Adult-FanFiction.org : Harry Potter

The Guile and Devotion of a Black Heir	By : StarLightMassacre Category: Harry Potter > Slash - Male/Male Views: 104291 -:- Recommendations : 9 -:- Currently Reading : 26
Disclaimer: I do not own anything from Harry Potter; all rights go to J. K. Rowling. I make no money for this piece of fictional writing and never will.

Chapter List
- 10
- 11
- 12
Last Time
Harry smiled and then the subject changed and he asked how Draco and Astoria had been through the night and they made a bit of small talk about what else had happened during the party and Draco had a good laugh over the memory of Harry’s handling of the Aurors and then Draco was gone and Harry could fall into his bed and just sleep.
He didn’t want to think, he didn’t really want to do anything at all, he just wanted to sleep and rest so that he could forget what had happened tonight. He did remember to plaster on the bruise salve though, that’s all he really needed when going on his first dinner date with Rabastan, an imprint of Rowle’s fingers wrapped around his neck. So he made sure to cover every inch of his throat and the back of his neck, just in case. Tomorrow he wanted to focus purely on Rabastan and nothing else.
Chapter Eleven – Promises
Plastering the bruise salve onto his throat the night before had not headed off as much of the bruising as Harry would have liked. He’d woken up late and showered, washing the dried, flaky paste away, to reveal the faint bluish-green bruises of Rowle’s finger imprints on the front of his neck, wrapping right around to the base of his skull, where eight large, dark bruises were located from where Rowle had dug the tips of his fingers into the back of his neck while his thumbs had dug into his windpipe.
He had been very badly bruised if keeping a salve on overnight hadn’t healed it completely and it only went to prove just how tightly that Rowle had been squeezing. Rowle had been aiming to kill him, of that he had no doubts. Harry was glad that he was dead.
He plastered his throat and neck with even more bruise paste and unhappily went down for breakfast. The bruise had better be gone before his dinner date with Rabastan or he was going to find some way to bring Rowle back from the dead just to kill him all over again. Slower this time, much slower, without the option of unconscious oblivion or a quick bleed out.
“You are still marred?” Narcissa asked as he joined them for breakfast.
She immediately stood up and came hurrying to him, she gently picked up his chin without touching the paste and got him to open his mouth so that she could check his throat for him.
“Your throat is sore on the inside. Pimsey!”
“Mistress called for Pimsey.” The House elf asked as she popped immediately into existence in the dining room.
“Get a potion for Harry’s throat from the store room. Come and sit down, Harry. Drink some tea, it’ll help.”
Harry was settled into a chair and given a freshly made cup of tea.
“Is there anything left of Rowle?” Harry asked as he took a sip of his tea and grimaced as his sore throat made itself known for the first time.
“This is hardly the place or the time for such conversations.” Narcissa chastised him, but Harry kept his eyes on Lucius.
His Father sighed. “No, I would imagine that there is very little left after last night, Harry. Why do you ask?”
“I was going to try and find something that could reanimate him so I can kill him all over again.”
Lucius sighed. “Let it go, Harry. He’s dead and he died in a painful, humiliating and horrific way. Let that be enough and bury your remaining feelings and grudges. It’s over now.”
Harry nodded and took a deep breath. He thanked Pimsey for handing him the potion vial and he sipped on it slowly, grimacing and gagging at the taste, but it had to pass slowly past his throat in order to sooth and heal it.
He groped for his cup of tea and gulped it down as soon as he was done with the potion, trying to wash away the thick, syrupy potion still clinging to his tongue and throat.
If he had any lingering grudges with Rowle, or any feelings to do with the vile man at all, then he’d transfer them into his plans for Rhadamanthus, who was admittedly going to be much harder to kill off and whose death would be much harder to hide as he was very involved in the Ministry. He was an employee of the International Magical Cooperation Department, and in particular the International Magical Office of Law. Unlike Rowle, who only did his Lordship duties to the Ministry as he didn’t work and lived off of his ancestors’ wealth, Rhadamanthus would be missed as soon as he went missing because of how involved he was with the laws of other magical communities of other countries. He worked six days a week and would even work the seventh if it was needed of him and due to differing time zones, Rhadamanthus was on call throughout the night as well and he regularly went into work at strange, odd hours. If he suddenly went missing with no warning, his work colleagues and friends would immediately be alerted. It was just another obstacle in his plans that he had to fully consider and take into account before he could act to remove Rhadamanthus permanently from his and Rabastan’s lives.
He ate his breakfast in silence and when he was done. He just sat and waited for…something, anything. Without Rabastan to talk to and interact with, he found himself strangely bored and unoccupied.
He was tired too, he had not slept well last night, not only because of the discomfort of trying to sleep with a thick paste slavered over his neck and getting into his hair and all over his pillow and sheets, he’d also suffered from several nightmares and as a result his sleep had been broken.
The nightmares had all started normal enough, memories plaguing him from the attack, scenarios where he hadn’t had his wand on him and hadn’t been able to get Rowle off of him, where Rabastan hadn’t wanted him afterwards or had for whatever reason blamed him and the like, but they had changed to the one, persistent problem that was plaguing him. Rhadamanthus. His nightmares had changed to Rhadamanthus attacking him, to Rhadamanthus doing those vile things to him and then Rodolphus had been accusing him of being impure and Rabastan had been shouting at him that he’d slept with his Father and he should be disowned for the shame of it. He’d woken up in a cold sweat, panting for breath.
He needed to see Rabastan in order to push those nightmares away. He hadn’t personally killed Rowle, Greyback had by eating him, but there were no doubts that he had been the catalyst to Rowle’s untimely death by severing his leg so close to his groin. He had died by bleeding out, but if he hadn’t have bled out, then Greyback would have killed him by eating him. It was like they’d worked together to kill Rowle in a way.
“You look entirely unproductive.” Lucius told him.
“It’s the holidays.” Harry whined. “I’ve done all my homework, I’ve been observing the night skies for Astrology and I won’t see Rabastan until later. I have nothing I need to do.”
“Oh? Allow me to rectify that for you. Follow me.”
Harry groaned and hefted himself up and slouched after Lucius.
“Stand up straight or the hex aimed at you will hit your bottom.” Narcissa called out after him.
Harry scowled and straightened his back and shoulders, measuring his steps more so that he looked perfectly eloquent and graceful.
He was taken to Lucius’ study and, after being told to take a seat, he sat in the chair in front of his Father’s desk while Lucius perused the bookcase to his right.
“Ah, here we are. Read this.” Lucius told him, handing him the thick, ancient looking book before going around his desk to sit down in his own dragonhide chair. Lucius pulled his paperwork towards him and picked it up where he’d left off by dipping a quill into his inkpot and commencing a new paragraph on the parchment.
Knowing that arguing was pointless, and would likely lead to a punishment, Harry cracked open the book and started reading it. He couldn’t wait until later, when he could not only see Rabastan again, but have their first official date together. He was very much looking forward to it.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ X
Albus Dumbledore dismissed Severus with a wave of his hand and he sighed heavily, steepling his fingers and resting his chin on them. Things were going from bad to worse and with the coming war, he was frightened of what it would mean for the Wizarding world as he knew it.
The Ministry were still resolutely denying Voldemort’s return and with Harry’s adoption to the Malfoy family and into a respectable Pureblooded household, the wizarding public believed that Harry had ‘stabilised’ and that he was no longer deranged or delusional. It didn’t help in the slightest that Lucius Malfoy had released a statement in the Daily Prophet on his ‘son’s’ behalf claiming that Harry Potter had never told anyone the ‘lies’ about Voldemort’s return and that it had been a cheap ploy, by him, to discredit Harry Potter and to use his famous name to try and confuse and terrify more people. Lucius Malfoy had carried on to say that Harry couldn’t have said anything that he was claiming he had as he had been deserted into the Muggle world and had no access to anyone in the magical world in order to give a truthful statement. That he, Dumbledore, had been doing it for him and passing his own ‘poisonous’ and ‘dangerous’ lies off as Harry’s own.
Thanks to this newspaper interview his name was now mud as a lot of people now believed that he’d been using ‘The-Boy-Who-Lived’ an orphaned, underaged young boy, as a way to further his own agenda.
He was losing ground and he was being discredited by everyone around him and at every turn. There were even calls for his dismissal from Hogwarts as Headmaster and even his imprisonment on the charges of using a minor, and a famous name to boot, for his own political gain. Things were such a mess and he really needed to get back into Harry’s good graces.
The boy knew that Voldemort had returned. He had seen his rebirth with his own eyes, had been one of the ingredients used in the ritual even and he had fought Voldemort in that graveyard, in the Ministry Atrium, the boy had even been possessed by Voldemort. Harry knew that Voldemort was back, he knew what it meant. He just didn’t understand why Harry was suddenly claiming that it had all been a lie. Unless Harry had no knowledge of Lucius releasing that statement on his behalf. That would make much more sense than Harry claiming that Voldemort’s return was a lie and as he had checked the boy for any potions or enchantments personally, he knew that Harry wasn’t being outwardly influenced. He hadn’t found anything more than a few everyday potions, which even taken together couldn’t explain Harry’s behaviour and attitude change. The only thing he could think of was a very dark curse that was resistant to detection spells, he just didn’t know how to go about proving such a claim.
Severus was having no luck in finding out Voldemort’s future plans or attacks and even worse, Severus had no idea what Voldemort wanted to do with Harry. He was worried that it meant death for the young boy and if Harry was under a curse, then he would walk into the trap unknowingly and uncaringly, like a lamb led to the slaughter by the farmer who had cared for it. He couldn’t let this happen, he had to do something.
He needed to get Harry into his office under the guise of something else in order to find the curse or potion used upon him so that he could research a counter curse and break its hold over Harry. Only then could they have a hope, a ray of light, in this coming war. Without Harry, all was lost.
A solid knock on his office door had Albus calling out a cheery greeting, which slipped away as Remus Lupin entered his office. Remus, as well as a few others, knew of his concerns and his thoughts on the matter of Harry.
“Sir, have you had any word?” Remus asked him.
“I’m sorry, Remus. I haven’t. Harry hasn’t once sent anyone an owl and Hedwig has not been seen since he left for the holidays.”
Remus swallowed visibly and audibly.
“I’m so worried and if it is a curse or a potion like you believe, then he’s in danger. I can’t stand being here, doing nothing, while he might even now be being hurt or even killed.”
“I don’t believe that the Malfoy’s would kill Harry during the holidays, Remus. They’ll wait, build up the public’s trust in having them look after Harry and then, once they have that trust, that is when I believe they’ll harm Harry. It’s too dangerous for them to act now, they’ll want to wait for a time that they can do it and pass it off as a tragic accident so that they aren’t implicated.”
Remus looked more distressed at hearing that. “We’re running out of time then. The public are happy that Harry is being looked after by a Pureblooded family. They’re happy that he’s showing more interest in the magical world. They’re happy about this arrangement, Dumbledore! We need to do something to help him!”
“I have been trying, Remus, my boy. There is little I can do myself with Harry being so uncooperative. If I could just find a way to get him on his own and calm enough for a small amount of time, then perhaps I could find the curse or potion that is influencing him and break it, but until then, Harry is firmly under Lucius’ thumb and if the talk that Severus has heard is true, then he is going to be betrothed to a dark affiliated witch very soon.”
Remus’ eyes widened. “No, please don’t let that happen! Merlin, James, Lily and Sirius would be rolling in their graves if they knew that Harry was being married off like a raffle prize. We have to stop this!”
“There isn’t anything that I can do, Remus. Lucius Malfoy is Harry’s adoptive Father and his magical guardian and as such he has the right and the power to betroth Harry to whomever he pleases, though it’ll be up to Harry if he wishes to marry his betrothed afterwards. However if he’s being controlled by a curse or a potion, then it may not be his true desire. I suppose we can be thankful that Bellatrix Lestrange is already married.”
Remus was hyperventilating and he collapsed into a chair and put his head in his hands between his knees to calm himself down.
“This can’t be happening.” He whimpered painfully. “We need to get him away from Malfoy. We can’t just do nothing.”
“I’ll see what I can do during the next school term. I will find this curse and I will break it, Remus. Perhaps if you came to visit him during the weekends too, remind him of his actual parents, and of Sirius too, of course. It would be easier if he had his friends around him as well, but alas, I believe that things there have gone too far to be brought back.”
Remus nodded. “I will talk to Ron and Hermione and see what they think, perhaps if they’re told that it’s a curse or a potion they’ll be more accepting and I will definitely come to visit him. Harry already has a family. They’re dead, but they loved him and he loved them, or at least I thought he did.”
“I’m sure that it is just the effects of the curse, Remus.”
“So you think it’s definitely a curse?”
“I’m not entirely sure, but it is more likely to be a curse than a potion.” Albus explained. “A potion’s effects will wear off and unless Draco Malfoy is the one dosing him while at the school, a curse is much more likely and will last until the caster either removes it, or dies.”
Remus nodded at the logic of that and he sat up straight again.
“This silence bothers me.” He admitted. “I sent him a gift and a card for Christmas and I haven’t heard anything back yet. I know Hagrid and Molly sent him a package as well, but they haven’t heard anything either. It’s unnerving.”
“We can take solace in the fact that we know that Lucius Malfoy cannot act currently.” Albus said solemnly. “We have a bit of time to plan and then we’ll need to prepare to act. I will call an Order meeting in a few days, before the new term starts, until then, try writing to Harry again and see where that gets you. If you hear anything from him, come straight to me.”
Remus nodded and took the order for the dismissal it was and he left the Headmaster’s office and went back to Hogsmeade to Apparate. He was so worried about Harry and the silence around him that he was having difficulty sleeping and controlling Moony. He was thankful that the next full moon wasn’t until the twenty-third of January as he was getting more and more stressed and antsy the longer he went without hearing from Harry and the last full moon, just a little over a week ago, had really taken it out of him, but he was incredibly worried that Harry hadn’t sent him a letter after Christmas had passed. This next full moon was not going to be a pleasant one, even with the Wolfsbane potion. He hoped that he heard from Harry before then, just to give himself a bit of peace of mind that he was at least still alive and unharmed.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ X
Draco was insistent on helping him dress and get ready for his dinner date, of course. Harry had been ordered to bathe and then, as soon as he’d gotten out and dried off, Draco had been on him with potions and combs and instructions.
“Damn it, Draco! Just calm down.” Harry said in frustration as Draco darted off again to get something or other as Harry sat in a chair in just his boxer-briefs.
“This is a serious matter!” Draco told him sternly. “The first dinner date is very important and it’s a very important, intricate part of the betrothal contract. Do you know how many betrothals are broken on the night of the first dinner date?”
Harry was sure his expression personified bemusement. “Why?” He asked.
“Eating habits.” Draco told him.
“Eating habits?” Harry said with a chuckle.
Draco nodded seriously. “Eating habits and chosen conversation topics. If either are terrible, well, it’s a probable deal breaker.”
“I’ve already eaten meals with Rabastan and we’ve been betrothed for five months now, Draco. I think the dinner date should have been much earlier in the betrothal calendar if it’s to test eating habits and the ease of conversation.”
“It should have been at the end of your first month of being betrothed.” Draco nodded. “But that’s when we went back to Hogwarts and it’s difficult with Rabastan’s current status as a fugitive. It’s a little late, I grant you, but don’t become complacent. This is an important part of the betrothal contract and if your conversation fizzles out, then it could spell disaster for your betrothal and future marriage. It’ll also be a blockade on any new betrothals if it was you who was at fault for the breakdown of the contract.”
Harry let Draco poke and prod him as he had his hair messed with and his clothes laid out for him. At least the bruise had vanished after a full night and half a day of wearing the medicated salve. Unfortunately his throat was still a little sore when he swallowed, but he’d have to deal with that as best as he could.
“Will you stop pulling already?” Harry sighed. “I’ll be late to dinner if you don’t let me get dressed soon and Rabastan has already seen my hair when it isn’t controlled and styled with potions.”
“You have to look presentable.” Draco bit out. “I won’t let you walk off to your first date looking like a poor, unkempt ruffian.”
Harry had to bite his lips to keep from laughing at Draco. He sat back with a long suffering sigh and let Draco slather his hair in potions and hair care products before he was finally allowed to get himself dressed in the outfit that Draco had laid out for him. They were just plain robes, not dress robes, but they were still expensive and lavish and tailor made to fit his body like a glove.
“You look perfect.” Draco said factually, looking him over critically and brushing out the wrinkles of his robes as he stood up.
“Do I pass? Can I go and meet Rabastan now?”
“Go on, just try not to spill anything on yourself and remember, the salad fork is on the inside, closest to your plate and for Merlin’s sake do not use your dessert spoon for your soup.”
Harry rolled his eyes. “I did that once! Once while I was learning why a table needed four knives and forks, three spoons, three glasses and a cup.”
“Just remember where everything is placed and keep the conversation flowing. Don’t speak or laugh with your mouth full either.”
“Excuse me! When have I ever done that?”
“It’s just a reminder.”
Harry rolled his eyes and they both walked off and left Harry’s bedroom. They went down to the living room and Narcissa took over where Draco had left off, brushing his robes down and fiddling with his collar and the tie around his neck that was tucked into the waistcoat that perfectly matched the colour of his robes.
“Are you ready?” Lucius asked him and Harry nodded happily, with a slight edge of nerves.
“Yeah, I’m really excited, but I’m still worried. We’re going out in public, what if someone sees him and recognises him? The Azkaban escapees were broadcast on the Muggle news too.”
“Stop fussing.” Narcissa told him, pulling him to her chest and pressing her lips to his forehead in a brief kiss. It brought a massive grin to Harry’s face. “Rabastan has planned it all out and you’re not going to the Muggle world, just stop stressing about it. All you need to do is enjoy yourself and behave, darling.”
Harry nodded and he took Lucius’ arm and allowed himself to be Apparated away. He opened his eyes and took in the beautiful restaurant they had arrived in. Lucius pulled him away from the round, carpeted space they had landed in, that had a beautifully carved wooden bannister that held a variety of potted plants and flowers around it, and went to the podium directly in front of them with an elderly gentleman wearing a smart set of black robes.
“Lord Malfoy. Lord Potter-Black.” The shrewd man greeted primly, politely and respectfully. “Right this way. The owner of this establishment has given strict instructions and I wish to assure you that they will be followed to the letter. Our patrons’ discretion is our highest priority here at The Garnet Swan.”
Harry was impressed as he was led through a cluster of intimately laid circular tables, every single one of them were set for two and were draped with the clichéd dark red tablecloths with red pillar candles. They were led up a set of wide, red carpeted stairs, away from the main floor and the view of all the other patrons, to a balcony that had only three, very wide spaced, doors set into the right side wall and the two of them followed as the maître d let them across the open corridor, which had no wall on the left side, just another beautifully carved wooden bannister covered in plants and flowers that looked out onto the floor below and all the other diners eating and talking in low voices at their little intimate tables.
They stopped at one door, the one right at the very end of the long balcony, and their maître d bowed to them formally and then left again. Lucius waited until he was halfway down the stairs again before he knocked on the door once and let them into the room.
Harry grinned as he walked in to see Rabastan waiting for him at a small, round table like the ones below them. Xerxes was sat at the other end of the room, in one of a cluster of four armchairs gathered around a coffee table and fireplace.
“Rabastan.” Harry greeted, his steps widening and quickening until he reached Rabastan, where he threw his arms around his betrothed and kissed him.
“Harry, you look wonderful.”
Rabastan indicated their table and Harry allowed Rabastan to help him sit. He turned to look at the group of armchairs, which were almost at the opposite end of the room, and he frowned at the distance.
“You’re here, dining with me. Ignore them, they’re just chaperones, they’re not a part of our dinner plans tonight.” Rabastan told him and Harry turned back and gave his full attention to Rabastan.
“How have you been? I’ve been so bored without you. Lucius had me reading all day waiting for tonight.”
Rabastan chuckled. “I admit, my day has been very boring too, but at least I’ve distracted myself with making these plans and finalising everything.”
“I’ve had Draco poking and prodding me all afternoon.” Harry grimaced. “I’m a fashion disaster. You do know that when we get married it’ll become your job to dress me, don’t you?”
The grin that Rabastan gave him was so naughty that Harry blushed.
“As long as I get to undress you every night.” Rabastan told him in a lusty whisper.
“Oh, I don’t think that’ll be a problem.” Harry said with a smile and a covert wink.
Rabastan laughed and Harry relaxed, settling down. This wasn’t any worse than having dinner with Rabastan at Malfoy manor. It was exactly the same, only there were less people around them and they had the seclusion and the privacy to converse and interact like lovers were meant to.
They made small talk until a house elf came into the room with a large tray of food and drinks and it settled the plates and drinks down on their table with magic.
“Thank you.” Harry said politely to the elf, who squeaked in pleasure and left them alone.
“I wish you’d stop doing that.” Rabastan sighed.
“I’m not going to, so get used to it.” Harry said back sternly.
Rabastan wisely changed the subject.
“I hope you don’t mind that I ordered for you. I ordered when I arrived an hour ago to help set this room up, so that no one would see me. Our family know the owner of this restaurant and I was best friends with his son in school, so he was very happy to help set this up for us.”
Harry took that to mean that the owner of The Garnet Swan, and his son, were either Death Eaters or sympathisers, most likely Purebloods too. In fact they probably were Purebloods if the Lestranges were friends with them.
“I’m really not fussy with my food, as long as it doesn’t have eyes.” Harry said, which made Rabastan, who’d just taken a sip of water, laugh and choke on his drink.
“Not a fan of seafood?” He teased once he got his breath back.
“I’m not sure. I’ve tried a bit of cod, but outside of that, I’ve never had much seafood. So like the cheese at Christmas, I probably wouldn’t like it because I’ve never tried it before now and I’m set in my ways. But no eyes.”
Harry made sure to use his soup spoon for the first course and not his dessert spoon as he had done when Narcissa had been teaching him about table placements. At the time he’d thought that it was a waste of time, now, looking at the amount of silverware and bone china on the table in front of him, he was grateful.
After the light soup came a crisp, jewelled salad with a tangy dressing and then another course was brought out, a thick medium rare steak served with a baked potato and sautéed vegetables and though they were steadily eating, their conversation wasn’t awkward, uncomfortable or forced.
It was during that third course that Harry realised that this was not a struggle for him, that being here, eating and talking to Rabastan was not forced nor a chore. He was enjoying himself and he was loving every minute of being here.
“I really love you, you know.” He said softly during a natural lull in their conversation as they ate their food.
Rabastan looked up and he caught sight of the look being sent his way and he smiled, putting his fork down and reaching for Harry’s hand.
“I know. I’m working on truly accepting that when you say it. I just don’t see what you see when you look at me, clearly. But I adore you, Harry. I love you and I want to keep you, I want to marry you and start a family with you. I just don’t want you hating me in several years when you look at me and think that you could have had so much better than me.”
“There is no one better than you.” Harry insisted firmly. “I’m going to spend the rest of our lives together proving it to you, Rabastan, but you have been kind and accepting of me and that’s all I want from a marriage. I want love and respect and you give that to me. Why wouldn’t I stay with you when you’re offering me everything I’ve always wanted?”
“I was going to wait until after we’d finished eating, but I can’t wait any more. I love you too much to keep you waiting.”
“Waiting for what?” Harry asked, his heart going into his throat with fear at a possible break up.
Rabastan fumbled at something in his robe pocket and then he slid a square box over the table towards him. Harry’s fear morphed into something else and his heart started beating impossibly faster as his breath caught in his lungs.
“Is…is this what I think it is?” He asked softly.
“Open it and see.” Rabastan told him with a croak in his voice.
Harry looked up and he noticed that Rabastan’s hands were quivering with nerves and he put his betrothed out of his misery and opened the velvet box to show the plush satin insides and the beautiful ring nestled within.
“I’m in love with you, Harry. I adore everything about you. Will you do me the great honour of marrying me and becoming my Husband?” Rabastan asked as Harry stared at the ring in the box.
He looked up with tears in his eyes and he took hold of Rabastan’s quaking hands.
“Of course I will, Rabastan. Nothing would make me happier.”
Rabastan pulled the ring out of its satin bed and he took Harry’s left hand and slid the perfectly fitting ring onto his third finger.
Harry smiled and admired the ring on his finger. It fitted his finger perfectly and it was beautiful. So beautiful.
“It’s platinum, blue tungsten and diamond.” Rabastan told him. “I designed it myself and had it custom made for you.”
“Thank you so much. I love it. It was truly worth the wait.” Harry said with a massive grin.
He shifted and bent over the table to kiss Rabastan and he couldn’t stop at just one kiss, he was too happy and as one kiss became two and then several, he realised that he was engaged to this man. He and Rabastan were not betrothed anymore, they were engaged, they were fiancés. He shifted again to make himself more stable in the chair and he moved to wrap his arms around Rabastan’s neck and their kiss became more passionate and they didn’t break apart.
“Please do remember that you have an audience.” Lucius drawled from across the room.
Harry broke the kiss to heave in several deep, much needed breaths.
“At the moment I don’t care who’s watching.” He declared before he pulled Rabastan’s head into another searing kiss.
“Let the boys be, Lucius. They’re engaged now after all.”
Harry pulled back to grin at Rabastan and he went back to looking at and admiring his ring. The outer edges of the ring were shining platinum with an inside ring of a bright blue metal that Rabastan had called tungsten and it was studded with five diamonds around the band. Harry loved it. It was definitely masculine, but it didn’t take over his whole finger and it wasn’t too heavy. It was perfect.
“You’ve given this so much thought, Rabastan. I just love it.” He insisted happily as he tore his gaze away from the ring to kiss Rabastan again. “But more than that, I can’t believe we’re finally engaged. You could have given me a plastic ring or the end of a copper pipe and I would have been happy just to be engaged to you.”
“It had to be special. Like you.” Rabastan told him.
Harry grinned and clutched at Rabastan’s hands.
“With this ring, Harry, I promise to love you forever. I promise to care for you and love you and our future family. I adore the very ground that you walk on and I can’t wait until we’re married and we start having children. I love you.”
“I love you, Rabastan.” Harry said. “Are you sure we can’t marry this summer?”
“I’d love nothing more, but your Father is insistent on you being graduated first. A baby really wouldn’t fit in with your school plans or your exams and as much as I hate to admit it, I’m not fit enough to look after a child just yet. Hopefully given another year and a half to regain my health and past strength with this diet and fitness program, I’ll be in a better position to look after you and a child. I’ll work very hard, I swear it. I’ll do everything I can to regain my health and fitness for you, for our future.”
“I don’t care if you never regain your old strength, Rabastan, as long as you’re healthy.” Harry said seriously. “I want you to be happy and healthy and I’ll still love you just as much.”
“I want to regain my strength for you.” Rabastan insisted. “What sort of Husband will I be if I can’t carry you up the stairs to our bed?”
Harry grinned naughtily. “There are always levitation charms.”
“What about the actual wedding night?” Rabastan asked.
Harry’s grin widened and he winked. “I have enough strength and youthful enthusiasm for the both of us.” He declared.
Rabastan’s look immediately went predatory and those beautiful blue eyes darkened with lust.
“I’ll hold you to that.” He replied huskily. “But I still promise to work as hard as I can to overcome my weakness.”
“Don’t push yourself too hard.” Harry told him.
“I know, I know. Now you sound like ‘Dolphus.” Rabastan laughed.
“You should listen to him more.” Harry said. “He’s looking out for you, we both are because we both love you. Now where’s my dessert?”
Rabastan chuckled and snapped his fingers and immediately their house elf server was back.
“We’d like our desserts now.” He demanded.
Harry narrowed his eyes on Rabastan as the house elf cleared away the table and popped away.
“Can’t you be a little nicer to them?”
“What? No.” Rabastan said as if the very concept was unbelievable and unreasonable to him.
Harry huffed and took a drink from his glass of water.
“Look, I’m sorry that I’m not falling over myself to thank the damn elves, can we please not let it ruin our night?”
Harry sighed. “Okay. I love you and this is our engagement night and I’m incredibly happy, I just…please stop being so nasty.”
“They’re elves!” Rabastan insisted in bemusement.
Harry sighed and rubbed his eyes. He let it go. They’d gotten engaged tonight and he wasn’t going to change Rabastan’s mind set in one night. It was going to take much longer than that, but he wouldn’t allow such abuse in his own home. Either Rabastan was nicer to the elves, or they wouldn’t have one when they moved into their own home.
Their desserts came and Harry made a point of thanking the elf before he used his dessert spoon to eat the shaped milk chocolate mousse that had a layer of dark chocolate ganache layered on the top with fresh raspberries. It was gorgeous and it perked his mood right up.
“This is amazing.” He groaned in happiness and he looked up to see Rabastan watching him with those lusty eyes again. “What?”
“Seeing you suck on that spoon is making my imagination run wild.”
Harry blushed before he burst out laughing. “Only you could look at me eating and get aroused.”
“Actually, I don’t think that’s true. You’re just a little unobservant.”
“How dare you.” Harry said teasingly. “I’ll have you know that I need to be very observant to be the best Seeker in Hogwarts!”
Rabastan smiled and took his hand again after they finished their desserts, standing up and leading them over to Lucius and Xerxes and they sat and relaxed to let their meal go down on the group of chairs around a low table where they’d taken their after dinner coffee to join Lucius and Xerxes.
“Are you happy, Harry?” Lucius asked him.
“Of course. How could I not be?” Harry said. “I love Rabastan so much and now we’re engaged!” He said excitedly, showing his ring off to Lucius and Xerxes, as Rabastan had not allowed anyone to see the ring before Harry himself had seen it. “I wish we could get married this summer, not next, but I do understand why we need to wait.”
Lucius narrowed his eyes. “Yes, you do need to wait. No son of mine will be married before he’s graduated and you will not saddle yourself with a baby before you’ve settled into your own home with your Husband. Am I clear?”
“Crystal clear.” Harry sighed. “I suppose I could content myself with planning my wedding and studying for my exams.”
“You make sure that you do.”
Harry smiled and held Rabastan’s hand, about as much as they could do as they were sat in separate armchairs as this room didn’t have a settee. He would have preferred to snuggle with him, especially as they had gotten engaged tonight. He couldn’t wait to show off his ring to everyone, he was so excited and he’d never felt as in love with Rabastan as he did right now tonight. Everything was perfect…he should have known that it would be too good to be true to last too long.
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Bill was disgusted as he listened to his Mother cry and had to watch his ashen faced Father attempt to comfort her.
They’d had a letter from the Hogwarts Governors and a bill from Lucius Malfoy. Ron and Ginny had been implicated in the theft and destruction of Harry’s trunk, Firebolt and other belongings and now they were being forced to pay for it.
Their Mother had already screamed at Ron and Ginny before sending them to their rooms, but the hefty bill was still sitting open on their table, taunting them, and Bill felt sick looking at the amount they owed to the Malfoy family…all because of Harry.
It always seemed to come down to Harry Potter these days and Bill had no idea where things had gone so very wrong. Harry had used to be a friend of both Ron and Ginny, of the whole family, and now he was billing them for money that he knew they didn’t have.
The amount that was being asked of them would ruin their family for the next several years, if not the next decade. They just couldn’t afford to pay this kind of money, but he understood why Ron and Ginny had to be held accountable. They had destroyed another student’s belongings, it just hit them all the harder because it was Harry.
Harry who had been welcomed into their family, Harry who knew they were not a well off family. Bill just didn’t understand why Harry would send this bill to them when he could easily afford to replace the belongings damaged in a fit of temper by Ron and Ginny without even making a slight bump in his finances.
He understood that Ron and Ginny needed to be punished for their actions, even if it was just replacing a set of robes or a book and a written apology, but to bill them for absolutely everything that was damaged, especially the ridiculously expensive Firebolt, it was excessive.
“What are we going to do, Arthur?” His Mother sobbed.
“We’ll get through this, Molly.” His Father said, but Bill saw his Father’s face. He saw the lost, haggard look that had paled his face and the desolate look in his eyes as he looked at the amount they owed.
He swallowed and looked back at the letter and the bill that was given to them. It was disgusting and made even worse knowing that the bill had been split between six people. Two of them just happened to be Ron and Ginny.
He sighed and rubbed his forehead. He’d already applied for overtime at the bank and he knew Fred and George were furious. They’d been by earlier and they’d sworn to give their parents as much of their profits from their shop as they could spare to help pay the debt their family now owed, despite both of their parents insisting that it wasn’t needed and they’d manage somehow. All of them knew that it was a lie.
Bill had even contacted Percy and Charlie, but so far neither of them had answered. He wasn’t too surprised about Percy and he hoped that Charlie was just wrapping things up at the dragon reserve before taking a leave of absence to come and support the family, but even with all of them doing what they could, he wasn’t sure it was enough…he was afraid that this would utterly ruin their family’s finances for years to come. If this continued then they’d never rise above the poverty line.
“Wh…wh…why did they have to bill us for Ron and Ginny?” His Mother sobbed yet again. “Gin…Ginny wasn’t even…even involved in taking Harry’s trunk!”
“I know, Molly, I know. But she still tried her best to ruin Harry’s broom. They took it in turns to try and demolish it and they need to be punished for it and they need to be held accountable for their actions.”
“But…this just seems so unfair! They’re only children, Arthur, just fifteen and sixteen!”
Bill felt awful for his parents. His Father looked like he’d aged twenty years and his Mother’s eyes were red and puffy from crying. He couldn’t stand seeing his parents like this and he wanted to punch Harry fucking Potter straight in the face for this.
The flames in the fireplace turned green and Bill was almost relieved to see Charlie stepping out and dusting the soot off of himself.
“Oh! Oh, Charlie. It’s so good to see you, dear.” Their Mother stood up and brushed her tears away before embracing her second born son, pulling him down into a crushing hug.
“Mum, what’s going on? I got Bill’s owl. What’s happened?”
“Oh, it’s just…things have broken down between the family and Percy and now…now Harry’s gone too.”
“Harry? Ron’s friend? What happened?” Charlie asked with a frown, trying to keep up with what was happening. He already knew about Percy going off, Bill had owled him about it and Charlie had owled Percy himself, trying to get him to see sense all to no avail.
“It’s all been a complete mess.” Molly sobbed as she clutched at Charlie tighter.
“I heard about Bill becoming Lord Weasley too, just what is going on?”
“Sit down, Charlie, we have much to talk about.” Arthur said.
Charlie gently extracted himself from their Mother and sat down. Bill sat next to him and their parents took the seats opposite them both.
“So, what’s happened? It’s only been two years. That’s not that long.” He insisted.
“It’s far too long, Charlie, dear. I wish you’d get a job closer to home.”
“I’ve told you, Mum, I love working with the dragons. I’m not leaving my job.” Charlie said firmly.
“Could you at least come and visit more often?”
“This is not what we need to talk about.” Bill interrupted as Charlie fidgeted, not answering the question.
“Yeah, tell me what in the name of Merlin is going on!”
Arthur handed Charlie the letter from the Governors and the bill they’d been given. Bill watched as Charlie read them through slowly.
“What is this? I don’t understand.”
“I suppose it starts with Harry being adopted by the Malfoys.”
“What?! How in the hell did that happen?” Charlie demanded.
“It happened last summer, what’s worse is that Harry is now ignoring Dumbledore and doing near enough the exact opposite of everything he says.”
“I take it that he stopped speaking to Ron after he was adopted.” Charlie said in righteous fury.
“Yeah, according to Ron, Harry snubbed him on the train. He was sitting with his new Slytherin buddies and when Ron and Hermione went to talk to him he was like a completely different person. His voice has changed, his appearance and mannerisms have changed and even his handwriting, all different. It’s all very worrying.”
“Right, what does this have to do with you becoming the new Weasley Lord? I thought our family didn’t care about such things.”
“We don’t.” Arthur insisted. “But Dumbledore asked us to put aside our disgust at such things so that we could have an ear on the Wizengamot.”
“Why would he need us to do that? He’s the Chief Warlock, isn’t he?”
“I’m afraid not, Charlie. Malfoy forced Harry to claim his Lordships, which means that Dumbledore could no longer sit on the Wizengamot and was forced to give up his Chief Warlock position. With Harry now Lord Potter and Lord Black, he has two very influential votes and Dumbledore has no seat left on the Wizengamot, so he needs us to be his eyes and ears for him.”
“What does Dumbledore hope to achieve from that?”
“He hopes to head off any unsavoury new laws that Malfoy wants to pass by getting the public behind him to oppose the laws before they’re written into official legislation.” Arthur explained.
“The key here is knowledge and forewarning so that we can counter anything that Malfoy wants passed that’ll damage our world as we know it.” Bill explained with a sigh. “Harry has proven to be incredibly unhelpful.”
“Have you checked him for potions or the Imperius curse?” Charlie asked.
“Dumbledore has, several times now, and nothing has shown up. The only potions that Harry has been taking recently are calming draughts, nutrient potions and a few headache relievers and there are no spells on him that can be found. Dumbledore is hoping that it means that Harry is under a very dark curse that doesn’t show up with a basic detection spell.” Arthur said sadly.
“You don’t sound so certain.” Bill said with a frown and his Father hesitated before sighing.
“I’m afraid that there are no spells or potions detected on Harry because there aren’t any to be found. I’m afraid that Harry is acting under his own influence and he’s behaving the way that he is because he wants to.” Arthur answered grimly.
“Our family have done so much for him though!” Charlie said hotly. “Why would he be acting this way of it isn’t a potion or a curse?”
“I saw him as a son.” Their Mother sniffled. “I loved him like my own and the first chance he got, he ran off with Lucius Malfoy, of all people. Now that stuck up, cold, snob Narcissa is taking my place. Harry’s calling her Mum, when I did everything for that boy and he never once called me Mum!”
“It’s alright, Mum. We don’t need him.” Bill said, running a hand through his long hair in agitation.
“So, what about this letter?” Charlie asked, looking back to the letter and the bill that he was still holding in his hand.
Arthur sighed heavily. “It seems that Ron and Ginny and some of their other friends took exception to Harry’s new…life choices. They stole all of Harry’s belongings and destroyed them and tried to ruin his Firebolt, which had to be sent for specialist repairs. Lucius Malfoy decided to bill our family for Ron and Ginny’s actions, backed by Hogwarts’ school Governors, of which Malfoy is now the head of once again.”
“This is ridiculous! We can’t pay this much!” Charlie said aghast. “This is more than I make in three years at the reserve!”
“Unfortunately Ron and Ginny did destroy all of Harry’s property, which was all tailor made robes, a selection of very expensive books, a collection of thirty, sixty millilitre bottles of coloured ink, hand crafted quills, a hand carved trunk and the world’s most expensive racing broom. Thankfully it only needed to be repaired and not completely replaced, or the bill would be even more.” Arthur said sadly.
“I can’t believe that Harry is billing our family!”
“That’s what I said.” Bill told Charlie.
“He has every right to claim damages from us, boys.” Their Father sighed. “I thought I’d raised my children better than to damage someone else’s property, but I guess I failed at that too. I’ll be in my shed.”
Bill watched his Father leave through the back door sadly and he felt a well of anger bubble up inside him. Harry Potter would not get away with doing this to his family. He wouldn’t let him humiliate his Father any more than he already had, he wouldn’t let him stomp all over his family as if they were nothing.
“What are we going to do?” Charlie asked him as their Mother buried her face into her hands to hide her tears from her sons.
“I’m going to work my arse off to get on that Wizengamot and I’m going to do my utmost to take that boy down, Charlie. No one treats us like dirt, not after we welcomed him in like family.”
Charlie nodded his head and steeled himself as he tucked away the letters and the bill.
“We need to sort this, Charlie, especially with Percy not talking to us, this is probably the worst thing that could have happened. Our family was just getting back on its feet. Me you, Perce and the twins are all out of the house and have jobs, it was just Ron and Gin left and now this. I’m already working as much as I can and I’ve requested overtime too.”
“How are you going to work five days, plus overtime and get ready for your acceptance into the Wizengamot and the Weasley Lordship?” Charlie demanded. “It’s too much to take on, Bill.”
“I’ve got to try, Charlie.” Bill said softly. “It’s worth it to try.”
Charlie nodded and steeled himself to stay at his childhood home for a few weeks. It was going to be near torture, especially as his beloved dragons were going into their breeding season soon and the females would have nests and eggs that the handlers were all charged with protecting, but he had to do this. He had his orders and he had to follow them. It would only be for a few weeks at least, he consoled himself with that knowledge.
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Neville Longbottom ducked his head away from his gran’s irate anger as she berated him over and over for attacking Harry Potter, the Lord of two houses and respected member of their society.
She’d had a letter from the school Governors that very morning as well as a sixth of a bill for the damage and destruction of Harry Potter’s belongings and she was furious with him.
“I didn’t do it, gran.” He said tearfully. “I woke up the third time because of the noise to see Ron, Seamus and Dean trying to pick up Harry’s trunk and I put my hands on it to stop them from taking it. That’s why I was affected by the curse, I swear. Harry was one of my first friends, I wouldn’t have done anything like this to him, gran.”
“Lord Potter-Black and his Father seem to think otherwise!” Augusta Longbottom said harshly, but she looked over her grandson critically.
“It was only because of how it looked, gran!” Neville insisted.
“Then why didn’t you try to explain this to them?” Augusta asked promptly.
“Harry wouldn’t let me. He started avoiding me and he’d cut me off as soon as I started talking to him, but I did try to explain what had happened. He just wouldn’t listen, gran.”
“I don’t blame him!” Augusta said. “Have you seen how much this bill is for? And it is only a sixth of the total! If I had spent this much on you and then I had to turn around two months later and replace it all again I would be just as livid! This is completely unacceptable, disgraceful behaviour for young gentlemen to engage in and I cannot believe that two young ladies were involved in this scandalous scheme. That boy is a Lord of two houses and he is a celebrity to boot, Neville.”
“I know, gran, but I swear I didn’t do it. I was just trying to stop them from taking Harry’s trunk again. I’ve been bullied too often to stand by and watch others do it to someone I thought of as a friend.”
“If that’s true then I’ll write to the Governors, I’m sure they wouldn’t want to implicate an innocent young man and I’m sure that if this is true, then you won’t object to proving it.” Augusta gave Neville a beady eyed, hawkish look and narrowed her eyes until her grandson nodded his head.
“Of course I won’t object to it, gran. I promise I was trying to help. I wouldn’t bully anyone else like that! Not when…not when I was the subject of it a few years ago. It was Harry who stuck up for me back then, I wouldn’t turn on him now just because he’s been adopted without any say in the matter.”
Augusta nodded, proud of the man that Neville was becoming from the pudgy, shy and unconfident boy he’d been when he’d first started at Hogwarts six years before.
“Well I am glad that you are at least thinking about this rationally. You, as a Pureblood, know that that boy had no say in the matter of his adoption, but I for one am glad that someone took that boy under their wing and that he’s getting taught all the things that he needs to know.”
“I know, gran. I tried to tell him all of that, but he won’t even look at me and now that he’s in his own rooms, I don’t get to see him as he never comes to the common room and he’s not in the dorm room. I can’t even see him in class as when Slytherin have lessons with Gryffindor, Harry sits with Malfoy and when it’s another house, he finds someone to sit with who isn’t a Gryffindor.”
“I don’t blame that poor boy.” Augusta insisted. “But if you are innocent, then I will petition the Governors to have you removed from the bill. An innocent person shouldn’t have to pay for another’s crime.”
Neville ducked his head and worried over that. If he was taken off of this bill, then that would mean that the others would have to pay more, as it would be split between five and not six and he had already listened to Ron moan about it after Harry had threatened to bill him for the damages.
Ron hadn’t thought Harry would actually do it, even though it was within his rights to do so, so he’d really been groaning about Harry actually threatening him with the bill for the damages when he knew that his family couldn’t afford it more than anything else. Ron was going to be awful to live with now that Harry had actually billed them all for his damaged belongings.
Neville firmed himself, they had done wrong and they needed to pay for it. It wasn’t fair what they’d done to Harry and he knew it, it was why he’d tried to stop them, even if it had been three onto one. Now none of them would speak to him as even though he’d been caught up in Harry’s revenge curse by trying to help him, he still refused to take their side and they’d turned on him because of it, even Ginny, who’d been so sweet to him last year when he’d asked her to the Yule Ball.
It was all such a mess, but he knew that he was innocent, and he hoped that when this was over with and he’d proven himself innocent, that he and Harry could go back to being friends.
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Harry was very happy to show off his ring to Narcissa and Draco when he flooed back home later that night with Lucius.
“Oh, it’s beautiful, Harry, darling.” Narcissa gushed as she took his hand to look at the ring closer.
“I love the blue ring with the edge of platinum.” Draco said as he examined the ring critically. “Paired with the five, beautifully cut diamonds too, Rabastan has done well. It’s a very simple design that actually looks as expensive as it is instead of cheap. This is a well thought out ring and as soon as anyone with any hint of knowledge about jewellery sees it, they’ll know it too.”
“Who the hell has knowledge of jewellery?” Harry scoffed.
Draco smirked nastily. “Daphne and Pansy for two.” He said and Harry felt a matching evil smirk take over his own face.
“Oh, I can’t wait for the train ride.”
“Remember not to tell anyone outside of certain…circles about who you’re engaged to.”
Harry nodded. “All anyone else is going to know is that the ‘witch’ I’m marrying is a Pureblood from another country.”
“A witch? Why a witch?” Draco asked him with his platinum eyebrows lowered in confusion.
“To keep my bearer genes a secret from those who don’t deserve to be in the know.” Harry said simply. “It keeps me safer and it’ll keep everyone as far away from guessing that my Fiancé is Rabastan as possible.”
Lucius’ eyes gleamed. “I’m very proud that you’ve given such thought to this. I agree, telling those not already in the know that you’re engaged to a lovely young lady from…France, shall we say? Is a very clever idea. I’ll start spreading the news covertly around the Ministry.”
Harry grinned. “I want to shout from the Astronomy Tower that I’m marrying Rabastan, but I know that I can’t and I need to keep the both of us safe and our future children safe until the time is right. If that means lying through my teeth about an engagement to a witch in France, so be it.”
Harry was missing Rabastan more tonight that he had that morning and talking about being engaged to some fictitious witch from France wasn’t helping. Knowing that his real Fiancé was at his ancestral house, with his vile Father, brought his own mood down. He just wanted to stay by Rabastan’s side, but unfortunately it was too risky to bring the Lestranges over to the manor, just in case the Aurors were still watching their house. Though Lucius was delighting in telling him and Draco that he’d gone to the Minister’s personal home during the afternoon, while Draco had been poking and dressing Harry up for his date, and the elder Malfoy had ripped into the Minister for such an atrocious act of embarrassment in his own house. The elder Malfoy hoped that the Auror observation would be lifted very soon, unfortunately it wouldn’t be soon enough for Harry, who was going to be going back to Hogwarts in just four days. Normal Ministry work wouldn’t be resumed until the day after Harry was back in Hogwarts.
The Minister had all but stumbled over himself to apologise to Lucius and Harry had learnt a valuable lesson with that story. If you’re confident and slightly arrogant, those lesser than you will fall over themselves to do your bidding.
“At the end of the day, boys.” Lucius told them as both he and Draco sat the living room with mugs of hot chocolate, hanging on every word of his recounted visit with the Minister. “People will respect authority, and the more gold you earn, the more you can pass on to those in higher offices, like our dear Minister Fudge. If you have gold and authority and don’t use them, it’s a massive waste of potential.”
“You’re hinting at me.” Harry said softly.
“I am, yes. Whether you like it or not, Harry, you’re a political figure and a famous celebrity. You can sway the masses to your way of thinking, you are a bigger influence than you realise and if you learnt to use that to your advantage…”
Lucius trailed off and Harry sat thinking about those words. He couldn’t get them out of his mind, even as the conversation turned to lighter topics. Could he really be such a huge influence? It didn’t seem remotely possible to him that people with their own brains and thoughts would follow his orders just because of his name…it seemed utterly preposterous. But Lucius Malfoy was a very sharp, shrewd man, if he said that he could use his name, fame and gold to bring people around to his way of thinking, then he was probably right. He just needed to learn how to utilise such weapons to his advantage.
“How do I use my fame to get people to do what I want?” He asked curiously.
Lucius blinked, having been cut off in mid-sentence, and he turned to him. Harry expected a punishment, not a satisfied smirk.
“Well now. I certainly didn’t think you’d enjoy the idea of selling yourself to the public. I admit that I’m rather taken aback.”
“I don’t like it, the very thought of it makes me feel dirty and wrong, but I recognise that sometimes we have to do things that we don’t particularly like to reach our end objective.”
Lucius smiled, truly smiled at him and turned his body to face him fully.
“You are growing by the day, in front of our very eyes. I will teach you how to use your name and influence to get others to do as you want. If you’re clever, it’ll be much easier for you, as you’re still a boy. If you can make it seem like the idea you have is that of the one you’re playing, you’ll find other’s suddenly doing absolutely everything you want them to do without them ever knowing that they’ve been played in the first place.” Lucius told him.
Harry nodded and he steeled himself to listen to the lessons that Lucius was going to teach him. The thought of using himself in such a way made him feel uneasy and if he were truthful, a bit like a tool. But…but if it helped him to achieve his goals, then he was prepared to give it a try. For example, if he could use his fame where he could and subtle bribes elsewhere to get people to listen to his fears about the Dementors, then it would be worth it to feel used and a bit grubby afterwards.
He needed to test the lessons out first though, he couldn’t go straight from listening to the lessons that Lucius taught him to using it for his cause to kick the Dementors out of Azkaban. He’d have to test it out first and practice it on his fellow students at Hogwarts.
“Can you start teaching me tomorrow?” Harry asked, knowing as he did that Lucius wasn’t due back in work until the sixth of January, with the majority of the Ministry work force, and because he and Draco went back to Hogwarts the day before, on the fifth of January, which was a Sunday ready to begin lessons the following day.
Lucius looked at him knowingly, as if he knew that Harry wanted to practice on his fellow students, before he nodded. “Yes, I believe that that would be agreeable. Draco is going to visit Astoria tomorrow, I’ll be free to teach you how to use your name and command authority for it.”
Harry nodded and went back to his mug of hot chocolate, his mind racing. If he could do this properly, it might actually be worth it if he got what he wanted in the end.
His gaze caught the new ring nestled on his left hand as he lifted the mug to his mouth and he smiled, going back to admiring it. He loved Rabastan and he couldn’t wait until they were married. He hated that the Ministry had ruined their last week together, especially as he and Rabastan had gotten engaged tonight, but it was too risky to have Rabastan come here and downright dangerous for him to go and sleep in the Lestrange manor with Rhadamanthus creeping about. Not that Lucius would have ever allowed him to sleep at Lestrange manor, despite him and Rabastan now being engaged and their wedding planned for the summer of nineteen-ninety-eight, it still wasn’t proper etiquette. Harry hated proper etiquette sometimes.
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A/N: These next two months are going to be hectic for me as I’m planning on updating a chapter for a fic every single week, which is going to be pushing me to the limit, but last week I posted up my brand new fic, Tainted Blood, next week will be Rise of the Drackens and then Tainted blood again. October I’m hoping for another update of both Black Heir and Tainted Blood along with the epilogue of Damaged Bodies and hopefully a Scaled Bits chapter too. So I’m very, very busy, but I’m feeling invincible after climbing a mountain three days ago! We’ll see how long that feeling lasts.
Harry and Rabastan are finally engaged and they’re getting somewhere! Harry is slowly, very slowly, being tainted by the dark and it’s happening so gradually, he’s not really noticing it.
I finally revealed why Neville’s hands were affected by the curse, and some of you lovelies actually thought that he was in on it, bless him! No, he was trying to stop Ron, Seamus and Dean from taking Harry’s trunk again and he just happened to touch the trunk to do so. Harry will never be friends with him again, not now that he’s engaged to Rabastan, the guilt would chew him up. So poor Neville is being a bit optimistic in his hopes there.
I hope you lovelies enjoyed this chapter! The next chapter is back to Hogwarts and I’m thinking of bringing in the Wizengamot again…it’s been a while since I showed Harry being a political badass, so more Wizengamot and Ministry scenes are on the way.
If you wanted to see Harry’s ring, it’s sort of like this one, but it’s edged with platinum and studded with Diamonds and the inside is blue, not silver.
Buybluesteel com/collections/men-s-wedding-rings/products/stratosphere-brushed-blue-ip-and-silver-stainless-steel-his-and-her-ring-with-step-edges
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The Guile and Devotion of a Black Heir