Chapter 33
Chapter 32
Silence reigned in the room after Draco’s question. Not because Harry didn’t know how to answer it but because he never expected Draco to ask that question in particular. Questions about his age, sure. Questions about why he was so chummy with Severus, also an option. Questions about the time travel comments… very likely. Just not about… Energizer bunnies.
It was such an unexpected question that Harry just had to fill the room with laughter. It reminded Harry of the time he had to teach Draco how to use a Muggle hand mixer. Oh, that was fun.
Draco proceeded to make a face at Harry’s laughter which only caused him to laugh harder. “Oh, how I missed your cluelessness at Muggle inventions reaction,” Harry uttered.
The Malfoy’s sported a range of emotions across the table. Draco looked offended at Harry’s comment, Lucius looked annoyed, and Narciss simply raised a brow. Snape had a feeling Cissy had already figured some of Harry’s situation out by the raised brow she gave Severus.
“We will touch on Harry’s tale in a bit,” Severus stated once Harry stopped laughing. “What concerns me is the Ode of Eternal Servitude. Lucius apart from your son, do you even realize what your whole family would lose?”
“I am very confused here,” Harry muttered. “Are you finally going to explain what this Ode actually is?”
“It’s a ritual just as foul as creating Horcruxes Harry,” Snape stated as he pursed his lips. “It’s been mostly wiped from existence but the tales still persist in some old Pureblood families. One such tale is that of the Dementors,”
“What do those soul-sucking fiends have to do with this?” Harry questioned with a frown.
“Have you never questioned why Dementors are only found to inhabit Azkaban?” Snape asked while raising a brow. “If they were naturally occurring Dark creatures they would have been seen living in more areas across Britain and maybe Europe. But it’s only in that location.”
“Are you implying that the Dementors are manmade?” Harry asked as it dawned on him.
“Yes Potter, though their actual origins are being kept top secret by the Ministry itself. What I am about to tell you stays between us, and only us. The Purebloods only know that this Ode is bad, not the full extent of it,” Snape stated and looked pointedly at Lucius. The blond nodded, probably also curious to know the full extent of this sordid ode his son was requested to make.
“In the 15th century, there lived a Dark wizard named Ekrizdis. He built Azkaban in the North Sea to serve as his laboratory and fortress. The fortress only came to light after the concealment charms failed at the beginning of the 18th century. Now this was long after Ekrizdis’s death. No concealment charm would have held that long unless it was renewed.” Snape explained as the Malfoys and Harry listened in rapt attention. “The main purpose of Ekrizdis’s laboratory was to experiment with Dark magic. He’d kidnap passing Muggle sailors or vagrants from the streets that no one would miss to experiment on. Squibs and even Half-bloods gambling their lives away were targets at times. Many of Ekrizdis’s experiments revolved around torturing Muggles and experimenting with transferring magic. That was where the Ode of Eternal Servitude was crafted.”
“Ekrizdis bound the Ode to a talisman with his family crest on it,” Snape explained after Lucius’s sharp intake of breath. “He tortured the Muggles, Squibs, and Halfbloods until they agreed to submit to the Ode. Only that spelled a worse fate than death for them. Those unfortunate people would soon come to realize that binding their Body, Soul, and Magic was a grievous error. When they died from torture Ekrizdis absorbed their souls to lengthen his time on Earth and their Magic to strengthen his own powers. All that was left was a decaying body, still sentient due to the Ode, forever bound to serve the owner of the talisman.”
“Dementors…” Harry muttered.
“Yes, skeletal fiends that search for their souls. They suck the souls of others hoping in finding theirs and feed on happiness because they died such horrible deaths.” Snape nodded but he wasn’t done yet. “Ekrizdis, lived well to be nearly 300 years due to his experiments. He even had a son, also a Dark Wizard in his own right named, Raczidian. The boy grew up around the Dementors and later, after his father’s passing inherited the talisman and control of the creatures. Wanting to see the world Raczidian left Azkaban with a few Dementor guards and settled into a castle not so far from a magical village where he fell in love with a young witch named Eliana. When she refused his advances and rejected the marriage proposal he sent his Dementors to destroy the village. That is also the tale of how the first Patronus was created.” Snape looked at the group that was listening attentively and then said to Harry “Honestly, if you had paid this much attention in Potions…”
“Severus, come on! Don’t keep us in suspense. What happened next?” Harry grumbled.
“Of course, Raczidian ended up losing. He fled back to Azkaban with his Dementors. He spent his remaining days holed up in the fortress after being spurned. He renewed the concealment charms up until his death in 1718 when they fell and the Ministry found out about the fortress. They found Raczidian’s body and took possession of the talisman around his neck. It was then that they realized its ability to control the Dementors. To the then Minister of Magic, the fortress was the best place to house society’s undesirables, and it was made into a prison. As the Ministry can still control the Dementors then it’s safe to say that they are still in possession of that talisman.”
“How do you know all this?!” Lucius asked with suspicion in his eyes.
“It’s because I asked,” Snape deadpanned. “It might have alluded you, Lucius, but a painting of Raczidian resides at Hogwarts. One day, while trying to escape from Potter and his gang I stumbled upon the Room of Requirement. I hid in there and amongst the clutter I found the painting. The man was rather put out. It seems a former student he had taken a liking to had stuck him in here after he revealed his tale. I am pretty sure you can already guess who he was talking about,”
“Moldy Voldy,” Harry hissed.
“Indeed. The Dark Lord had found out about the true extent of the Ode in his school days and then hidden its source in a room of clutter where he wouldn’t easily be found. I had time to kill while hiding so I ended up ranting at the painting after which he offered me a deal. I take him out of this accurses room and give him a place on a wall anywhere in the castle and he’d share all his knowledge with me. For those that don’t know, the magic of the Room of Requirement obstructs paintings from going out of their frame.”
“So you did just that,” Draco uttered.
“Indeed. I was young. I wasn’t about to lose a chance at learning different magic. Ancient magic and whatnot.” Snape stated. “I hung him near the Slytherin dorm and then later, when I became a teacher, moved his frame to my quarters. By then I had realized just how dark the kind of magic he could impart truly was. I may have… threatened him a bit….” Snape confessed “but he promised never to impart his knowledge on students again lest I burn his canvas. He has adhered to our deal for years now.”
Lucius was breathing deeply as he processed the information Snape had given them. “So… what you are saying…” he paused “Is that the Dark Lord plans to make my son… my only heir… a Dementor?!”
“It is…. Plausible,” Severus muttered. “If Draco swears that Ode all his magic, including the boost one gets at reaching adulthood would become the Dark Lords. Furthermore, his soul would be forever bound to the Dark Lord if not absorbed, and his body, soulless, would forever be in servitude once the Ode was made. Draco would effectively lose ownership of All of himself for all eternity but it would be worse for your family as he is still a minor.”
“What do you mean?!” Lucius muttered as his eyes narrowed.
“When the Ode is made a person pledges all of themselves to another. If an adult makes the Ode, all the titles, family magic, and assets they have will be transferred to their new Master. If a minor makes the Ode, it will also count for any future titles and family magic they may inherit when becoming an adult. The Malfoy and possibly the Black seat in the Wizengamot, the Veela magic on your side Lucius, the Black family magic on Narcissa’s side, any Lordships, estates, and children.”
“Children?!” Lucius exclaimed.
“They pledged their body, which includes their sperm. Any child resulting from that is the legal property of the Master they pledged to.” Snape elaborated. “And the Ministry can’t intervene as the Ode is burned into the person’s bone and soul.”
“What would it take for you to keep Draco safe?” Narcissa asked as Lucius was still speechless.
“An unbreakable vow from both you and your husband to never betray Harry and me or our location. Draco can reside at the Prince estate but what will you two do?”
“Done! We will flee to our villa in France,” Lucius immediately agreed while folding his hands. “The Dark Lord will have other problems to deal with once I close the Malfoy Manor wards and he ends up homeless.”
“You’re actually serious?” Harry chuckled. “You’re going to make Voldy homeless?!”
“Someone demanding my son’s eternal servitude and the Malfoy estate and assets we’ve been building up for years as well as our family magic is certainly delusional.” Lucius deadpanned. “The Dark Lord has crossed a boundary that even I will not tolerate. It will be good to know that Draco will be safe. Cissy and I will act as decoys while fleeing to France.”
“Mum… dad…” Draco uttered as his eyes widened.
“If I were to remove your Dark Marks and make it harder for Voldypants to find you, would you agree to support Severus in the Wizengamot when the time comes?” Harry questioned. At Lucius’s shocked face, he added “Snape isn’t Dumbledore’s man anymore, hasn’t been for a long time apparently. The situation is complicated but he’s now Lord Prince.”
“Ah, I see,” Lucius muttered. “You want to oust Dumbledore with a majority vote. And the Malfoy seat holds a lot of sway, especially with the Dark faction. As the Dark lord hasn’t made his return public yet the Dark faction will have to follow our lead,”
“Potter, what are you going on about?” Severus asked.
“I told you I wanted to make Albus pay,” Harry stated. “You’ve set the stage with Hogwarts about to be audited. I want to take the other titles the man has. He’ll surely be ousted as Supreme Mugwump once the audit results come in. However, his position as Head of the Wizengamot has to be revoked by a majority vote. The man took 30 years of my life. Simply killing him won’t give me any satisfaction.”