Negotiation

Narcissa Malfoy gave her husband an intense look and began tapping her foot the moment he entered the bedroom. It was quite late and she had been pacing back and forth in front of the bed rather than going to sleep like a dutiful wife would have. "Where have you been?"

Lucius ignored her and began to prepare for bed.

"Why won't you tell me anything anymore?" she demanded angrily in a loud voice. "You're always gone, Draco has been acting even more arrogant and disdainful toward me ever since Christmas, and you still won't tell me where Bellatrix has been!"

"Your sister is dead." Lucius sneered as he pulled off his dragon-hide boots.

Unshed tears caused Narcissa's eyes to become bright. "How? Who?"

"She tried to escape from Azkaban and drowned." Lucius said coldly. He failed to mention that she had escaped with Harry Potter. It didn't matter now though. The Dark Lord was quite curious as to how they had done it- but that was beside the point.

"What was she doing there?" Narcissa said in an angry tone.

"She betrayed the Dark Lord and was accordingly punished." Malfoy told his wife vaguely. He smiled absently as he recalled his sister-in-law's shrieks as the enchanted whips had cut her skin many times. It was a shame that the Dark Lord had grown bored before they could get to more pleasurable pursuits.

Narcissa promptly came to the conclusion that Malfoy had probably been involved with 'punishing' her sister and that it had probably extended beyond the Unforgivable Curses. "How dare you?" she screamed at him.

Malfoy coldly stood up. "How dare you?" he whispered. He then slapped his wife as hard as he could. Again, and again, and again as she sobbed. After a while he finally left.

Narcissa stumbled over to the bed and tried to muffle her cries with a pillow. Tomorrow, she would go and find out who the Head of the Black Family was. Whoever he was, he could have her marriage canceled and her declared his ward. It was the only legal way to get out of the marriage thanks to the pre-nuptials. A loss of emancipation was better than staying married to Lucius. She only hoped that Draco wasn't the Head of House Black.

..... 

Bellatrix put the finishing touches on Harry's 'costume' for his meeting at Gringotts. He had allowed her to dress him so that he would put on a good face at the meeting. She had chosen a pure black cloak fastened with a silver phoenix to go over his blue and silver robes For effect, she draped a silver stole over his shoulders. A hood had been a necessity because Gringotts was a public location.

"Possibly as soon as next week," she explained to him, "you will have a tight grip on their economy. The alliance with Gringotts will of course contribute heavily- but you will also control the Daily Prophet and significant industries."

Harry nodded numbly. He had not expected to be going to Diagon Alley this soon. It was rather inconvenient to have such short notice, but he had gone to bed before Bellatrix had came home the night before. She had decided not to wake him up. He was extremely glad for her efforts on his behalf though. "How do we get there?" he asked.

"Apparate." Bellatrix answered. "But before you do that, we need to put a shadow charm on your hood there. It ensures that you aren't recognized by those who don't already know you, and makes you more enigmatic, which is good for now." She quickly performed the necessary charm and slipped her cloak, which still had its shadow charm intact, on.

They both pulled out their wands simultaneously and Apparated, appearing in a side street especially designated for those choosing to Apparate into Diagon Alley. Gringotts was quickly entered where they found a contingent of goblin guards waiting to escort them to the Head of Gringotts.

Harry and Bellatrix soon found themselves in a very large office with three very important looking goblins. The guards, sensing the discomfort of the humans, had elected to remain outside once it was established that they weren't there to harm anybody.

The goblin that appeared to be the youngest spoke. "Lord Polairix, Lady Polairix, may I present Lord Gold, the Head of Gringotts." Harry and Lord Gold exchanged ceremonious nods, both paying each other respect without demeaning themselves.

Lord Gold took the initiative to speak next and gestured to the goblin on his right, and then the one who had spoken first. "This is Lord Silver and Lord Bronze. Please be seated." Everyone sat down.

"Your wife said that you were interested in initiating an alliance with us, Polairix. What exactly did you have in mind?" Gold asked diplomatically.

Fortunately for Harry, Bellatrix had coached him as to what he should try to bargain for. Reggins had also had a lot to contribute to that conversation. Between his wife and secretary, a set of goals had been established.

Harry began with the first one. "Although a Goblin Rebellion has not occurred for some time, I would be much obliged if our access to the bank remained secure should such an event occur. In return, I am willing to commit to being on your side during such a rebellion and doing everything in my power to help you.

...

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