The Stand

Black Family Contracts

"I'm sure you have many questions Mr Potter" Dumbledore told Harry sagely "Let's start with the prophecy. It says that..."

"Only I or Neville can beat Voldemort" Harry finished "And that we have a power that Voldemort does not know of."

"How..." Dumbledore asked "How do you know of that? I thought you destroyed the prophecy before you could read it."

"That would be reckless. Do you think I'm some stupid Gryffindor? I'm a Ravenclaw. I read it, then I smashed it" Harry rolled his eyes.

"But how..." Dumbledore was shocked at this. He needed the prophecy as a bargaining chip of sorts for making Harry help him next year. It was his last chance to make this all work. It couldn't fail.

"I had time to figure it all out. The 'thrice defied' most likely meant a child born to someone from the original Order. The seventh month is July so the child had to be born at the end of July. That narrows it down to me and Neville. The 'Mark him as his equal' probably refers to my scar, or that fact that he came to my house personally, whereas he sent Death Eaters to Neville's house" Harry told Dumbledore, chuckling.

"Uh" Albus Dumbledore, widely considered to be the greatest wizard since Merlin, was at a loss for words because of a teenager.

"I will take my leave now. I must pack" Harry swiftly left Dumbledore's office, leaving a stunned headmaster in his wake.

Harry got to return home to Gopal Manor in peace and actually had a pretty good summer. But, in the middle of July, he found himself answering a floo call from Draco.

"Hey Malfoy" Harry said cheerfully "What's up?"

"Can we talk?" Draco asked.

Harry cast a Tempus and checked the time "Me and Rishi are about to head over to Grimmauld Place."

"That's fine. I'd rather meet there anyway" Draco told him.

"Okay then. See you there" Harry grabbed Rishi and headed to Grimmauld Place. Upon his arrival, he opened the Floo for Draco, who came out and looked around.

"Where's Sirius?"

"He's on a date" Harry chuckled "With Professor Whittlestone."

"Seriously?" Draco was surprised.

"Yeah. They started going out a week after school ended" Rishi added.

"Mom's gonna want to hear this" Draco laughed "Can we get down to business?"

"Sure, what's up?" Harry asked his friend.

"I need your help" Draco told them "Specifically, of the Black family."

"Why?" Rishi asked.

"I received a letter from my father" Draco explained "He's angry with me for fighting him."

"He's in Azkaban though" Harry pointed out "He can't do crap."

"He can't do anything, but his friends can" Draco countered "I need protection."

"How can we help" Rishi asked.

"Read through my mom's marriage contract with my dad. There could be a way to void it and free both of us from my dad. Because, if he kills me, he can declare it House Malfoy business and not be punished for it" Draco pleaded "Please guys."

"Of course. We have copies of all contracts in the library" Harry brought everyone to the library, where they brought out the contract. They all began sifting through it, looking for loopholes. The Blacks were too old of a family to not add loopholes.

"I have something" Harry said "The Black family has the power to void the contract if Lucius commits certain infractions. He has to pay a fine of 1000 galleons per infraction. Infractions include attacks on the wife, attacks on any child sired, and imprisonment in Azkaban."

That excited the three of them but Rishi realized something "What happens to Draco then?"

They jumped back into the contract to check on Draco, and luckily the friend in question found a helpful clause "'If the contract if voided, all children stay under the house of their father, unless the contract is voided due to infractions or the father is unable to take care of the children, in which case the mother gets permanent custody' If we do void, it is due to infractions, and my father is in Azkaban so he can't take care of me. I would stay with my mother."

"There is one thing" Rishi stared at Draco "When the contract is voided, your mother loses all Malfoy family magic. And since you go with her, you lose all your family magic as well. You would no longer be a Malfoy."

Draco sighed "I was afraid of this. But, it has to happen, and when it does, would the House of Black be willing to adopt me?"

"Of course" Harry swung his arm around Draco "You and your mom can both become Blacks."

"Thank you" Draco hugged Harry.

"Before this becomes a hugging convention, I noticed something" Rishi told them.

"What?" Harry asked.

"When we got Narcissa's contract, I also grabbed Bellatrix's contract. I thought that there could be something there of use. Turns out, Narcissa's contract is a whole lot better than Bellatrix's" Rishi explained.

"The contact gives Rodolphus Lestrange, Bellatrix's husband, full power over her. She has to do anything he wants, and if she disobeys, she loses her life and magic." Rishi continued.

"That makes sense, but why does that matter?" Draco questioned.

"She could've been coerced into joining the Death Eaters" Rishi sighed "There are restrictions, but they were supposed to be enforced by House Black, who just forgot to do so."

"What are they?" Harry thought that this was getting interesting.

"Basically, he can't make her kill anyone and can't do anything which would result in harm for her" Rishi said "We got these contracts from the archives, which have sections on every recent Black and magically update. I accidentally grabbed another paper."

He placed it on a table to the eyes of his shocked friends "Bellatrix Lestrange, pregnant as of December 14th, 1980."

"I remember my mom saying something along those lines" Draco realized "She said something about all Black women have birth troubles. She mentioned that her and Bellatrix both had miscarriages."

"It also says that she had her miscarriage October 29th, 1981" Harry added "A few days before she attacked the Longbottoms."

"She was also classified insane when she captured" Rishi told them "Before then, no one thought of her like that."

"Wait, I think there was a fight on the 29th" Draco remembered "Between the Order and the Death Eaters. I believe the Longbottoms and Bellatrix were both there."

"I have an idea" Rishi said "What if, during that fight, Bellatrix lost her baby because of the Longbottoms. To get revenge, she joined the attack on them. Seeing with Neville made her snap as they were happy with her kid after killing her unborn child."

"What would happen if we voided the contract?" Draco asked.

"Well, the Blacks would get a significant portion of the Lestrange vaults for how long the restrictions went unpunished and Bellatrix's current mental state. She would probably get the Kiss and that would eliminate one of the Dark Lord's biggest allies and funders." Rishi explained.

Harry looked at his two friends "Let's do it."

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