Ch33. Talk with Malfoy and Lestrange

Andromeda found herself sitting in a meeting room in Gringotts. She carefully watched Lucius Malfoy sitting opposite her, eternally thankful for all these useless lessons on the cold facade her mother put her through. She was able to completely mask her own nervousness and regard Malfoy with cold indifference, as is proper for a douche like him!

Next to Malfoy, Theodore Lestrange, the current Regent Lestrange looked as if he was out of his depth.

Andromeda quickly brainstormed what she knew about the guy from the information she was able to gather.

As any Lestrange, Theodore was musclebrain. Plain and simple. He was powerful magically but very insufficient mentally. It was so obvious it almost made Andromeda giggle when every minute the dunce gave a worrying side-glance to his owne-, ahem, Lucius Malfoy, waiting for some indication what to do.

Tough times came for House Lestrange indeed. Since daddy Lestrange died in Voldemort's first war and Rudolphus inherited the lordship, he and Bellatrix became the Lord and Lady of the House Lestrange. The problem though lied in the fact that they got caught and thrown into Azkaban for life. Generally, in situations like this, their last will, family magic, or blood relations decide the next Lord Lestrange.

But to become Lord of House, one needs to be first and foremost accepted by the family magic of said House. And that's where the crux of the problem was located.

The family magic of Lestranges was engineered to refuse a new Lord if the old one was still alive or did not give the lordship up willingly. Hence, Lestranges were stuck with Lord and Lady in Azkaban and at most the situation could be amended by picking a Regent who would have limited authority.

And so, Theodore Lestrange, a distant french relative of pure blood gained the Regency. While Theodore could not even step into the Lestrange family Vault, he could still vote in Wizengamot. And with that came a fat paycheck courtesy of Malfoy for being a good little boy...

The reason Andromeda even bothered to call the Goyle-wannabe here was that he was allowed to sign contracts in lieu of the House Lestrange. A very... exploitable disposition, that was.

"Shall we start, Miss Black?" Malfoy droned in a flat voice, snapping Andromeda out of her thoughts.

She politely smiled, not minding his disrespect by calling her 'Miss Black' instead of 'Regent Black', and with a slight nod replied.

"Of course, Lord Malfoy, Regent Lestrange." She said but could not just sit and take his disrespect so she playfully continued in a drawl. "You found yourselves in quite a debt, my Lords."

Her eyes sparkled in glee as Malfoy's impassive facade slightly cracked at her playful jab and the unveiled anger in Regent Lestrange's eyes made her even more delighted. Before the idiot could burst out in rage, Malfoy quickly intervened, frowning.

"That we did, Miss Black." He acknowledged, making Andromeda openly roll her eyes at him due to calling her by the wrong title.

"That you did, Mr. Malfoy." She gave him an innocent smile.

If he refuses to abide by the etiquette, she can certainly do so too.

Malfoy, to give credit where it is due, stayed completely indifferent and uncaring.

"Considering you invited us for a chat, I assume Lord Black wants to make some kind of deal regarding our debts, Miss Black." He raised his eyebrow at Andromeda. "So, what message were you ordered to bring us from your Lord?"

Andromeda didn't bristle at him only due to the extensive training of the Daughter of House Black she had to endure during her childhood. That dipshit just compared her to a common post owl!

"My Lord indeed sent me with an offer." She told him with a resigned sigh.

"Well?" Malfoy pressed when Andromeda just stared at him with a wary look without elaborating.

Andromeda took a deep breath and looked at the goblin the Gringotts provided for this meeting, giving him a nod. The goblin took out three parchments, putting one in front of both men and the third head down in front of Andromeda so Malfoy and Lestrange were not able to tell what it was.

Lucius took the parchment in front of him with the intention to get a closer look when he recognized what he was reading. His eyebrows rose almost to his hairline. After a moment of blinking that could translate to a complete shock, he looked at Andromeda with barely widened eyes.

"Is this what it looks like?" He asked, stupefied. "Or are you just making fun of me?"

"I assure you, Mr. Malfoy. It will be worth your while." Andromeda gave him a small smile, amused at his uncomprehending expression. "Malfoys owe Blacks a little over six million galleons. My Lord agreed to forgive you three million if you deem it worth it to accept his demands."

"Three mill...!" He blurted but stopped himself as his eyes flashed happily. Clearing his throat he gave Andromeda an evaluating look. "Five."

"Three." She answered almost instantly.

"Four and a half million, perhaps? Do you really think this is not worth more? After all, I love..."

"No. Three million." She stopped him instantly.

"Fou..."

"Three." Andromeda interrupted strongly with a look that clearly said 'no negotiations'. "You paid barely a hundred thousand galleons for the contract. Our offer is more than reasonable. In fact, it is completely bonkers and I have no idea what my Lord is thinking! If I had my way, I would offer fifty thousand tops. And let's face the facts, you would be damn glad to take it!" She gave him a stink eye as she ranted.

"And that's not taking into consideration your sizable debt to us. No. This offer is way past golden. This is simply miraculous for you and you WILL take it or we will destroy your House." She smiled a tad bit too sweetly at him. "This is the message my Lord wanted me to convey, Mr. Malfoy."

Malfoy blanched at that, looking as if he was just slapped but forcefully calmed down. He couldn't afford to lose three million galleons because of his pride! But...

"And how do you imagine this... deal to be finalized?" He asked with a sneer in a condescending tone.

"Simple. You will sign the ownership of Narcissa Malfoy nee Black and Bellatrix Lestrange nee Black over to Lord Black. This is as simple as taking the quill in the middle of the table and sign the paperwork in front of you." Andromeda replied, not minding his scowl. "The quill is a goblin artifact specially made for occasions like this. It is akin to a blood quill that doesn't provide signature only in blood but in blood AND magic. Needless to say, the magic will recognize the procedure and acknowledge it."

"Afterward, you Mr. Malfoy will divorce Narcissa. Obviously." The corner of her mouth twitched. "And, of course, deliver her to us. Intact."

"And what about Regent Lestrange." He asked, annoyed.

Andromeda slightly turned her head to look at Theodore Lestrange who didn't even bother looking at the paper in front of him, instead, waiting for Lucius's decision.

"House Lestrange owes us four million galleons." She summed up. "We are willing to forgive two million."

Andromeda quickly continued as she saw Malfoy's jaw loosening in preparation of speech.

"Before you say something, Bellatrix is damaged goods. We know it. You know it. Heck, even she herself knows it." She said in exasperation. "Two million is more than enough for her."

"And the delivery?" For the first time since the meeting began, Malfoy showed a hint of amusement.

"That's quite simple too. Lestrange won't need to deliver her because we all know where she is and frankly, while it might be amusing seeing him trying to devise a way to fetch her for us, we are not so cruel as to make him break into Azkaban." Andromeda mockingly stated in the same condescending tone Lucius used before. "Regent Lestrange will however disown her after signing over the ownership of her contract, making her marriage to Rudolphus a moot point."

Malfoy nodded in acknowledgment as he tightened the grip on his walking cane.

"We need a moment to discuss it." He stated and without waiting for Andromeda's answer, stood up and dragged Theodore to an adjacent private room.

...

Malfoy and Theodore closed the door behind themselves and instantly activated the runic matrix to switch on the privacy wards of the room.

"Lucius, what do you think? Two million galleons, damn, that's a lot for an insane harlot like Bellatrix." Theodore said.

"You are right. She is not worth even the fifty thousand Rudolphus paid for her hand in marriage. But do not forget Bellatrix still belongs to our Master!" Lucius rebuked in a strong decisive tone. "But you are right indeed. Three million for Narcissa. I could whore her for years but she would be unable to earn that much." His eyes glinted in glee, completely forgetting whom he can thank for the rise of Malfoy fortunes.

"But we can not just give them back to Blacks." His face split into a grin. He leaned closer to Theodore and started whispering to his ear. "Listen, Theodore, no matter the contract Bella would die for our Master and while that bint outside was yapping about the deal, I studied the contracts. This is what we will do..."

...

Malfoy and Lestrange returned and signed over the contracts of Narcissa and Bellatrix to Lord Black with surprising ease. Andromeda was quite exasperated how well they took it but shrugged it off, thinking they are desperate to reduce their debt.

"Well, if that is all, we will be on our way." Lucius stood up a tad too quickly, followed by Lestrange.

Unfortunately, all three humans in the room didn't spot the goblin narrowing his eyes at Lucius and the goblin didn't deem it important to interrupt inattentive idio... wizards.

"Not so fast, Mr. Malfoy, Regent Lestrange." Andromeda stopped them, making them freeze on the spot. "The deal is not done yet. If you walk away now, the ownership will be ours but the debt won't be reduced."

When Lucius and Theodore heard her, they relaxed in relief.

"What are yo..." Lucius started sharply but stopped himself when he saw her drum her fingers on the parchment in front of her with a mile-wide smirk. He got a really bad premonition.

"This is a... contract. It would enforce your silence and that you will not harm Narcissa or Bellatrix physically, mentally, or in any other way, really." She smugly explained. "The secrecy part is as strong as Fidelius and not even the strongest Legilimens would be able to discover the memory of this meeting nor the reason why your wife is no longer 'your' wife. Obviously, you will not be able to talk, write, or even try to gesture about it."

"It will also ensure that this entire transaction remains secret. As far as the public, Ministry, or anyone else who is not in this room or is not Lord Black is concerned, Narcissa is still Malfoy, and Bellatrix still Lestrange." Andromeda continued her explanation despite the horrified looks Lucius gave her. She quickly understood the little shit probably wanted to flaunt this meeting to the Prophet as House Black 'threatening' him to sorrowfully and under pressure sell his wife to Lord Black or else. She shook her head in mirth. She cheerfully followed in a childishly giddy tone. "No legal documents will be sent to Ministry so, with this single contract, we can keep the ruse for years to come!"

Lucius and Theodore didn't want to sign it. Oh, how they didn't want to sign it! But they didn't have a choice in the end. Not signing would be giving without receiving benefits and that is something they were raised to never do. The most they could accomplish was to cut their losses, sign the damn paper, and walk away in a rage. At least their plan worked... somehow. Not really but...

Lucius gritted his teeth and quickly walked out of the room, followed by Theodore.

At that time they didn't yet know what their machinations would mean for the entirety of Wizarding Britain. They didn't yet know what horrors these contracts just unleashed...

Andromeda released a relieved sigh of relief as she watched Malfoy and Lestrange leave the room. Looks like she fulfilled her Lord's request without much fuss. She reached for the contracts to get a closer look. As she looked at the blood-red, wet signature, dripping with fresh blood and a deep feeling of satisfaction permeated her being.

The more and closer she looked, the more she couldn't get a feeling of wrongness out of her mind.

She arched her eyebrow and frowned as she studied the signature closer. Suddenly, her eyes went wide and a frightened gasp left her lips. She covered her mouth with her hands and whispered, completely horrified.

"What have I done!"