First Bite

Narcissa Malfoy was early for her lunch meeting with her solicitor and thus, when she saw a boy with messy black hair and a lightning bolt scar down his face sitting on the patio of Fortescue’s Ice Cream Parlour, she sat down herself, within hearing range, and ordered a tea with a tap of her wand on the menu. The boy sat with his back to the Alley and the woman who sat across from him kept a sharp eye on everything and everyone that moved behind the boy. That included Narcissa for several long seconds before the woman gave Narcissa a regal nod and looked away, apparently having determined that Narcissa wasn’t a threat at the moment.

Narcissa had never seen the woman before or heard what kind of people Harry Potter had been raised with. There had been rumours about Muggles, but just the thought of raising the Heir of a Most Ancient and Noble House with Muggles was preposterous. The boy might have chosen to forget his manners when his guardians no longer could keep an eye on him, as Draconis claimed that the boy was ill-mannered, but Narcissa did not doubt that he had them.

“Aunt Cassia?” the boy whispered while looking down at the menu.

“Yes, Harry?” The woman’s voice was mild, and she perused her own menu.

“What … What happened in there, just now? I thought … I heard that no one messes with the goblins. And you … you … um …”

“In short, Harry? What happened just now at Gringotts was a piece of history.” She grinned at him and there was a glint in her blue eyes and too many teeth in her smile and Narcissa forced herself not to shudder. She looked very much like a woman who would relish challenging the goblins, and survive the encounter too.

“The longer version is … probably still history, but none of the blame is on our shoulders. That contract should have been impossible to break, Harry, and the fact that the goblins’ security plan broke in so many places that the contract Broke completely from the pressure … That’s pretty much an historic event, according to what I have read about goblins. The one behind it all will pay a great deal when the goblins catch up to them, and never fear, the goblins will. Especially after this. Forcing them to break a contract like this … The goblins will go to war to get retribution.”

Narcissa was intrigued now, but made sure not to look at the pair while she sipped her tea and slowly browsed a magazine.

“Isn’t that bad? We have had about goblin rebellions in history at school, we have had nothing but goblin rebellions. That sounds bad.”

“It won’t be a rebellion, at least I doubt that, just war on a single person or group. And as what they have done is absolutely despicable, they very much deserve what the goblins will give them. No one messes with the Evans sisters, Harry, no one messes with us and our family. The bastards behind this are lucky that I will let the goblins take care of the punishment, because I swear, if I get my hands on them …” Her face contorted in rage, before it suddenly smoothed out in something that only could be excellent Occlumency shields. “They hurt my family, they hurt you especially, they will not get away with it. Have you decided what you want as a snack?”

Narcissa removed a sheet of parchment and a quill from her handbag and wrote a quick message to her solicitor to tell him she would meet him on another day. She would sit here until the pair left. Even if she didn’t hear anything more pertinent, just what she had already overheard made it worth the try. She called a house elf to deliver her message and then continued to browse her magazine while keeping an eye on the pair out of the corner of her eye.

“May I have a scoop of the mint and chocolate swirl, please?” the boy asked. 

“You only want one scoop?” The boy nodded. “Anything to drink or a cookie?”

“No, thank you.”

The woman caught the gaze of a server and nodded to them as a sign that she wanted to order, and Narcissa became suspicious. Maybe she wasn’t a witch after all? But no, that was not possible. The thought of a squib, or worse, a Muggle, putting the fear of magic into the goblins was absurd. It wasn’t much better if she had been a witch, the goblins were a warrior race, after all, but she could not possibly be anything less than that.

After the two had ordered from a server, the conversation continued.

“Were Mum just as you … I mean, you said the Evans sisters …”

“Are you asking if Lily would have told the goblins to go to war against the ones who made a contract break and hurt you?”

Narcissa swallowed. The thought of someone forcing a breach of contract on the goblins in order to hurt Harry Potter … That was a truly disturbing thought, but she had heard enough to understand that something really had happened, something bad. There was no other way to understand the conversation. And even worse … Everyone knew that Lady Lily Potter had been a Muggleborn and Narcissa happened to know, through Severus, that her maiden name had been Evans. It truly looked like the woman who had gone toe to toe with the goblins and came out both alive and victorious, actually was a Muggle.

A Muggle, a defenceless Muggle. And she sat alone with The-Boy-Who-Lived in full view of the whole of Diagon Alley!

Narcissa sat her cup down faster and harder than typical and when she looked back up, she realised that the sun suddenly glinted of something in the Muggles hand, where she kept it on her lap. Narcissa did not know much about Muggles or their weapons, but she had had a few very loud discussions with her sister Andromeda about Muggles and the threat Muggles were to their world. Her older sister had made it abundantly clear that the Muggles could, and would, wipe their society straight out of the world in a matter of years, if not months, if their world threatened the Muggles too much. It wasn’t even necessary to mention the fact that the Muggles outnumbered them in the billions. The Dark Lord’s agenda of Muggle eradication was impossible, in every possible way.

So Narcissa knew enough to recognise a Muggle gun when she saw one, from the pictures her sister had shown her. Pictures she in turn had gotten from her then boyfriend. Her secret boyfriend that she had chosen before the rest of her family.

She looked up from the woman’s lap and saw that she had the woman’s attention. Steely blue eyes bored into her, and if she hadn’t been almost certain that the woman was a Muggle, she might actually have suspected that the woman was trying to use Legilimency on her. She only just managed not to flinch and to keep an impassive face. After a while the woman turned her attention from her and to the boy. Narcissa breathed a silent sigh of relief.

Muggle, yes. Defenceless, absolutely not.

The child nodded to the woman’s question.

“Your mother would have insisted on being in on the hunt for the culprits herself. None of us relish in violence, Harry, but when it comes to family … There are no limits to what we would be willing to do. No limits at all. I could give you countless examples of what we have done, together or alone, to make sure that our family is safe.”

“Could you give me one example of what Mum did? Please?” He hunched down for a second, but when the woman just answered his question, he relaxed again, slowly.

Narcissa didn’t like it, that anxiety in the boy. She didn’t like it at all. No one should harm children, under any circumstance, ever. It was a taboo to her, and if she had known about the Dark Lord’s plan before he went after the Potters that Samhain so many years ago, she would have somehow managed to send a message to her cousin Sirius and told him to take his friends and run. No one, no one at all, was allowed to harm children or as much as put them in harm’s way. Never. 

“Lily thought, and I believed she was right, even if I didn’t like it, that I would be safer if it seemed like we were no longer talking. Because of that we staged a fight at Lily’s wedding, a fight that would be made out to be a complete break between us. It broke my heart, ruining her wedding like that, but she insisted on making it as public as possible. We were as close as ever after that, but only behind doors. The only ones who knew was us, our partners and both our and James’ parents. Everyone else believed I was a horrible person that had ruined my little sister’s wedding.” She made a small grimace. “It probably saved my life; I can admit to that now. And maybe even yours, because everyone knew that Lily and I had stopped all interaction years before and that I hated everything magical. Because of that no one would have looked for you with me.”

Narcissa couldn’t help but admire this Muggle woman and Lady Potters strategy and their insistence on protecting family. That was what her own birth family was all about, after all, Family First. Or it had been. Once upon a time. It was still her personal motto. There was nothing she wouldn’t do for her family. Her son and only child in particular.

“But you don’t? Hate everything magical?” the boy whispered.

The woman smiled. “No, I don’t hate magic at all. It was all for show. I did actually study the Hogwarts’ curriculum well enough that I at one point could have taken quite a few O.W.L’s. Not any of the wanded subjects of course, but I probably knew as much theory as Lily in all the subjects, and I believe I would have been able to get a complete O.W.L in Magical Theory, Astronomy, History of Magic, Arithmancy, Ancient Runes and of course the horribly outdated Muggle Studies. It’s no wonder the magical world looks down on the non-magical one; they still believe we live in Victorian Times and that steamboats are the most newfangled invention! At least those with an education from Hogwarts and no other contact with the non-magical world believe so. No, no, wait, don’t get me started. I can rant for hours about that kind of foolishness, and that is not what we are going to do today. Do you have any more questions?”

The boy looked to be frozen, just sitting there blinking up at the woman with his ice cream half eaten in his bowl.

“If you know that much, could you help me with my vacation homework?”

“I can certainly try, it has been years since I read anything about any of those subjects now. Is there a specific subject you are struggling with? And what kind of electives did you choose? You still begin with electives this year, don’t you?”

“Yeah, I chose Divination and Care of Magical Creatures.”

Narcissa winced into her teacup. Draconis had only gotten to choose Care as his third subject, that was his ‘for fun’ subject. He had to do his best at that one too, of course, but Arithmancy and Ancient Runes were his proper electives. And Divination …

“I do not want to criticise your choices, Harry, because I do not know why you chose those subjects …” the woman said carefully, and the boy shrunk back from her. Her voice became even more mild and careful. “But you see, Lily told me that Divination nowadays, or at least back when I last spoke to her about it, which was actually after she graduated and after the new Divination professor had been at the school for some months …” She hesitated. “If the Divination professor that was there at Lily’s time still was at the school, I would tell you to try it for a few weeks. You may change your extracurricular subjects until the first of October, after all, and there is no harm in trying. That professor was, according to Lily, quite entertaining and knowledgeable about divining. He didn’t try to turn non-Seers into Seers, which isn’t possible anyways. He taught his students how to become diviners, and that’s something most people can learn, even Muggles, with enough dedication and time.

“This new professor, on the other hand, the one you will learn from, makes a point of being a Seer and apparently tells everyone that either they have the Sight, or they don’t, and she isn’t really interested in all those who don’t have the Sight. You might still learn divining in her class, but that will be despite, not because of her. If you truly want to learn divining, I would recommend doing self-study instead of going to her class.”

There was a long silence. “What do you recommend for a second extracurricular subject, Aunt Cassia?” he asked, not looking up.

”Do you know what you want to do for work, Harry?”

He shook his head.

“Taking care of the Potter estate can easily become a job in itself, and then you have your Seats in the Wizengamot, so you can easily become a fulltime politician and landowner. With the Potter fortune you don’t actually have to work, but I do not recommend that. Most people wallow if they have nothing to occupy themselves with most of the time.”

“I want to do something.”

“What is most interesting at school right now?”

“I think Defence Against the Dark Arts is very interesting, if only we could get a proper teacher. And I really like flying … They say I’m quite good at it.”

Narcissa raised a brow at that understatement. Even Lucius, who had gone to Draconis’ first game, had had to, very, very grudgingly, admit that the boy was an exceptional flyer.

“If you like Defence there are careers like Warder, Curse-Breaker, Dueller, Auror or Hit-wizard that need, and build upon, that subject, and of course teacher. Then maybe you can teach others better than you yourself were taught.”

“What … What did Mum and Dad do?”

“Lily first took a double Mastery in Charms and Runes right out of school, she finished those in about a year and became one of the youngest Charms Mistresses in the history of magical Britain, she was that good. She became the youngest Runes Mistresses in all of Europe. She always told me that Charms and Runes were ridiculously easy for her when I told her to slow down and take care of herself. Then she went straight on to Enchanting, which was her real goal, she just needed the other two first. That was harder for her, but not nearly hard enough to make her rethink her plans.

“James knew of Lily’s plans and had agreed to put his own plans on hold until Lily was done with her Masteries. So, he learned more of politics and about the Potter estate from his father, and he fought in the war. The two of them had agreed that one crazy academic in the house at a time was enough, and as Lily’s ambition was entwined with mine, and worth more - according to James, not Lily - James agreed to wait. He wanted to be an Auror and protect people, but before that he wanted his Mastery in Transfiguration, which was without a doubt his best subject. He did admit once that he might have had a dream about teaching the subject at some point in his life.”

The boy was listening as if his life depended on it.

“They were really smart, weren’t they?”

“They were Head Boy and Girl of their year, and you do not become that unless you are amongst the five best students of your year, in addition to being helpful to everyone and in general a kind person.” She hesitated. “I do not say this to hurt you, Harry, but because I know that someone else will tell you at some point anyway, and they might mean to hurt you …”

The boy nodded once, sharply, his eyes huge.

“James was … he wasn’t the best-behaved as a boy … Not at all, actually. Lily ranted and raved about the spoiled, arrogant toerag of a Potter boy for years … He bullied her best friend mercilessly. But he grew up, Harry, that’s the important part. He grew up in the end, as all children do, and realised his mistake. Children are not evil, even if they can act like it. The fact that James was allowed to bully other children is not his fault, but the fault of those that didn’t stop him, those that didn’t teach him better. His parents and his teachers.

“That does not mean that you are to turn the other cheek if anyone bully you. If they bully you, you tell me, and I will make certain that they get taught better. By any means necessary. Do you understand? No one is allowed to hurt you, in any way, no matter what. It is not normal to be harassed, bullied and hurt, by children or by adults. If it happens, I want to know, no matter who does it or when it happens. I really, really want to know, because Lily would want to know, and she would want me to stop it. Even if I didn’t love you myself, which I do, I would make sure to stop it, for your mothers’ sake.”

He stared at her, mouth half open, for a long while before he nodded jerkily. But even Narcissa saw, from where she sat, that he didn’t believe the woman, his aunt. He had been hurt, so very hurt, and Narcissa guessed that it had been going on for a very long time. How could that have happened? Who would have wanted to hurt the Saviour of the Wizarding World in such a way? And why? Some Death Eaters might have wanted to hurt him, but that would have been direct strikes, not whatever this was. Her heart hurt for the boy who had stopped the madness of the war after losing his parents, and apparently losing all his care and happiness too. No child deserved that.

“Even if it’s Dudley, Harry. Right now it seems like he won’t do that, but that might be the shock and he might change his demeanour again later. That is not right, it was never right. Back when I met them I didn’t understand how Charlus and Dorea, two of the most sympathetic and kind people I have ever met, could have let James run as wild as he did. I understand a bit better now, even if I don’t condone it. They got your father late in life, after they had given up ever getting a child of their own, and that relief made them spoil him, to his, and everyone else’s, detriment. Now you know, if anyone should use it against you, that your father was a spoiled and arrogant child, but that he grew up to become a great man with a big and kind heart and far too much courage.”

“You liked him, when he grew up?” the boy asked in a whisper.

“I loved him like a brother,” the woman said with a voice that made all doubt disappear. Then she cleared her throat. “Lily really loved her Runes and I’m pretty sure I will be able to help you some with the subject, you also need that subject if you want to try to become a Warder or a Curse Breaker. Would you like for us to buy you a Runes Primer before we leave today, then you might read a bit about it and decide if you think you will like it?”

The boy nodded slowly while chewing on his lower lip. “Could we buy something about Arithmancy too? I don’t know anything about it.”

“It’s a kind of Maths, and of course we may.”

“I’m kind of good at Maths, or I was?” He made it sound like a question.

“I wouldn’t be the least bit surprised. Do you want any more of your ice cream?”

The boy had only eaten half of his treat, if not less.

“No, thank you, I’m … I’m full and it was kind of … very, very sweet?”

“Ah, yes, such things might change, I assume,” the woman said while she gathered up her purse and began to rise, the boy hurriedly following. “Please don’t ever eat something you think might make you feel ill, Harry. That is truly unnecessary. Did you like the cookie from earlier?”

He nodded hastily, while blushing. “I … I still have most of it, though. In a napkin?” Again, it sounded like a question.

“That is completely fine. If you haven’t already, put it in the small fridge at the hotel when we get back, it’s a bit warm to keep food at room temperature today.”

The boy nodded again while walking ahead of the woman towards Flourish and Blotts. When the woman passed Narcissa she met her eyes with a hard gaze, like she knew that Narcissa had been listening in on their conversation, even if Narcissa had spent the time reading her magazine and drinking her tea. Their gazes broke apart and the woman continued to follow the boy, Heir Potter, down the street.

Narcissa shivered. The woman wasn’t a witch, she couldn’t do magic, she wasn’t an Occlumens nor a Legilimens, she held no power whatsoever. No power that she could use actively against Narcissa. The chance that she might hurt Narcissa was small, as long as Narcissa was cautious of her gun … Again, Narcissa shivered, because she knew, deep down in her core, that she was lying to herself. Somehow, that woman was amongst the most dangerous creatures Narcissa had ever met, and that included the Dark Lord and her own, deranged and murderous sister.