Chapter 10.

There were so many questions that Draco wanted to ask, there were so many things he wanted to tell Father, but he just couldn't find any words.

Draco felt Father's large warm hand slowly patting his head, and heard Father's soothing voice: "Oh my dear dragon, my Draco, my precious son."

The last time Father held and patted Draco like this, it was when Draco almost died from the blood-cooling charm, which was just about a million years ago. Now, Draco wanted to stay like this forever. He didn't want to think about the world outside this suitcase, he didn't want to save wizarding Britain from being attacked by enemies and "allies" on a daily basis, he didn't want to deal with Harry's weird ideas nor Hermione's kindness nor Madam Bones' resentments nor Mad-Eye's righteousness, he just wanted to be his Father's boy again.

Draco wanted to grab Father's robes tighter, then he suddenly realized that he was still holding Father's wand. This broke the trance. Draco raised his head from Father's shoulder, and awkwardly handed Father's snake-headed wand stick back to him while sniffing: "Father, your wand."

Father looked at his wand with some longing, then smiled: "No, Draco, you will continue to hold the family wand."

Then Draco remembered the pain Father had been in just minutes ago, and Father had also said something about Snape saving him the thirty-eight times in the past five days. He… he might lose Father, again.

-But NO, I shall not. The Boy-Who-Lived, in his stupidity and naivety, has done one good thing. He has made the power of the Stone available to everyone, even including...

-Even including the Death Eaters who are currently held in Nurmengard.

Draco realized in dawning horror: whatever was wrong with Father, if he went to beg Harry for help, Harry would heal Father, and then send Father to Nurmengard.

-No, there got to be some way to save Father without losing him to prison. Maybe I can send Father to the Healing Center under a false identity, with some disguise, and the Stone can make the transfiguration permanent. Yeah, that's the plan. And Father can later get married with Mother, and we can live openly together. Father wouldn't mind using a lesser identity, would he?

"Father, what, what was the previous pain about?" Draco suppressed his sniffing and asked.

Father handed Draco a handkerchief from a pocket of his plain robes.

The handkerchief was nowhere near the ones that Father had used, the fabrics were too rough, the design was ugly, and there was no magic on it. An inferior muggle product, maybe. But Father was always prepared. Draco even had a much better handkerchief in his own pocket, but he still took Father's and began to wipe out his tears.

Father casted some anti-spying charms around them with a disposable wand as Draco wiped his face and surveyed the inside of the suitcase for the first time. Just from the size of it, Draco could tell that this wasn't cheap, and the carpet looked new as well. The furniture was too simple for the taste of British elites, but it had a sense of "modern" design Draco knew from Mother's magazines that some articles written for political correctness reasons mentioned. There were potion books and magazines on the bookshelves. On a rack besides the sofa, there were some bottles of potions, a first-aid kit, and something else that Draco thought he might have seen from Harry's muggle medical collections. For sure, this suitcase belonged to Snape, and it was purchased from somewhere people interact with muggles more, say, the United States. It seemed that the man had a lot of money in his pocket recently, yet the taste was still poor.

But Snape's aesthetics were the least of Draco's concerns now. He could tell that it was strenuous for Father to cast some of the charms, charms that even he could cast if he put his might into it, and the wand wasn't exactly matching, either.

-So, whatever is inflicting Father's body must have affected Father's magic as well. That's more problematic, the Stone doesn't remove curses.

After six or seven spells, Father stopped, swaying a little bit, and smiled bitterly. "Well, if Severus really wants to know, he will know anyway. Let's sit down, Draco."

Draco sat down on one of the two sofas in the room, and Father sat down beside him.

Father looked at Draco in the eyes, care and a hint of worry showing in those grey-blue eyes. "Draco, there are matters that I have to tell you, and some of them can only be passed from one living mind to another. There are also information I cannot disclose to you yet, and I shall tell you so."

Draco gulped, he knew this was not a good sign. His life near the Boy-Who-Lived was full of important secrets already. Draco hoped against hope Father's secret would not involve Harry, otherwise, otherwise...

"First, I am a snake animagus, a Blue Krait to be exact." Father said with a smile.

Draco almost broke into tears again: his patronus really did represent Father, and that's a tie that nothing could break. If Draco didn't remind himself that he was in front of Father, he might have jumped up with joy. Oh, well, his snake patronus that he forgot to get back actually leapt to Father's lap, and Father just petted it, which made Draco blush a little.

Then Father hissed to Draco's patronus, which sounded quite similar to Harry's hisses when he saw Draco's patronus for the first time.

"Father, you are a Parselmouth?" Draco asked in astonishment.

-Did Father feel disappointed when he found out that I am not?

Father shook his head. "Not by birth, my son. But it would come naturally when you become a snake animagus, then it is much easier to learn to speak when you are in human form."

Draco felt much reassured. Animagus was something that could be learnt, and becoming an animagus was part of Harry's plan for every friend, anyway.

Father continued. "And there is something else that comes with Parseltongue. You cannot tell direct lies in it, Lord Slytherin made sure of that."

Maybe Draco had spent too much time together with Harry, he immediately saw how this could be useful in getting closer to Lord Harry, and how this could be used in Harry's weird plots. No, he had to stop thinking about Harry's unpredictable plots now.

"And it is also my belief that you have mastered the art of directing people to think falsehoods with true statements." Father said. "I need to remind you of another matter, the understanding and speaking of Parseltongue are not as uncommon as some arrogant Parselmouth might think. I suspect, among the more than one hundred languages Albus Dumbledore spoke, Parseltongue might have been one of them. And Parseltongue can be learnt from paintings, and a large number of Malfoy paintings can teach you if it is the case that your animagus form is not a snake."

Draco wanted to ensure Father that he would be a snake, but that wasn't the sort of thing that you could actually determine yourself.

As if reading Draco's mind, Father smiled and said: "Rest assured, my dragon, serpent and dragon are both on the Malfoy family crest, and both of them are common animagus forms of Malfoys."

Draco remembered the wyvern and snake on the family crest (which they now needed to hide because "Sanctimonia Vincet Semper", or "Purity Will Always Conquer", was no longer politically correct). He felt strangely better now.

"And here, it comes to some information that I knew of before my death, partially due to my understanding of Parseltongue." Father said flatly.

Draco's breath became rapid. Then as Father directed a blank look toward him, Draco quickly controlled himself.

Father's voice became a little strained. "My son, you are close to Harry Potter now, so you must know. After I was summoned to the graveyard, it seemed to me, both the Dark Lord and the Boy-Who-Lived seriously believed that according to a Prophecy, Harry Potter might destroy the world if things around him went wrong. And that was why the Dark Lord revived the Granger girl."

-Err, what? I know there is something not quite adding up in Harry's story, but the Dark Lord intentionally resurrected Hermione? And Harry was really there, as some people speculated? And a Prophecy about him destroying the world?

"And to further ensure that the Boy-Who-Lived would not destroy the world, the Dark Lord forced me to be the binder of an Unbreakable Vow. The contents of which was," Father drew in a breath, as if remembering something harsh, "I vow that I shall not by any act of mine destroy the world. I shall take no chances in not destroying the world. If my hand is forced, I may take the course of lesser destruction over greater destruction, unless it seems to me that this Vow itself leads to the world's end, and the friend in whom I have confided honestly agrees that this is so. By my own free will so shall it be."

Draco was first stunned at the content of the vow, and then he realized that Father was the binder, and that explained why Father's magic…

Draco gulped. He knew since he was little that what you lost in a sacrificial ritual could never be regained. And Father would be weak, forever.

Father patted the snake on his lap, as if not paying too much attention to his own magic. "Draco, you see, the matters revolve around the Boy-Who-Lived may get very dangerous. It is my understanding that Britain is already on the brim of a wizarding world war. And according to Severus, maybe due to his exhaustion, he let it slip that there is a muggle thing called a 'nuclear weapon' that Harry Potter may master, the use of which may induce a chain reaction from all muggle governments, which may lead to the end of the world."

The "nuclear weapon" thing, Draco had heard Hermione talked about it once, and Harry quickly stopped her. At that time, Draco thought it might be some secret that he was not to know. Now it seemed that a lot more wizards knew about this weapon than he thought. At least, Snape knew about it, and he let it slip to Father. Snape was not the type of person who would let some really important secret slip, so the muggle "nuclear weapon" might not be that secretive at all. Therefore, Draco would look it up.

"My son, I greatly regret that I must say such things to you at such a young age, and I may not be in a position to guide you as I wish I could," Sadness and sorrow appeared in Father's eyes, "Since you are close to the Boy-Who-Lived, and you are probably the only person to whom he may choose to confide in that is not blinded by good will or political correctness."

Father's left hand was on Draco's shoulder now, and he felt as if the whole world was put on his slender shoulders. Well, in a sense, the whole world WAS on his shoulders now, and it had been for a while without him noticing it.

Father's hand was firm, as well as his words. "You must maintain Harry Potter's trust at all cost, even if it means that you concede to the Girl-Who-Revived; you must stop Harry Potter at every possible corner from using powerful weapons, magical or not, that may cause apocalyptic disasters; you must evaluate his every political movement carefully, no matter how trivial or harmless it may seem at the time, and imagine all the possible dangers it may cause. I shall try my best to help you if my involvement is allowed and desired, but you must keep all information from me if my interference may lead to greater danger."

Draco felt his mouth dry. He sort of already guessed out the danger Harry might cause, but nobody really put it like that. Draco had imagined Hogwarts on fire because of Harry, or maybe all the residents in Hogsmeade got slaughtered, or the Ministry of Magic and the Most Ancient Hall became rumbles, but nothing like THAT. And Father might not be there to help.

Then another part of Father's words caught Draco's attention: You must maintain Harry Potter's trust at all cost. Father had told him that it was OK to be in the third place for this game, which was a relief. But Draco also understood another cost Father had implied: Father intended it to be himself. He was going to turn himself in, so that he would not be a liability, and Draco would not lose Harry's trust once the Boy-Who-Lived found out.

No, Draco couldn't let that happen. He couldn't lose Father again. He needed to think of something.

Father's hand tightened on Draco's shoulder, his voice grim. "As for my death, I honestly have no idea what killed me, and you are not to know, nor to ask for details. All I know for sure is, the Dark Lord did not succeed in killing Harry Potter, but was vanquished by him instead. For whatever was used in that process by the Boy-Who-Lived, be it magical or not, you are not to know, and you are not to inquire."

Draco swallowed and nodded. He understood that part well, or, he thought he did. The Dark Lord probably sacrificed all the Death Eaters there just to eliminate Harry's existence from the world, but it somehow rebounded, or something of sorts. Whatever that was, Draco was not to know.

"As for my revival, I suspect Severus stole my head, and preserved it well. He certainly recreated my body with the ritual that the Dark Lord used on the Granger girl." Father's eyes grew a bit distant now, as if trying to remember something. "And to make me breath again, Severus used his patronus. At least, that was the case when my heart stopped three days ago. I faintly remember seeing Severus' patronus. If it were not my hallucination, then that patronus must be very bright. I remember you told me that the Boy-Who-Lived's patronus was very bright as well. I suspect that that strange patronus must be one of the key elements. And in Severus' annoyance to my tirade of gratitudes," Father smiled a sly smile, "He said he might lose his will to kill me in the ritual, though I shall not rely too much on it. But what he said right after he revived me, that he preferred me to live than to die, is highly likely to be true, and is likely to be a key element in the ritual as well."

Draco was not sure after hearing this.

-The whole resurrection thing must be very dark and dangerous, right? The Dark Lord disappeared soon after he revived Hermione, and there's something horribly wrong with Father's resurrection. Why did Father tell me all this? Does he feel he may not have chance to tell me later?

As Draco's brain was forming the worst hypothesis to explain Father's behavior, Father continued to speak: "Severus was quite successful in a large part of the ritual, but he lacked one of the key elements, the Stone. Since the ritual seemed to be transfiguration in nature, without the original Stone, my body will become air again without Severus' constant magical input."

-Oh, wait, the ritual is transfiguration in nature? Transfiguration rituals are not that dark, you just need to be careful not to let transfigured things get into your body. And with the Stone, the transfiguration can be fixed in form, and Father would be fine.

Now Draco felt much better about knowing the key elements of the revival ritual, where knowledge could only be passed from one living mind to another.

Then Father's face became very serious, and his hand stern like steel. "Draco, I need to tell you some lore that did not make sense to me before, some riddle that I only resolved very recently, and something that could be the last resort for Malfoys. Remember the bedtime stories about our ancestor, Armand Malfoy, the first Malfoy in Great Britain?"

Draco nodded. He remembered history of the family well.

According to what Father told Draco, Armand Malfoy had served Lord Slytherin well when Lord Slytherin was in his old age, and became his trusted lieutenant. In the meanwhile, he also served in the courts of the muggle Duke of Normandy. In 1066, with Armand's help, the Duke won the Battle of Hastings, thus became King of England. For his service, Armand was awarded with land and the castle which later became Malfoy Manor. The later part gave Draco quite the shock when he first heard it, and Father had told Draco to keep that part of the family history secret.

After Father signed the deal with Harry, Father told Draco more about the family history. Before the passing of the International Statute of Secrecy, Malfoys were more involved in muggle business than they openly admitted today. A number of Malfoys had been respected counselors of many kings and queens. It was rumored that Queen Elizabeth I and the first Lucius Malfoy were secret lovers. But since she was a muggle, Lucius Malfoy I couldn't marry her. She was so heartbroken that she refused to marry anyone, and stayed single for life. Just by looking at Father, Draco could easily imagine how a muggle noble woman's heart would fall for his ancestor.

And the gist of the stories was, Malfoys must not marry people with inferior blood status, even if it were the Queen or King of England; but Malfoys could surely take wealth and power from muggles, as long as it was convenient and nobody in the wizarding world knew about it.

"I shall tell you lore that my Father told me, which was also told to him by his Father. It was said that Armand Malfoy, a wyvern animagus and Lord Slytherin's most trusted lieutenant, was hit by a slow lethal curse in a battle. After slaying all his enemies, upon Armand's own request, Lord Slytherin killed Armand in his animagus form, and made his heartstring, the only part that had not been affected by the curse yet, the core of the Malfoy family wand. It was made so that it would suit every Malfoy heir. And this wand, is said to be the Malfoy family's last resort." Father's voice was stern. "I did not fully understand why this wand was called the last resort before. A powerful wand for sure, but it is much less powerful than the Elder Wand. I pondered this for a long time without answers. Somewhere in history, the real knowledge of the wand was lost. I had left you a letter about the story of the wand I knew before I died, but it seems that that is unnecessary now. I did not fully understand the lore until I was revived. It seems that my head was least affected by the diminishing power of transfiguration, so I suspected that Severus must have preserved my head by magic, and used it for the resurrection ritual. And it was my understanding that Granger's body was missing after she died, and that must be what was used in the ritual that resurrected her. Therefore, with part of the body, people can be revived. However, a problem presents itself in this way: someone who is as determined and as powerful as Severus may preserve part of the body of the deceased for several years, or maybe a hundred years, but nobody would really care about someone who died thousands of years ago. And the best way to make sure that part of your body is preserved over history -"

Father smiled slyly. His hand left Draco's shoulder, and gently touched the Malfoy family wand.

And Draco got it.

-It is to make your body part of a very useful heirloom, a powerful wand for example, so there will be constant input of magic to preserve your body part. And later on, maybe you will have an offspring who is clever enough to figure out the revival ritual, and you will be resurrected. Lord Slytherin might know such ritual existed, but he probably didn't know the details or the key elements, so he preserved his trusted lieutenant's heartstring in a family wand. And if Harry's actions may really lead to the end of the world, then I should resurrect Armand Malfoy, and ask for his help. Even if I have to do it without the real Stone, Armand may still live for a few hours, and that's probably enough time for passing down some really powerful magic to prevent the destruction of the world.

Draco smiled: Lord Slytherin was very cunning indeed. In this way, the Interdict of Merlin can be bypassed. And I wonder if he left part of himself somewhere as well. Harry hasn't really looked for the Chamber of Secrets, has he?

Just as Draco started to contemplate how to find the Chamber of Secrets, he remembered that he was supposed to stop Harry from destroying the world, and he probably should not do anything dangerous.

Sometimes, Draco really thought murdering Harry was a good idea for the world, or even the entire universe. But since the Dark Lord sacrificed thirty-six Death Eaters to do that, yet failed and got himself vanquished, Draco guessed he probably shouldn't try the same thing.

After a moment of silence, Father spoke with a hint of nervous that was different from something that could end the world: "Draco, how is your Mother?"

Note:

Malfoy family crest can be seen from Harry Potter Film Wizardry. It is green and silver in color, and has a wyvern and serpents on it. The family motto is "Sanctimonia Vincet Semper" on the crest, and it means "Purity Will Always Conquer". And some of the Malfoy family history comes from Pottermore, and of course, twisted in the eyes of Malfoys. (In Pottermore, Lucius Malfoy I failed in his attempt to woo Queen Elizabeth I, and hexed her. Nothing was mentioned about the relationship between Armend Malfoy and Salazar Slytherin.) And in an interview, the actor of Lucius Malfoy said that the family wand was about one thousand years old, and had been passed down from generation to generation.