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SD: CH38 - Aggressive Negotiations Part 3
🕑 Added 2023-02-19 18:50:23 +0000 UTCI froze.
Okay, I wouldn’t lie and claim that I saw that coming, but it was on the list of possibilities that I didn’t want to turn out to be true. Narcissa had called me a Black the very first day we had met, and any pureblood worth his salt probably kept a record of claimants to the family fortune. For Narcissa, who regarded her Black heritage on a much higher pedestal than the Malfoy name, that held doubly true. Draco was supposed to become Lord Black in time, and I knew that Lucius had arranged things to ensure that it stayed that way. For all I knew, he was the one that seeded the idea of sending dementors after Sirius Black after he escaped Azkaban the previous year. With Black removed, there were no problems with Draco’s ascension to the Black Lordship. I was a viable candidate, but on a pure heritage basis, Draco had a better claim than mine. Unless I could bring Sirius’s last will and testament into the picture, but to do that, I needed to prove his innocence. Within a year.
No way Lucius Malfoy was going to let that happen.
The same Lucius Malfoy that had so far remained woefully ignorant of my ascension to Conditional Lordship. And probably would be, so far as I played Narcissa’s game.
Damn it.
The real question was — how? How had she known?
In hindsight, brazenly showing off the Black ring to Nymphadora and the others was incredibly stupid and arrogant on my part. In my defense, I was playing the game, believing that my canon knowledge was absolute. As for Narcissa knowing it, someone had to have said something. Someone must have overheard something. I was reasonably sure that Tonks wasn’t the betraying kind. Granted, that was based on my canon knowledge of Tonks, but this world had thrown enough curve balls to religiously stick to canon views. But her allegiance to the Order hinted along those lines, and it was possible she had told it to Dumbledore, and Dumbledore could have mentioned it to Snape. I wasn’t sure where Snape’s real allegiances lay, but Snape had a lot more leeway with throwing information around to assert his loyalty in the Dark Lord’s camp. But this was only the start of the fourth year and Voldemort was still on the horizon. Unless…
Unless he wasn’t? There was a Death Eater celebration during the World Cup. Surely, someone knew something about the Dark Lord’s revival and return?
Damn it. Damn it. Damn it.
Me and my big mouth.
I schooled my expression, throwing in a little confusion, and tilted my head slightly to the left. “Lord Conditional of Black? What are you talking about?”
First rule of negotiation. Always deny. Let the other side reveal their cards first. Controlling information was key. And it was entirely possible that my fears were unfounded. Narcissa could have found it from Gringotts. Goblins were a greedy lot, after all.
“Come now,” said Narcissa, amused at my ploy at disassembly. “Surely you have not forgotten the newest mantle you took at the start of this summer?Lord Conditional of House Black. Chosen Heir according to dear Sirius’s will. New owner of the Black Townhouse. Ring any bells?”
She pushed herself further against my cock as she smirked at me. Damn this woman. Even when blackmailing me, she needed to be fucked by my cock. The more I interacted with her, the more I was thinking her actions were less because of sexual craving and more of an acute psychological dysfunction.
Well, crap. So much for that. But it wasn’t for nothing. Tonks didn’t know about Number 12. Hestia did, but her oaths secured it. That left the goblins. Greedy fuckers.
Still, best not to guess.
I feigned annoyance this time. “I think I fucked you a little too much, Narcissa.” With my best condescending smile, I slapped her arse. “Sirius Black betrayed my parents to Voldemort. If you’re deluded enough to believe that he made me his heir, maybe you’re more addled than I thought.”
Something terrifying flashed across her features before her expression returned to its usual charming state. “Delusion? Perhaps. But a most wonderful delusion it is, since my aunt Walburga clearly remembers spending significant time in your presence at the Townhouse. A most fascinating thing given she had departed over a decade ago, and has never met you, to my knowledge.”
Shit. Goddamn it. Damn that bitch. I should have known. Given how Walburga would go on and on about sweet Narcissa, I should’ve known there was something afoot. She had seemed quite driven in her disdain for the Malfoys, but Narcissa had been the moon of her eyes. But Walburga couldn’t leave the manor. That only meant —
“You have a portrait.”
Narcissa looked at me, amused. “Imagine my surprise when my aunt talks about this half-blood wearing the Black Lord ring, without a single stitch of cloth on his body, threatening to destroy the Black manor using muggle means if she did not cater to his demands.”
“Yeah,” I grunted. “She took that really well.”
“She did actually,” Narcissa admitted. “To the best of my knowledge, only Sirius had ever blatantly defied her like that. Unfortunately, Sirius chose the easy way out. He left the family instead of forcing his opinion on her, as was his right as the Black heir. That another Black, of Grand-Aunt Dorea’s lineage to openly defy her like that, despite being on a far weaker standpoint was… refreshing.”
It was my turn to gawk at her.
“She claimed you had giant balls of brass,” said Narcissa, “and given you were standing nude before her, I wasn’t sure if she was being literal or just metaphorical. Naturally, I had to see it for myself.”
I choked.
Her smile widened at my reaction, and she reached for my balls and began fondling them.
“Granted, I know better now. Not of brass, but remarkable in every way that matters.”
… Damn this woman.
Still, this revelation was enlightening. She hadn’t found out from the goblins, or from other sources. Not that it made the situation any less dangerous.
“I must applaud you, Harry Potter. Escaping to Gringotts, gaining the Black mantle and usurping control of the townhouse beneath my husband’s nose. Conspiring to usurp my son’s inheritance and spreading your reach through Diagon Alley, Knockturn Alley, and now to the other Houses, if Bones sitting out there is of any clue. All in less than two months, while bedding me without Lucius knowing any better. And now, you have my son all packed and ready to end up in Azkaban. I am mightily impressed.”
Impressed she might be, but I felt like the biggest heel in the world.
“Not so impressive,” I admitted. “You knew who I was right off the bat.”
Her lips twisted further. “I called you a Black, Harry Potter. You should’ve known better than to expect Me to swallow your cum otherwise. Still, I never thought someone like you had so much potential as a lover, Potter. I do not know how you do it, but every single time, you’ve surpassed my expectations.”
“Not this time, though,” I hedged, my mind dissecting her words with frantic speed. “You saw it right through me.”
She smiled. “That I did. A nasty trick you set up, all but guaranteeing Draco’s removal without being obvious. Aunt Walburga had her doubts if you could pull off what she intended, but you — you are a sly one. You didn’t just depend on her, but tried the legal route. And it would have succeeded to, if not for…”
She let that one drop.
I suppressed the urge to gnash my teeth. She was drawing it out on purpose. Enjoying it. She wanted to see how I’d react. I didn’t have my wand, and she was a Charms Mistress, so taking her on a direct fight wasn’t an option. Besides, both of us were in a compromising position, so a fight was something neither of us truly wanted. So no, she deliberately designed her words to draw out a rise out of me.
“What do you want?” I asked, at last.
“Oh, the direct approach,” she said, frowning, like I had stepped on her favorite shoes. “Very well. You drop this case, and I keep your secret from Lucius. Sounds fair?”
I pulled myself out of her, or at least tried to. Narcissa grabbed me and pushed herself against me.
“Come now,” she said. “We are lovers, you and I. Hate me all you like for doing this, but let’s not mesh personal with professional. I’ll be… most displeased, if that’s the case.”
I really didn’t know what to think of that.
I considered her triumphant smile and considered everything. Narcissa wasn’t interested in throwing me under the bus. Neither would she resort to crude measures like having me or my loved ones attacked. She wasn’t a plain villain. She was… having fun. And this little game of dominance that she was playing with me was just one of several aspects of our twisted little relationship. She had no interest in getting me murdered or blackmailing me in public. No, she was too happy to outmaneuver me and then mock me over my limited thinking.
She was enjoying this far too much.
Carefully, I considered everything she had told me. The manner in which she had presented it, and the way she had gotten the information to hold me in the horns of a major dilemma. I thought back to Walburga’s own views about Malfoys and tallied it with Narcissa’s own reactions and comments. Then I thought back to her near-erratic behavior back at Twilfit and Tattings and spotted a major contradiction.
Something that could actually be my ace in the hole.
My game-changer.
“You’re right,” I said, grabbing her hips and pushing my cock deeper into her arse, paying attention to the soft moan leaving her throat. “You can always tell Lucius about it. But so what? Despite how you put it, I did not buy my way into the Lord Conditional status. Sirius’s will got me that power. And poor Draco has cast an unforgivable on me, Harry Potter, the Boy-Who-Lived. Lord of House Potter and Lord Conditional of House Black. Whatever way you slice it, he ends up in Azkaban. I doubt there’s much that Lucius, or even Minister Fudge can do to keep Draco out without setting a dangerous precedent. And even if he does, do you think the Wizengamot will allow someone convicted for such serious crimes to become a Lord? Forget the Black lordship, Draco will be lucky if he can become Lord Malfoy without having to waste half his fortune bribing the entire Wizengamot.”
“You underestimate Lucius’s reach,” Narcissa said stiffly.
“Perhaps, but I do not underestimate the power of setting precedents. If Draco, despite casting an unforgivable, can gain his Wizengamot seat and inheritance, it allows for other people of similar and lesser crimes to do the same. Like your cousin Sirius, for example. For all the infamy of being You-Know-Who’s right-hand man gave him, all he did was betray someone and kill some muggles. Oh, and Pettigrew, who was a minor pureblood. The same Sirius Black that didn’t even have a trial. How difficult do you think it’ll be for a strong lawyer to get his name cleared?”
“Sirius Black is dead.”
“He is,” I smirked. “And as a free man, his last will and testament will be read, and recognize his position as the official Black heir. And do you know who he made his heir? Me.”
I made it a point to push extra deep this time. “So go ahead, tell Lucius about it. See how that ends. We’ll see who’s laughing at the end.”
I knew I was being overly antagonistic at this point. But Narcissa was a tigress. People like her respected power. Much like Walburga Black, she was more likely to react positively to a legitimate threat than a poor emotional reaction.
Narcissa smiled. “I will.”
I arched a brow. “And pray tell, why do you think so?”
Her smile was just as sinister as it was triumphant. “Because for all your planning, you are ignoring something vital, Potter. The Wizengamot does not decide only on established conventions and precedents. It is made of factions and those factions vote on whatever fuels their agendas.”
She pulled and pushed back into me.
“You’re right. Neither Lucius nor I cannot stop Draco from being sent to Azkaban. But do you know what Lucius can do? He can file a litigation at the Wizengamot, over your claim over the Black Lordship. As Regent, it is within his power. And need I remind you, you have yet to take your seat. You have yet to officially establish any alliances. You have yet to reciprocate your formal oaths. House Potter does not even have an active proxy. For all your Lordships, you’re a school-going brat. There is more than enough evidence to show that you arranged this confrontation, and it is child’s play to prove it as an attempt to sideline my darling Draco from his rightful inheritance. Draco Malfoy from gaining his rightful inheritance. Just like your mudblood of a mother tried to grab a life of riches by hanging over James Potter’s neck, you, a half-blood, are trying to sideline Draco Malfoy, pureblood for nine generations, from claiming his rightful place as the Lord Black. Think how the Wizengamot will perceive that. Boy-Who-Lived or not, you’ll prove yourself no less than the mudblood whores you keep by your side.”
I showed no facial reaction, letting her unload her venom. Bigoted or otherwise, she had a valid response.
“Mudblood or not, I did not coerce him to cast an unforgivable. That bit does not change.”
She nodded, one opponent acknowledging another. “It doesn’t. But there is always the Imperius defense. Just like you have evidence that my son cast the cruciatus upon you, it can easily be arranged that my son was under an Imperius to do the same.”
“How?”
She threw her head back and laughed. It was cruel. “Do not be naïve, Potter. This is the Ministry, and Lucius Malfoy owns the Minister. How difficult is it to arrange matters?”
I clenched my hands. “You’d arrange for someone to cast a weak Imperius on him. Just enough to be detected. But it won’t be — Oh, I see.”
She smiled. “I do not need it cast by you, Potter. Every crime needs a motive. And your motives would already be established. Just like my son used the Goyle brat’s wand to cast the curse, you could have arranged something similar. Seems almost… rudimentary compared to your other actions.”
If she noted my complete inaction, she made no comment.
“Watch what else? Even if Albus Dumbledore comes to your rescue, the matter of Black Lordship can get tied up in court for years. Lucius will ensure that your reputation is dragged through the mud. He and his associates would target your friends. The Weasleys. The mudblood werewolf. Your friends. He will make your life hell. He will ensure that you will rue the day you even heard of the Black name for the first time, and I will help him.”
Her fingers clenched around my balls. I didn’t need to be a genius to see the meaning behind that gesture.
I swallowed.
Hestia was right. I was swimming with the sharks. I had gravely underestimated my opposition. Narcissa… She was something else. Maybe it would’ve been better if I had played the long game and slowly pushed her anchorage to a hundred percent. At least she’d have been more amenable to things, so long as I didn’t take things too…
…Far.
I blinked.
Hang on a fucking moment! Narcissa knew of my status as Lord Conditional. But she had kept it a secret from Lucius. Maybe she had even covered tracks I hadn’t thought of. Despite me attempting to steal her son’s inheritance.
And she had sucked my cock.
Knelt before me.
She had taken my cock in her pussy.
And most importantly, her world anchors had steadily risen. Anyone else in Narcissa’s position would treat me as a major threat and eliminate all chances of my success. Instead—
Instead, her world anchorage grew every single time we fucked.
It grew past the fiftieth mark. On the very first day.
And now, despite me landing her son in hot water, the anchorage was still increasing. My value in her eyes was skyrocketing.
I smiled. Maybe things weren’t as bad as I thought they were.
“Did I say something funny, Potter?” she demanded.
“Oh? No. Not at all. Just waiting for your alternative proposal.”
“...”
That made her pause.
“Your alternate proposal?” I repeated. “You know, the one you were planning to throw at me. You know, after you tore my plans apart and forced me down on my knees. The one you’d throw magnanimously at me in return for my eternal allegiance?”
A faint shadow of a smile formed on her lips. “You have an overactive imagination, Harry Potter.”
I smirked. ‘Perhaps. But that doesn’t mean I am wrong. Was I?”
“...No. You are not.”
“Then why don’t we stop dancing around and you tell me what you really want?”
Her smile grew. “Tell me, Potter, are you truly prepared to do everything the ritual demands of you? Do you have it in your heart to commit the atrocities it would have you perform?”
I didn’t bother with being surprised. Of course, she knew about the ritual and what it entailed.
“I am, yes.”
“Knowing that it’d make you commit things that would place you in the deepest cells of Azkaban, if the Aurors came to know about it?”
That… I didn’t know. Walburga had mentioned that it would be terrifying, but the end results would be worth it.
“Yes,” I said, pushing every bit of courage into my voice. “I am.”
“Knowing it would make an enemy of House Malfoy?”
“Yes.”
A cruel smile formed on her lips. “Count me in.”
Comments
ExodiaTheForbiddenOne
Damn
Penthuisiast
Just you wait. The madness has only begun.
