually being forced into marriage, the woman cried out in horror. "Someone must have taken her."

"What!" Lucius immediately drew his wand and headed after the trembling employee into the back of the premises.

"Look!" she pointed at the destruction. The window swung drunkenly on its frame half inside the building, teetering on the edge of collapsing into the street. "She's gone."

"So - we know how she got out," Lucius muttered, his eyes narrowing to slits of grey fury. "This lane leads to Diagon Alley?"

The saleswitch nodded.

"Then she may still be apprehended." There was no sign of Ginny Weasley. Had she been forewarned of their plans or was this just an attempt to evade the marriage?

"Was she removed against her will?" the witch asked. "The young lady seemed so happy. You are a powerful and wealthy wizard. There are unscrupulous wizards out there who might seek to kidnap…"

"What is happening?" Madam Malkin gasped at the state of the room as she arrived on the scene. "Oh, Merlin! Where is Miss Weasley?"

"That's what I would like to know," Lucius snarled. "The little…"

"I'll get the Aurors," declared the saleswitch faintly.

"Don't bother," Draco said snidely, joining his father. "I already did. There were several just hanging around outside this establishment." His eyes widened at the destruction. "She did this?"

"What is the problem?" Percy Weasley, Kingsley Shacklebolt and Auror Dawlish suddenly appeared behind them.

The Malfoy patriarch's face was livid with anger. "Your sister – my son's fiancée – has vanished." He waved a hand at the gaping hole in the wall.

Percy went scarlet and then white. "We've been watching the building the entire time she's been inside. She couldn't have…"

"How long ago?" Kingsley asked, his deep voice calm.

"I showed her in here not even ten minutes ago," the saleswitch whispered. "I didn't hear anything."

"Then she couldn't have got far," Dawlish said, climbing out of the window with little difficulty and standing outside. "Expecto Patronem – the Ministry." He waved his wand and a silvery Patronus emerged from the tip vanishing into the distance. It looked like some sort of bird. "I've notified the Ministry and asked for extra help."

"Good," Lucius snapped.

Dawlish glanced at Kingsley, but the smooth dark face gave nothing away. "The Aurors waiting outside should start to search Diagon Alley, Shacklebolt."

Lucius scowled. "She's a witch not a filthy Muggle."

"If she has apparated we can trace her magical signature. She won't get far." Kingsley flicked his wand in a complicated series of manoeuvres and a roll of paper appeared with a pop. "Mm," he said thoughtfully, raising an eyebrow. "A silencing and unlocking charm followed by…protective wards. Indeed, she is a talented witch." Harry Potter had been busy. As far as he knew, Hogwarts had not included such spells in the Defence curriculum but Harry had taught his Defence Association things that the Ministry might have objected against. "And for her final spell…"

"A blasting hex," stated Percy, his voice trembling, whether with rage or worry, it was difficult to tell. Ginny was after all, his sister. "Reducto," he muttered. "Potter taught that to Ginny a couple of years ago. She's a powerful witch and would easily destroy this window without too much effort." His lips firmed and the tips of his ears turned red, the fingers gripping his wand so tightly had turned white. "Potter," he snarled. "I told him to stay away from my sister. I warned him."

"Potter!" did you say. "He couldn't be behind this?" wondered Dawlish. "Could he?"

Kingsley frowned. For Harry's sake, he hoped not. "Miss Weasley is affianced to Mr Malfoy under the terms of a wizarding marriage contract," he murmured. "Harry would be extremely foolish if he meddled with that kind of magic." There were certain parties in the Ministry would like to control the boy even though he'd reached adult status. "He's been keeping his distance from what I heard."

"Oh." Dawlish didn't look convinced. "He'll have to be brought in for questioning."

"I expect he will unless he has also vanished."

"No one has reported seeing him today?"

Dawlish shook his head. "There was word that he working with Moody this morning."

"Then he did. We would have heard by now if he hadn't." Kingsley flicked his wand once more in another intricate series of diagnostic charms. Ginny Weasley had not apparated. There was no trace of a portkey. She'd just disappeared. But the use of the Reducto Curse suggested that Ginny had left on her own without any help. There was no damage from outside of the building. He followed Dawlish and climbed through the space where the window had been. She was an extremely powerful witch and he could see why the Malfoys wanted her. But if she'd reached Diagon Alley they should have spotted her. Despite his worry, he was impressed. Ginny Weasley had removed herself from a building surrounded by Aurors and several of the most powerful wizards in the country.

There were a series of pops and several more Aurors apparated into Diagon Alley. Kingsley moved quickly towards them and instructed them to go inside Madam Malkin's. With relief, he noted that Nymphadora Tonks was one of them. At least an Order of the Phoenix member had arrived.

"Tonks, could I have a quiet word?"

The Metamorphmagus came forwards, her eyes darting towards the shop front bearing the legend 'Madam Malkin's Robes for all Occasions'. "Sure, Kingsley. What's all the commotion about?"

"It's about Ginny."

"Ginny?" Tonks' face showed her incomprehension first and then worry. "She's alright…isn't she?"

Kingsley lowered his voice. "Ginny Weasley has disappeared. You don't know anything about this?"

"What!" the young Auror exclaimed. "No, of course I don't know anything. But how could she have just disappeared?"

"We both saw her this morning, Dora. Did she indicate in any way to you that she was thinking about running?"

"No. Did she say anything to you?" Tonks shot back and then heaved a heavy sigh. "She was a little tense and she demanded to be taken to her mother. You were there – you heard her." The young Auror began to pace restlessly. "Diagon Alley is crawling with Aurors. How could she just disappear?"

"That's what we're trying to find out," he admitted. "The diagnostic spells turned up nothing useful. I know this is a horrible task to give you but someone has to do it. Could you go to The Burrow and inform the rest of the Weasleys' and Hermione Granger about Ginny's disappearance. While you do that, I'll let Dumbledore know what has happened and go to headquarters. We need to rule out any chance that Harry was involved in this. You do know how Harry feels about her, don't you?"

Tonks nodded worriedly, her face white and her hair turning from bubblegum pink to a dull brown colour. "Of course I do. All this talk about her and Harry just being friends…" She sighed. "Ginny didn't want to marry Draco Malfoy."

"And I don't blame her," Kingsley murmured, sending Percy Weasley a look of dislike. He knew who was responsible for the match. "But we need to find out where she's gone or who's taken her. It's just not safe for a young witch in this current climate. Especially one with such strong ties to Harry Potter and Albus Dumbledore - as well as to Lucius Malfoy."

"She's an important little witch to a lot of people," Tonks observed thoughtfully.

"That she is. I don't think I realised how important. She's either blasted out of the building by herself or someone else has done it for her. There's no sign of her. I think the Weasleys will appreciate hearing it from you rather than someone like Dawlish or even Percy." He jerked his head towards a crowd of platinum blonde heads. "I also didn't think that you'd want to hang around with your…relatives."

Tonks' face hardened. "And you'd be right." She sighed again. "We're going to have to speak to Molly. This will be the hardest of all. She's just lost her husband and now her daughter has vanished."

"St. Mungos," he murmured, in comprehension. "Ginny was very keen on visiting her mother this morning, wasn't she?"

Tonks nodded, her brow furrowing in thought. "Yes, she was. But I don't know how much help Molly will be."

"She seemed very lucid this morning," Kingsley murmured. "But I've not seen Molly since the attack and she was unconscious when she was transferred to St. Mungos at the time. All the reports I had up until now had her as extremely poorly."

Tonks peered at the piece of parchment listing the spells used in Ginny's disappearance. "Molly's much improved but still has problems with her short term memory. It was good to finally see her out of bed. She will eventually recover fully but isn't ready to be released from the hospital yet. I don't even know if her healers will allow us to question her."

"Ginny was reckoning on that very fact," Kingsley said with a wry smile. "She's not just an important witch, she's a clever witch. If what you're saying about the way the spell damage has affected Molly, there's a good chance that Molly won't recall exactly what Ginny was saying – if she said anything relevant at all."

"The little…" Tonks saw one of the other Auror's looking at her strangely and lowered her voice. "I hope she manages to escape this marriage"

"Dumbledore seemed to think it was impossible but I agree with you. I hope she stays out of the clutches of the Malfoys but we can't be seen to be doing less than our jobs. The marriage was to take place this afternoon with Percy the only Weasley in attendance." He wondered about the apparent failure of the marriage contract. It couldn't be very powerful if Ginny Weasley was as unmoved by Draco Malfoy's proximity as she appeared to be. He needed to speak to Dumbledore.

"I want her to be safe," admitted Tonks. "I wouldn't want to marry into the Malfoy family and I'm related to them."

xxxxxxx

Dumbledore peered at his Potions Professor through his half-moon spectacles, his normally cheerful expression grave. "Are you sure about this, Severus?"

"Do not tell me that you have no notion either because I would not believe you. This is not something that I would joke about." Black eyes met blue and both men gave a slight nod.

"Let me see, Severus."

Snape pushed his left shirt sleeve up and held out his arm. "It has begun to fade, Albus. I would wager my best set of cauldrons that Potter knows something about this – something more than he has already divulged. I tried to see past his shields when I treated his headache last night. I know you frown on Legilimising students, Albus but…"

"Harry is no longer a student, Severus," Dumbledore said softly. "However, I understand your viewpoint. What did you see?"

Snape's shoulders slumped. "Nothing, Albus. I saw nothing."

"Nothing?"

"The boy wouldn't look at me properly. To see anything I would have had to use considerable force. I did not think that would have aided his headache. He has finally been working on his Occlumency. I could not tell what he was thinking."

The headmaster was surprised. Severus Snape was a powerful Legilimens and Harry had never been a natural student of Occlumency. But the boy was proving to be an enigma these days – even to those who thought that they knew him well. "I suppose that's something to be thankful for although I wish that the loss of Sirius wasn't the reason he took to learning Occlumency again with such fervour. Harry has lost a great deal in his young life." The headmaster carefully inspected the intricate mark on his Potions Professor's arm and ran his wand over it a few times. "I think you are correct, Severus. The dark magic binding the mark to your arm has weakened."

"I've lived with that blemish on my arm since I was seventeen. I should be familiar with how it looks. I say that Potter knows more than he's chosen to share with you or the Order and if I were you, I would be asking why. Either ask Potter, or perhaps we should ask his useless little friends."

"Now, now, Severus," Dumbledore remonstrated his Potions Master gently, although he was already planning to talk to Ron and Hermione. "That is most unfair to Mr. Weasley and Miss Granger. To be honest, I don't think Harry has been talking to anyone. Remus did say that he thought the boy was keeping too much to himself. I have wondered about his behaviour since the battle in Hogsmeade. Harry wasn't badly hurt but may still feel the effects of the curse he was hit with. I thought Harry would tell us if anything of such importance had happened but I must admit our relationship has been a little strained since the death of his godfather."

"It doesn't alter the fact that Voldemort has gone and Potter…"

"I'm afraid to say that the Dark Lord has not 'gone' as you put it. He's only been temporarily displaced, Severus."

Snape slumped against the back of the chair as if winded. "Like last time?"

"Yes. I am certain that he is not truly dead."

"I feared that was the case. Headmaster, if the Dark Lord…" Snape stopped as a transparent silver lynx flew into the room.

"Kingsley's Patronus," Dumbledore murmured in surprise.

The animal spoke, the Auror's rich voice emerging from its silvery throat. "Albus…Ginny Weasley has vanished. We don't know whether she's gone of her own accord or has been taken against her will. I'll tell you now there is little sign of a struggle. You need to get to headquarters immediately and see how much Harry has to do with this – if anything. Percy Weasley is talking about taking him in for questioning. That's if he hasn't also disappeared. He's the main suspect so far." With a flick of its tail, the Patronus disappeared.

"Potter!" Snape exhaled the word with dislike. "That brat needs to be locked up permanently," he snarled.

"We don't know that he had anything to do with this," Dumbledore stated.

"Surely you don't believe that, Albus?"

"No," he admitted. "But I've accused others before and been wrong. Innocent until proven guilty, Severus. Harry was desperately trying to find a way to break the contract and free Miss Weasley from her betrothal."

"Then he has accomplished what he set out to do," Snape stated. "The boy never considers his actions…"

Dumbledore's eyes dulled. "No, he's only delayed the inevitable – nothing has changed. It's a magical contract – you saw and checked it over yourself. Ginny is still bound to marry Draco Malfoy. We don't know if Harry's responsible for her disappearance and I hope, for his sake, that he is not. In any case, we need to speak to Harry about the other matter first. It's far more important than poor Ginny Weasley."

"I never thought I'd hear you actually admit such a thing about a student," Severus said mockingly. "But 'poor Ginny Weasley' may prove more important than we realise. For a penniless redheaded witch, she's captured the attentions of two of the most important wizards in the country. If Potter is the main suspect behind an empty room in a Diagon Alley shop then the Ministry will deal with him. We cannot risk that happening."

The headmaster frowned, worry written across his face. "You're right, Severus. There are those in the Ministry that would give anything to have Harry under their control and that would be as good as handing him to the Death Eaters. If the Ministry get their hands on Harry for any reason, that's exactly what they will do – lock him up and use him to promote Ministry thinking. But they cannot keep him safe. The Ministry was compromised long ago. We cannot let that happen."

Albus didn't reveal to Snape the perilous state of Harry's magic reserves - although, perhaps the Order's spy should be told. First, he was going to have to tell the boy the truth about the hex Voldemort hit him with and wasn't looking forward to the task. The young wizard had no idea that his magic was slowly draining away. The headmaster rubbed a weary hand across his forehead. Harry would view this news as something else that had been deliberately hidden from him and he would be right. It was another betrayal from those he should have been able to trust. Doing things for the greater good were beginning to leave a horrible taste in Albus Dumbledore's mouth.

"We will need to talk again after we have seen Harry." Snape knew more than Dumbledore suspected he did. What had the Potions Professor been about to say before he'd been interrupted by Kingsley's Patronus?

"Of course, Albus."

Dumbledore stood up and looked at his phoenix. "I will be at headquarters, Fawkes," he told the gleaming bird softly. He indicated the fireplace. "After you, Severus."

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