Harry Potter: Reborn as Draco Black Chapter 2 2 — The First Curse

"Right, sweetheart. Today is finally the day you will break your first curse. Until now, you've studied many curses in theory, from simple to fairly complex. I've demonstrated them to you, and using the specialized spectacles, you've learned to see them and understand how to unravel them correctly."

"Yes, Mother Bella."

I gave a short nod, and she placed a gold plate in front of , onto which she imdiately applied, right in front of , one of the simplest curses in existence. It wasn't even truly a curse in the full sense of the word, but rather a jinx whose essence was that whoever touched the gold plate would suffer from diarrhea.

"Right then. First, tell about this curse."

"Well..."

I studied the jinx more carefully.

"...you've been a little creative with it. It's most likely a personal spell, cast sowhat hastily. I can see at least five weak points. Applying pressure to any one of them ought to make it collapse. By standard classification, this isn't even really a curse; it's more of a jinx. Normally, jinxes are placed directly on people, of course, but the modification that allows it to affect an object is an interesting one. From what I can read in the lines of the jinx, its essence is that whoever touches the gold plate will suffer from severe diarrhea, and from the amount of power you've put into the spell, I'd estimate the victim will suffer for at least three days."

Bella gave a brief nod.

"Correct so far. What else can you tell about this curse?"

"It will dissipate on its own in roughly a week. As far as I can tell, this sort of effect could easily be more dical than harmful, useful for anyone suffering from severe constipation."

"Pff..."

"Don't snort. You asked to tell you as much detail as possible. So..."

I examined the jinx's lines once more, carefully.

"A less experienced wizard simply wouldn't be able to cast this spell, which would be the best-case scenario. In the worst case, it would have exploded at the tip of their wand and attached itself to the caster."

"What is the reason for that?"

Bella tilted her head, studying with interest.

An imperfect verbal formula and an imperfect wand movent, as I said; the jinx was most likely created in haste. That is understandable, really: a perfect curse from you, even the simplest one, would be extraordinarily difficult for to break. Nearly impossible. You held the jinx together through sheer force of will, not allowing it to deviate from your intent.

"Good. Now tell about the thods of breaking it."

"Hmm..."

I looked more closely at the jinx on the gold plate.

"...five points. Applying pressure to any of them will simply destroy the jinx. But this thod is only applicable when the curse or jinx has been placed on an inanimate object, because the energy release could cause a living person's condition to worsen..."

"I'm glad you understand that. And yes, you are largely right about the way the spell was constructed, though, had I wished to, I could have produced a far more refined spell in the sa amount of ti. However, many wizards these days have co to prefer quick solutions. That includes curse-breaking, and as long as the object in question is inanimate, things generally turn out fine, but when it cos to living beings..."

Bella shook her head, clearly disapproving of this approach.

"...and even with inanimate objects..."

"I understand..."

I nodded to show that I did indeed understand precisely what Mother was referring to.

"...if the spell is more powerful than the one you cast, and the energy within it is not neutral. If it's necrotic, for instance, or elental, then breaking such a jinx or curse too rapidly could injure the wizard who perford it."

"Exactly."

She smiled with satisfaction, stepped around the table, and ruffled my hair.

"Now then, sweetheart, break the curse on the object. Use the gentlest thod."

"As you say..."

I nodded, took my wand, and cast several diagnostic spells. Once satisfied that what I had seen through the spectacles was accurate, I began gradually unraveling the jinx from the object. It did not take long, and though this was my first ti untangling a spell, I managed it without difficulty.

"Done..."

I gave my wand a theatrical little shake, as though flicking sothing dirty and unpleasant from its tip, then slid it back into the holster at my wrist and nodded toward the gold plate.

"...the jinx has been lifted."

"Good. I'll verify that now, and if you have indeed done everything correctly, we'll try unraveling sothing slightly more complex."

With that, Mother began layering one diagnostic weave after another, but in the end she could do nothing but smile with satisfaction and ruffle my hair again with maternal pride.

"Perfectly done. Let's try sothing more challenging."

Bella quickly applied a more complex spell to the sa gold plate, still sothing that could be classed as a jinx, but noticeably more so.

"Well..."

I examined the jinx on the object.

...this is still more of a jinx than a true curse, but this ti it is considerably more refined. Only two breaking points; the lines are woven far more tightly, and the effect itself is...

I studied what I could see and cast a few diagnostic spells to confirm my eyes were not deceiving .

"Er... it makes whoever touches it impotent?"

"Correct. Now break it..."

That sa evening.

"Kreacher."

"Kreacher is here, Young Master."

He was the old house-elf who had served the House of Black for generations. Unfortunately, the sa Dobby who had apparently been such a fine creature in the books had to be put down. He had co into contact with the diary and hadn't been strong enough to keep from going completely mad. Kreacher hadn't escaped the ntal influence either, but he was stronger, and over the years since the Horcruxes had been moved to a secured vault, he had managed to recover.

"Has Mom Cissy arrived yet?"

"Yes. Mistress Cissy is speaking with Mistress Bella. They are awaiting Young Master Draco in the small dining room."

"Good..."

I stretched, straightened the dressing gown I'd been wearing around the room after my bath, and headed downstairs. Of course, a couple of years ago such behavior would have been completely unacceptable to my mothers, and Grandmother Walburga still winced slightly when she saw like this, but at least they no longer lectured about it.

"The Young Master ought not to walk about the house in such a state..."

I stopped, half-turned to look at Kreacher, and raised an eyebrow.

"Do we have guests?"

"No, but Mistress Walburga will be displeased."

"Grandmother..."

I shook my head.

...she's from a previous generation and doesn't understand that the future requires bringing sothing new into one's life. So why not choose to abandon stuffiness as that sothing new, at least within the family circle? Perhaps it was precisely that stuffiness that drove Sirius out of the house in the first place?

"Kreacher disagrees, but Kreacher will not argue with the Young Master. The Young Master is very strong and magically gifted. The Young Master will do everything his own way when he grows up, regardless."

"Good, then I'm off. And please make a cup of coffee with three spoonfuls of sugar and milk."

"Kreacher will do so."

As he spoke, Kreacher's expression tightened with faint disapproval; to him, milk belonged in tea alone. Coffee was a noble drink that ought not to be diluted. But I cared little about his opinion. I didn't enjoy black coffee, so I took mine with sugar and milk.

I ca down from my room and headed to the small dining room.

"Mum Cissy, Mum Bella, Grandmother Walburga."

"Grandson, what is this you're wearing?"

Despite the stern tone, I could see Grandmother had already resigned herself to my appearance, had even co to expect it.

"Grandmother, I see no sense in putting on formal robes when we're among family, and if we were expecting guests, you would have had the house-elf tell so."

I shrugged.

"So I see no reason to demonstrate what a fine, well-bred gentleman I am."

"Grandson..."

"Gran, we've been over this. Go tell Dumbledore that his garish robes and well-known obsession with sweets are unbecoming of a man in his position, that the Supre Mugwump ought to dress accordingly..."

Grandmother winced slightly.

"You are not Albus."

"No, but if I waste ti selecting appropriate robes just to eat with family, I'll never beco anyone worth ntioning. There won't be ti left for training."

"Mother..."

Cissy placed her hand over Walburga's.

"...it isn't worth it. Draco knows perfectly well who he is and what House he cos from. At the few events Bella and I have taken him to, he's conducted himself as a perfectly worthy representative of high society."

"I know, I know..."

Grandmother sighed.

"but you understand I don't have many years left, and..."

"Gran, don't talk nonsense. You'll be around to see great-grandchildren yet..."

"Speaking of great-grandchildren... since you've raised the subject yourself..."

A thoroughly satisfied smile appeared on Grandmother's lips.

"...you're already acquainted with all the most eligible young ladies of British society, so it's high ti we arranged a preliminary betrothal."

"Mother!"

Cissy and Bella rose from the table in perfect unison, palms flat on the surface, leaning slightly toward their mother, my grandmother.

"Yes, daughters?"

Walburga looked at her girls with a faintly amused expression. In truth, they were only her nieces, of course, but just as with and Bella, she simply could not bring herself to address them any other way. Neither she nor my mothers would have accepted anything different.

"Are you saying I am wrong?"

"I think..."

Bella was the first to collect herself and slowly sank back into her chair. She looked unnaturally tense as she did so, her already perfect posture growing even more rigid.

"Our family has already been burned by arranged marriages. And I would not want our son to go through what Cissy and I did. Yes..."

She raised a hand, cutting off whatever Grandmother had been about to say.

"...he is the future head of the family, and much of what we endured will never threaten him. But as the examples of Lucius and my late husband and his brother have shown..."

Bella's lips curved into a contemptuous smile as she ntioned the dead n.

"...not even the most ironclad marriage contract will protect a man from an angry and unhappy woman."

"And do you truly believe our grandson would be the sa kind of wretch as those n?"

"No..."

It was Mom Cissy who answered Grandmother.

"...our son would never beco like them. But as we know very well, a woman can be hurt by any number of things. So dismissing the possibility that a chosen bride might harbor resentnt towards Draco would be unwise."

"Very well..."

Walburga exhaled.

"...but I had to raise the matter, particularly since we have received a proposal from the Greengrasses regarding exactly such a betrothal. They are being rather crafty about it, of course..."

"Ha ha ha!"

Cissy laughed at her mother's words.

"What is so amusing?"

"Simply that they are being crafty. Very crafty indeed. I cannot say everything, but what they need from us is a service, free of charge, that only our son can provide."

"A vow?"

Cissy gave only a nod in response to Grandmother's question.

"I see... so they decided to trick us..."

"Grandmother..."

I decided to draw their attention.

"Yes?"

"Why don't we play that card?"

"Play that card?"

"Well, yes..."

I nodded, and a scheming smile crept onto my lips.

"...why not agree to the proposal, but on the condition of a full dical examination, and then, once the truth cos out..."

A gleam of understanding lit up Grandmother's eyes.

"Squeeze compensation out of them in exchange for our silence!"

"Better still..."

I shook my head.

"Better still?"

"Yes... it's my understanding that one is not permitted to bring one's own house-elves to Hogwarts..."

I watched carefully to gauge everyone's reaction.

"...but what if the house-elf in question were a well-bred young witch who would be attending Hogwarts anyway?"

"The Greengrasses would never give up their daughter as compensation..."

"And who said anything about compensation?"

I interrupted Grandmother.

"Forgive , Grandmother, for cutting you off, but I was not suggesting compensation at all. I was simply proposing that we play the card of the aggrieved noble family: one prepared to sever all ties with the Greengrasses, thereby denying them even the chance of having the curse broken. Then, in a private conversation, we make it clear that no amount of money will induce us to take on the work. And then... once they have been driven to desperation, we offer them this: they give us their elder daughter. As a personal attendant. My personal attendant."

"Hmm..."

Both mothers and Grandmother studied intently.

"...of course, I am not particularly well-versed in intrigue, and the way I see the situation may be a touch..."

I waved my hand vaguely.

"...but I think you've grasped my idea and will be able to arrange things so that the Heir of the House of Black ends up with a personal attendant who, while lacking a family na of her own, at least cos from a well-bred background."

"Grandson..."

Walburga examined carefully, and I raised an eyebrow questioningly.

"...I am proud of you. Now then, daughters, how do we go about pulling this off?"

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