Serena Palmer loved her life. There was nothing to not love about her life. She remained free and ran a business of her own which allowed her to live in relative luxury. A decade ago this was not her situation. She was married off to a lackwit purely based on the purity of his blood. She had begged her father not to do so but to her father, her marriage was just a business transaction.
It was a transaction that nearly wiped out her family.
Her father in his infinite wisdom thought to join the Dark Lord to purge the Muggles and Muggleborns from the world.
A ludicrous idea, in her opinion.
Wizardkind was already a shrinking population and these morons wanted to kill more people and then what? They all die out in a century or so without new blood to strengthen their bloodlines. The old Pureblood families were already waning because of their insistence on marrying between cousins.
Her fears and opinions were as usual disregarded and she was traded like cattle by her insufferable father. She cursed the existence of her father each day but soon everything changed. The Dark Lord in his infinite wisdom not only attacked the Muggleborn families but also Pureblood families that took no part in the madness. Her father never took into account that some families had the guts to fight back.
Her father and a better part of her cousins fought Frank Longbottom while raiding a muggle village in Scotland. It was a raid that decimated the males of her family save for her younger brother. It was not long before her brother was also sent to Azkaban to join his peers Thankfully, her husband and his bigoted family also got their just desserts by getting captured by the Aurors. The best part of this was that her husband died while remaining a captive in Azkaban. It freed her from the bonds of marriage and since then she has been free to chart her own destiny.
Of course, Serena's mother couldn't leave her to live in peace. Her mother's stupidity and insistence led her to be indebted to a slimy snake like Lucius Malfoy. With the wealth she inherited from her husband and her own meagre earnings she started an Acromantula silk farm. A farm that was so difficult to maintain owing to the need for skilled wizards and witches to maintain the Acromantula population. Extraction of Acromantula silk is no easy task after all. A single misstep could cause a wizard his life.
Word had reached her that Malfoy was collecting all his debts laying off his stocks and other valuables to pay off the huge debt the blonde ponce unwittingly jumped into. She knew this is a unique opportunity and she was looking forward to a visit by Malfoy.
Serena walked around the Acromantula shelter where the creatures were kept safe. From the outside, it looked like a wooden shed but on the inside, it was anything but. Wood is not exactly a barrier that posed any problem to creatures like Acromantula, even spelled wood. So, the inside of the shed has to be reinforced with spelled steel to keep the creatures imprisoned. Those spells have to be reinforced every morning and this was costly.
The Acromantula inside their rooms has to be subjugated and put under sleep before the whole room can be reinforced. Serena had tried runic works but Acromantulas are fiercely intelligent. They specifically target certain runes and chip away slowly until the whole runic structure collapse. So, she was forced to rely on spelling the inside structure every day and that required skilled wizards. She was quite fortunate to have a group of wizards and witches working for her with the necessary skills. Nowadays, it was hard to find skilled wizards and her new recruits were mostly from France. With everything that's been said about Hogwarts in the Prophet, she was not that surprised.
Her workers were hard at work within the farmhouse keeping the Acromantula comfortable in their isolated rooms. Cubicles made of spelled steel held the giant spiders back. They extracted the silk by using the steel walls as an absorbent. The spells used to accomplish this were very complex and far over her head. As a Hogwarts student, Charms remained her weakest subject but thanks to her inherited wealth she could run this business by hiring gifted Charms masters.
And what a business it is!
Acromantula silk has always been in high demand and the demand has not changed for a long time. She gathered that the demand would stay strong in the future as well. Acrmantulas are very hard to come by. They are only found in the British isles and Madagascar. So, most of her earnings came from exports which afforded her some valuable connections as well.
A sudden popping sound reached her ear. To her relief, it was Poppy, her personal House Elf.
House-elves were damn useful creatures that'd do almost anything to get some form of work. Although, these little blighters could hold a grudge far better than any wizard. Poppy was the elf of her mother and the little creature disapproved of some of her choice words to describe her old bat of a mother. In retaliation, Poppy would pop near her to startle her from time to time.
"Poppy, what's the matter?"
"Mr Malfoy seeks entry through the floo Mistress." said Poppy.
'So, you have finally come Malfoy.' she thought, a small grin adorning her face.
A few minutes later Serena sat on her favourite chair sipping tea while observing her troubled unwanted guest. Oh, she could see how troubled Malfoy was by simply looking at him. Then again it doesn't take a genius to see Malfoy is affected by the recent events.
"I'm quite surprised by your visit Lucius. It is not often that I get a visit from the head of House Malfoy." she said, keeping her eye out at Malfoy over her cup of tea.
"I'm here to collect the gold you owe me, Serena."
"Are you really?" Serena feigned ignorance. "I have always paid what is owed to you as per our agreements in monthly instalments."
She hated paying thousands of Galleons to this peacock but it was a debt she inherited from her mother. The contract was ironclad and she had little choice but to pay what was owed in the absence of any other siblings. If her brother had survived after he was released from Azkaban then the debt would've been his to bear but fate cheated her in the form of her brother's death. Her idiot brother got into a duel with some Japanese vampire in Tokyo which resulted in his head being removed. Last she heard, her brother's skull is sitting comfortably on the wall of the vampire's mansion in Tokyo. If her brother's death hadn't put her in debt she'd have sent her compliments to this vampire.
"I'm afraid I have need of all my gold back within two days." said Lucius.
Serena chuckled which turned into a peal of full-blown laughter.
"What makes you think I'll pay you a single Knut outside the instalments as per the contract? Remember, you negotiated the contract with my mother. I'm afraid I'll be paying you the amount as stipulated by the contract, nothing more."
Saying this she sat back flicking her black hair to the side observing the plethora of emotions running behind Malfoy's eyes. She was quite aware Lucius was desperate and it was this desperation that presented an opportunity.
"It is in your interest to forget the contract for the moment. I propose we create a new contract. You shall settle the debt in full and let's be honest here. It is in your interest to pay in full as I'm sure you don't want any unfortunate events to befall your business."
Serena was amused by the veiled threat from Lucius. If it was any other time she'd have been quite intimidated but not now and probably not ever.
"I don't think you understand something Malfoy. Without your gold to protect you your power is considerably diminished." said Serena, leaning back resting her cheek on her folded knuckles. "Did you think I wouldn't notice your failed attempts to reverse the debts through your contacts in the Ministry? Last I heard, your 'friends' ran from you as if you had the Dragon Pox."
"You ungrateful bitch..." Lucius snarled and he was on his feet with wand in hand.
"Poppy!"
BANG!
Serena looked on dispassionately as Lucius was blown out of his feet smashing into a table. The furniture broke down into pieces with splinters flying in all directions.
"No one threatens Mistress. Poppy won't allow it, sir! No, she will not!"
There were times Serena would think her house-elf is a bit off her rocker but she was nonetheless thankful for Poppy's presence here. The elf might worship her mother but she sure does have a mean streak when it comes to dealing with her enemies.
"Well, would you look at that." Serena took to her feet with an amused tilt to her lips. "The great all-powerful Lucius Malfoy is not so powerful after all. You might've felt all too powerful while you went around wearing a mask and slaughtered defenceless muggles, Lucius. But, those days are over."
A careful application of the disarming charm saw to it she relieved Lucius of his wand.
"I didn't like the offer you made. Now, I've got an offer of my own..." Serena smirked, pressing the tip of her wand into Lucius' neck.
A few moments later she watched Lucius take his leave through the floo with his head bowed in defeat. In the end, her little plan worked and she was finally free of any debt all thanks to a close friend whom she admired so dearly. A new contract was signed while invalidating the previous one and she settled the debt she inherited from her mother with a hefty discount.
Taking a fistful of floo powder she threw it into the fireplace. Green flames jumped out of the hearth signalling the connection to the floo network being established.
"Tonks Residence."
The flames turned bright green before simmering out into the normal orange colour.
"Andromeda, it was just like you said. The plan worked. I've managed to make Malfoy sign the contract."
"Good. Leave the rest to me." came the response from her friend.
Serena sat back and let out a relieved sigh. She sat there all alone in the large mansion reminiscing about the past. She thought of the child she lost, a punishment from the earth mother herself for daring to use the gift she bestowed upon wizardkind for rampant murder and genocide. Unlike Grindelwald, the Death Eaters were not looking to secure the future of their world. They were only serving the ego of a raving lunatic who entertained delusions of imposing his will upon the whole world.
She'd have left her brother to die in Azkaban for what he did. Yet, her mother had taken a loan to buy her brother's freedom. A loan that was now finally taken to its final resolution.
'Perhaps now, I can start a family of my own without feeling the stain of blood on my hands.' Serena thought, delighted by the feeling of freedom and peace settling in out of nowhere.
XXXXXXX
Harry ran his eyes over the latest letter from Andromeda Tonks. It'd seem their plan to wind up Malfoy was working like a charm. Andromeda has been reaching out to people who owe Malfoy any sum of money and making Malfoy bleed money all the way. It helped that Malfoy's contacts in the Ministry bailed on the guy as soon as the article in the Prophet came to light. Of course, Damien Greengrass and many other unlikely allies helped by stonewalling Malfoy's attempts to liquidate his shares in a short time.
All these events have finally pushed Malfoy to resort to selling his assets which is what they have been aiming at. Now that they have finally managed to push Malfoy to the height of desperation the former Death Eater has decided to sell off his ancestral manor as well as his businesses and land holdings to raise enough capital to pay back his debt.
When Damien Greengrass pitched this plan Harry thought long and hard to make some small tweaks here and there. Harry was not merely satisfied with trapping Malfoy in debt. He wanted the business empire as well as the connections Malfoy built over the years to his beck and call. The situation right now was truly the right time to reap everything Malfoy built. Wealth and political influence is something that'd come in handy, not only to deal with Voldemort but also to pursue his life in this world.
Living in this world for the last few months has made him realize something. He was almost 95 percent sure he was not going back to his old life and quite frankly he no longer desired to return to his old home. This world of magic offered enormous opportunities that were not available in his old world. Returning to that normal life worrying about paying rent, securing a steady paying job and whatnot was no longer that appealing. Sure, he missed his family but he could learn to live without his family. In fact, he could start a new one here and most of all he was quite addicted to the power running through his veins.
Harry took the Holly wand into his hand and he could feel the low thrum the wand was letting out.
'The ability to reshape reality to my whim. Now, who wouldn't want that?'
Harry shook his head and cast a simple spell that shot a tongue of flame out of the tip of his wand. The letter in his hand turned to ash in seconds and a simple vanishing charm swept away the remains. Leaning back against the pillowcase he proceeded to read the ritual book in his bed.
The ritual of Aura Fermitudo granted a wizard the shortcut to master the Mind Arts. Not only did it aid in the Mind Arts it also helps in the process of Animagus training. According to the surviving scrolls in Slytherin's Chamber, the ritual is Nordic in origin. Ancient Vikings used the ritual to prepare their children early for combat training against the Dementors. Harry was quite fascinated to learn that the Dementors were native to Norway. He was quite interested in how they travelled across the seas to end up in the British Isles. Most probably a wizard was involved but who'd be mad enough to bring a bunch of Dementors?
"Harry Potter sir."
Harry was a bit startled but he welcomed the appearance of Dobby with relief. He was getting a bit worried whether Dobby would fail in his task.
"Dobby has found it, sir." Dobby said excitedly, raising the pearl white horn to Harry's eye level.
"You did it Dobby. Very well done." Harry clapped Dobby on his shoulder making the house-elf puff up in pride.
The horn in Dobby's hand was a Unicorn horn. The ritual required a Unicorn horn taken from a dead Unicorn that died on a full moon. This was the sole missing piece of the ritual he had planned. And now, the final piece has fallen right into his hand thanks to Dobby. Since, tonight was a full moon this was the perfect time to conduct the ritual.
Dismissing Dobby he waited in bed for his dorm mates to fall asleep before making his move. With the aid of Dobby Harry sneaked out of the castle with all the ingredients he collected. The lake in the Forbidden Forest was the best avenue for the ritual. The ritual only becomes effective if it was conducted under the moonlight. The scrolls talked of the brightest moonlight so he gathered a full moon will do.
People always assumed the hardest part of a ritual was the runic circle. But, this was wrong.
The hardest part was finding the right ingredients. He couldn't exactly buy specific ingredients for the ritual. There were flowers that bloomed on the seventh day of the month involved in the ritual. How could he ensure that the flowers available in the open market were bloomed on the seventh day of the month? Similarly, the roots of a pine tree that turned sixteen years of age were also needed. This again required the aid of Dobby.
Setting all the ingredients aside Harry began drawing the runic circle on the floor. Since he was a novice he checked the runic circle ten times before commencing the ritual. As moonlight shined on the runic circle he called forth the Old Magic sleeping within the Ley lines of the planet to empower and bless the ritual. As the Serpent tongue called forth the ancient magic Harry closed his eyes and bathed in the silver light.
AN:
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