Draco said nothing at all. For once it seemed he had nothing to say. He slumped back against the table and looked as devastated as Harry had ever seen him look. It was, in fact, Ron who broke the silence. He whirled, not on Lucius, but on Draco, and glared at him accusingly. 'You knew?' he said. 'You knew your father was alive and you didn't tell anyone?'
Forgetting his promise to himself in the sudden spurt of white hot rage that possessed him, Harry whirled around, his back to Draco, and faced Ron in a fury. 'I knew, too,' he spat. 'He told me. If you're going to blame Draco, blame me as well.'
Ron flinched and stepped back.
As if Harry's sudden announcement had freed his voice, Draco spoke.
'Dumbledore told me not to tell anyone,' he said. Harry turned his head and found that Draco was looking over his head, at Sirius. 'I'm sorry.'
'Dumbledore is the one who should be sorry,' Lucius said. 'The senile old fool, making his clever little plans, thinking he could head us off, all the while relying on you and your dreams for his information. And you, believing all our lies.'
'It was all lies — all of it?' Draco said, and for a moment Harry thought a flash of what looked almost like hope crossed his friend's face.
Lucius looked at his son. His gray eyes gave nothing away. 'Well,' he said.
'Perhaps not all of it.'
'That is enough.' It was Sirius, Harry saw, detaching himself from the rest of the crowd and stepping forward. 'There is no need for these cat and mouse games, Lucius. You're an escaped mental patient — ' He laughed, although there was no humor in it. 'They'll bring you back to St. Mungo's before you can even — '
'I rather think not,' Lucius interrupted. 'It is, in fact, all of you, who are in violation of the law.'
Sirius whitened. 'And what do you mean by that?'
'I, not you, am the Master of Malfoy Manor,' Lucius said, looking coldly at Sirius. 'The laws of the Manor are old, old laws, and the Manor knows its master.'
Potter! The word echoed so forcefully in Harry's head that for a moment he thought Draco had shouted it out loud. Potter — get behind me, quickly.
What? Harry half-turned, and stared at the other boy, whose chalky color had returned. Why?
The Manor — it's charmed against trespassers, and the master of the Manor has ultimate control over the charms. If my father decides we're all trespassing — he could hurl us out of here without lifting a hand -
What about you?
Get behind me. The charms won't work on me, because -
I know. Malfoy blood, Harry replied, backing up slightly. You guys need a new security system. Maybe one that isn't, dare I say it, blood-based?
Draco looked grimly, fleetingly amused. Pureblood pride, he said. You wouldn't understand it.
Sirius had folded his arms and was glaring. The rest of the wedding party was massed behind him, staring in confusion. 'Say your piece, then, Lucius,' he snapped. 'What do you want?'
Lucius leaned thoughtfully on the railing. For a moment, Harry was reminded of Draco…the same insolent grace, the same catlike lazy movements that were somehow menacing. Of course, Draco must have learned it somewhere. But when Draco did it, it had a certain ironic charm; with Lucius, it was merely sinister. 'I want you all,' he said slowly, 'who are not my family or my servants, to get the hell out of this house.
There will be no rehearsal dinner, because there will be no wedding.
There will be no wedding, because I say so. Now get out, all of you.'
'I will not leave Draco here alone with you,' Sirius protested hotly. 'He comes with us.'
'You won't need to leave him here alone,' replied Lucius in a voice like silk. 'He'll have Harry for company.'
Harry blinked. Surely he'd heard wrong. He glanced sideways towards Draco. Draco was staring intently at his father. He wore an expression Harry had never seen before — a dazed, horrified look. 'Leave Harry out of this, Father,' he said, his voice firm. 'It's me you want — '
'Please refrain from being presumptuous,' said Lucius. 'if it was you I wanted, I'd say so. Harry stays here.'
'Don't I get a say in this?' Harry demanded, somewhat plaintively.
Sirius and Lucius both whirled on him. 'No!' they said in unison.
Harry took another step backward. 'Right,' he said. 'Just checking.'
Sirius was tugging at his tie, livid with rage. 'You honestly think you can keep him here, with you-?' he sputtered at Lucius. 'The Ministry — '
'Has no choice in the matter,' Lucius said. It was beginning to dawn on Harry that Lucius was serious. 'Draco is my son by blood and this is his home; you have no right to take him from me. And Harry…' Lucius' eyes brushed briefly over Harry; they were icy cold. 'Harry is my property.'
Sirius gave a furious bark of laughter. 'You really do belong back in St.
Mungo's, Lucius.'
'Oh, I assure you I am very much sane,' Lucius smiled. 'And that I have the law on my side. Harry Potter has been a domiciled resident of this house for six months today. He is underage under wizarding law.
Therefore, I am his official guardian.'
'That's ridiculous,' Arthur Weasley burst out, stepping forward to stand next to Sirius. 'Sirius Black is his official guardian; I signed the adoption papers myself.'
'Ah, yes, you,' Lucius said, grinning now, his eyes on Arthur. 'Our false Minister. I'll get to you in a moment.' He turned to the pale man at his side who Harry knew as The Bailiff of Malfoy Park. 'Mr. Stebbins, if you would be so kind…'
With a curt nod, the Bailiff unrolled a long strip of parchment and began to read aloud:
'Under wizarding law, a domicile is the place where a person has his true, fixed, permanent home and principal establishment, entered into under sciens, and to which, whenever he is absent, he has the intention of returning — '
'Then Harry's place of residence is obviously Hogwarts,' Sirius protested.
'It's his principal home — isn't it, Remus?' he demanded, whirling on his friend.
But Lupin, looking as dazed as the rest of the crowd, only dropped his eyes. 'Actually, Sirius, legally speaking…'
'Ahem,' Stebbins interrupted. He was obviously enjoying himself -
probably nobody had paid this much attention to him in years. 'If I may continue:
'Individual wizards who are enrolled to study at Hogwarts are, as determined under the In Loco Parentis Chattel Expiditor of 1721, not deemed domiciled at Hogwarts, as there is no presumption by the castle itself that such students deem said locale as the permanent or principal establishment, as such students have no expectation of remaining within the grounds ad infinitum. Evidence of intent to be a resident of a particular residence is demonstrated by the absence of ties to a former residence; in the instant matter, such absence of ties is demonstrated, ab initio, by the lack of any correspondence between Mr Potter, or in fact, any resident of Malfoy Manor, with those who are still in residence at Number Four Privet Drive, except, of course, for this letter sent by Mr.
Sirius Black, and signed by the same, which provides the Manor as a return address and which states, in part, that — quote — Harry will be living here with me, my fiance and her son, and he has no interest in hearing from you, your wife or your son, so I must ask that any further communications with him be made through me at the address provided above — end quote. Ipsissima verba, Mr Potter is considered legally domiciled at Malfoy Manor.''
'On the strength of a letter I wrote to the Dursleys? That's ludicrous!'
Sirius protested. 'There was nothing legal about that letter — I sent it without the Ministry's knowledge — '
