Chapter 36
NARCISSA MALFOY
With a crack, she appeared in the all too familiar back alley of Spinner's End. Her heart raced in her chest as she prepared herself for the eventual meeting with her son, and the choice she had made haunted her entire being.
In the end, walked towards the door hidden in the wall as he entered Severus's apartment, and the smell of plants, algae, and potions hit her nose, as she saw him sitting there sipping tea.
His eyes glanced towards her as he stood up, his frustration with his new role evident in his demeanour. She slowly walked into the lounge, her heart heavy with pain. Severus backed away, motioning her to enter the lounge, and as she did, her eyes moved towards him in an instant.
Her son, Cassius, sat on the sofa at the opposite end of the table, sipping a Muggle beverage, a Coke, from what she could tell from the label.
Their eyes met, and he did not rush towards her, as she had hoped, or prayed. He sat there, distant and dull, as he gave her a glance.
"I will leave you both to it now," Severus's voice cut in from behind as she gave him a smile.
"Thank you for doing this, Professor," his voice came out, and she had missed it more than she had thought, but she had made her choice, and she must now live for it.
And Severus did not respond as he vanished into the hallway, leaving them alone with another.
"How have you been?" and it was he who broke the silence, as he looked her in the eye.
"Fine," she, she answered a bit hopeful as she realised that he did care for her.
"What about you?" she asked, and he shrugged as he usually did.
"Same," and she would have liked to know more, yet did she deserve it?
"I know that you are anxious to know more about why I called you here, but before I tell you that, I need you to answer a question of mine honestly," and she was surprised by those words, as his eyes narrowed.
"When you disclosed my role in Pettigrew's arrest to Father? Did he hurt you?" and she was taken aback by that tone, as those grey eyes glinted, scrutinising her from head to toe.
"No," she lied, refusing to tell him the truth. And if he suspected anything, it did not show, for Narcissa had learned to lie a long time ago.
"I see," he whispered, nodding his head.
"Well, then, so be it," and at that the folder placed in front of him skidded on the table to her side as her son began.
"As a repayment of the favor you did for me, by separating my funds, I have managed to scrap together this deal for father from the DMLE," and there were so many questions bubbling in her mind about the hows of it all?
"How?" she asked, surprised at his reach as he simply shrugged.
"It doesn't matter," and he pointed towards the file.
"Read it, I can assure you he will get no better deal," and she opened the folder, took out the papers inside, and began to skim over them. Lucius and his associates had tried to reach out to Fudge, and even to Amelia Bones, yet they had been rebuffed by both of them, for neither party wanted to diminish their image by being associated with a suspected Death Eater just before the elections.
Fudge had initially met his assosciates a few times, until that damned Reeta Skeeter had caught them during one of their meeting and had published a scathing article about it in the Prophet, forcing Fudge to distance himself from Lucius.
So, they had been unable to secure a deal for Lucius, yet somehow Cassius had done just that. As she read the details, she found herself stunned at the leniency of the terms. They would never have been able to get such a deal even if they had offered Amelia half the fortune in the Malfoy vaults.
"How?" she gasped in surprise.
"Read the next page before you say anything," and as she turned the page, she realised that it was not all as rosy as she had thought, for this deal would only happen if Lucius agreed to divulge the name of five Death Eaters, along with the recent plans of the group that he was involved in.
"He will never agree to this," for it would mean putting a massive target on his back.
"You will have to make him. This is the best deal he will ever get. No trial. No jail. Nothing, and all he has to give up are his recent plans and five Death Eaters that still roam free," and if word got out that Lucius had ratted them out, they would all strike at him.
"How did you even do something like this?" she asked, and he did not respond.
"It does not matter. This is my payment for the debt I owed to you, what you do with this is upto you. But do tell him this, that the Ministry is not as oblivious to his plans as he may think. That if he goes through with the attack," and her heart stopped as she heard those words.
Attack. How did he know about that?
"He will be caught. And then he will be thrown into Azkaban for life," and at that, Cassius stood up.
"If you genuinely love him, make him see some sense. Otherwise, I have done my part," and with that, he walked away, leaving a stunned Narcissa behind, and as he walked past her, she finally broke out of her stupor as she jumped to her feet and spoke up.
"I am sorry," she began as her eyes watered and her words quivered.
"I am sorry that I chose him," and he glanced back at her, and looked her in the eye.
"I don't need your apology. All I needed from you was the truth, and yet you could not even trust me with that...."
And with those words, she realised that her lie from earlier had been caught. That perhaps she was not really as good a liar as she thought herself to be.
.
.
.
Days later, as an opportunity rose, Narcissa found herself visiting Lucius once more, as she presented him with the deal Cassius had entrusted to her, a last thread of goodwill on his part as he tried to do right by her.
"What is this?" Lucius questioned sharply as she slowly pushed the folder in front of him.
"An offer from the Ministry for your exoneration," and his eyes narrowed at that.
"How did you get this? My men have been trying to reach out to both camps, one way or another, yet have failed to do so for months," and that may be true, but she also knew that if she mentioned Cassius's name, he would not even look at the deal.
"I reached out to a few friends from school who were close with Amelia, and they were able to scrap this together," she lied, hoping and praying that this time, her lies held better than they had against her own son.
Lucius did not say anything as he opened the folder and began to skim over the details. His eyes narrowed as he scoured every line, and just as he turned the page, his expression hardened.
"What were you thinking, bringing me something like this," he lashed out, closing and throwing the file at her, yet she held her tongue.
"This was the best..."
"You and I both know that the moment I sign this, I would be forfeiting my life," and indeed, the Dark Lord was known for many things, and generosity and mercy was not one of them.
If it were uncovered that Lucius had broken faith and had complied with the DMLE, his fellow Death Eaters would hunt him down.
"We could leave Britain," she suggested with a heavy heart, yet it was an idea worth considering.
"Transfer Draco to Drumstrang as you desired years ago. They will never be able to find yo..."
"You seem to forget just who is the Headmaster of Drumstrang." And he was wrong, she remembered.
"Igor Karkaroff, broke faith as well. He might understand your circumstance..." and he clicked his tongue.
"One would have to be a fool to expect understanding and mercy from people like Igor Karkaroff," and himself as well. Lucius was no different than them, much to her surprise.
Yet the only thing that had allowed him to maintain that veil of civility and culture was his money, and with that gone, she was beginning to see the real him—the Death Eater Lucius Malfoy.
"Take it back. The Winzengamont has done us a great service in postponing the vote to after the Quidditch tournament," and he rose up from his chair as he began to walk out the door.
"They seem to have forgotten that the war is not as over as they may think. That the Dark Lord may be gone, but his followers still live and will carry out his will," and it seemed to her that he remained dead set in his ways despite all her pleas and efforts.
Seeing him like this, so drunk on his rage and anger, she wondered again if she had made the right choice.
She opened her mouth, thinking that she should warn him off that the Ministry was aware of their attacks, that he should alter the plan. Yet the more she looked at him, the more her words failed her, and her mistake became more and more apparent.
"Lucius," she called out, and he turned to face her. It was something in his face that made her heart twist as she looked him in the eye.
"What?" he asked, and the words died in her mouth as she stood up and, gathering back the file with a flick of her wand, she shook her head.
"Nothing," she whispered, making him frown.
"I will be on my way then," and just as she had taken a few steps, he called after her.
"What about Draco? When will you bring him to meet me?" and contrary to her expectations, her eldest had not been so enthusiastic to meet him as she had expected.
"He has grown a bit ill. I will see to it once he has recovered," he said, and if he saw through her lie, he did not call her out on it as he nodded.
"Take him to the best healer from St. Mungo's," he said, and she nodded, agreeing to him as she made to walk out of this abhorrent place.
"I will...."
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HARRY POTTER
For the first time in his life, Harry realised what a normal life was. He had always dreaded his stays at the Dursley's because of their strict and hateful attitude, yet this year his stay was unlike anything he had experienced before.
He now had a room to himself, decorated with a shelf where his course books lay. And while previously he was forced to complete his summer work at night, in secret, now he could do whatever he wanted in broad daylight.
He could watch TV, go out and play, and eat whatever and whenever he wanted. And he wondered if this was what having a family, what having parents, felt like.
Sirius had used a mixture of bribes and fear to control the Dursleys, and initially they had tried to fool and lie to Sirius, yet his godfather had made it a habbit to visit him at least twice a week, and unlike Mrs. Figg and the rest, he saw through their lies on first glance.
Yet despite the improved condition of his stay, Harry was still counting out the days, waiting for the thirty days to run out so he could go and live with Sirius. He still did not fully understand why he had to spend a month with the Dursleys, but if it was like this he could spend years with them.
But now he won't have to because he now has a family. He looked at the clock, and saw it hit twelve as his stuff lay ready there, all packed up for the time ahead.
DING. DONG.
"It's for me," he announced as he ran out of the room, ignoring the glare from his Aunt and cousin as he rushed towards the door, and as he opened it, Sirius stood there, dressed in his usual loose shirt and trousers, as he gave him a witty smirk.
"You ready, Harry?" and Harry could not nod quickly enough, as he smiled.
"Yes, let me go and get my stuff," and he stopped him, as he whipped out his wand, a twelve-inch dogwood and Dragonheartstring wand that he had gotten with him from Olivander's.
And in an instant, his stuff flew out of his home and right in front of them.
"Are we going to apparate?" Harry asked, and Sirius shook his head, much to his relief.
"Nah, I have brought something far more exciting," and as he moved to the side, he saw a car standing there, an old Muggle car, one he had seen in those old films liked by his Aunt.
"What is that?" he asked, slowly walking towards the glistening car.
"That is our ride," and Sirius hauled his tuff into the back, as he jumped into the driver's seat.
"I had Arthur whip this up for me, and a generous donation to the Ministry meant that I could get it registered as a personal item," and he knew that the Minstry was being rather lenient with him given how they had caused him so much strife.
He had won a massive settlement from the Ministry, partly because he had somehow fooled Fudge and his cronies into thinking that he would give them a portion of it as a donation.
But in the end, he had simply kept it all for himself as he came out in full support of Fudge's opposition.
"What about the Minister's elections?" he asked.
"They were delayed," Sirius added much to his surprise.
"Why?"
"You will know soon enough," and with that he closed the doors, and Harry was impressed by the fine interior of the car as he turned towards Sirius and asked another question.
"Where are we going?" because from what he could tell, Sirius had yet to buy a home.
"Home," and so they rode forth, and the ride somehow reminded him of a mixture of a race car and the Night Bus.
And they rode and rode, until they stood infront of a rather ancient and ominous-looking House.
"We are here," Sirius began, sliding out of the car as Harry followed suit, still taken aback by the size of the building.
Sirius pulled out his trunks and bags, as they walked to the door and turned to face.
"This is Number Twelve Grimmauld Place, our home," and just as they walked in Harry found himself surprised as he saw a somewhat familiar face standing there.
"Hermione...."
"Harry....."
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