Heya friends!
I hope you're ready for a bit of an exciting chapter. This chapter will be much, much longer (by like... triple lol) than the others because I'm going to squeeze in a few plot points so that the next chapter can focus more on some of our matches!
I know most of you don't mind those longer chapters, so here you go!
(PS, your reviews make me squeal. I know I haven't responded to all of them, and I'm sorry, so please know that I am so so grateful!)
Enjoy :)
Mrs. Narcissa Malfoy nee Black,
The Ministry of Magic requires your presence at an important meeting on June 18th, 2002. The meeting will take place at 9:00 A.M. in the conference room of the Minister's office. Please note this meeting is compulsory. Failure to attend will not be permitted.
Because of the confidential nature of this meeting, we are unable to verify the other attendants of the meeting or the topic of the gathering.
Yours Sincerely,
Kingsley Shacklebolt
Minister of Magic - Order of Merlin, First Class.
Narcissa stood solemnly in the sitting room of Malfoy Manor, with the scroll held tightly in her fist. She had never been summoned to a meeting with the Minister of Magic and had no idea what to expect or what it was about. She had served 2 years of house arrest after the Second Wizarding War, her husband had been sentenced to the kiss, and her son had been remanded to finish his Hogwarts education and to complete several hundred hours of service to the community.
They had tried to live a quiet life, staying out of the public eye as much as possible. Her son attained a Potions Mastery and brewed many healing potions free for St. Mungo's.
She heard loud, angry footsteps approaching in the hall before the door to the room slammed open and her son strode through the doors.
Draco was an intimidating wizard in his looks. At 6'4" he towered over most wizards and witches. His lean form was dressed immaculately in modern cut dress robes, and often even in designer muggle suits. He'd let his blonde hair grow to shoulder length.
"My son," Narcissa addressed Draco as he stormed into the room, "You seem bothered, what is it?"
Draco threw a crumpled piece of parchment onto the desk that sat by the largest window of the room, "A letter from the Minister, Mother." he sneered, "I have been summoned to a meeting. Mandatory, it says."
His feet led him to the nearest sofa where he slumped down into the cushions, running a hand through his platinum locks. "What do they want? I've done nothing but good for years, Mother. I have served this community well for years, and now I'm being summoned by the Minister!"
Narcissa felt her masks crumpled as she watched her broken son rant. He'd been through much in his years, being forced to take the mark for his Father's mistakes, having to participate in acts of evil to preserve his own life and often for her life, as well. He was a wizard merely going through the motions and she wished for nothing more than a moment of peace and some happiness for him.
She approached the couch where he was slumped miserable and sat next to her son with the grace born of a pureblood witch.
"Draco," she reached a hand out to him, rubbing his shoulder in an attempt to comfort the boy who meant so much to her, "I received a summons as well. I'm assuming your meeting is also tomorrow morning?"
He nodded grimly.
"You are not alone, my son. I will be there and we will face whatever the Ministry has in mind for us with dignity and grace. You have done absolutely nothing, and I will not let any harm come to you." she stated firmly.
The witch had never been very affectionate with her son in his early years, as her late husband had forbidden touch between the Mother and her boy, claiming it led to weakness in the male line. After his sentencing, she'd discarded those beliefs and had done as much as she could to comfort and love the boy.
She pulled him into her arms, gripping him in a fierce hug as she felt a broken sob escape his chest. "All will be well, Draco," she whispered to him.
The Malfoy family arrived at the Minister's conference room at precisely 9:00 A.M. the next morning. Draco stepped into the room first, with his Mother tucked neatly behind him, in an effort to protect her from any danger that may lie within the room.
His eyes searched the room quickly for any sense of danger. Seeing none, he strode fully into the room with Narcissa, the pair of them finding a place along the back wall to perch themselves.
He scanned the room, viewing the other gathered members and noticing quite a few familiar faces. Minerva McGonagall, current Headmistress at Hogwarts was seated primly at the table. She nodded politely in his direction. He'd grown a tentative friendship with the woman in the years following his last year at Hogwarts, and he now brewed all the potions required by the school.
There was a woman dressed in bright green and yellow Quidditch jersey, who he thought might have been the captain of the team, Gwenog Jones.
He recognized Tiberius Ogden, who had sauntered over and shook his hand firmly. He often worked with Ogden as he was beginning to take over the Malfoy seat in the Wizengamot. He was only attending a handful of small meetings at this time, and he knew the council had many more closed-door sessions that he was not yet privy to.
The head healer at St. Mungo's was also in attendance and lifted his hand in a wave to Draco.
"Mr. Malfoy," Pye greeted the young wizard, "Your potions are impeccable as always, and I imagine we'll have quite a few new orders coming your way!"
Draco smiled at the man who had worked hard to help him build his reputation after the war.
There were several witches gathered throughout the room that Draco didn't know, though he thought he recognized one from the bookstore in the alley and one who went to Hogwarts with him, and a man whom he thought worked in the Department of Mysteries.
He noticed his great-Aunt Andromeda sitting primly across the room, a scowl on her face.
Also in the room were two-thirds of the "Golden Trio". He peered through his hair at Hermione Granger and Harry Potter, who were tucked into a corner of the room whispering between themselves. He noticed Luna Lovegood and Neville Longbottom in the room as well.
There were also two hooded Unspeakables present in the room.
It was a hodgepodge of people, and he couldn't figure out the connection that had brought them all together.
The Minister for Magic strode into the room five minutes later, a chuckle on his breath as he apologized for his lateness.
He gestured to the crowd to find seats around the enlargened conference table.
"I'm sure you're all wondering why I've gathered you here today." he said, "and I am eager to tell you. Before we begin, however, you should know that this meeting falls under strict confidentiality standards of the Ministry of Magic, as such I must ask you all to swear a vow of secrecy before we continue."
Draco felt his Mother stiffen beside him.
"Excuse me, Minister," he spoke sternly, "A vow? I am sure you can imagine how uncomfortable my Mother and I am with binding vows."
The Minister looked at Draco with what might have been understanding, or might have been pity, Draco couldn't be sure.
"I understand, and I would not ask it if it were not completely necessary. You should know this vow will only hold you to secrecy for a period of two weeks." Kingsley continued, "After that, the need for secrecy will be lifted and you will be free to discuss all matters we have discussed here as freely as you wish."
Draco looked at Narcissa, who nodded sharply.
"Fine," Draco muttered, raising his wand to swear the oath. The other participants of the room did so quickly and with much less argument than Draco expected.
After the oaths had been cast, Kingsley spoke again, his voice much more serious than Draco had ever heard.
"We have asked you to be here today because each one of you is important to upcoming changes in Britain's magical community. Before I begin, I must ask that you all do your best to maintain your composure and save your questions until we've had a chance to explain fully." He said.
Looks of confusion were shared around the room between many of the gathered.
Hermione Granger took that opportunity to stand next to the Minister. "What you are going to hear today will be shocking, and probably infuriating, and upsetting. Please know that each one of us that have asked you to be here understands your feelings and have dealt with our own in regards to it as well."
She spoke eloquently. Draco knew she was active in the Ministry doing work as a barrister, and he could tell it suited her.
"The original committee consisted of Minister Shacklebolt, Healer Pye, Lord Ogden, Mr. Saul Croaker Head of the Department of Mysteries, and myself." she continued, "You all already know Mr. Harry Potter, and we also have two Unspeakables from the DOM with us as well."
"For more than 20 years, St. Mungo's has dedicated a team to researching the dwindling magical birth rate that has grown within our community. Most of you are probably aware of at least at some level, that families are having fewer children then they used to. Older generations often had three, four children, or more. Most of my classmates are only children." she said.
Draco knew this was true. In his family circle, only one family had more than one child. The Parkinson family had Pansy and her little sister Poppy, but his own Mother had many miscarriages and was not able to birth a second child.
"The research found that magical genetics, a code if you will within each one of us, our personal mix of magics, had led to the decline in pregnancies and viable births." She explained, "Both before and during the first Wizarding war, families began to intermix their lines. Pureblood families often married other Pureblood families. This is not an attack, please don't be upset. We all know it to be true, and many of your own families have experienced it. Marriages were made for power and gain, and the genetic lines of the families have become intermixed over so many generations that it has caused a brokenness, a sickness, if you will, that won't allow for continued societal growth.
Draco felt a bit disgusted. He knew that inbreeding in the families was a thing. Hell, the Black family especially, chose to marry other family members to keep their lines pure.
"St. Mungo's and the DOM have developed a spell that will allow witches and wizards to find a person that their magical lines can intermix with healthily, that will allow for pregnancy and childbirth. Each of us within the committee has already cast the spell for our own magical matches."
She took a deep breath, looking around the room. "However, there's more to the meeting then just explaining the spell, Mr. Ogden, if you could please continue."
Tiberius Ogden was a formidable man. He stood next to Hermione in the traditional Wizengamot robes, and Draco knew this man held a lot of power within their world.
"Please remember to hold your questions or outbursts until the end of our meeting." he said quickly and sternly, "The Wizengamot has worked with St. Mungo's to draft legislation that will protect the future of our community. As it stands, if we continue to allow mismatched marriages and births to occur, it is likely the magical community will die out completely within two generations."
Beside Draco, Narcissa sucked in a breath between her teeth. Draco furled his eyebrows as he looked at her. Clearly, she had an idea of what was coming next.
"Because of this, we have decided to implement a law that will require Magical citizens of Britain to cast for their magical match or matches. Witches and wizards will be required to marry their matches and procreate with them within a certain timeframe." Ogden spoke sharply. "It is non-negotiable. There will be strict punishments for those who refuse."
As Ogden sat, the room was completely silent. The magical tension in the room was rising, and Draco worried about the outburst to come.
Minerva was the first to speak. "You mean to marry off the magical community and force them to have children, to prevent the death of magical lines? Is that it?"
Hermione looked sadly at the woman who was her friend and mentor. "Yes." she said, "Believe me if there was any other way... I've gone over all the research myself. You know me, I didn't leave a stone unturned. I hate the idea of being forced to procreate or marry someone I do not wish to. But the fact is, the community will die out if we don't do something."
Harry stood then, surprising Draco.
"You all know very well that I've spent my life being manipulated to support the actions of others for the greater good of society. I was... quite angry when Hermione and Kingsley told me about all of this. But, the Wizarding world is my home. I didn't take the killing curse twice to see it all wiped away."
Murmurs settled around the room after his speech. Of course, Draco thought, the boy-who-lived could rally supporters in nearly anything.
"Why us?" he asked with more than a hint of anger in his voice, "if we're here, there's a reason for it. Why us? Why not just tell us with the rest of the world."
Kingsley chose that moment to take back over the meeting.
"Two reasons. First, we need powerful and influential members of our society to support the law. We aren't asking you to be happy about the law, but we need more than just Hermione, Harry, and myself to control the masses after we announce it. We expect a lot of anger and we know that asking respected members of our society to speak on the importance of the law to help." He said.
Draco snorted loudly, "I'm sorry, did you say respected?" he laughed lightly, "People still spit at me in the streets!"
Kingsley looked defeated at that moment but quickly schooled his features back to his stoic facade.
"Well, the second reason is that some of you are magical matches to members of the committee. If we can gain your support..." he trailed off.
The committee had decided to take a short break, to ease the tension in the room and hopefully prevent any outbursts of accidental magic with the fury that had risen in a few of the room's occupants.
Draco paced the floor in the waiting room outside the Minister for Magic office, while Narcissa sat stoically nearby.
"Fuck!" he ranted, not caring about his language, "So we're either here to bring the purebloods in line or because we're matched with someone already! This is ridiculous!"
Narcissa sighed, grabbing Draco's hand and forcing him to stop pacing.
"My son," she said, "I did always wish I could have given you so much more in life. Not just... more things, as you have plenty of that, but... more love, more kindness. I wish I could have given you a house full of siblings to grow up with. I have seen first hand the effects of pureblood inbreeding and I would wish it upon no-one. That is why I quickly had your betrothal with the Greengrass girl undone after your Father was sentenced. I will not send you to a life of a pain, I refuse. You may not be able to choose your spouse in this, son, but you will have children that you can give all your love too. You will not be alone."
Draco sighed, he knew he wanted a large family. He always had. He assumed it would never come to pass, as most people still looked at the Malfoy family as disgusting, either dark or traitorous. Perhaps this was a chance to have children, and maybe he could find friendship with his match, at least.
As the group regathered, Draco could tell many conversations like his own had happened in the interim. There was still a strong undercurrent of anger in the room, but there was also a resignation to the outcome.
Hermione stood quickly to speak again. "The Department of Mysteries and I have developed a spell that will allow a witch or wizard to find their magical genetic match. It has been greatly changed many times to ensure appropriate matching and fairness for every participant."
"Before we begin casting, for those of you who agree to do so today, you must know something else. Because of the high levels of the familial intermixing present in lines already established in our society, it is possible that a person may receive more than one match. Purebloods can expect to match with a half-blood or muggleborn partner. Halfbloods can match with either purebloods or half-bloods or muggle-borns. Muggleborns are at a distinct disadvantage, as they have the most unique genetic structure, since they don't have any magical lineage, they are able to match with pure or half-bloods, but they are pretty much guaranteed to have more than one match." she rushed out the words, knowing it might cause another uprising in the group.
"I myself have cast, as Kingsley stated earlier, and I have three matches, although I won't be sharing them until all parties are aware of their own matches as well. Each committee member is dedicated to the law, despite our own misgivings, and hope our partners will be as well," she said, before sitting back down.
Tiberius Ogden stood again, "While your casting today is voluntary, you will be required to cast in two weeks when the law goes public. We would ask each of you in attendance today to decide if you can publically support the law, and if you will decide to cast today."
"If we decide not to cast, ever," asked Andromeda, "What then?"
"Members of the community who do not cast and follow the law to marry and procreate with their magical matches will be sentenced to imprisonment in Azkaban until they agree to cast. Hopefully, they would choose to cast before completely losing their minds." Ogden responded sharply.
It was a surprise to Draco to hear the next voice speak, "But Sir, with all due respect, not everyone can cast... my parents, they are in St. Mungo's and will be... forever" Neville said quietly.
Hermione chose to speak again. "Neville," she said softly, "There are exceptions made to those who cannot cast with their own free will. It includes medical patients and prisoners. You won't be matched with either, and your parents will be safe."
A look of relief crossed his face. "Alright, I don't like it, you know." Neville said, "But I'll do it. You've never lead me wrong before, Hermione."
Hermione looked grateful, and Draco liked seeing the smile on her face.
"I'll do it too." The words were out of his mouth before he even realized what he was saying. Narcissa gripped his hand beneath the table before agreeing to cast as well.
In the end, the entire room had agreed to cast that day, even Andromeda.
Hermione spoke once more. "We are going to ask you all to wait here. We've set up a small casting room where we will bring you in, one at a time, to cast. Each member of the committee will be there for your casting, but please know we're bound to the secrecy as well. After you cast, you can return to this room. You are free to discuss your results with the other people present today."
The room was silent as the committee left to prepare for casting through a door to the right of Draco, that he hadn't noticed before.
Andromeda was called first, and she entered the room quietly, and then exited within a matter of minutes. She stood quietly to the side of the room while Luna was called in to cast.
"Narcissa," Andromeda said softly, approaching the Malfoy family, "I... can we...?"
Narcissa stood quickly, grabbing her sister and pulling her into a hug. The look of shock on Andromeda's face was priceless, Draco thought, knowing his Mother's newfound love for affectionate gestures.
"Please, Meda." Narcissa said, "We're family. Let's let it go, be my sister again."
"I have a match," Andromeda said, "No one in the committee, so they must've just wanted me to be a supporter. His name is Martin Wilson. A muggle-born who works in the DMLE."
Luna came back out of the room and Neville entered.
She was as quirky as Draco remembered her being in school, as she loudly announced her match in Dean Thomas, another student from their time at Hogwarts.
When Neville came back out of the room, Draco could tell he was happy.
Occupants continued to flow in and out of the room until it was just he and his Mother left.
Narcissa was called first.
When Narcissa entered the room, she was surprised to find it was just as large as the room she had left.
A cup of tea was placed in front of her by one of the MInistry's house elves.
Hermione sat in the chair next to her, a bit stiffly, and began to explain the process of casting.
Narcissa listened in with half her attention, nerves grating under her skin as she prepared to bond herself to another, something she never imagined herself doing after losing Lucius to the kiss.
She nodded to Hermione that she understood the process, and cast the spell.
As her results showed on the paper, her eyes swam with tears...
A woman. A muggle-born woman. Ella Wright, the paper glittered.
And... Harry Potter. Her eyes rose to the man across the room.
He approached slowly and reached out a hand. "Mrs. Malfoy, you've already saved my life once, and I know this must be very difficult for you, but I owe you a great debt and I will do anything to help make this easier on you. I only wish for some peace and happiness, perhaps for both of us."
A sob left her throat, and Harry escorted her gently back into the conference room.
Draco saw his Mother come out of the room crying, with Harry-bleeding-Potter's arm wrapped around her shoulder and he stood, ready to whip out his wand and hex the man.
His Mother held a hand in his directions. "It's fine." she croaked, as Harry led her to her seat next to Andromeda. "Go, it's your turn."
Draco was uneasy, leaving his Mother like that, but he turned and entered the room anyway.
Hermione sat next to an empty chair and gestured for him to sit.
"Draco," she said gently, with kindness in her eyes, "Thank you for agreeing to cast today."
He grunted in response, not trusting himself with words.
"The spell is designed to pulse magical Britain and find your magical genetic match or matches. It will read the intention of your personality and heart, and match you with the witches or wizards best fit for you. There is no judgment in this room, as we've all got our own magical matches too." she said.
"Right," he stammered, "Just show me how to do it."
Hermione showed him the incantation and wand movement and Draco sliced his finger, rubbing it across the parchment in front of him, and cast the spell.
He should have expected, given that he'd been called here, that she was his match.
Hermione Jean Granger. Her name glittered on the parchment and he looked at her. A soft smile on her face, curls bouncing around her head. "It's okay," she whispered.
It was then that he noticed a second name forming on the paper, and felt Hermione slip her hand around his.
Severus Tobias Snape.
He looked at Hermione before a flash of black cloth drew his attention. His breath was coming in gasps as he looked at the man lowering the hood of his thick black robe.
"You're dead," he gasped out. "You can't..."
Hermione rubbed his back gently, "It's real." she whispered to him.