Soon, only the Malfoy family remained in the room. Narcisa held Draco in her arms, while her little daughter, who was only a year and a half old, held onto her mother's hand, clutching an unusually large coin in her small hand.
Narcisa seemed unusually quiet, as if something was controlling her. Her eyes showed fury and desperation, but her body followed every order from her husband.
Lucius turned his attention to his wife, holding a small round container filled with a pungent-smelling liquid, reminiscent of herbal remedies. "Everything will be okay," he reassured her.
He then surveyed the room, taking in the unique atmosphere of the ritual chamber. The magical candles floated in the air, illuminating the space without dropping any wax. The perfectly white marble floor reflected like a mirror. In the center of the room stood a large altar structure.
Approaching the altar, Lucius began to carve runes into it with his chisel. The potion that Severus had provided was divided into five equal parts, and a rune was carved beneath each container. The first was "ᛒ Beorc," representing renewal, spirituality, and femininity, and a pure silver container held the potion for this symbol. The same process was repeated for four more symbols: "ᚢ Ur" for strength and health, contained in a red vessel; "ᛖ Eoh" for body, held in a yellow container; "Jera ᛃ" for night, moon, and darkness; and "Sowilo ᛃ" for day, light, and masculinity, both held in white and black containers.
Lucius surveyed the stone altar and felt satisfied. The runes and the liquid-filled containers were perfectly aligned in a cohesive manner, symmetrically arranged. The colors were also aligned in a beautiful pattern: at the upper corners were silver Beorc containers, a red Ur container sat in the top center, and yellow Eoh containers at the upper edges. Finally, at the base, white and black containers were placed on each side for Jera and Sowilo.
Next, Lucius walked over to the unicorn that was tied up in a corner of the room. As he approached, the unicorn looked him in the eye and felt his intention and malice, neighing and trying to move away, but it was in vain since its movements were contained.
Lucius looked at the pure white animal, the most sacred creature in the magical world. The animal cost a fortune, and even he felt sorry to use it in this way. He stroked the frightened unicorn and led it to the top of the altar. He caressed the animal while looking into its big eyes; it was as if the creature was pleading to live.
After some time, when the animal had calmed down, Lucius sacrificed it with a clean cut to the neck. He continued to look into its eyes until the light had left them.
Rigel Elise Malfoy did not understand what was happening, but the unicorn's cries and screams followed by its blood pouring made her ask her mother through her tears, "Mom, is the unicorn sleeping?"
However, Narcissa could not answer, tears streaming down her face. Elise became increasingly desperate and clutched the unusually large coin in her hand while calling out to her mother, "Mom, Mom, Mom."
He could feel it, it was as if the magic was angry. He had never felt anything like it before, it was an expression of the very magic itself. From that moment on, he felt cursed, all his luck was gone and only misery awaited him until the day of his death.
"Magic is truly unique, alive, and loyal. I see myself as a protective mother, furious over the loss of her child. How I wish the Malfoys were loved by magic as she loves unicorns." He lowered his gaze. "But what needs to be done will be done. Anything can be achieved if you're willing to pay the price, and I am."
The bright silver unicorn blood ran, drawing a line that connected the 5 containers. The liquid rose inside the containers and filled them. The Ritual had begun.
For the next step, Lucius walked over to his wife, taking Draco from her arms. She obeyed everything he commanded her, she had no choice. But her eyes contained an insatiable fury, one that would never be forgotten. Too bad for her, he had the best Memory Potion.
Draco was positioned right in the center, practically embracing the unicorn's corpse. Lucius sang in Latin with a rhythmic voice:
"I confirm the rights of my predecessors.
In the new moon, he will be reborn.
Named Draco Malfoy, remember magic, bring forth what is not inherited.
For this, I will pay the price."
The ritual moved on to the next level. All the containers had flames burning over the liquid, each flame a different color: Silver, Red, Yellow, White, and Black. The room's atmosphere became even heavier. Whether the magic was happy or not was unimportant; the final step was at hand.
Lucius walked over to his wife and took his daughter in his arms. Narcissa's body trembled, tears streaming from her eyes. The scene of his wife suffering almost made him stop right there.
Lucius held his daughter in his arms, feeling the warmth and life of the child. A brief thought that she would be dead passed through his mind, and his body trembled. A part of him didn't want this result.
As his mind was in a dilemma, his eyes turned to the coin in his daughter's little hands. He took it, and his daughter, who was crying in his arms, reached out for the coin.
"Butterfly, butterfly," she said as she extended her little hands for the coin.
But Lucius was ruthless and took the coin out of her hand, handing it over to his wife. "Nothing could interfere with the outcome of the ritual," he said as he walked over to the last part of the ritual.
When he reached the center, where his son lay unconscious due to the effect of the ritual, he began to sing in runes:
""ᛞᚱᛅᚴᛁᚦᛁ ᛏᛅᛚᛁ ᛘᛅᛚᛋᛁᛅᚾᛁ ᛁᛅᚦᚢᛏᚱ ᛋᚢᚱᚢᚴᚢᚦᚢᛦ ᛘᛅᛚᚢᚦᚱᛁ.
ᚴᛅ ᛋᛏᚢᛅ ᛒᛅᛚᛁ ᛘᛁᚾᛅ ᚱᛅᛅᛅᛅᛁᛋᛁ.
ᚴᚢᚦ ᛏᚢᚦᚢᚱ ᛁᚾᚢᛘ ᛞᚱᛅᚴᚢ ᛘᚨᛚᚠᚢᛁ, ᚱᚢᚴᚢ ᛋᛏᛅᚦᛁᛅᚾᛁᛋᛁ, ᛅᚠᚠᛅᚱ ᚹᛟᛞ ᚾᛟᛃ ᚼᛖᚱᛞᚨᛏᛖᛗ.
ᚦᛟᚱ ᚹᚨᚦ ᚼᚱᛖᛏᛁᚢᛘ ᚦᚨᚱᛁᛟᛗ ᛋᛟᛚᚢᚡᛅᛘ."
After he finished, he took the ritualistic knife, and with his other free hand, at the moment of the next act, as he began to move the knife toward Elise, the sound of the coin falling to the ground interrupted him.
The coin rolled toward the Ritual, the sound of it distracted Lucius from his purpose, and his eyes watched it slowly move toward him.
At a glance, he could see the desperation in his wife's face, but he regained his purpose and made a firm movement with the knife towards Elise.
A breaking sound interrupted him.
The cut never happened; the knife hit a barrier that shattered like glass. Lucius didn't understand what had happened and let his daughter slip.
Meanwhile, the coin turned into a crow, quick in action, it picked up Elise and the Unicorn's corpse, disappearing into a shadow of pink color, and thousands of butterflies took the place where they were before.
Narcissa's face was relieved for a moment, despite her concerns.
Lucius's face was lost, not knowing what was happening.
Silence flooded the room for a short time, as he began to despair. The ritual was incomplete; the sacrifice was not made, and the magic did not demand its price.
As if mocking him, the magic stirred, surrounding him with furious howling winds.
Lucius knew what a mess had happened, and that the magic would demand its price, and it did.
His eyes teared up in pain, but his mouth remained silent, not because he was strong, on the contrary, all strength had left him, it was not possible to scream.
He felt his magic, which had accompanied him his whole life, begin to leave him. Everything was closed when a furious wind threw him against the wall. He remained motionless but still alive, he paid the price, now worth no more than magical garbage. "What did you do, Narcissa? What did you do?" He grumbled with the last of his strength.
On the other hand, freedom returned to Narcissa; she looked at her husband with fury, hatred, she wanted to kill him. But upon observing his state, she knew that death would only be a blessing for him.
In the end, the sender helped her, but she wasn't so relaxed; he had taken her daughter, and she felt that to get her back, she should pay some price. That being didn't seem like the kind who does favors for free or out of kindness, but that's for another time.
The first thing she did was check on Draco; he was okay, in a way, the ritual didn't fail, he was stronger, but nothing special, not like her daughter, the girl was far superior to Draco after the ritual.
But she loved him nonetheless; he came out of her. After putting him comfortably away from that place.
…..
Vincent, along with Elise, appeared in an open field, far from civilization. This is one of the applications of his dream walker ability - he can move through the realms of dreams. The dream world must be furious with him.
Elise was frightened and confused. She didn't know what had happened. She was with her mother and Lucy, and now she's here with a stranger. She remained quiet, scared, and mainly in a state of shock.
Vincent created a basket and wrapped Elise in it. Using one of his illusory clones, he dispatched her to Rose.
After watching his illusion turn into a crow and fly away, he went to the unicorn. He felt a little sorry for the animal, but it was already dead. He created an illusory blade and cut out the heart of the animal.
Materializing his book, he sang in the demonic language, resurrecting the heart, which began to beat and glow slightly in red.
The grimoire materialized and stored the now living heart.
Finally, he took a coin, one of his marks, and channeled demonic essence to transform it into a stack of documents - Lucius Malfoy's and several members of the magical high society. Narcissa fulfilled the agreement, but she would still be useful, so he would call in the favor in the future.
…..
Narcisa went back to Lucius, the man couldn't move anymore.
She approached with a neutral smile on her face and furious facial expressions. "Lucius my love, normally I would just kill you, but we both know that you are in a state worse than death," she contemplated for a moment. "I'll tell you what will happen to you, not that it matters, after all, I'll use your memory potion on you." She said, playing with the refined-looking flask in her hand.
"First, I will unleash my frustration and hatred on you, through a session of Cruciatus, and when that loses its charm, I will break every bone in your body and heal you only to repeat the process again and again... Finally, I will flay your skin alive, and heal you. You will be surprised at how resilient wizards are and what techniques are taught to the members of the Black family." She continued, "But after I mark your body and soul in a way that will never let you forget the terror of me, I will alter your memories and you will spend a good amount of time in Azkaban. Look on the bright side, at least you will have company. As your wife, I will denounce your actions as a Death Eater, and portray myself as a wronged lady."
"I will weep for you, Lucius," she smiled, unleashing a powerful Cruciatus on him slowly, but she wouldn't destroy him, at least not yet.
A/N: Arthas here, what did you think of this mini-arc about the fall of the Malfoys? Vincent didn't kill Lucius for several reasons. First, he used his Dream Walker ability risking his physical body. He marked that location with a coin bearing his symbol, and then traveled there with his physical body. Secondly, Lucius still has a role to play later in the story, so killing him off now wouldn't make sense. And thirdly, it was satisfying to let Narcissa have a little revenge on her husband. Don't you agree?