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The Weasleys gasped. |
Malfoy nodded importantly. "Lord Lestrange valiantly attempted to defend himself, using a curse on the monster’s eyes that neutralized that danger, but I personally witnessed Riddle ordering the beast to devour Lestrange—and it did. Riddle even denies his enemies a Christian burial, you see. This is what I face, my friends—for I do hope I can count you as friends," he said, his words dripping with insincerity. "The enemies I face are as monstrous as the creature their leader commands." |
Arthur spoke up nervously. "Your eye, Lord Malfoy—did they—?" |
"Yes, I also took a curse in the face that resulted in the loss of my eye," he lied. |
"How dishonorable to attack an elderly wizard with such a curse!" Molly burst out. |
"I thank you," he said, "but this is what they do. I have more yet to say of their atrocities, in fact." |
"Please continue, my lord," said Percy. |
Malfoy smiled. "In the days following this attack, Riddle sneaked onto my lands and ritually murdered one of my loyal vassals, Selwyn, in the dark of night. He then used poor Selwyn’s blood to kill my crops beyond recovery or even salvage at harvest, which is an ancient heathen ritual. It seems that Riddle is enamored of ancient pagan magic." |
The Weasleys were disgusted. "I have never heard of such a ritual," Percy exclaimed. "It must be ancient indeed." |
"Ancient and vile," said Malfoy. "But Riddle has quite an affinity for such magic. I have not told you the worst." |
"Our son Ronald has told us about Riddle," Molly said. "They never got on at Hogwarts." |
"Then that reflects well on your son," Malfoy oozed, "for I also learned, in that same attack on Castle l’Etrange, that Riddle has performed a very wicked ritual. He took a Killing Curse, but he revived himself. There is only one way to do that. Yes," he continued as the Weasleys all gasped, "Riddle must have split his soul. I think he used the murder of another of my vassals for this, Amycus Carrow." |
Bill and Arthur Weasley exchanged concerned glances at Malfoy’s mention of Carrow. "My lord," Bill ventured, "with all due respect... we have heard that Lord Lestrange led an attack on Riddle’s castle, and that Lord Carrow was with him. Is there any truth to this?" |
Malfoy was prepared for that. "This must be another tale that they spread. Lord Lestrange did visit the castle, but it was to make a peace offering to the family: congratulatory gifts for the marriages of Lady Riddle and Lord Thomas, and for the birth of Lady Riddle’s twins. They interpreted it as an attack," he lied blithely. "Riddle captured Lord Carrow. I briefly hoped that we could secure his freedom, but now I presume Riddle murdered an unarmed captive and used the killing to create a Horcrux." |
He paused, leaving the Weasleys a moment to contemplate that. |
"And now, with the death of Lord Lestrange, we face a new threat," Malfoy continued. "I speak, of course, of his widow, Bellatrix. As I explained to the king himself, she has gone on a rampage throughout the land, murdering people, in order to place her daughter on the high seat of the Lestrange family. As you may know, the girl is a strumpet, having seduced one of her father’s vassals, whom her mother then murdered. Such a girl obviously cannot hold the seat." |
"Is Lady Bellatrix doing this at the behest of the Riddles?" Molly inquired. |
"Very likely," Malfoy said. "As you know, she is a Black by birth, and that family has entered a treasonous alliance with the Riddles. Only my grandson’s lady wife has remained loyal. I presume that Bellatrix has joined the rest of her traitorous relations. She has murdered her brother-in-law, Lord Rabastan, who was an idiot and utterly unable to defend himself. I have learned that she has also murdered your own friends, Mayor Longbottom and his wife." Malfoy leaned back in his seat, smiling, certain that this would be the decisive remark. |
The Weasleys regarded each other with shocked, appalled expressions. "We have... been unable to communicate with them in several days," Percy ventured, "and they did not answer their door. She killed them?" |
Malfoy nodded. "I am afraid so. She believes, wrongly, that they held the knowledge of a secret illegitimate line of Lestranges. There is no such line, of course," he lied, as he knew perfectly well that Dirk Cresswell’s sons were indeed of that blood—and that the Blacks were concealing their existence. Suppressing their claim on his ally’s fief was part of the bargain he had made with Arcturus Black to spare Regulus’s life. "However, she will do anything to prop up her daughter’s imagined "rights,’ and she has the backing of her rebellious family." |
"Neville is at the Burrow with us," Bill said. "Their son," he explained to Malfoy. "We are distant cousins. We urged him to stay until we could assure him it was safe to go home...." |
"It is not safe," Malfoy said. "It is safe for no one until the rebellion has been put down, and I have summoned you here today to request your alliance in that effort. The king has given his leave to your knighted son. And now... I have a very honorable, very illustrious offer to make to you as evidence of my good faith." |
The Weasleys all waited, thinking about the families that they knew to be Malfoy’s vassals. Which ones had unmarried sons? Who was it to be? |
"Lucius’s son, the Malfoy heir, Draco, is without a betrothed, since the Lestrange girl betrayed him," Armand said. "Your daughter is a fine young witch, I am told—magically talented, and of good old blood. I propose a marriage between the two of them—and of course, reinstatement of your ancient title, so that the match would be suitable." |
Arthur’s jaw dropped. He instantly shut it in the lord’s presence. Molly stifled a scream. In all their speculations, they had never—not once—considered the idea that Draco Malfoy himself would be Armand’s proposed match for Ginny. |
Percy’s eyes were glittering as his admittedly limited imagination took flight. The future brother-in-law of the High Lord of Wizarding Britain, with the ear of the king himself! He chastised himself for that thought; although Lord Armand might be near death, Lord Lucius was young and healthy. Still, gold and glory would flow to the Weasley family like a river. |
Molly was stunned. Her instinctive dislike of Malfoy’s emphasis on Ginny’s "good old blood" was quickly being washed away by other thoughts. I have always known that he prefers pureblood witches and wizards, even if he is moderating his views in old age, she thought, and it’s true that Ginny is a pureblood. Of course he would consider that a point in her favor. She knew little about Draco Malfoy; most of her son Ron’s venom about Slytherin nobles at school had been reserved for Riddle, who, by Malfoy’s account of blood rituals, a basilisk, and a Horcrux, deserved that and more. Perhaps Draco was a fine young man, if Ron—so painfully aware of his social status—had nothing bad to say of the young wizarding aristocrat in Britain. |
For a moment she remembered that they were allowing Neville houseroom, and that he had just lost his parents and did not yet know that. He and Ginny were fond of each other, and although she—and Percy, to be honest—did not entirely approve of the match, they had resigned themselves to it, as Potter’s son had turned on them, left his own father for his godfather’s household, and now fought with the Riddles, beside his godfather. A member of the Black family, Molly remembered. Malfoy must be correct about them. But Neville... it would be cruel to jilt him... except that we never gave formal consent to them, she suddenly recalled. We have granted him houseroom as the son of an ally, a distant cousin, and a friend—not as a fiancé. We are breaking no promises. |
Arthur was flattered by the proposal, and wrong-footed at first. It was such a good opportunity for advancement... and really, if they sought to keep Malfoy’s goodwill, they would be foolish to reject it. Besides, it seemed that Riddle really was a monster. However, another little voice warred with this one in Arthur’s mind. It seemed far too convenient that Malfoy and Lestrange would be such one-sided victims in every regard. He was particularly skeptical that Lestrange and Carrow had brought gifts to the Riddle family. Had Lady Riddle not declared the Carrows traitors and pronounced their death sentence? Arthur was sure he had heard that a couple of years ago. Hadn’t the Carrows been vassals of the Gaunt family once, in fact? He was pretty sure that was true as well. If so, Riddle had been within his rights to execute Carrow if he set foot inside the barony of Hangleton—and Lestrange would have known it, and not brought the man along for any supposed gifting visit. That was why Arthur doubted it really had been that. And yet, he thought suddenly, perhaps it is true. The Grangers’ castle was attacked around that same time. Why would they do that so suddenly, after four years of peace, unless they had been provoked? Arthur could not recall if the battle at Parselhall had come first, nor could he remember if James had told him who had been the attacker of Castle Grange. Was it Lestrange himself—or Bellatrix? She obviously was capable.... |
And if Malfoy is telling the truth about Riddle’s resurrection after a fatal curse, creating a Horcrux was certainly wicked, Arthur thought. As well as the old Celtic ritual that he believes Riddle performed on his fields... and feeding Lestrange to his basilisk. I never heard any ill of Lady Riddle, but for some reason, her son is acting on her behalf now. Did she die? What happened to her? Arthur resolved to find the answer, and from independent sources. He was not going to ask Malfoy. |
Bill was deeply skeptical and uneasy about this. Malfoy’s words seemed far too accommodating and convenient. He could not guess just what the trick was, but he was certain there was a trick involved somehow. His own suspicion was that Malfoy had learned of his alliance with the goblins and meant to undermine it, probably with a passing clause in the marriage contract for Draco and Ginny. |
His brothers had dutifully reported to him that the plan to let the goblins of Europe take back what was theirs had gone over very badly with the children of their allies—and that Riddle and Granger had been present to hear it. Who knew how far it had spread after that? Bill had not particularly liked the idea of letting goblins plunder noble houses of anything they claimed as theirs, but the hard truth was that they were restive creatures, with excellent weapons and significant magic, and Bill had put himself in their power—as he had realized belatedly during his stay with them on the Continent. In the end, he had had little choice but to make a deal with them on their terms. He had hoped that if the goblins actually came to England to stake their claims, the Friends of the Founders could limit their plundering to a few of the worst nobles, such as, unfortunately, Malfoy and Lestrange. If Malfoy had learned of the deal, he was probably trying to blow it up. That would be very bad news. The goblins were vengeful. |
Percy was speaking. "We thank your high lordship for this honor," he said. "The magnitude of it is not unfelt. We will have an answer for you as soon as we confer as a family." |
Malfoy was annoyed, but he smiled in seeming accommodation. "Certainly. You may withdraw to the end of the hall to discuss it." |
The Weasleys were taken aback at the clear order to settle it here and now, instead of being permitted to return to their own home to talk about it. However, they did not dare gainsay him. They shuffled toward the other side of the great hall, leaving the two Malfoy men to observe silently. |
Lucius did not particularly want Draco to wed Ginevra Weasley. It was not that he had heard anything against her personally, but he deeply and profoundly disliked the parents. At Hogwarts, they had all fought as a matter of principle. Arthur and Molly were self-righteous, and the woman was obnoxious about it, to boot. She had changed little, except for the worse. Lucius did not want such people as his in-laws, even if they were pureblood, and even if his grandfather did return their old title to them. |
Armand was certain that they would accept the offer. They were all horrified at the mix of hypocritical truth and cold-blooded lies that he had told about Riddle, and he had played his age very well indeed. They were all so certain that he was practically on his deathbed! Then, too, the knighted son was very ambitious, and his delight was manifest. The mother, too, seemed inclined to take the offer. He was less certain of the father and the older son, but very likely, the father could be bullied by his own family members, and the son was being extorted by goblins. Armand smirked to himself at that thought. He did not know exactly what kind of bargain the young man had arranged with the goblins, but it was widely known that he had been on the Continent amongst them for a while, and goblins would not let a wizard out of their long-fingered clutches without extorting something from him, usually under pain of death. Armand was going to find out what it was and make absolutely certain that the goblins delivered their sentence upon not just the man himself, but his family. |
His offer of Draco was not a false one. He truly had been unable to find anyone else for the boy from the daughters of his vassals. The Parkinson girl was apparently not a maiden, based on the hints of her father about her being caught in her betrothed’s bed, but even that made her unacceptable for Draco. It was not that Armand particularly wanted Draco to wed the daughter of a blood-traitor family like the Weasleys, but she was a pureblood, whatever views she held. For Malfoy’s purposes, her wizarding blood and presumably fertile womb were all that mattered. It wasn’t as if he intended her to live after she had borne a new, pureblood Malfoy son. Lucius need not know that until it was a fait accompli. |
The Weasleys broke apart and began to walk back toward the high seat. Both Malfoys watched them with sharp eyes—human and magical—and waited solemnly. |
Percy spoke for his family. "We accept your offer, your lordship, and will aid you in quelling the rebellion by Riddle. As for Ginevra, we will present her to you at the earliest convenience." |
Castle l’Etrange. |
Tom and Hermione accepted the oaths of Bertram and Wyman Nigellus Fitz Lestrange—as they had just been renamed. Their father had been the son of Roland Lestrange, but since he had borne his mother’s surname rather than being called "Fitzroland"—not that Tom blamed the woman, since the filth had raped her—it would have been odd to give the grandchildren that name. It was apparent to Tom and Hermione from their original surname that Arcturus Black had attempted to imply that they were actually bastards of the Black family, to protect them. However, Regulus’s story was indubitable, and to their surprise, the brothers’ looks even betrayed some of the Lestrange heredity. There was clear resemblance to their late uncle. Even if he had never heard Regulus’s account, Tom would have noticed it and assumed they were Lestranges by blood, though admittedly he probably would have assumed they were Rodolphus’s own offspring. If Bellatrix had ever seen them—which, presumably, she had not—she probably would have murdered them on the spot. |
Bellatrix. Tom sincerely hoped that the woman would be reasonable. Their plans would be much easier to pull off if Bellatrix and Adelaide assented. If they did not, they could create a great deal of trouble. It had been several days since he had sent his letter to Lucius Malfoy.... |
"My lord!" exclaimed young Avery. "We have visitors!" |
"Oh? Who are they?" Tom hoped it was someone replying to their letter. |
"Neville Longbottom and Ginevra Weasley." |
Hermione was instantly alert—and alarmed. What could have happened? Something must have. What were the Friends of the Founders up to now? She immediately assumed that Neville and Ginny had decided to support the Riddles, but over what final outrage? |
She did not have to wait long to find out. The young pair—her former schoolmates—made their way quickly to the high seat, where she, Tom, and Regulus Black sat. Tom dismissed the brothers to their quarters, not wanting them to immediately hear anything potentially sensitive that did not necessarily concern them. |
Ginny’s eyes were wide in fear—and anger, Hermione noted. The anger of betrayal. Hermione knew that look. Beside her, Neville looked hunted, and he was clearly attempting to retain command of himself, as though he had received some extremely bad news. |
"Friends," Tom said, "it is good to see you, but what brings you here?" |
Hermione was pleased with him for acknowledging her friends as his. A surge of warmth came over her. Perhaps her words of concern about his path had taken root in his mind. |
Neville shook his head to Ginny, as if to tell her that he could not speak. She instantly understood. "Terrible news," she said. "First of all—that bitch Bellatrix murdered Neville’s parents." |
Hermione was utterly shocked. Her heart instantly went out to Neville. I understand this pain above all, she thought unhappily. She reached for Neville’s hands. "Oh, Neville," she exclaimed feelingly. "I am so, so sorry. Please, both of you, take a seat. You don’t stay on your feet here, among us." Relieved, Neville and Ginny took two of the available chairs. |
Tom’s expression was hard and angry. "Bellatrix? She left Lucius Malfoy’s castle and murdered your parents? Do you know why?" He had already guessed, but he was not sure how much they knew. |
Ginny spoke again. "My parents told us that she did it because she believed they were protecting a secret illegitimate line of Lestranges, but that it wasn’t true." |
"It is true," Tom said harshly. "Old Lestrange, the father of Rodolphus—who is dead several days ago, of course—sired a half-blood son." He thought about adding that it was through rape, but decided against it. The woman who had been the victim was dead, and it would do the brothers—his new sworn allies—no good for that to come out. "This son married a witch at a very young age and had two sons of his own. The Black family protected them, due to a... friendship... between Lord Regulus"—he acknowledged his ally courteously—"and their father, who was killed by Armand Malfoy. As a matter of fact, I just accepted their oaths of fealty right before you arrived. They are definitely Lestranges; they even look like them. The elder is to inherit this castle." He scowled at the other side of the room. "So Bellatrix murdered your parents, I presume to protect her daughter. She truly is a bitch. We had made her an offer to wed her daughter to the elder brother, but evidently she did not like that. I am deeply sorry, Neville. It is a hard thing, as Hermione knows too well." |
Neville suppressed a sniffle. Ginny squeezed his hand compassionately and continued speaking. "Unfortunately, there is more. This is very bad news, I’m afraid." She took a deep breath, trying to subdue her own anger. "My parents and brother Percy have entered into an alliance with Armand Malfoy to try to defeat you—" |
Tom, Hermione, and Regulus gasped in shock. |
"—and they intend to marry me off to Draco." She clenched Neville’s hand defiantly. "I won’t do it! So Neville and I have come here to offer our support to you instead." |
Tom was almost too stunned to speak. Hermione took charge in his stead. "Your parents... and brother Percy. The one who is a royal knight. I have to ask... the king...." |
"I do not know what his part is in this," Ginny said. "Probably very little. What does he care about our affairs? He has a country to put in order. Percy went before the king with Malfoy and claims that Malfoy told the king that he—Malfoy—only sought royal permission to use a king’s knight in quelling a revolt. That could be all there is, truly. And Malfoy does officially serve as the king’s voice in all wizarding affairs, even though he certainly doesn’t consult with the king before doing anything. The bigger problem is that Malfoy has—at least, I think he has—told a lot of foul lies about you to my family to get their support, and they believed him!" |
"What did your family say Malfoy told them about me?" Tom finally croaked. He was suddenly very uneasy. |
"Oh, loads. Let’s see. Well, first, he said that Bellatrix was acting on your orders." |
"That is absolutely a lie," Tom declared hotly. "As I said, we made her an offer that was perfectly reasonable, and she rejected it and went on a murderous rampage. That is certainly not what we were aiming for." |
Ginny nodded. "I guessed it probably was a lie. Everyone knows about the enmity between your family and the Lestranges, including her, even though she was just one by marriage. What else did Malfoy say... oh, yes. He has a magical eye now, a red marble, and he said it’s because of a curse that someone on your side cast at him." |
"That is a lie too," Hermione snarled. "Here’s how he really obtained that eye. He and a band of his followers murdered my parents! It happened shortly after my wedding. My cousin, who was the heir of the castle, rode to defend it, and he put an arrow through his eye. Tom and I think he may be an untrained wizard himself. His son definitely is. But he’s not "on our side,’" she concluded regretfully. "He doesn’t like magic." |
"I’m sorry about your parents," Neville said, looking at Hermione with the gaze of one who shared a terrible kinship of previous experience. "I see now." |
"What else did Malfoy claim?" Hermione asked. So far, everything Ginny had repeated had indeed been false, but she had a bad feeling that there was more to come, and that some of these statements would be true.... |
Ginny and Neville exchanged uneasy glances. "He said... some things about your husband, Lord Thomas." |
"What did he say?" Tom asked. |
They winced. "He said that you had fed Lestrange to a basilisk." |
Tom sighed. "The basilisk did swallow him. I am a Parselmouth, as you may know, and I can control it. The wretch had temporarily blinded it with a curse to its eyes, so the only weapon it had left was its venom. I ordered it to bite him, and it did what hungry snakes do. It happened very quickly. I did not order it to pick his bones or anything of that sort, if that was what Malfoy claimed to make it sound even worse." In truth, he did not have a particle of regret for Lestrange’s fate, but he could tell that this disturbed Ginny and Neville. |
"That is how snakes eat," Ginny muttered, "swallowing prey whole. It was quick?" |
"It was very quick. No one else fell in that way, either. Lestrange insisted on challenging the basilisk directly. He made himself a target." |
"Did he...." Ginny considered. "Malfoy apparently claimed that Lestrange and Amycus Carrow went to Parselhall to offer gifts to your family, and that the rumor of an attack was false. I assume it isn’t." |
"You assume rightly," Tom growled. "Lestrange, both Carrows, and several others came to Parselhall with the aid of a traitor, and they tried to kill everyone except my mother. They failed, obviously, but Lestrange used a monstrous curse from his family’s homeland on my mother—a curse that keeps her in a magical sleep until every member of her family is dead." |
Neville was shocked; he had heard of the Curse of the Killing Frost. "He did? But then, she should be all right now—" |
"She still sleeps, because he merely activated the cursed object. Armand Malfoy was the caster. So," Tom said, "no "gifts’—unless you consider a brooch bearing a vile Frankish curse banned in the ninth century as a "gift.’ They attacked, and we are completely within our rights to occupy this castle." |
Neville and Ginny considered that. "I assumed that part was a lie," she said again. "But Malfoy said... two more things. He claimed that you had cursed his fields with the blood of one of his vassals." |
Tom sighed. Hermione knew that it would be extremely inappropriate to say "I told you so" at this moment, but she knew that he felt it. |
"I did," he finally admitted. "It was one of the vassals who attacked us, though. And the fields I cursed were too small to feed anyone except his own household and vassals." He gazed at them defiantly. "Malfoy is prejudiced against magic from this country, and the ritual I used is from the days of the ancient Celtic druids. That is why he hates it—that, and the fact that I used it against his food." He stared them down. "You said there were two more things. That’s one." |
"He said that you killed Amycus Carrow and split your soul and created...." Ginny trailed off, trying to remember the term. She had never heard of the magic before this, but it was certainly a shocking and terrible thing to do. |
"A Horcrux," Neville finished. He gazed at Tom. "I know about that too. I don’t regard it as much better than the Curse of the Killing Frost, to be honest, Riddle. Is this true?" |
On the high seat, Tom sighed heavily and rubbed his eyes. Hermione gazed down. Regulus sighed as well. Everyone who had come to Castle l’Etrange had seen Tom’s revival, and most of them had understood what it meant. They had no particular objection to it, since he had told them all that Malfoy had done it too, and it was clear that—unlike the filicide Malfoy—Tom had done it for his family. But it was clear that Neville and Ginny had a different view. |
"It’s true," Tom said. "Hear me out, though, before you judge too harshly. I did it because I was going to war. Hermione is not with child, and she was also injured in the attack on Parselhall, so she can’t carry a child until she is fully healed—which won’t be for at least six months. If anything happened to me, the future of my line would depend on my half-brother and half-sister, who are small, weak infants, delivered early. That’s why I did it. And there is something else you should know." He leaned forward. "Armand Malfoy himself has one." |
Their eyes widened. "That hypocrite," Ginny said furiously. "I knew he wasn’t to be trusted!" |
"He is certainly not to be trusted," Tom agreed. "He has one himself, and I know this because that same arrow that shot him while he was murdering my wife’s family went to his brain and killed him. He revived himself after Lestrange fed him a cup of his personal restorative draught... which is to say, unicorn blood." |
That shocked them. "That despicable, accursed bastard!" Neville exclaimed. "How dare he tell tales about you, even those that are true, if he’s done the same thing and worse!" |
Tom nodded. "Your instincts were right, and I’m very glad that you came here. I hope that it doesn’t come to blows, and that your family members will see reason and break off the alliance. How were they so taken in?" |
"Dreams of gold and power, I guess," Ginny said. "I think Percy and Mother are utter fools to believe his promises." |
"Percy and Mother’?" Hermione repeated. "What about the rest of your family? Do they not have an opinion?" |
Ginny scowled. "Father is less enthusiastic. He thinks that the only reason Malfoy made the alliance offer was that he’s lost so many of his own people, but he follows Mother’s lead. Bill is skeptical and thinks Malfoy is up to something bad. We have written to Charlie, and I don’t know what he thinks. The twins don’t seem to care; lately they are only interested in going into trade and making a heap of gold, and they see this as an opportunity. Ron... to my surprise... agrees with Bill." |
Tom and Hermione exchanged looks. That was a surprise to them too. |
"What of Dumbledore?" Hermione asked. "Does he know?" |
Ginny glowered. "He does. He doesn’t like Malfoy, of course, but he thinks that Malfoy will soon die anyway. Clearly, he is wrong. It sounds as if Malfoy has no intention of dying." |
"Malfoy’s plan appears to be to make sure the line continues, but to kill off the Malfoy of each successive generation once he—and it’s very interesting indeed that it’s always "he’—reaches a certain age," Regulus said. "My guess is that he intends to establish himself as the immortal, almost godlike ancient patriarch of the family that all future generations fear." |
That seemed logical to Tom and Hermione. "Dumbledore is trapped in his alliance," Tom said roughly. "When I retrieved the basilisk from Hogwarts, he told me as much. He might indeed think that Malfoy is about to die, but it would be because he expects Malfoy will lose the war, not because Malfoy is old. I told him what Malfoy has done. He knows about mine, too." |
"It could be that Dumbledore did not raise a fuss about the plan because he expects it will be moot soon," Hermione said. "I wonder, too... might he have helped you escape somehow?" |
Ginny and Neville exchanged a startled look. "You know," she said, "he might have. We sent an owl to Professor McGonagall, since she is the Head of House for both of us, and she assisted us secretly." |
"She sent a phoenix, and instructions to hold its tail feathers. It Apparated us past my family’s magical ward." |
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