Chapter 115: The Lords Arrive

Disclaimer:

Harry Potter and all of its characters belong to J.K. Rowling.

I own nothing but the original characters I make.

"Dialogue"

'Thoughts'

-Author notes-

Chapter 115: The Lords Arrive

The door to the manor opened with a loud creaking noise, and James was welcomed by the sight of Kreacher giving him the stinky eye.

"You again…"

"I have an appointment with Lord Pollux. Surely you don't want to make your Master wait any more than necessary by keeping me here. Right?"

Kreacher mumbled something under his breath. "Come in, Mister Potter."

The elf moved aside and allowed him to enter.

James stood at the door a few extra seconds while pretending to straighten his attire, to give Bella some time to enter.

Kreacher didn't seem to notice anything. The elf probably didn't even consider the possibility of someone sneaking inside the manor using an invisibility cloak.

This only worked because Bella was already tied to the property wards since it was her house.

Any unauthorized intruder would be immediately detected and dealt with.

Once inside, the door closed by itself and they began to climb the set of stairs.

"Master is waiting at the Main Hall," Kreacher simply said before turning around and guiding him.

James's eyes scanned the house as he walked but could not see any of its occupants.

'It would not be far-fetched for Bella's parents to be present at the meeting, since this is about their daughters. But I was expecting to see Sirius's parents somewhere around here, given the importance of this meeting.'

He wasn't sure how much Pollux had told his family about what he planned to say tonight, or if this was meant to be a surprise for everyone present. In any case, he was going to find out very soon.

James walked at a slow pace to let Bella keep up without difficulty.

Kreacher would often look back and become more annoyed when he saw James dragging behind.

Eventually, they reached their destination.

"Master, Mister Potter has arrived."

"Come in." The voice of Pollux came from the other side, quickly followed by loud murmurs, making it clear that the Patriarch was not alone in there.

Kreacher opened the large wooden doors and made a gesture for James to enter. He once more took his time to pass through the doorframe and made a subtle gesture with his hand to indicate for Bella to go stand in one of the corners of the room.

"Mister Potter, greetings." Lord Pollux greeted him with a genuine smile.

Cygnus and Druella Black did not seem as happy to see him. They were both sitting to the left of Lord Pollux and glaring at him with narrowed eyes.

"Father? What is that child doing here?" Cygnus asked with confusion. Neither he nor his wife had been informed about the real reason for this business meeting.

They had assumed it had to do with the offer given by the Dark Lord.

They could not possibly understand for what reason the Patriarch would have invited James to such an important event.

Druella was moving her cruel eyes between the Patriarch and James, but since her husband had already asked what she wanted to know… she chose to keep her mouth shut for now.

Pollux was quick to brush the question off. "The motives for James's presence will become apparent later on."

The truth was that even Pollux himself was not sure why James had been so insistent on being present during this discussion.

For the Patriarch, the nature of James was still a mystery, but from the few interactions he'd had with the boy, he could tell there was wisdom in his words that did not match someone of his age.

Something told Pollux that he should listen to his advice and that the incredible talent for potions he had seen so far… was nothing more than the tip of the iceberg.

After following proper etiquette and giving his greetings to the hosts, James took a seat on the right of Lord Pollux.

This was a seat reserved for the guest of honor, so it immediately caught the attention of everyone present that he chose to sit there.

But the more surprising fact was that Lord Pollux never said anything to him, and opposite of being upset, the Patriarch actually appeared to be amused by James's actions.

Moments later, another house elf brought them some tea so they would have something to do while they waited for the rest of the guests.

Cygnus and Druella were getting increasingly nervous. Cygnus had asked his father twice already about the nature of this meeting but never received a clear answer.

Pollux never opened his mouth to explain anything to them, so they could only continue to speculate as before.

Minutes passed, and they could all see through the one large window at the top of the back wall that the sky outside had completely darkened.

Bella was watching everything from the corner of the room, where she remained hidden beneath the invisibility cloak that James had given her.

Unlike her parents, she did know what this meeting was going to be about, but that didn't make it less nerve-wracking.

She was sure that the attending Lords were not going to take the news well. And neither would her parents.

Around twenty minutes after James's arrival, Kreacher returned to the hall. "Master, the guests are here."

Pollux glanced at the door. "Let them in."

Everyone watched with attention as Kreacher opened the door and allowed three well-dressed men to enter the Main Hall.

'He didn't come with them… that's good.'

James had been a bit worried that Voldemort would also attend, but now that he could see that only the three affected Lords had made an appearance, he felt much better.

This was something that he would have no problem handling.

"Lord Malfoy, Lord Lestrange, and Lord Rosier. Welcome to my humble home." Pollux greeted them politely, despite that he was about to spit on their faces.

"Please, take a seat."

Lord Abraxas Malfoy was the first one to speak.

"What is this all about, Lord Pollux? You made us three come here to speak about the marriage arrangements between our heirs. I hope you are not thinking of doing something foolish…"

"Father?" Cygnus and his wife glanced at the Patriarch. "What is going on?"

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