70) Contracts and Old magic

The Manor of Zabini family had a classy vibe to it.

The rows of flower beds, a fountain in the middle of courtyard, a wrought iron gate at the entrance. Everything screamed 'classy' to him.

Severus looked at the elf besides him. Strangely the elf was wearing tailored clothes, unlike the rags which other house elves wore.

"Come this way Sir. Hokey shall take you to Master Zabini." The little elf squeaked eagerly.

Severus was a little amused seeing him. But then again most of the house elves amused him with their squeaky voice and eager nature.

Instead of entering inside the four storeyed building, Hokey took him inside one of the gardens where a table was set already.

There were two chairs set face to face around the table. Both the chairs were empty for now.

"Have a seat Master Prince!" Hokey said eagerly.

He considered both the chairs. After a moment, Severus took his seat. He sat on the chair, that gave the view of Zabini Manor more vividly.

'The chair was comfortable' Severus thought with a momentary frown. 'Must be cushioning charms' he deduced.

He thought about his knowledge on 'Zabini' family. They were the second darkest family in Magical Italy, falling short only after the 'Princes'. While a family's stance doesn't dictate its wealth, the 'Zabini' family still was moderate in terms of wealth. Though they still had no shortage in terms of influence.

He saw a man with cane walking towards him. The man was limping slightly, but there were no traces of weakness around his body. Instead he had the gait of a predator despite his limp.

"Lord Zabini." Severus greeted as he stood up from his seat.

The man's calm face didn't move an inch after the greeting.

"Lord Prince." He said with a nod. He took his seat, not before indicating Severus to take his own too.

"How fares Eileen? I heard about the death of her husband from Francesca. Has she recovered?" Lord Prince asked with a frown on his face.

Severus nodded. His mother had informed him, that she and Lord Zabini had been friends before.

Francesco Zabini had been a no nonsense man, he took extreme pride in his lineage, and was a skilled wizard with wand. Severus found it amusing, the man had named his daughter after him. Francesca after Francesco.

"She is well Lord Zabini." Severus replied back calmly. The death of her husband had relieved Eileen Prince. However it also meant a loss of company around her. Though she normally fixed it by working in the Potions factory all her free time.

"You should have brought her here. It would have been good to see her after so long." Francesco remarked with a genuine smile.

'You should have explicitly mentioned it' he thought inwardly for that. However seeing the genuine smile and the nature of their meeting, he held his tongue back.

"I shall convey it to her." Severus replied with a smile on his face.

"You know the reason, about why I called you here Lord Prince?" Francesco asked with a sigh. His eyes became tired and his body lost its alertness.

"I don't." Severus replied. He had guessed that it was some sort of business meeting. Or perhaps a meeting for creating some alliance between them. However his thoughts weren't along this line anymore.

The tired and weary look of Lord Zabini indicated that the matter was something else. Something crucial for him.

"Read this." He said taking out a bundle of papers from his robe pocket.

"You will be able to understand then." Lord Zabini said with a sigh.

Severus took the bundle of the papers with a curious frown on his face.

He flipped the page and inspected the contents written on the first page.

His eyes widened comically as he digested the words written on the paper. He immediately took the paper and felt the magic in it.

He dreaded the possibility. Though his fears were founded when he felt the resonance in his magic with that of the paper.

"How?" He asked instantly as he pinned the Lord of Zabini family with one of his infamous stares. He didn't dare to use legilimency on the Lord infront of him. It would not do good to simply steep to reading minds from the first.

His question was necessary in this situation. How in the world would there be a true magical contract of marriage, and that too between Severus Prince and Francesca Zabini.

He read the date on the contract carefully. He pressed his thoughts and realised something. It was the same day when he had taken the Lordship of House Prince after being declared as a champion of the Triwizard Tournament.

"In 1524, the House of Zabini was cursed by a dark wizard. Being rejected as a suitor by Elia Zabini, who was the sister to the Lord Zabini. The spurned dark wizard took her hostage and killed her. The Lord Zabini then was afflicted by a blood curse on our family. The curse affected everyone with Zabini name. Our line was forever destined to bear only one child and that too with a malformed body part." Lord Zabini said pensively.

This was a family secret but Lord Prince need to have knowledge about it, if he wants to understand the reason behind this sudden contract.

Severus waited for the man to continue. He didn't understand how and when House Prince entered the picture?

Lord Zabini looked at the waiting look on his face. He took a sigh and continued the tale.

"The Zabinis' resorted to many tricks and methods to counter the blood curse after they saw their next generation born disfigured or malformed. However each one failed as the blood curse was powerful. . . Swallowing their pride, the Lord of House Zabini went to the Lord of House Prince for help. House Prince was better than us in the knowledge of dark arts. It was natural for us to approach them. The Lord of House Prince accepted the request."

Severus frowned at that. Did his ancestor really agreed to help without any nefarious or selfish intentions. It sounded weird to him.

"However tampering with blood curses was an extremely risky task. Blood curses are old magic. Old magic works in mysterious ways. . . In ways that are sometimes even out of the bounds of rules of both magic and logic. A single wrong move and the curse could be magnified or worsened. The effects of tampering with old magic are disastrous afterall." Lord Zabini said with a grave tone.

He breathed deeply then.

"The Lord of House Prince agreed. His Heir was already wed and had a son. He was free to take risks. There was a risk to his own life in his process though. So he demanded a reimburse. . .The House of Prince and Zabini would be allied together as per his wish. Moreover he also forced for a contract signed with blood from the Zabini family. If House Zabini ever have a female Heir who is unwedded even after 3 years of her magical majority. Then she will be wedded to a male member of House Prince. And the husband would have the domineering role in the relationship and have right to the Zabini estates and fortune." Lord Zabini finished pensively.

This was a shock to Severus. His ancestor had really capitalized on the chance. He had singlehandedly brought a whole Noble House under them with his plan.

Surely it won't be necessary for the Lord of House Prince to marry the girl. However if he had a younger sibling or cousin, then the latter could inherit another family for them. Bringing them influence, coin and prestige alike.

Severus calculated the age of Francesca Zabini in his head. She did reached around 19 or 20 by now.

"I didn't know about this till now. From the signing of the contract we had only men as the Heir. The situation with Francesca is something that I had no idea ever. The Lord of Prince family died during the ritual he used, along with the Lord of Zabini family then. He succeeded partially in his quest. The next generations of House Zabini were born normally. Every Lady Zabini give birth once in their lifetime, however the child is born healthy. I had never implored much as I believed like everyone, that your grandfather had disowned Eileen and you both. When you took the Lordship, the magic triggered itself." Francesco said with a frown.

"Lord Zabini. I am already courting someone else. I don't have any feelings for Francesca." Severus said calmly. He was already quite happy with Alice. He wasn't ready for another at this moment. He knew the line of conversation now. It wasn't giving him good vibes.

"You don't understand Lord Prince. I too am bound by magic. The magic of the contract is old magic and that too signed with blood. We have to fulfill the clauses or else there's risk of everyone of us losing our magic. Even if we don't lose our magic, there's still chances that the old magic would cause irregularities in our own magic. Such is the risk here!" Francesco Zabini said worriedly.

This freaked Severus. Magic was something he cherished. To have irregularities in it or to be completely stripped of it, it will be the most painful fate he could imagine for himself.

He looked at Lord Zabini's face. He saw a desperate father and Lord at that moment. A father and Lord of House, who didn't know what to do with the situation he was forced into.

"I had hoped to make a business deal with you Lord Prince after the party. However this contract changed everything. . . .Take the contract with you. Think over everything Lord Prince. I know it's not easy for you too Lord Prince." Francesco said with a sad smile on his face.

He had met Eileen passingly in the party. Though they could only share greetings then.

He sighed thinking of everything. House Zabini was going to be erased from history now. Eileen's son would merge everything to his family. Their proud name and history was going to be all for nothing now.

His daughter trapped in a loveless marriage.

Life was really cruel sometimes.

Severus nodded. He took the contract with him as he walked away.

His mind was a mess for now. He really needed to clear it of everything now.

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It had been hard but I did manage to deliver the chapter to you all.

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