Corban Yaxley was on his feet.
"WHAT have you done?" he snarled.
Narcissa looked the way that he usually did— aloof, composed, contained. Condescending. "I've attended Wizengamot in compliance with the laws our predecessors penned. I'm unsure, frankly, what could be driving the Yaxley Representative to behave such a way."
"If anything has happened to the Bulstrode Family… a line of the Sacred Twenty Eight… then Merlin so help me wench—"
"I do not see what Merlin has to do with this. Nor, might I add, do I understand your fascination with the Bulstrodes." Narcissa smiled. "Compared to the Black Family, they're practically Muggles. What reason have I to be concerned with their fate?"
Yaxley slammed his hand on top of his seat. "You are a Malfoy and they are your allies!"
"But I was a Black first. That is the blood that courses in my veins. Toujours pur."
"Toujours Pur!" Bellatrix cackled. "Toujours Pur!"
She left so hard that she bent in half, putting her chin on the desk. She lifted a closed fist and pounded the wood. She was grinning and laughing.
"Always Pure," Bellatrix translated. "The motto of the Blacks. You, sister… I thought you were meek. I thought you lacked fangs. Perhaps your mouth was just shut."
Narcissa lifted her chin in the slightest of acknowledgements.
"Enough delays," Bellatrix declared. "There's no point in them. We are going to vote now and get this over with. Hands raised if you believe in his guilt!"
Eight hands climbed into the air. Amycus Carrow twisted around in this seat and leered at Hannah Longbottom-Abbott. He still looked so murderous that there was no need to open his mouth to issue a threat. Instead of Hannah's hand rising, Neville's did— he laid it across Hannah's chest, staring Amycus down without a flinch. Amycus tried to spit at them. Crouch shoved his jaw shut from the bottom and yanked Amycus back down in his seat. The entire time, Crouch's face gave nothing away.
"Eight!" Bellatrix said. "And those who presume him innocent?"
Six hands went up. The blood traitors and Susan, Daphne, and Narcissa all showed their support. The Rowle and Shafiq representatives hesitated for a moment. That lasted only until Narcissa looked at them, and something they saw there spurred them to action.
"A tie," Bellatrix said. "What a surprise— not!"
She cackled to herself. Out of everyone in the room she alone looked to be having real fun. Perhaps Narcissa as well.
"I refuse!"
Crouch had let go of Amycus. The surviving twin took advantage by lunging around the pews and stomping toward Harry. His wand was out. Aurors had been stationed by the doors, but they looked nervous about intervening. Bellatrix also had her wand drawn, yet was content to watch. Amycus made it all the way into Harry's personal space. Tears were running down his cheeks.
"You're a murderer!" he yelled.
Back in her seat, Ginny visibly balked at the hypocrisy of the accusation. Some of the other representatives were looking at Amycus like a fool for making such a scene. Many, however, shared the sentiment.
To them, that was the right bestowed by the blood running in their veins. To kill those beneath them was nothing more than culling, but should a proper pureblood die then that was a murder. No matter how she lived it Alecto Carrow's life possessed value. Her death was a crime. Harry's face didn't change a lick as he stood before Amycus' accusations.
"I should kill you now! Put you down like the dog you are!" Amycus raved. "But… that wouldn't be enough. No, not nearly enough. I've got to make you suffer. Haha! Yes, that's right, you have to despair! I'll chain you up, tearing flesh away one strip at a time…"
Every time he yelled, spittle launched from his mouth, spraying Harry's face. Harry didn't move. He looked at Amycus the same way that he looked at the assembly. Somehow, those watching were reminded of a wild beast howling into an impassive cliff face.
"Enough." A leash appeared around Amycus' throat. Stretching back to the tip of Crouch's wand, it started to retract, yanking Amycus off his feet. Crouch walked to the door with Amycus dragging behind him on his back. Before disappearing, Crouch looked at those in the room.
"Well played, Harry," Crouch said. "You've got more friends than we expected. You'd better cherish them. Keep 'em close. Try not to let them out at night. Check their food. It's a dangerous world out there."
"I don't believe I ended this session," Bellatrix said.
"The result is obvious. I care not for the rest of it," Crouch declared.
He left. Yaxley went seconds after, taking his allies with him. The Wizengamot room cleared except for Harry, his allies, and Bellatrix.
"I was so looking forward to making a grand announcement, too," Bellatrix said. "Fine. You're free, Harry Potter. This time"
He nodded, and even as his allies tried to make their way to him, turned and walked to the exit without a word. Confused, they followed him. Ginny and Daphne called out his name. Harry looked back, then stepped out of the room.
When the representatives reached the waiting room outside, there were two Harrys, identical down to the wounded left hands. There was the one that they had been following, and there was the one that appeared from thin air as an expert disillusionment charm was canceled. He was sitting against the wall next to a dark-skinned young man the same age as him. Blaise Zabini chuckled.
"There you have it," Blaise said, eyeing Harry's allies. "You've walked free. With this, it seems our fates are officially tied together."
"I told you they would succeed," Harry said.
"You did, didn't you? Although you hedged your bets a tad at the end."
"Trust is new to me," Harry said. "Still… I am trying."
"What?" Susan burst out, the first of the arrivals to speak. "How— Then that whole time… You were never even there?"
"He swapped himself for one of his frightening illusions before entering the room," Blaise said. "I wonder how he managed it. After all, they took away his wand."
He winked.
"Your help was greatly appreciated," Harry said.
"You're too kind!" Blaise said with a flourish of his hand.
"I was speaking to them," Harry said. He looked at Blaise, managing a brief smile. "Though… I suppose I can't complain about your involvement."
"There it is. The lovable partner I'm proud to have made." When Blaise spoke, it was difficult to pinpoint jokes because he said everything in the tone of one. He extended his hand and helped Harry to stand. "I can see myself sitting on Pettigrew's old throne already."
They were broken apart when Narcissa — of all people — stepped in to envelop Harry in her arms.
"I did it," she muttered into his ear. "Your name is cleared. I did well, didn't I? I served you well."
"You helped greatly," Harry said. He rubbed the back of her arms. "Thank you. Thank you to all of you."
The last part he spoke louder, looking over Narcissa's shoulder at the small crowd. Neville put his arm over Hannah's shoulder. Ginny crossed her arms. Daphne tried to hide the way she stood up straighter, meanwhile Susan slouched with relief. Martin Rowle and Septimus Shafiq stood a distance from the rest, close only to themselves. They weren't convinced they'd thrown their lot in with the right side. A thank you was something alien to the maneuvering and backstabbing of pureblood politics.
"It's not over." It was Neville who spoke. "They'll try again. Probably not this way, but Crouch and Yaxley won't take this lying down."
"Then we'll have to act first," Harry said.
"That's the kind of confidence I demand!" Blaise clapped Harry on the shoulder. "I can tell this is the beginning of a long and fateful relationship."
Harry looked at Blaise's handsome smiling visage. What was it, his eyes? His tone? Harry didn't think it was either of them, but he couldn't deny that something, just for a moment, felt off. In typical Blaise fashion, it was said like a joke. So why wasn't Harry able to brush it off? Why did it seem like that had been a joke, but one Harry wasn't privy to.
The moment passed. No realization came to Harry. Blaise's arm returned to his side and the conversation moved on. Harry's brain couldn't come up with anything, just a sixth sense that had his spine crawling.
Narcissa grabbed him around the wrist.
"We've tarried here long enough," she said. "The danger has passed. Now, we ought to celebrate."
O-O-O
Harry's home saw more guests that afternoon than at any time since he moved in. Shafiq and Rowle declined to attend. They were on the fence about their support of him, but Harry didn't mind. He trusted them not at all. Although he'd won them over for now, their only reason for supporting him was to better their own standing. If he showed too much weakness in a single moment, they would turn on him faster than you could blink. Not to mention they were true Death Eaters, with sympathies that couldn't be further removed from Ginny and the rest of the blood traitors.
Everyone else came. When they entered the home, Fleur Delacour was in the living room. Harry's heart clenched.
She looked over at them, beautiful as ever despite the soot staining her cheeks. Dobby was wrapping gauze around her shoulder. She was shirtless to let the elf work, wearing only a bra above her waist, bearing a multitude of minor cuts and blemishes across her torso.
"Harry! You are back!" she said.
Harry was at her side as fast as he was able. "What happened?"
She hadn't been this hurt when he left. These weren't wounds from what happened in Hogsmeade. Something else had occurred.
"She saved you." Narcissa appeared at his side. "Of course, most of the work was mine. It was my strategy. I also handled things inside of Wizengamot, and of course kept Lucius away. But I admit, this girl played her part well."
Despite the dismissive tone, Fleur smiled at Narcissa.
"Thank you," Fleur said
"Hm," Narcissa hummed.
"Bulstrode," Harry said. "It was you who faced him, wasn't it?"
"Oui," Fleur said.
"What happened to them?" Daphne asked.
"Dead," Fleur replied. "With the bodies burned."
For a moment Daphne looked afraid, although she hid it quite quickly.
"Do you not fear what's coming?" Daphne asked. "This feud keeps escalating. Families are being wiped out. I don't see a way for this to end."
"We are not the ones who killed families first," Fleur said coldly.
"But—"
Daphne stopped herself from finishing the statement. But those were Muggles. She sensed that she was reaching dangerous territory. Fleur's temper was primed, and Harry's expression was ominous. Narcissa didn't look like she particularly cared, but neither was she speaking out in support of Daphne.
"They had sons, daughters, brothers and sisters. They had parents. They had lives of their own, magic or no," Harry said. "Those are families."
Daphne averted her eyes. "I suppose."
"Do you really get it?" Ginny asked. "Your stupid pureblood doctrine is nothing but bullshit."
Daphne faced her. "Do you have a problem with my presence?"
"I don't trust you," Ginny said. "You reek of a spoiled pureblood heiress. What's stopping you from running away and turning on us?"
"What will you do, make me walk the plank?" Daphne said, looking derisively at Ginny's eyepatch. "You don't frighten me, and you don't speak for Harry."
"I speak for him more than you do," Ginny said. "You don't have any idea what we're doing. The things we want—"
"Enlighten me, then."
"So that you can run away and buy your own safety with our secrets?"
"I plan to fight," Harry said.
His words stopped the argument. He had stood up, although he still held Fleur's hand with his uninjured one. His eyes crossed the people in front of him from left to right. They were his people; his allies. He still wasn't used to this trust business. But these people had come through for him, so right now he wanted to give it another try.
"I'm sick of this world," Harry admitted. "It's stale to its core. The different families do nothing but use each other for their own benefit. Nothing is accomplished but bickering and infighting. It's worthless— yet this world took so much violence to create. Crouch is still fighting, if you can call his raids that. I'm sick of torture. I'm sick of murder. I'll tell you all the full truth: I intend to tear it down. All of it."
Daphne looked increasingly alarmed the longer he spoke. She twisted around in search of shared concern. She found nothing. Narcissa, the only possible ally she might have found, bore an almost orgasmic expression.
"You'll really fight then, Harry?" Narcissa said, clasping his hand. "Even if it's against the Dark Lord himself?"
She was panting, her lips stretched as wide as they could go. Her eyes shone.
"That's what we decided," Harry said.
He smiled at Fleur, who smiled tiredly — but proudly — back at him.
"You're mad!" Daphne said.
"Mad and angry," Harry said. "I'm well aware of the chance of success. Still, I'm choosing to follow this path. Will you turn away?"
Daphne was leaning back, her arms raised, after physically recoiling from Harry's declaration. He understood her. The ambition to take on the world was perfectly Slytherin, but the bollocks to actually try it was pure Gryffindor foolishness.
Harry was fine with that. He'd rather die a fool than live a hollow life.
"Are you scared?" Ginny asked.
"I'd be insane if I wasn't!" Daphne said. Slowly, she lowered the arms she'd raised protectively and muttered, "On second thought, perhaps I am anyway. You!" She pointed at Harry. "You're not just committing an elaborate suicide, are you? You better win!"
"I refuse to die uselessly," Harry said.
"Good!" Daphne said. "I'd be tarnishing the Greengrass name if I went along with anything less."
Ginny turned her head, looking at the others. "Is that good enough for you? How can you trust her word? I've seen her type! As soon as things look dangerous, she'll curse us in the back!"
Daphne was slightly taller than Ginny— an idle observation Harry never paid attention to until he watched Daphne lean down to look Ginny in the eyes.
"Does it make your blood boil thinking of having to get along with me?" Daphne asked. "I hope so. Because that's exactly how I feel, knowing I'll have to put up with a girl as uncouth and dowdy as you."
"I'll work with you if I have to, but we certainly won't get along," Ginny said.
"An apt use of your words, for once," Daphne said.
Their faces were so close that if all context were stripped away, it would look like the two of them were going in for a kiss.
As Harry was considering stepping in to act as an adjudicator, he was unexpectedly pulled away. Narcissa was tugging on his arm, still holding his hand. As she did, she was looking down at Harry's other appendage, which was warped below the wrist from crushing Alecto.
"You must have that treated," she said. "Come upstairs. I have some skill with medical charms. I believe I'll be able to handle it."
Fleur stood up, ignoring Dobby's protestations that she wasn't healed yet. "I will help as well," she said. "With the two of us together, I'm sure we can soothe Harry properly."
"...I suppose a bit of help wouldn't go amiss," Naricissa admitted.
Which is what she said, but somehow five minutes later everyone bar Neville and Hannah had ended up in Harry's bedroom.
Harry himself was sitting up against the cushions. Narcissa was beside him casting above-average healing charms to mend his twisted flesh and bones. Fleur, who was yet to put a shirt on, sat on the other side of Harry, embracing him. Her bra-clad chest was tight to his body as she whispered soothing words, channeling her allure to mitigate the pain. Not far away, Daphne watched with Ginny beside her. Susan stood behind both of them.
"Before my betrothment, I studied as a medi-witch," Narcissa said between spells. "It was a contingency so that I could support myself should my planned life ever fall apart. I don't have an occasion for these skills very often, but I assure you they're top-notch." She looked back at her audience. "So, is there a reason all of you are here?"
"After all that's happened today, I'm not keen on letting Harry out of my sight," Daphne declared.
"No way am I leaving her unattended," Ginny said, jerking her head in Daphne's direction.
"I just… followed them?" Susan said.
Her voice was quiet and bashful. She'd been that way since the attack. It seemed to Harry that she was still somewhat in shock.
"Aren't you all just full of excuses," Narcissa said. She set her wand aside, fiddling with the upper part of her Wizengamot robes. "Fine. Harry's hand is more or less healed at this point, so we'll be moving on to the next order of business."
She popped her robes open and let them fall down her body— displaying that there was nothing underneath. Narcissa wasn't even slightly ashamed about baring her naked body. She crawled onto the bed with Harry while Fleur reached behind her back, popping open her bra.
"W-What?" Daphne said. "How can you— Right now? With us right here?"
Fleur got her bra loose, revealing her plentiful perfect breasts. She leaned in and started to kiss Harry's neck while Narcissa moved herself between his legs. Already opening Harry's clothes, she looked back only once.
"You're the ones who insisted on following us," Narcissa said. "Don't complain now. Strip and join us, keep watching, or leave— it makes no difference to me."
She got Harry's pants open. The moment his cock appeared, the Lady Malfoy put her lips around him and plunged her throat down his shaft, audience and all. Fleur giggled.
"She is very forward, is she not?" said the French witch. "It is growing on me."