A/N: This was written for Vicky and it was written just for fun a long time ago. That being said, keep it in mind that it's an AU and it makes no sense at all. As I said: it was for fun.
frozen
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"I thought we were pirates," murmured Lestrange, kicking a pebble onto the ice that covered the frozen lake. "Pirates who were supposed to stay on the sea."
"We are, Canopus, but we're also wizards. This puts us ahead of Muggle pirates exactly because it allows us to get into mainland quickly and safely," said Abraxas, smiling as he looked at the mountains that circled the place.
It was a pretty different environment than those they were used with. He and his crew were used to having an endless, blue ocean ahead of them and a blue sky above their heads, now what they had was a dark forest and high mountains surrounding a icy lake while the cold wind seemed to cut through their clothes, making most men stand there chittering and cursing the weather.
"I still don't understand why we are in this end of the world. If you wanted treasures, you should have invaded Moscovo and pilled that cathedral of theirs. Dolohov said they have tons of gold in there," said Canopus. "You brought us to God damned Siberia."
"Rumour has it that this place also hides great treasure, my friend. Dolohov also told me this." The blonde looked over to a dark haired man whose expressionless face was the only one who didn't seem to be bothered by the cold. "And without taking the risk of being captured by those madmen the opris… aprichn… What are their names again?"
"Oprichnik, captain," said the dark haired man.
"Thank you, Dolohov. Wizards with absolute power inside Moscovo, Canopus, can you imagine that? It's a pity they are not quite right in the head." Abraxas pointed to his own temple and pulled a face.
"Can't be that bad. Not worse than freezing to death in this hellhole…"
"If you wish I can take you to Basmanov himself, Lestrange," whispered Dolohov, narrowing his dark eyes as he stared at the other wizard. "I'm sure he'll love to test his new spells on you. I've heard he created a curse capable of making the victim writhe in horrible pain."
"Really? How interesting. I'm still more fond of our dear Killing Curse. Also, isn't Basmanov the wizards who lies down with the Muggle emperor? That's rather disgusting…" Canopus twisted his nose in disgust. "And what do we do now, captain?"
"Rest for now, it was a long-distance apparition, we need time to restore our energy." The blonde wizard pointed at the border of the forest. "Set up camp there."
To be honest, Captain Abraxas Malfoy was also a bit hesitant towards the idea of staying that that place for too long. He knew very well he was a good pirate but, as Canopus had said, a pirate's place is at the sea not on mainland but still, there he was, dragged by curiosity and the prospect of a treasure, in the middle of the continent, freezing in the Siberian weather and being sustained only by the hope of finding something interesting in there. Dolohov knew the region, he had lived in Siberia during his youth and had travelled through many of its forests and mysterious places before, heard numerous of its almost mythical stories. The Kucherla Lake held a nice story about hidden treasures somewhere around it, according to the man, and that was the reason they were there.
Maybe they wouldn't find anything there, maybe they would. That was the funny part of their job: they never knew how it would turn out. Abraxas only hoped none of them ended up freezing to death. Also, he hoped little Orion and Cygnus Black would manage to take good care of his ship, the Shattered Time, while they were on the mainland.
The first thing Malfoy noticed when he woke up was the cold. Not the cold that had affected everyone earlier that day but little areas on his body that seemed to be way colder as if someone had put an ice block directly on his skin. After that he noticed the wetness on his clothes, the source of the coldness, and the pressure on his chest.
"What the... !?" The wizard extended his arm, his fingers already clutching his wand, pointing it at whatever was above him.
"I wouldn't do it if I were you, captain."
Abraxas' eyes widened as he saw a young man watching at him in the darkness that was his tent. That man was not part of his crew, he was sure of that, after all, he would have noticed if someone like that had been walking up and down his ship. But no, he had never seen him… Or anyone who could be compared to him. Thanks to the darkness that obscured most things inside the tent, Malfoy's vision of the stranger was reduced and the only few things he could make out of his appearance was his pale skin and his blue eyes. They were the same colour as the frozen lake outside, he thought.
"You know," the young man purred, leaning down against the wizard. Abraxas shivered as he noticed the source of the coldness was the other's bare, wet skin, and now that he had his whole body pressed against him, the blonde felt as if he had dived into the lake. "It's been quite some time since someone came to visit me."
"Who are you?" Malfoy managed to say, chittering. "What are you?"
"What do you think I am?" asked the boy, stretching and turning his body like a cat next to him.
"You're not a man, my wards would have gone off if you were one." One cold, thin hand sneaked its way up his chest until it reached his neck. There, his fingers took its time to play with the chains and strings Abraxas wore around his neck. "Some kind of demon, I don't know. A succubus?"
"Do I look like a woman to you?" There was a hint of fun in his voice as he pressed his hips to Abraxas' side.
"No." Malfoy furrowed his brows before raising them again. "A mermaid!"
"Believe me, you wouldn't want me to be a mermaid." The stranger chuckled. "Horrendous creatures they are once they are outside the water." Malfoy watched as the boy tucked one of the chains from under his shirt, analyzing the locket that hug from it with care. It was a golden locket with a 'S' made of tiny, green stones on its lids. Salazar Slytherin's locket, his most prized possession since he found it into the shack of an old tramp in Tortuga. "That's really beautiful."
"Yes, yes, I know." The blonde grabbed the locked and hid it once again, not liking how those blue eyes followed it looking almost hungry before returning to his face. "Now, what do you want?"
"I don't know. What do you want here?" asked the young man, supporting himself on his elbows before leaning his head down until his lips – horribly cold lips, Abraxas thought – touched the captain's.
"What was that for!?" Malfoy inquired, finally moving to push the other away from him, only to be held back by a hand on his jaw, immobilizing him on the floor.
"I told you: it's been a long time since someone last visited me." The wizard couldn't identify if the smile that spread over the boy's lips was a sweet or a dangerous one. Maybe both, giving the situation. "I kind of missed something warm."
The stranger flattened his hand on the blonde's cheek before pressing another kiss to the captain's lips. Abraxas inhaled sharply, feeling the other shifting his position until he had each leg at his sides, straddling him while his hands wandered through Malfoy's clothes. Soon enough his shirt was gone, reduced to shreds by a strength the wizard didn't know those hands were capable of possessing, and the boy was pressing his torso against the captain's. Abraxas shuddered but soon was used to the cold sensation against his body and the droplets of water that kept falling on his face, dripping from the boy's hair.
Malfoy had no idea of what the stranger's plan was but, right now, it seemed that the only thing that needed his attention were the lips on his face, the hands on his hair and the body against him. After a few minutes of being at the complete mercy of the young man, Abraxas felt the other's cold fingers knotting themselves in his hair, pulling it until he managed to tilt the wizard's head back.
"Why do wizards and witches always underestimate us?" the boy whispered, tracing a line of soft kisses down his exposed neck, reaching his sternum. "Let me tell you a story, captain. Once upon a time, a lovely maiden showed up here. She was desperate not to be found by anyone and completely ignored my presence until I decided to warn her about the danger that was getting near. She ignored me, though. Thought I was just another silly creature like those Domashniye el'fui you use to clean after your mess. The thing is, I was right and she was stupid not to listen to me. Someone showed up, a wizard, and killed her. He was ordering her to go back home and she refused… He lost his temper and stabbed her. After that, he did the same to himself. It was awful; the blood took days to be washed away from the shore. I dragged the bodies far away from the water; I didn't want those things inside my lake, even though it was tempting leaving the witch underwater… You see, during winter, it's so cold her body wouldn't even decay, and she was a beautiful thing." With his right hand's fingers still holding Abraxas' hair, the boy nuzzled against his neck, smiling. "As I said before, she didn't pay attention to me and didn't see that I noticed when she hid something in the woods. A headpiece with a really pretty blue stone on it… But I think what I like the most about it is what is written on the metalwork: Wit beyond measure is…"
"Man's greatest treasure," whispered Abraxas. "Rowena Ravenclaw's lost diadem."
"Her name was Helena, actually, but I did hear about this Rowena." The young man smiled. "You have no idea of how many witches and wizards already appeared here in search of that diadem. But, as I said, I like beautiful things and I really don't like to give away what is mine. Ravenclaw may have owned it before but now it's mine."
"I didn't come here to…"
"Your mind says otherwise, captain." The boy sat back on Malfoy's lap, pulling the other with him until they were both in a sitting position. "By the way, you should feel honoured, you're the first wizard that made me get out of the water. You and your men are curious little things, aren't you?"
"Look, I promise we'll leave, all right? We'll leave as soon as the sun goes up in the morning and we won't take your diadem." Another shiver run up Malfoy's spine when he heard a chuckle coming from the other right before he released his hair and used his fingers to caress the wizard's face.
"And who said I want you to leave? As I said: I like pretty things." Abraxas swallowed, imagining his own body on the bottom of the frozen lake, paler than the boy in front of him, dead. "But I also like warmth, as I, too, said. So, I have a proposition, captain."
"Whatever you say…"
"You live on the sea and I can't go there. You see, the sad thing about my situation is that I can't stay too long away from this place. In the water, I can stay longer but I need to return one day. Not to mention the places where you go are way too hot." The young man rolled his eyes, sighing. "You make your living out of theft but you need a place to put your acquisitions."
"I have my ship."
"The boat that can be sunk anytime. The ship that can be stolen from you. The ship into which your crew can rebel and take your treasure."
"My men wouldn't…"
"You don't know what goes inside their heads, Abraxas. I tell you that Atlas is not to be trusted but you can ignore me like Helena did." He shrugged. "So, my proposition goes like this: you can leave your treasure here and I'll take good care of it for you."
"What if you claim it to be yours?"
"I won't," he whispered, tugging the chain of Slytherin's locket once again. "If you do a few things for me."
"Like what?"
"You see, since Helena appeared here with her diadem, I became really interested in the founders of that school, Hogwarts… I would love to have their treasure as my own. I already have Ravenclaw's and you have Slytherin's. Give me the locket and go after Hufflepuff's cup and Gryffindor's sword for me."
"I don't even know where…!" Abraxas was interrupted by a finger the other placed above his lips in order to silence him.
"At least try to find them for me, and leave the locket."
"Is that all?"
"And I want you to come back here, to me," he whispered, leaning closer once again. "I miss warmth, Abraxas. I think it's a fair trade, isn't it? Safety for your treasure and a bit of warmth for me once in a while."
"He gave up quickly this time," said Atlas, leaning against the edge of the ship, enjoying the sunlight on his face. "I thought we would stay in that frozen hell for at least weeks."
"Even Abraxas Malfoy is able to notice a lost cause when he sees one. He saw there was no treasure in that place, therefore, there was no reason for us to stay-"
"Do you really believe in that, Lestrange?" asked a third man, his usually serious face now showed a hint of a playful smile.
"Oh, Merlin," whispered the smaller man, Lestrange. "Tell us what your Russian eyes saw that our poor, Western ones don't."
"Didn't neither of you notice the captain's locket is missing?"
"Slytherin's locket? He must have stored it in his vault," said Avery.
"Malfoy is too fond of it to store it away from his hands. He left it at Kucherla."
"If he won't leave the stupid locket in a vault, he surely wouldn't leave it alone in a wasteland like that place!" Canopus shook his head, sighing. "God, you are stupid."
"He didn't leave it alone, he gave it to someone."
"Oh, let me guess, some Russian water nymph?" Lestrange snickered. "Your people is full of those folkloric stuff, aren't they?"
"They're called rusalki," explained Dolohov, serious. "Spirits that haunt lakes and rivers, dragging men down the water every now and then. Legend has it that a rusalka can end up sympathizing with men, though. But they like to be given something in exchange for that sympathy."
"All right, the man is mad," said Atlas, raising an eyebrow. "Sure the captain was seduced by a water spirit that convinced him to give them his most loved treasure."
Dolohov didn't say anything as he watched the other two wizards walking away from him, approaching the rest of the crew. His land was full of legends and the rusalki were the creatures that had fascinated him the most since his youth. He had seen one when he was thirteen, a beautiful girl with brown hair, sleek with water, and big eyes of the same colour that had dragged his own father down to the bottom of a lake. He had never been really fond of Ilya Fyodorovich Dolohov, so, when he saw that pretty girl pulling him into the water, he was more fascinated by her than afraid of what was going to happen to the man. He still remembered that the only thing that might have spoiled the rusalka's appearance were her big front teeth and, even with those, she looked really pretty.
Knowing these creatures, Antonin Dolohov was not surprised when he heard an unknown voice singing by the Lake Kucherla, nor was he surprised when he saw his captain telling them they would go back to their ship. Malfoy had met the rusalka and was lucky enough to fall under its grace, escaping from being drowned into the cold water. It was typical of a man like Abraxas to do something like that, to be able to be liked by a creature whose biggest amusement was to kill men.
A/N: I told you this was completely AU and weird.
- Domashniye el'fui - house-elves
- Lake Kucherla – a lake in the Altai mountain, in Siberia, in between Russia, Mongolia, Kazakhstan and China.
- Rusalki: shush, I know they are girls and all that stuff. Let me just fullfill this fantasy of having Tom as a pretty water creature that likes to drown men in his lake, okay? (x