Windbound 29/35

[herumtreiber]

Title: Windbound - 29/35
Chapter: Twenty-nine
Author:herumtreiber 
Genre: post DH, slash, romance, adventure
Disclaimer: The world and characters of Harry Potter belong to JK Rowling. I don't make any money from writing these stories.
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: None
Epilogue compliant? Epilogue complaisant
Chapter length: ~3,603 words
Summary: Draco/Harry, Ron/Hermione, Hannah/Dean, Justin/Daphne, Ginny/??? My take on the Marriage Law. Should they obey the government’s edict or fight it the Muggle way? This leads to marriage equality. Plus there’s a twist exploring how a Horcrux operates. Good!Lucius, finally:) Hufflepuff house is amply represented here.



Table of contents


Chapter twenty-eight

January 27th, 1999
Hogwarts

Ginny made her leisurely way to the Headmistress's office, after enjoying a relaxed lunch. She gave the password to the gargoyle on duty, she muttered dully, "'Trews.' The door opened and she ascended the stairs.

A voice said from the other side of the closed doors, "Come in, Miss Weasley."

Mentally grumbling, Ginny wondered if they had a charm that let them know who had ascended the stairs. She opened the door and came in.

The office had changed since she had seen it last. Gone were Dumbledore's magical devices. There were few pieces of furniture around. The walls showed the magical pictures of previous headmasters, and at the end, it showed Severus Snape!

The stern Potions Master was looking at her disdainfully and he said, "What's the matter, Miss Weasley, cat got your tongue? Still as clueless as ever, I am sad to say."

Ginny sputtered and then turned to McGonagall to rant about Justin's supposed cavalier attitude towards his duties as Head Boy. McGonagall appeared interested and supportive and let her monologue go on. Eventually Ginny stopped, and looking at her watch, saw that she needed to get to the Library and finish the Herbology homework.

About half an hour after Ginny left, Harry Potter came in. This time McGonagall didn't call out his name. In fact, she was rather startled when the door opened and Harry's unruly mop of hair appeared. Snape was about to start his customary round of sarcastic commentary when Harry started speaking with McGonagall. The Gryffindor was self-possessed and demanding. Snape noticed his intense green eyes and realized that Lily's eyes had never twinkled so brightly. Harry cast a privacy charm and discussed with Minerva some things. Harry asked McGonagall to take control of the wards when Harry wanted her to and influenced them in the way he wanted to.

The talk was short and to the point. Then Harry got up and left, which was ok with a nervous Potions Master.

The next day, having breakfast at the Gryffindor table, Draco heard from Ginny about Severus's portrait and decided he needed to go to the lioness' den, to see his godfather. He duly got the password out of Ginny, after promising to finish her Herbology homework.

When he ascended the stairs and McGonagall bade him enter, she appeared to be in a bad mood. She curtly asked him what he wanted. When Draco casually mentioned that he wanted to talk with his godfather, McGonagall got very upset.

She threatened to throw him out the room. She mentioned that her office was not to be used to visit previous Headmasters, no matter how close they had been in life!

Draco smirked and then replied suavely, "I will be sure to mention that to Liz Lehmke the next time I visit her, which will be today, I think."

McGonagall snorted and looked even more enraged, but she knew when she had lost the battle. Grabbing some reports, she scowled at Draco, motioned for him to go to his godfather's portrait and left the office.

Draco approached the portrait. Severus Snape was painted in his workbench, laboring over a potion as he checked some notes and perused some books. He wore black robes, black trousers, white shirt and dragonhide boots. His hair fell freely on his face, and sometimes he moved his head aside, cursing to hell the awful painter who had forgotten to paint him a band to tie his hair with.

Draco nodded, and Severus nodded back. The former Head of Slytherin said, "Nice to see you did away with the bothersome hair, Draco. I hope you do not follow Lucius's steps and grow a full mane! Talking about the big bear, how are he and Narcissa doing?"

Draco answered, ""They're fine, Severus. They adopted a little girl and now I have a sister called Miriam."
He continued, "They'll take good care of her. But I had one thing she will never have."

"What?"
Draco replied, "You were my godfather, Severus."

Severus grumbled and said forcefully, although his eyes were surprisingly bright, "Enough with the maudlin nonsense! How fares the world?"

Draco did not answer for some time. He was entering into the magical meditation trance and when he got there, he cast a wandless privacy charm. He then looked at a seemingly surprised and proud Severus, and said, "I'm afraid the world is not doing as good as it should."

He continued, "While you have been away, we've been saddled with a Marriage Law, purportedly to end the blood feuds. Its real goal was to steal the Purebloods' estates."

Then Draco proceeded to inform Severus about his own suspicions concerning Harry being a hors crux of Dumbledore's. The portrait of Severus listened with a somber mien.

When Draco reached the end of his lengthy exposition, Severus said, "So that is why his portrait is asleep most of the time! Probably his soul at that moment is stirring trouble within Potter. How I wondered why Albus made me kill him! He said he wanted to keep your soul pure, Draco, and therefore insured that I would listen to his comments with benevolent ears.

"He must've known how much that hurt me, and still he ordered me to kill him!

"I suspect that the only thing that could destroy a living horcrux would be if the caster used the Killing Curse. Dumbledore knew about the fact that Potter was Voldemort's horcrux, he knew this vital piece of information and chose to tell no one. Not even his Golden Boy, the one he preferred above all his other students, the one he allowed to get away with everything, not even Harry Potter knew this, he kept this important fact from Potter until the last minute!

"Albus knew how much I disliked the idea of using Potter as a tool, always chained to his duty and unaware of the bigger picture that included him! It was he who suggested I keep my distance from Potter and take the bad person role. I wonder if he did that because he knew my sympathetic views toward Harry.

"I wonder if he planned this from the start, from the moment he picked Harry up from the wreckage of Godric's Hollows or even before that."

Draco commented, "But if Dumbledore knew about horcruxes, why not create one for himself, if he wanted to live. Why sacrifice himself?"

Severus snorted as he replied, "There's a good reason for that, Draco. Albus would not want to subject his soul to the wrenching effects of a murder. He wanted his 'pure' soul to survive."

Severus face looked pale as his eyes were directed downward, to the potion he was working on. He said somberly, "But these are the rants of a dead man, and have no effect on reality. It is up to you to rectify this, Draco!"

Draco nodded and said, "I will do what I can to ensure Dumbledore's design does not continue and Harry is free. Hermione is working closely with me to achieve this."
Severus scrunched up his nose and said, "A Gryffindor? You need the help of a Gryffindor?"

Draco replied guardedly, "Yes, a Gryffindor. She's very smart as you know. I've also worked closely together with Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws. I think it is high time we leave the House prejudices behind, Severus."

Snape started to rant when Draco raised his hand, signaling he wanted to speak. Severus shut up and Draco continued. "I know the Gryffindors have had the run of the castle for many years, Severus. The Headmasters and Headmistresses did nothing to rein them in. That has changed, though. The redoubtable McGonagall has a thorn in her side, the ombudswoman Liz Lehmke. She has a fair view and punishes the persons who deserve it. If McGonagall tries to force you to do something, Severus, just threaten you will call Liz.

"Furthermore, now that you have finally woken up and taken your place among the Headmasters of Hogwarts, I think it is time to unveil the portrait commissioned by mother in Malfoy Manor. You'll be able to go from here to there and visit my parents and sister."

Severus nodded curtly and stared in space, deep in thought. Finally he said, "I noticed you didn't use your wand to cast the privacy charm, Draco."

Draco preened as he answered, "If you must know, Sev, I can do wandless magic. It was a chore to learn how to do it, especially with dad's very cryptic comments." Draco frowned as he remembered Lucius's puzzling answers. He got up and started to pace in front of the portrait. Then he continued.

"I've made some modifications to the Serpent's Map. I changed the icons. It no longer shows a person's blood ancestry, but rather their most unique magical feature.

"Of course, I can turn it back the way it was if you want it Sev."

Severus carefully stood up from the chair where he had been sitting. He swore he had a backache, even if he was only a portrait, after sitting in the same position for several days. He walked from one edge of the frame to the other as he stared at Draco with piercing eyes.

"You'll do nothing of the kind, Draconis! You have managed to learn to command the Serpent's Map, no easy feat.
"The Map is yours now, to experiment with, to modify, and eventually to pass down to your sons or daughters."

Severus stopped pacing and looked at Draco full of pride that his dragon had come this far.

In Malfoy Manor, Lucius was greeting Jason and Antonia. The Finch-Fletchleys had appeared promptly thanks to a portkey. Narcissa had given the elves the day off, and the surprised beings had promptly organized an expedition to visit their friends who worked in Salisbury homes.

The curly-haired blond was dressed in black trousers, a white button down shirt and a cardigan sweater. Antonia was dressed more stylishly in a soft yellow dress with purple highlights that would have made Susan and Hannah proud.

Narcissa informed them that they were going to eat pizza. She had contacted a restaurant in the nearby village and had sent an order with an owl. Jason and Antonia wondered privately how the owners of the pizzeria would cope with owls bearing messages.

Antonia looked approvingly at Narcissa's attire. The blond witch was dressed in sturdy beige trousers and a white frilly blouse; she wore an exquisite shawl to guard off the chill. Obviously Narcissa remembered her days as mother of a young child and had decided to dress in somewhat durable clothes.

Lucius was dressed conservatively in black trousers, black shoes, a light blue shirt and a coat. He looked at the watch nervously, wondering when the pizza would arrive.

At that moment Miriam walked in. The small girl was dressed all in grey. He approached her godparents and they kissed her forehead.

Eventually they heard the sound of a motorcycle, and a little later, there were knocks at the door.

Lucius opened the door and found a somewhat frightened teenager. The boy wore blue denims and a T-Shirt. The teenager wielded three pizzas in front of him as if they were shields keeping him from danger.

He thrust them at Lucius's hand and muttered the amount owed. Lucius took out the money, which he kept carefully separated from the Galleons and Knuts in other pockets.

Narcissa asked concernedly, "What is the matter, you look frightened of something." The blonde looked suspiciously at Lucius. Surely the elder Malfoy would have remembered to keep all the magical animals away so the Muggles would not get upset?

The boy answered, "I saw your beautiful horses up there. Only, they have wings!"
Narcissa scowled ominously at Lucius as she cursed under her breath.

It was Antonia who saved the situation. She said, "Oh, those horses! We are preparing to take them to the Renaissance Fair in Stratford-upon-Avon. Do you think they look good enough to participate in the piece, A midsummer night's dream? It was a chore to make them look so realistic."

The boy visibly calmed down and answered, "Sure could have fooled me. They look great, like those horses that can fly, those pegus or pegi…"
Jason drawled nonchalantly, "Pegasi. Yes, I know the ones you mean."

Lucius finally paid the teenager, making sure to give him a triple tip, to make up for the fright of encountering the pegasi he'd forgotten to keep away from the house.

After they had taken the pizzas to the kitchen, they each took some slices and started eating. Lucius served them pumpkin juice. Lucius started talking with Jason, as he carefully prodded Miriam to finish her slice and eat another one.

Lucius said, "As you know, you and Antonia will be Miriam's godparents, so I expect you to look after her if something happens to Narcissa and I."

Jason chuckled and replied, "I expect to spoil her rotten, but I know you are too much of a survivalist to leave here soon. Furthermore, you have a lot to do, to accomplish here to think about seeking new adventures elsewhere."

Lucius smirked at Jason, who smirked back. The blond Malfoy took out a Galleon coin that was colored white. He put it on Jason's hand and told him, "This is a portkey that will take you and whoever you are touching to St. Mungo's. To activate it just say Portus. I know we vanquished the Marriage Law, but I still think there is danger galore."

Meanwhile Narcissa was talking to Antonia. Narcissa mentioned how resilient Miriam was, how the damage done by the abuse still lingered, but with the help of her family and the counselor, she appeared to be recuperating, although it was a slow recovery.

The blonde Malfoy mentioned how scared she was when Miriam disappeared, how they had to bring Draco back to search for her. What infuriated her, though, was the fact that neither of them wanted to talk about where she'd been!

Narcissa intuited that they were in the infamous Music room, but when she tried to pin Miriam down, she told him to ask Conis. When she wanted information out of her son, he told her to ask Miriam. It was madness!

Narcissa confided that it had also been madness when Draco was growing up. The little dragon was wont to get into all sort of trouble, like the time when he and Pansy had left to explore the world, when they were eight years-old, and it was only the intervention of Blaise Zabini who alerted the grown-ups when they planned to stow away to Australia. In a tanker!

Antonia shared her stories about young Justin Finch-Fletchley, like the time he saw LA Law and wanted to become a lawyer in California, so he went to Heathrow and was ready to take the next plane to the States until his father caught up with him. Thankfully one of his associates had seen the small curly-haired boy tugging his curls as he waited patiently for the people to notice and take him to golden California.

Of course, the blondes should have been aware that someone was listening keenly. Miriam took everything under advisement, though she didn't know many things: was Australia an island or a candy? She knew the information would come in handy when she wanted something out of her brother or his friend.

Then the blond women discussed their plans to track and prevent the abuse of Muggleborns. They wondered how they could keep track of all Muggleborns that were born in the United Kingdom.

At this point in time, Miriam got bored, and standing politely, said goodbye to her parents and their guests and went to her room. She wanted to explore, but she was mindful of the promise she had made to Conis and went straight to bed.

After the Finch-Fletchleys had ended their visit and returned to their estate, Narcissa chastised Lucius because he forgot to hide the pegasi.

Narcissa commented later, "It is nice to see how our family is going strong. I have you and the kids, you have our family. Draco and Miriam have each other. We are strong together."

January 29th, 1999
Malfoy Manor

During breakfast, Narcissa and Miriam kept exchanging sly glances and almost giggled. Lucius threw his serviette and said, "Narcissa, when will you let me drive?"

Narcissa replied calmly, "When you are experienced, Lucius! I don't want accidents."
Lucius gritted his teeth and said, "And how will I get experience when you won't let me drive!"

An unexpected voice drawled, "Glad to see you are still the same vain peacock you used to be, Lucius!"

Lucius turned his head and saw that the portrait of Severus, which had been covered by a cloth, was now showing the Headmaster wearing comfortable robes, his long hair was tied in a ponytail, and Severus was smirking.

Lucius smiled and said, "Nice of you to join us, Sev! I want to introduce you to our daughter Miriam. Mi, this is my good friend and Conis's godfather, Severus Snape."
Miriam bowed her head and murmured, "Hi!"

Severus said, "Another Malfoy to tutor in Potions. Maybe she will be a good student unlike her brother and father!"
Narcissa mock-glared at Severus, she said "Do you like your location here? It is central and has good access to the Manor. Is your painting all right?"

Severus replied, "Yes, everything is ok here, Narcissa. Now the question I want answered is: Will you let Lucius drive?"

Narcissa sighed as she answered, "Only if he has experience."
And the discussion went on.

In Hogwarts, during breakfast at the Hufflepuff table, Robert and Terry were talking very agreeably, to the surprise of their friends. When Justin pointed this out to Draco, the blond replied, "It's thanks to Harry. His proposal of a mediator really got them to stop arguing and now they are trying to develop some ideas, they call it their 'conceptual framework.'"

Susan interrupted, "He has taken one of my little joys in life. To witness a Slytherin-Ravenclaw confrontation!"

Hannah piped up, "Yes, we were getting used to their fights. We even had a betting pool going on about when they would start hitting each other and who would win. Harry lost me some good money!"

Dean commented, "Unfortunately those two are unlike our Harry and Draco, they provide far less entertainment."
Draco looked at the Gryffindor table, where Ginny, Hermione and Harry were eating, and noticed how absorbed Harry appeared as he looked at Hermione. He looked like Crookshanks before he pounced on unsuspecting mice.

Terry stopped speaking with Robert and fixed a stare at Draco, seated to his left. The Ravenclaw said, "I see many interesting things, Draco."

He continued, "Just because the intellectual realm interests me more, that does not mean I don't care about the physical world. You are my friend and also Pansy's best friend. I must warn you that things seem to head to a collision."

Draco asked, "How do you know, Terry?"

Terry replied, "Have you observed the planets lately?"
Then he snorted and smirked gleefully, "Just kidding! This has nothing to do with the planets and everything to do with the way a certain person watches a witch, waiting to pounce like a tiger. This has everything to do with said person speaking to the headmistress and ordering certain things be done, things which were heard by a sympathetic house-elf and relayed to me.

"I tell you that you must be ready to face your crux any moment now, Draco."

At the Gryffindor Table, Hermione was bantering with Ron. The redhead kept intimating that he expected her to spend more of her time with him. Frankly, Hermione found Ron's constant demands for attention annoying.

She much preferred spending her time studying or researching the problems they faced. Ron's flirting interrupted her schedule, and she only put a kind face for him so he wouldn't get hurt. Now Ron was discussing with her the starting lineup of the English Quidditch team!

Hermione was so caught up in her indignation that she didn't notice Ron's coy look directed at Harry. Or the way Harry grabbed her chin and pulled her face up, making it so their stares met.

Hermione was surprised, and therefore she couldn't position correctly her mental bridge. Eventually her Occlumency skills came to the fore, but she had wasted precious seconds mustering her strength, and during that interval of time, Harry's Legilimency skills had prevailed.

Hermione excused herself and left the table precipitously.

Harry remained seated, with a thoughtful look on his face. Ginny grabbed his sleeve and pulled, trying to get his attention. She wanted to talk to him and get some agreement about their quasi-relationship, but Harry paid her no mind.

After one minute, Harry stood up and walked out of the Great Hall, leaving behind a bitter Ginny. The redhead thought that this behavior really encapsulated their relationship perfectly. She was desperately trying to get an agreement and Harry pushed her away while he did hero business. Quite a cold life to look up to through the years.

Chapter thirty