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Flesh of My Flesh	By : lashton Category: Harry Potter > Slash - Male/Male > Harry/Draco Views: 9435 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, nor any of the characters from the books or movies. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 5
- 6
- 7
Legacy of Light
Laurence Ashton
Prologue:
Flesh of My Flesh
Part F

As Draco left the Room of Requirement with Harry in tow, he came face-to-face with a gaggle of anxious Slytherins. Pansy, leaning against the far wall with Blaise and Millicent, watched him with a hawkish, narrow-eyed glare. Determination glinted from her heavy, brown gaze, piercing Draco with defeat.
�I can�t hide this much longer, anyway, can I?� he said.
�Draco, if you don�t want to�?�
�No, it�s fine, Harry. But � the room?� Draco asked, trying to hide a grimace as he thought of it.
They went into the hallway and stood around. Harry paced in front of the door a few times and Pansy took Draco�s arm and pulled him to her side, saying, �You trusted Potter with this but wouldn�t even come to us?�
�It�s complicated, Pansy,� he told her. �I couldn�t� I didn�t want you to know that about me.�
�Done,� announced Potter, swinging open the door. When they went back into the Room of Requirement, the d�cor had been changed to reflect the common rooms. Draco went to sit by the fireplace, in a chair that reminded him of his favorite one in the Slytherin commons. The other Slytherins � including Crabbe and Goyle, who probably had been down the hall to either side and around the corners in case Draco decided to flee, gathered around.
�I don�t really know how to tell you this,� Draco said, fidgeting with his shirtsleeve.
�Why did you run away from home?� Millicent asked, brusque as always.
�No, start at the beginning,� corrected Pansy.
�Right, the beginning�.� Draco took a deep breath and Harry came to sit on the arm of Draco�s chair and whispered �Just go slowly� into Draco�s ear. �At the start of holidays last term, Father came to pick me up from the train station, but we didn�t go directly home. We went to my Gam�s house instead and he locked me away and strengthened the wards � I told you about those already � so that, erm�� Draco hesitated, blushing from embarrassment as he glowered down at his hands in his lap. �Father wanted to be prepared for when I decided to get married. Because of � Vivienne � he was worried that it would be� that I would��
Draco couldn�t bring himself to say it, to admit what his father had done to him. To admit such a thing would mean that it was real, was true � that was he suspected of his father�s motives was undeniable. Lucius planned to marry Draco off to Pansy early on so that she could be easily controlled and kept silent when Lucius grew weak and tried to take Draco as a lover.
�Draco,� said Pansy, voice soft, concerned. Draco shrank away from her worried glances, ducking his head to hide his eyes behind his fringe.
�My father grew weaker each day and he cast wards on me to sate his paranoia that I would betray him. We stayed at Gam�s house for a month while he finalized the spells, and when we returned to Malfoy Manor he tried to keep me under his thumb. I could only ever get away from him when I was doing homework in the library or when he went for his daily appointment with Jay. Sometimes I snuck out at night and went to clubs in the village, but I didn�t betray him so he didn�t deny me that. But I did betray him, eventually. I was lonely and bored and so frustrated. There was a bloke from the village, a squib who worked at one of the clubs I visited. He asked me to go out with him and I didn�t care who he was or what he was or even that he was a bloke.
�The boy, Timothy, took me to a specialist in the village who called himself the Spell Master and I � I took drugs. And they forced more on me. Timothy was going to��
�Merlin, Draco, he didn�t, did he?� said Millicent, grimacing with worry.
Draco smiled, but it was bitter and harsh. �He never could have gotten what he wanted from me. The wards would have destroyed him, even if I had wanted to. But I was so far gone, I couldn�t tell him what was going to happen if he pushed too far, and he must have accidentally triggered an alarm.
�My father came home. When he saw us there in my room, he lost his mind. He threw Timothy out. He�� Draco bit his lip and squeezed his eyes shut, hating himself for not being able to say it, to tell them that his father had tied him to his bed and fucked him like a common whore. �Now I am pregnant. I am having twin sons. They are� my brothers, too.�
Draco�s friends sat in thick silence for a moment, watching him blankly. Draco watched anxiously as confusion then anger chased their empty expressions away. �Are� you certain?� said Blaise cautiously. Draco tensed and Harry placed a hand on Draco�s shoulder.
�I have seen them,� Draco said slowly. �And� I have grown so much. Soon I will feel them, too.�
Pansy stood abruptly, her face going red, and she whipped her wand from her robe pocket, clutching it in a whitening fist. Draco watched her intently, lifting his head slightly to shake the fringe from his eyes.
�I don�t know what to say,� she said. Her voice was cold and sharp, slicing through the thickened silence with violence.
�I�ll understand if you�d rather not be associated with me for when I have to register my condition and the scandal breaks. The backlash will be� damaging.� Draco winced as he phrased it as nicely as he could. Still, Pansy turned on him, eyes blazing.
�Don�t be ridiculous, Draco,� she snapped. �There isn�t a thing in this world that you could say or do to make me leave your side. But your father � Lucius Malfoy takes audacity to new levels, and that is said as delicately as I could ever hope to manage. Why hasn�t Narcissa avenged you? Why didn�t she kill the perverted bastard and restore your honor?�
Draco blushed and ducked his head down, chewing on the lining of his cheek. �I asked that she not hurt him,� he admitted quietly. It shamed him to expose his weaknesses before his friends, the very people he wanted to protect.
�What?� exclaimed Blaise, jumping up to pace the room. �Have you lost your bloody mind, Draco?� He shook his head and stopped abruptly, looking at Draco with tenderness and sympathy. �Look, Draco, your father�s been � I�m ashamed to admit it, but we�ve been helping him and he�s told us some of his plans to� to use the Ministry against you. At first he seemed reluctant to do it, but in the last couple of weeks he�s grown more desperate.�
�Do you have any idea why?�
�He never mentioned,� said Millicent. Her voice was shaky, as if she were trying not to cry. �If you don�t do something to stop him, when this comes out, he�s going to use the Ministry to� own you.�
Draco looked at her, at the rage and hurt in her eyes, and looked away quickly again. �You don�t get it. He�s owned me since the instant we conceived. I�ve accepted that.�
Pansy sighed in frustration and crossed her arms over her chest. �Draco, if he ever tries anything with you again, you tell me, okay? He won�t get away with it. I�ll� I�ll claim rape on my own maiden head and he won�t live through the consequences again. Understand?�
�Pansy, I don�t want you to go through that. And I don�t think he�ll ever�� but he trailed off, thinking of the sight of his father laying in his bed, sleeping in peace where he�d violated his own flesh and betrayed every oath he�d laced through Draco�s blood and breath.
�I�ll do it with or without your help, Draco Malfoy, and I forbid you to come out against me. If he touches you like that again, you will come to me and I will make him pay. Swear it.�
�You don�t know what you�re asking.�
�Draco, swear it,� said Millicent. �We�ve all decided against you. We�re not going to let him get away with hurting you again.�
Draco felt his face grow hot with anger and he bit back a scream. He�d been so afraid to get too close to his friends because he�d known that Lucius would have approached them and turned them against him, but he hadn�t ever considered that they�d back him into a corner and steal away his privacy on their own.
�Perhaps you should consider what Draco wants for a moment,� snapped Potter, his grasp on Draco�s shoulder loosening a little as he stroked the blade with his thumb. �Not one of us plans to let Lucius get close enough to Draco to hurt Draco again, but forcing Draco to do something that he�s obviously not ready to do is just another violation of his will. Or maybe you didn�t consider that when you hopped up and told him to swear he�ll help you kill the only man he�s ever loved.�
Blaise jumped up, wand in hand, shouting at Harry that he�d crossed the line and offended Draco, and Crabbe, Goyle and Millicent eagerly followed him into the fray. Harry didn�t seem too disturbed that there were five angry Slytherins aiming wands at him, out for his blood, and he walked around Draco�s chair to face off with them. Draco sat back, covering his face with his hands. He didn�t need this added stress, didn�t need his friends, who he loved and trusted and needed now, more than ever, to go at each other like�

�Do you think that we�ll be happy?� she said, leaning back on her elbows and squinting through the sunlight to where Draco sat on the rail, looking down at the sparkling ocean waters lapping at the sides of the yacht. Draco closed his eyes for a moment, listening to the low hum of her heavy French accent as it melded in his ears with the soft splashes of the waves. �Your father� he thinks that I am trying to steal you away from him. When you are gone, he comes to me and he says, �You will take my son away, where you think you shall be alone to poison him, but there is no place that you may go that I cannot follow.�� Draco opened his eyes and looked at her thoughtfully. She gave him a small smile, cocking her head so that her long, curling black hair shifted over her shoulders and grazed the lounge which lay flat. �This place we will go, it is so far from home, Draco, far from your family and mine. But your father is right. It matters little. You are a wizard, and I am a witch, and we can never escape that.�
�I know, Mavie,� said Draco, �but I need to go, to show him that no matter the distance between us, I will always be his son. Even when we are bound together and I�ve given you my heart and you�ve given me a son of my own, he has had me first and a part of me is always with him. I talked to Da Tiberius yesterday��
�Is that where you went all afternoon?�
Draco nodded and continued, �Da said that he�ll arrange for the estate to be warded against unapproved Floo and Apparation, but that in return I�ll have to visit Daddy once a week to keep him from going to extremes. Gam thinks everything will work out if I let him fire-call as much as he wants and he can Floo in once a month.�
�He will think that I have done this,� she reminded him, sounding annoyed. �It will not help. I know Lucius. He will go on a rampage and force you back to England. You�ll run away, to Olympias, or Nero as a second choice, but not Justinian who still fears Lucius, and you�ll nearly break apart her marriage for hiding out there � again.�
�You don�t know my father better than I do,� Draco snapped. �You don�t know him better than his own parents. I have to do something, and if the worse comes to it, Da Tiberius said he�d take Daddy to Morgan�s Down and� have a talk with him.� Draco sneered, angry and frustrated with himself. �How did it get like this, Vivienne?� he asked, voice strangled. �I don�t even remember. And I feel so powerless against him, but��
Draco opened his eyes when he heard the rustle of her dress and he saw that she stood before him now, eyes downcast, abashed. �Shh,� she said, leaning into him and wrapping her arms around his shoulders. �You are not powerless against your father. You just love him too much to hurt him enough so he�ll understand, that�s all. If the worst comes to it, I�m certain Da Tiberius will be able to make him see. Lucius always thinks clearer when he is with his wines and art, no?�
There was something solemn in her soothing tone then, and Draco meant to ask her about it, but at that time he heard his father�s voice ring out, close by, calling his name, and he jerked in surprise. He nearly overbalanced and toppled into the ocean below. As he turned to the left and saw his father standing by the stairs to the lower deck, he tried to bury the guilt he felt deep inside so that it didn�t show on his features and fuel his father�s paranoid delusions.
As it was, Lucius narrowed his eyes at them and said, icily, �What were you doing up here?�
�We were talking, Lucius,� said Vivienne pleasantly, but her eyes belied her irritation. �Draco is worried over what you will think of your birthday surprise.�
Lucius�s expression changed completely and immediately, morphing from suspicion and frustration to adoring indulgence in the time it took to blink and glance at his son. Draco fidgeted, barely able to look steadily at his father. Lucius came forward and Vivienne moved away, not bothering to excuse herself as she went downstairs to join the rest of the family. Lucius replaced her in position, his hands resting on Draco�s knees.
�You were worried,� he said, leaning forward a little. Draco could smell the chocolate and wine on his breath, feel the body heat of his lightly clad chest. His father had never had any sense of personal space. This no longer bothered Draco.
�I thought you�d hate it,� Draco admitted because this was not a lie. He had agonized over this present for weeks earlier. �Gam doesn�t approve. She says it�s brazen and disrespectful and that I should be ashamed to even think about it. I think she hopes you�ll try to paddle me before the night is over.�
Lucius grinned, his eyes lighting up to rival the stream of sunlight reflected off the crystal ocean. �I love it already!� he said and kissed Draco�s nose. Draco laughed and pressed his forehead to his father�s shoulder. Lucius�s hands slid up his thighs and wrapped around his waist, pulling him close. �Come, now, Draco, you know I love everything you do. You know� so long as you are with me, I don�t even need anything else. You know how much I love you.�
�Yes,� Draco whispered against his father�s skin, then bit his lower lip. It hurt Draco that he could not love his father as much as Lucius needed him to, that he would leave his father in despair and could not alleviate his father�s pain. Draco never intended to hurt his father, but he knew that he�d be forced to, sooner or later. �I love you, too, Daddy.�
Lucius kissed Draco�s neck and pulled back a little, still supporting Draco�s weight, but now able to look him in the eye. �Olympias has brought more of that outstanding Ambrosia with her. Take some with me in the den and we can unveil your latest masterpiece with some semblance of privacy.�
Draco grinned. �Okay.� Lucius lifted him down from the rail and they went below deck. While Lucius grabbed a bottle of Ambrosia, goblets, and a plate of chocolates, Draco fetched his father�s birthday present from the bedroom. When he returned, levitating the gift behind him, Lucius had poured them glasses of the sweet wine and was now lounging on a chaise, petting the head of Draco�s sleek, black Great Dane, Thuban. Draco set the present gently down on the floor in front of his father and Thuban immediately went to sniff at it, wondering if there was food involved. Draco swatted him away. �Go pester the house elves for a steak if you�re hungry.� Thuban yawned, licked Draco�s hand, and trotted from the room. Lucius laughed.
�You�ve ruined him.�
�I learned from the best, I think.�
�Hmm,� said Lucius when Draco had expected him to put up mock offence. Draco glanced at him and froze. His father watched him through cloudy, half-lidded eyes. Lucius was stretched on the lounge, rolling the stem of the glass between his fingers. He�d taken less than half of the Ambrosia, but Draco knew how potent it was, having pilfered a bottle each with his cousin from his aunt�s cellars. They�d been deliriously giddy for a week afterwards then immediately went into withdrawal. It was not an altogether pleasant experience and taught them a significant lesson in moderation. �Have I ruined you, Draco?�
�I was joking.�
�I heard what you said, earlier, that I make you feel... powerless.�
Draco looked away, embarrassed. �Please, Daddy, don�t. I didn�t mean it. I was� caught up. I wasn�t thinking. I��
�You don�t have to justify yourself to me, Draco. If you want to leave me, if you�re so adamant about it, I,� Lucius�s voice cracked, �I will just have to live with it, won�t I? After all, you must love her more than me.�
�I don�t, but��
�But?� interrupted Lucius. Anger blazed in his blue eyes, making them glisten fiercely. Draco felt desperation welling in him. He wanted to explain to his father, but he didn�t know what to say, couldn�t think of how to make Lucius understand.
�Daddy,� he said. It came out as a plaintive whine, and he winced. Lucius watched him blankly, his demeanor one of betrayal. He couldn�t reconcile Draco�s love of his father with his love for his girlfriend, his betrothed. In Lucius�s mind, there could be no others, Draco knew this. At one point, his father has been madly in love with his mother. But when Draco was born, Lucius�s love for Narcissa was consumed by Lucius�s love for his son. This complete, unending, unyielding devotion was the reason why Lucius refused to have more children, though Narcissa had begged for them. Draco couldn�t help wondering what his life would have been like if he were not an only child.
�I�ve upset you,� said Lucius, setting his wine aside and rising. Draco tensed as his father came closer. �Please forgive me. I forget myself when it comes to you. That is every father�s plight.�
�But� don�t you love Da Tiberius?�
�I suppose so. He pleases you very much. And at some time in my life, I loved no others as I love him and your Gam. Until your mother came along. Until you came to me....� Draco wanted to cry. �You are Mavie to me.�
�Open your present Daddy.�
Lucius did as Draco asked, pulling away the fabric and large black velvet bow, letting it pool at the base of the present. The gift itself was a large mirror, the frame of which Draco wrought himself, the images of entwined Chinese dragons going up along its round pillar frame. Draco tapped his wand against the glass and said, �Aperio Anima,� and the image changed from his father�s reflection to a mass of rippling silver. Draco stood more to the side of the mirror, but Lucius stood directly in front, and he knew that his father saw more than he could. He�d charmed the mirror to reflect one�s soul, a spell that took him months to perfect, and would sometimes show one�s hopes or fears, or sins or virtues, or any other myriad of little things that made a person who he was. Which was why Lucius now stood before the mirror, fascinated, lightly touching the surface. Draco wanted to know what he saw but he wouldn�t dare ask. With the way his grandmother had reacted when he showed it to her, he�d come to the conclusion that the secrets that the mirror revealed would be of too personal a nature to share.
�Does this,� said Lucius hesitantly, looking away from the mirror, a flush rising on his cheeks, �do as I think it does?� Draco grinned. �That is complicated magic.�
�I know,� said Draco. �I had Gam help me with some of the more, er, dangerous spells. She wasn�t happy when she found out what I was doing.�
�And here I thought you�d painted me something inappropriate.�
Draco blushed and fought back a cringe. �I was practicing my technique.�
�And working out the mechanics of a few fantasies, I think, my dragon,� said Lucius with a laugh. �Go on and get everyone, they�ll love a chance with this. Then I can praise your brilliance loudly and obnoxiously until your Gam smacks me!� Lucius turned his attention back to the mirror and Draco slipped from the room. Vivienne sat in the hall, back pressed against the wall, a faraway look in her eyes as she turned to him and smiled half-heartedly.
�What did he say to you?� she asked quietly.
�Nothing that matters overmuch.�
�What did you promise him?�
�Nothing,� said Draco, sneering in irritation. Vivienne stood up and smoothed the fabrics of her skirts. �By Merlin, you think I�d fall apart over one little guilt trip and send you away?�
�Not one guilt trip, baby, but the accumulation of them. This is not the first time he�s gotten you alone to��
�Don�t say it.�
�It�s the truth,� said Vivienne. �You�ll have to face it sometime. And anyway, your Gam told me about your gift. You can�t blame me for being a little worried after that. I have to say I agree with her. Honestly, Draco��
�Shut up,� Draco interrupted. �If you�re just parroting my Gam�s arguments, let�s take it as a given that I�ve heard them all�. But I can�t believe you thought I�d�.�
�I�m not as perfect as you think. One day Lucius will convince you of that and you�ll break off our contract � which I bloody well forced on you, anyway��
�Doesn�t matter��
��And he�ll send me back to my family in disgrace, or worse.�
�I won�t let him.�
�You don�t know him. All he�s ever done is protect you, even from himself, especially from himself. You should hear the way Justinian talks about him,� Oh Justinian, thought Draco sourly, �when he thinks no one�s around. You should hear the way Lucius talks to me, what says and d�� Vivienne pulled Draco to her and pressed her face to his neck, sighing in distress. �It makes my skin crawl.�
�He hasn�t� done anything to you that you haven�t told me about, has he?�
Vivienne pulled away, wiping at her eyes and sniffling. She looked Draco in the eye for a moment and Draco began to worry that Lucius had done something to her, hurt her somehow, but she shook her head and said, �No, of course not, darling.� She gave him a smile that was genuine, so unlike the others that day, and he believed her. �Let�s go get the others before Lucius comes out here to scold his wayward children.�
�He�s suitably distracted,� said Draco with a grin as he pressed against her and kissed her cheek, her nose, her lips, her neck. She leaned into his kisses and pulled him closer with little sighs. �And so am I,� said Draco, nipping along her clavicle, one hand sliding under her dress to caress her inner thigh. His fingers ghosted up his thigh to trace the scalloped edge of her lace knickers. Draco pulled away from their kisses to grin at her cheekily. �I can�t believe you wore the red knickers with my grandparents around,� he said incredulously, watching in fascination as she blushed.
�I�ve been lonely out here. Your father�s always stealing you away and I wanted to remember you. Besides, you�re the one who identified them by touch alone.�
�Well, I should like some confirmation,� he said, nipping her ear once and lowering himself to his knees before her. He pressed one hand against the jut of her hips and the other snaked her dress up to her waist. As he had already guessed, she wore red lace knickers with a low-cut matching camisole, and he grinned up at her. She smiled back indulgently. Draco arched forward and pressed a kiss against her lace-covered crotch, letting his tongue snake out and dampen the material above her clitoris, stroking with a light, teasing pressure.
�Please,� said Vivienne, trying to press forward, but Draco held her firmly against the wall. Then he released her and grabbed the waistband of her knickers just as Lucius came out of the room, scowling.
�Draco,� he said icily. Draco pulled away, letting Vivienne�s dress fall back into place.
�Er,� said Draco as he stood and tried to hide his red-faced fianc� from his father�s view. �Sorry.�
�Indeed,� said Lucius, going back into the den.
�I thought you said the walls were sound-proofed,� said Vivienne coldly.
�They are.�
�Then how did he know we were up to something �as usual?�
Draco couldn�t bring himself to tell her about the wards. �I don�t know,� he said instead.

Draco blinked and looked up, taking a deep breath. He was still in the Room of Requirement, but instead of his lifetime friends shouting and trying to hex Harry, everyone was gathered around him, watching him worriedly. He glanced around and noticed that he was lying on the sofa. How had he moved? What had happened?
�What�s going on?� he asked as he sat up. Everyone backed up a little, to give him some space. They shared worried glances amongst themselves. Draco glowered at them, irritated. �What?� he demanded.
�Don�t you remember?� said Harry, sounding nervous. �You jumped up and started screaming at us that we were being idiotic and counter-productive. Then you, er, fainted.� He grimaced. �It was like last time, you know, when you, er, punched me.�
�I� what?� said Draco. �When have I ever hit you, Potter?� he shouted. He was a very verbal person, certainly, but he�d never really been moved to violence and he resented the implication that�
�Er,� said Harry, twisting his sleeve. �When I first found out about � in the entrance hall when I said� what I said that was stupid and presumptuous.�
Millicent snorted. �Almost everything out of your mouth is either stupid or presumptuous or both, so he�s going to need a little more go to on.�
Harry scowled at her, then turned to Draco and said, �When you fainted the first time, you remember.�
Draco did remember. Or partially, at least�. He remembered the fear and anxiety when he thought Potter had found him out. He remembered waking up in his own room with Snape, Dumbledore, and Potter, feeling embarrassed and disoriented. He remembered not being able to look Potter in the eye for two weeks after, even though Harry remained steadfast and never brought up his humiliating weakness from the summer.
�I didn�t hit you, Harry,� he said quietly.
�I think I should remember it,� said Harry. �You have a nasty right hook. Broke my bloody nose. Snape found us and healed me and took us back to your, er,� he glanced at Pansy and Blaise hesitantly, �your room. You really don�t remember, do you?� Draco shook his head. �What does that mean?�
Draco thought back to his father�s conversation with Mr. Gregory Jones, thought back to the rage in his father�s eyes when he said that Mr. Jones had turned Draco into an Exhibitor, that he had manifest Draco�s senses, broken Draco�s inhibitors � but inhibitors to what, Draco did not know, for his urges were still quite well contained and controllable.
�It means� Um, it��
Draco closed his eyes and thought back to the meeting between his parents and the Spell Master, hoping to find a clue to what was wrong with him, to why his life crumbled around his feet.
�Lucius, what is wrong?� said Narcissa, alarmed by the way Lucius�s veins throbbed in his temples and his face turned bloody red. �What happened�?�
�You manifest his senses, you destroyed his inhibitors, you� you turned him into a bloody Exhibitor! � So help me, I will make you regret ever looking at my son!�
�Mr. Malfoy, Lucius, old friend, please, let�s just��
�IMPERIO!� screeched Lucius. Mr. Jones stiffened immediately and an expectant look came over his face. �Tonight you will retire to your quarters and write a letter saying that you have disgraced your father�s name, that you have lost your honor, and that you must make amends. You will write no more. You will leave it on your desk. Tomorrow, as the noon hour strikes, you will go to the gathering hall in the village square and go into the bell tower. You will wait until the last stroke on twelve, and you will throw yourself into the street. This you will swear to me now.�
�I swear it, on my honor.�
�Finite,� said Lucius, turning away. Mr. Jones slumped, and at Lucius�s signal ran from the room, sobbing. When he was gone, Lucius stormed out of the room and Narcissa followed, frantically demanding to know what was wrong. They rushed down the hall into Lucius�s private study and warded the doors. �I have not been truthful with you, Narcissa,� he said after a moment. Narcissa watched him warily as he paced to the mantle and grabbed the arm of a sconce and pulled it down. A loud clang went through the room and part of the far wall shifted, revealing a secret passage hidden in the fireplace. �We have all known about my unnatural desires for� for our son, but I was not truthful in leading you all to believe I have handled them so long on my own merit. I have frequented Mr. Jones�s establishment for some time now� indeed, since Draco was six. I needed, ah, an aide to help me curtail my� unseemly urges.�
�Your lust for him, you mean?� snapped Narcissa. �It did not work. Now tell me what has happened to Draco less the riddles.�
They came into a dark, cavernous room which walls were lined with shelves of potions, gems, and colorful globes, except for a large fireplace, in which Lucius lit a blazing fire. Then he snatched a ruby red globe from the wall and as he jostled it, it sloshed. It was filled with something, blood perhaps. He threw it into the fire and the globe shattered, its liquid smothering the fire for a moment, then, with a hiss, it blazed again and a red smoke thickened in the room around their ankles.
�Speak to me, Ancients Ones, for I am your son,� said Lucius, and with another hiss, a golden serpent slunk of out the smoke, slithering over to where Lucius stood and raising its head to look at him. �Transform for me, Fay, that I may know you as you know me.�
Before his eyes, the serpent began to grow, to lengthen and widen and fatten and shift shape, its skin stretching, bones forming and jutting and rearranging, muscles clenching and elongating and seizing into one stiff cramp, before releasing suddenly. Then a woman stood before them with pale skin and golden hair, her eyes a radiant green.
�Why have you summoned me, human?�
�My son,� said Lucius, �is in danger.�
�He is claimed.�
�He is wizardkind,� Lucius said impatiently. �He is not strong enough to withstand the spells.�
�But he is claimed, nonetheless.� Lucius fidgeted towards his wand, but stopped short. �You have done this to him. Why do you call upon me?�
�Restore him,� said Lucius. �He is a child, still, and by your laws��
�By my laws, the blind may not be permitted to See. That is true. However, I cannot grant your request. Also by my laws, the blind are never claimed.� The woman watched Lucius as he turned red-faced and clutched his hands into fists at his sides. �Why do you worry? Which manifests have your son displayed thus far?�
Lucius blinked, hesitating. �Far sight only, as far I can tell. But far sight rarely comes alone. It comes packaged in a full display.�
�Indeed,� said the woman. �And he is very young, yet, for a full display.� She paused. �I will speak with the Council on your behalf. They may send a tutor. Do not expect they shall attempt a reversal of the claiming. That is never done among my kind.�
�But��
�I have said all that I will, human.� The woman transformed into a snake much the same way as she had become human and slithered back into the fire. The fire went out as she passed through. A hissing silence descended on the room.
Narcissa soon broke it, saying, �Just what is an Exhibitor and what does it have to do with your exploits with our charming guest?�
Lucius turned to her, face blank. �It is in the name, Narcissa,� he said flatly. �Exhibitors manifest pure magic, raw energy. It comes in many forms, and � this new ability that Draco has, the ability to see and hear what is not in his immediate surroundings stems from the threads of magic that wind through us all, through the very earth. When he follows these threads, he has a vision, a vision of the present, usually, but he may follow them as they cross with time or space to view the past or future, parallel worlds or hidden ones�. It is very dangerous to entangle oneself in the very fabric of magic itself, let alone�.�
Narcissa went pale, a hand clutching at her chest as she sank to her knees in the middle of the room and looked up at her husband, aghast. Lucius knelt beside her, a bit of tenderness returning as he stroked her cheek comfortingly, wiping away her tears.
�And Mr. Jones?� she asked after she had composed herself enough to speak. �What does he have to do with this, beside the obvious?�
Lucius cleared his throat anxiously, pulling his hand away from her in shame. �Considering the circumstances of Draco�s birth�� Narcissa shot him a dark, loathing look, �and the aid required to, ah, insure that he did not, well, you are well aware of the� precautions taken.�
�Yes,� said Narcissa slowly. �I could not bear had he followed� as is the wont with your line.� Lucius looked at Narcissa in shock. �I�ve spoken with Nero and Mother Lucia on the matter often enough to know about that, Lucius, wouldn�t you say?� she snapped.
�Er, yes, right,� said Lucius. He reached out and fingered one of her loose curls. She smacked his hand away irritably scooted away. Given Lucius�s propensity to invade one�s personal space, she did not move far enough that they were not touching anymore, but only enough that Lucius would remember how much she hated him now. His cheeks colored slightly and he rose, extending a hand to her. She did not take it but stood anyway, to be on a level plane with him. �Mr. Jones� Gregory� is the one who provided me with the original potions to� help Draco.� Narcissa�s eyes flashed. �I do not believe that he simply forgot our son. And, given his affiliations, our affiliations, I think he may have, er, broken those inhibitors, as it were.�
Narcissa looked startled for a moment, then angry, then resigned. Lucius watched her closely, trying to decipher her reaction as emotions raced across her face. �You tempt me to kill you, Lucius,� she said at last. �As you have known me, I have been ever strong, but even I must break at one point, and when I do, there should be no doubt in your mind of which oaths I shall break.� With that, she stormed from the room, calling for her handmaiden in a shrill, irritable tone, �Angelica! Bring the Black cloak and charm. We leave for London at once! I am going home and do not know when I shall return!�

�Draco!� said Pansy shrilly in Draco�s ear as he turned and blinked up at her. �That�s twice in a half-hour! What�s wrong with you? Are you ill?�
�Er,� said Draco, sitting up. �No?�
�Honestly, Draco, maybe you should go see Madam Pomfrey,� said Millicent. �It can�t be healthy for you or the twins to keep passing out like that. And you could get hurt in the fall, especially.�
�I�m fine, I think,� said Draco. �I just, I may need to learn how to control, er, my far sight.�
�FAR SIGHT?� demanded Blaise loudly. �Draco, what the bloody hell��
�Stop screaming, if you would,� snapped Draco, rubbing his head which started throbbing as he sat up. Blaise quieted immediately, looking abashed, but still worried and uncertain. Draco sighed heavily and reached for Mirage where she slept coiled around his wrist. He stroked her back a few times and she shifted and blinked up at him sleepily, hissing. Harry looked startled for a second, then hissed back at her. �Stop that as well. I would like to ask her a question,� insisted Draco. Harry scowled at Draco, but said nothing more in Parseltongue. �Hello, pretty one,� he said to her. She tightened around his wrist and released, blinking at him expectantly. �Have you had word from your Council?�
Mirage blinked and settled her head down on the back of his hand. She gave a short hiss and projected into his thoughts, Yes. I speak with them often as my sweet one sleeps or paints. Why do you ask after the Elder Ones?
�Er,� said Draco. �My father� he requested�.� Everyone in the room shot Draco worried looks and he sneered at them before turning his attention back to Mirage.
I see. They have denied your father�s request. Only the blind tutor the claimed, and a blind one would hold you back. This you must accomplish on your own, my sweet, but I will aid you if you are in need. But, I am told, you shall find your skill is sharper than you think, if you will focus on it. And your Occlumency will help you to control it, for the most part. Truly, this is innate in your line.
�Yes,� said Draco, baffled. �But that is only true of twins.�
Mirage raised her head again and looked at him steadily. Silly boy, she said, but you are a twin.
TBC
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Flesh of My Flesh