On that day, Narcissa woke up feeling happy. She didn't know why, but from the very morning, joy simply poured out of her soul. Stretching her whole body, she called the house spirit, then slowly got dressed and, spreading her arms wide, spun around several times. The morning sun seemed to gently caress her face, and the fresh scent of flowers from the garden outside the window was simply delightful. Even the ever-annoying cries of the peacocks seemed a little musical today.
After giving orders for breakfast, Narcissa went to the living room, where Abraxas Malfoy was already sitting and reading the latest issue of the Daily Prophet. This newspaper was supported by the Ministry of Magic, and sometimes it contained interesting news for wealthy families. After greeting Abraxas, who was a little surprised by her radiant appearance, Narcissa gracefully sank into an armchair and asked,
"Has Lucius come down yet? He returned from the Ministry yesterday and went straight to bed.
"No, dear Narcissa, but the house elf said that Lucius is already awake and wants to have a serious talk with us.
At that moment, Lucius himself rushed into the living room, greeted everyone, and sat down in the armchair opposite his wife.
"So what do you want to talk about, son?" asked Abraxas.
Lucius looked seriously at his father:
"Yesterday, I had a very interesting meeting at the Ministry, which continued later at the Three Broomsticks café. I met a very dangerous man, but it turned out that I helped his loved ones, and he found me to thank me.
After that, Lucius Malfoy held out his hand and showed off a gold ring with a huge diamond, sitting neatly on his finger.
"This ancient artefact was given to me by a wizard to rid our family of a curse. I just feel that it no longer has any effect as soon as I put the ring on. Today, for the first time, I woke up without pain in my heart.
Narcissa looked tenderly at her husband:
"Will we have many children now?"
"Yes, my dear," Lucius smiled tenderly, "there are no obstacles now.
Chatting happily, they moved together to the dining room, where the house spirits had already set the table for breakfast. As soon as she put down her plate, Narcissa rushed to write a letter to her aunt Walburga, eager to share the happy news.
***
Lucius and Abraxas settled down in the old lord's study, and the young magician looked intently at his companion:
"Father, in addition to the good news, this man told me some rather unpleasant things about our marks. According to him, he is familiar with this magic, and it does not bode well for us. In fact, it is a mark of slavery, and we are simply Voldemort's slaves, not his servants or allies. What's more, it drains our family's strength and our health. Perhaps you already feel old, even though you and Lord studied at the same time? But magicians and aristocrats live much longer than ordinary people.
Abraxas Malfoy shuddered in horror:
"What are you talking about? It's just a sign of belonging to our party, and it has useful functions that Lord Voldemort built into it. We proudly accepted this sign of knighthood! Believe me, son, serving the great heir of the Slytherin family is an honour for us. We are rightly proud to bear the symbol of Slytherin on our arms. We defend our power, the power of the pure-blood families of Albion. Only Lord Voldemort can bring prosperity to England," Abraxas concluded pompously.
Lucius sighed heavily:
"Father, I believed that too until yesterday. But I have been shown the opposite. The words of this African can be trusted. Like you, he knows Parseltongue, and he is the most powerful dark wizard in his homeland. It was only by chance that I was able to enlist his help.
"Then we must try to block Lord's access to the family magic through the mark," Abraxas mused. "Even if you are not entirely right about Voldemort, draining magic from servants is repulsive. I am concerned first and foremost for the family, and only then for the ideas of the pure-bloods," he sighed. "Here's what we'll do, son: I'll pass the title of head to you, and then you'll perform the minor severing ritual and partially cut me off from the family magic. That way, we'll protect the altar from outsiders, and I won't be left without a source of power.
Lucius nodded in agreement. He could see that the mark was already affecting his father, but the old wizard still had enough willpower to resist.
***
Narcissa could no longer contain her joy. She wanted to share it with someone, and why not her aunt Walburga? They had always gotten along well, although they hadn't seen each other very often lately. Ever since Lord Orion Black had died, Regulus had disappeared, and her eldest son Sirius had completely cut off all contact with his mother, Walburga had become increasingly withdrawn. Her hope that she would spend her old age surrounded by her grandchildren and that her heir would come to his senses and accept his position as head of the family was becoming increasingly remote. The chances of reviving the Black family were melting away like snow under the hot sun.The old house-elf Kreacher gently touched Walburga's shoulder with his thin paw.
"Mistress!" he called. "You have a letter from Narcissa Malfoy."
The woman held out her hand, and the house elf bowed and carefully placed the envelope in it. Her niece wanted to meet. She had incredible news and wanted to share it immediately. Walburga sent a reply with Kreacher and opened the fireplace for the Malfoys. Less than an hour later, it burst into emerald flames and the cheerful Narcissa literally fluttered onto the parquet floor.
Valburga stared in amazement at the woman beaming with happiness.
"What happened to you, dear? You're glowing!"
Narcissa gave her a white-toothed smile and said:
"I don't know how he did it, Auntie, but Lucius has lifted the curse on one child of the Malfoy family! He got some ancient artefact that blocked the curse! Now I can have as many children as I want!"
Walburga was overwhelmed with hope:
"Do you think one of your children could head the Black family? Would Lucius be against it?"
"Of course not," Narcissa replied proudly. "What's more, until the heir comes of age, he will gladly take control of your family's finances, and believe me, auntie, Lucius will double them. You know that financial genius is part of the Malfoy family's gifts.
Walburga's eyes sparkled with anticipation and hope, and unable to contain her emotions, she hugged Narcissa tightly and whispered to her:
"I'll wait, dear, I'll wait.
After chatting with her aunt about various things for a few more hours, drinking tea and gossiping about all their acquaintances, a satisfied Narcissa went home.
***
The following week, Abraxas, as promised, performed the ritual of transferring leadership to his son. The newly minted head of the family immediately rushed off with Narcissa to France, organising a honeymoon for himself and his wife.
A year later, the Malfoys had their first child. They named him Cassius, and his happy parents doted on him. The child grew up completely problem-free, sweet and calm. The house elves organised his daily life, and Lucius and Narcissa enjoyed playing with him in the evenings and whenever they had free time. Even old Abraxas happily spent time with his grandson. The boy always smiled so sweetly when he saw his grandfather.
Several years passed, and despite the increasingly tense situation in England, all was well in the Malfoy family. Cassius was often sent to visit the Blacks, where he had fun with Walburga, whom he unhesitatingly called grandmother, and Narcissa was already thinking about having a second child.
When Cassius was five years old, he had a spontaneous outburst of magic that made the Malfoys think. Cassius and Narcissa were sitting in the garden on a fluffy blanket, the young woman reading a book and the boy playing soldiers with his house elf. They lined themselves up in neat rows, charged into battle and waved their tiny sabres.
Suddenly, one of the peacocks walking in the garden let out a loud cry. The child, not expecting this, waved his arms in fright, and a small black cloud flew from him to the peacock in an instant. There was a cry of alarm, and then the bird was torn to shreds. Cassius began to cry, and Narcissa immediately picked him up and began to calm him down.
In Lucius's study, an artefact statue suddenly lit up, signalling that black magic had been used on the estate. Of course, the reliable protection immediately extinguished the emanations, but Lucius was already running to find his wife and son.
Finding them in the garden, he learned what had happened and went to examine the site of the spontaneous magic. The crushed grass where the unfortunate peacock had been lying not long ago reeked of the blackest magic. Such a concentration of dangerous energy was a rare occurrence even for Voldemort. Taking out his wand, Lucius cast a spell to remove the negative magic.
In the evening, in the living room, when Cassius was already asleep under the watchful eye of loyal house-elves, the Malfoy family discussed what had happened in the garden that day.
"Your son is a dark wizard!" Abraxas said with a smile. "That burst is proof of it. He has a powerful talent for dark magic. It's a pity that until he learns to control his gift, he won't be able to attend Hogwarts, or even show himself in public. Imagine what would happen if he got scared somewhere on Diagon Alley?" Abraxas looked at them.
Narcissa was silent, feeling depressed. She loved her child, but she understood very well that his lack of self-control could lead to dangerous situations.
"He needs to be taught to control his gift," Abraxas continued. "But we don't have any black magic specialists in England right now who we can trust with our grandson's education. We can't just hand him over to Voldemort for training, can we?"
The Malfoys shuddered unconsciously. The Dark Lord was increasingly frightening the magical world. The Death Eaters' raids were becoming more and more brutal. Fear spread among the common people like a black shroud. The Malfoys, with their vast fortune, simply paid their way out, forced to sponsor Voldemort's organisation, but sometimes Lucius had to go on raids with the others. Despite the dangerous times, he and Narcissa decided to have a second child, and now, in the summer of 1980, they were preparing for the birth of their son.
Then Lucius remembered the words of Chibuzo Inu, who had promised to help if any of his children awakened a dark gift. All this time, they had kept in touch. Moreover, the business that Malfoy had set up, selling luxury goods from the Dark Continent in England, was thriving and bringing in a good income for both the Malfoys and Chibuzo Inu.
"I'll talk to my partner in Africa," Lucius nodded in agreement. "He promised to help me with this matter, and he is a very powerful dark wizard himself. Even if he can't take Cassius as his apprentice, he'll at least tell us where to find a good specialist.
With that, they ended their discussion of the situation and went to their bedrooms.
***
Lord Voldemort sat at his desk in the Lestrange-Menor office, studying documents. The situation in the political arena was developing very well; his party of pure-blood wizards was gaining power and would soon be able to take control. A crooked smile twisted his haughty face. Soon, old Dumbledore would pay dearly for his arrogance. A flash of malice flickered in his blood-red eyes.
Suddenly, there was a soft knock at the office door:
"Sir, Severus Snape is here. He asks to see you, says it's important.
"Let him in," Voldemort waved impatiently.
A young black-haired boy with a prominent, slightly hooked nose entered the office cautiously.
"My Lord," he immediately fell to his knees, "I was in Hogsmeade today, at the Hog's Head pub, and I overheard a conversation between Dumbledore and a candidate for the Divination teaching position. At first, the headmaster decided to refuse her and was even about to leave, but she became nervous, stood up to say goodbye, and suddenly her voice changed, becoming low and hoarse, and she uttered a prophecy concerning you, my Lord.
"What did she predict?" Voldemort tensed. Seers were extremely rare in magical England, but their predictions were treated with fear and respect.
"I only managed to hear part of what she said, my Lord. The landlord of the Hog's Head caught me at the door, and I had to run quickly to avoid being caught by Dumbledore. All I heard was: 'He is coming, he who has the power to defeat the Dark Lord... Born of those who three times defied him, born at the end of the seventh month... And the Dark Lord will acknowledge him as his equal..."
"So, the child of prophecy," Voldemort said slowly. "Go, Severus, I am pleased with you. Bring Rudolphus to me, I have some tasks for him.
Voldemort's servants began to gather information about children born at that time to those who had dared to challenge him. There were only two such children. The Potter family and the Longbottom family. And while the Longbottoms were hereditary herbalists, with no truly powerful battle wizards ever born into their family, the Potters were a more ambiguous case.
In ancient times, the Potter family had managed to become related to the Peverells, the oldest of the most famous British families. Of course, they did not receive any gifts from the Peverells, but very powerful wizards were periodically born into their family. And Voldemort did not know what secrets this family might harbour.
"So, I must kill all the Potters, leaving only the girls," he thought. "That way, I can circumvent this cursed prophecy. And then I must capture the prophetess and extract everything she knows from her."
"No one can stop me on my path to power!" Voldemort hissed quietly and immersed himself in reading the documents.
Snape was on good terms with Lucius Malfoy. After Severus graduated from Hogwarts, Lucius had recommended him to Lord Voldemort, given him money to study potions, and generally treated him like a friend.
Now Severus was on his way to the Three Broomsticks, where they had agreed to meet today. Upon entering, Snape saw Malfoy lazily leafing through a newspaper, sitting at a table by the window.
"Hello, Lucius," Snape exhaled emptily, collapsing into the chair next to him.
"You look terrible, my friend," Malfoy smiled sarcastically in response, putting down the newspaper. With a careless wave of his wand, he cast a counter-eavesdropping spell. "Tell me, what's new in scientific circles?"
"I recently heard a prophecy about our Lord and immediately went to inform him. It says that a boy will be born who is likely capable of stopping the Lord," Snape muttered nervously.
Lucius shuddered, for this information could have far-reaching consequences. Moreover, in England, all the old families were related to each other, and he was concerned about his relatives.
Severus quietly read the prophecy aloud, and Malfoy calmed down a little. Among their relatives, there was practically no one who would oppose the Lord, let alone challenge him three times and survive."You know, Severus, I've heard something about the marks, and I don't like it at all. The mark gradually turns us into fanatics, slaves to the Lord, loyal followers of his ideas. Of course, strong wizards with a strong will can resist this for a long time, and the effect itself is gradual and imperceptible. But the fact that we and our families are becoming so dependent frankly frightens me. After a while, we will gladly and proudly give our children and loved ones to the Lord. Simply because he wants us to. We won't even think of resisting; that's how the mark works. What's more, the Lord is unconsciously able to draw our magic and life through it. That's why his powers are so incredible. After all, many famous families have sworn allegiance to him and received the mark as a reward.
Pale Severus Snape looked at Malfoy in disbelief.
"Can't it be removed?" he croaked.
"Yes, we don't know of a way yet," Lucius replied, "but perhaps things will change in the future. Continue to develop your Occlumency, my friend, and you will be able to hold out longer, even without the help of the family altar. You can see how Bellatrix Lestrange has changed. I remember her as a very brave and confident girl who, in her pride and snobbery, could serve as an example to all purebloods. Now she takes every word of the Lord as a revelation from Merlin. She doesn't even respect her husband, even though they were married in a full magical ceremony!"
Lucius sighed heavily and said:
"That's the story, my friend, a sad story. Perhaps you will invent a potion that will help us reduce the influence of the mark. If you need money or any rare ingredients, let me know. Such a potion would be of interest not only to you and me, but to many in our society. Of course, I hope that Lord will win, but being a milk cow forever is not for me.
Once home in Spider's Alley, Snape collapsed wearily into an old, worn armchair. "Damn this life, what am I going to do now?" he thought. He really didn't want to become Lord's obedient lapdog. What's more, Severus had heard today that Lily Evans had given birth to a son by that scoundrel Potter.
"Lily, Lily, how could you?" whispered the boy. "I should be in James's place. Why did this happen?"
Snape sighed bitterly and slumped even further in his chair. James Potter and that idiot Black had deliberately set him up in fifth year so that he would be forced to be rude to Lily. Evans had never liked his circle of friends, the Slytherin faculty.
The Muggle-born witch felt contempt and disgust from most of the students in that house, so she tried to convince Severus to socialise more with students from other houses rather than his own. Bright and uncompromising, the older she got, the more she saw the world in black and white. And so it happened that Severus increasingly found himself on the wrong side. And after that incident, humiliated by Potter and his friends, Snape, in a fit of rage, said everything he thought about the Gryffindors. And then, after Lily tried to justify their actions as a joke, he called her a filthy mudblood.
Later, having calmed down from his rage and anger, he apologised profusely to her, trying to restore their former relationship, but from that moment on, their friendship began to cool. Lily spent more and more time with Potter and Black. Her friend Marlin MacKinnon constantly told her that the poor Snape was not right for her. That it was time to find happiness in life, and that the young and handsome James Potter was constantly looking at Evans with loving eyes.
School flew by quickly, Lily and Potter got married, and Severus stopped following their lives. A deep wound remained in his heart, because she was his best friend and his first love. He blamed himself for the situation and couldn't do anything about it. When he found out that Lily had had a child, he became completely despondent. After meeting Lucius, Snape was summoned to Lestrange Manor, where Rabastan informed him that two families were affected by the prophecy.
The terrible truth was that one of these families was the Potters. Severus did not know what to do. He desperately wanted to save Lily, but he also wanted Potter dead. Finally, he made up his mind, knocked on the door and entered Voldemort's office. Approaching closer, Severus
Snape fell to his knees and said:
"My lord, I beg you to spare Lily Potter's life.
Lord Voldemort frowned:
"Why do you want this mudblood, Snape? You may be a half-blood yourself, but the Prince blood burns in your veins. Your talent for potions is proof of that. If you dilute your ancestors' blood with this Muggle-born, your children may lose the Prince heritage. Is that what you want?"
"No, my Lord. But I have been friends with Lily since childhood, and I don't want her to suffer.
"Very well, I will spare this mudblood for you. You have disappointed me, Severus, but I will give you a chance to prove your loyalty. If you brew me Felix Felicis, I will spare her life.Severus Snape nodded and quietly left the room, thinking about how to fulfil the conditions. This potion was difficult even for a master, and the ingredients cost a fortune. Nevertheless, hoping to save Lily, Severus gathered all the galleons he had managed to save in his purse and rushed to Diagon Alley to buy the ingredients.
In his clouded mind, it did not even occur to him that Lily might not want to live without her son and husband. Snape hoped that she would forgive him and return to him. After brewing the liquid luck potion a week later, Severus took it to Lord Voldemort. A storm raged in his soul. He felt that Lily was in mortal danger and didn't know what else he could do to save her. Finally, he made a difficult decision and Apparated to Hogwarts.
Severus Snape asked for a meeting with Dumbledore and told him that the Dark Lord was planning to kill the Potters.
"What do you want me to say, my boy?" Dumbledore said wearily.
"Save Lily," Snape said imploringly. "I'll do anything to keep her alive!"
"And what about Voldemort? Didn't you ask him to spare her life?" Dumbledore smiled into his beard.
"I did," Snape replied hoarsely, "but I have a bad feeling about this. That's why I'm begging you for help.
"Very well," Dumbledore sighed heavily. "I will try to help you, Severus. I want you to report everything that happens among the Death Eaters. It will help us save many good people who might otherwise be killed."
Snape, who was completely irritated, nodded tightly:
"Y-yes, Headmaster, I promise.
"Now go, Severus, and let me know in advance when the Lord is going to visit the Potters," the old wizard smiled.
The fireplace had long since gone out after Snape's visit, and Albus Percival Wulfric Dumbledore sat in his chair for a long time, pondering the situation: "The boy is a talented potion maker; I may need him in the future."
Truly great wizards do not make plans for a month or a year; they calculate them for decades.
***
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