Capítulo 28: A small oversight with big consequences
Pureblood aristocracy is not the kind of environment where one just drops by unannounced, so the meeting between Arcturus and Narcissa Malfoy was scheduled only three days later. Narcissa invited only the Greengrass sisters to meet the new head of the Black family. That day, Snape was hoping to visit, as Hermione reminded him of a promise, but Narcissa had to refuse, claiming a family gathering.
Arcturus met Daphne and Astoria in Diagon Alley, and they Apparated together to the gates of the Malfoy estate. They were greeted by the lady of the house, upon whom Arcturus applied his new habit of assessing everyone he met. She was a beautiful, resolute woman, far from broken, without the sneer he had seen on her face during the Quidditch World Cup. Daphne introduced them to each other, Narcissa apologized for the mess in the house, citing difficult times, and led them inside.
The mess was indeed there. Traces of Auror searches were visible almost everywhere, except in the tapestry room, where Narcissa brought her guests. The room contained nothing but the enchanted family tree tapestry, untouched by the Aurors. The tapestry, stretching from floor to ceiling, depicted the Malfoy family tree, its roots reaching back to the 11th century. It showed only close relatives, but when one touched a portrait with a wand, the tapestry would display the connections of that particular portrait instead of the main family tree.
"I've already reviewed our family ties, Arcturus, but I'd like us to look at them together," Narcissa said, touching her wand to her portrait. "Astoria, too, should know her future family."
Both Greengrass sisters, who were not related to either the Malfoys or the Blacks, stared at the tapestry with great interest. It showed the same thing as the one on Grimmauld Place, which Kreacher had taught Arcturus to navigate. A golden crown with the Black family name hovered over Arcturus Travers-Black's portrait, marking him as the head of the Black family. A thin line of illegitimate descent connected his portrait to the blacked-out spot where Sirius's portrait had been. His mother, Edna Travers, a blue-eyed brunette of understated but captivating beauty, and his adoptive father, Joshua Travers, were both on this newly revealed branch. Arcturus looked at the face of the man who had ensured he wasn't considered an outcast bastard, making him eligible to inherit from ancient families. Just yesterday, Rabastan had written that they had met and were now hiding in a safehouse prepared by the ever-cautious Rookwood. So far, everything was going well, and Arcturus hoped it would continue that way.
"Can I see the Potter branch?" Daphne asked when they had all finished looking at Arcturus's lineage.
"Of course, Daphne."
Narcissa made a few motions with her wand, and the family branch of Dorea Black appeared on the tapestry. Her husband, Charles Potter, was shown as the late head of the Potter family. James Potter, their son, had not inherited the family leadership. Two lines from the portraits of James and Lily Potter converged on the plump face of their only descendant, Harry Potter—alive and well, just as black-haired, messy, and bespectacled as his father.
"As you can see, Harry Potter is just fine," Arcturus nodded at the portrait, slightly offended by Daphne's doubt.
"Better to see once than hear seven times," she replied. "But look at that—Potters are blood traitors now."
Daphne pointed at the rusty frame around the portraits of James and Harry Potter. Lily's portrait, as a Muggle-born, had no frame at all.
"Probably deserved," Arcturus shrugged.
"I have no doubt. Poor Harry, he didn't deserve it."
"He still doesn't understand and never will understand what he's lost," Narcissa noted without regret or malice, merely stating a fact. "He was raised by Muggles and then taken in by blood traitors. At first, Lucius and I tried to warn him through Draco, but Draco failed. Perhaps it's for the best."
Finally, Arcturus understood the root of his enmity with young Malfoy. Proud of his assigned mission, the Malfoy child had tried to act grown-up, had been rebuffed, and could never forgive Harry Potter for his failure. Arcturus himself was still learning to be an adult, but he could now look back on the meeting of two eleven-year-old boys and ponder how such a small incident could lead to far-reaching consequences. If the conversation had gone slightly differently, Harry might have become friends with Draco and ended up in Slytherin.
"Look how fat he is here..." Astoria marveled, still staring at Harry Potter's portrait on the tapestry.
"Maybe it's some kind of curse..." Arcturus muttered, not really interested in uncovering the mystery.
"There are no such curses," Narcissa said. "Except perhaps a gluttony curse, but I doubt the Dark Lord, planning to kill him..."
She was interrupted by the sudden appearance of a house-elf, who popped up out of nowhere right in front of them.
"Mistress, bad wizards are at the gates again, demanding to be let in!" the elf reported to Narcissa.
"Who are they, and what do they want?" she asked, alarmed.
"Tippee doesn't know, mistress. Five bad wizards, and Mr. Snape is with them."
Narcissa glanced at her guests, clearly worried.
"They're probably from the Auror office. I must let them in. Please wait in the sitting room. I'll show you the way."
She was gone only briefly. In a few minutes, she returned to the sitting room accompanied by six men, of whom Arcturus recognized only Snape.
"These are my guests," she said in an overly calm tone. "As you can see, they are not runaway Death Eaters."
"We received a signal, Mrs. Malfoy," said the leader of the group.
"You didn't have to bring that signal with you," Narcissa replied with impeccable politeness. Only Snape had known she was expecting guests that day. "Gentlemen as courteous as yourselves, I would have believed without question."
"The signal came from your gates, Mrs. Malfoy," the commander explained. "There was a report of three Apparitions to your estate. Considering three criminals recently escaped from Azkaban, you understand what we thought. But if that's not the case, we can only apologize for the disturbance. Snape accompanied us because he had business with you, which an Auror endorsement couldn't hurt."
"I understand, you wanted to kill two birds with one stone," Narcissa nodded, maintaining her perfect composure.
"I won't hide it, Mrs. Malfoy—we hoped for Snape's help if negotiations were needed," the senior Auror said candidly. "But since it was a false alarm, we'll move on to his business."
"I'm listening, Mr.…?"
"Brown. I hope you're familiar with the name Hermione Granger, the Order of Merlin First Class heroine?" Without waiting for the obvious answer, the Auror continued, "Last year, she hid her parents from Voldemort's clique so well that she can't find them herself now. We need to arrange a blood search for them..."
While Brown explained the problem to Narcissa, Arcturus studied the intruders. Of the five Aurors, he felt dislike for two, indifference toward two, and a certain respect for the commander. Snape was looking around as if choosing a spot to perch. He didn't recognize Arcturus and only briefly fixed him with his usual scornful gaze.
Arcturus suddenly wondered how they would behave if he cast a spell to make them act according to their nature. He hadn't tested this spell on anyone yet because Walburga had warned him against using such tricks on close people, but the Aurors were no kin of his. The spell was considered harmless, and its weak nonverbal, wandless version would go unnoticed by anyone, including the protective magic of the Malfoy manor. Why not give it a try?
By the time Arcturus gave in to the temptation, the senior Auror had finished arranging the search for Hermione's parents. Snape had wisely prepared a sample of her blood, and he and Narcissa left to create the tracking amulet, leaving the Auror team to wait in the sitting room. They had nothing to say to the teenagers, so they sat around in chairs and sofas, eyeing the surroundings with unfriendly expressions. Arcturus, undisturbed, began casting the spell on each Auror in turn, spending about a minute focusing on each one. He didn't know the counter-spell, so he used minimal power, expecting the effects to wear off in half an hour.
He noticed the differences immediately. If earlier the Aurors looked like a team that had come for a common purpose, now the nuances in their behavior had subtly shifted, making it clear how different they were as individuals. One of them, the one Arcturus had started with, thinking him the safest, leaned back on the sofa and dozed off. Another continued sitting with a calm expression, while a third, whose gaze roamed over the trinkets on the shelves, revealed a clear greed. The senior Auror frowned and suspiciously glared at the teenagers.
"Who are you?" he asked sharply, as if conducting an interrogation.
"I'm Greengrass, and so is my sister," Daphne said in response to his demanding gaze.
"And what are you doing at the family gathering of a monitored individual?"
"My sister is engaged to Draco Malfoy; our families will be joined in the future."
"Hm... I hope in the distant future because that little brat will get what's coming to him in court. How did your sister even agree to marry him?"
"If only perfect people got married, family couples would be extremely rare," Daphne responded with a polite smile.
"That's true. Love is blind, and calculation even blinder," the senior Auror laughed and turned his gaze to Arcturus, who was already regretting his prank. The stern and fair commander turned out to be a pedantic and suspicious man. "And you, young man, who are you?"
"Lady Malfoy is my aunt," he replied, desperately seeking an escape from the officer's direct and pointed questions. But it wasn't necessary, as Arcturus accidentally struck a sensitive chord in the Auror's soul.
"She's not a lady, but Mrs., young man! We're all equal now, and there are no more lords or ladies!"
"Regardless of our ministry's antics, we remain subjects of Britain, where the queen reigns, and titles have not yet been abolished," Arcturus reminded him, having been well-trained by Kreacher in matters of inheritance. "The Malfoys were granted barony in the 11th century by William the Conqueror for services to the British crown, so they are rightfully called lords."
"Lords!" Brown snorted angrily, unwilling to forgive fate for not making him a lord. "You might as well say Voldemort called himself 'Lord' by right!"
"The Slytherins were never landlords, but through the Gaunt line, he's a descendant of the Duke of Lancaster, the third son of King Edward III, so he had reason to flaunt it. Not a right, but a reason," Arcturus emphasized, "because due to the secrecy statute introduced in the 17th century, the magical branch of the Gaunts didn't inherit any land or titles."
Brown flushed with irritation, gasping for air like an enraged Vernon. It's hard to say how this would have ended if one of the Aurors hadn't suddenly stood up and taken a gleaming gold candy dish from the mantelpiece. The commander immediately noticed the breach and barked at his subordinate:
"Miller, how many times do I have to tell you not to take anything? Put it back!"
"Come on, chief, they won't miss it," the man replied, hiding the candy dish under his coat. "At least I'll have a gift for my missus. She's been nagging, saying my job's useless 'cause I never bring anything home. You know how it is with women, chief..."
"Put it back, I said!"
But before he could deal with one rebel, another one, whom Arcturus had already pegged as an unpleasant character, stepped forward.
"Brown, stop bothering people! You're here waiting for your birdbrain, so wait. Meanwhile, we have something to enjoy. Look at these girls..."
He stepped toward Astoria, yanking her from her chair and pulling her roughly against him. Astoria screamed in fear, like a child. Startled, Arcturus reflexively hit the attacker in the back with a Stupefy, a result of Rabastan's combat training. The second Stupefy, aimed at the thief, was delivered consciously. The remaining Aurors jumped up and cast binding spells at him, which he blocked with a quick Protego. At that moment, Narcissa and Snape returned to the room, freezing in shock at the scene before them. Snape quickly recovered and also attacked Arcturus.
"Everyone, stand down!" Brown bellowed at the top of his lungs.
The room fell silent. Two Aurors lay stunned, while the remaining two waited expectantly for their leader. Snape sneered at Arcturus, who stood with his wand ready, watching every move closely. Astoria sat on the floor, sobbing.
"What is going on here?" Narcissa Malfoy's social politeness had completely vanished. Now she was an enraged Black.
"Probably the usual, Aunt Narcissa," Arcturus spoke first. "That officer stole a golden candy dish from your mantel, and this one tried to assault Miss Astoria Greengrass."
He pointed to the two Aurors under Stupefy. Brown, meanwhile, approached the thief, pulled the candy dish from his coat, and placed it back on the mantel.
"I apologize for my subordinates, Mrs. Malfoy," he said, his embarrassment thinly veiled by formality. "The Auror Office will deal with them."
"'I apologize,' is that all?!" Narcissa was outraged. "I tolerated your men wrecking my home under the guise of searches, but attempting to assault a minor girl, my son's fiancée?! I'll file a complaint with the International Confederation of Wizards! And you, commander, how could you let your subordinates become so unruly? How were you even given this position if you can't control them?!"
"Mrs. Malfoy, I said we'll deal with them..." Brown muttered.
From the looks of horror slowly dawning on the guilty Aurors' faces, Arcturus realized that his spell had worn off. They no longer understood how they could have behaved so disgracefully, and their leader now looked more collected again.
"I'll handle this myself," Narcissa said menacingly. "The world needs to know that magical Britain is now run by a gang of thugs, compared to whom the Dark Lord is the lesser evil. Severus, will you be my witness?"
"Narcissa..." Snape drawled, trying to buy time as he calculated how to stay in everyone's favor. "I didn't see what happened from the start. Perhaps Miss Greengrass behaved provocatively..."
"Severus?" Narcissa asked in disbelief.
"Yeah, and the candy dish too," Arcturus remarked.
"Nobody asked you, brat!" Snape snapped.
"Mrs. Malfoy..." Brown began again.
"I demand that you all leave my house immediately! And don't forget to take... him," she said furiously, nodding at Snape. "Tippee! See them out!"
The Aurors quickly departed with Snape, while Narcissa rushed to Astoria, who was still sitting on the floor.
"Astoria, dear, what did they do to you?" she asked the crying girl.
"Nothing, just... this..." Astoria extended her arm, showing red marks where the Auror had grabbed her.
Narcissa took out her wand and healed the girl's arm.
"Calm down, dear, it's all over. They won't get away with this."
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mzorokek
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