The Family Jewels

Chapter 61
Matchbox


Harry Apparated directly to the alley next to Weasley’s Wizarding Wheezes and tugged his cap a bit lower over his eyes. He and his friends had yet to face the Ministry, the public or the press after Voldemort’s fall. Malfoy had released a statement after his father’s trial, but he was still not considered an integral part of the operation by anyone other than the people actually involved. The owls from the Ministry were getting more and more impatient, Harry would be glad to get back to Hogwarts in some respects. Dumbledore was more than capable of acting as a buffer for the young heroes, as the press was calling them. He darted through the door of WWW and automatically ducked to avoid whatever Fred and George had rigged for the unwary patrons of their establishment. They didn’t disappoint, confetti appeared out of nowhere, accompanied by the dulcet tones of the Weasley twins singing Little Boy Blue to the tune of a Weird Sisters song. They must have gotten the idea from the Hogwarts school song.

Harry was a bit surprised to see Lee Jordan manning the cash register until he remembered that the Weasleys were all at Parkinson Manor to give Ron moral support with Pansy’s family. He had to give it to Pansy; she knew her man and how to get what she wanted while making everyone happy.

“Lee,” Harry greeted in a low voice, coming close to the front counter.

“Harry,” Lee returned, offering his hand and a big smile. “Fred and George aren’t here, as I’m sure you know.” This last was offered a bit quizzically, “Ginny is with them.”

“And I’m just glad I didn’t have to face the Parkinson parentals, even with Pansy there to protect him, Ron was shit scared.” Harry smiled as he said this, but it was a bit forced. He was not part of the Weasley family; it was not his place to go make nice with the new in-laws. On the other hand, now that he was just minutes from attempting to choose something for Ginny, he was feeling woefully unqualified and wishing he had brought someone else along. Not that Ron would have been a good choice, Pansy would have been perfect, even Zabini or Malfoy knew women and fine jewelry. He sighed; he was stalling for no reason.

“Hey Lee, do you think the twins would mind if I nabbed a quick disguise before I brave the crowds?” Harry asked.

“You know Fred and George’s policy as well as I do, whatever Harry wants, Harry gets. You need some help choosing something?” Lee looked a little excited to get to experiment on Harry, but he held up a hand.

“I think one of their Headless Hats should do the trick until I get to Gringotts. They’ve gotten popular enough that people aren’t too thrown by them these days,” Harry answered. “Tell Fred and George that I’m sorry I missed them. Cheers, Lee.” Harry said all this as he grabbed one of the hats, stuffed his own cap into a back pocket, and dashed out the door. He moved quickly, Diagon was not as crowded as it was in late August, and he easily reached the ornate doors of Gringotts.

He waited until he was acknowledged by the next available goblin, then took off his hat. “Mr. Potter,” the goblin said shortly. “You have your key, I presume?”

“Uh, no actually. I only have the key to my school vault. I’d like to visit the Potter main vault, if I may. I am of age. Please.”

“Ragnok will accompany you. Over there,” the goblin said, pointing vaguely. Next,” he called.

‘Ah,’ thought Harry to himself, ‘a friendly goblin.’

“This way,” Ragnok said, opening the door to a cart and waiting for Harry to climb in before slamming the door after them and starting on their winding way into the bowels of Gringotts.

They did seem to be going lower than he had before, but before he knew it, they stopped in front of a much larger door than his school vault had. This one didn’t seem to have a keyhole and he thought that the goblin would open it by touching the door with his finger. However, he just stood there impatiently, then he finally asked, “Wand hand?”

Harry held out his right hand and the goblin seized his wrist and pressed the palm of his hand against the door. He felt a sharp pinch, but when he took his hand away and examined it, he could see no mark. “Blood wards,” the goblin grunted.

There seemed to be a clicking noise reverberating around him, then the door opened majestically. He knew that his parents had left him with a good fortune, but the sheer amount of gold in the vault was awe inspiring. There was also furniture, paintings, books, folios, cabinets and many small chests. “Ragnok, perhaps you can direct me. I am looking for women’s jewelry.”

“Yes,” the goblin said, “any of these chests contain jewelry.”

Harry had what he hoped was a good idea. “Is there any way to tell if my mother’s jewelry is in any particular chest?”

The goblin consulted a sheaf of parchment and said, “Lily Potter, deceased, chest #37.”

Harry thought that informing him that his mother was deceased was a bit redundant, but he ignored that. “Yes, and which one would be chest #37?”

The goblin gave him what he presumed was a smile. “They are marked, Mister Potter. Perhaps you might want to look at them.”

Great, first a friendly goblin, now a helpful one.

It took him almost twenty minutes, but he found the chest marked #37. It did appear to be a bit newer than many of the ones directly surrounding it, and he turned the clasp and pushed the lid back. He hadn’t been sure what to expect, but there was a lot of jewelry in this chest: strands of pearls with matching earrings, various gold chains with interesting pendants, a gold watch, hair combs…a bonding bracelet that was very like the one Hermione wore, only this one was made with rubies and diamonds set in yellow gold. He held it in his hand very carefully, wondering if his father had given it to his mother. Well, he could always ask the helpful goblin.

“Ah, yes, maybe you could see if this bracelet in on the chest inventory,” Harry asked hesitantly.

If the goblin had not been shorter than Harry, he would clearly be looking down his nose at him. “Sir, every piece is listed on the chest inventory.”

“And you couldn’t have mentioned that to me before now for what reason?” he muttered very quietly to himself. Aloud, he said, “Thank you. Could I see the inventory?”

Harry looked and saw that each piece was listed with all known information. He found what he was looking for.

1 LDS DIA & RBY BNDG BRCLET IN 18K YG WITH PLAT SETTINGS. 28 RND BRLNT
CUT DIA. WT ECH APX 1.00 CT, SI2 CLARITY, G COLOR. 28 RND BRLNT CUT
RBY. WT ECH APX 1.00 CT, EYE CLEAN CLARITY, MED DARK RED COLOR. ENGRAVED

He pushed on the clasp to open it and laid the bracelet open on his hand, he had to take a step closer to the gas light on the wall, but he could read it, ‘forever 2-28, JP’. His father had given this to his mother, as a wedding present it looked like! It was here, in his hands, something that his father had chosen and placed on his mother’s wrist himself.

“Is the young sir quite well?” came the begrudgingly concerned voice of the goblin.

Harry realized that he was perhaps trembling a bit, and maybe sweating, and sitting on the floor seemed like a good plan. Why had he never been brought here before? There were portraits, maybe of his parents or at least, his grandparents on the Potter side, there were papers, maybe there were letters, or essays, or anything. Anything that belonged to his family and was now his. He wanted it all, every last bit of it. The Mirror of Erised had nothing on this vault. He wanted to bloody well move in.

But not today, today he was going to take this bracelet and find out if Ginny was as impressed with family heirlooms as the other girls seemed to be.

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Draco knew that he shouldn’t be shocked, but deep down, he was. He had known that he and Weasley were related, you couldn’t name a Pureblood family that he wasn’t related to. He had always supposed that his relation to the Weasleys was distant and inauspicious, not direct and extremely distinguished. Damn.

Pansy and Weasley would test the amulets for him, right? They were in love, everyone knew it. All he had to do was find them. Those Gryffindors had always been lucky as sin, he just knew that whatever was supposed to happen would happen for Weasley with Pansy, and then he would know how it worked. Wait, what was supposed to happen? And what if it was different for each person? Blast. Severus was probably laughing his way back to his mother’s bed. As if that wasn’t a nauseating thought all by itself.

They weren’t in their room, no one was in Potter and the little Weasley’s room, Blaise and Hermione were still up in the bedroom. Was this a secret, or was he going to tell Hermione and Blaise straight out? Wouldn’t they want to know as well as he did?


Blaise came out of the bedroom to find Draco standing in the middle of the sitting room, looking as if he didn’t know whether he was coming or going. “Draco?” he asked, “all right?”

He started down the stairs to find the Room Service menu for Hermione, the Marinol was working beautifully. Hermione couldn’t decide what she wanted to eat, but she wanted to actually look at the menu and decide on something because when she thought about food, everything sounded good.

“Snape left already? Do you want to order some food with us before we have to head back?” Blaise was tempted to snap his fingers in front of Draco’s eyes, he seemed a bit glazed. “Draco?”

“Hmm? Oh, yes, I am a bit hungry. I was just going to talk to Pansy and Weasley for minute, then I’ll be up. Order me whatever you think I’ll like.”

“And you won’t complain later?” Blaise was naturally suspicious, and Draco was just being…odd. “You didn’t answer me, how did things go with Snape?” He enunciated very clearly at the end.

“Uncle Severus was able to decipher another packet of the jewels for us. I think that you will be pleased,” Draco said. He would definitely have to discuss them with Blaise, together they could decide if/or how they wished to tell their little lioness.

“I do need to talk to Weasley, though, so don’t get started up there before I get back.” Draco gave Blaise a very direct look and licked his bottom lip.

Blaise smiled a bit and he said, “Chocolate for dessert, then?”

“Maybe chocolate with dessert,” Draco answered back. He walked backwards for a few steps and then disappeared into the door connecting their rooms to the other suites.


Draco found Pansy lying face down on one of the sofas, Weasley curved protectively behind and around her. “That was fast, I was just looking for you a few minutes ago and you weren’t back yet.” A short pause. “So, it went well with all the parents?” he asked in a cheerful voice.

One of Pansy’s hands rose to give Draco the two fingered salute, but Weasley took that hand in his and said, “Pansy, sweetheart, it wasn’t that bad.”

“Your brothers turned my mother’s King Charles spaniel into a piglet, and when your mother forced them to turn her back, she wet on the rug. That dog was so embarrassed, it will take my mother hours to get her out from under the bed.” Pansy raised a determined face from the cushions. “I hope they know this means war. There are things I can take, things I can make allowances for, but they hurt my mother’s feelings. I have no tolerance for that.”

Ron looked up into Draco’s face, but all he saw there was absolute agreement and understanding. Draco knew that Weasley was looking for a bit of male perspective from him, but really, he didn’t have one on this. “Did they not understand that Regina is a member of the family? That she follows Pansy’s mother around at all times and pines when she’s not there? And even if they didn’t, they were guests in Pansy’s parents’ house, and they scared an intelligent animal that the whole family loves?”

Ron looked down. “Um, no, they didn’t understand that. I’m so sorry; I’ll do anything to make it up to your mother, Pans. Please.”

Pansy gave him a hard look and Draco predicted that all would be well in about two days, and that Weasley had best get used to his knees, because this was going to require a full grovel. And then she looked up at Draco, “and what do you want?” she said, spitting it out.

Draco gave her a weak smile. “Perhaps right now is not the best time for us to discuss this.”

“Oh no, you wanted something, and I want to know what it is. I’m not mad at you after all.” She gave Draco her most charming fake smile.

Draco sat down across from them and drew the packets out of their velvet bag. “You know that I received a chest of jewels on my birthday?” He waited for them to nod and then continued, “I have found that my great-great-grandmother charmed these and invented a potion to determine the true love of the persons wearing the jewels. I had hoped you would try them for me since you are the two people that I know are in love.”

Ron and Pansy looked at each very briefly and held out their hands. When nothing was immediately placed in them, Ron said, “Have you changed your mind, then?”

“Well, no, but now seems like a bad time…” Draco didn’t want to add to what was obviously a bad day.

Ron shook his head. “Pansy has every right to be angry, and we will both have occasion to be angry over the next, oh, hundred years, but we are still in love and we always will be.”

Pansy nodded once, very decisively and reached for the potion vial. “Open those up and find out which one is for me and which is for you.”

Ron sorted out the packets and gave Pansy one of the obviously feminine pendants. He held up the masculine amulet with an odd look and asked, “I thought these only worked for the Malfoys?”

“See, the thing is, some of the jewels only work for the Malfoys, but these might work for anyone who takes that potion,” Draco said, indicating the vial in Pansy’s hand.

“So, you’re experimenting on us,” Ron concluded.

“No, no, I have reason to believe that they will work perfectly for you,” Draco said confidently.

“Really,” Ron commented. “Why?”

There was an uncomfortable pause and then Draco said, “My great-great-grandmother was yours, too.” He was mumbling a bit at the end, but they heard him.

“Yes, I knew one of your great-great-grandmothers, Cassandra, was a Weasley, but you do have several great-great-grandmothers. She’s the one who charmed these, then?”

“She must have been very powerful,” Pansy said with a small smug smile.

“She was,” Draco answered shortly. “So, bottoms up?”

Ron swept Pansy’s hair out of the way and fastened the necklace for her, but it didn’t look like much, gold filigree with an opaque stone. Ron dropped the heavy gold chain over his head and they both took a tiny sip of the potion. Their hands reached out to clasp tightly together, almost as if magnets had drawn them. Pansy’s pendant altered before their eyes to a stunning sapphire surrounded by fire opals. The sapphire was matched very closely to the colour of Ron’s eyes, and the fire opals were the exact colour of his hair. Ron was definitely the love of Pansy’s life.

Ron’s amulet was taking longer to change, but it was changing, so Pansy just held his hands and waited. An etching was appearing in the center of the gold, it took a moment, but a delicate pansy was wrought in great detail. The two of them then gave Draco the same nonchalant smiles, as if they had never doubted it for a moment. Knowing the two of them, they probably hadn’t.

Ron leaned down and gave Pansy a chaste kiss on the mouth. “I do love you, Miss Parkinson, and I’ll be counting the days till I can make you my wife.”

Draco would never have believed it if he had not just heard it for himself. Weasley was good, no, that wasn’t right; he was sincere and not afraid to show it. Draco took the necklaces back from Pansy and Ron and they were instantly wiped blank as they had been before. “That’s a bit disappointing, I’d have liked to remember what they looked like,” Pansy murmured to Ron, who nodded.

“We’ll have to have your portraits done wearing them as a wedding present, Pansy,” Draco said, knowing that she would never expect such an extravagant gift.

Draco should have braced himself before saying that, he was almost knocked off his feet by Pansy’s hug. “That would be so special, so perfect. Thank you Draco.” She let go of him and took Ron’s hand, “I think you know your own way out.”

Ron followed behind her, mouthed “Thanks” to Draco and then they both disappeared into the bedroom. ‘That’s wonderful,’ he thought sourly, ‘I got Weasley out of trouble, he’s now getting lucky, and I still have no idea what’s going to appear on the amulet if Hermione is the love of my life.’

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Thank you for the kind reviews. When I first started this story, there wasn’t a threesome category, so this was the best place for it. I wonder if I should move it to what should be its correct home? I have gotten so many pleas to finish it; I’d like to think those people would actually see it now that it is appearing.

Anon - I don't usually answer reviews, however, that is the legal description of the bracelet for custodial and insurance purposes. It is not an advertisement, I took it right off the insurance policy.