The Adventures of the Junior Phoenixes, Part 4: The Pendant of Light

Chapter 9: Sinews of the Heart

Chapter 9

     “Forgive me for such a rude display of courtesy. Lucius Malfoy,” the silver-haired Master of Malfoy Manor said with a slight bow of his head to Rain Fox. “And you are?”

     “Rain Fox Cloudstorm,” she replied. The Malfoys had led them back into the Manor. Narcissa beckoned Knobbler the house elf to fetch the tea from the Tea Room and bring it into the Drawing Room. The Drawing Room was just as sumptuously decorated as the hallway had been; artifacts, paintings, portraits (which seemed to scoff at the visitors), and a large gilded mirror with a gold leaf overlay. A few chairs were randomly placed around the room. Knobbler was asked to arrange the chairs in a suitable manner for the guests, which he obliged magically, arranging them so that Dev and Rain Fox could sit down. A small table, with the same sterling silver tea set and the petite cakes as before upon it, was brought forth and placed near the chairs. Lucius sat down in a larger chair, carried over by a flick of Lucius’ own wand. Narcissa did not sit. She kept near a window and looked out. She peered anxiously into the back gardens. Dev kept looking at her with anxiety in his own eyes, concern growing on his face and in his heart.

     “Cloudstorm, you say?” Lucius asked. “Your father is a Tribesman, is he not? And your mother is an ambassador to the Six Nations, correct? She works for the Department for International Magical Cooperation, if I’m not mistaken.”

     “That’s correct, sir,” Rain Fox nodded.

     “Interesting, those Tribesman,” Lucius commented, “A very curious community of people. Using magic openly before the Muggle members of their tribes; that’s such a bold practice for a magical community to adopt. Very peculiar, don’t you think?”

     Rain Fox pondered and paused. She was not sure what Mr. Malfoy was implying. “I don’t really know, sir.”

     “You don’t find that peculiar, Ms. Cloudstorm?” Lucius asked. “What about you, Mr. Devereaux? Do you think that it is fair that the rest of the Magical World must agree to the Statute of Secrecy and hide in the shadows of the Muggle world while the Six Nations and the smaller tribes get to flaunt their powers in the foreground for all to view?”

     Dev turned to Lucius in a snap. “What do you mean? The Six Nations have always been that way. They have been the same way for generations. They haven’t changed, sir.”

     “Indeed,” Lucius replied wryly. “There was a time when we, also, were free to use our magic at our leisure, without the repercussions of a heavy-handed Ministry upon us for using our birthrights in front of the lesser members of this world. There was a time in history when a wizard with even the slightest magical prowess could take whatever he desired for himself. In some places a man with extraordinary means meant he was also a wizard. Some of the most important figures in Muggle history used magic as a means to accomplish the feats ascribed to them. In some parts of the world, wizards and Muggles lived rather harmoniously together. In all honesty, that time was not-so-distant in our history as one might be led to believe. However, circumstances being what they were, the world changed. The veil between the Muggle world and our own was raised and life was forever altered. Did you know that the Pharaohs of Egypt employed wizards in their royal courts? Did you know that many Greek philosophers and mathematicians were adept in potion-making? The Dragon Riders of Atlantis and of China were some of the most respected and feared men the world over. Now they are relics of a dead past that the Ministry has kept at bay. Yet neither of you two young people found it odd that the Ministry has enforced such strict rules and regulations on the rest of the world and, yet, the Six Nations were, and still are, exempted without consequence.”

     Both Dev and Rain Fox turned to one another. They were perplexed at the words of Lucius Malfoy.

     “Well, why wouldn’t they be exempt?” Dev asked. “They have their own rules. They have their own laws. They follow their rules and traditions very well, really.”