Chapter 18
“Do...do you think what happened to Percy Weasley when he was a kid is the reason that Molly Weasley is so...insane?” Harcourt asked his husband somewhat hesitantly. When the blond looked at him in confusion, he elaborated. “Well, one of the last times that I had gone over to the Weasleys for a visit as a little kid, Percy, Bill and Charlie were up in the air on brooms, flying around. Bill and Charlie were practicing quidditch moves, and Percy, not wanting to be left out, decided to show off a bit. Everyone else was down in the orchard, watching and cheering the older boys on.
“Anyway, Percy was doing some maneuvers he was too young to handle and lost control of the broom. It careened toward a tree, and before he could get it back under control, he crashed into the trunk, impaling himself on a broken branch. He hit that tree so hard that he slid down the branch and slammed into the trunk. By the time anyone was able to get him down, it was too late.”
“Huh,” Draco murmured with a frown. “I’d always wondered what happened to priggish Percy.” At the disapproving frown the brunet leveled at the blonde, Draco’s hands flew up in surrender. “Percy Weasley has always been stuck up and self-righteous,” Potter-Malfoy defended himself. “Always acting like he’s better than everyone else. Anyway, it might be that the Weasley matriarch never really got over her son’s death, and if Dumbledore was able to whisper the right words in her ear, it wouldn’t have taken much for her to become one of his most ardent supporters.”
“She was really nice before that happened,” Harry remarked wistfully. “She’d come over and bring all the boys with her. She’d always leave Ginevra home, though, and I’d see her corner my mum and talk endlessly about something that made Mum’s face screw up in anger or, sometimes, in barely-concealed contempt. Those must’ve been the times Mrs. Weasley was trying to convince Mother to sign a betrothal contract between Ginevra and myself.”
“Did Molly ever talk to you about a betrothal?” Draco queried, tamping down on the jealousy that wanted to rear its head.
“She tried,” Harry said with a smirk. “I worked very hard not to be alone with her at any time, because Mum told me that I needed to be careful around her. It was funny to watch how frustrated she would get because she couldn’t get me by myself.”
“At least the Weaslette is dead now,” Draco added with a scowl. “I don’t have to worry about her attempting to poach what isn’t hers anymore.”
“You never had to worry about that in the first place,” Harry reassured gently, rising from the sofa and sitting in his husband’s lap. “I love you, and only you.”
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November 30, 1998
The Daily Prophet
DESPOT AT IT AGAIN!
Order of the Dragon leader continues to spread his lies!
Mike Pomeroy, reporter
This reporter was shocked to be granted the unenviable task of speaking to Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore for a second time, the leader of the Order of the Dragon and Warrior for the Light. I was surprised to hear a confession at the outset, but what else he has to say is, quite frankly, shocking, and shines a huge spotlight on his organization, his purpose, and his ultimate goal for the British magical world. I’ll let him speak for himself.
“My name is Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore, and I am Lord Ambrosius, Lord Emrys, Lord Ambroaz, Lord Cambion, Lord Ganieda, Lord Wyllt, Lord Caledonensis and Lord Sylvestrus. I am here to share with the common witch and wizard my goals for the enrichment of the magical world under my gentle guidance and care. I would also like to discuss some of my acolytes and their reasons for the things that they have done to further my agenda.
“Sirius Black and Remus Lupin were my warriors of the Light. Their sole purpose was to keep an eye on Tom Riddle, Lucius Malfoy, Severus Snape and every one of the men and women who supported Riddle. They were very concerned about the welfare of their godson, Harry Potter, so they asked me if I would help them remove the child from his parents. James and Lily Potter were wonderful, brave soldiers for the Light whilst they were in school, until the influences of Severus Snape and Lucius Malfoy changed all of that.
“Sirius Black and Remus Lupin were invited to Harry Potter’s third birthday party, and they extended the invitation to me. I wanted to meet the child, and hopefully speak to his parents about additional training the boy must undergo in order to protect the wizarding world from the Dark magic that Tom Riddle wanted to unleash. We went there as guests, and it was Alice Longbottom who struck the first blow. Of course me and mine retaliated against the unprovoked attack, and it’s unfortunate that property was damaged in the confrontation. I reached out to James and Lily Potter, to offer recompense for the destruction that occurred because of my inattention to some of the guests’ distrust in myself and my people.
“In the madness of the unprovoked attack, little Harry Potter was left alone as the adults and other children fled the scene to protect themselves. I approached the child, hand out to offer him a safe place to stay, away from the ugly influences of some of the people his parents befriended, and it was then that James Potter came flying out of the dining room, wand blazing as he forced myself and my people out of the house. Of course we defended ourselves, and to our regret Dowager Augusta Longbottom and her brother-in-law, Algernon Longbottom, sustained fatal injuries and were unable to make it to St. Mungo’s in enough time to save them.
“Had James Potter not attacked us, unprovoked, the Longbottom family would still be whole. Of course, no one blames him for their deaths; all the responsibility for the fatalities and the disruption to Harry Potter’s birthday was placed squarely on my shoulders, and the shoulders of the supporters who went to Godric’s Hollow with me. That unwarranted assault created a permanent rift between Sirius Black and James Potter, and Remus Lupin and James Potter. Both young men are now suffering because their godparent bond to Harry Potter has been torn asunder, and that poor child will always feel as if a vital part of himself is missing, solely due to his parents’ misguided actions.”
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“Did we ever find out why Ginevra Weasley was visiting the Ministry when she was killed?” Tom asked Lucius quietly. Both Riddle and Malfoy were working on new legislation that would require groups similar to the Order of the Dragon to register themselves; how many members they had, what was the purpose for the group, whether it required protected status, etc. Both men wanted to prevent vigilante groups or insurrectionists the opportunity to gather together in strong enough numbers to create problems for the everyday witch or wizard.
“I think she was encouraged to try and find where Harry lived now,” Lucius explained as he vanished a sentence on the document he was studying and rewrote it. “You know that she’s always wanted to be Lady Potter, and her mother would deny her nothing. As well, I’m sure Dumbledore gave her some sort of incentive to risk her life coming here to dig through the records department. I don’t think that old man would be concentrating strictly on the Potters’ location, either. There are many people who are acting against the former headmaster and his crew, and finding their locations to ‘change their minds’ or eliminate them altogether would make things much easier for his attempts to take over.”
“We don’t need to tell Harry that, do we?” Tom queried with a worried frown. “He’s been through so much already; especially after that nightmare curse, and I don’t want him worrying unnecessarily about anything else.”
“Especially now,” Lucius added quietly, but not quietly enough to escape Riddle’s keen hearing.
“Why do you say ‘especially now’?” the Minister questioned suspiciously.
“Well...that is...aw, shite,” the blond stammered, blushing at the low-brow curse that escaped his lips. “I’m sure Harcourt wanted to tell you himself, but since I’ve regrettably let the cat out of the bag, so to speak, I might as well let you know that your godson is pregnant.” Grinning, Lucius waited a few seconds, watching the other man’s face as the news sunk in.
“Pregnant?!” the older man gasped happily. “I’m going to be a grand-godfather?!”
“You are,” Lucius concurred, “if such a thing actually exists. He’s dealing with some rather rough morning sickness right now, most likely due to the stress his body was under during the nightmare curse, but he’s feeling quite well and is very excited.”
“Does he know the sex of the baby yet?” Riddle asked excitedly.
“It’s still too early for that right now, but as soon as he knows, you’ll know,” Malfoy reassured with a fond smile for his old friend. “Now, should we extend this law to include current clubs?”
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The owl flew into Malfoy Manor several days later and landed on the dining room table. Since there was no one available to take the missive, the bird hunkered down, tucking its beak down into its chest feathers to wait until someone finally showed up. Fortunately, it was only fifteen minutes later when Narcissa entered the room, talking to one of the elves about the baby shower she was planning. “I want all the baby furniture that is gifted to be over here,” she indicated a large alcove near the big windows, “and clothing and apparel over here,” she pointed to the large sideboard against the far wall. “The dining table should be smaller, and pushed closer to that wall,” she indicated the wall with a negligent wave of her hand, “and comfortable seating is to be arranged just in front of the sideboard.”
The blonde was looking at the elf, whose eyes were focused on the owl pacing impatiently back and forth on the dining table, and the woman glared at the little being. “Are you paying attention?” she barked a little harshly, making the elf jump and squeak.
“There is being an owl, mistress,” the elf said tremblingly, pointing to the bird as it started marching the other way again. Turning, grey eyes widened in surprise as she watched the regal eagle owl pace back and forth, wincing as the claws from its talons scraped the tabletop’s finish.
“I’ll get together with you later, so that we can finish up,” she told the elf softly, eyes never leaving the owl. “You’re dismissed, Holly.” With a squeak, the elf popped away and Narcissa stepped toward the table, fighting not to laugh at the nearly human way the bird was behaving. “May I help you?” she asked, voice quivering in amusement. Jumping, the owl hooted loudly, wings flapping in startlement as it spun to stare at the lady of the manor. With chirps and clicks of its beak, it expressed its displeasure at the fright the human gave it, and then thrust out its leg impatiently, waving it a little as it waited for the woman to take the letter.
Once the message was removed, the owl huffed and took off, flying away to the tinkling laughter of Narcissa. “I wonder who sent this?” she murmured as she stared at the blank envelope. Shrugging, she opened it, gasping and taking a startled step back when it rose in the air and began to speak in Albus Dumbledore’s voice.
“I know about the spawn in your belly,” the voice intoned darkly, “and I will see it terminated for the unnatural thing that it is. Human men cannot get pregnant. That you have only proves that you’re a halfbreed; the offspring of an affair between your mother and some random creature, I have no doubt. It also explains how and why your parents wandered off of the path of righteousness; you are an unnatural thing that has undue influence over all the humans with whom you come into contact.
“If you come to me now and surrender yourself, I will see that you have a merciful death. You cannot be allowed to live. Your wrongness offends the very gods and goddesses to whom we owe our lives and our magic. If you do not come to me within the month, I will have no choice but to eliminate everyone who has been poisoned by your influence, and then I will make your death as long and as painful as I can.” The letter burst into flames and quickly burned to ash, leaving no trace of it for Narcissa to collect and send to the DMLE. Spinning in place, she dashed to the floo, tossing in the powder that would allow her to connect to Tom Riddle’s office.
Head in the green flames, she called, “Tom! Tom! We have a problem, and it starts with whatever spy you might have in your office.”