Father and Son

~Chapter 8~

The trouble with potions...

'I should have known! What has gotten into me to trust those children?' Harry exclaimed angryly, throwing the newspaper onto the kitchen table.

'They are my children!' Ginny reminded him, scowling.

'They are Malfoys through and through. It's the bad blood, Ginny, you can try all you want to bring them up properly, it's all in vain,' Ron pointed out.

'Ron!' Hermione slapped him hard on the arm, glaring at him.

She and Ron had apparated to Potter Hall as soon as they saw the front page of the Daily Prophet.

'What? They obviously tricked us successfully, those cunning little devils. Harry has been suspended from work for the time being, the Department for Magical Law is making inquiries about him and there will be a trial and - if Malfoy goes on like this - we can soon visit him in Azkaban.'

'I don't think the children had anything to do with it. You know, everybody knows that the Daily Prophet is rubbish. Father always mistrusted the Prophet since he found out they are just a cover for the minister's private secret service,' Luna said gloomily looking at the knitting she was doing.

'Love, Minister Bones doesn't have a private secret service,' Harry said, not knowing if he was more annoyed or confused.

'Yes, that's what the minister tells his Aurors,' Luna said, sounding almost sympathetic.

'Secret service or not, but we all know that the Prophet is controllable. The ministry controls it...' Ginny started.

'That's not true. The ministry doesn't control it anymore!' Ron exclaimed indignantly, cutting his sister off.

'Yes, that's what the minister tells his Aurors,' Hermione said, smiling mockingly at Harry and Ron.

'...and the press department of Malfoy Holdings controls it,' Ginny finished her sentence.

'Since when?' Ron asked stunned by this revelation.

'Since before you were born, you moron. Just think of the many articles that were printed when we were at school. Never a bad light on the Malfoys, was there? This department has been highly paid ever since the company was founded in 1722,' Ginny said.

'So you think, Malfoy made them write this?' Harry asked.

'Maybe...' Ginny was constantly contemplating what she should think of Draco's behaviour especially last night's. And she wondered if it was all a show he had put on to fool her into coming back to him again and getting revenge on Harry. There was a time she would have seen through every trick he tried, but now that they had grown apart so much, she didn't know anymore what was real and what was a lie.

'Ginny, Malfoy accuses me of being a paedophilian!' Harry shouted.

'Diana is not a child anymore,' Luna put in.

'Oh, thank you very much, I wouldn't have noticed!' Harry snapped at his wife.

'I hope you didn't,' Ron muttered which earned him a glare from his best friend.

'It's just disgusting! They are accusing me of raping your daughter!'

'Don't exaggerate, no one said something about raping,' Ginny tried to calm him down.

'But I got an invitation for a trial in which I'm accused of having sex with an under-aged witch! They wrote I kissed her! I never even touched her!'

'Harry, we believe you. We are on your side so calm down!' Hermione said forcefully.

Harry sat down and buried his face into his hands.

'Harry, I'll talk to Draco. He will testify that it's all a lie. And Diana will, too.'

'And what if Malfoy doesn't?' Ron asked. 'I think he won't pass up a chance to humiliate Harry. And the children are in it, too, if you ask me.'

'I don't think it's about Harry. It's probably just about me coming home,' Ginny said.

'And I don't think Malfoy would humiliate his own daughter like this,' Hermione contradicted.

'Why is it that you are still on his side?' Ron asked angrily.

'I'm not!'

'Yes, you are!'

'No!'

'Only a lunatic would think that Malfoy has nothing to do with this article!'

'I think he hasn't!' Luna said, still concentrating hardly on her knitting.

Ron had to fight hard against the urge to say something but managed by grabbing one of the blueberry muffins on the table.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

The Malfoy siblings sat in the library of Malfoy Manor, after their father had to leave their conversation for an 'emergency' at Malfoy Holdings. Amaris was doing her homework for potions and had made the twins help her research books. But none of them could really concentrate, because they were still discussing their parents.

'I was on father's side until now. Mum could have told him why she was meeting with Potter,' David said, 'but it seems there is more to this argument than we knew. Father cheated on mum, more than once. I just can't believe it!'

'Do you think mum cheated on him, too?' Amaris asked, looking up from her essay.

'No!' Diana said firmly.

'Don't be so sure Di. We also didn't think father would do it,' David growled.

'Mum obviously wants to get divorced. She could just admit that she had an affair with Harry. Why would she deny it?' Diana pointed out.

'You know what dad thinks about that,' David reminded her.

'I don't believe that. Mum never cared much for money. She always taught us that there are more important things.'

'And what about the custody for us?'

'We are of age next year, David. And we'll be at Hogwarts until then. So it would mean hardly something if any of them got the custody for us.'

'You are right. Mum is a Gryffindor. She's not the type to conceal something. Except if it was to protect her friends...,' Amaris looked pointedly at Diana.

'You mean, she keeps her affair with Harry a secret to protect Harry and Luna's marriage?' David concluded sharply.

'Possible,' Amaris shrugged. 'After all, she knows what it's like to get to know that your husband cheated on you. Perhaps she doesn't want to put her friends through this.'

'You are both wrong! Mum, would never cheat in first place. She's loyal. To her friends and to her family. And she loves dad!' Diana exclaimed, scowling at her siblings.

'I don't know...,' Amaris said, looking sceptical. 'Why would dad be so sure that she cheated on him? I think he's come to know something that we don't know,' she mused.

'And what if she cheated on him? He did it, too! He has no right to judge her.' Diana slammed a heavy old book onto the table where Amaris sat.

'Hey! Careful, Di. This is antique,' Amaris scolded her.

'Don't get your knickers twisted.' Diana rolled her eyes at her elder sister.

Meanwhile, David wandered through the rows of the library to a spot at the far end of it. A huge tapestry hung at the dark wooden wall, reaching from the ceiling to the floor. It showed the Malfoy's family tree. The first name at the top of it, embroidered in silver, was Marcus Filius Malfoy who was married to Selene Slytherin, Salazar's great-granddaughter. Large letters right above those names read:

The Noble House of Malfoy

~ Quod non vetat lex, hoc vetat fieri pudor ~

'What's not forbidden by law, is forbidden by decency' - the old Latin saying was passed on through many generations of Malfoys. It meant, of course, that the Malfoys were not allowed to marry half bloods or muggleborns, although it was not forbidden anymore at the time of Marcus Malfoy as it had been in earlier times.

David's eyes followed the lines of his ancestors. As the Malfoy heir, he had been told a lot about the rich and dark history of his family, although it was nothing in comparison to what Amaris knew about it. She was madly in love with history. When she was ten, she spent a whole summer in learning the family tree by heart, which meant thousands of names to learn in the right timeline. David doubted that anyone in his family had ever known more than she did, now.

'What are you searching for?' Diana asked, suddenly standing beside him.

'Any Malfoys who got divorced,' he responded contemplative.

'You won't find anyone on here.'

David turned to face Amaris who looked adoringly at the tapestry.

'Why? It was not forbidden through the middle-ages, was it?'

'It was difficult and expensive, but not forbidden, no.'

'So?' David asked annoyed with her know-it-all-manner.

'Look at the family saying. What's not forbidden by law...'

'...is forbidden by decency,' Diana ended her sentence.

'It was not forbidden to get divorced but it was frowned upon by society. It was condemned as much as marrying someone that wasn't a pure-blood,' Amaris explained. 'As it is today, by the older generation and those who were brought up properly.'

When Amaris said 'brought up properly', she meant children from honourable pure-blood families. Their mother's liberal education hadn't broken through to her. She preferred the saying of her grandmother's family: 'Toujours pur'.

'But that doesn't mean the Malfoy men didn't have their way of getting rid of their wives,' Amaris continued. 'Did you notice that many of them married two or three times? Not to mention their concubines...'

'I get it, we are all scum.' David smirked.

'Regarding our family's history, we can be glad mum is still alive,' Diana said, her eyes travelling over the family tree.

'Do you think our parents will be the first Malfoys who divorce?' David asked Amaris.

'I don't know. I hope we can prevent it. After all, we are Malfoys, and Malfoys always get what they want.'

'Father is a Malfoy, too,' David pointed out.

'Yes, but it's three against one.' Amaris smirked.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Later Hermione got the chance to talk alone with Harry, while Ron was watching their children and Luna and Ginny were preparing lunch.

Like her husband, she had somehow the feeling that the Malfoy twins had tricked them, though in another way than Ron thought.

'Harry, could I see the flask of Veritaserum you fetched from Knockturn Alley?' she asked innocently.

Harry frowned.

'Sure,' he said, looking suspiciously at her.

He went to the drawer he had put it in yesterday evening and handed it to her.

She looked at it for a moment, shaking it a little and frowned.

'Are you aware of the fact that a sixteen-year-old girl has tricked you?' she asked looking seriously annoyed with him.

'What do you mean?'

'This is not Veritaserum. It's not pure enough and it doesn't shine in the sunlight.'

'What?' Harry asked, flabbergasted.

'It is water,' Hermione said, shaking her head. They had all underestimated the twins' inner Slytherin.

'How can you be so sure?' He still didn't believe what she had told him.

Hermione opened the flask and gulped the clear liquid down.

'What...?'

'Ask me something,' Hermione ordered.

Harry though about it for a moment.

'What went on between you and Viktor Krum?' he asked slyly.

'Nice try, Harry.' Hermione smiled knowingly. Harry and Ron tried to get an answer to that since their fourth year at Hogwarts.

Harry stared at her, his eyes widening when he realized what that meant.

'Yeah, right,' Hermione said, suddenly serious again.

'Are you telling me, the twins exchanged the flask with Veritaserum by this fake-flask?'

'I'd bet on it,' she said, looking gloomily at the empty flask in her hand.

'Why would they do that?'

'Either they don't trust us, or they have other plans with it. Harry, do you know what that means? Veritaserum in the wrong hands is a dangerous potion. Not only can it cause great damage when not handled thoughtfully, but it's an ingredient for a lot of even more dangerous potions that are highly illegal to have or to use. Half of the potions in Moste Potente Potions, you know, that book we used in second year, contain Veritaserum. And Harry, you know what potions are in that book. It's not in the restricted section for no reason!'

'So what are you suggesting? Telling Ginny and admitting we were plotting something against her? Warning Malfoy?'

'That's another problem. Malfoy once told me that Malfoy Manor has one of the biggest private libraries in the whole UK, including a whole range of books that would immediately end up in the restricted section at Hogwarts, if they'd keep them at all. The children are Slytherins. They are Malfoys. And they have all you need to cause enough trouble to get the whole ministry in action. And do you know what's bothering me most of all? I don't have a clue how to stop them!'

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

'You have a plan, Amaris, I can see it in your naughty blue eyes!' David said.

'You can see nothing in my eyes,' Amaris laughed mockingly. She sat down in front of her homework again, picking up her quill.

'I know you are planning something. You are way to calm for the situation,' David insisted, placing himself in front of her.

'I don't know what you are talking about,' Amaris said indifferently, copying some lines from the book in front of her.

'Come on, Amy! You know...'

'Don't call me that!' Amaris snapped at Diana.

Only Sky and her mother were allowed to call her with the nickname from her childhood.

Diana looked at her sister, contemplating.

'She hasn't got a plan,' she decided and turned from the desk they were standing around, continuing her search for potion books.

Amaris looked after her.

'She sounded disappointed. As if I ever had a solution for mum and dad's problems.' She snorted.

'We don't expect a solution for their problems. We want a plan to stop the divorce. A law that says you are not allowed to divorce as a Malfoy, or you lose the Malfoy fortune if you get divorced, or... there'll be a deadly curse. Something creative! Come on, Amaris. We all know that's what you are good at,' David said, daring his sister to give away her secret.

'What am I good at? Deadly curses or something creative?' Amaris sneered, still concentrating on her essay.

'Both!' David snapped annoyed, losing his patience with her.

Diana returned with both arms full of books. She slammed them onto the desk. Heavy dust clouds were hovering through the air.

'All these books about love potions make me want to brew one and force it down their bloody throats,' Diana cursed.

'Yes, fascinating things they are, those love potions. Dangerously attractive,' Amaris murmured, smiling sweetly to herself.

The twins looked at each other.

'You are not suggesting to use a love potion on mum and dad, are you?' David asked Amaris suspiciously.

'No. Are you mad?' she slammed the book in front of her shut. 'A love potion would make everything worse. Most of them only last for a few hours. Don't even think about that. The love people feel because of such a potion is not real. And it's far too difficult to brew such a potion,' Amaris warned them, suddenly serious.

She rolled up her parchment, got up and went to the door of the library.

'What mum and dad need is not a love potion. They need to remember that they are still in love with each other,' she said before closing the door behind her.

'What the hell was that about?' David asked once she was gone.

'I think she told us her plan,' Diana concluded.

'Diana, I don't think she even has a plan.'

'Oh, did I say, she told us 'her' plan? I meant, she told us 'our' plan.'

'What?'

'What we need is indeed a potion. I found an entry about it while searching for Amaris homework.'

'You heard her. No love potions,' David said seriously.

'It's not a love potion. It's something better. And look at this...'

She held up the flask of Veritaserum.

'You nicked it,' David said, surprised.

Diana smirked at him. 'I exchanged it with another one.'

'What was in it?' David asked, smiling knowingly.

'Water. He'll never find out. Mum told me he was worse in potions than you are.'

'So what are we going to do with it?' David changed the topic, unimpressed by her slight attack on his bad potion skills.

'The potion I plan to brew is called memori amor and Veritaserum is one of the main ingredients,' Diana pronounced proudly.

Outside the library, Amaris closed the door silently and smiled into the darkness of the hallway.

'Come on, Di. We all know that's what you are good at. Why should I even try to make up something when you already planned this, you ambitious little snake?' Amaris smirked, knowing her sister's talent in brewing potions.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

'Do you have them?' Diana asked excitedly when David re-entered the library carrying a cauldron of bottles, flasks, and other potion ingredients.

'No, I'm just carrying it around for fun,' David sneered.

She pulled a face at him and took the cauldron from him.

'Show me the book,' he demanded.

'It's over there at the desk,' Diana said, preparing the cauldron and separating the ingredients.

David looked at the book again.

'Diana?'

'Yes?'

'You know that it's not quite legal, don't you?' David asked, raising an eyebrow at her.

'I... We won't tell anybody about it, so there is no one who'll care,' she said, faking self-confidence.

'So what will this potion do?'

'The book says it'll make them remember their love. I don't know exactly how it works. I never heard of it before.'

'So it is a love potion!' David said, looking seriously at Diana.

'No, it's not! According to the official definition, a love potion causes fake feelings that wear off with the potion. The feelings this potions brings out are their own. Just memories. And they will be able to remember them even when the potion has worn off.'

'Do you really think it'll help?' David asked.

'Do you have a better idea? You don't honestly think that Veritaserum plan will work, do you?' Diana asked mockingly.

'No,' David snapped. 'But I've got a bad feeling, doing this.'

'It's just your usual hate on potions,' Diana said and started to pour clear water into the cauldron.

'Show me the book,' she ordered.

David passed her the book and sat down beside her on the wooden floor of the library.

Diana had a look at the ingredient list.

~ Ashwinder eggs

~ Hair of a Unicorn

~ Tropical Pepper Powder

~ Roasted apples

~ Hellebore syrup

~ Moonstone solution

~ Draught of Peace (see book VII for instructions)

~ Sodiumchlorid

~ Russian vodka

~ Amortentia (see page 13)

~ Oak's syrup

~ Tulip's petals

~ Dried lily's stems

~ Daffodil's roots

~ Hydrogeniumacid

~ The wedding bonds

~ Veritaserum (see book XV for instructions)

~ A silver time-turner

'Diana, this is hilarious! How are we supposed to get their wedding bonds? Or a time turner?' David asked having read the list over her shoulder.

'You've got one,' Diana shrugged.

'My time-turner? Are you mad?' David exclaimed in horror.

'You are not allowed to use it anyway. It's just lying around.'

'It is not!' David responded, affronted.

'Yeah, right, I forgot. Your daily time-walk to the middle-ages...' Diana mocked and rolled her eyes. 'Look, it won't be damaged in any way. It will just be lying in the cauldron and when I've finished the potion you can have it back.'

'Undamaged?' David asked suspiciously.

His sister was determined to brew this potion. She would sell her own grandmother to get what she wanted.

'Yes, undamaged!' Diana repeated while cutting some daffodil's roots into small slices.

'You know, I love you Di, but if you break it, I'll break your neck!' David threatened in a casual tone.

Diana remained completely unimpressed by his threat.

'Have a try,' she smiled sweetly.

'Believe me, I will. Anyway, what about the rings? Are we going to ask father and mum for it?'

'We'll nick it. You know what? You could think of something to do, while I brew the potion. And you could fetch the time-turner, I'll need it in a few minutes,' Diana ordered.

'Stop ordering me around like I'm your servant. You are not the Queen of England just because you are able to brew this scum.'

Diana ignored him.

'Bloody witches!' David muttered under his breath while he left the library.

A few minutes later he was back carrying a black velvet casket.

After watching Diana preparing the ingredients for a while, he was starting to feel slightly useless so he offered to help her, although his inner voice was clearly screaming to run for it.

While Diana was stirring the red-glowing potion, David asked seriously: 'What if they don't love each other anymore? Do you think they should still carry on like nothing had changed?'

Diana changed the stirring from clockwise to counter-clockwise.

'I don't know. It doesn't sound right to force them to. But why should people promise each other to stay together for good then? I believe that you can work everything out. Marriage is somehow a choice of someone you want to manage life with, isn't it? You trust that the other one will help you through life until you die and vice versa. Somewhat like a symbiosis. Two species that live close together and depend on each other in various ways. I don't think you need love for that. Though I admit that it's a more than helpful condition.'

'What if it doesn't work anymore, this symbiosis? Father and mum can't live together anymore, and they don't depend on each other.'

'Yes they do! They depend on each other, but they don't want to anymore, and now they are trying to get along without the other one. That's the reason why dad is so miserable!'

She stopped the stirring and poured the vodka into the potion.

'Put in the lilies,' she said, pointing to the flowers David had been preparing.

'I think they will fall in love with each other again. Now two drops of the moonstone solution. They just have to keep living with each other.'

'I hope you are right,' David said.

'All right. It's time for the time-turner.'

David sighed heavily and then stretched his arm out so the small silver hourglass was hovering over the surface of the steaming potion.

The minute he let go of the necklace it was hanging on, Diana realized that the moonstone solution was still standing beside her - untouched.

'Stop!' she shouted.

David grabbed for the time-turner again, fearing it would be ruined, but it was too late.

The hourglass had met the purple surface, like David's hand did only a second later.

As soon as he got hold of the time-turner again within the potion, everything around him went silent.

Then a deafening explosion filled the air.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~