Thank you for reading! I don't own any of Harry Potter! Please let me know if you enjoy! Updates every Saturday!
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Only somewhat confident in the newfound ability Tom had spent the majority of the last week imparting upon her, Harriet finally reunited with her family the instant she walked into Malfoy Manor's parlor Thursday evening and found them waiting there for her.
"Oh, sweetheart!" Lily cried as she rushed forward and threw her arms around her daughter.
"Sissy!" Ellery shrieked as he leapt from his seat and hurried over to join the hug.
Severus remained stoically silent, although as Harriet greeted her mother and brother, she felt his black eyes boring into her.
Once their fond exchange finally ended, she stepped back and gave Severus a tired smile as she whispered, "Hey, Dad."
"It fills me with relief…..knowing you've managed to stay safe this far." Severus told Harriet in his low drawl.
His aversion to overly emotional displays did not stop him from placing a hand on her shoulder in silent, reluctant acceptance of the hug she gave him.
Severus and Ellery wore bittersweet smiles as Harriet released Severus and nodded, "I'm glad all of you are still safe too, at least for now. It's been a difficult summer."
"Indeed……..though I'm afraid the night ahead will hold its own perils." Severus frowned warningly.
"He wants to see me," Harriet shrugged, "That's all I know, Dad. What does he really want? How is this going to work?"
"Draco informed me that the separate…..perhaps smaller……portion of the Dark Lord has in fact, taught you Occlumency." Severus remarked.
"That's right." She nodded, "Tom's shown me all he can in a week's time. I dunno how well it'll have paid off. What if he sees through me, Dad? Isn't he supposed to be the greatest mind reader……or something? The greatest Legilimens?"
Harriet frowned as Draco suddenly appeared in the parlor's entryway and stepped into the room.
"What's rarely realized about Occlumency is that one's ability to conceal their true thoughts and fears are often strengthened if they have a distraction from their emotions." Severus explained while Draco came to stand beside him.
"...What does that have to do with Malfoy?" Harriet asked suspiciously as her eyes darted between her fiancé and her father.
Lily grinned.
Ellery smirked in silent amusement.
"Nothing will please the Dark Lord more than seeing you obey his will……and his wishes." Severus spoke as he focused his black stare on Harriet, "He has commanded a union between you both and to allay…." He spoke a bit louder as Harriet's eyes widened while her mouth dropped open, "...Any suspicions that may linger in his brilliantly sinister mind, you both will pretend to accept that match tonight, both eager to fulfill the purpose he's assigned to each of you………Do you understand?"
Draco tried not to sigh in elation.
His newest assignment was an easy one, he could just be himself around Harriet for once, with no need to hide his true feelings.
Harriet's emerald eyes narrowed as incredulous rage flowed through her veins.
"You expect me to pretend that I actually…..like…..Malfoy?!" She hissed.
"From what your mother's told me, you've already impersonated Gringotts employees and Ministry workers." Severus scowled, "Surely feigning simple infatuation shouldn't be too insurmountable a task, should it?"
Harriet grit her teeth as she looked over at Draco.
The dreamy gaze of devotion left his grey eyes as he dared to hiss at her, "Do it, Snape, or we'll be buried next to our parents if we're lucky!"
Harriet glared at Draco as she let out an exaggerated sigh, as if he were some great burden she had been forced to carry.
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An hour later, Severus and Lily had already assembled in the mansion's elegant dining room along with the other Death Eaters while Draco and Harriet prepared for their big entrance.
After taking a moment to collect their thoughts and revisit their mutual, fake story, they finally journeyed to the dining room together, hand in hand.
Harriet did her best to ensure her nails all but pierced through Draco's pale flesh.
"Bet you're loving this, aren't you, Malfoy?" Harriet snapped as they walked along.
"No more than you are, Snape." Draco frowned, "I'd prefer a bride that didn't wish me dead, if that's not too much to ask for."
"...It just may be." Harriet hissed.
"...What are you and your little friends really doing out there in the woods?" Draco frowned.
"You wouldn't believe me if I told you." Harriet frowned.
Draco wanted to talk to Harriet until she lowered her defense mechanisms and finally let him in.
He wanted to help her, be beside her, do whatever it took, just as Tom did.
His dream was not meant to be a reality.
Before he could ask Harriet anything else, they arrived at their destination.
Her hand shot out to grab the doorknob.
Draco opened his mouth to speak but before words came, Harriet yanked the door wide open.
To their shared dismay, Voldemort had already arrived.
He turned, along with everyone else at the table, to watch as Harriet and Draco stepped into the room.
"Ah!" Voldemort exclaimed, "Our two young lovers healed from their mysterious afflictions at last! Dear Harriet, daughter of Severus, and her betrothed…..Draco, son of Lucius…...what welcome additions to our gathering tonight!"
As Draco and Harriet walked forward to take the only empty two seats at the table, Harriet could only manage a nervous smile as she struggled to uphold her silent practice of Occlumency.
Tom had warned her it would be difficult, but she had underestimated exactly how difficult it would be as Draco chivalrously pulled his chair out for her and let her sit before he took his own seat.
The Snapes and Malfoys all silently hoped that the Dark Lord would be pleased with the attendance at his meeting and move on to discuss other, more pressing matters, but Voldemort was not yet satisfied.
"We've missed you both so very much!" He said with a sugary smile of insincere sweetness, "Draco, you've been absent all week and Harriet…..Our darling Harriet……it's been a nearly unforgivably long time since you graced us with your presence."
Voldemort's feigned smile faded into an angry scowl as he gazed at Harriet and Draco.
Severus and Lily's hearts were seized by weighty anxiety.
Narcissa wanted to cry.
Lucius clenched his jaw.
"Your parents have been reluctant to reveal the true causes of your absences……" Voldemort explained in a low hiss, "...So then, I'll let you both explain yourselves. Give me…." He grinned evilly, "...Reassurance that you both remain committed to our regime's noble cause."
Harriet took a long, silent breath.
If she could do anything besides uphold her Occlumency practice, she could have easily thought up ten believable lies to feed Voldemort.
Draco had the advantage of two years' instruction in mind-guarding magic from his Aunt Bellatrix.
As hard as it was for him to keep the Dark Lord out of his thoughts, he knew he had no choice but to offer up a viable excuse, lest Voldemort double his silent, needling efforts at Legilimency.
"Forgive us, my lord." Draco said as he took Harriet's hand in his on the table for everyone to see.
Harriet's face twisted into a hateful grimace at the unwanted contact.
"I'm afraid we've failed you….When you promised us to each other, we failed to anticipate the attraction that would grow between us. Your wisdom has proven far too great for us to handle responsibly." Draco went on with his head down, turned towards Voldemort.
If there was anything Voldemort liked besides power, it was a good, proper groveling.
"I'm afraid………." Draco began.
Lily frowned.
Narcissa's blue eyes widened in anxious anticipation.
Severus and Lucius exchanged questioning glances.
"Our recent absences have been entirely my fault." Draco confessed.
Voldemort narrowed his serpentine eyes to slits.
"Our parents' hesitation to admit the truth has been their efforts to preserve our families' pride and good social standing." Draco went on.
It was Severus's turn then to narrow his eyes.
"You see, my lord," Draco began as he glanced at Harriet, who threw him a hateful scowl, "Harriet and I have taken the assignment you've given us too seriously, too early."
"Elaborate, Draco." Voldemort commanded.
The single, condemning, complicating lie slipped from his lips as easily as a guiltless answer as Draco raised his gray gaze to meet Voldemort's frightening face while he announced for all present to hear, "Harriet is with child."
Lucius put a hand over his face before he could stop himself.
Narcissa bit her lip.
Lily squeezed Severus's thigh under the table.
Severus silently berated Draco for his own stupidity.
It was done.
They would all be dead in a matter of moments.
Hiding thoughts from a great Legilimens like Voldemort was one thing, but claiming people were present who were not was pure foolishness.
Someone as powerful as the Dark Lord could detect an unborn soul easier than a snake could find a mouse in a wooded glen.
"Draco….Harriet……" Voldemort smiled as he lifted his hand, "Have you so little confidence in my abilities? I sensed exactly that the moment you two entered the room! How very chivalrous, Draco, of you to stay behind to protect the mate I've given you! A toast, everyone!," Voldemort barked as he lifted the silver goblet in front of him off the table and raised it high, "...To young Harriet, Draco, and the next generation that soon comes to further our admirable mission!"
As everyone followed Voldemort's command and raised their own drinkware, Severus, Lily, Lucius, and Narcissa turned to look at Harriet with incredulous shock all over their faces.
Ellery blinked.
Draco quickly drank the punch in his goblet to stop himself from screaming.
Harriet's face had gone white.
She boiled with anger at Draco for lying, yet the adults knew the only way Voldemort would have accepted such an outlandish claim is if it had been……..not a claim at all, but real and honest truth.