CHAPTER {270-272}

****SMART-CHOICES (III)****

~~Platform 9¾, King Cross Station~~

"So, tell me more about this library of yours" Harry said, but this time, he didn't bother to hide his curiosity. After all, both of them knew that Harry was interested, so why bother lying about it? Harry could have lied, but that would have simply wasted his time.

"We have been gathering knowledge since King Arthur took the throne. Ancient Magic, Lost Magic, Holy Magic and whatnot! We have everything!" Rachel declared proudly.

Harry wasn't sure if he should believe their claim to have everything, but he was intrigued by her claims of having records of Holy Magic. According to Hela, all records of Holy Magic had been lost throughout time, but he knew that Hela was not omniscient. Her ability to peer into Midgard or the mortal world was severely limited.

"Alright! You have my interest" Harry declared with a nod of his head. "But before confirming anything, let's see if your claims are true or not" Harry declared as he stood up and at his words, Rachel grimaced.

"How do I know that you won't kill us after learning the location of our library?" Rachel asked with a frown.

"You don't, you simply have to trust me" Harry answered with a shrug. He could have sworn an Oath or something to assure her, but why bother? After all, he was holding all the cards.

Rachel obviously wasn't pleased by his nonchalant answer, but there was nothing she could do. She simply had to trust him and hope that he wouldn't turn on them after getting what he wanted. "Alright" Rachel nodded her head with a grimace before she stood up too. "Take my hand" Rachel offered her hand.

However, instead of taking her hand, Harry simply stared at it before shaking his head. "That is not happening, Miss Node. I might be arrogant, but I am not a fool. Give me a location" Harry said with a soft smile on his face.

Rachel seemed reluctant, but she ended up giving in. "The British Library" Rachel revealed and moments later, Harry was gone. Rachel sighed before she disappeared too with a loud crack. Moments later, her vision twisted and she appeared on the other side of the street facing The British Library.

Harry was waiting for her on the other side of the street and even though she appeared right on the pavement filled with people, nobody paid her any heed and it was the same for Harry. Rachel rolled her eyes before Apparating over beside Harry who seemed to be waiting for her.

"Isn't this place too public to hide a Magical Library?" Harry asked as he glanced toward Rachel from the corner of his eyes.

Rachel smiled at his words. "That is why this is the best place to hide such a Library. First of all, nobody is going to look here, considering this place is too public and secondly, nobody even knows about the existence of such a Library besides us" Rachel explained with a hint of smugness in her voice.

"Alright. Lead the way then…" Harry gestured toward the building in front of them and once again Rachel started to feel nervous as she started to lead him. The two of them arrived at the entrance and after showing some sort of ID to the receptionist, the two of them were allowed to enter without much fanfare.

Then without wasting any time, she led him toward one of the empty halls and tapped the wall with her Wand. Harry noticed that there were no CCTVs in this hall and he could clearly see why… The wall slowly collapsed, revealing an entrance, leading to somewhere underground.

Harry flared out his senses, but he didn't find anything besides simple Muggle Repelling Charms and the Charms he found at the entrance of Diagon Alley… So, he simply followed Rachel through the entrance. The staircase was dark, but that didn't last for long as a spine along the wall started to glow, illuminating their pathway and Harry noticed the wall behind them close as they continued on their way.

"I like the ambience of this place" Harry said with a nod of his head.

"I am glad" Rachel muttered in a dry tone as she continued to lead him downstairs. To be honest, she wasn't sure if he was being genuine or simply mocking them, but she wasn't in the mood to humor him with everything going on. The two of them finally arrived at the end of the staircase and found themselves inside a massive hall.

Harry whistled looking impressed… "This place is huge!!" Harry exclaimed, looking excited and his voice echoed throughout the hall. Harry grinned like a child…

Meanwhile, Rachel simply stared at him with raised brows, but she still continued to lead him toward the other side of the hall. "You do have the key, right?" Harry asked as he stared at the massive doors in front of him. There was still a chance that the woman was leading him into some sort of trap, but Harry wasn't worried.

"There isn't a key" Rachel answered primly as she tapped the door with her Wand and the door swung open. With just a look, Harry learned the Spell Rachel used to open the door and as soon as they stepped through the door, Harry looked around in awe… The whole room was filled with books, much to his delight.

He quickly rushed toward one of the shelves and grabbed a book… The book was filled with Spells he had never seen before…

"Are you satisfied now?" Rachel asked impatiently.

"Yes, I am" Harry said with a nod of his head. "However, there is something else we need to discuss" Harry said before closing the book, making Rachel frown.

"That was not our agreement" Rachel pointed out warily.

"Yes, it was. I won't eradicate your organization and in return, I will have access to all this knowledge" Harry explained and Rachel agreed with him with a wary look on her face. "Then you will be swearing an Oath that you will not be attacking me in the future and I will swear an Oath saying that I will not pursue this incident any more" Harry explained and Rachel paled at his words.

"I can't do that. If the Queen orders us, then we would have to follow them" Rachel explained, looking distressed.

"I would be a fool to let you go, only to be attacked by your organization or your successor someday. You will swear an Oath" Harry said in a firm tone, leaving no room for any arguments. "I don't care what you tell the Queen, but I am certain that she will understand and if she doesn't, then she never cared about you people did she?" Harry asked with a lopsided grin on his face.

"Now, decide… What's it going to be? Eradication or mutual understanding?" Harry asked, making Rachel grimace…

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****SMART-CHOICES (IV)****

~~Malfoy Manor~~

Harry returned to the manor with a graceful smile on his face… In the end, Rachel decided to go with mutual understanding, not that Harry left her much choice, but he was also forced to compromise on his part and add a bit more to his own Oath. His position might have been stronger between the two of them, but Harry still decided to make a compromise as he wanted Rachel to feel secure.

So he had to swear that he wasn't going to pick a fight or attack the Royal Mages if they didn't instigate anything first, which was kind of fair since Harry forced her to swear that Rachel or the Royal Mages couldn't attack them again, and since Harry did not have any plans to attack the Royal Mages after this, he didn't have any problems swearing the Oath.

"Harry!" Harry stopped in his tracks when a familiar voice called out to him.

"Narcissa, how may I help you?" Harry asked as he slowly turned around.

"Can we talk?" Narcissa asked, looking slightly nervous yet, at the same time hopeful.

"Sure. I am free" Harry simply smiled and gestured her to lead the way. There were some Vampire prisoners in the dungeon, but they could wait a day or two before he finally paid them a visit. Narcissa simply smiled and started to lead him toward her parlour. When the two of them finally arrived at their destination, Narcissa offered him some light snacks as they made themselves comfortable.

"Hmm… I like the tea" Harry hummed as he took a small sip from his cup. Harry was no connoisseur of tea, so while he couldn't recognize the tea, he liked the taste and the flavour.

"Thank you. It's called Irish Breakfast, but I have no idea why" Narcissa explained with a mild smile on her face. Harry gave her a look before he shrugged his shoulders. He had no plans to get involved in the tea business, so he simply decided to enjoy himself. "Harry, I was wondering when you are going to kill Lucius" Narcissa spoke in a nervous tone after she gently placed her cup on the plate.

Harry didn't freeze at her words… He knew that there was no love between Lucius and Narcissa and their marriage was simply out of convenience. "Why are you asking?" Harry asked casually.

Narcissa looked hesitant, but that didn't last for long as she finally started to speak. "It has been years since I have slept with anyone" Narcissa revealed and Harry almost spat out his tea at her words. He slowly placed his cup on the plate and turned around to look at Narcissa. There was a rosy tint on her cheeks, which meant that she was also embarrassed at the topic.

It was really embarrassing to talk about this, but Narcissa was determined to continue. "Since the day my little dragon was conceived-" Harry internally snickered when Narcissa called Draco her little Dragon, however, the look on his face remained unchanged. He was glad that his own Mom couldn't embarrass him in front of anyone and he hoped that she wouldn't embarrass him like this after regaining a body.

"-he never touched me again. I hate it. I also want to be embraced by a man, loved by a man, appreciated by a man" Narcissa continued to speak passionately even though her blush continued to increase with her words.

"Alright! I get it. You want him killed, but why don't you annul the marriage? I am certain that I convince Lucius to do so" Harry asked, looking curious.

"Only if it was that easy…" Narcissa sighed while shaking her head in denial even though she was glad that Harry decided to step in before she could embarrass herself any more by speaking about her non-existent sexual life. Narcissa wasn't embarrassed by talking about sex, but she was embarrassed about the fact that Harry was having more action than her.

If she didn't know better then she would have thought that she had grown cobwebs down there… She desperately wanted to have a man to scratch her itch… "I cannot annul the marriage if I want to keep being a Malfoy and I like being a Malfoy except for being with Lucius. Additionally, if I annul the marriage, then I would lose Draco" Narcissa calmly explained.

"I see…" Harry mumbled with a thoughtful look on his face. Narcissa loved her son and her comfortable life more than anything. Losing those would be a massive deal breaker for her. "So, can't we just remove the clause from the agreement and be done with it?" Harry asked, only for Narcissa to shake her head.

"That is not possible. The Contract is iron-clad, nothing can be changed" Narcissa assured him with a frown.

"Alright. Let's get this over with" Harry said as he clapped his hands and began to stand up, but Narcissa hurriedly stopped him.

"No! Not right now" Narcissa blurted out hurriedly. Harry furrowed his brows and looked at her curiously. "I want you to kill him when Draco is at Durmstarng. Unfortunately, he still loves his father" Narcissa revealed, looking extremely disappointed. "Is there a way you can remove the memories of Lucius from his head?" Narcissa asked in a hopeful tone, earning a weird look from Harry.

"Not without damaging his mind" Harry deadpanned and Narcissa seemed disappointed at that, but then all of a sudden, a certain glint appeared in her eyes.

"He is still going to love me if you do that, right?" Narcissa asked, looking excited.

"I am not sure. There is a chance that I might turn him into a vegetable" Harry answered with a weird look on his face. Narcissa might be just as insane as his own mother, which was not always a good thing. "However, I can remove all of his memories, but then he will be basically a newborn trapped inside a teenager's body" Harry added and Narcissa started to ponder her options.

"I will think about it, but there is something else I want to talk about" Narcissa was seriously considering removing all of Draco's memories. That way, she would get another chance to raise her little dragon and do it correctly this time, but she seriously needed to think this over before finally making a choice.

'Maybe, I should talk with Andi and Sirius…' Narcissa decided, completely forgetting the fact that Andi and Sirius were also Blacks, which meant that the two of them were also insane to some degree…

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****SMART-CHOICES (V)****

"Recently, I have acquired a Potion factory and while Andi is a good Potion Mistress, she does not possess any exceptional skill, so I was wondering if you could do something to enhance her skills…" Narcissa requested, looking completely aloof. Harry simply hummed with a thoughtful look on his face.

"Andi isn't going to appreciate you talking behind her back" Harry said after pondering for a bit with an amused look on his face.

"What she doesn't know isn't going to hurt her" Narcissa scoffed dismissively with a wave of her hand.

"Then there is nothing I can do to enhance her…. I am good, but not that good, yet. I simply can't wave my hand and bless a person to become better at Potions" Harry deadpanned with a bland look on his face.

Narcissa seemed to ponder for a couple of seconds before finally nodding her head in understanding. "I will have a chat with her after we are done here" Narcissa sighed.

"...There is a Ritual I can use to enhance her at Snape's expense, or I can extract all of his memories and hand them over to Andi" Harry answered after thinking for a bit. He was already planning to use the Ritual to pass Snape's Potions expertise to someone else with the Ritual since the man was never going to leave that cell of his.

Narcissa tapped her armrest with a thoughtful look on her face before she finally decided to speak. "Which one of them is going to bear better results?" Narcissa asked.

"The Ritual, of course… The Ritual would also improve her natural aptitude, meaning, she isn't going to be reliant on the knowledge she is going to acquire from Snape. She is going to basically inherit his talent without any of the downsides" Harry explained with a smile.

"I see…" Narcissa mumbled with a nod of her head. "However, what is the Ritual going to cost?" Narcissa asked curiously. Even though Narcissa herself never delved into Rituals, she knew that Rituals never came without a cost.

"Nothing much on her part, except for brief nudity and probably pride" Harry answered off-handedly. "However, we are going to need a sacrifice to fuel the Ritual. Specifically, we would need to Sacrifice Snape" Harry added in vicious glee. To be honest, he wanted to prolong the man's torment, but being used as a Sacrifice is also going to be a fitting end for him.

"Ohh…" Narcissa nodded her head in understanding. Harry knew that Narcissa didn't care about Snape, not really, she cared about his skills, so it wasn't a surprise when Narcissa didn't look bothered in the slightest when he revealed that he would need to Sacrifice Snape to fuel the Ritual.

For the next couple of minutes, neither of them said anything else as Narcissa pondered everything she had learned from Harry. "Harry, is it possible to turn Draco into a baby?" Narcissa asked. She knew that Harry had rejuvenated Grindelwald and all of his men with Magic, so she was wondering if he could do the same for Draco.

"No, that is not possible" Harry shook his head in denial. "The body of a teenager and a newborn baby is way too different" Harry added with a frown and even though Narcissa was slightly disappointed, she didn't show it on her face.

"Do you want some more tea?" Narcissa offered, breaking the silence.

"Yes, please" Harry accepted with a smile on his face. The two of them simply decided to sit around and enjoy the day…

<Line Break>

Andi stared at Sirius, wondering what her little sister wanted to talk about. After lunch, Narcissa dragged the two of them to her parlor saying that she needed to talk about a few things and she needed their input. Narcissa refused to reveal anything besides that while she dragged them here.

"What's up, cousin?" Sirius asked as he plopped down on one of the couches.

"I have finally managed to convince Harry to kill Lucius" Narcissa revealed, surprising Sirius who wasn't expecting a murder plot, while Andi seemed to be elated for her sister.

"That's great news. I told you that you simply needed to talk with him" Andi huffed, looking quite pleased.

"Of course, you two are plotting murder with my Godson" Sirius sighed with a conflicted look on his face. He had no love for Lucius, but that didn't mean that he liked the fact that his cousins were using Harry to get rid of him.

"Hush you. Harry would have killed him either way" Andi pointed out.

"That doesn't mean I have to like it" Sirius grumbled unhappily.

"There is no need to fight. It is a joyous occasion for me" Narcissa huffed as she sat down across Sirius and Andi. "The problem is Draco. I tried so hard, but he still loves his father way too much" Narcissa revealed, looking disappointed.

"Yeah, that could be a problem. If he ends up attacking Harry, Harry is going to kill him" Andi could see the problem while Sirius simply looked stumped. He was a Black too, but he couldn't believe how easily his cousins were talking about murder and Andi was supposed to be his sanest cousin.

"Harry had suggested that he can Obliviate Draco, erasing all of his memories. My Draco will be nothing more than a newborn baby trapped inside the body of a teenager" Narcissa revealed excitedly. "I would be able to raise him again, without any of Lucius' influences" Narcissa added giddily.

Andi couldn't help but smile at her sister's joy… "I am so happy for you, Cissy" Andi went to Narcissa and engulfed her in a tight embrace.

Meanwhile, Sirius started to wonder if any of the Black sisters were really sane, to begin with, or not. However, after pondering for a bit, he shrugged his shoulders and decided to go with the flow. Draco was a little shit, there were no doubts about it, even though Narcissa seemed to be a bit unhinged, she would raise Draco much better on her own without any question.

"Thank you, Adni" Narcissa thanked her sister with a smile when the two of them finally separated. "But there is something else I want to talk about" Narcissa added and Andi returned to her seat, looking curious. "Andi, would you like to improve your Potion skills?" Narcissa asked, looking slightly apprehensive.

"How? If you are going to tell me that I have to return to school, then forget it. I love you, but I don't love you that much" Andi sniffed haughtily.

"No. No. I am not talking about school" Narcissa quickly denied. "What if there was a way to enhance your skills with a Ritual?" Narcissa asked, after taking a long breath.

Both Andi and Sirius narrowed their eyes at Narcissa… "A Ritual you say?" Andi asked with a frown. She wasn't averse to a Ritual, but the question was, what was it going to cost?

"Yes, a Ritual…" Narcissa finally started to reveal the whole deal to Andi and Sirius, leaving the two of them completely gobsmacked…

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