Chapter 84 — Consequences
Chapter 84: Consequences
Despite what I had said, I conjured a Patronus and sent for solicitors, my own and the Delacours', as well as consuls; or rather, I asked our mothers to do so. When the boy heard the word "solicitor," he only smirked, but when he heard "consuls," his expression soured. It was clear he didn't much like the sound of that.
We walked to the Auror station: walked, because I refused any other means of travel. The reason was simple: it would have been difficult to know exactly where they were taking us, whereas this way I memorised the building and the address.
On the way, the Aurors sent off two Patronuses, their expressions visibly strained, one to the boy's mother, one to his father. The second was sent despite the boy's conspicuously unhappy face. The father's name struck me as familiar, though I didn't dwell on it. Coincidences happen.
"My darling, are you all right?!"
A woman who bore a vague and distant resemblance to Rogue from the comics rushed towards the boy, grabbed him by the shoulders, and began turning him this way and that, looking him over.
"You are obliged to punish them!"
That last remark was directed at the Auror, her finger pointing accusingly in our direction.
"No."
"No?! How dare you! I will have you dismissed!"
At that moment the fireplace flared, and out stepped our mothers, then Monsieur Delacour, then the solicitors and consuls.
"So. What has happened here?"
"An insult to the honour of my companions. Fortunately for the boy, the Aurors arrived in time; I hadn't yet managed to cut off his hand, as I once did in Russia. Even so, I believe we are owed weregild."
"What?!"
The woman spluttered with indignation.
"Who do you think you are, you little upstart?! Do you have any idea who I am? Who my son is?!"
"Do tell."
I looked at her with mild amusement.
"Adelina Morph. And my son is Günter Morph!"
"Charmed. Allow me to introduce myself, Draco Black."
At the sound of my surname, the woman flinched slightly.
"And my companions: Penny Clearwater."
Adelina gave a little twitch of her nose, presumably meant to convey contempt.
"And Fleur Delacour."
Her eyes went wide with shock. Understandable, really. The Blacks are well-known, but we are not a politically active family, at least not at the moment. The Delacours are another matter entirely.
"So, your son has insulted my companions."
"He will apologize to Lady Delacour."
"Mother!"
The boy's outraged protest was music to my ears.
"Son, I have told you any number of times: you need to know who you're dealing with and how to handle it. Your usual approach won't work here."
I was genuinely curious now, and catching his gaze, I slipped into his thoughts. It was somewhat blunt work, but he had no talent for Occlumency and didn't realize I had read the surface layer of his mind. It turned out that his usual method was to assault girls and pay them to stay silent. His victims were typically Muggle-born, which meant the whole business tended to go unnoticed. His father had reproached him for it, but his mother had simply waved a hand: "Muggle-born, after all."
"How remarkable, I didn't expect to find a family in Berlin openly living by Grindelwald's principles."
The woman flinched.
"In any case, you will apologize to both of my companions, as they are betrothed to me."
"But the Muggle-born... the House of Black is ancient, and..."
"Who enters my family is not your concern."
I cut her off.
"Son, calm down. Leave them be and walk away."
Bella waved a hand.
"I was in the middle of recruiting mercenaries, as it happens. Of course, two hundred years ago the sensible thing would have been to wipe the family out entirely..."
Adelina flinched and actually took a few steps back. Her son was beginning to understand, slowly, that the advantage here was very much not his.
"And you're simply going to let this stand?!"
The woman turned to the Aurors.
"Did I say something to suggest otherwise?"
Bella put on an expression of complete innocence.
"I merely mentioned that I hire mercenaries, and that in former times an insult like this would have been grounds for exterminating a family, root and branch."
"Regrettably, that is quite true."
The fireplace flared, and in stepped a man, the same referee who had officiated my bout with Fleur, and many of the other bouts at the tournament. His gaze moved across our group, then settled on the boy, and I had no doubt at all by now that this was his father; the boy had thought of him as such. The man pressed his fingers to the bridge of his nose and closed his eyes.
"No. No, no. You're not actually this stupid, are you? Tell me you're not a complete idiot. Please."
He lowered his hand and looked at his son.
"Tell me we are not here because you insulted Mr Black, Miss Delacour, or that young lady whom I don't know personally but who is clearly not unimportant to either of them."
"Well..."
"Oh, for..."
The last word trailed off into the sound of a man whose soul had left his body.
"My name is Patrick Morph."
He gave a short bow, though I had already heard his name when he was introduced during the tournament.
"I offer you my most sincere apologies for the words of my foolish son and my foolish wife."
"Only the words?"
Narcissa raised an eyebrow.
"Well, I rather think that if my son had wronged these young ladies or Mr Black in deed, my foolish son would currently be in the hospital being put back together piece by piece. I know what my son is capable of, and I know what Mr Black is capable of. So yes, I apologize, and I am prepared to pay weregild."
I let my eyes close for a moment.
"Actually, I have an idea that may suit you, and that I believe will satisfy..."
I glanced at Fleur and Penny.
"...our interest in weregild."
"And what would that be?"
"As I understand it, your son has a history of acting without thinking. So, what if we were to cut off his funding entirely and put him to work? Not just any work: say, as an orderly in a hospital. The work isn't complicated: bedpans, sponge baths, that sort of thing."
The man's eyes widened, but I saw no objection in his face.
"He would need to learn a handful of spells, the minimum required for the role, but if his future colleagues were informed that you would not be intervening on his behalf, and if your wife were prevented from interfering, then I believe a year of unpleasant work would teach him that money doesn't appear from thin air. And he might learn to treat people a little better."
"Hm."
"Darling!"
"Father!"
"Both of you, be quiet."
He sighed and looked at me.
"I agree. I'll put my son to work, though not in a hospital. I won't put him near patients. But I'll think of something suitable."
"Excellent."
I nodded, then turned to the girls.
"Is that acceptable to you both?"
"Yes."
Fleur and Penny answered in unison.
"Then I believe we are finished here."
Jean brought the unpleasant meeting to a close, and we left the Auror station, leaving the Morph family behind, though I doubted they would linger long. We left, naturally, by Floo, arriving in the foyer of our hotel and making our way upstairs in silence.
Only once we were in one of the rooms did the conversation resume, and it was Jean who began.
"Draco, you've become more restrained."
I allowed myself a faint smile, acknowledging the joke.
"Father, he simply didn't have the chance to do anything. There were too many Aurors around, and they arrived the moment Draco finished threatening to put the boy in the hospital."
"I see."
Jean chuckled.
"Well, I'll hire a detective to verify that Mr Morph keeps his word and actually sends his son to do unpleasant work. If he doesn't, we'll need your assistance."
He looked at the solicitors and consuls.
"Always at your service."
The reply came with remarkable unanimity. We dismissed them, and they took their leave.
"Mum, I've been thinking. We need to acquire some conventional weapons."
"We've been buying them for a while now."
Bella waved this away.
And I've engaged a private security firm from the Muggle world. They're currently being retrained and will soon have the necessary qualifications.
We're also working on bringing in Muggle nurses and doctors.
Narcissa was quick to reassure me.
"We're handling a great deal that you haven't thought of yet: we simply don't send you all the paperwork, only what can safely be seen by others."
I suspected as much.
I shrugged.
"You've been preparing me since I was little, after all. I simply didn't think you'd considered the Muggle angle, given your general feelings on the subject."
"Excuse me, does anyone mind that I'm still here?"
Flitwick looked at me with mild surprise.
"Not at all."
I shook my head.
"You're my mentor. A proper flat will be prepared for you in our quarters."
"Hogwarts is my home."
Flitwick gave a lopsided smile, though it was plain this wasn't because of any ill feeling towards Hogwarts. He thought we were trying to lure him away.
"I respect that entirely. But are you confident it will still be standing?"
Flitwick stiffened.
"The Convergence is dangerous and unpredictable. For now, the rifts aren't strong enough to break through Hogwarts's wards, but if the castle's defenses aren't restored to their original state, the odds of it surviving aren't as favorable as one might like."
"What's to be done?"
"The enchantments need rebuilding. I'll start after the New Year. Candida will give me enough theoretical grounding to begin restoring the simplest of the castle's weavings, but it won't be the work of a single year."
"But... why did she come to you rather than the Headmaster? Though, yes, I suppose she doesn't trust him."
Flitwick bowed his head.
"Could I be of help? I could bring in Pomona as well. I wouldn't suggest Snape; he's completely devoted to Dumbledore, as you well know. Nor Minerva; she'd most likely report to the Headmaster too. But the three of us working together would certainly be faster."
"When we're back at Hogwarts, I'll speak with Candida."
"Right."
"The flat will be prepared for you regardless. Having somewhere to go in an emergency is never a bad thing."
"Very well."
Flitwick nodded.
"Right. Enough of the serious conversation. Let's get something to eat and get some sleep."
Apolline clapped her hands twice.
"Agreed."
We all nodded and made our way to the all-night restaurant on the ground floor, had a quick meal, and went back up to our rooms.
A quiet knock at the door pulled me out of my attempt to sleep. I got up, slipped my feet into a pair of soft shoes, and went to the door. On the other side stood Penny.
"Penny?"
"I... could I stay in your room tonight?"
I sighed. I hadn't expected this from her. Not now.
"I could take the sofa in the sitting room!"
She was whispering loudly.
"Don't be silly. Take the bed. I'll sleep on the sofa."
"Draco!"
She stepped into my room, but before I could close the door I caught the movement of a handle across the corridor. Fleur's door opened, and the girl slipped out, then met my eyes and went very red indeed.
"Draco."
Penny's surprised face appeared over my shoulder.
"Penny?"
"Fleur?"
Fleur's voice held bewilderment and a trace of hurt, evidently at not having thought of this first. Penny's voice held satisfaction and faint superiority.
"I'm coming too."
Fleur came forward, I stepped aside, and she walked in.
"Right, girls. The bed is yours. I'll take the sofa."
I raised a hand, cutting off their protests.
"I'm not hearing objections."
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