The Lord Appellant 28/37
Oct. 22nd, 2011 08:35 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
herumtreiberTitle: The Lord Appellant 28/37
Chapter: Enter Ginny
Author:![[info]](https://p.dreamwidth.org/645e27cdd7f5/936704-159820/l-files.livejournal.net/userhead/16)
herumtreiber
Genre: Slash, romance, adventure, dark!fic
Pairing: Draco/Blaise, one sided Harry/Draco
Rating: R
Warnings for the fic and chapter: It's a dark fic, rape is mentioned several times. Dementors appear and not for show. Character death (not Harry, Draco or Blaise). Evil!Ron, powerful Hermione, Pansy and Bellatrix. Sympathetic to Slytherins.
Epilogue compliant? No
Chapter length: ~3,600 words
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or related characters. Nor do I make any money from writing these stories.
Summary: After the events of HBP, the Minister of Magic wants to finish the Malfoys but Draco uses a Wizengamot procedure to fight back. Veelas and Siddhe appear in the story as Draco uses political means to contest the pureblood's allegiance to Voldemort.
Notes: I wrote this before DH was published, so please no picayune comments about canon.
Table of contents
27. The Lords Appellant
After Ron’s body was carted away to be cared for in St. Mungo’s, Hermione looked at the assembled Wizengamot. She noticed their weary, despairing faces. She felt shattered and wanted to mourn the passing of his once best friend; she wanted to descend into catatonia and remain there. Most of all, she felt like giving up, hiding from the world until she was left blessedly alone.
However, one look at the cowed faces of the Gryffindors convinced her not to. They were stymied, in deepest despair after the betrayal of their young. She could try to change that mood. She gained new appreciation for Draco’s cunning mind, for he had written:
”The Gryffindors are and will be a little cowed, it would do them a world of good to see such a fine proposal from one of their own.”
Hermione felt she understood better the pull under which Harry and Draco laboured, the overwhelming urge to do something to ease the collective pain. She wondered if this feeling could become destructive.
Looking at the haggard faces of the Wizengamot members, she got their attention by coughing loudly. “Lord Malfoy and I were discussing recently the law disbanding the four Hogwarts Houses. Draco was of the opinion that conventional wisdom was so ingrained against Slytherin, it made their stay at the school considerably much more difficult than it would have been otherwise. We lived in a world in which a first year student could be mocked because of his name and it was still his fault because it was presumed he’d become Slytherin. I must sadly agree that when there was conflict among students of different houses, teachers would discriminate against Slytherins.”
Hermione walked to the centre of the chamber, turning to face the assembled members of the Wizengamot.
“I’ve interacted recently with Slytherins, much more than in the past 6 years. I realize there are more than cold hearts in action here. If they were truly as bad as they are portrayed, Harry Potter would be dead many times over. I propose to you a Gedankenexperiment, an experiment of the mind. Imagine the events that we just viewed in the Pensieve. What if they are brought to your attention, but you don’t know from which house the students were. What would you conclude? Where would your judgment put them?”
A former Gryffindor snorted, a wizened thick-set man named Julius Campbell. “Slytherin, of course!”
Hermione shook her head sadly. “It is against these prejudices that Draco rails. He hopes that with all barriers removed, people will have more freedom to make friends from other backgrounds. That would lead to more tolerance in the long run. Whilst I’m sympathetic to this view, I also mourn the passing of the tradition involving the Hogwarts Houses. To sit in the Gryffindor common room, where Godric once was… that implies continuity of mind and learning.”
Julius raised his head, looking sharply at Hermione. “You tell them!”
She crossed her arms, looking intently at them. “The bickering among the Houses provides Hogwarts a way to vent, to let off steam. Strong friendships are forged in such environment. It will be my pleasure to present a bill for the perusal of the Wizengamot in which the Hogwarts Houses are fully restored, with the following provisos.”
Hermione took out a parchment from the pocket of her coat. She unfolded it and read aloud.
“One. Any teacher discriminating against Slytherin will be fired on the spot. Two: If a student is caught fighting against Slytherin more than three times, he will automatically be resorted to Slytherin.” She smiled wryly, mumbling, “A few of my friends would be in Slytherin according to this.”
She frowned as she kept on reading. “A new sorting hat will be conjured to do the sorting if that occurs. Four: In a monthly fashion, a review of deducted House points will be undertaken. If the privilege has been abused, swift action will be taken against the abuser. Five: If the rules I’ve just read are discarded, then the Headmaster or Headmistress will be fired immediately and a Wizengamot session will be called to deal with the complaints, with the firm understanding that nothing is more precious than the security and well-being of our children.”
Hermione finished with a flourish, “Those are Lord Malfoy’s and my conclusions regarding the Houses.”
Draco grimaced, giving the impression he was seething. “I still think that the dissolution of the Houses is better, but Hermione kept bringing up germane points. It took us five hours to arrive at the workable bill which is now in your capable hands.”
oOoOo
Soon the lawmakers were hard at work, fashioning consensus and weighing carefully the votes. Slytherins and Gryffindors were eagerly working together in order to get their beloved Houses back.
Hermione watched bemusedly as several Gryffindors, and surprisingly some Slytherins, looked adoringly at her as if they were grateful that she dealt with the enraged Dragon, returning with their coveted Grail of the Houses.
She was inexpressively happy for the timing of Draco’s concession. When the Gryffindors were really feeling low, Malfoy had done this to cheer them up. He could have let them sink into despair and taunt them endlessly but chose not to. It offered a subtle clue to what Draco wanted.
If Malfoy had been only after power, he would’ve strengthened the Slytherin faction as much as he could. He’d be preparing to dismantle the Gryffindors. It seemed he wanted the Gryffindor faction standing strong too, with their own minds. Draco appeared to be a builder and nurturing, as strange as that may have seemed a while ago.
At long last, the law was presented for the Wizengamot vote. It passed by an overwhelming 97 percent. Draco pretended to grumble as the other members went up to him and Hermione to congratulate them.
And so ended this fateful Wizengamot session.
oOoOo
The next morning, after a breakfast of croissants and tea, Draco retired to his study. He opened a drawer and removed a yellowed parchment. He pricked his finger and allowed some drops of blood to fall to the paper whilst chanting a Druidic incantation.
He proceeded to write to his aunt Bellatrix:
Dear Bella,
Don’t worry. There are ancient Druidic charms on this manuscript. Only a member of Black House can read it. As we are all against V we are safe (unless Regulus shows up!). At any rate, things have been normal here, if you count slander, restoring the Hogwarts Houses, etc, as safe.
I’m writing to urge you to get your horcrux when you can. If you can, grab it and come here. Voldemort is no longer worthy the deception. Always carry your pardon papers with you, and your ring. If you can help Severus, please do so, I’d like to keep my godfather alive.
Draco
The blond whistled the Weird Sisters’ tune, ‘Do the hippogriff.’ He greeted his owl Hammersfall. Tying the parchment to the claw, he said, “This goes to my Aunt Bella, wherever the Dark Twit is hiding. She’ll tell you if she answers. But you look too pretty, Hammersfall, we got to disguise you a bit.”
Draco took his wand and swished it, changing Ham’s colour to a rich cream and white. “Handsome as ever, Hammersfall.”
The owl preened and ruffled his feathers; there was never any doubt about it, a Malfoy owl through and through.
Afterwards Blaise came in and sat down across from Draco. Looking at his boyfriend’s fair visage, it was easy for Blaise to see there were dark thoughts underneath.
Draco said, “Blaise, I made a vow to Ron Weasley. I was compelled by pity, sympathy, and revenge. What Thomas and Finnigan did to the Weasley girl goes completely beyond the pale.”
Blaise scowled. “It was horrible, indeed. I thank Merlin I’ve no sisters who can suffer such fate.”
Draco nodded. “For my taste what they got was too mild, a cell in Azkaban. They retained what they deprived Ginny of, dignity. As a pureblood I cannot countenance this, as a Slytherin I believe Hogwarts was found lacking. As a human being, it tears my heart.”
Blaise squinted at the blond, wondering what Draco was leading up to. “What do you plan to do?”
“I’d like it if you arranged things for the two gits. They could be polyjuiced and used as whores four nights a month at random so there’s no clear pattern.”
oOoOo
Harry and Hermione attended dinner in Malfoy Manor. They looked fine, though a little nervous from the ordeal.
The Slytherins were boisterous and gleeful about having their house back. They bantered back and forth with the two Gryffindors. Draco dropped a big clue, in the hope that they would catch it. He mumbled to the spunky owl, Loki, which had inadvertently wandered into his path, “It’s staring them in the face, and they don’t ask the obvious question, ’What was the incident at the night-time?’”
Hermione instantly seized on the comment with the tenacity of a bulldog, “What do you mean by this?”
Draco huffed. “Years ago I read delightful stories about Sherlock Holmes. If I recall correctly, in one of the cases they wandered around until Holmes said there was something in the night-time that should have occurred but didn’t. This was an important clue.”
Hermione picked up her goblet, taking a sip from the pumpkin juice. “And what is this incident in our case?”
Draco put his arm on Blaise’s knee, motioning to the door. “Not here, in my office.”
He looked meaningfully at the members of the inner circle.
Draco and Blaise were the last to arrive at the office. Harry, Hermione, the Slytherins and Tonks were already there.
Draco cast a powerful privacy spell. “Everyone here knows about the Bridges and how I get there?”
They all nodded except Millicent. Draco explained to her. “Imagine standing on a field with an infinite number of what in your mind look like diamond bridges. In your imagination you hop onto the correct Bridge, knowing that it can take you anywhere in space and time. Siddhe Lords have the ability to open and close portals to other realities.”
Her voice tinged with awe, Millicent said, “So you’re a Siddhe Lord?”
Draco nodded. “Yes, I found out rescuing Mother.”
Pansy asked shrewdly, “What’s that got to do with that incident at the night-time?”
“Everything, my dear Pansy. Given time, I learned how to travel the Roads to different Realms, how to build them. I also found alternate realities and learned to become a part of them. The magic inherent in veritaserum is so strong there’s no escape, you must tell the truth. Though, what happens if your mind lightly hops over into the reality in which the events you wanted to happen occurred? Then the serum is satisfied, and so are you.”
Hermione nodded sagely. “So that’s how you fooled the serum and were able to say nothing occurred that day.”
“Indeed, Hermione. I said what I did because at that moment part of my mind lingered in that reality. The serum recognized that it was the truth and let go.”
Draco looked intensely at Pansy. “And you played a key role, Pansy. There was a problem to identify Weasley as the origin of the third memory. I used a shortcut and made it so that the memory vial, which didn’t come from Weasley himself, would quickly scan a room and choose him, so the magical signature would be the same. Since it could only scan once, Pansy couldn’t enter with it straight away. She had to wait until Weasley arrived, then she made her entrance and delivered the message to Hermione. Thus the vial signature agreed with Weasley and the memories were played out.”
His friends looked at Draco with curiosity; they didn’t understand what he meant. The blond wanted to tear his hair out; to knock their thick, silly heads until they could reason more. To think this was the elite of the Wizarding World! Even Hermione Granger remained unaware of the import of his words!
Finally Draco decided to explain. “I’ll put it plainly for you, simpletons! You are bright, but you are not doing well at all in the thinking department. There is a key fact about one of the memories, which should have become glaringly apparent to anyone watching. It’s something so simple, yet so overlooked. Do you know what it is? Think about the memories!”
Draco waited five minutes but no one came up with an answer or even a question.
He huffed. “Let me put it plainly. In Weasley’s case, after he got dressed and left the room, the memory kept going on. Why would it do that, if it is Weasley’s memory? Shouldn’t it end when he left?”
There were gasps and sharp intakes of breath. The group was surprised. They didn’t expect this turn of events.
Hermione recovered first. “Was it a memory from Dumbledore’s?”
Draco shook his head; finally they were on the right track. “Such a memory would be suspect. After recovering the recollections from Thomas and Finnigan, I tackled Weasley. Overpowering him was easy but when I tried to tap the memory, I found I couldn’t. His brain had been spelt to protect him from such an attack. Nevertheless, I was able to get a time frame for the most incriminating tasks. With that information, I took the Road to that damnable day, watching all that transpired. The memory you saw was mine.”
Harry lifted his arms, shouting angrily, “You could’ve stopped Susan from getting raped!”
Draco drawled, “You mistake me for a god, Potter. Travelling to the past is like going to a movie, everything’s fixed forever as it was. I couldn’t interact with that reality at all; only bear witness, which is what I did.”
Draco said scathingly, “I hope none of you try to work with Aurors – yes, this includes you, Tonks – because your reasoning is woefully underdeveloped.”
Hermione frowned at the blond, taking umbrage with his words. “You can’t blame us, Draco, We weren’t aware of what you can do. Though what do we say if someone suddenly wonders about the memory continuing after Ron left?”
Blaise smirked, rubbing his hands. “We’ll tell them that it came from Dumbledore but he didn’t want it known due to other concerns of his.”
Draco looked intently at Hermione. “I need you to focus on finding ways of destroying the horcruxes!”
She grumbled, “But we need the blasted things first! Then we destroy them!”
The blond gazed at the gardens of the Manor, visible through the windows. “You leave the horcruxes to me! I’ll bring them all to you. What I need is for you to tell us how we can safely destroy them so we don’t suffer what Dumbledore did with his blackened hand.”
Harry faced the brunette. “I trust him, Hermione. If Draco says he’ll get them, I’m sure he will. I reckon we need the spells to destroy them.”
Hermione mused, “Horcruxes may have been of Celtic origin. There are some leads I could follow. The library here has an enormous amount of Celtic lore. I only ask that nobody bothers me if it is not strictly necessary. I hope your mother softens her stance towards Crookshanks, Draco. She makes him nervous.”
Draco outwardly agreed whilst muttering to himself, “The cat is spooky.”
He signalled Pansy to stay behind when all the others left. He got up and went to the liquor cabinet, preparing a drink using rum and coke which was favoured by Pansy. For him, he poured firewhisky.
Pansy went for the attack, lifting her eyebrow. “What do you want, Draco?”
“Moi, whatever gave you that idea?”
“You prepared my favourite drink. You never do that unless you want something.”
“I’m becoming too predictable, damn!” said Draco, taking a sip from his drink. “Congratulations on a job well done with delivering the vials.”
Pansy sat on the chair, nursing her drink. “It was your idea that I become an owl. I wanted something else.”
Draco rolled his eyes. “Yes, Pansy, because diminutive flame-throwing dragons are so common!”
Pansy growled. “I would have been awesome, though a bit noticeable. You were right, Draco. At least I can fly.”
“To me you soar, even when you are not an owl, Pans! Matter of fact, that has to do with the favour I want to ask.”
Pansy finished her drink. She put the glass on the desk, cocking an eyebrow at her blond friend.
“You were there for all of it, the rapes and the denouement,” said Draco sombrely. “At the end, Weasley begged me to avenge his sister. I gave him my word. I’m putting plans in motion to avenge the crimes committed against Ginny. I’ll make it so Thomas and Finnigan rue the day they were born!”
Draco took a deep breath, saying hoarsely, “But it isn’t enough, not by a long shot. Pansy, I was there when Susan learned she had been raped; she suffered so much. I think she even contemplated suicide.”
Pansy put her hand on her chest, her dark eyes fixed intently on Draco. “Do you mean…?”
The blond nodded. “It’ll be worse for Ginny. The public knows about the rapes; they will taunt and vilify her. I doubt Mrs. Weasley will be able to help her much, because of what happened to Weasley. Ginny will feel the world has turned against her. I remember when she faced me, as she defended Harry; hexing me in the train. Don’t want to see her with a blank, dead face. I’ve a feeling about this. We have to move, and do it right now!”
Pansy took her wand, fingering the smooth wood. “What do you want me to do then?”
“I’m begging you to go to Ginny’s side,” said Draco as he touched Pansy’s shoulder. “As a friend with more street-smarts than either Harry or Hermione.”
He fished in his pocket until he found a small, white card and a silver key. “Here’s the information to contact professionals who will help her to cope with the stress of the rape, and a vault key with a reasonable amount that I’ve set up for her so she won’t depend on anyone. You are at liberty to tell her certain information, hopefully not too compromising so she knows what we are doing. If you think our company would help her in her recovery, feel free to bring her here, I modified the wards accordingly.”
Draco softly kissed her cheek. “You must go without delay to the Burrow or we’ll lose her.”
Pansy remembered going to the Burrow on a dare with Draco on Fourth Year. Nott had wanted Weasley’s slippers, and with his typical love of plots and subplots, Draco decided that nothing but the original from the Burrow would do. Fortunately Pansy had been receiving private Apparition classes and was able to keep up with the blond’s exuberant Apparating.
But their luck ran out for there was a party at the Burrow. A disgruntled Draco climbed a seemingly stout vine after one hour, entering the house through the window and snatching the slippers. As he was descending, Draco made a noise. There was a flurry of activity inside. Draco jumped to the ground; he and Pansy ran like the hounds of hell were behind them whilst the redheads were left wondering what had transpired. Pansy remembered that moment with tenderness.
oOoOo
Arriving at the Burrow, Pansy found it very dark. The door was unlocked; muttering Lumos, she went inside and looked for anyone to tell her where Ginny was. On the first floor she found a big bedroom with an immobile woman. Pansy feared the worst.
Lighting the torches, she found out it was Mrs. Weasley, who mumbled over and over, “Ron, don’t go!”
Pansy tried talking to her but got no response.
This didn’t bode well at all. She continued searching and on the second floor she found Ginny’s bedroom. There was no sound, and Ginny was on the bed, unmoving. Pansy feared the worst, watching the bottles of pills around her. She found a weak pulse on Ginny's wrist whilst she waved her wand at the bottles to vanish them.
Pansy couldn’t leave Ginny in this condition. The card Draco gave her had information about a Wizarding hospital. She decided to take Ginny there. Seeing as how Mrs. Weasley was also unconscious, Pansy decided to take the older woman too, letting her husband and sons know where she was.
Pansy could contact the hospital and ask for their assistance to move Ginny, but she wanted to move out of the house now. It was giving her bad vibes. She grabbed hold of Ginny, Apparating with her.
She got to the entrance and had to fill a thorough report. Pansy told them to fetch Mrs. Weasley and started filling the paperwork.
At the end of it all she was thoroughly tired. She had a long chat with Mrs. Sweeney, the Healer who would take care of Ginny. The Slytherin brunette wanted to stay with Ginny until she woke up, but who knew when that would happen? Yet it was imperative that Ginny truly understood that people worried about her, and made arrangements for her welfare.
If only Ginny could see Draco’s face. Pansy recalled she'd seen a Pensieve in the Healer's office. Surely enough, Mrs. Sweeney lent her it. Pansy extracted the memory, remembering their carefree days when the most important things were dares.
She finally left, after leaving the Pensieve on the chair next to Ginny’s bed, next to a scrawled note. 'Ginny, the memory vial will explain some things. I will be back tomorrow at 3:00.'
Pansy made sure that Mrs. Weasley had been brought to the hospital, giving the staff information about the Weasleys. The name and position of Arthur Weasley, Bill’s job as a cursebreaker for Gringott's plus the twins' and Charlie's possible whereabouts.
29. First steps
Chapter: Enter Ginny
Author:
Genre: Slash, romance, adventure, dark!fic
Pairing: Draco/Blaise, one sided Harry/Draco
Rating: R
Warnings for the fic and chapter: It's a dark fic, rape is mentioned several times. Dementors appear and not for show. Character death (not Harry, Draco or Blaise). Evil!Ron, powerful Hermione, Pansy and Bellatrix. Sympathetic to Slytherins.
Epilogue compliant? No
Chapter length: ~3,600 words
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or related characters. Nor do I make any money from writing these stories.
Summary: After the events of HBP, the Minister of Magic wants to finish the Malfoys but Draco uses a Wizengamot procedure to fight back. Veelas and Siddhe appear in the story as Draco uses political means to contest the pureblood's allegiance to Voldemort.
Notes: I wrote this before DH was published, so please no picayune comments about canon.
Table of contents
27. The Lords Appellant
After Ron’s body was carted away to be cared for in St. Mungo’s, Hermione looked at the assembled Wizengamot. She noticed their weary, despairing faces. She felt shattered and wanted to mourn the passing of his once best friend; she wanted to descend into catatonia and remain there. Most of all, she felt like giving up, hiding from the world until she was left blessedly alone.
However, one look at the cowed faces of the Gryffindors convinced her not to. They were stymied, in deepest despair after the betrayal of their young. She could try to change that mood. She gained new appreciation for Draco’s cunning mind, for he had written:
”The Gryffindors are and will be a little cowed, it would do them a world of good to see such a fine proposal from one of their own.”
Hermione felt she understood better the pull under which Harry and Draco laboured, the overwhelming urge to do something to ease the collective pain. She wondered if this feeling could become destructive.
Looking at the haggard faces of the Wizengamot members, she got their attention by coughing loudly. “Lord Malfoy and I were discussing recently the law disbanding the four Hogwarts Houses. Draco was of the opinion that conventional wisdom was so ingrained against Slytherin, it made their stay at the school considerably much more difficult than it would have been otherwise. We lived in a world in which a first year student could be mocked because of his name and it was still his fault because it was presumed he’d become Slytherin. I must sadly agree that when there was conflict among students of different houses, teachers would discriminate against Slytherins.”
Hermione walked to the centre of the chamber, turning to face the assembled members of the Wizengamot.
“I’ve interacted recently with Slytherins, much more than in the past 6 years. I realize there are more than cold hearts in action here. If they were truly as bad as they are portrayed, Harry Potter would be dead many times over. I propose to you a Gedankenexperiment, an experiment of the mind. Imagine the events that we just viewed in the Pensieve. What if they are brought to your attention, but you don’t know from which house the students were. What would you conclude? Where would your judgment put them?”
A former Gryffindor snorted, a wizened thick-set man named Julius Campbell. “Slytherin, of course!”
Hermione shook her head sadly. “It is against these prejudices that Draco rails. He hopes that with all barriers removed, people will have more freedom to make friends from other backgrounds. That would lead to more tolerance in the long run. Whilst I’m sympathetic to this view, I also mourn the passing of the tradition involving the Hogwarts Houses. To sit in the Gryffindor common room, where Godric once was… that implies continuity of mind and learning.”
Julius raised his head, looking sharply at Hermione. “You tell them!”
She crossed her arms, looking intently at them. “The bickering among the Houses provides Hogwarts a way to vent, to let off steam. Strong friendships are forged in such environment. It will be my pleasure to present a bill for the perusal of the Wizengamot in which the Hogwarts Houses are fully restored, with the following provisos.”
Hermione took out a parchment from the pocket of her coat. She unfolded it and read aloud.
“One. Any teacher discriminating against Slytherin will be fired on the spot. Two: If a student is caught fighting against Slytherin more than three times, he will automatically be resorted to Slytherin.” She smiled wryly, mumbling, “A few of my friends would be in Slytherin according to this.”
She frowned as she kept on reading. “A new sorting hat will be conjured to do the sorting if that occurs. Four: In a monthly fashion, a review of deducted House points will be undertaken. If the privilege has been abused, swift action will be taken against the abuser. Five: If the rules I’ve just read are discarded, then the Headmaster or Headmistress will be fired immediately and a Wizengamot session will be called to deal with the complaints, with the firm understanding that nothing is more precious than the security and well-being of our children.”
Hermione finished with a flourish, “Those are Lord Malfoy’s and my conclusions regarding the Houses.”
Draco grimaced, giving the impression he was seething. “I still think that the dissolution of the Houses is better, but Hermione kept bringing up germane points. It took us five hours to arrive at the workable bill which is now in your capable hands.”
Soon the lawmakers were hard at work, fashioning consensus and weighing carefully the votes. Slytherins and Gryffindors were eagerly working together in order to get their beloved Houses back.
Hermione watched bemusedly as several Gryffindors, and surprisingly some Slytherins, looked adoringly at her as if they were grateful that she dealt with the enraged Dragon, returning with their coveted Grail of the Houses.
She was inexpressively happy for the timing of Draco’s concession. When the Gryffindors were really feeling low, Malfoy had done this to cheer them up. He could have let them sink into despair and taunt them endlessly but chose not to. It offered a subtle clue to what Draco wanted.
If Malfoy had been only after power, he would’ve strengthened the Slytherin faction as much as he could. He’d be preparing to dismantle the Gryffindors. It seemed he wanted the Gryffindor faction standing strong too, with their own minds. Draco appeared to be a builder and nurturing, as strange as that may have seemed a while ago.
At long last, the law was presented for the Wizengamot vote. It passed by an overwhelming 97 percent. Draco pretended to grumble as the other members went up to him and Hermione to congratulate them.
And so ended this fateful Wizengamot session.
The next morning, after a breakfast of croissants and tea, Draco retired to his study. He opened a drawer and removed a yellowed parchment. He pricked his finger and allowed some drops of blood to fall to the paper whilst chanting a Druidic incantation.
He proceeded to write to his aunt Bellatrix:
Dear Bella,
Don’t worry. There are ancient Druidic charms on this manuscript. Only a member of Black House can read it. As we are all against V we are safe (unless Regulus shows up!). At any rate, things have been normal here, if you count slander, restoring the Hogwarts Houses, etc, as safe.
I’m writing to urge you to get your horcrux when you can. If you can, grab it and come here. Voldemort is no longer worthy the deception. Always carry your pardon papers with you, and your ring. If you can help Severus, please do so, I’d like to keep my godfather alive.
Draco
The blond whistled the Weird Sisters’ tune, ‘Do the hippogriff.’ He greeted his owl Hammersfall. Tying the parchment to the claw, he said, “This goes to my Aunt Bella, wherever the Dark Twit is hiding. She’ll tell you if she answers. But you look too pretty, Hammersfall, we got to disguise you a bit.”
Draco took his wand and swished it, changing Ham’s colour to a rich cream and white. “Handsome as ever, Hammersfall.”
The owl preened and ruffled his feathers; there was never any doubt about it, a Malfoy owl through and through.
Afterwards Blaise came in and sat down across from Draco. Looking at his boyfriend’s fair visage, it was easy for Blaise to see there were dark thoughts underneath.
Draco said, “Blaise, I made a vow to Ron Weasley. I was compelled by pity, sympathy, and revenge. What Thomas and Finnigan did to the Weasley girl goes completely beyond the pale.”
Blaise scowled. “It was horrible, indeed. I thank Merlin I’ve no sisters who can suffer such fate.”
Draco nodded. “For my taste what they got was too mild, a cell in Azkaban. They retained what they deprived Ginny of, dignity. As a pureblood I cannot countenance this, as a Slytherin I believe Hogwarts was found lacking. As a human being, it tears my heart.”
Blaise squinted at the blond, wondering what Draco was leading up to. “What do you plan to do?”
“I’d like it if you arranged things for the two gits. They could be polyjuiced and used as whores four nights a month at random so there’s no clear pattern.”
Harry and Hermione attended dinner in Malfoy Manor. They looked fine, though a little nervous from the ordeal.
The Slytherins were boisterous and gleeful about having their house back. They bantered back and forth with the two Gryffindors. Draco dropped a big clue, in the hope that they would catch it. He mumbled to the spunky owl, Loki, which had inadvertently wandered into his path, “It’s staring them in the face, and they don’t ask the obvious question, ’What was the incident at the night-time?’”
Hermione instantly seized on the comment with the tenacity of a bulldog, “What do you mean by this?”
Draco huffed. “Years ago I read delightful stories about Sherlock Holmes. If I recall correctly, in one of the cases they wandered around until Holmes said there was something in the night-time that should have occurred but didn’t. This was an important clue.”
Hermione picked up her goblet, taking a sip from the pumpkin juice. “And what is this incident in our case?”
Draco put his arm on Blaise’s knee, motioning to the door. “Not here, in my office.”
He looked meaningfully at the members of the inner circle.
Draco and Blaise were the last to arrive at the office. Harry, Hermione, the Slytherins and Tonks were already there.
Draco cast a powerful privacy spell. “Everyone here knows about the Bridges and how I get there?”
They all nodded except Millicent. Draco explained to her. “Imagine standing on a field with an infinite number of what in your mind look like diamond bridges. In your imagination you hop onto the correct Bridge, knowing that it can take you anywhere in space and time. Siddhe Lords have the ability to open and close portals to other realities.”
Her voice tinged with awe, Millicent said, “So you’re a Siddhe Lord?”
Draco nodded. “Yes, I found out rescuing Mother.”
Pansy asked shrewdly, “What’s that got to do with that incident at the night-time?”
“Everything, my dear Pansy. Given time, I learned how to travel the Roads to different Realms, how to build them. I also found alternate realities and learned to become a part of them. The magic inherent in veritaserum is so strong there’s no escape, you must tell the truth. Though, what happens if your mind lightly hops over into the reality in which the events you wanted to happen occurred? Then the serum is satisfied, and so are you.”
Hermione nodded sagely. “So that’s how you fooled the serum and were able to say nothing occurred that day.”
“Indeed, Hermione. I said what I did because at that moment part of my mind lingered in that reality. The serum recognized that it was the truth and let go.”
Draco looked intensely at Pansy. “And you played a key role, Pansy. There was a problem to identify Weasley as the origin of the third memory. I used a shortcut and made it so that the memory vial, which didn’t come from Weasley himself, would quickly scan a room and choose him, so the magical signature would be the same. Since it could only scan once, Pansy couldn’t enter with it straight away. She had to wait until Weasley arrived, then she made her entrance and delivered the message to Hermione. Thus the vial signature agreed with Weasley and the memories were played out.”
His friends looked at Draco with curiosity; they didn’t understand what he meant. The blond wanted to tear his hair out; to knock their thick, silly heads until they could reason more. To think this was the elite of the Wizarding World! Even Hermione Granger remained unaware of the import of his words!
Finally Draco decided to explain. “I’ll put it plainly for you, simpletons! You are bright, but you are not doing well at all in the thinking department. There is a key fact about one of the memories, which should have become glaringly apparent to anyone watching. It’s something so simple, yet so overlooked. Do you know what it is? Think about the memories!”
Draco waited five minutes but no one came up with an answer or even a question.
He huffed. “Let me put it plainly. In Weasley’s case, after he got dressed and left the room, the memory kept going on. Why would it do that, if it is Weasley’s memory? Shouldn’t it end when he left?”
There were gasps and sharp intakes of breath. The group was surprised. They didn’t expect this turn of events.
Hermione recovered first. “Was it a memory from Dumbledore’s?”
Draco shook his head; finally they were on the right track. “Such a memory would be suspect. After recovering the recollections from Thomas and Finnigan, I tackled Weasley. Overpowering him was easy but when I tried to tap the memory, I found I couldn’t. His brain had been spelt to protect him from such an attack. Nevertheless, I was able to get a time frame for the most incriminating tasks. With that information, I took the Road to that damnable day, watching all that transpired. The memory you saw was mine.”
Harry lifted his arms, shouting angrily, “You could’ve stopped Susan from getting raped!”
Draco drawled, “You mistake me for a god, Potter. Travelling to the past is like going to a movie, everything’s fixed forever as it was. I couldn’t interact with that reality at all; only bear witness, which is what I did.”
Draco said scathingly, “I hope none of you try to work with Aurors – yes, this includes you, Tonks – because your reasoning is woefully underdeveloped.”
Hermione frowned at the blond, taking umbrage with his words. “You can’t blame us, Draco, We weren’t aware of what you can do. Though what do we say if someone suddenly wonders about the memory continuing after Ron left?”
Blaise smirked, rubbing his hands. “We’ll tell them that it came from Dumbledore but he didn’t want it known due to other concerns of his.”
Draco looked intently at Hermione. “I need you to focus on finding ways of destroying the horcruxes!”
She grumbled, “But we need the blasted things first! Then we destroy them!”
The blond gazed at the gardens of the Manor, visible through the windows. “You leave the horcruxes to me! I’ll bring them all to you. What I need is for you to tell us how we can safely destroy them so we don’t suffer what Dumbledore did with his blackened hand.”
Harry faced the brunette. “I trust him, Hermione. If Draco says he’ll get them, I’m sure he will. I reckon we need the spells to destroy them.”
Hermione mused, “Horcruxes may have been of Celtic origin. There are some leads I could follow. The library here has an enormous amount of Celtic lore. I only ask that nobody bothers me if it is not strictly necessary. I hope your mother softens her stance towards Crookshanks, Draco. She makes him nervous.”
Draco outwardly agreed whilst muttering to himself, “The cat is spooky.”
He signalled Pansy to stay behind when all the others left. He got up and went to the liquor cabinet, preparing a drink using rum and coke which was favoured by Pansy. For him, he poured firewhisky.
Pansy went for the attack, lifting her eyebrow. “What do you want, Draco?”
“Moi, whatever gave you that idea?”
“You prepared my favourite drink. You never do that unless you want something.”
“I’m becoming too predictable, damn!” said Draco, taking a sip from his drink. “Congratulations on a job well done with delivering the vials.”
Pansy sat on the chair, nursing her drink. “It was your idea that I become an owl. I wanted something else.”
Draco rolled his eyes. “Yes, Pansy, because diminutive flame-throwing dragons are so common!”
Pansy growled. “I would have been awesome, though a bit noticeable. You were right, Draco. At least I can fly.”
“To me you soar, even when you are not an owl, Pans! Matter of fact, that has to do with the favour I want to ask.”
Pansy finished her drink. She put the glass on the desk, cocking an eyebrow at her blond friend.
“You were there for all of it, the rapes and the denouement,” said Draco sombrely. “At the end, Weasley begged me to avenge his sister. I gave him my word. I’m putting plans in motion to avenge the crimes committed against Ginny. I’ll make it so Thomas and Finnigan rue the day they were born!”
Draco took a deep breath, saying hoarsely, “But it isn’t enough, not by a long shot. Pansy, I was there when Susan learned she had been raped; she suffered so much. I think she even contemplated suicide.”
Pansy put her hand on her chest, her dark eyes fixed intently on Draco. “Do you mean…?”
The blond nodded. “It’ll be worse for Ginny. The public knows about the rapes; they will taunt and vilify her. I doubt Mrs. Weasley will be able to help her much, because of what happened to Weasley. Ginny will feel the world has turned against her. I remember when she faced me, as she defended Harry; hexing me in the train. Don’t want to see her with a blank, dead face. I’ve a feeling about this. We have to move, and do it right now!”
Pansy took her wand, fingering the smooth wood. “What do you want me to do then?”
“I’m begging you to go to Ginny’s side,” said Draco as he touched Pansy’s shoulder. “As a friend with more street-smarts than either Harry or Hermione.”
He fished in his pocket until he found a small, white card and a silver key. “Here’s the information to contact professionals who will help her to cope with the stress of the rape, and a vault key with a reasonable amount that I’ve set up for her so she won’t depend on anyone. You are at liberty to tell her certain information, hopefully not too compromising so she knows what we are doing. If you think our company would help her in her recovery, feel free to bring her here, I modified the wards accordingly.”
Draco softly kissed her cheek. “You must go without delay to the Burrow or we’ll lose her.”
Pansy remembered going to the Burrow on a dare with Draco on Fourth Year. Nott had wanted Weasley’s slippers, and with his typical love of plots and subplots, Draco decided that nothing but the original from the Burrow would do. Fortunately Pansy had been receiving private Apparition classes and was able to keep up with the blond’s exuberant Apparating.
But their luck ran out for there was a party at the Burrow. A disgruntled Draco climbed a seemingly stout vine after one hour, entering the house through the window and snatching the slippers. As he was descending, Draco made a noise. There was a flurry of activity inside. Draco jumped to the ground; he and Pansy ran like the hounds of hell were behind them whilst the redheads were left wondering what had transpired. Pansy remembered that moment with tenderness.
Arriving at the Burrow, Pansy found it very dark. The door was unlocked; muttering Lumos, she went inside and looked for anyone to tell her where Ginny was. On the first floor she found a big bedroom with an immobile woman. Pansy feared the worst.
Lighting the torches, she found out it was Mrs. Weasley, who mumbled over and over, “Ron, don’t go!”
Pansy tried talking to her but got no response.
This didn’t bode well at all. She continued searching and on the second floor she found Ginny’s bedroom. There was no sound, and Ginny was on the bed, unmoving. Pansy feared the worst, watching the bottles of pills around her. She found a weak pulse on Ginny's wrist whilst she waved her wand at the bottles to vanish them.
Pansy couldn’t leave Ginny in this condition. The card Draco gave her had information about a Wizarding hospital. She decided to take Ginny there. Seeing as how Mrs. Weasley was also unconscious, Pansy decided to take the older woman too, letting her husband and sons know where she was.
Pansy could contact the hospital and ask for their assistance to move Ginny, but she wanted to move out of the house now. It was giving her bad vibes. She grabbed hold of Ginny, Apparating with her.
She got to the entrance and had to fill a thorough report. Pansy told them to fetch Mrs. Weasley and started filling the paperwork.
At the end of it all she was thoroughly tired. She had a long chat with Mrs. Sweeney, the Healer who would take care of Ginny. The Slytherin brunette wanted to stay with Ginny until she woke up, but who knew when that would happen? Yet it was imperative that Ginny truly understood that people worried about her, and made arrangements for her welfare.
If only Ginny could see Draco’s face. Pansy recalled she'd seen a Pensieve in the Healer's office. Surely enough, Mrs. Sweeney lent her it. Pansy extracted the memory, remembering their carefree days when the most important things were dares.
She finally left, after leaving the Pensieve on the chair next to Ginny’s bed, next to a scrawled note. 'Ginny, the memory vial will explain some things. I will be back tomorrow at 3:00.'
Pansy made sure that Mrs. Weasley had been brought to the hospital, giving the staff information about the Weasleys. The name and position of Arthur Weasley, Bill’s job as a cursebreaker for Gringott's plus the twins' and Charlie's possible whereabouts.
29. First steps
