Hadrianpotterpeverell
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Here We Go Again
🕑 Added 2023-06-23 17:43:33 +0000 UTCChapter 16- Letter of Initiation?
She had huddled up in her room for days, not talking to anybody or showing herself to anybody. She had messed up badly. She was asked to do a single thing, and she messed it up badly.
She hated the fact that she was the reason for that. She had expected to wait for him. Her disillusionment charm was strong enough. She had hidden way behind the spot of the altercation, yet she had been caught unaware. The next thing she knew, she could not utter a word, and her hands were frozen.
A masked man levitated her, and the moment she was presented in front of Harry, bound, she felt her heart sink. She should have listened to him. She prayed that nothing untoward would happen. She prayed with all her heart that they would escape.
Harry hadn't spoken to her after the man who had captured her disappeared. He was fuming, and she didn’t dare to talk and apologise. Since they returned from the station, she had locked herself in her room, seldom speaking to anybody else despite their trying.
She heard another knock on the door. She tutted in annoyance. She had no interest in speaking to anybody right now. “Stop knocking, Bella.” She growled, hoping that would deter her sister.
The girl was a nuisance sometimes. “I have no interest in talking to anybody. Please leave.”
“Not even me?” The girl’s eyes widened as she heard the last voice she had expected to come to talk to her. “Come on,” Harry said, knocking again. “It has been a week, and you have refused to meet anybody, Narcissa.” He said.
“They are worried. Don’t do that. Come on out.” Narcissa sighed. “No.” She answered, causing Harry to sigh in exasperation. “You should come out, Narcissa. This is childish.”
Harry heard a click, and he tried the door again, this time succeeding in opening the door. He entered Narcissa’s room and noticed the girl sitting on her desk facing the window.
“Sitting here all by yourself will not solve any problems, Narcissa. That is just not how to deal with any problems we face.” He pointed out. “What is it? Why are you trying to shut out everybody?”
“It is fine.” He muttered. “I know what is on your mind, and it's fine.” He tried to soothe the girl.
“No, it isn’t.” Narcissa snapped. She turned around, tears streaming from her eyes.
“No, it is not fine.” She argued. “It is not the fact that I remained back that pains me, but the fact that any of you could have been hurt badly or even killed for my sake is what bothers me. What if he had harmed Grandfather or Uncle Charlus….”
She paused, her eyes meeting his intently. “What if it was you?”
“I should have listened to you. A slight misjudgement on my part, and we would have been in serious trouble. I was stupid enough to risk all of you.”
Harry pulled another chair nearby towards the young woman and sat down, taking her hand in his. “Hey.” Harry waited as the girl grabbed both his hands. “I get it. And I won’t deny what you did was stupid. I understand the compulsion to ignore the tedious aspect of following words and rather ignore it to sate your curiosity. Merlin knows how often I ended up in the wrong place at the wrong time. But that is over for now.” He explained.
“Henceforth, I hope you would be better in making judgements, Narcissa. Your father, your mother, your sisters and me. We will be devastated if something happens to you.”
“Now, why don’t you come with me? We will go downstairs. They are worried, and keeping them worried is not correct. Druella has been beside herself.”
“Why did you not leave?” Harry questioned. Harry did not talk to the girl after the mishap at the station. Arcturus took her away as quickly as possible while Harry was held up with Charlus at the platform. “I had no idea you remained behind.”
Narcissa shrugged casually. “I was curious. I wanted to know what took place over there, but I did not imagine the possibility that somebody was watching me.”
“Who was it?” She questioned. “I know that you recognised the man who held me. It was clear as daylight. Not to mention the thinly veiled hatred for the man. Your eyes, they are not infallible, Harry. You can speak with them. And your eyes burned with hatred for the man.”
“A very dangerous man,” Harry replied seriously. “Someone who would push our world into darkness if not fought against.” Narcissa was taken aback by Harry’s description of this mystery person.
Harry shook his head. “Now is not the time.” He broke in. “We will talk about this later.” The girl nodded her agreement, albeit hesitantly.
“I have a question, though.” Narcissa began. “All those boys? How did you control them?” She frowned. “You didn’t use the imperious, did you?” She questioned, worried about his reply.
“No.” Harry chuckled. “I am not foolish enough to use an unforgivable and make it recognisable.” He explained. “Compulsion charms are more powerful than people believe,” Harry explained. “Lucius Malfoy was under my compulsion, a slightly overpowered one than the usual. But he was never fully in control. A bit of work, and he could have resisted my commands.” He said. “The other boys were not under compulsion. They were just without their wands and silenced.” He chuckled, causing the girl to look at him questioningly.
“Arcturus had them pissing on the spot, the surly git.” He received a smile from the young woman.
“They dared not go against him. He does have a reputation, doesn’t he?” He questioned rhetorically. “Not that they had a choice anyway. Wandless and in trouble. We asked them to, and they complied. Again, they had to. They had no choice.”
“They agreed? Just like that?” Narcissa was not surprised by the information.
“Not like any of those men have a spine.” Those were facts, and Harry knew it first hand. He had never seen any of the Slytherins in his Hogwarts years who were brave enough to fight back, one on one.
“They did as you pointed out. It is better if less was said about their masculinity.” Harry muttered, his thoughts returning to the man who was Narcissa’s husband from where he came from.
“Come then. Let us go down. You have kept them waiting long enough. They were…..” Harry paused when he heard raised voices coming from downstairs. He got up and moved to the door.
The voices grew louder as Harry descended the stairs, and when he happened to come upon the scene, he froze. Abraxus Malfoy. He failed to believe what he saw. After all that happened a few days back, he had not expected its presence in the house. But it took only a moment to clear his head. He was here.
“For the last time, woman, just stay the fuck out of this.” He looked towards Arcturus, who had slammed his hands onto the table. The older man’s knuckles had whitened considerably, shaking as he tried to control his fraying temper. “You would do well to remember where your place is, Walburga. I am finding it extremely hard to keep my temper in check, and your grating on my nerves is getting me mad. You should know I won’t hesitate to curse your fat arse back into your pathetic father’s loins if I lose my patience.”
He glared at the woman and turned to his son. “You better keep her in check, boy.” He grumbled. “Don’t think that I would not curse her if I desire.” Orion Black looked like he would rather be anywhere but here. Harry noticed Regulus, Andromeda, Sirius and Bellatrix standing at the side of the room.
“You are failing to see reason. The fact that you would support the man will only elevate the cause. The Blacks did it, so many more would do it. With our support, this cause would not fail.” Walburga explained, her eyes glinting madly as she spoke with so much passion that Harry was surprised. Apart from screaming her throat out and sneering at every person she would converse with, he had no idea that the woman could speak this way, let alone be passionate about something.
He began to see where everything went downhill with the Blacks and why most of the family ended up on the wrong side. Today, it would have been different in his timeline. But now, he had no intention of playing it out the way it did.
He had yet to figure out how he arrived here. He had no idea what caused this, but he could not help but remember Hermione’s words. “Horrible things happen to those who mess with time.”
Frankly, he didn’t care anymore. He would do what is necessary to ensure everything ends up better this time.
“Another word,” Arcturus growled, his gritted teeth on the verge of breaking as his face shook with anger. Arcturus Black can be frightening when he wants to and effortlessly as well.
“Don’t say another word, woman. I will not be warning you once again.”
"I failed to understand why you are set upon this issue, Walburga." Arcturus sighed. "What is it that we have failed to understand, but for some reason, you are being rather insistent on throwing in your support to them?" Arcturus nodded towards the Malfoy Lord.
"I met him," Walburga said, surprising the others. "I talked to him once, which convinced me this is the right path.” She explained.
“The heir of Salazar Slytherin.” The woman whispered with reverence in her eyes. Harry could see the Bellatrix of his time in this woman. The mad glint in her eyes was similar to the one the crazy woman had possessed every time she cast a spell in favour of the Dark Lord.
“The purest of us purebloods. The heir of the legendary Salazar Slytherin himself who has arrived to purge our society of the filth that is taking us over one by one.”
Arcturus probably saw the beginnings of a headache. He rubbed his forehead, cursing under his breath.
“The Blacks,” Arcturus whispered. “The Blacks of Great Britain.” He smirked. “The wizarding world has seen several Dark Lords rise and fall. There were several wars, coups, and rebellions, but one thing always remained the same.” He explained.
“The Black Family.” Harry could feel the pride in the older man’s voice. “The Black family has been around for as long as the history of our society goes. They have remained throughout the test of time and prosper yet as the infamous Blacks of the Wizarding World.”
“We don’t follow and certainly don’t take orders from anybody. It might be the fucking heir of Salazar for all I care.”
Walburga’s face contorted into pure fury when the man had finished speaking. She couldn’t believe that this man would pass up on such an excellent opportunity to cement their legacy. To be considered the leader of the purebloods once this society is free of the mudbloods.
“How dare you!?” She screamed as she glared at the eldest Black, her face red in anger. Everything just happened in a matter of seconds. The woman raised her wand towards Arcturus, a dangerous glint within her eyes as she made to curse the man, but by the time Harry could react, or even Arcturus could react, they heard another voice interrupt.
“Crucio!” Orion Black roared, surprising every single person in the room. The curse struck the woman's side, and pained screams left her as she writhed in agony, collapsing to the ground. The man didn’t seem satisfied, showing no sign of stopping.
Harry disarmed the man quickly before anything could happen to the woman. Orion’s wand was snatched away from his hand as the spell was lifted from the writhing woman.
"Just because I watch you throw your nonsense around does not mean you can do as you wish." Sirius and Regulus were the most reactive to the man's words. Harry watched the two staring dumbly at their father as if they were watching him for the first time.
Arcturus smirked behind his son, nodding his acceptance of his actions. His son coming to his rescue was the last thing he expected.
"I let you do as you wish. I don't argue; I don't complain. But you suddenly have the nerve to raise your wand against my father."
"If I ever see you disagree with my father, let alone use your wand against him, I will curse you back to your father's balls." He spat as he stepped back.
"Stupid woman." He muttered, turning back to Malfoy.
"I have no idea what shit she spewed before bringing you in here, especially after what happened at the station." He said.
"Be grateful that you will be walking out of here, knowing that you were one of those who tried to harm my niece. You won't receive a single favour from the Blacks. This is our final decision." He looked back at his father, who nodded his agreement.
"Out of courtesy, you will leave this place today. The next time, none of us would be so forgiving."
Abraxus Malfoy chuckled. "You are making a big mistake, Black." He said, shaking his head. "Anyway, it is your decision. If you want to stand against us, you will fall. You will face our wrath. You will regret your decision."
"Really?" Orion questioned challengingly.
"I fail to see what you are trying to brag about, Malfoy. I heard you and your mates stood helplessly when confronted by strong opposition."
The Malfoy lord bristled in anger, Orion's words hitting home. “Save it.” Orion spoke again.
“You won’t be receiving any form of help from the Blacks. You can tell your leader about this. Tell him that he will never receive any help from the family.”
The Malfoy lord nodded stiffly before taking out what looked like a letter from within his robe and holding it for Orion. “That is for him.” He informed, nodding towards where Harry was standing.
He turned around and left without a word once Orion received the letter from the man. Orion snorted as he shook his head. “Pillock.” He murmured as he walked towards Harry.
“Here you go.” Harry received the letter from the man, nodded appreciatively, and got one from the man in return.
Walburga had managed to sit upright, shivering and spasming, the aftereffects of the curse yet to die down. Orion instructed Kreacher to apparate the woman to her bedroom before turning to his children.
“Sirius, Regulus…” The two boys had not yet recovered from seeing their father like this.
“Don’t go to your mother for some time. Let her be.” He instructed. The young men agreed with their father. They had no intention of meeting the woman right away. She would not be in the right state of mind.
The man left quietly, as though nothing different had happened today. Harry joined Arcturus, who chuckled. “That was certainly not something I thought I would see in my lifetime. Not from him.” He laughed as he sat down. “The boy has a backbone. And a cruciatus of all things.” The man shook his head, calming himself down. “Just when I think I have seen it all, life surprises me.”
He caught sight of Narcissa near the stairs, and he smiled. "You finally decided to grace us with your presence?" Arcturus chuckled. "Come." He motioned for her to take a seat across from him. When the girl had obeyed his words, Arcturus spoke once again.
“That was foolish of you.” He began. “When asked to do something, I recommend listening to it, especially when the people who care about you tell you to do so. Clear?” The young woman nodded. “Never repeat this, you hear me?”
“I know that you are capable. Merlin forbids any Black that was born who is not able to hold his own with his wand. But certain situations should not require curiosity, my dear. Do you get that?”
Narcissa nodded her agreement. “Very well.” Arcturus smiled at the young woman. “Why don’t you go and see your mother?” He instructed. “She will be pleased.”
He waited till Narcissa left along with the other kids. “Open it.” Harry regarded the letter cautiously, trying to sense a threat only to find none. He rolled it open slowly and began taking in the letter's contents.
Greetings, Lord Potter Black,
I hope you are doing well, and so is Ms Black. Please do apologise to the young woman on my behalf. What I did was nothing personal. You have your issues that require your decisions, and I have mine. I have to look after my men, and I have to do so by hook or crook.
She was my last resort. I had no intention of holding the young woman, but sometimes, we have to do things we don’t like.
I was impressed, young man. I have seen many talented witches and wizards in my life, but not one possessed the ruthlessness and raw magical power you have in spades. You fight like a seasoned veteran, and I like that ruthlessness.
I have a request and hope you will put some effort into listening to me. I require an audience. I hope that you will agree to it. I would like to talk with an able wizard—the place of your choice, the date of your choice.
Lord Voldemort
“Yeah, you can keep expecting that. Prick.” Harry muttered, passing the letter to a now curious Arcturus. The man went over the note and turned back to Harry, an incredulous expression on his face. “Is this man an idiot?” He questioned, barely holding back a snort.
“No, he should be an idiot.” He muttered. “This? Who would write this and ask to meet somebody after something like that happened a few days back?”
“He is nuts. That is true.” Harry said, rubbing his forehead. “But his request is genuine. That is not surprising. If Dumbledore could have been persuaded to join him, he would have done so gladly, only to dispose of him when the time was right. When it's most beneficial.” He explained.
“This invitation is not a joke. He genuinely wishes to meet me and talk to me face-to-face.”
“What are you going to do about it?” Arcturus questioned. “Nothing. I cannot do anything about it. He would be a fool to think I am going there just for a chat, and he knows I would not be coming there just for a discussion. So, nothing could be done rather than ignore it.”
“For now, he would want to regroup, and there is significantly less we can expect from him. So we wait.” Harry whispered, looking back at the letter once again.
TBC--------
