The Greengrasses

Draco POV:

Sunlight poured in through the window as I roused from my nightly business. I barely need any sleep, so most of my time at night is spent in my mind reading and working on different projects. Mostly reading at this point.

A quick flush of magic through my mind and body to wake me up completely and I sat on the edge of the bed, cross legged for my daily body circulation training.

My magic flowed through every part of my body from head to toe faster and faster until it was so fast that a now familiar pressure starts to be exerted on every part of my body uniformly. It's a strange but good sensation. I kept speeding up until my instincts warned me to go no further and kept at that speed.

An hour later, my instincs from my strong soul warned me again that any more will damage me and slowed the circulation of magic, letting go of my manual control when it was flowing slowly through my body as usual.

A quick shower later and I dressed for the day in nice but casual clothes, ready to meet the Greengrasses after breakfast. Lucius didn't join us this morning, so it was just mother and I eating. We chatted for a bit before I was soon standing before the floo, mother sending me off.

"Be good Draco. Remember your etiquitte. Play nice with Daphne as well." She said, worried.

"I will mother. See you soon." I said.

She gave me a tight hug before letting me leave. I understand. This is the second day in a row that i've left the house by myself, especially since I had barely gone anywhere before the ball. Taking a handful of floo power, I stepped into the fireplace.

"Greengrass hearth." I said clearly, remembering the floo address Daphne had provided as I threw the powder into the fire.

A *whoosh* sound came and I was engulfed in green flames, whizzing through the increasingly more familiar floo network, passing many fireplaces as I went before reaching my destination.

Soon I was walking out of a fireplace in a nicely furnished entrance hall. A light scan over the residence with my soul revealed that this was a mansion about half the size of Malfoy manor. The whole place was decorated similarly, but the colour scheme here was light blue and silver, giving the place and spacious and elegant feeling.

I had arrived at the agreed upon time, so standing across from me was the whole Greengrass family. I stepped forward and adressed the lord of the house as required.

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Jacob Greengrass POV:

"Lord Greengrass, thank you for inviting me into your home." Said Draco, presenting his hand for a handshake.

"It's my pleasure. Please be welcome, we have much to talk about." I replied.

I accepted the offered hand and shook his, surprised by the firm grip he possessed.

"Indeed Lord Greengrass." He said.

He had a polite smile as he greeted the rest of my family.

"Lady Greengrass, thank you for letting me into your home." He said, brushing his lips over my wife's knuckles in a perfect bow.

"A pleasure to have you here, Draco." Said Elizabeth, allowing Draco to move on with the obligatory greetings.

"Heiress Greengrass. A pleasure to see you again." He said, bowing and brushing his lips over her knuckles.

"The pleasure is mine, Draco. Thank you for coming." Daphne replied.

"Miss Greengrass. We didn't have much time to talk at the ball, but it's a pleasure to see you again. I hope we get along." He said, repeating the same action a third time.

During all this, I never stopped observing him. My wife had a slight smile, Daphne's cheeks were a little pink while Astoria...

"Draco! Draco! Is it true?! Did muggles really go to the moon?!" Astoria exclaimed excitedly, completely ignoring all etiquitte her mother and I taught her.

"Astoria, mind your manners." Reprimanded Elizabeth.

Astoria just pouted at her.

"But mum! You saw the memory. It's not like Draco cares!" Astoria whined.

I had to step in here.

"Astoria. That's enough. Don't disrespect your mother like that. Whether mister Malfoy cares or not is besides the point, it's impolite." I said.

Astoria's pout turned towards me, but I wouldn't be swayed so easily. You don't have a family like mine and survive if all it takes is a pout to make you crumble.

Draco chuckled and interjected. "Indeed they did miss Greengrass, indeed they did." He said.

"Your father is right however. You should listen to him. I may not care for all the pomp and circius of pureblood etiquitte, but proper manners are essential. This isn't my home and i'm a guest here, etiquitte must be observed." He said, prompting me to nod along.

"Exactly right mister Malfoy." I said.

"Please, call me Draco. The same goes for everyone as well." He interjected.

"Draco then." I acquiesced.

"Draco is right Astoria. Now apologise to your mother." I told her sternly.

She seemed a bit put out but still bowed her head.

"Sorry mother. Sorry Draco." She apologised.

It would have turned awkward if not for Daphne clearing her throat.

"Why don't we go to dining hall so we can talk. Have you eaten yet Draco?" She asked.

Draco smiled at her and nodded.

"I have Daphne, thanks for asking. I'll follow your lead." He said.

"Tippy." I said, the elf popping in at my call.

"Please prepare tea and snacks in the dining room, we have a guest." I said.

"Yes master." She said, popping away.

We walked together to the dining hall where tea and snacks were prepared, Astoria badgering Draco along they way as we took our seats.

"So Draco." I said.

"We all saw Daphne's memory of the ball. Did your father really not talk to you about anything beforehand?" I asked, aiming to see how much he knew.

Just from Daphne's memory, I'm almost certain that he can be trusted, but you can never be too sure with something this important.

He nodded placidly. "No Lord Greengrass" He said.

"Call me Jacob." I interrupted.

"And call me Elizabeth as well Draco." Said Elizabeth.

"Thank you. No Jacob, Lucius never speaks to me about any of his plans. The first I heard about the contact was a few days before the ball. It was a shock to me at the time let me tell you." He said.

I observed him closely. He wasn't very guarded at this moment. Quite relaxed really, and I didn't notice anything that would indicate a lie. A subtle nudge from my wife told me she thought the same.

I smiled. "Well then. It seems we can have a proper conversation." I said.

He smiled. "You wish to talk about serious topics before anything else then?" He asked.

I nodded. "Indeed. Business before pleasure as they say." I said.

"Understood." He said.

"In that case then, I have an announcement that can affect the situation regarding the betrothal agreement." He said.

"Oh? Well don't leave us in suspense Draco." Said Elizabeth, teasing him slightly.

"Of course Elizabeth. Yesterday, I received an invitation from Lord Arcturus Black." Said Draco.

I felt myself stiffen slightly at the mention of Black. I've met him once, years ago now before he stopped showing up. I still remember his overpowering presence.

Draco continued. "At the end of the meeting, he decided to confer to me the Black Heirship." He finished.

"Seriously? After one meeting?" Questioned Daphne.

Draco shook his head.

"You haven't met him Daphne so you don't understand. Lord Black is not someone who procrastinates. Nor does he make decisions lightly. He is a very decisive person. Once he makes up his mind, that's it." He said.

Daphne nodded. "I remember you telling us at the ball that your position as the Black Heir wasn't confirmed." She said.

"That was true. At that time, I hadn't met grandfather and the Black Heirship was one of Lucius' schemes. Now, it is confirmed." He said.

I had to interrupt here.

"Grandfather?" I questioned.

Draco smiled and nodded.

"Yes, Arcturus lets me call him grandfather. We get along quite well actually. I'll be visiting him regularly for at least the next year so he can train me, starting tomorrow." He said.

I didn't know what to think about that, but it is undoubtedly a good opportunity for the young man.

"That's quite impressive Draco. Congratulations!" Said Elizabeth, smiling.

I could tell she was already thinking about how this would affect the betrothal. The only way would be...

"So how does that affect the marriage contract? I don't understand." Said Astoria.

Draco looked at her and patiently explained.

"Well Astoria. Right now, I would have to wait many years until I come of age or Lucius dies before I could do anything about the contract. As soon as that happens, I would be able to take over from Lucius as head of the Malfoy family." He started.

"It would be many years of waiting before I could do anything. Now however, as Heir Black, it is within my power to discuss betrothal agreements for the Black family. Normally this would be left to my parents, but since they're not part of the Black family at this time, even if my mother was born a Black, it falls to me." He said.

"So? How does that change anything?" Asked Astoria.

Draco looked exasperated.

"I was getting there, please don't interrupt." He said gently, letting all of us enjoy Astoria's chagrined expression.

"Now then. Since I can negotiate betrothal contracts for the Black family, I would be able to present a contract for Daphne's hand in marriage. Normally, this wouldn't mean much. If your parents accepted, it would be breaking the contract made with Lucius and be grounds for a legal battle." He said.

"However, because Daphne would be contracted to the same person, this makes both contracts valid from a legal standpoint. This puts the entire situation into a legal grey area. I'm not an expert on the laws of magical Britain, so you would need someone with more knowledge than me to explain the details." He continued.

"From what I understand though, this would allow it so that only one of the contracts needs to be followed. I got a copy of the contract yesterday to look through, and it specifically names the Greengrass Heiress as the subject of the contract, so unless Jacob names you the Heiress, you will be safe." He said.

"It's all very complicated Astoria and would take a professional lawyer to parse through, but that's the gist of it. Legally anyway. The contract with Lucius is a magical contract, so failing to meet the conditions written on it would result in backlash no matter the legalities. That would be up to your father to manage." He finished his lesson.

I couldn't help but look at him after he finished. His explanation may not seem like much, but it shows formidable insight and cunning to come up with that in a single day. Not something anyone would expect from a 7 year old.

I had to ask though.

"What about Lord Black? Would he not object?" I asked.

Draco looked troubled for a minute before he sighed.

"Maybe i'm too trusting." He muttered to himself, but we all heard it.

"Lord Greengrass, Lady Greengrass, Hieress Greengrass, miss Greengrass." He said, suddenly serious.

"If you can promise me, on the Greengrass name, to not reveal what i'm about to tell you to another soul, I can answer that question." He said.

We were all a little stunned by the sheer weight of his aura when he turned serious. No wonder he gets along with Arcturus Black. This young man will become someone formidable, I can see it already.

Daphne was the first to answer, already trusting him quite a bit after the ball.

"I swear." Daphne said, looking at him.

"Me as well, I swear." Said Elizabeth.

I looked at her in surprise, before understanding. At this point, we were pretty desperate and this news came too suddenly. We need to know everything about it. An oath like this may not be magically binding, but it's held to our own pride.

Most families are prideful of their own family, and we're no different. The Greengrasses are thousands of years old and have a prestigious history, none of us would violate an oath on our family name.

"Me too, I swear." Said Astoria.

I sighed, seeing everyone looking at me, before straightening my spine.

"Very well then, I can see where the wind is blowing. I swear on the Greengrass name to not tell another soul the information you're about to share." I said to him solemnly.

Little did they know, but Draco wouldn't trust them just like that, especially without magic backing it. Anyone can lie after all. He was using his soul sense to determine how serious they were about the oath. He was pleasantly surprised to find that they all meant it. After a thorough scan, he determined them trustworthy enough.

Draco nodded slowly.

"Very well then. Concerning grandfather interrupting, he wouldn't. The reason for this is simple. He doesn't have long to live." Draco said, causing all of us shock.

"Surely not Draco. Lord Black is barely middle aged by wizard standards. He should live for centuries yet." Said Elizabeth.

Draco shook his head.

"It's not that simple. He was cursed during the final battle with Grindelwald by Grindelwald himself. The healers were never able to get rid of the curse, only slow it down." He said.

A silence hung in the air.

"How long does he have then?" Asked Daphne, softly.

 "2 years at most. Most likely less." Answered Draco.

She nodded and held his hand.

"I'm sorry." She said.

He only smiled. "It's fine. I imagine it will hit a lot harder once i've got to know him better." He said.

Looking at Daphne's action, I couldn't help but sigh. The past month since the contract has been a hippogriff ride of emotions. I had already resigned to seeing Daphne in the hands of another man, but not so soon. At least I like Draco from what i've seen so far.

"Well anyway. That's why no one has seen grandfather for a long time. He won't interfere in my business because of that." Said Draco.

I nodded. "That makes sense. No one has seen him for a long time now, I guess this is the reason." I said.

He nodded. "Back to our discussion. My being confirmed as the Black Heir gives your family another option to choose from. We could create a betrothal contract between Daphne and I for the Black family. Or we could simply wait for me to be older and cancel the original contract." He said.

Elizabeth and I looked at eachother for a moment.

"While we are inclined to agree with you, I think that Elizabeth and I would like to discuss this and get back to you." I said finally, Elizabeth nodding with me.

He nodded. "I understand. I wouldn't be able to do it today anyway, it will take a few days for grandfather to arrange my Heirship with the ministry and Gringotts. On that note, please keep quiet about it for a few days until it has gone through officially." He requested.

I nodded. "Of course. We will keep quiet about it." I promised, looking at Daphne and Astoria who both nodded.

Astoria might be the most precocious of us, but she knows when to take things seriously. Her mother and I made sure both our girls do.

"I still want to ask you Draco, why you would want to cancel the contract at all. We all watched the memory Daphne showed us, but I would like to hear your reasons for myself." I said seriously.

Daphne sighed, expecting this already and it seemed that Draco expected this as well as all he did was nod.

"Well Jacob, the main reason is that I can do something about it. I wouldn't call myself a good person per se, but this is a situation that I both cannot abide and am in a position to do something about." He said.

"The next biggest reason after that is that I would not want a wife that hates me. When I marry, I want my wife to be my closest person. Maybe it's a fantasy in my position, but I want to love my wife deeply. Building a relationship on the grounds of that contract would not result in anything pleasant." He said.

"All other reasons are relatively minor compared to those two. Things like creating a positive connection with your family for example, while useful to me, didn't factor into my decision. They're just unintended benefits that could be useful down the line." He finished.

I was looking at him closely as he answered and eventually nodded, recieving another nudge from my wife to let me know she didn't notice anything either. I will believe what he said, until proven otherwise anyway.

"Thank you then, Draco. We will owe you a debt if you can help us out of this situation." I conceded.

He smiled and nodded.

"Thank you Lord Greengrass." He said, acknowledging the seriousness of my statement.

"You're being very open with us today Draco." Elizabeth said idly, masking her intention to prod him perfectly.

He just smiled at her.

"Indeed I am Elizabeth. I had already decided before coming here. If you want my reasons, I can give them if you like." He said, exposing her intentions.

I smiled as Elizabeth's expression faltered for a moment, not expecting to be seen through.

"If that's alright with you Draco." I said, curious myself.

He nodded. "The main reason is that I think you could be perfect allies in the future." He said.

I nodded slowly, thinking.

"Maybe. But we don't have much influence however, despite our wealth." I said.

He nodded in acknowledgement.

"While that is true for the moment, it is possible to change that. I spent some time thinking yesterday after grandfather told me he would make me the Black Heir." He started.

"I don't support the dark faction nor do I support the light faction. They are too extreme. Both before the war and especially after it. I don't like Dumbledore either." He said.

"So I thought, why do I have to bend to either of the factions? I'm sure you heard me proclaim my dreams in Daphne's memory?" He asked.

I nodded. "We heard. It was... enlightening." I said.

And it truly was. I had Tippy pop into the muggle world and grab a few books and what I learned was startling, to say the least. I will need time to investigate more, especially his claims about the universe, but it's a fantastic dream.

He nodded. "Well, to achieve those dreams, I will need to become powerful. More powerful than Dumbledore, more powerful than Voldemort, more powerful than Merlin himself!" He proclaimed with fierce determination as the weight of his presence pressed the room again.

We all flinched slightly and he looked abashed, his cheeks a little red in embarrassment. I'm starting to get curious how he does that. That pressure didn't feel like magical pressure. I've felt Dumbledore's magical pressure before and it's not the same feeling.

What he didn't know was that that was Draco's soul pressing down on them. A little slip in control, it has nothing to do with magic. The weight of a powerful soul is heavy indeed.

"Sorry." He apologised.

"Anyway. Powerful people always attract attention, both good and bad. I planned to be powerful enough to be able to simply ignore it all and I still do, but that would make people hate and fear me. It would be a lot easier to have powerful allies instead." He continued his explanation.

"So I thought about how to go about getting a group of powerful allies, which brings me back to the start of my explanation. I don't like the light faction, the dark faction nor do I like their leaders. That brings me to think about families like yours." He said.

"There are quite a few families that mostly stay out of politics. Some focus on business like yours or the Patils. There are others like the Bones' and the Abbots who are tentatively on the light side but not followers of Dumbledore, mostly due to Amelia Bones." He continued.

"There are more besides in both the light and dark faction. The Bulstrodes for instance. I thought that you and Elizabeth are perfectly positioned to create your own faction that would support me." He said.

I was startled by the idea. Draco continued on though so I didn't get a chance to voice anything.

"This contract gives you the perfect starting point even. You were pressured by the dark faction into signing a contact that ruins your family. You can use that as the impetus to begin newtorking." He said.

"The Greengrass family is old and respected. You never joined the war. You care deeply about your family. You're both charismatic people as well and could bring people together. I'm sure you could do it if you really put your minds to it." He finished.

I said there for a minute, stunned by the bold young man sitting in front of me. It's a viable idea even. Still though...

"You... are a terrifying child Draco." I said, numbly.

He smiled. "Thank you. I aim to please." He joked.

Elizabeth spoke up then, tense.

"And what would you be to this faction then?" Elizabeth asked, shoulders tought.

He smiled at her. "I understand your worries, but they're unnecessary. I have no intention of becoming the leader of a faction. My role in this theoretical faction would be a business partner or maybe a backer. Favours I could call upon and alliances with people I respect would go a long way to shielding me from politicians when I do become that powerful." He said.

I breathed a sigh of relief, before Daphne spoke up.

"How do you know you will though? Become that powerful I mean. You're planning years in advance for something that may or may not happen." She asked, intensely curious.

I jolted for a second, startled to realise that I was already considering Draco's words as true, especially with Daphne's question lingering in the air. His confidence had already drawn me in and I didn't even notice. I must be going crazy. This whole conversation so far has felt like I was talking to a peer, not a child.

Elizabeth backed her question as well.

"That's a good question. I would like to know as well. You sound very confident in becoming that powerful." She asked.

He laughed and nodded.

"Hahaha! That's true. Why should you believe me? For all you know, I could be delusional." He said, clearly happy with the question for some reason.

"Do you know what determines magical power? Do you know what the relationship between the mind, body and soul is? Do you know the secrets of wandless magic?" He asked, letting his questions hang in the silence that followed.

He smiled mysteriously. "Well... I do. I have already found my path to power. Nothing will stop me from persuing my goals. No force can stop me from reaching my dreams. And no one will be able to halt my path." He stated with utmost confidence and determination, eyes shining brightly with resolve.

Elizabeth and I sat there, utterly blindsided by his proclamation. His questions floated through my mind and I found myself unable to answer any of them. Those topics are secrets of magic that people study for a lifetime, only to fail. And now this boy claims he knows the answers? It's absurd. And yet, when I look into his eyes, I find myself believing him.

Astoria sat there confused, not understanding the gravity of the topics brought up, but Daphne started breathing heavily. She's been obsessed with magic ever since Astoria was diagnosed with the blood curse. Elizabeth and I both knew about her taking an ancestors wand of course, but we didn't stop it.

It made her feel better and gave her a goal to work towards. We couldn't take that away from her. We kept an eye on her as she dove into magic headfirst, sometimes directing her towards different subjects like occlumency.

We watched her from afar, proud, as she developed her magical abilities even without a magical core. I had to look it up, but a wand makes that possible by drawing the available magic out of the space where the core resides, even without a formed core. She only developed her core within the last 6 months, proving she will be a powerful witch in the future.

Her interest in magic grew with everything she learned, branching out to different subjects. Charms, runes, potions, arithmancy, transfiguration, no magic escapes her notice. We've even had to take away some books we caught her reading before, like blood magic or rituals. It's way too early for her to read those.

From all her delving into magic, Daphne knew the secretive nature of the topics Draco brought up and the seriousness of him proclaiming to know the answers.

"H-how? No one knows the answers to those questions." Daphne stuttered out.

Draco smiled. "That, Daphne, is my secret." He refused to answer.

But Daphne wasn't able to hold herself back, grabbing him tightly from where she sat next to him.

"Draco! You have to tell me! Please!" She pleaded with him, almost shaking him.

Draco sighed and was about to respond, but I had to cut in here.

"Daphne. Calm down." I said sternly.

Daphne froze and gradually calmed down, letting go of him. It took a minute or two for her control herself, but when she did an embarrassed blush spread across her cheeks.

"Sorry Draco. I lost control of myself for a moment." She said quietly.

He nodded. "It's fine. I can understand your curiosity. Nevertheless, I won't share my secrets readily." He said calmly, but firmly.

Daphne was about to speak again but I interrupted her here.

"Daphne. If Draco doesn't want share his secrets, we cannot force him." I said, commanding her to back down, despite my own curiosity.

Daphne opened her mouth but said nothing, ultimately sighing in resignation and disappointment.

Draco interjected here after seeing her so gloomy.

"I'll tell you what Daphne." He started, Daphne perking up at him.

"I see you have already formed your magical core, congratulations by the way. Since that's the case, I will answer those questions if you can reach the 7th stage of occlumency before we go to Hogwarts." He said, startling us all with the requirement.

"Really?" Daphne said, her eyes shining.

Draco smiled and nodded.

"Really. But remember, only if you can do it before hogwarts will I tell you." He reminded.

But Daphne was too excited to care, practically vibrating in her seat with enthusiasm. I had to warn her however.

"Daphne. Don't underestimate the difficulty of this. Neither I nor your mother have reached the 6th stage, let alone the 7th. And Draco, is that test really necessary? Isn't that an impossible task?" I warned, before asking Draco.

He snorted. "Impossible? No, it's not impossible. The barrier between the 5th and above levels of occlumency is, in my opinion, the barrier to greatness. She has 4 years. If she can't do this, she doesn't qualify to hear the answers to those questions." He said.

He was not unkind when saying so, but I saw see her flinch minutely before resolve filled her eyes and she practically radiated determination.

"Very well Draco. I will reach the 7th stage of occlumency before Hogwarts and get those answers." Daphne said, resolute.

Draco smiled and nodded.

"I believe in you. A little tip for connecting your magical core to your mindscape: The closer you get to your mindscape, the more demanding and difficult the process becomes. Don't falter or you'll have to start over from the beginning." He said.

That gave me pause.

"Wait a second, does that mean you've done it?" I asked, dumbfounded.

Elizabeth was equally surprised as I was. Both of us had tried before, and we just couldn't do it. The process was simply too difficult.

He looked at us strangely.

"I thought that would be obvious? I reached the 7th stage of occlumency a while ago." He said.

Him looking at me like I was the strange one will forever haunt my dreams. 

"You truly are... a terrifying child." I whispered into the silence that followed.

(A/N: Hey readers. This is unrelated to the chapter but I was looking through my notifications and a paragraph comment was funny to me. I was about to reply but I noticed that the paragraph he commented on had a spelling mistake. I corrected that mistake but now his comment is gone. Anyone got any answers for that?)