Bonds of Servitude Ch. 19 (Patreon)

Narcissa found herself tumbling into bed. Harry's lips were firmly attached to hers, and his hands were roaming wildly all over her body.

Around them, the others were beginning to undress as the sheer euphoria of the moment sank in. Tom had opted to remain outside of the villa, knowing how quickly things could go off the rails.

For Narcissa, there was no gap. One moment, she had been slowly dying in the darkened halls of Malfoy manor, the next, she awoke feeling rejuvenated, feeling better than she had ever felt in her life

And yet, her body knew. Her body knew it had been far too long since she'd been amongst the living, and it craved the touch of the young boy that always made her swoon.

Harry kissed her with so much love and desperation. He held her as if he were afraid she would disappear the moment he let her go.

They were both crying as the full weight of his body fell on her. Their tears were both bitter and sweet, and there was nothing they could do to stem their tide.

And so, their kiss was saltier than Narcissa remembered, but that did not take away from how sublime it felt.

Harry slipped into her and Narcissa threw her head back, shouting in pure blissful joy. She screamed to the heavens as his marvelous cock filled her, and before she knew it, her heat was exploding outward and she came undone on his cock.

“H-Harry!” She whimpered as she came just from his first penetration. Harry did not let up, though, and his head was nuzzling into her bosom, taking her nipple into his mouth as he suckled like a hungry child nursing from his mother.

Narcissa wrapped her arms around Harry as his young body sunk into her softness. His hands were squeezing her thick ass, and his cock began to drive in and out of her velvet pussy, causing her vision to fill up with stars.

Her orgasm never subsided, instead evening out into one interminable peak. She felt a tongue slip into her mouth and she just kissed back, only realizing it was her own daughter when she opened her eyes to see Darcia's face up close.

Harry broke away from her nipple only to scream out, “Cissy!” Before latching onto the other one. His hands were kneading at her flesh like a cat's paws, desperate to recommit every single inch of her body to memory.

Narcissa grabbed onto Darcia's face and pulled her daughter back from the kiss. She stared into her eyes, those blue eyes that looked so vulnerable.

“Baby, please, let me taste you.” She begged her daughter.

“Mum, are you su-”

“This is what I want, Darcia, please.”

After a moment's hesitation, Darcia climbed onto the bed. She hooked her legs over her mother's face and then sank her cunt down onto her mouth.

Narcissa plunged her tongue into her daughter's quim as Harry continued to lovingly stroke his cock into her. She was in a cloud of bliss, with the moans of the others that wafted into her ears only adding to the beautiful symphony.

Then she felt hands. Multiple hands began to roam about her body. Her sisters, Hermione and the Greengrasses were all touching her, tweaking and caressing her, welcoming her back to the world of the living.

When Darcia came, Narcissa's tongue was buried far deep into her quim, and it functioned as a funnel that carried the fresh slick directly down her throat to gulp down.

And then Harry came. He erupted inside of her, his cock flooding her pussy with that thick, creamy batter that her body had been deprived of for far too long.

Narcissa chose to be greedy, just this once. She wrapped her legs around his waist and pulled him further into herself. She let him hose her cunt down, pumping it full of his wonderful sludge as her eyes rolled to the back of her head.

“Welcome back, Narcissa.”

…

“The tropics were nice and all, but there's nothing quite like being home.”

“Speak for yourself, Bella.” Andromeda commented. “We barely even got to enjoy the weather and sunshine.”

“Don't worry. We enjoyed it enough for all of you.” Astoria quipped, breaking down into giggles while her mother and sister sent her reproachful looks.

“I like you.” Bella smiled down at the young girl.

They had just arrived from their international portkey, and they were already turning heads as they left the travel room and walked out onto the ministry proper.

Bellatrix had almost forgotten that she was ‘famous’ now. She quickened her pace, wanting to be out of here before she ran into Fudge or one of his lackeys.

Narcissa still felt as if she were walking on a cloud. Harry and Darcia were holding onto her hands as the group stepped into the atrium.

“Well, I believe we have to return home.” Anastasia said as her daughters whined in protest. “But… there's still some summer left, perhaps we can…”

“You have our floo address, feel free. And thank you for everything you've done to help us, Anastasia.” Narcissa said.

The other woman smiled. “Of course. I… I think perhaps some sleepovers would be fun… for the girls, of course.”

“Of course.”

“Alright. We can apparate, lets get the hell out of here.”

“Lady Black, what a wonderful surprise!”

Rita's voice had never sounded more grating to Bellatrix than in that precise moment, especially when she saw that trailing behind the reporter was none other than Minister Fudge.

“Bellatrix! Just the lady I wanted to see. Rita, you wouldn't mind postponing the rest of our talk, would you?”

Rita's mirthful gaze did not falter under Bellatrix's murderous glare. “Not at all, Minister. In fact, I had some questions I wanted to ask Lady Malfoy. She's been a very difficult person to pin down recently.”

“Oh, well, you know, I've been recuperating from an illness.” Narcissa replied smoothly.

And just like that, Bellatrix found herself being dragged away by the minister while she overheard Rita tell Narcissa that they could talk in lady Bone's office.

And she'd actually given that sneaky fucking bitch the benefit of the doubt.

…

“Yes, yes, my end of summer fundraiser is quite the event. This year, we'll have quite a few dignitaries from France and Bulgaria coming along as well. I've got something cooking on the horizon, you see!”

“Fascinating.” Bellatrix was struggling to keep her voice in the ‘barely-restrained hostility’ range without slipping into full on disdain.

Fudge didn't seem to notice as the two sat in his office. “Yes, yes. So, you will attend, then? Of course, your sister will be invited as well.”

“I couldn't think of anywhere else I'd rather be.” She said through gritted teeth.

Fudge clapped his hands together. “Splendid.”

Then, the minister leaned forward on his desk, his voice lowering to slightly. “I must. Confess, Bellatrix, the fundraiser is not the main reason I wished to speak with you.”

Biting back a snappy response, Bellatrix managed a strained but measured tone. “Oh. Really? Is there something the matter, minister?”

“Well, you see…” Fudge began wringing his hands. “Things have been a bit hectic, in our world. We've lost a great man in Lucius Malfoy, and that has resulted in a power vacuum, and now Amelia Bones and a few others have somehow hijacked the dark faction. Why, it's the most bizarre thing I have ever witnessed!”

“My sister is in that faction, is she not?”

“Oh, yes! But that is not an issue! I am more than willing to compromise! This is politics, after all!”

He was more than willing to align himself with the new power brokers now that he saw which way the wind was blowing, and he wanted Bellatrix to be his connection to Narcissa.

He may be a slimy, worthless little man, but he was a political survivor through and through.

“I see, you wish for me to be a bridge between you and my sister's group? I am not a politician, minister.”

“Nor do I expect you to be! But, yes, if you could perhaps smooth things over, I know your sister may have some erroneous impressions about my leanings.”

Bellatrix really wanted to curse this man, the man who had sentenced her to death just to appease his backers.

But she'd have to settle for dealing with him at a later date.

“There is another thing, Bellatrix.”

“Oh?”

“Well, as you know from your world, Albus Dumbledore is a very formidable wizard. Some might even say dangerous.”

Bella blinked, having completely forgotten the story they'd come up with about how Dumbledore was a dark lord in the world she'd ‘come’ from.

“Yes.” She didn't have to try very hard for her face to fall into a sour expression.

“Now, I am not saying that the Dumbledore of our world is like that, not at all. But the man has made many mistakes, as I'm sure you've learned. What happened with the Potter boy, for example.”

“Minister, what exactly does this have to do with me?”

“Well, you see, in that school, he has complete dominion. He could be raising an army for all I know and the ministry would be none the wiser. Now, if I had someone on the inside…”

“You want me to teach at Hogwarts?!” Bella was unable to hide the excitement in her voice.

Fudge chuckled. “Ah. I see you find the idea agreeable! I must confess, it was Ms. Skeeter of all people who inadvertently opened my eyes to the possibility. You would fill the Defense post, and I would have someone I know will temper Dumbledore's eccentricities and keep an ear out for me.”

Bella shook her head, trying to stop herself from laughing hysterically. “I'll gladly accept, minister.”

…

The moment their meeting concluded, Bellatrix made a bee-line for Amelia's office.

Well, she got lost for a good while before finally admitting that she didn't remember the way and grudgingly asking for directions.

She barged into Amelia's private office, ignoring the protests of her secretary. The privacy and locking wards were easy work, and she applied her own as she slammed the door shut behind her.

“Slam it a little harder next time, Bellatrix, it's only imported oak.” Amelia barked irritably.

The sting of her words was dampened by the fact that Amelia was kneeling in front of her desk, and after a moment's pause, returned to burying her face in Harry's ballsack.

Harry, meanwhile, was slamming his hips against Rita's ass, his cock sinking into the witch's sloshing cunt as she moaned in pure joy.

Sitting off to the side were her sisters and the girls, who were sitting patiently, waiting for Harry to finish satiating two of his broodmares.

Bellatrix slipped over to Andi's side as her sister offered her a walnut from Amelia's desk.

“I figure this will be a theme for today.” Darcia said. “I'm sure Tonks will be wanting her fix as well.”

As she spoke, Rita let out a high pitched screech as her body trembled. Harry grunted, and they all soon confirmed that he had indeed cum, as a trickle of slow moving white sludge began to leak down their joined crotches.

Amelia greedily began to suck the seed as it dripped down Harry's ballsack. The head of the DMLE was guzzling the trickles of molasses-thick cream down, and when she pulled her face back, her tongue coming out to scoop the streaks that remained on her lips, she grinned almost ferally.

“Oh, by the way, I think I will be paying more frequent visits to Chateau Black. Susan misses her friends, after all.”

…

The veela nation was in crisis.

In two days, not a single veela had left the stronghold in the Carpathians. They were shell-shocked, distraught, at a loss. None of them could leave, not when the news of this tragedy would immediately spread amongst the veela enclaves and total chaos would reign.

No, they needed to leave this meeting with a plan, something tangible.

They were all sitting around a table. Having spent the past few hours talking in circles with no real solutions. Emotions were high, and Apolline feared that there would be no way out of this nightmare.

“For the hundredth time, we cannot let our emotions drive us to drastic measures!”

“Drastic measures? War is the least of what they deserve. Total annihilation is a mercy for those monsters!”

“SILENCE!” Valeria, the Brazilian coven mother and one of the eldest veela still alive, stood from her seat.

“Tell me, Sade, are we even capable of bringing total annihilation upon anyone, as we currently are?”

The Nigerian veela stood down, remaining silent as Valeria began pacing around the table.

“We do need to consider things with a level head. The truth is, outright conflict with any

One magical government will result in an immediate response from the International Confederacy of Wizards. The fact that it's Britain, with their blasted channel, only makes things worse.”

“I know you are all in pain, I am as well. My heart bleeds every second that it knows of our king's plight. And yet, if we are to rush blindly into things, we will fail.”

“So what do you suggest we do, then?” A Korean veela scoffed.

“We use our brains, my sister. We need not start a war, when we only require to have our king returned to us. Subterfuge, my little flowers. Preferably, the wizards would not even know what had happened until it is too late.”

“That is all well and good, coven mother.” A mother from Iran, her cat-like eyes glistening with intellect, spoke up, “but what of the slave bond?”

“That is simple! We kill our king's enslaver and be done with it!” Another veela shouted.

The Iranian veela tilted her head as she glanced at Valeria. “It is not that simple. You of course know, right. Valeria?”

“What is she saying?” Apolline asked her mother, who hushed her daughter with a raised palm, her eyes hard.

Whatever was going on, Céline Babineaux and the other elder veela knew something the rest didn't.

“There are methods.” Valeria stated calmly.

The Iranian veela, Samira, stood up as all eyes fell on her.

“The idea that the slave bond is broken through death is an erroneous one, a falsehood that has somehow spread throughout the ages and been accepted as truth by the masses.”

There were gasps all over the room.

“Are you saying that our king can never be free?!” The despair in that veela's voice was felt by everyone in the room.

“She is not saying that.” Valeria responded. “For normal creatures, there is in fact no way to sever the slave bond. If the master is killed, then the slave goes with them. But, mercifully, our king is all powerful, and if his sword were to be used to strike down that vile enslaver...”

Sword?

Apolline had not heard of this so-called sword. One glance at her mother, though, told her that there were many things the elders kept from their seconds.

“The sword of the veela king has been lost to history for a millenia.” Samira replied calmly.

“Yes.” Céline stood up now, her voice joining the fray. “But we know where it was lost, don't we?” She looked over to Valeria.

It became clear that these three women were not arguing. No, they were converging onto a single conclusion, a single point that would drive the veela nation in these trying times.

“Indeed we do. After our king's death, it was taken by a group of goblins and put on a ship… to England.”

Apolline was among the many who took deep breaths as this information was revealed.

“I believe.” Samira continued. “That our king's sword can still be found in England. It is perhaps the reason his soul was reincarnated there, one of the only places where no veela has ever dwelled.”

“Is it understood, then?” Valeria asked the room. “We must infiltrate that backwards country, find our king's sword, slay his enslaver and bring him back safely.”

“We must be united in this goal. The full resources of the veela nation must be focused on success.”

A rumble began to form. It was like the buzzing of a bee-hive. Or perhaps a hornet’s nest, a hornet's nest when it began to frenzy in preparation for battle.

They would execute their plan. They would be successful. They would have their rightful king returned to them.

…

“C-Cassiopeia Potter?”

“You can call her Cass. I think she'll prefer that, knowing her mother.” Andi told him with a smile.

Tonks stuck her tongue out at her mother before snuggling closer into Harry's embrace.

Harry was speechless. He could only stare down at the gurgling baby in his arms. She was barely a week old, a little tuft of purple hair standing proudly atop her head while his own emerald green eyes stared back at him.

“So she's a metamorphmagus.” Hermione asked, glancing pointedly at the girl's colorful hair.

“Actually, no.” Penny said. “She's not at all. Our theory is that mistress was using that hair color when she was conceived.”

“Our baby.” Harry mouthed, unable to believe that this beautiful little creature was actually his. He looked over at Tonks, who returned his look with nothing but pure love. He planted a solid kiss on her lips.

Tonks purred, having missed him so dearly. Then, she turned to Darcia. “Want to hold her?”

“Me?” The blonde asked in shock.

“I mean, ministry wise, you're technically the father.”

“Here you go, mistress.” Harry held the baby out to Darcia, who very hesitantly took the girl into her arms.

The moment she settled into her arms, Cassiopeia began to bawl.

“I don't think she likes me.” Darcia said bitterly.

“I'll take her.” Penny jumped up, ready to take the girl from her.

“Try rocking her, mistress.” Hermione urged.

Darcia did as told, and with the help of some cooing from Hermione, the newborn's cries quieted down. She stared up at the two girls with curious eyes.

“I-It actually worked.”

“Fantastic.” Tonks said as she began to drag Harry away. “Penny and I have some business with my baby's father. I'm sure you guys can look after her for a while.”

Darcia shot her cousin a panicked look, but it was too late, she had already scurried off with Harry. Penny at least had the decency to look apologetic as she stood up and followed after her.

“Here.” Andi offered, taking her granddaughter from the nervous blonde. “Happened like you said it would, huh Darcia?”

…

Andi brought Darcia and Hermione along as they went up to the kitchen, where they found Narcissa and Bellatrix slathering some butter onto freshly baked bread as Arcturus sat opposite them. On the floor, Tom was stretching his tiny limbs, having spent the past half day inside of Andromeda's endless bag.

“Your cooking is as divine as always, grandfather.” Narcissa said happily. The usually stoic woman had a new hop in her step, a new zest for life. It was to be expected, seeing as she'd avoided death by the narrowest of margins.

“Empty platitudes.” Arcturus waved her off. “But did you taste the garlic oil? I used garlic oil in this one.”

“Oh. That's why it tastes like that.” Bellatrix said as she stuffed her mouth full once more.

“How have things been on this end, Arcturus? Was the task completed?” Tom interjected.

Andi and the girls settled in around the table as Arcturus shifted his posture.

“We were successful. The cup has been destroyed.”

“Hah! One more win for the good guys!” Bellatrix exclaimed, bumping her fist in the air. Narcissa joined her, euphoric as she was.

“Of course, there is still the matter of the diadem and where it has ended up. Not to mention the main soul itself.”

“At least there is no one around currently who would actively help the dark lord. Is there?” Andi sent Tom a questioning look.

Tom's brow furrowed in thought. “Not that I can think of at the moment. Lucius is dead. the others are being subjugated by their wives thanks to Harry's seed, and the rest are in Azkaban.”

“Soon to have their magic bound, if Amelia can get that boat moving.” Arcturus added.

“I'll chip in on that.” Narcissa said. “I feel a great vitality, and I need to throw myself into a new project.”

Andi snorted. “And what better project than to have a bunch of Death Eaters turned into squibs.”

Hermione suddenly piped up. “Bella, is everything alright?”

Everyone turned to look at Bella, who was now glaring down at the table with a fierceness that they had not seen in a while. “Wormtail.”

While everyone else looked around in confusion, Tom's head snapped up in shock. “I did not consider him.”

“Who exactly are we talking about?” Arcturus asked as he poured himself some tea.

“Peter Pettigrew.” Bella growled, causing her sisters to gasp.

“He was a rat animagus, correct?” Narcissa asked.

“He wouldn't seek the dark lord out, would he? He's too much of a coward.” Andi said.

Both Tom and Bella shook their heads in unison.

“Peter Pettigrew is a coward, and he is also a great opportunist. If he were to have found out that Bellatrix is out there…”

Bella slammed her fist on the table. “That rat will go searching for security in the arms of his precious master.”

“Ummm… how exactly are we supposed to find a rat animagus?” Darcia asked.

“We can't.” Arcturus said soberly. “We must simply spread the word to Bones and Dumbledore, and keep our eyes peeled.”

“I might be able to locate him.” Tom said suddenly.

“Oh?”

“It would be a bit of a risk, but I would simply need a dark mark to play with, and I could locate Pettigrew.”

Bellatrix's expression turned feral. “Why didn’t you say so before, little Tom?”

…

Harry had found himself pulled aside by hungry, ravenous witches a lot today, and he didn't mind it one bit.

Now that their journey to save Cissy had ended in success, Harry found that his needs and desires had returned with a vengeance, and no matter how many times his girls drained his balls, he found that he always had more left in the tank to replenish. It was like he was an endless wellspring.

Like right now, he had Nym and Penny wrapped up in an embrace, snogging the daylights out of each other while they kept their pussies perfectly lined up for him to fuck.

And so, Harry speared himself into the mother of his child and made sure to give her a few thundering strokes before pulling out and slipping into Penny's juicy cunt.

“Fuck, I missed this so much!” Tonks moaned as she mashed her tits against Penny's smaller chest. Tonks had made sure her breasts and ass were swollen enough to represent her new status as a milf, and even the small stomach pouch she'd kept only led to Harry wanting to blow his load inside of her even more.

“MISTRESS! HARRY!” Penny moaned as Harry hammered himself into her pussy. Her limbs were tied up with Tonks’, she was completely helpless as Harry's godly cock filled her to the brim.

Harry reached out and squeezed one of Nym's swollen tits. A shot of milk sprayed out from them, catching a surprised Penny in the face.

Penny gasped as Harry removed his cock from her pussy and plunged back into Tonks.

“Fuck! Harry! Please… fuck! Please fill me up!”

Harry grunted, more than eager to give Tonks exactly what she asked for.

Meanwhile Penny had scooped up a dribble of the milk that was on her face. She brought it down to her lips, licking it off her finger and…

Her pupils dilated. It was nowhere near Harry's cum, but it still tickled the pleasure centers of her brain. She'd never tasted breast milk before, but she was pretty sure it wasn't supposed to taste this good.

She jumped forward, latching onto Tonks’ nipple as she squeezed her breast, chugging down the milk that began to flood her mouth.

“P-Penny!” Tonks screeched as her pussy clamped down hard on Harry's cock.

Harry allowed himself to release inside of her, shooting a thick load into Tonks’ pussy before pulling out.

Just as they'd asked him beforehand, Harry slammed into Penny, dumping the rest of his load out into the sixteen year old’s hungry pussy.

Penny redoubled her efforts to suck Nym's breast dry, and as he continued to twitch inside her cunt, Harry dipped his head down, latching onto Tonks’ free breast and sucking hard.

Tonks screamed, her back arching as she rode out her orgasms while both of her sensitive tits were drained of their never-ending supply of milk.

When she finally collapsed back onto the bed, Harry and Penny detached themselves from her tits. Harry pulled out of Penny, his cock now slimy from their combined juices.

“F-Fuck my tits, Harry.” Tonks beckoned weakly.

Harry straddled her chest, sliding his slimy cock in between Tonks’ large breasts.

“G-Get some gel-caps ready, Penny, we've got work to do.” Tonks had her tongue out. Licking like a pup when Harry's head slid close to her mouth.

They needed to replenish their supply of Go-Gobblers, after all, especially with the new year at Hogwarts fast approaching. That was why she'd decided to split a load between her and Penny and use the rest for the gobblers.

Whoever said never to mix business with pleasure was an idiot.

Penny had a case full of gobblers ready to be filled as Harry slid his slimy cock into Tonks’ mouth, letting her suckle on his crown while she rubbed her tits all around his shaft.

Penny was all business now. Harry would cum on her mistress’ face and chest, and it would be up to Penny to collect as much product as possible without letting her mistress get greedy and scoop it all up for herself. Then, it would be her turn to extract. She was feeling a bit frisky, so perhaps she'd take Harry's cock up her ass and then squeeze all the seed out afterwards.

But a small part of her brain was curious. A small part was wondering why exactly her mistress' breast milk had tasted the way it had.

…

Bellatrix shivered as she wrapped her cloak tightly around herself.

Cissy and Andi had both begged off coming, which meant it was her, grandfather and Tom following behind Amelia and her patronus as they traversed the cold hallways of Azkaban.

The others had harped on about how she didn't need to come along for this, but she had refused. She needed to be here, and she wasn't going to let a silly thing like trauma hold her back.

Though she couldn't contain the way her hands were shaking as she stared at the rows upon rows of identical cells. She stared into one of them, the place she had committed to memory, the settling of so many of her nightmares, the place she had once thought would be her grave.

She saw Amelia shoot her a concerned look, but the redhead had the wherewithal not to bother bringing it up.

“Alright, I figured the other LeStrange brother would be appropriate for this occasion.” She said as she stopped in front of a cell.

Rabastan LeStrange was a shell of a man. He'd once been tall and burly, supporting a frame that allowed him to cast some of the most violent and destructive dark magic out of the Dark Lord's inner circle.

Now, he was thin and frail, his body looking as if it might snap like a twig as his sunken in eyes looked hollow and dim.

His empty expression changed when his eyes fell upon Tom. It was slight, but there was a vitality there now that hadn't been there a moment prior.

“M-My Lord!” His voice was raspy and ragged to an extreme, conjuring up the image of the man having knives scratching away at his throat.

“He recognizes you.” Amelia said, a hint of fascination present in her voice.

Tom's body language shifted. His shoulders straightened, his chest puffed out as he managed to school the features of a gnome into something approximating a cold, detached cruelty.

And then the others felt the temperature in the room drop, a chill running up their spine as they felt the power of Lord Voldemort in all his glory. Amelia's hand twitched, ready to grab her wand and fire at the gnome in an instant. But Bellatrix's hand on her shoulder stopped her.

“Rodolphus.” Tom's voice had deepened, finding a baritone that should have been impossible for such a creature.

“My lord!” Rabastan screamed in pure, demented joy. “I-It is Rabastan. R-Rodolphus was killed, slain by our enemies, my lord. It has been a decade of despair, but I never wavered, I never wavered in my loyalty, my lord!”

“Do you expect me to reward you, Rabastan? When loyalty is but the bare minimum I expect from my faithful.”

The beaten man sputtered. “N-N-Of course not, my lord! I was merely-”

“Your arm, Rabastan.”

“Of course, my lord!”

Rabastan tried to fit his arm through the bars of his cell, but even in his emaciated shape, the bars were far too closely spaced for his arm to fit through easily.

Tom did not say a thing, continuing to look at the man expectantly while the others observed from behind.

Rabastan struggled, but he did not stop. As the others looked on in morbid fascination, the death eater found a wellspring of strength, forcing his entire weight forward.

With a sickening snap, his wrist broke, and his frail arm scraped against the bars as he presented it to his master, several more bones on his forearm cracking until he finally stopped at his elbow.

Completely nonplussed, Tom grabbed his arm with surprising strength, and with another sound that made their stomachs squirm, he twisted Rabastan's arm, snapping his elbow joint like a chicken wishbone as he forcrd his forearm to face upward.

Rabastan's face was red with agony, but he did not so much as let out a peep as Tom held his hand out to Arcturus, who handed him his own wand. Tom touched the wand to Rabastan's mark.

The gnomes' eyes went blank as the mark began to burn, and this time Rabastan couldn't hold back his wails of pain as the skull and snake began to thrash about in his arm.

Tom could see them all. All of his death eaters were there. Before, when he'd do this, they appeared as branches emerging from a tree whose roots were firmly planted in himself. Now, it was like he was on the outside looking in. The Dark Mark was not anchored to him at all, and yet he could still observe the complex network it had become.

The great majority of the death eaters were trapped here, inside of Azkaban. A little further out, there were a few in the British Isles, though not that could not be accounted for.

That was worrying.

Tom followed several threads that stretched out into the continent. There were three of them in total.

The one that he could tell was the furthest out, he instantly recognized. He'd forgotten about Karkaroff, the coward who had fled all the way to Bulgaria.

The other thread was even weaker and more pathetic than Igor. And with a grimace, Tom confirmed that Peter Pettigrew was moving eastbound, likely in his rat form, having just arrived at the port of Calais.

The rat had taken flight, and he was trying to get away. Unfortunately for him, Tom had methods of tracking his followers without the dark mark, all he needed was to leave an imprint on his soul, and the-

The third thread. He should have paid attention to it. It was the thickest and darkest of them all. It was the trunk of the tree.

Even in his severely weakened state, Lord Voldemort had sensed the intrusion of another, and Tom felt the Dark Lord's presence bearing down on him.

“No!” Tom yelled as his eyes snapped open. He let go of Rabastan's arm, falling back and away as Arcturus caught him.

“What happened?” Amelia asked.

Tom shook his head. “We need to leave.”

“Master! Please! Why are you leaving me!”

Rabastan's screams echoed through the prison as he was left behind, broken arm still wedged between the bars as Amelia ushered them towards the private floo that would lead them back to her office.

Once they were safely in the warm environment of Amelia's office, Bellatrix questioned Tom, who was sitting atop the desk.

“What happened?”

“Pettigrew just arrived at Calais, and he's moving eastward as fast as he can manage.”

Amelia sprung to action, “I'll get our foreign liaison office on this immediately.” She made her way towards the door.

“What else?” Arcturus hissed.

Tom shook his head. “I didn't think he'd discover my presence, weak as he was.”

“Wait, he knew you were there? Did he do something?” Bella asked with a bit of apprehension.

“No.” Tom had managed to escape in time. He couldn't dare think what would have happened if his counterpart had entered his soul. Would the vows he'd made supersede his other self's will? Or would he have become a puppet to Lord Voldemort, forced to betray his newfound friends?

He decided not to dwell on that possibility, not when there were urgent matters at hand. “But he was able to locate Pettigrew through me, and he's far closer to him than we are.”

Amelia, who had been standing by the door, practically sprinted off, now desperate to have men on the ground in France as soon as possible.

Bellatrix put a hand on Tom's shoulder, her eyes hard. “Don't beat yourself up over this. You've helped us out a lot, Tom, and I don't want you second guessing yourself when you're supposed to be watching my back.”

Tom actually looked relieved at Bella's words. “Thank you, mistress.”

Bellatrix smiled grimly, unable to help the growing sense of dread she felt. If Voldemort was reunited with one of his followers, even someone as weak as Wormtail, there was no telling the damage he'd be able to do.

All she could do was grit her teeth and hope Wormtail was caught before he reunited with his master. But if he wasn't, she knew she would do everything in her power to make sure that bastard was put under the ground, permanently.

…

“Look, Fleur, the butterfly's on my head!”

Fleur looked on with a calm smile as Gabrielle giggled, going cross eyed as she tried to get a better look at the yellow butterfly that had ssettled onto her forehead.

The insect kicked off, and the young girl immediately began to chase after it, giggling madly as she hopped around their garden.

“Fleur. Have you heard from your mother?”

Fleur's smile fell as she glanced over her shoulder at her father.

Short, balding, round of body. He was a pathetic excuse for a man.

“No.” She stated coldly, blue eyes gazing through him as if he were nothing more than a mere worm.

Jean Delacour sighed, his hand going to his thinning head of brown hair as he forced a smile.

“Well, when you see her, tell her to come talk to me. There is an event in England that we must attend.”

Fleur did not humor him with a response, simply turning back to look at her little sister as she frolicked about in the garden.

Jean Delacour was a pathetic excuse for a man, as all wizards were. Taken in by her mother's wiles, the weak willed idiot had soon realized that marrying a veela was nothing not the fantasy he had envisioned, but a prison sentence for fools like him. Jean was a puppet, a puppet that danced to Apolline's tune.

Fleur looked at her younger sister. Gabrielle still called him papa, but that would soon change. Gabrielle's education was fast approaching, and Fleur would educate her, show her the full truth of their world.

‘Father’ was nothing more than their lapdog, a purse string that served the great veela nation. Gabrielle would see the truth. Soon enough.

“Fleur.”

This voice was soft and melodic. Fleur turned around immediately.

Her mother was there, gorgeous and youthful as ever, a vision of perfection as all veela were.

“Mother.” Fleur bowed her head respectfully before standing up and wrapping her arms around her mother's waist. She pressed her lips to her mother's, and Apolline opened her mouth, allowing her daughter's tongue access.

The two veela shared a sensuous greeting as their tongues slithered against each other.

“Mama!” Gabrielle yelled joyfully as she ran over to her.

“Gabby.” Apolline said as she broke the kiss with her eldest. Gabby jumped into her mother's arm, and the two shared another kiss. This one was more chaste than the one with Fleur, but not by much.

When they broke the kiss, Apolline ran a hand through her youngest's hair before letting her down gently onto the ground. “Why don't you go on inside, Gabrielle, I need to have a talk with your sister.”

“Sure, momma.” Gabby squealed as her mother slapped her bum. With a final smile, she ran off towards the large manor home that stood behind them.

The two veela looked on as the youngest disappeared from view.

“Mother?” Fleur asked. Her mother had left suddenly and been gone for quite a few days. Fleur knew what this meant, something momentous had occurred, something that affected the veela nation as a whole.

“Fleur, you are leaving Beauxbatons. You are to be enrolled at Hogwarts for this upcoming year. This is the will of the council.”

“Hogwarts? In England?” Fleur asked in disgust. “But why, mother?”

“Come with me to the rose bushes, my dear flower.”

Apolline told her. She explained everything.

For Fleur, their talk had been an emotional roller-coaster.

She had started off full of despair as she heard of the plight of their king. And even now, there was an ever present sense of dread, a sense that all was not right with the world.

But that was nothing compared with her determination. She had been chosen! She had been selected for the most important task in the history of their nation!

She would make her mother and grandmother proud. No matter how mighty the obstacles might seem in her mother's eyes, Fleur knew she would overcome them.

She would find the king's sword, she would release him from his bondage and return him to their nation. With their king on his rightful throne, the veela nation would destroy all others. They would rule the world that wizards had so mistakenly claimed as their own.

Fleur felt a wellspring of determination rise up within her. She would succeed in her mission.

She would kill Darcia Malfoy.