Shadow Council 128B

*****

Malfoy Manor

Narcissa was not having what one might call a ‘good’ summer.

The return of the Dark Lord was honestly not something that she had ever expected to happen, the rhetoric of her Husband notwithstanding. It was, she knew, not something that Lucioushad ever truly believed would happen either.

Death was death, even in the Wizarding World, or it should be.

For him to have been resurrected, he must have delved into the very depths of the blackest magics, Narcissa knew with certainty.

Coming from the Black family, she was well aware that certain magics out there did provide ways to cheat death, for a time at least. None of the ones she knew of, even in the vaguest of ways, were without the darkest of consequences, however. Consequences that far exceeded any possible gain, in the opinion of anyone with any education of the subject.

That the Dark Lord had ignored that did not surprise her nearly as much as it should have, the man… or former man, she supposed, was quite obviously insane.

There were reasons why the strength of the young Purebloods had blossomed onlyafter the Dark Lord met his fate in the Potter’s cottage.

Now, however, she found herself back in those dark times before that fateful night, and that meant that she had a great deal of work to do.

Lucius was providing a buffer between his family and the Dark Lord, the price he was paying for that was not to be pondered on too deeply, but she knew well that it would only hold for just so long. The Dark Lord would not be denied, and if her family were to survive this, they would need to give him reason to leave them be.

Draco was her current concern, however. The young man had been too sheltered, too pampered. His father assumed that he would grow up with values suited to his station, but had forgotten just how hard won those values were in his own life.

And she, in her own foolishness, had allowed it because he was her only son and she had feared that their time together would have been far shorter than it had proven to be.

His foolish bluster will draw the Dark Lord’s ire, sooner than later if left to Draco’s own initiative, Narcissa knew without doubt.

The recent events in the Wizengamot had illustrated that quite clearly.

Really, I told Lucius that my sister was managing young Harry. How could he have thought that weak trap would have a chance? Even as a distraction, they were incredibly lucky that the splash back had been limited to Fudge.

That Cornelius somehow believed that he had escaped the worst still amused her.

Andromeda had told him that she was gunning for his career, did he really believe that she would forget it simply because the boy had easily sidestepped the trap?

Laughable.

Quite frankly, they were incredibly lucky that the Boy hadn’t demanded satisfaction then and there, as he had threatened. The Minister’s toad couldn’t have stood against him on her best day versus his worst, of that Narcissa was quite certain.

Why Andromeda allowed her to escape, Narcissa still wasn’t entirely certain. She would need to ask her sister for more details when they next managed to meet. For the moment, however, it was clear that Potter had earned a significant slice of respect from the Traditional Families for merely calling her on her temerity.

The Dark families would have preferred to see him follow through, of course, but Tradition dictated that you warn someone that they were treading close to the line before you brought down the wand on their skulls.

An owl arriving shook her from her thoughts, and she snapped her fingers twice to draw it over to her where she relieved it of its burden.

“Treats are in the normal place,” Narcissa said, not looking up from the scroll she was unfolding.

The owl hooted twice before hopping away and taking flight, presumably to retrieve some of the treats she kept a supply of for this very purpose.

Oh my, this is interesting indeed. I had nearly forgotten…

Narcissa rolled up the scroll again, considering it for a moment before she crossed the room with purpose. The scroll was tossed into the fireplace as she passed, its contents consigned to the smoke as she focused on what to do next.

*****

The Burrow

“Welcome back, mate,” Ron grinned as Harry approached with Auror Tonks at his side. “About bloody time they got you out of that place.”

“Can’t say I wouldn’t have preferred to be here,” Harry admitted with a smile, “but I’ve had things to do.”

“Bloody right you did, we heard. Did you really challenge someone to a duel?” Ron asked, hands spreading wide in a questioning gesture.

“Nah, just said that I might have to it she kept calling me a liar,” Harry said. “Mrs Tonks said that she wouldn’t take me up on it.”

“Blimy,” Ron said. “Mental, man, you are mental.”

Tonks snorted, “The toad wasn’t going to take a chance. Not sure I’ve ever even seen her cast a spell, and ickle Harry here has a reputation, especially for a midget.”

“Oi,” Harry objected, “I’m not that small anymore.”

“Still pretty small, if you ask me, Mate,” Ron grinned down at him from where the lanky Redhead was clearly close to topping six feet compared to Harry’s decidedly slimmer and shorter five foot nine.

“Traitor.”

Tonks laughed at them both, but stopped and held up a hand, “Before I forget, Mom passed me this for you, Harry.”

Harry looked at the letter that had appeared in her hand, noting that it had a wax stamp that looked familiar sealing the envelope shut.

“What is it?”

“See the seal?” She asked.

Harry looked closer and his breath stopped.

“What?” Ron blinked, “What is it? I don’t get it.”

“It’s the Seal of the Realm, Ron,” Harry said. “That’s a letter from her Majesty.”

“If Mom is right, it’s an invitation to a party,” Tonks told him. “But you’ll need to confirm.”

“Right.”

“Her Majesty?” Ron looked confused. “The Muggles’ Queen?”

“Our Queen, Ron,” Tonks reprimanded sharply. “Her power is reduced in the Magical Realm, much as it has been in the Muggle, but she is our Queen as well.”

She turned her focus back to Harry, “Mom expects that her Majesty is aware that you’ve revealed yourself to the Magical World, so she wants you to present to the Muggle as well.”

Harry had an ashen look as he accepted the letter, “I… suppose that does seem the right thing to do. I’ll check in private and contact Mrs Tonks.”

“Good boy, now go on. No need to be too worked up over it,” Tonks shooed them both away. “I don’t believe her Majesty is too put out with you just yet. Though, best to keep it that way, yeah?”

“Yeah,” Harry nodded fervently as he pocked the letter. “thanks, Tonks.”

*****

Harry spent some time with the Weasleys, basking in the warmth the family exuded without half trying, but ultimately he made his excuses and ducked up to the bedroom he would share with Ron in order to open up the letter from Her Majesty.

It was hand written, with the sort of calligraphic scrolling lettering that you normally only saw on the telly, if then, but it was much as Andromeda had suggested it might be.

An invitation to the Mage Knight of the Realm.

Ostensibly it was only that, a sort of come if you want to heads up, but between the lines even he couldn’t miss the message.

He served at Her Majesty’s pleasure, and she would be pleased if he presented himself.

The alternative was quite obvious.

More of an issue, though, was that the invitation was for him, yes, but also for a date… and, as the Mage Knight he was expected to have attendants slash bodyguards as well.

Harry tried to think of who could fill those roles, but few names came to mind. In the Magical world, any of the Weasleys would be able to fill the roles but Harry didn’t want to think of what would happen if he brought Ron into a state party hosted by Her Majesty.

I need some advice…

He reached for a pen and paper, “Hedwig, I need a letter delivered to Mrs Tonks.”

The snowy owl hooted easily as she hopped over to him.

*****