Black Truth [READ DESCRIPTION]

chapter forty-one

Chapter Forty-One: "Home" for the Holidays

Draco and Harry parted ways at the train station, so Harry could have time to tell the Dursleys that Draco would be staying with them before Draco met them. Draco was going to arrive at Privet Drive a few hours after Harry and his relatives.

Draco nodded to the House Elf who had brought the carriage, disguised as a stretch limousine, to King's Cross. "I trust the horses know where to go?" he asked as he opened the door to the carriage.

"Yes, Master Draco. They is taking you there."

Draco nodded and sat back against the plush seats as the horses made their way through the busy streets of London.

When the horses stopped an hour later, Draco was outside a run down shop on the outskirts of London. But he knew this was only part of a facade to keep the muggles away. They wouldn't have enough to pay for anything inside this shop anyway.

Inside, the shop became one of the most beautiful places Draco had ever seen. This was Kutterman's, a specialty shop that sold jewelry of a quality so perfect they were peerless. For generations, the family who had owned the shop had created one of a kind masterpieces for the Malfoy wedding rings. And Draco was not one to break tradition.

"Ah, Mister Malfoy. It is good to see you. You look just like your father." The man behind the counter was old, with gray hair that was slowly turning white, whose pleasant features had lit up with a smile as Draco entered.

"Did you get my letter?"

"Yes, Mister Malfoy. The rings are finished, but we're still putting the spell work on them. You can see them if you want."

"I would like to."

He followed the man into the back of the shop where the two rings sat on a work table of ivory.

They did not match, because in order for the spell work to bind the ring to its owner completely, the ring had to be unique, as its owner was. Both rings were bands of diamond, with the date of the wedding and the Malfoy crest, engraved in minute detail in platinum on the inside of the band. And that is where the similarities stopped. Draco's ring was centered with an obsidian gem surrounded by amethysts and sapphires, all set in platinum settings on the diamond band. Harry's ring was centered with an emerald in between two rubies and four small opals, set also in platinum settings.

When finished, they would be spelled to fit the owner perfectly, to adjust as needed in order to slide on and off the ring finger of the owner as wished. They would also be spelled with multiple protection spells, which are what took the most time to set, as one needed to spelled on top of the other.

"They will be ready on the day of your wedding as promised," the old man promised.

"That will be perfect," Draco replied.

Harry endured a completely silent car ride back to Privet Drive. His uncle was fuming, he could tell. He'd explained that another student from Hogwarts was going to be staying with him that summer, and his uncle had gone completely silent. This was the calm before the storm, he could just tell.

And he was right. The minute Vernon was inside his own home, with Aunt Petunia and Dudley as his attentive audience, he exploded in anger. He yelled about the nerve of some people who took advantage of the goodness of others, and how he allowed one freak in his house and that was enough. In the midst of this, Harry noticed Dudley was looking at him strangely, or rather, looking at his right hand.

"What's that on his finger?" Dudley asked abruptly and both of his parents turned to look at Harry's hands.

"Why are you wearing-"