Chapter 97 — A Day Off
Chapter 97: A Day Off
After that program, I woke up famous. Not that I particularly felt it; my life continued exactly as before. There were some changes I did notice, though: the people in our district had begun to look at me differently. Not just the wizards, but ordinary people too.
But they stayed out of my way, and that was all I asked. I followed my extremely packed schedule without a break, barely finding time to spend an evening with my fiancées. We managed to meet in one room late at night, where I would collapse and fall asleep instantly.
Fleur was horrified when she saw my schedule. She couldn't understand how anyone could study and work at that pace. I simply kept going.
"Right, enough!"
Fleur stopped me one day as I was heading off to another training session with Summer.
"Mm?"
I looked at her in surprise. She looked extremely determined.
"Fleur?"
"Don't 'Fleur' me. I can't stand here and watch you run yourself into the ground! Stop. Today you're coming on a date with us!"
I blinked.
"But..."
"I've already told everyone. Because otherwise you're going to burn out, and we can't allow our man to burn out."
"Draco."
Penny came to stand beside Fleur, her expression worried.
"Fleur and I are working hard too, but we don't work at anything like this pace. We understand that you, as our future husband, need to be strong, but..."
"We don't want you to break yourself now and end up a wreck of a husband later."
Fleur finished the sentence for her friend.
"All right."
I sighed.
"Let's take a day off."
In truth, I knew perfectly well that I needed some relief from the pressure. The pace I had set was relentless: study, work at Hogwarts, more study, but I could not seem to slow down. I felt as though time was slipping through my fingers, and the fact that we had now bought up every property in the block containing our manor did nothing to calm me. Neither did the fact that we had demolished the outermost buildings and were already raising a wall, with the entire district now covered by a ward—weaker than the one protecting our house, but solid enough. There were enchanted obelisks going up along the inner face of the wall to reinforce the barrier further.
Our school for beginning students was already open: the one where children under eleven would be taught the theory they needed so that when they arrived at Hogwarts they could devote their full attention to practical work. Yes, some theory was still unavoidable, and they would have to learn a certain amount at Hogwarts itself, but nothing like as much as students currently did. The school was not yet in great demand, since we did not have many children of wizarding families in the district. But they also taught the standard Muggle curriculum there, as well as physical training. And then there were the schools for ordinary children, and the Academy that was already in the planning stages: the one for training Hunters, where Summer would teach alongside skilled weapons masters from across the disciplines.
Despite all of this, I could not seem to find any peace.
"There you are, thinking about work again."
Fleur shook her head.
"Sorry."
I smiled at her.
"I've just got so used to keeping myself constantly occupied."
"Yes, yes."
She looked at me and waved it off, then looked at me again, more carefully.
"Well, you look presentable at least. Come along. We're going to that little restaurant the Veela opened just down the road. The food there is absolutely wonderful."
Fleur closed her eyes in anticipation.
"Well."
I shrugged.
"I have nothing against it."
And so we set out, and indeed the restaurant was only two houses from the Black family home. Somehow I had never even noticed it, though I was fairly certain I had read something about it in one of the reports.
"Fleur!"
The waitress who came to our table greeted one of my fiancées with a warm nod.
"And this must be..."
"I know: Penelope Clearwater, second fiancée of the Black heir. My name is Lilian, and I'll be looking after you today."
The young woman nodded first to Penny, then to me, with considerably more deference, and set three menus on the table before us.
"May I help you with anything?"
"I'll manage, thank you."
Fleur shook her head.
"Something light but filling for me, please."
"I could suggest..."
While Penny and Lilian debated the best option, I quickly scanned the menu, noting what appealed. Naturally, when my turn came, I ordered a generous selection of meat dishes, a small salad, and a fruity drink that was somewhere between juice and tea.
Five minutes later they began bringing our order.
"How on earth..."
I looked at the waitress in genuine surprise. She gave me a pleasant smile.
"You gave permission on your grounds for wands to be used freely, and among us there are quite a few who learned magic, though not officially. Far more, in truth, than those who obtained formal authorization through the proper channels. So the girls decided to make the most of it. We had very high-quality stasis cabinets installed. Everything is prepared in advance and held in those cabinets, which means we can serve our guests immediately."
I nodded with genuine respect.
"I hadn't realized how severe the restrictions were in France."
"Not as severe as in some countries, or in Britain, but wands were still only permitted to those who had formally earned the title of Mistress. And even then, each Mistress among our people was permitted to take only one apprentice from our own kind, but only after having first trained at least five students from the wizarding community at large. Only then could she train a Veela."
She gave a sad smile.
"But you found ways around it, of course."
"Yes. We had hidden schools."
She nodded.
"The education was not what you would receive at Beauxbatons or Hogwarts, but it gave us the basics. And the most diligent students were raised to something close to journeyman level."
I smirked.
"Clever. And some of your people were registered as half-bloods, weren't they?"
I wagged a finger playfully at Lilian, who simply shrugged and turned to attend another table, swaying her hips as she walked away.
"Do you disapprove?"
Fleur looked at me attentively. I could see that despite the casual tone of the question, my answer mattered to her.
"No."
I shook my head.
"I simply don't understand it."
"What don't you understand?
"Well, I may have missed something in the paperwork, but I don't recall seeing a document admitting Veela children to our school for young wizards. Which leaves me wondering: do you genuinely prefer the isolation?"
"No."
Fleur gave a sad smile.
"We simply grew accustomed to being told we weren't allowed."
"Well."
I shrugged.
"The royal decree has abolished the Statute, so now all you need to do is file the paperwork. You have lawyers among you, surely?"
She nodded.
"Then let them see to it, file for citizenship, and file for school enrollment. Because on my land there will be no division by race or kind. The werewolves were welcomed too, after all, though they are living in a slightly separate arrangement, but as you'll understand, they aren't quite as safe to have next door as your people are."
"I suppose."
I noticed a small commotion to my left and turned my head with a slight frown.
"Young man, what exactly do you think you're doing?"
My voice carried across the restaurant.
"Back off!"
The young man had the rough-hewn look of a werewolf. I set down my napkin and stood.
"Young man..."
I said, "Back off!"
My wand was in my hand, and the werewolf leapt aside. A spell crackled past exactly where he had been standing a moment before, interrupting his harassment of a waitress who was visibly struggling to keep her composure.
"You!"
"Me! I am the Black heir, and you are on my land! And you see fit to accost my people?!"
"She's a Veela!"
"And?"
I raised an eyebrow. The young man had been alarmed enough by the realization of who he was being rude to that his next words, though still meant to sound defiant, came out considerably more meekly.
"They're always... I mean, they don't mind..."
This last part trailed off into uncertainty.
The ones who don't mind are not working in restaurants. They stand along the road and wave at passing customers. What you were just doing was harassing a young woman who had made it perfectly clear she wanted no such attention.
I sighed.
"This is what will happen: I will speak to the Elder about you and let him deal with it. But I am giving you fair warning now: if a complaint against you is ever filed, specifically that you are a rapist, and that accusation is confirmed under Veritaserum, you will be laid on an altar and put down like an animal."
"That's not legal!"
"It is. The law has become considerably harsher of late, because we need strong wards over large territories. And for almost every crime that can carry a capital sentence..."
I left it there. The werewolf had gone pale.
"I understand! It won't happen again!"
"Good. Now apologize to the young lady."
The werewolf apologized and left the restaurant at speed. From a corner of the room came the quiet sound of applause.
"Miss Bones. Susan."
I nodded to the woman, then to her niece.
"A pleasure to see you both."
"You know, Mr Black, I had my doubts about whether we should move here. But I must say..."
She studied my face for a moment.
"...what I'm seeing rather appeals to me. Veela wearing artifacts, going about their business freely. Werewolves gathered in one place, also wearing artifacts, and obliged to be within range of their counterpart artifacts at the full moon, or else..."
She glanced briefly upward, as if to imply death.
"You're mistaken on that point."
"Oh?"
"Those artifacts won't kill a werewolf who happens to be out of range. They're considerably more sophisticated than that: they interact with Legilimency-based magic. They read intent. A werewolf who maintains control and takes the potion provided to all those fulfilling their community duties can walk through the district freely in his animal form. But one who loses control and decides to harm someone, that one gets Bound."
"I see."
Amelia looked at me thoughtfully.
"Those artifacts must have cost a great deal."
"Not cheaply, no, but they were worth it. Werewolves have extraordinary reflexes. They'll be invaluable as rapid-response units when a Grimm breakthrough occurs."
"Agreed."
Amelia nodded.
"By the way, the Ministry is not terribly pleased with you."
"Should that concern me?"
I smiled faintly.
"I went over their heads, after all. Took all my authorizations directly from the Queen. Yes, I had to offer her considerable financial support and the services of the wizards who work for me, so that she could prepare her most loyal people for the Convergence. But even so, that route proved cheaper and considerably more sensible than paying the Minister and every Lord who would have wanted either to obstruct me or extract a bribe."
"I can't argue with that."
"How is your niece finding St Mungo's?"
"I love it!"
"You know, I'll be opening a branch of it here eventually."
I gave the girl a slight smile.
"Not immediately, next year at the earliest. But I expect I'll be rather short-staffed, so if she distinguishes herself at St Mungo's this summer, and then comes to an arrangement with Madam Pomfrey…"
I glanced at Susan meaningfully. She had gone very straight in her chair.
"…and doesn't let her Hogwarts studies slip in the meantime, I think she could very well be taken on as a medic. Or even as a junior doctor providing first aid. The final decision will naturally rest with the senior staff we hire."
Amelia caught the expression on her niece's face and smiled.
She understood that where her niece had been, shall we say, less than highly motivated before, the situation had now changed entirely.
"But as I said, there won't be enough of them. So if you have the necessary skills and a little practical experience behind you, they'll be happy enough to leave the straightforward cases to you."
"I won't let you down!"
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