It took two days and a lot of book work on Draco and Hermione's parts before the Slytherin would give his unconditional consent to the spell. The couple told the headmaster and their house heads, all of whom seemed to think it was a splendid idea and it was agreed that the witnesses would be the three members of staff, Ron and Hermione.
After everything was settled it did not take more than a few hours to arrange the whole thing.
Having Snape in the room bothered Harry somewhat as he waited with Draco for everyone to arrive. They were using the transfiguration classroom since it had plenty of protection on it to stop anyone knowing what was going on inside.
Professor McGonagall had been there when the soulmates arrived, but unfortunately Snape had been the second member of staff to turn up. The potions professor seemed to carry the cold of the dungeons with him wherever he went and the glare he sent at Harry every now and then did not help matters.
[Ignore him,] Draco said as Harry glanced at the head of Slytherin for the tenth time, [he's just annoyed that we chose this classroom and not his. With Snape you just have to know what mood he's in before you talk to him.]
[Well that's easy,] Harry replied and tried to follow the advice, [with me he's always in a bad mood.]
Draco smirked at him for his trouble and stroked the back of his hand fondly.
[Relax,] his soulmate told him confidently, [all you have to do is stand there and give up a little blood, I'm the one who has to get the spell right.]
[You'll be perfect as always,] Harry replied without thinking, for which he was rewarded with a private smile.
Just then the door opened, interrupting their conversation, and Ron and Hermione walked through followed by Dumbledore and Hilde. The two Gryffindors immediately made their way across to Harry and Draco as the headmaster introduced his guest to the other professors in the room.
"All right, Harry, Malfoy," Ron greeted with a grin. "Ready for the show?"
"This has not been arranged for your entertainment, Weasley," Draco replied in a very scathing tone.
The redhead was obviously quite excited by the whole proceedings because he refused to be put off by the comment or rise to the bait; Harry was actually quite impressed. However, there was no chance for Draco to try another tack to start a barrage of insults with Ron because Professor Dumbledore cleared his throat and gained everyone's attention.
"Welcome, Ladies and Gentlemen," the headmaster greeted in his usual cheerful manner, "I see that we are all here. As much as I would enjoy a small social gathering I suggest we should proceed. As you all know there is only so long a congregation of this kind may be kept secret in an establishment like Hogwarts, and the sooner we complete our task the less likely we are to be descended upon by curious pupils."
No one chose to disagree with that statement.
"Good luck," Hermione said to both the soulmates and then moved off to take her position in the room with Ron in tow.
Since the head girl had been one of those to work out how to perform the ceremony she knew exactly where she was supposed to be and was going to make sure her boyfriend was in the right place as well.
At a little prod from Draco, Harry moved to his designated spot and stood on the opposite side of the table to where Hilde was already standing and Draco took up his position at the end. There was a small clay bowl in the centre of the table with a combination of dried moss and sage sprinkled over the bottom of it. The ingredients for the spell had been provided by Snape, which seemed to have appeased the man a little about the choice of location, but not by much.
This was an enchantment of very few words and all parties knew their role in the event. When Draco looked at him Harry held out his hand without hesitation and before he could so much as feel nervous about what was to happen, Draco had reached out and stuck his finger with a silver pin. Picking up his wand and whispering a single word Draco caused blood to flow from the tiny wound in far more quantity than normal and it dripped quickly into the bowl.
"Witness the blood of the Liege Lord," Draco said formally.
The words of the spell were archaic and Harry had a problem with being called a 'Liege Lord', but Draco had pointed out that changing the spell could bring about unforeseen consequences and it was best to play it safe. The spell had been written for use with female children and yet it still used the word 'Lord' which seemed to indicate that the creator had had a very good reason for using it.
"We witness," the five spectators spoke clearly with one voice.
At another whispered word the wound stopped weeping and Harry withdrew his hand feeling acutely that the level of magic in the room had gone up sharply. Draco's focus on his task was absolute and it felt strange to be excluded from it. Normally when his soulmate performed magic Harry, although not a force in the charm or jinx, was still privy to the process, but with the oath spell he was a subject of the enchantment and hence not open to the casting.
He watched intently as his lover looked at Hilde and the woman stretched out her hand in an identical gesture to that which Harry had made. Draco stabbed her finger with the same pin and whispered the same charm to increase the flow of blood. It was quite fascinating to watch the red liquid drip onto the moss and sage and be soaked in by the very dry material, just as his own blood had been. Dumbledore stepped up behind Hilde and placed his hands on her shoulders as the poor woman swayed, but she needed his support for only a few moments before she blinked back the reaction and the headmaster moved back into his original place.
"Witness the blood of the Vassal," Draco spoke slowly and clearly.
Harry had even more problem with Hilde being called a 'Vassal', but Hermione had agreed with his objection and still pointed out that it was just old wording, not anything to worry about.
"We witness," came the response.
"Blood of the Lord, blood of the Vassal freely given," Draco intoned, his wand raised over the bowl, "bound together now and until death."
Then the Slytherin spoke the Latin words of the spell and flicked his wand sending a shower of sparks towards the bowl. The contents of the vessel burst into a pure blue flame and Harry felt something pull at his magic. For a fraction of a second his awareness expanded and surrounded Hilde, who was looking back at him across the table. For just a moment all he could see was the petite woman and it was as if she could hide nothing from him. Harry's magic flashed around her and through her and left nothing untouched, accepting Hilde and her offer of loyalty.
The awareness of the woman lasted only a moment and then it was gone, but Harry could still feel a very faint connection and he knew without a doubt that the spell had worked. The whole thing left Harry feeling a little dazed and he glanced down at the flaming bowl in a rather absent fashion. Once the fire went out, there was nothing left behind, not even a sooty residue; it was as if the bowl had never contained anything.
"It is done," Draco said calmly and slipped his wand back into his sleeve.
Hilde smiled at Harry brightly; a little too brightly as far as he was concerned. Then the woman opened her mouth to say something, but never managed it as she turned a deathly shade of grey and promptly fainted. If he had been thinking completely clearly Harry might have rushed to help, as if was he just stood there rather stupidly and peered over the table.
"Oops," was the most sensible thing he could think of to say.
* * *
It had taken a good half hour for Harry to gather his wits completely after the ceremony, during which time Snape had taken great pleasure in being sarcastic about the whole situation. Hilde had taken only a few minutes to recover from her fainting spell and had been acutely embarrassed by her behaviour; Snape hadn't helped there either.
In a bid to escape the potions master's humour, Draco had orchestrated the disbanding of the gathering as fast as possible and had then taken Harry back to their room. Most of the proceedings from the moment the spell had been completed until they were safely in their domain was somewhat vague in Harry's mind as he lay on the bed going over the whole thing.
"So Hilde will be coming to school every Monday evening," Harry needed a few points clarifying, "having a lesson with us and then going back to London on Tuesday morning?"
"That's what we agreed," Draco replied with an indulgent smile.
"And she'll be registering the oath bond with the Ministry tomorrow as soon as she goes back," he continued while re-cataloguing the jumbled thoughts in his head.
"First thing," his lover confirmed before going back to reading his latest retrieval from the library.
Harry stared at the ceiling for a while just letting his mind wander until his thoughts finally fixed on one idea. What was done was done; there was no way to break the oath spell except by the death of one of the participants, but he couldn't help wondering about the consequences.
"I know Hilde can't betray us now," he voiced what he was thinking, "and she can't be used against us for information, but do you think it will really save her if Voldemort notices she exists?"
Draco looked up from the book on the desk and turned in his chair.
"I don't know," his soulmate admitted, "but at least it makes her less useful to him."
"But connects her to me far more directly, making her a target like all my other friends," Harry pointed out.
Draco shrugged and appeared thoughtful.
"Maybe," he replied eventually, "but it was her choice, Love. Always remember that all of us chose to be with you in whatever way we are here. You didn't force any of us; you didn't have to."
Harry didn't know what to say to that and after a few moments Draco went back to his reading. Sometimes Harry wondered what it would be like not to be The Boy Who Lived, but, rather, just someone else.
~*~
A/N: Many thanks for reading, check back tomorrow for 2 more chapters. Hope you are enjoying Harry and Draco's adventures. If you have any questions or just want to chat, please feel free to use the comments.