Chapter IX

Grimmauld Place had gone quiet again, the kind of quiet that thickened like dust on every surface. The trial had left its mark, on the house, and on them. The days that followed became a strange sort of study with the pile of conspiratorial tomes from the Black family library stacked on the kitchen table.

Hermione dove into the heap first thing in the mornings. Her eyes burned late into the night over 'Wands and Whispers: The Secret Council That Governeth All,' a paranoid history tracing the influence of ancient cabals across centuries of Ministry decrees. She devoured 'The False Fall of the Dark Lord' next, a treatise so controversial, it had been erased from every public archive, which claimed that Loxias sudden and mysterious rise and defeat was a controlled and engineered scheme, by a clandestine circle of pure-blood aristocrats and senior Unspeakables to terrify the populace into accepting more regulations, and surveillance.

Ron slogged through 'The Keepers of Lost Memory', cursing under his breath as he read about mass Obliviations and manufactured collective amnesia. He grew pale at a passage describing how entire trials had been rewritten, even re-staged, to preserve the illusion of justice. "They don't change the past," he said once, shutting the book too hard. "They edit it like a bloody play."

Harry's attention was drawn to 'Prophecy and Pretence: The Crafting of Destinies False and True.' It catalogued forged prophecies, manipulated seers, and political use of fate itself. Each page gnawed at him: the idea that destinies could be fabricated, sold, and weaponized. The implication was simple and corrosive, what if his own prophecy had been one of them?

Hermione had even gone beyond the wizarding archives, bringing back a Muggle text called 'Of Enchantresses and Electors: How Beings Beyond Men Steer the Vote.' The book argued that invisible influences shaped both magical and non-magical politics, that power was a continuum rather than a divide. It should have sounded absurd. Instead, it fit too well.

By the end of the week, the kitchen table had turned into a field of cross-referenced theories. Hermione annotated, Ron argued, Harry stared at the patterns forming between names and dates that should never have intersected. Peverell, Malfoy, Sheraldov, even Dumbledore, the same circles of blood and secrecy, woven through every so-called turning point in history.

When they spoke, it was in fragments now, half theory, half fear. The books agreed on one thing: nothing in their world had ever happened by accident. Wars, reforms, Dark Lords, they were all different masks for the same continuity of control.

When they studied in the basement, Phineas watched them from his frame, a thin smile flickering in the lamplight. "You see it now Potter," he said one night, when the others had gone to bed. "The world does not change. It only rearranges its liars."

"What exactly are we learning from these books Phineas?"

"To think, and to not believe..." He had replied.

Harry didn't answer. The words had already settled somewhere deep, feeding the quiet, necessary paranoia that would guide every step after. The book didn't mention the Wyrd, or the þing, but they spoke of circles that controlled power, that dictated fates and engineered lives and ambitions.

---

Three days had passed since they all had gathered in the basement, they all settled in the living room, when Mr. Weasley finally came by.

"Anything dad? Could you find out anything?" Ron impatiently asked.

"Not really, no one other than the unspeakable know anything, and unspeakable are unspeakable!" Said Mr. Weasley wearily.

"But you think they know something?" Asked Harry.

"No, and I wasn't foolish enough to bother any unspeakable, they are extremely loyal to him, it is the first time that one of them becomes the minister for magic!"

"So what are we going to do?" Asked Hermione.

"I didn't come completely empty-handed Hermione." Smiled Mr. Weasley.

"One of the older fellows at the archives, he reckoned that he definitely had his files, but they were lost when a pipe broke and flooded the archives, what's more interesting is that only one shelf was destroyed by the water, and that was the shelf, located exactly beneath the broken pipe, the Sheraldov shelf!" Explained Mr. Weasley with a knowing, dark look on his face.

"Well that's rubbish!" Exclaimed Ron.

"Exactly!" Confirmed Mr. Weasley.

"Does everyone have a shelf of their own in the archives Mr. Weasley?" Asked Harry.

"Only the most ancient and important families!" Said Mr. Weasley.

"Then how come no one knows this _ancient_ family?" Asked Harry irritably.

"How much do you know about the Malfoy family Harry?" Asked Mr. Weasley. "Or the Notts? Or even the Blacks?" He finished, surveying all three of them.

"Well I don't know..." Began Harry.

"Exactly my point! People just don't know much more that the names of these families, unless if there was a scandal, or a love affair, or something worth gossiping about!" Said Mr. Weasley.

"Yes! But we are not poking our noses into it! I think that we are better off just leaving the matter for now, and continue with the plan!"

"But-" Harry began but was interrupted by the sudden appearance of a single, silvery dove, which flew into the living room through the wall and landed swiftly on the armchair across Harry. Mr. Weasley, Ron, Harry and Hermione stood up at once and drew their wands in unison.

"I come in peace, do not dismiss me!" Said the dove in a vaguely familiar voice of Narcissa Malfoy. "I brought two messages! First: I come to recognize you as the lord and patriarch of the most ancient house of Black, Lord Harry James Potter-Black." The dove paused, fluttering its wings as it sat on the arm rest of a sofa. "I pledge what possession I have from the state of Black, whether in gold, or in land, to you." She continued.

"Did that fucking thing just call you a lord Harry?" Ron asked abruptly.

"Ron! Be quiet!" Said Mr. Weasley, then turned to address the dove. "Why are you here?" He asked firmly.

"More like _how are you here?_" Said Hermione.

The dove lingered on Mr. Weasley for a second before turning its head to look at Hermione. "I am here, for I am a Black, and I have the right to enter the house to which I belong, unless I'm denied entry! I wasn't denied entry in this form." She explained coldly.

There was a pause in which everyone, including the dove stared at Harry. By the time Harry spoke, they had all lowered their wands.

"You gave up the name of Black when you took your husband's name!" Said Harry finally.

"I remain a Black in blood, and that is enough! Will you here the second part of my message now, or will you banish me?" She asked indifferently.

"Lets here it then!" Said Harry.

"My husband, Lucius Malfoy, requests to meet you in person, either at our manor, or at a location of your choosing. If you chose to meet him here, instruct your elf to help him apparate there, or lift the wards temporarily!"

"We definitely will not do that!" Protested Mr. Weasley with a serious look at Harry.

"Yea as if we would!" Said Ron.

"I'm affraid that the decision rests solely on Lord Potter-Black!" Explained the dove.

"Stop calling me that!" Harry snapped.

"Harry you're not actually considering this are you?" Came Hermione's hushed, anxious voice. She knew him far too well. She knew, perhaps just like the rest of them, that he was going to have a hard time taming his curiosity.

"Why does Lucius wish to see Harry?" Asked Mr. Weasley.

"I do not know! I am only the messenger!" Said the dove coolly.

"Fine!"

"Harry!" Mr. Weasley, Ron and Hermione gasped at the same time. "I want to hear what he has to say!" Harry persisted.

"Don't be a fool Harry! This cannot be good! It could be a trap!" Said Mr. Weasley.

"A trap? There is four of us here!" Said Harry.

"Why can't he also send a dove, or a cow in his case?" Snapped Ron.

"Please do not insult my husband boy! I may be indebted to your friend, but you have nothing with me! So know your place!" Spat the angry voice of Narcissa Malfoy.

"Or what? You will cry?" Snapped Ron. "Harry deny her entry and let's be done with it!" He urged.

"He's right Harry-" began Hermione.

"No!" Said Harry firmly and a raised a hand as Mr. Weasley opened his mouth to argue. "I have made my decision."

"Lets think about it-" Said Mr. Weasley.

"No Mr. Weasley, I said, that I have made my decision! I want to hear what he has to say!" Said Harry before turning to the dove. "Will Mr. Malfoy agree to side-along apparition with my house elf?"

"Under the current circumstances, he will!" She answered.

"Very well then, I will send him along in a minute, that is if he is ready to meet now." Said Harry.

"He is!" Said the dove after a short pause and flew out of the room and though the kitchen wall.

"Harry what are you thinking!" Mr. Weasley rounded on him the moment that the dove vanished from view.

"Mr. Weasley, look, Lucius Malfoy is agreeing to meet at night, and by apparating with an elf, there has to be something!"

"It cannot be anything good!" Said Hermione anxiously.

"Yea mate, this smells like trouble, don't fall for that gold and state nonsense either! You don't know what dark rubbish they have hidden in there to blame it on you!"

"Ron is right Harry, the legal process of transferring gold on its own will take months! And that is if the goblins co-operate!" Explained Mr. Weasley.

"It's OK, don't worry! You're all here with me, nothing bad is going to happen, OK? Just be careful not to reveal anything to him!" Said Harry before summoning Kreacher. "Kreacher!"

And with a loud crack, Kreacher popped in front him with a bow.

"Master Harry!"

"I need you to go to the Malfoy manor, find Lucius Malfoy and apparate him here with you! If you see more than just him, his wife and son there, quickly apparate back and report! If you feel danger, or feel threatened, you have my permission to use magic, or any other means to escape, or fight them if you have to, understood?"

"Yes master Harry..." Said Kreacher uncertainly. "You want me to... To force Mr. Malfoy to come?"

"No, he is prepared to come with you."

"Are you-"

"Yes! Now go!" Harry commanded firmly.

"As you wish my master!" And with a deep bow, Kreacher popped out with a loud crack.

"Harry be nice to him, you know how hard and frightening it must be for him!" Said Hermione instantly.

"He didn't need pampering, he needed assurance, which I gave him!" Sid Harry rolling his eyes.

"You have to be insane to let Lucius bloody Malfoy into this house" Said Ron, with a sideways look in the direction of Hermione, who looked anxious and uneasy.

"He's got to be insane to try anything! No, he wants to talk, you didn't see him at the court, he was shaking like a wounded rat! He almost cried when the Wyrd released him, they looked miserable and Lucius, well, he looked changed!" He paused and turned to Hermione and continued before Ron could interrupt him. "Hermione, do you... Do you want to leave?" He asked uncertainly.

"No Harry, I'll stay with you. It's not... Bellatrix... Its just Malfoy!" She sounded like she was trying to convince herself to stay.

"I will stay with you for support, just know this Harry, people like Malfoy don't change easily! Even after a life altering experience, they go back to their defaults quickly!" Said Mr. Weasley.

Harry nodded and sat down, gesturing the others to sit down as well, he didn't want them to seem on-edge or uneasy when Malfoy came. He was home, amongst his friends and family, and he would try his best to look it. They sat there in silence for several minutes, until they finally heard the loud crack, which announced the arrival of Kreacher.

"This way sir!" Came the voice of Kreacher. They had apparated into the kitchen. Kreacher walked in from of Lucius with small rapid steps, he paused and bowed before Harry "Master Harry, I did as instructed!" Half a second later, Lucius Malfoy walked into the living room. He was wearing a comfortable looking robe de chambre, in deep green and silver linings, his silver hair combed back elegantly and his cane, held loosely in his left hand. Harry though that he looked better than when he saw him at the court, but the day and the trauma definitely had a toll on him, and it showed.

"Ah! It's a full house!" He said in an attempt to brighten to serious mood. "Thank you for accepting me into your home, Lord Potter-Black!" He inclined his head. "Arthur, I'm glad that you're here." He nodded in the direction of Mr. Weasley. "And the same goes for you, young Mr. Weasley and Ms. Granger!" He finished. Ron looked like he was a hair away from punching him, and Hermione had a look of disgust on her face that neither of them had seen before.

"I am not lord of anything! And my name is Potter!" Said Harry curtly and coldly, cutting through the silence.

"Very well, Potter it is then! However, you should learn that names can change in the wizarding world! When you inherited this house, you became a Black! In fact, you wouldn't be able to inherit it if you weren't, and now that the only remaining member of the Black bloodline, has pledged allegiance to you, it is formal. I expect the ministry records will be updated shortly when her state is moved into your vaults at Gringotts!" Lucius Malfoy Explained.

"I don't want it! And I don't know how Sirius managed to pass the house to me, he probably knew something that we don't, but I doubt it would make me a Black!"

"I could explain the underlying magic, but you wouldn't accept it from me, and as far as the vaults are concerned, it is definitely up to you. But for now, we have more pressing matters at hand!" He said placidly. "Are you going to offer me a seat?" He asked, looking around at the empty armchairs dramatically.

"What pressing matters?" Asked Ron sharply.

"Arthur, will you not supervise the manners of the youth?"

"Why are you here Lucius? What is this about?" Said Mr. Weasley.

"I shall explain. We have a lot to discuss!"

"Very well, let us sit down and hear it!" Said Mr. Weasley, seeing that there was no choice but to go through with this. Harry made no objection, even though he would've liked to. They all sat down. Lucius took a dramatically long moment to settle himself in the armchair behind him and smoothen the creases of his robes about him.

"Now, it is not easy for me to say, what I have to say, but I shall say it." Lucius drew a long breath. "I Lucius Malfoy, son of Abraxas Malfoy, heir and patriarch of the Malfoy dynasty, extend my gratitude to you, Mr. Potter! My family and I are indebted to you, and I pledge that should you call on me, my son, Draco, or my wife, Narcissa Black Malfoy, we shall be of aid, should you need it!" Lucius didn't look at anyone but Harry, he stared into his emerald green eyes with intensity, sincerity and devotion, and Harry knew that he meant every word.

"I only spoke the truth, nothing more-"

"-But you didn't have to! We didn't expect it of you! You did as you swore, the truth, all the truth, and nothing but the truth!" Lucius cut him off, putting extra emphasis on the word _all_.

"Harry! You have to accept the pledge or refuse it! Its wizarding tradition!" Whispered Mr. Weasley into Harry's ear urgently.

"What happens if I refuse?" He asked.

"That's it! He has to leave, there can be no spoken words after the refusal of a pledge!" Explained Mr. Weasley. Hermione and Ron exchanged furtive looks as they too felt the tension in the room. The silence between them stretched as Harry weighed his choices. He didn't trust the Malfoys, but he didn't want them as enemies either. Not because he was affraid of them, no, but because he was tired of the animosity, and he was sick of how everything was going on exactly as they did before and during the war. Maybe this could be the beginning of change, maybe, if the Malfoys could be turned, if they were so seemingly willing to change, then there was hope for the rest. Maybe this society could, after all become a society! A society without underlying hatred and supremacy etched in its heart.

"Your answer Lord Potter-Black, I need it!" Pressed Lucius.

"Right! Well I don't need followers, or caregivers, I could do with friends, or at least fewer foes, so I accept your gratitude and your pledge, though I shall not call upon you, unless I'm in my deathbed, and you're my last hope!" Said Harry rapidly and formally.

"Thank you! That's all I could ask for!" Said Lucius Malfoy with a nod.

"I also don't need this lordship nonsense." Harry added.

"You shall be addressed as you please." Lucius inclined hi head slightly.

"Lucius you knew very well that he could not refuse it! You knew that he would accept it, only if it was to hear what you had to say afterwards! Know this, that a pledge can be withdrawn! And if this is one of your games, I swear I will make him withdraw it!" Said Mr. Weasley threateningly.

"No need to recite wizarding tradition to me Arthur, I know it by heart. This is not a game, I meant what I said, and should you persuade him out of his pledge unjustly, I shall not forget it, and I have a long memory!" Replied Lucius Malfoy placidly.

"Is that a threat?" Asked Mr. Weasley with a pointed finger.

"Didn't I say it like a threat?" He replied flatly.

"Kreacher! We need more tea!" Harry said loudly, as he felt like the so-called adults in the room were an inch away from a duel.

Kreacher popped in almost immediately, bowed as he laid the tea tray and biscuits, and with another bow, popped out with a crack.

"Let us not fight, please." Both Mr. Weasley and Lucius Malfoy rounded on him, as if they were not going to let him break the fight. "I will not have any fights in this house!" He said firmly, but politely.

"It suits you Potter!" Said Lucius Malfoy. "Always enforce the rules of your house, no matter what!" Said Lucius Malfoy with an affirming nod to Harry. Harry had to suppress the urge to roll his eyes, the last thing that he needed was to get lessons from Lucius Malfoy.

"You have some nerves coming in here with that attitude!" Spat Mr. Weasley angrily. Harry wanted to interrupt again, and calm them down, but he was cut off before he even opened his mouth.

"Maybe, just maybe Arthur, I am changed! Maybe I had a reverie, or a dream, or a nightmare! Or maybe I lived through one!" Said Lucius Malfoy coldly.

"No offence Mr. Malfoy, Erm, not that I care really, but I don't think someone like you is even capable of change!" Said Ron in his usual disdainful tone, which he used specifically for the Malfoys. "I could start counting your crimes right now, and I wouldn't be finished until the next afternoon!"

"Could you imagine that there are worse people than I, on this planet?"

"We've dealt with worse, and we've won!" Spat Hermione, speaking for the first time.

"Scum are everywhere, and there is always a bigger fish!" Said Ron rudely.

"Well you're all a bunch of bloody heroes-" Lucius drawled with a bored voice and an eye roll to Hermione. "-And the bigger fish is upon us! Nay! We are in its lake!"

"What's that supposed to mean?" Asked Mr. Weasley.

"Sheraldov!" Roared Lucius Malfoy.

There were a few seconds of silence as they all exchanged glances. This was after all the very topic that they have been occupied with for the past few days.

"What about him?" Asked Mr. Weasley with narrowed eyes.

"Everything! Didn't you people ever wondered what happened to Kingsley Shacklebolt? You just so willingly accepted this relic of the past as your minister, because he was rough with death eaters!"

"Shacklebolt went abroad to- Why did he go abroad dad?" Said Ron.

"Shacklebolt was never supposed to be a permanent minister, and he did go abroad to look for an ancient artefact which he dearly desired and since the war was over, he had time to pursue it."

"And you believed that? He just turned his back on being the next minister for magic because of an artefact?"

"Mr. Malfoy," Began Hermione in a small voice. "Why did you call Sheraldov a relic of the past?"

Lucius paused. "Very astute!" He finally said with a grin. "I'm glad that someone at least, is using their brain! What do you know about that courtroom Potter?" He asked, turning to Harry.

Harry wasn't sure if Malfoy was bluffing, or if he had some genuine information. He didn't want to reveal too much, and yet he wanted to see what Malfoy knew that dragged him all the way over here. After a long pause, in which all eyes were on Harry, he decided to tell some, of the truth.

"We know about the Wyrd, and we know about the conspiracies, but that is about it!"

"And is that why you went poking around the old archives, looking for clues about his past?" Asked Lucius Malfoy, looking at Mr. Weasley.

"How, How do you know that?"

"The old fellow who works there is a friend of mine, as he was fetching some files regarding the old Black vaults for me, he very casually reported your not so stealthy visit!"

"And?" Interrupted Harry with a raised eyebrow.

"And you lied to me! You suspect him! And rightfully so!"

"I didn't lie, we suspected-Hermione thought that he might be older than he looked when I described his eyes-"

"And correctly so! But the silver eyes are not exclusive to those who drink the elixir of life, and that's why no one thinks about it, however we know that very few people know about the Wyrd! Those who remember it, and those who are descended from them!"

"But I've been reading extensively on the matter. There were precisely seven members in the original circle. A group of notoriously powerful wizards that called themselves 'The Crimson Liege'. Their objective was to unleash the þing and fulfil the prophecy of Merlin's return, but a short while after that, three of them broke away, and formed the þing hunter's circle. The original four proceeded with their plans. There aren't any precise records as to what they have been doing, or for how long they've been active." Hermione paused, shifting her gaze to Mr. Weasley's direction. "You, Mr. Weasley, descend from one of the original four, who was one of the founders of the original circle-"

"And I descend from another, son of Armand, who was a prominent figure in the schism!" Interrupted Lucius Malfoy.

"That is correct." Confirmed Hermione.

"Hang on a moment," Interjected Ron. "Is that why the þing called him out Hermione?"

"That is right." Answered Ron.

"So the Wyrd knows the names of the people in the original circle, and can detect the blood of those who descend from them?" Asked Harry.

"Seems like it." Said Hermione.

"But how could it detect me then?"

"It is because you are a descendant of Peverell, if I recall hearing correctly!" Said Lucius Malfoy.

"They weren't involved with this nonsense! Where they?" He asked Hermione.

"Well, I can't say for sure. According to Nature's Nobility: A Wizarding Genealogy, the Peverell name was amongst the first to become extinct in the male line, meaning that the name had died out amongst wizarding families, but not the members of the family itself," She paused "And that's as much as we dug up back then." She finished in an embarrassed tone, as if she had failed an assignment.

"Hermione we've been over this!"

"Yes Harry, I remember, and am not saying that you aren't, but I just can't trace it factually! Although the þing's verification is also something that we should factor in!"

"It can be factually traced perfectly!" Said Lucius Malfoy. "Iolanthe Peverell was the granddaughter of Ignotus Peverell. She lived in Godric's Hollow and upon her marriage to Hardwin Potter, her children took the name of Potter. In the tradition of the Peverell family, possession of the heirlooms of the Peverell was kept a secret. Hardwin honoured her family's tradition, and from then on the heirlooms were passed to the eldest child of each new generation of Potters." Malfoy serveyed Harry with a knowing look, before continuing. "The Malfoy library has ample amounts of books and documents on wizarding lineage and bloodlines. Perhaps even more than the ministry. If it is of any use, I'd allow you to use it."

"You have books that prove this?" Asked Harry.

"Volumes and volumes of them! Should you wish to come to my manor to examine them, I'd be happy to host you, and your friends."

"Yea as if we'd step foot in that salughter house of yours." Spat Ron harshly.

There was a brief pause. The air was thick with anticipation. The underlying mistrust of previous encounters that harnessed only suspicion and hostility that was masked by polite small talk by then, had broken its shackles. A shadow fell on Lucius Malfoy's face, making his pale blue eyes gleam in the darkness, like a wolf, watching, observing and ready to strike. It was as if the room itself became colder and darker. They were all remembering far too well, what they had experienced in that manor, Hermione more than everyone else. Harry could still hear her screams in his head, and he was sure that Ron could as well. He couldn't even imagine what it must be like for her to even imagine entering that house again.

"The manor Malfoy has ever been a house of culture, art and literature! It is a stain upon our heritage that it was used to house filth such as Grayback!"

"Your heritage is a stain upon humanity!"

"Ron that's enough!" Said Mr. Weasley sharply. "I apologize for my son's behaviour." He continued with a pointed look at Ron's direction.

"Do all your children like to kick people when they're down Arthur?" Asked Lucius Malfoy without blinking.

"No! That would be more up your alley Lucius!" Said Mr. Weasley coldly. "And although I don't necessarily disagree with my son, we prefer to maintain a veneer of civility in our interactions!"

"This will not do!" Spoke Harry loudly. "Tell us why you are here Mr. Malfoy."

"As I was saying, only two groups of people know about the Wyrd, those who remember it, and those who are descended from them! Which means that Sheraldov has to belong to one of those groups! I believe that he is not descended from any original circle member, we would have records on that! He might descend from someone who knew about it and kept the story alive by passing it to their children generation after generation, but that is far-fetched!"

"And that leaves us with nothing." Said Ron grudgingly.

"Not quite! He might be working for someone who fits in one of those groups, or he may have learned about it from one of them! However, the þing called someone the potion maker. That is not me and that is definitely not Potter, and there was precisely one potion maker in the circle!"

"Who?"

"Tobias Borage!"

"Borage... Borage..." Hermione repeated under her breath. "It can't be someone related to Libatius Borage, the author of the Advanced Potion-Making book, could it?"

"That's precisely who he is related to." Confirmed Lucius Malfoy.

"So you think that's our potion maker?" Asked Harry.

"Could be, yet we need to do extensive reasearch to verify it."

"And then?" Asked Mr. Weasley with an edge to his voice.

"Then we deal with it!"

"What do you mean we? There is no we!" Spat Ron.

"That doesn't matter now Ron!" Hissed Hermione. "What do you mean by dealing with it Mr. Malfoy?" She asked, turning to Lucius.

"It can mean a plethora of things, but for now, we will have to find out who Sheraldov really is, how much he knows, how he knows it and what he is planning to do with it!"

"And you think that your severed connections with the officials at the ministry and the relics at your library are going to help us more than my connections and the Black library?" Asked Mr. Weasley with a mocking tone and a grin.

"My ties to the ministry aren't as severed as you'd like to believe Arthur! Besides, I'm not here to compete with you, or a forsaken library! I am here to place my resources at Potter's disposal, and to offer my help, should he need it!" He drawled in a bored and cold tone.

"How generous of you! What a kind and gentle gesture Lucius! It is almost convincing!" Retorted Mr. Weasley sarcastically.

"I grow weary of your juvenile bickering Arthur! Perhaps you hang out with the youth too much!" He then turned to Harry. "What say you Potter? Will you consider my offer?"

"He will never accept your help!" Said Ron loudly before Harry could even open his mouth to answer.

"Believe me little Weasley, it is not a thrill for me to team up with you either! But if we are correct in our assumptions, the foe is far too great and far too dangerous! Even for the chosen one and his "friends"!"

"We are not teaming up with you Malfoy!" Said Mr. Weasley firmly.

Harry just shook his head in disappointment. They were all acting like children. They were too focused on defeating each other in cheap verbal duels, that they were missing the point.

"It seems that we have a lot to sort out between us, and I don't think that we will be able to do it here, not with all the bickering and shouting!" Harry said loudly, trying to calm them down. "I think that we should all take a step back and think about what we are doing here, and what we are up against, then we can decide what to do next! Right now we must decide whether we are going to work together, or not!" Harry finished and looked at each of them in turn, his gaze swaying over Mr. Weasley, Ron, Hermione and finally Lucius Malfoy.

"We'll see about that! I'll be at home, should you need to reach out!" Said Lucius Malfoy with a nod and a careless and dismissive wave of his hand. He stood up and smoothened his robes. "Discuss amongst yourself, vote if you have to, but know this, that I will walk the same path as you, and at least until we know everything, there will be no conflicts between us!" He then turned to Harry. "I need your elf to apparate me back home, if you please!"

Harry stood up before anyone could say anything to throw them into another argument. "We will inform you of our decision!" He said pointedly before summoning Kreacher.