Freefall Ch. 6
There was an awkward silence where the parties involved, Lucius, Draco and Harry gave each other searching looks. No one seemed to know what to say. At long last, Severus spoke up. "Everyone please return to your dorms."
Madame Pomfrey gave him a smile. "Thank you. Mr. Malfoy needs his rest. Please do not tire him out." She closed a curtain around the four of them and suddenly the awkward silence was magnified by two. That is, until Headmistress McGonagall entered, and it went up a notch. Harry bit back a sigh.
"Oh good, you're all here. I ran into Miss Granger. We believe we have a lead as to what this curse is," she looked very pleased with herself. Although Harry suspected it had been Hermione who'd done all the work. He wasn't too shocked it hadn't taken very long; after all Hermione probably had the library fairly well memorized by now.
"Well?" Snape hissed.
"Oh. It's the Corporis Sui Expera Discordia Ex Vitae curse or the Disembodied Dissension of the Departed Hex. Or, so we believe." She pulled a parchment out of her pocket with a tight lipped frown. "That theory remains to be tested, of course."
"The what curse?" Harry asked, in confusion.
Lucius explained, "It's a very old curse, spoken of only in legend. This curse may be cast only when a relation of a departed one is unhappy, not only with the means of their death, but their home life as well. It can be cast by one who, through their interference, causes soul mates to be bound. The result being the source of the unhappiness, which in this case would be Draco, suffers greatly. The entire spell is powered by negative ancestral magic."
"So, he won't die?" Harry asked with relief.
"Actually, it's never gone that far. Usually this spell was done by… say a mother who wanted her daughter to marry for love instead of by arranged marriage as was done in the old days. She would pick an unhappy ancestor to use as a power source and cast it. This then forced the family's hand, or the male members of the family, to succumb to the will of the female members of the household."
"It was considered a very romantic thing to do at the time," McGonagall added. "It was often faked by the female head of household with the simple swoon at the very mention of an arranged marriage, leading to the rest of the family to believe she was affected by the hex without necessarily being under it."
But, Harry barely heard the added explanation. This was the first time Lucius Malfoy had spoken to him without yelling or hatred in his voice and he was feeling rather unsettled by it. The man's voice was rather silky and calming when he acted normally. Harry frowned, pushing the thought aside to examine later.
"So, you're saying that Voldemort cast this on me because I didn't care for the way mother died or how father acts as a single parent?" Draco gasped.
Severus folded his arms over his chest. "More than likely, he had it in effect so that the heir would suffer should the parents ever betray him. There might be other such spells in effect on other children of prominent households."
Harry and McGonagall exchanged a glance, undoubtedly both thinking… death eater households. But neither said anything. Poppy suddenly bustled in. "I think it’s time Mr. Malfoy got some rest. You may all come back later."
McGonagall looked sharply at Harry. "It's getting close to lunch time. Why don’t you go down to the Great Hall? For Merlin's sake, try to eat something this time?"
Lucius and Severus moved away, undoubtedly headed for the dungeons. Harry looked up at the Headmistress seriously, "How long until we know for sure that's what the curse is?"
"Shortly, Mr. Potter, have patience, these things take time!" Harry nodded; obviously, the Headmistress was also under pressure to get this sorted out. He hurried off to the Great Hall, eager to catch Hermione and Ron up on what was happening. Maybe they had come up with a solution.
Harry had not gone far when he heard two familiar voices ahead of him, that of the Potions Master and Lucius Malfoy. He slowed down and walked quietly, hoping to catch a snippet of their conversation.
"But, why would he do this, Severus?" Lucius was asking in a hushed tone.
"Obviously, he wanted to ensure that those who were torn between family loyalties and devotion to the cause remained untainted. Otherwise, he'd simply kill off one of the parents."
"How did he know the children would be miserable?" Lucius asked.
"All children born to aristocracy are prone to be doted on by one parent or the other. Rarely do the spouses get along because they are too hardened by mistrust, and passion is non-existent."
"How does someone who has never married know all this pray tell?" Lucius sounded intrigued.
"Because, I've had the opportunity to stand outside and observe the process in action; why do you think I prefer young girls without marriage on their minds, instead?"
"Hmm. What if this prediction is true? What would you do in my place?"
"Cyanide, I'd sooner die than be bonded to Potter."
That goes both ways. Harry thought, as he lost track of their conversation. But, it did leave another troubling thought. No, make that two. First, why hadn't he thought of offing himself at the first thought of being stuck with Mr. Malfoy? Secondly and perhaps even more disturbing… why hadn't Mr. Malfoy?
He walked slowly to the Great Hall as that thought tumbled together with an earlier one. Why had Mr. Malfoy's voice been so appealing when they were not exchanging death threats or such? Did he like Mr. Malfoy? No, no way, no how.
He shook his head vehemently, as if to rid the thought from his very brain.
"I never knew you were gay, Harry."
Harry spun around, startled. "Who's there?" His wand was already out and ready.
"It's just me, Harry." Neville came up from behind him.
Pocketing his wand, Harry relaxed, "Oh hi, Neville." Remembering what his dorm mate asked he stopped in his tracks. "What makes you think I'm gay?"
Neville smiled. "Well, if your soul mate is a man then you must be, right?"
"But, I've dated girls." Harry protested weakly, feeling sick to his stomach.
Longbottom laughed. "Right, and they all went so well. Come on, Harry. Even I do better with my dates than you do. I suppose we should have seen it all along the way you drooled after Oliver all those years."
"What? I did not!" Harry protested before his face fell, suddenly lined with confusion. "Did I?"
Neville shook his head and began to walk, pushing Harry gently by the shoulder. "I know you've been busy saving the world and all, but do you mean to tell me you haven't even figured this out yet?"
"Err, well, I just figured I wouldn't live. And if I did, I'd settle down, get married and have kids like everyone expected of me." Harry shrugged. "You mean you didn't expect that?"
Neville laughed again, removing his hand. "No, Harry. I always thought that after you won you and one of the Weasley twins would hook up, or maybe you'd chase down Oliver."
"Fred? George?" Harry gulped. "You mean to tell me –"
"You didn't know?" Neville asked in disbelief. "Wow, I know Hermione and Ron sheltered you but, oh man. They were legends in the locker room. How could you be on the same team and not know?"
Harry merely gaped like a fish. Neville continued to laugh and pushed Harry into a seat at the Gryffindor table. But, Harry had lost his appetite, not that he'd had much of one to start with anyhow.
[[Report This]]