Chapter 118: I Will Leave It To You

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 118: I Will Leave It To You

"They… are they dead?" Cygnus muttered as he stared at the Lord and the pool of blood extending across the floor of the hall.

"Lord Malfoy is still screaming, so no…" Lord Pollux pointed out.

"Lord Rosier is definitely dead." Druella glared at James. She wanted nothing more than to curse him right now. She may now be a Black by marriage, but the Rosiers were her family, and James had just killed her granduncle… with a grape.

James tapped the table, and a moment later, the spike impaling Lord Lestrange retracted, allowing the man to collapse on the floor.

"Those two may still live if they receive immediate medical attention." He glanced at the man next to him.

"I'll leave it to Lord Pollux to decide their fate. I merely acted in self-defense, but the threat has been dealt with, so my job is done."

"Right…" Lord Pollux stood up from his chair and walked to Malfoy with his wand in hand.

"Father! You are not going to actually kill them, right? You can't do that," Cygnus said.

"And I told you to keep your mouth shut," Pollux responded without taking his eyes off the other Lords.

He gave Lord Rosier a passing glance. There was nothing to be done there. The projectile had gone through his head from side to side, killing him instantly.

The other two were grievously injured but could still be saved.

'Should I save them though?' That is what Pollux was wondering.

"Lord Malfoy… you come to my house and attack me. What kind of message would I be sending if I just let you go?"

"Urgg…" Malfoy struggled to keep standing. He had barely managed to cover his stump to stop the bleeding, but he was still in tremendous pain and feeling lightheaded.

"W-wait…" His voice had lost all its previous arrogance. He was well aware that right now… he was in the hands of Lord Pollux and there was nothing he could do to defend himself. "Mercy!"

"You want mercy…" Lord Pollux scoffed. A moment ago, they were all ready to kill him in cold blood.

"Ahhh!"

They heard Druella scream and looked back.

The fairy that James had summoned was burning Malfoy's arm, along with his wand.

"I guess you are not getting that back," Pollux grinned. "The alliance between our families is as burnt as that arm of yours, but… Kreacher!"

The house elf appeared in front of him. "Master called?" Kreacher saw the state of the room but didn't seem to be bothered by it.

"Go to my study and fetch some healing potions. The ones with the green liquid… and bring them here." His eyes moved over Lord Lestrange. The man was still alive but barely. As James said before, if they don't receive any healing soon, they will die.

"Lord Pollux…" Malfoy had newfound hope in his eyes. It appeared that the Patriarch of the House of Black was going to spare their lives.

The house elf returned in a few seconds and handed the potions to his Master.

Pollux removed the cork and gave one to Malfoy before ordering his elf to give the other to Lord Lestrange.

"Uff…" Malfoy felt much better now and was able to think more clearly. His eyes darted to James, and he felt his heart filled with hatred. His arm was still burning on top of the table, and the fairy who severed it looked back at him.

He knew that at this moment, there was nothing he could do. But he swore to himself that he was going to get his revenge one way or another.

Lord Pollux ordered his house elves to take the three Lords and send them to Saint Mungo's.

He would no doubt be receiving a visit from the Auror Department, but by then, he would be ready to defend himself.

Fights to the death among Lords of magical houses were not all that rare, and Lord Pollux knew that the Ministry would not be punishing him for this after he explained what had happened. By all rights, they had acted in self-defense.

"What a mess…" Pollux could not help but say. Now that the Lords were gone, he could clearly see the terrible state of his hall.

"I'm sure the house elves will be able to fix it in no time." James stood up from his chair.

Nyxaris had returned to her ring form, and he placed it again on his finger.

Lord Pollux turned to James. "You said you were leaving it to me, but… did I do the right thing by showing mercy to those two?"

"Of course you did, father. Y—"

"I did not ask you!. I asked for James' opinion. " Pollux shouted.

James shrugged. "Had you killed them… Voldemort would have had no choice but to openly declare war on your house and mine. You gave them a way out and showed them that you are not easy to take down. They may try a more cautious approach now."

"But the end result will be the same. " Pollux said.

"Time changes things." James knew that Voldemort was still not yet ready for a war. That's why he was discreetly trying to gain allies.

But James was not ready either. And unlike Voldemort… he knew exactly what he was facing, so time was a much more valuable resource for him.

"Then why did you leave it to me? You could have just told me to let them go." Pollux would have listened to him. After what he had seen James do, he could no longer view him as a child with a gift for potions, but as a powerful wizard the likes of which he had never seen before.

"It had to be your decision," James said.

"They will come for you now… your family," Pollux pointed out. He was not the only one who had offended those three houses and the Dark Lord today.

In fact, the humiliation that James had inflicted on those Lords was much more severe than anything Lord Pollux could have done.

"My family is protected, and I can take care of myself… I should return to Hogwarts now. I didn't exactly have permission to leave," James said.

"Aurors will definitely come looking for you there… hold on." Lord Pollux thought of something.

He walked to a drawer, tapped it with his wand, and opened it up. He then brought the contents back to James.

"If the Aurors give you trouble, show them this."

James looked at the object in his hands. It was a well-crafted locket with the heraldry of the House of Black. He could feel some ancient magic in it.

"This is a unique artifact passed down through many generations of our house. You can use it as evidence that you were acting under the orders of the House of Black, shifting any responsibility to me. Today, you have saved my life… again. But we can talk about that on another occasion… I just want you to know that I will not forget about it."

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