Adult-FanFiction.org : Harry Potter

Pilfered Progeny - Stolen Dreams	By : SisterGryffindor Category: Harry Potter AU/AR > Slash - Male/Male Views: 14679 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 1
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Chapter List
- 47
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- 49
Harry sighed as he glanced at Lucius and Ron. His school chum looked exhausted and pale, every freckle standing out against his sunburned face. He was sure that Ron had been injured in that duel but he had been too stubborn to leave. He was determined to make Ron stay at the manor with a sleeping potion and a healing potion to boot.

Lucius seemed all right; he didn't know where that man got all his energy from at his age. It had to be because the man had long ago learned to hide any weakness whatsoever as a rather effective defense. Weakness made you a target and Lucius was not willing to be any sort of a target at all.

It seemed like an eternity ago that they had apparated away from the hidden bunker in the Snidget reserve. They had apparated once more before they had arrived in this small town just outside of Athens. Harry felt like his energy was running almost on empty and he could easily just collapse in bed and sleep for a week.

"We're using the floo network from here to get the rest of the way?" Harry asked as they entered the establishment. It was a clothing shop for men, and clearly catered to muggles purchasing high-end clothing.

Lucius glanced about at the suits with clear distaste, heading for the back. The clerk started their way but when Lucius drew his wand the man stopped and didn't even bother to watch as Lucius touched several diamonds on the wallpaper. Harry noticed it was the same pattern as the one used in the Leaky Cauldron in England to access Diagon Alley. A doorway flipped open, simply swinging inward to expose a plush room with several chairs and a table, and a large, walk-in fireplace. Lucius grunted slightly in approval and led the way inside; the door snapped shut audibly behind them.

"We will be using their fireplace to use the Floo Network, yes. But we will not be returning home." He answered.

"Not going home...? Why the bloody hell not?" Ron asked, irritable and wanting nothing more than to get back. "Haven't we done enough for the day?"

"Because, Mr. Weasley, Harry and I had a blood feud on file," Lucius answered. "We must go to the Ministry of Magic, immediately."

"The Ministry...?" Now Harry was confused.

Ron, on the other hand, seemed to suddenly recall something. "Oh... I've never filed one so I forgot about that bit..." he admitted, abashed.

Glancing from one to the other, Harry asked, "What bit? Is anyone going to bother filling me in?"

"Oh; sorry mate." Ron looked properly apologetic. "You see, when you have a blood feud filed with the Ministry and you... well, you solve it by catching them, you have to go to the Ministry and have your memories copied." Ron explained.

His explanation didn't help. "Why would they want memories of that?" He asked, still confused.

"Think about it, Potter." Lucius said in a tone dripping with sarcasm. "Why WOULD they want the memories?"

"Not for entertainment value." Ron mumbled. "That's for damned sure..." Thinking about the little he had seen was enough to make his stomach roll again.

"That would depend upon the wizard viewing it, Mr. Weasley. I assure you some would be quite entertained." Lucius smirked at him, amused that the redhead was so squeamish even after having fought in a war. He then returned his attention to Harry for a moment as he reached to pick up a container on the mantle; a golden urn traced about with scrolled etchings. "Of course, you would have known this had you been raised in a wizarding household instead of that muggle hellhole you grew up in."

"It may have been hell but it had its advantages, I've learned." Harry shrugged. There was no changing the past no matter how much all of them would have loved to do so. He'd long ago learned to look for the bright bits in his upbringing, as few and far between as they had been.

Lucius spoke, "Ministry of Magic, London, England," in a firm and clear tone, threw the powder in and stepped in without commenting further.

Irritated that Lucius had not bothered to explain yet, Harry took a handful of powder and followed. Ron was close behind, knowing he really had no choice as a witness to the blood feud. He would probably be questioned as well for his encounter with that straw-haired idiot too...

Lucius awaited them at the other side, fastidiously dusting off his robes, standing just outside one of the ornate black tile fireplaces in the grandly ostentatious entry hall of the Ministry of Magic. Harry moved to him but did not have to ask for further explanation. "The ministry takes the memories, Harry, and they are broadcast for all to see." He told him calmly.

"...broadcast...?" Harry repeated in a shocked tone. Everyone he knew was going to see what he and Lucius had done to Parkinson...? Sure, he had deserved every moment of that but...

"Yes, Potter. Broadcast. What better way to let the wizarding world know what may happen if they have a blood feud filed upon them and they do not turn themselves in to the Ministry? I personally can't think of a better deterrent." Lucius smiled wickedly.

"It also stops things like what happened on the Isle of Drear..." Ron spoke up softly.

"Now I've heard of that place… isn't that where the Quintapeds are...?"

"Yes; their very existence is a result of a wizarding blood feud gone bad. Because the feud was not registered nor monitored, two very old wizarding families were completely destroyed. The island isn't safe for anyone else to live on and it has been made unplottable so that no one will find their way there, since the Quintapeds began to eat anyone who happened upon their island. Following that fiasco, the Ministry established their new guidelines so that it was clear once the feud was settled there would be no further retaliations." Lucius led them through the dark hallways to the lift. It opened and was empty; he led the way inside.

"But... broadcast it...?" Harry wasn't happy about that but if it stopped others from trying the insanity that Malcolm had done, it would be worth it.

The lift stopped at a floor and the gate opened to a witch in her mid-thirties, near the age of the younger men. Lucius, standing just inside the opened gate of the lift, simply gave the witch a glare down his long nose and did not so much as step aside.

The woman took a step back and waved them on, indicating she would take the next lift without a word, her eyes wide. Lucius allowed himself a self-satisfied smirk as the gate closed once more.

Minister McLaggen was sent for immediately when the wizard at the desk that registered and tracked blood feuds realized who they were. They were forced to wait until he showed up, clearly hurriedly dressed but still nearly immaculate.

"Got him, did you? Bloody good show, gentlemen!" He beamed at them, nudging aside the man who had occupied the desk in the small office and taking his chair. His smile faltered at Lucius' completely flat, expressionless face.

"We are here, Minister," Lucius said in a cool tone, eyes slightly narrowed, "…as required by the Wizarding Blood Feud code to submit our memories for viewing. We are not here to garner your praise, nor are we here expecting idle and meaningless conversations, I assure you."

The Minister flushed slightly at the implied insult but instead forced himself to continue to smile. "Oh, of course, yes. I realize you must be positively dead on your feet after all of that…" he said in an overly paternal tone.

"I assure you, sir, that we are quite able to defend ourselves, should the need arise.." Lucius said, scowling at him.

That flustered the Minister even more. "Yes, um… well, Fletcher, do make yourself useful and fetch the phials, there's a good man." McLaggen turned his attention to the task at hand, addressing the man whose office they had usurped. The Ministry employee hurried over to a cabinet, opening it and extracting two phials, returning them to the Minister, who took them with a flourish. "Ah, here we are..."

Lucius moved to the only chair that faced the desk and swept his robes aside, taking a seat and making it seem every bit like that simple chair was a throne. "I have no patience with you and your petty attempts at cosseting. Stop wasting our time and let us get this over with; I wish to see to the health of my wife and granddaughter." he growled.

"Now we must do this properly Lucius!" McLaggen scolded, trying to seem like he was being firm and in control of the situation but instead coming off as simply annoying.

"Mr. Malfoy, if you don't mind." Lucius answered with a scowl at the minister.

"As Minister of Magic you really ought to be more respectful to the members of the community, McLaggen." Ron commented, looking exhausted and irritated at the delay. He didn't feel well at all and standing here was just making him more irritable by the moment.

The Minister looked over at him, irritated by the interruption. "THANK you, Mr. Weasley, I am quite aware…!"

"Get on with it!" Lucius snapped, immediately catching his attention again.

"One moment, Mr. Malfoy!" he said, flustered and growing a bit confused. "Mr. Weasley, you had no blood feud, did you…?" He glanced at the clerk, who shook his head to indicate that there had been no filing with the Ministry by anyone in the Weasley clan.

"Don't be daft; I had no reason to file…"

"Mr. Weasley was not involved in the culmination of the blood feud!" Lucius was growing angry enough to allow irritation to show on his cool expression.

McLaggen's attention was snapped back to Lucius at his comment. "Then why is he here?" he demanded.

"I captured a baby-rapist!" Ron growled at the man, wondering if the man was going to get whiplash soon from snapping his head from person to person as each individual spoke. "I thought I might have to talk to an Auror or something. I'd much rather be home if you want to know the truth!"

"Fletcher, send for an Auror to speak to Mr. Weasley immediately. He should not be here for the extraction…"

"I was there for the real thing; it seems absolutely inane and ignorant to make me leave to draw out a memory." Ron snarked, turning away and reaching for the door. He was heartily sick of McLaggen pretending like he was so superior to everyone else in the room. "But I'll wait outside if it will make you hurry up." Fletcher, just ahead of Ron, slipped out the door quickly and Ron glanced back. "Guess I'll see you later Harry…"

"You will go to the mansion, Mr. Weasley; I wish to assure that you are attended to by my own medi-wizard." Lucius instructed firmly.

Ron looked surprised, and then shrugged. "If you're sure..."

Lucius returned his attention to the Minister; he had no reason to reassure Ron that he was, of course, certain. "Can we get on with this, Minister?" He demanded as Ron moved out of the room and quietly shut the door behind him.

It was nearly two hours later when they were allowed to leave. Minister McLaggen himself was the one to draw out the memories and preview each one; by the time he was finished he looked even sicker than Ron had just before he threw up the first time. McLaggen's hands shook slightly as he prepared the document to confirm the death of Malcolm Parkinson. "I think that we can all agree that this feud has been completed tonight…" he murmured.

"On that subject, you are vastly mistaken." Lucius answered with a sneer. "What gives you the idea that I wish to close this Blood Feud?"

The minister was taken aback for a few moments, mouthing words but nothing came out. Finally he found his voice. "What…? But Malcolm Parkinson and Pansy are both dead…"

"A fact that I am quite pleased to state that I am aware of, Minister." Lucius couldn't help but smirk. "But there is no way that you will get my signature or seal on any document that closes this feud."

McLaggen paled further. "But Parkinson and his daughter are gone… who do you plan to go after…?"

Malfoy's smile turned deadly. "There will be no Parkinson family tree beyond this generation. You see, Minister, I have the right and fully intend to kill that tree; every branch, limb and root."

"But the other members of his family… you can't do that, it crosses the lines into other wizarding families!" the Minister objected, flabbergasted.

"You sound as if I have not considered that fact. I know who his family members are. And I will NOT allow any of them to repeat the madness of the head of that clan." Lucius gathered his robes about him and turned for the door. "My registered blood feud was with the ENTIRE Parkinson clan, including any who are related to him but have married into other names. I can assure you, I will act swiftly and without hesitation to quell any insanity I see crop up in any of them." He said coldly.

Harry found that he had no greater amusement at that point than the completely gob-smacked expression on the Minister of Magic's face.

"When will the viewing be?" Lucius asked, not bothering to give the Minister any time to recover and thoroughly enjoying his discomfiture. "I'm assuming it will be broadcast at a full panel of the Wizengamot?"

"Oh, yes; that is, after all, the law." The Minister said, trying to gather his wits once more.

"Full panel?" Harry repeated.

"Of course. As well as anyone else that is interested in seeing the memories…" the Minister said, taking the memory bottles and carefully placing them down on the desk. "The announcement for the viewing will be advertised in all the major newspapers, and of course as a headline in the Daily Prophet itself. The viewing will be precisely a week from today."

"We shall be there." Lucius said, striding out of the room with a flourish of his robes. Harry followed, much more subdued now. There was to be a full public viewing of the memory in front of the entire Wizengamot and he would have to be there...

Ron had been ushered off by a team of two young Aurors. He couldn't help but think how bloody young these two seemed; neither of them even looked old enough to have finished Hogwarts much less the arduous training required of Aurors. It was clear that he might even be their first case. He was questioned for what felt like hours and the questions just repeated over and over. He had been bone-tired and aching from that duel when he had gotten here, and now he was exhausted and his patience was completely gone. This was all taking far too long.

"Hold up, hold up, would you…?" He interrupted the current question which he was sure that he had already heard three times.

Both of them looked at him with expressions of clear suspicion. "It's not normal to allow you to speak without us asking a question sir…"

"I may have crapped out of it all, but I did go through some Auror training." Ron answered, feeling cross and really not in any mood to be polite to these two. "I promise you I do know the procedure and you're in the wrong here. I haven't done anything I shouldn't have and you're going overboard. I'm trying to keep you from embarrassing yourself."

"What are you saying…?"

"Bring me your supervisor. Please. Before I bloody well go insane in this mad little room." Ron answered. To his great relief, one remained to monitor him as if he was some wanted fugitive while the other scampered off.

He returned with someone that the redheaded wizard was quite happy to see; Kingsley Shacklebolt. "Weasley? I did not realize you were involved in all this..." He commented with a bit of surprise.

"I'm not... but I have to admit I'm surprised to see you here. I thought you had retired..." Ron commented.

Kingsley snorted and smirked at that comment. "Semi-retired. I get to come back and get my hands into whatever interests me... and this entire episode with these children is quite interesting." he admitted. "So how exactly are you involved in all of this?"

"Didn't touch the feud, sir; I only stood guard, and it was a damned good thing I did. Could you just pull the memories so I can go home? I'm exhausted and I ache all over and I might just fall asleep in this stupid hard chair if you don't let me go soon..."

"I will handle this; you two go find another case to handle." He assured. The two reluctantly left and Shacklebolt laughed softly after the door closed. "The new recruits are so enthusiastic, aren't they?"

"Like a pair of excited corgi puppies with their first chew toy." Ron smirked back at him. "But I've been gnawed enough..."

"Indeed." Kingsley smiled in agreement.

"Was I that bad…?"

"If you had finished the training program I think you would have been infinitely worse, if one considers your brothers as an example…" The older man chuckled and used his wand skillfully to extract the necessary memories. "There we are... and you do look like you need to see a healer, Mr. Weasley." He said with a bit of concern.

"I will... I need to because I have practice tomorrow afternoon... Merlin, I hope I'm up to it..." he sighed, rising with a grimace of discomfort, hesitating a moment before he straightened fully.

"See the healer, sleep, then decide if you should go practice." He advised, rising with a wince of his own. "I'll deal with the two who were interviewing you later; right now I think we each need to head home…"

"Not home for me; I'm to go to the Malfoy manor." Ron said, rising and walking out the door with Kingsley.

"Malfoy Manor…? By Lucius' request, I hope?"

"Yeah… feels weird. Not sure if I want to go there tonight, honestly." Ron grinned softly.

"Go… you may never have this particular chance at Malfoy hospitality again." Kingsley chuckled softly.

When they arrived back at the manor, Hermione was sitting in the Floo room beside the fireplace, half dozing. She woke and sat up slightly but Lucius brushed past her without a second glance.

Harry gave her a reassuring smile. "Ron ought to be along soon. Glad to see they let you stay and wait..."

"Tonks wanted to wait for Severus to get back. And he's refusing to leave so she is as well." she said with a wry smile. "I'd much rather be here anyway, as long as I'm allowed... the ministry room they gave me is making me claustrophobic and there's absolutely NOTHING to do..." Her voice trembled slightly as she described her 'safe' room.

"Well put it out of your mind for now; you're in Malfoy Manor for the night at least." Harry said reassuringly. "I need to go see Dray..."

"Of course... I'll stay out of the way, I swear." she said softly, lowering her eyes. She still wasn't sure at all where she stood with him.

"Ron will be along soon." Harry said, walking off and leaving her to relax back into the chair.

Lucius left the others to their own devices and strode briskly through the halls. He paused outside Angel's door only a moment; he wished to see that she was well. She was in her bed and seemed to be sleeping quite peacefully with the doll that he had bought her hugged close to her chest and her kneazle curled up on the pillow beside her head. The kit raised its head from the pillow, clearly alert, eyed him back a moment then laid her head back on the pillow. Satisfied, he quietly moved out of the room and headed onward.

He went by his own bedroom to see that Narcissa was not inside; that brought him some relief. She was well enough to be up; he knew that the medi-wizard would never have allowed her to be up and about if she was as injured as he had feared she was. He moved to the nursery door and paused a long moment to simply watch.

Narcissa was seated in the large rocker near the window, the panes of glass thrown open to the gentle evening breezes, the white wispy draperies drifting lightly. She had one of the twins on either side of her in their little bassinets, rocking them as she sang softly to them.

"I don't think I would ever tire of seeing this scene…" Lucius murmured softly. Narcissa looked up at his speaking and smiled. As he approached her he looked at her critically. She looked exhausted but did not look as she had when he had left her in the care of Severus. And she seemed to be looking at him…

"You don't have to. We want you here, Lucius." She said, smiling at him welcomingly. "I've only just come from the nursery and kissing our young men goodnight."

"Mallek and Alerick…?"

"Yes. Mallek would have nothing less." She laughed softly.

Lucius moved to her and she rose to meet him. He paused, one hand resting on her cheek as he gazed at her. "Your vision…?"

"Restored." She smiled at him.

"I must remember to give that man an extra bit in his monthly stipend for his efficiency..."

"Our Medi-wizard didn't have the chance to treat me. He was held up by a complicated birth and by the time he got here I had already been cured." She answered.

"Then who did...? Severus...?"

"No, it was someone I did not expect. It was Mallek."

"How did Mallek cure your eyes?"

"Severus said it was a curse that had taken my vision, not a spell or any type of damage. And Mallek, it seems, has the innate ability to reverse curses." She said, smiling, one hand covering his.

He kissed her gently, and then gathered her into a brief embrace. "How did he manage this…?"

"You know how our little Mallek gets when he wants something. He wanted a kiss before bed, and when he realized I could not see him he decided that the thing he wanted most was just to have me look at him. The medi-wizard made it in shortly after this occurred.

"He checked you?"

"Of course, Lucius. He did a quite thorough exam and had me take another healing potion before he announced that I would be fine. He said that he had heard of the ability before but it was very rare; Mallek had used his innate ability to not only nullify the curse, he managed to reverse its effects as well."

"Really?" he asked with a wide smile. "Something we'll need to get him trained in controlling, I'm certain. Brilliant." he smiled, glancing down at the twins. They were sleeping quietly in their beds. He turned and guided her out of the room. "But for now, our family is safe and all in their beds, our home is protected, and I want you to come with me for a long soak in the tub then a very long, undisturbed rest..."

"As long as the babies stay asleep." Narcissa agreed, moving with him.

Hermione woke from her light doze as the fireplace flared with green flames once more and Ron stumbled out a bit unsteadily. "Dammit..." he grumbled, catching the edge of the fireplace to regain his balance.

Hermione rose quickly and moved to help him, looking worried. "Ron... are you all right...?"

"Mione?" he looked at her with clear surprise. "You're still here?"

"Obviously." She answered, eyeing him with clear concern. "Ron what happened...?"

"I guess you could say I was playing Auror..." he said sheepishly. "I'm all right, I guess..."

"No, you really aren't." She scowled at him. "Playing Auror... what got into you?" She asked as he straightened up.

"Had to. Harry and Mr. Malfoy were... well, they were too busy to look out for anyone coming, so I did it." He shrugged as if it had been nothing.

They both jumped at the loud popping noise that signaled the arrival of a house elf; the creature stepped toward them to get their attention. "Master Malfoy says redhead wizard must be tended by medi-wizard and redhead wizard will be having room to rest tonight." The creature told them, eyeing Ron.

"Yeah, he told me that... just show me where to go." Ron agreed.

"You is being too weak to being walking." the elf sniffed disapprovingly, reaching for him. The elf's hand touched his pant leg and there was another loud pop; Hermione was left standing alone by the fireplace.

By the time she tracked down a house elf to take her to Ron again, he was already changed and settled in bed, the Medi-wizard putting his things back in his bag. He looked up as she approached. "Ah, I was wondering when they'd get you in here..." the trained healer smiled at her.

"I think they were keeping me out on purpose..."

"Probably. Malfoy's house elves are very efficient, if they'd wanted you in here while I was here they'd have brought you along with him." he chuckled softly.

Hermione moved to the bedside; Ron seemed to be dozing. "Is he all right...?" she asked softly.

"Yes, but I would not recommend that he go to practice tomorrow, and I have told him so. He is a Quidditch player, correct...?"

"Yes, he is. The Chudley Cannons." Hermione answered with some pride.

The wizard smiled at her. "I hear they have a chance this year at the World Cup. Make sure he gets to participate by keeping him in bed tomorrow. I insist on one full day of rest, minimum." he said, setting up several vials on the dresser. "He is to drink one of each of these each time he wakes; it will put him to sleep and continue to undo the damage done..."

"Damage...?"

"This young man was in a magical duel. His opponent was stopped quickly from what I understand, but he did manage to hit him with several rather nasty curses. He is quite fortunate that he has such a strong skill with protection charms; I believe that if his shield had been any weaker he would have probably been dead before Lucius could have come to his aid."

Hermione paled at that news but simply nodded to indicate that she understood the instructions.

"Good. All right, I will leave him in your hands." He said, turning to go.

"Thank you." Hermione said, moving to sit on the edge of the bed.

"Severus, you just got back an hour ago, you can't do this right now…" Tonks objected as Severus straightened his robes.

He sighed. "I expended little energy assisting in the search; it was Harry and Lucius who need to rest, not I. These children need my aid, Nymphadora." He answered, using her full name on purpose simply to irritate her as much as he felt he was being irritated.

"Then I'm helping." She said, rising as well and reaching for her robes.

"What? Absolutely not." He scowled at her.

She met his scowl with one of her own. "I'm not forbidding you from doing what you feel called to do, so what's' the problem?"

"You're carrying my child! Draco was exposed to the aftermath of a session gone wrong and nearly died, as did his son! I will not expose you to such risk!" he snapped.

"Yet you feel perfectly comfortable exposing the father of my unborn child to 'such risks' all the time, do you not?" She shot back at him.

"That's different!"

"How? I fail to see the difference!" She retorted. "I will not allow you do this on your own without the extra layers of protection I can provide!"

"It is absolutely unnecessary! There is no danger, I will be…"

"You will be working with me, like it or not Severus. You can't forbid me from going anywhere in this house, Lucius has given me free reign and its HIS house. Where you go, I will. Its that simple." She wanted to scream and rail at him but she managed to keep her voice level and calm. She wanted to give him no reason to say that her pregnancy and raging hormones were causing her to be overprotective.

The two stood glaring at each other for several minutes; Severus finally capitulated as he turned away. "Do as you will; it is clear that I have little influence over you regarding the health of our baby."

She half-chuckled. "Now that's the pot calling the kettle black. You have as much responsibility toward this baby as I do, Severus Snape." She answered with a bit of a smile. "Now stop your infernal sulking and let me help. You're the one who keeps saying I don't understand about these children. Let me see for myself."

"Very well." He shrugged. "But tonight I work on the most powerful of them; I have already had two sessions and there is much that Alerick knows that he should never have learned at his age."

Nymphadora quickly dressed and was ready to accompany him to the nursery which had been turned into many little rooms. "This room used to be a lot bigger when Draco had it…"

"Draco did not have five little followers who were bound to him and would suffer greatly if separated from him, either." Severus answered.

"But they were separated before we started hunting them all down…"

"Yes, and they were fed pain-killing potions to help them to get past the pain caused by separation. If they were exposed to the presence of their little Lord after their binding to him, once a week, for instance, the potions might even have been unnecessary." Severus explained. "The bond between these children is more than simply an emotional one. It is physical; perhaps even a psychic connection. I know that Alerick was able to point out the general direction the other children were in when they were all apart, even though he would have had no way to know their locations."

"CAN they be separated?" Tonks asked. "I mean, I know the little redheaded girl belongs with the Weasley clan; will she have to stay here?"

"I cannot answer that as of yet. It would likely be very dangerous to separate them physically for a period longer than a week or perhaps two. Children are resilient, but even a child can waste away and die for want of something they need desperately. And the dark circle have been conditioned to require the presence of their Prince at all times." Severus moved to the dragon bed and gazed down at the sleeping children. Alerick lay on his side with little Mallek cradled close to his chest; both looked so innocent and pure. "I think such a separation would kill the one required to be apart." Severus said quietly.

"So they have to stay together." She said softly. "Will they always be like this…?"

"Again, I cannot say for certain." He said softly. "I am hoping the work I am doing will free them but it may never change."

"How do we start?" Tonks asked, looking at the children in the white dragon bed.

"We get the nanny to fetch the child." Severus answered, turning to gaze to the right at a darkened doorway. Tonks was rather surprised to see a woman was standing there hidden by the shadows, watching them in silence. "If you please, madam?"

"Yes, sir." She said quietly, slipping into the room and walking on catlike feet to the bed. "Both of them were given the potion, per your instructions sir…"

"And how have Erik and Erin been behaving?" he asked.

"Oddly." She answered in a slightly disapproving tone.

"Explain." Severus instructed, watching as the woman gently disentangled the older sleeping boy's arms from the younger boy.

She glanced at him then looked away again. "It is not my place to say anything…"

"Unless you are instructed to! You will explain your statement, woman!" Severus growled in an irritated tone; he knew this woman was the most dominant of the three nannies and constantly kept an eye on all of the children although her main focus was clearly the Prince and the Consort. If anyone would have opinions on the changes of the children she would be the best source.

"Yes sir." She said softly. "The guardians are… confused. They know not what to do; they do not attend their lessons any longer and they do not have any idea how to defend the Dark Prince. Their magic has been stunted by the work that has been performed upon them. Erik in particular is very upset by the fact that he knows he used to be able to effectively guard his prince but now he cannot…"

"These children need to learn other things, madam; they need to learn to be children. They must learn to laugh, to play, to run and be carefree for their youths in the gardens and the copses of this splendid manor." Severus retorted. Tonks bit back what she wanted to say; not wanting to intrude where she had little idea what was going on. Besides, Severus seemed to have the situation well inhand.

"And to be prisoners within it." She said softly, lifting Alerick in her arms as if he weighed nothing at all yet holding him as if he were the most treasured thing in the world. She gazed at the boy, brushed a white-blonde hair out of his face, then rose to her feet and stepped out of the protective circle provided by the curved wings of the white dragon.

"Were they not prisoners before?" Severus asked pointedly, moving to take the boy from her. "They were locked within the confines of a single home and no one in the world ever showed them any true compassion or care except for you." He cradled the blonde boy who seemed light as a feather in his arms. "You need to understand that things must change for them or the world will never accept them. They must become more like other children their age in order to be accepted for who they are."

"But they will never be the same as other children…" she said softly. Her arms twitched but she did not make any move to take the boy back from Severus.

Tonks eyed the nanny with the eye of a professional Auror. She had clearly been conditioned by some method and it must have been quite extensive; the woman did not even dare to meet the gaze of adults very long. She doubted the woman would stand up to any request of the children at all, which she believed could be quite dangerous.

"They're to have a chance to be. They will always be extraordinary, make no mistake. But for now they must have the chance to be children." Severus said, turning away.

Tonks followed as they moved out of the room, biding her time and saying nothing until they were out and the door closed behind them. "I think those nannies might need a bit of readjustment too, that one wants to undo everything you've done to help them…" she grumped, irritated by the nanny's attitude and comments.

Snape couldn't help but smirk but he managed to stifle the urge to tell her 'I told you so.' Instead he simply held his peace, leading her to the room set aside for his work.

She glanced about the room then drew her wand and began to set protections. Severus' scowl when she shielded him first was met with a challenging glare, but she did follow that first shield on him with one on herself equally as powerful. Briefly mollified, Severus set the boy down on the bed and prepared to set to work.

He laid Alerick on his stomach and slipped the pajama top off of the boy to reveal the partially open lotus blossom mark on his right shoulder.

"He has a tattoo?" Tonks asked quietly, looking at it curiously.

"Parkinson was not only mad, Tonks. There is much to this tale that must never leave Malfoy Manor, and that mark upon this boy's shoulder is the biggest part of what must remain silent."

"Mark... that... that wasn't a...?" she scowled. Certainly even Malcolm Parkinson, whose wife had been killed personally by the Dark Lord himself, would not have attempted to bring that madman back into the world...?

"It was indeed a Dark Mark, an identical twin to the one upon my arm." Severus said quietly.

"But it's not a skull, it's a flower..."

"Potter's idea, I understand. He's the one that managed the change. I can tell you for certain that it is a living mark, not simply a tattoo; you will see that as I work with Alerick here." he said, settling his chair in place.

Changing the Dark Mark? That wasn't even possible that she knew of... "But how could Harry...?"

"Now isn't the time for such questions and I have limited time to work on this child." He looked up at her, unable to keep irritation out of his expression. "If you are done casting protection spells, could you at least relieve some of my OWN concern and sit over there by the window?"

"All right, but I'm not putting my wand away." she answered.

"As you wish, woman, just go and give me some room to work." he grumbled, disliking being kept from what he felt he needed to do.
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Pilfered Progeny - Stolen Dreams