A/n: Hello readers! This is my new story I've been talking about for a while and I was finally able to get some major beta work done and decided to post it. Please leave a review at the end so I know if people are checking it out after all this time or not. It will be Dramione, but like the majority of my stories it'll take a while to get there. I hope you like it because it's one of my favorite to write so far! Thanks to my beta's JDeppIsMyLovely, Tessa Cresswell and TheInvisiblePrincess who only edited the first two chapters. I hope you enjoy it :)

Warnings: Rated for dark themes, language and scenes. Possible lemons in the future.

The Woods

"If you weren't such an arse then I wouldn't need to spend your fucking money! If you paid a little more attention to me and a little less attention to the industries then I wouldn't have to go on those massive shopping trips!"

"Really now? I was under the impression that you enjoyed spending all of my money. Or do you just like to buy yourself new lingerie to whore yourself out to the nearest shop clerk? Really Astoria, I'm curious. Did you even bother telling the twat you were married or was that confession of undying love simply a declaration based off the fact that you let him pound you into the mattress at our summer home?"

The girls cheeks were bright red as she listened to her husband speak to her in such a manner. "How dare you speak to me like that!? I'm your wife-"

"Yes, you are my fucking wife, and although I'm thoroughly impressed you can acknowledge that fact without having to be signing a massive cheque, it doesn't change a fucking thing. If you are going to head off to foreign countries like a bloody whore then at least do it without tarnishing my name!"

She feigned hurt. "Draco…" she pouted, her eyes huge, "you can't mean that! I'm sorry about…"

Scorpius ignored the rest of his parent's argument. They had been arguing for as long as he could remember, and it had only gotten worse since his grandfather Lucius died and his father took over the Malfoy Industries. The tall blond had been ignoring the members of his family to try to create order in the chaos left to him, but his mother didn't think so. In fact, Astoria Malfoy had brought home three different men in the past month that weren't his father and had gone upstairs with them, shooing those strange men out before daddy returned home. She had bribed the four-year old with candy and new toys to make sure word didn't get out to her charming, rich husband about her betrayals.

The child was far too young to really grasp what was going on, but next month, he would dawn his fifth birthday, a time he couldn't wait for. His father had declared if the young boy was good and didn't get into trouble, he would take the spitting image of himself to work for a day and then to the Quidditch store afterwards, a rare treat the boy had received on his fourth birthday as well. He loved going with his father to work, because Draco Malfoy was far friendlier to his child than Astoria would ever be.

But he wanted to break his promises to his mother and father, just for a minute. Disappearing down the halls of Malfoy Manor back towards his chambers, he continued on right past his bedroom to a door leading to the outside world. Pushing it open, the chilly air outside hit his bare arms and feet. He had half a mind to go back inside, but the drifting screams of his parent's escalating argument forced him forward. He didn't like to be near them when they yelled, because they were so mean to each other. They said words he only vaguely understood, and his mother would hit his father's chest so many times he thought it was mean. Sometimes, the blond man would hit things. He didn't understand why they yelled at each other so much.

His best friend, Elizabeth Zabini (Lizzy for short), had parents that never, ever yelled. He had gone over to Lizzy's house sometimes at night- and he had heard the girl's mother saying more when he was younger about what a horrible match his parents were for each other -when his parent's screams really got, well, scary. It was usually his father that came to get him and take him to Lizzy's house for the night. Uncle Blaise told him it was so his parents could talk, but Scorpius was certain talk was just a nice word to hide the fact that they may just possibly kill each other.

Going outside wasn't something he did often when his parents fought; he usually hid in his bedroom like a little baby to block out the noise. If his grandfather had ever caught him hiding like a baby like he often did, he worried that the old, grouchy wizard may have sent a spell his way. The older man had often done that and hurt him sometimes, which left his father to send crueler spells towards his grandfather. Scorpius couldn't lie if he said he missed the man, for really, he was happy the old bat had gone wherever it was people went when they got old; his father had tried to explain death to him, but without success, and the boy had merely nodded so his father would stop looking so frazzled.

This was only the second time he had resorted to going outside during an argument. The first time had been only a week ago, when some other man ran from the upstairs with his father throwing hexes, telling him to get out and screaming louder at his mother, who only barked at the young boy to 'go to his fucking room'.

Afraid of why his parents looked so murderous, he had fled outside and hid in the gardens; the open windows allowed the parents shouting to get out of the house, and he had cried a bit when something on the upper floors broke. There had been more screaming and breaking things for a while longer before silence took over. Eventually, his father came out with a bag and scooped him up, taking him to Uncle Blaise's and Aunt Pansy's for the night. He had stayed as well, sleeping on the couch. It was the first time that had ever happened, and it wasn't until the morning came that Scorpius noted his father's hand was dried in blood. Uncle Blaise had been kind enough to heal the wound.

Last time, he had been too afraid to venture out past the beginning of the gardens, his parents warning words echoing in his mind. "The forest surrounding his home was dangerous," they said, "filled with angry creatures and dangerous plants that could do harm to someone misinformed about what he was dealing with." His father had taken him flying a few months ago- something else his parents had argued about- so the child could see the mass expanse of trees surrounding a good part of their home. The tress made the forest look nearly black, and foreboding.

"You must never go in there," his father had said, flying up a bit higher. "Not until you are my age. There are dangers in there I could never let you face, and should never let you face. I don't know exactly what is in there Scorpius but the place is deadly and few people venture inside. Promise me you will never go there."

The child, his slightly chubby cheeks breaking into a grin, turned to his father. "I promise dad."

"Good."

"Can we fly higher?"

"Your mother will have my head for that."

That had been the end of their discussion, but his father's words rang in his head as he stared at the tress, which practically matched the sky if it were not for the gleam of the stars. Tears stained his eyes as his parent's voices carried out the door, dim but angry. He didn't want to deal with them, or their unhappiness, and decided he didn't care. Bolting, he ignored the sharp little pains in the delicate soles of his feet as he took off running to the forest.

His parent's screams grew dimmer, and in the short sprint to the forest's edge- which lived closest to his part of the Manor, simply because that side was the most overgrown- he felt his surroundings get soft. Entering the forbidden place, he breathed a sigh of relief, his little feet cut from his run over the little pebbles. The forest was scary- and dark- like his father had often warned, but at least it was quiet.

He looked around. There really wasn't much to see, but digging into his pocket he found an All Flavored Jellybean from the pack his mother had given him the other day and popped it into his mouth for something else to focus on. Immediately, he spit it out. That one had been gross.

The forest didn't seem so scary the longer he looked into it. In fact, it didn't seem scary at all. Popping a second bean into his mouth, he walked a bit further, glancing back once to see if the Manor was still in sight. No one was standing outside, and he couldn't hear shouting, so his father would never need to know he disobeyed him by coming in there; he could still go with him to his work if he was careful and went home really soon.

He peered around. There was nothing scary in here! Had his father told him to stay out of the forest just so he didn't come and play out here? He frowned; that would make his father mean! He could have always taken his son to walk in there here if the danger was fake, right?

Scorpius walked further, tripping over a root, and spilling two jellybeans. He grumbled. Now he would have less to eat later. Continuing on a bit, he completely forgot about making sure he could still see home.

It wasn't long before he heard something that made him scream. "Hey kid, what are you doing way out here?" The voice seemed to come from nowhere, scaring the young boy out of his wits. He stumbled in the darkness and reached out for something to help him balance in the darkness, catching a hold of a tree branch in the process and cutting his hand; the cut really hurt, and immediately drew blood.

"Who are you?" he snapped in return, remembering how his father always spoke with authority. He liked that about his father, versus his mother who batted her eyelashes a lot instead, and, having already tried that, he knew from experience that it just made him feel stupid. He puffed out his chest at the darkness and stood as tall as a four year old could, rubbing his hurting hand on the leg of his pajama pants.

Somewhere in the darkness this person clicked his tongue; he had too masculine of a voice to be a girl. "How cute. Are you trying to be brave, son? Brave in face against me?"

"I'm not a coward," the blond boy replied proudly, thinking maybe the man was just taunting him for fun. He wouldn't hurt him with his mother and father so nearby, right?

"I can see that," the man said, stepping out of the darkness so that Scorpius could just make out his features. He was tall, like his father was, but seemed to be wider at the shoulders. The silhouette suddenly seemed a bit intimidating to the child, and he took a step back, wishing his parents were there to step behind, or at least lean against. "You are a brave boy, you came into the woods after all."

"These woods aren't so scary" the child said, grinning. The man thought this place was scary? No! He had only met a strange person, and they were just striking up conversation together like his parents always did. No harm in that.

The man took a step closer, and it was then that Scorpius noted something. The man flashed him a smile, and for just a brief moment he thought he saw pale, sharp teeth. Backing away, the boy forgot about the odd burning in his hand and wondered instead why this person was so odd and terrifying.

"Scorpius," Draco growled, searching for his son. Enough was enough and his blasted wife would be having her head cut off before she went behind his back again! But the things they were saying really shouldn't be exchanged in the presence of their son, and she had gone to shower while he searched for the boy, prepared to take him off to Blaise's for the night, again.

He tried making his son's childhood as good as possible; tried to make it everything he never had. But that was hard to do when his wife of five years was out sleeping with everyone she could simply because he was too busy anymore- and sick of the woman's inability to bring pleasure to him. Besides, if she could cheat during their marriage, why couldn't he?

That answer was simple; he was loyal. He had declared his –fake- love to her at a ceremony, and at least kept the part about being loyal to his spouse, something she could never do. It was no secret they fought for their son's affections, and did things sometimes that the other did not approve of, but at least the boy was not neglected. Searching now for his pride and joy, he wondered if they had caused the child to cry.

Scorpius did not grow up with Lucius as a father, and therefore did not have the backbone Draco did at four. He didn't think his child was weak in any way- just hurt over the emotional battles his parents constantly fought. Sighing, Draco shoved open his son's door, only to discover the room vacant.

Raising both eyebrows, he turned quickly and left the room, door open. Glancing both ways down the hall, he wondered if perhaps his son had taken to hiding in the gardens outside again. Hoping that was the answer, he turned quickly and walked out the door at the end of the hall, peering around.

No Scorpius.

Shit.

Glancing around, he sat the bag down and completely missed Astoria walking out to join him in the garden. "What are you doing," she asked, crossing her arms tightly. "You're supposed to be looking for our son, not playing in the fucking gardens."

He whipped his head around and glared. "I am actually searching for our son," he snapped in return, crossing his arms as well. "He came out here one time when you had been particularly loud one night."

"Are you thick," she spat, "you are always louder than me!"

Draco was about to reply when his wand began to vibrate, Astoria's following suit. The thin pieces of wood glowed lilac, a tracking spell both had placed on their son from birth.

Worried eyes looked up, and Astoria clutched herself. "Scorpius…"

"He's in danger," the blond replied, practically growling. They should've known at some point that in this relationship, they would push the boy too far, but now it seemed so. The problem was the spell only alerted parents that their child was in danger, not where the child was.

Astoria moved to say something else, but a dim cry shut her up. Immediately, the two adults tightened up, their hearts tearing as the small sound echoed back at them in their own heads. The cry had been faint, either from a good distance away or diluted by-

"The forest," she said quietly, before her husband took off running. She followed at a much slower pace, the slutty nightwear she had donned not appropriate for a child to see nor for someone to go running in the woods in. Draco was at least gracious enough to wait for her at the forest's edge and towed her along beside him; he may not like her, but the blasted woman was still his wife and he had an obligation to protect her.

They quickly found themselves lost. The scream had come from the forest, they were sure, but actually figuring out where their son was would be far harder. Stopping, Draco scowled, glaring at his wife. She glared back, both unsure how the bloody fuck they were supposed to locate their son. She was clutching his hand, her heart hammering. His wand caught something on the ground, and she immediately jerked down to pick the item up.

"What are you doing," he spat, glaring at her as she turned. In her hand lay a jellybean, perfectly shaped like it had just been dropped. The blond's eyebrows rose.

"He was here," she breathed, and they both began spinning their wands around, finding another one of the candies a few feet down. Astoria grabbed that one too, and they hurried on, hoping to find eye or ear of their son soon- preferably attached to his adorable head.

There were no more tell-tale jellybeans, but as the pair stopped to look around, wondering if perhaps they had walked in the wrong direction, a child's cry pierced their ears. Astoria reached out and clutched tightly to her husband, but he shook her off and headed towards the sound of his son; he was nearby and yet they had allowed more pain to happen to him! Draco was ready to beat himself to death over that fact just now.

The tall blond saw his son first and nearly collapsed onto his knees. Some sort of creature was rushing off quickly, and Draco poorly aimed a hex at the thing before running to his son's side.

The boy's arm shot out, attacking the side of Malfoy's torso. He was completely thrown when long nails cut deep into his flesh, and stumbled back a bit, stopping his wife from getting any closer to their child.

Wands trained on the monstrous form of the minor, they sucked in their breath. Scorpius's usually clean blond hair was littered with blood and twigs, his neck torn open to reveal a large flow of blood. His nails were quite a bit longer then they had been less than an hour ago, one hand revealing red edges where he had lashed out at his father. The scariest part of all though, were his eyes; small slits of black that mirrored the evil darkness surrounding them.

They stood in shocked, horrified silence for a moment before either moved. "Get the fuck out of this forest," Draco growled at his wife, "Get out and go to the Manor, and floo some healer's. Do not allow any Aurors through or we'll have an even bigger fucking mess to deal with."

"You want me to go alone-"

"Yes!" He was sick of his wife, and at the moment he was far more concerned with his son than the pompous bitch at his side. "GO!" She went this time without complaint, and he took a moment to study the boy further. Merlin's balls, he was bleeding so much, he should be dead!

Draco crept closer, unsure of what he was dealing with. Through the red liquid he could not make out exactly what had created the horrifying gashes, but knew if he got too close, this strange phenomenon that had taken over his son would lash out again, and perhaps leave bigger marks.

He took two steps closer, wand aimed. Throwing out a stunning spell, the boy froze, falling lifeless against the ground beneath him. Looking down, the blond's heart cracked. What had happened to his son?

When he discovered just what had done this, he was going to rip its head off with his bare hands.

Moving quickly, he scooped the child up and headed back towards the edges of the forest, attempting to follow the way he had come so he wouldn't get lost. He could only hope that Astoria had gotten out by now and had done as he said; that was about the only good thing she would have accomplished the entire night.

He quickly found his way out of the woods, adrenaline pumping. As he had once told his son, he did not know what kind of horrors lived behind those trees, just that they should not be tampered with. Why oh why had he ever gone filling the boy's head with those kinds of thoughts? Look where it had gotten him! Heart beating harder than it was capable of, he hurried back inside the Manor, the door he had left through still open, and his son's overnight bag for the Zabini's house forgotten by a large flowerpot.

When he started feeling Scorpius twist, panic rose in his throat. There was no way the effects of that spell had already worn off! The boy was four for Circe's sake; he didn't have the strength to fight off spells. He hardly knew how to handle them.

Pushing quickly into his room, he found there were already several Healer's there, looking on at the bundle in his arms with large eyes. These were not private healer's, but house call ones that would appear on-scene in severe cases, and this was definitely severe.

Just as the blond deposited his child gently onto the bed, his son's eyes snapped open and his hand whipped out, catching his father across the chest with his nails, again. Stunned, the blond stumbled back as the healer's stepped forward, casting multiple spells all at once, while one of the multiple medics in the room turned to Draco himself and quickly began repairing the two bleeding areas on his torso.

But neither of the adults in the room were paying the healer's any mind. They were both staring on at their son, stunned into silence. As the healer removed the first of the tears lower on Draco's body, he watched several people tie his son down with strong-looking binds.

"What the fuck do you think you are doing? That's my son!" The blond struggled to move closer to the people tying him to the bed but the medic immediately had a Propellant spell cast on both parents, kicking them right out the door.

"We need to thoroughly check your son," the woman said firmly, staring at the two before she slammed the door behind her. "I will finish healing you Mr. Malfoy, but something serious has happened to your son and we need to get him immediate medical help. Please, allow us to do our job. You did call on us, after all, so give us the space to do what is necessary."

"And what is necessary?" he growled, ignoring his petrified wife behind him. This woman was going to end up orange if she did not start explaining what the fuck was going on and what the hell had happened to his son; Draco needed a creature to blame this on before he started going hunting in those woods.

"We will find out," the woman said calmly, before moving to heal another mark. He scowled and stood rod still, willing himself to not push her into the wall and demand answers.

That would probably make matters worse.

He sat with his head in his hands, just outside his son's bedroom door. The Healers were gone, many too fearful and unsure how to continue, others declaring there was a monster in the bedroom. They had left sometime yesterday morning, after having spent the entire night dealing with the condition of his son. He had no answers, just a four year old who was currently on too many potions to understand what was going on.

The clicking of heels on the stone floors alerted him of his wife, and he glanced up from his hands to find the slut as polished as ever- with a bag in her hands. His eyebrows rose. "What do you think you are doing?" His voice came out stern, although he really felt too tired to really give a shit. His darling son was far more important than the cheating wife standing before him.

"I'm going to stay at Daphne's house with her and her husband Marcus," she said flatly, flipping her hair over her shoulder as though it were expected. Standing there in her expensive heels, a priceless handbag on her arm, he couldn't help sneering at her.

"And what about our son- your son?" he seethed, as he stood to glare down at her; he had a several inch advantage in height. The girl remained fearless, having seen her husband look far crueler towards far less important people.

"My son," she snapped in return, "is currently not home. Something awful has happened to him, and he is a danger. I won't stay here in harm's way; you shouldn't want me to!"

He blinked, taking several seconds to process what she was saying. What was wrong with her? "You're abandoning our son," he said flatly, the emotion gone in his voice, "Just like that? Something bad happens and you run away?"

She turned up her nose. "Hardly! I am afraid of what he will do to me- to us!" She let her hand glide over to him and rest on his chest. "I wouldn't want him hurting either of us, Drake," she said, using the ill-fitting nickname he despised but she seemed to adore, "Please come with me. Let the doctors do as they will."

He shoved her hand away. "You're delusional, and a fucking awful parent. You go on and on to people about how much you love your son, but as soon as something happens, when a mother should really be there, you rush off." He gave her a shove, not hard enough to be brutal but enough so that she stumbled. Shooting him a glare that the blond ignored, he continued to speak right on as though she wasn't sending him a death look.

"I'm sorry for Scorpius," he continued, still emotionless. "I'm sorry that he is stuck with such an awful mother like you. I don't have to give a shit how awful you are, because I married you only for convenience not love, but our son loves you, and you're shoving him away. He will need you when he is better- he needs you now while he works this out- and you're abandoning him!" The blond's eyes narrowed. "Or perhaps this is your excuse to go and sleep around again?"

"Draco," she screamed, causing a shuffling noise to sound from their son's bedroom, which only one parent ignored, "How dare you!? I am just looking out for my own wellbeing!"

"But not your son's," he said darkly, resisting the urge to hit something. Instead he massaged his temples, taking unnecessary amounts of air in and he breathed deeply. "Get out of my Manor," he said promptly, crossing his arms.

Her eyes widened. "Excuse me? I'm your wife!"

"Yes, and a poor example of one at that. If you prefer to sleep with other men and ignore your son when he needs you, then you are no wife of mine. Get out of Malfoy Manor, the wards will be changed soon enough. You are free to make yourself into as much of a slag as you want, but I will not take it anymore. We're getting a divorce."

Her eyes widened. "I refuse!"

Chuckling, he patted her shoulder; only to have his hand swatted away, but that didn't faze him one bit. "It doesn't matter if you refuse dear. The laws of marriage are clear and we both know the laws of society don't force a faithless marriage. All I have to do is write a letter to the Ministry with my seal and it will be done within a week." He smirked at the look on her face; she was horrified. "Awful things happen to those of us who aren't faithful dear."

She was livid. "It's not that easy to end a marriage, Malfoy, you know that!"

"Malfoy, now, is it? My, you are going to the extremes to hurt me." He flicked his wand, causing her to spin around so her back was to him. "Now it's nice to waste my time on you, but get out. You do have plans after all."

He didn't wait to see if she left, he just turned and sat back down. The quick clicking of her heels told him that she was walking away, and the sudden silence that followed after a footfall alerted him of the fact that she was gone. Pulling his wand back out again, he changed the wards to not allow 'Mrs. Malfoy' in. The woman was a heartless bitch if she could so easily avoid a four year old boy- her four year old boy!- at a time like this. Scorpius did not need a mother if that were the case.

He sat there for a long time after Astoria had left. He wasn't sure how long, but enough time had passed that his body was completely stiff and sore by the time he decided to stand up. Rubbing his neck, he glanced at the door again, contemplating his options. It had been advised that neither parent went inside until after someone else came to check out the boy, but it was his fucking son and he was concerned.

Disregarding the warnings the Healer's had given him, he reached for the knob and turned it, peering inside to see how his son had fared; was he still this strange looking creature that had sliced the blond's skin open?

The thing lying on the bed provided an answer the moment his eyes landed on it.