[ Title ] You, The Room & The Devil On Your Shoulder
[ Author ] Lena Horror
[ Genre ] Harry Potter (AU)
[ Story Genre ] Drama/Angst
[ Rating ] Fiction M (16+) but some later chapters may reach MA (18+) because of content.
[ Pairings ] Draco Malfoy/Alena Snape (Original Character), Angel Raye (Original Character)/Oliver Wood, Most other pairings that are canon (mentions)
[ Word Count ] 994 for first actual chapter [ prologue not included ]
PROLOGUE: (NECESSARY) AUTHOR NOTES
So I knew I would need to do a prologue for this story because of the massive amount of backstory with this particular alternative universe that I'm working with within the Harry Potter realm of creation. Quick side bar: if you're a fan of the band As It Is, you'll notice a lot of their songs/lyrics being used as chapter titles/and the story title as a whole, too!
I'm going to start by I have been a Harry Potter fan for a very, very long time. In that time, I've been afforded the luxury of writing with one of the most amazing writers I've ever met who shares my passion for the Harry Potter Universe and has helped me create some of the original characters that you'll be seeing in this story. Yes, there are a few. Specifically one: Alena Snape. Now, Alena – or Lena – is NOT the main character of this fanfiction but she plays a prevalent role in it. Because it's alt universe, I will be stating when some things are canon but a lot of it will be in this alternative universe. Snape is the daughter of Severus and the long-term love interest of Draco. So in this? Astoria Greengrass and Draco Malfoy did NOT happen, as Draco and Alena have dated since fourth year.
Let me also say that – yes – Alena will be getting her own story. (I may actually do that along side of this one?) On my former account, I had a couple of stories that featured her, which one might get re-written because I'm a lot better of a writer now and have played with her character a lot longer to understand her more. I also have written her a lot more with a friend of mine playing Draco so I understand their relationship dynamic a lot more. (Yes, I go all in with stories and characters that I'm passionate about. It's pretty wild.) While she plays a pivotal role in this story though, this one isn't about her.
The original character in this story is called Nero Van Buren. Nero is the cousin of Draco on his mother's side. Because canonically, Abraxas Malfoy had at least ONE child, in Lucius Malfoy, but in this AU, Lucius had a sister named Annabelle. Nero is her child. She married into a pure-blood family called Van Buren, thus keeping the pure-blood lineage for her child. While Annabelle dropped Malfoy in favor of Van Buren, she is a member of the Malfoy lineage and fits along the stereotype that the Malfoy family are known for. While her husband, Emery Van Buren, comes from a wealthy and respected pure-blood family, unlike some of the Malfoy lineage, the Van Buren family have limited ties to the dark arts/death eaters. Annabelle, however, did but she never returned to that way of life once married. She was "trying to turn over a new leaf", especially after having a son in Nero.
As you'll learn in this story, Nero is the opposite of Draco in just about every way that there is to be opposite of someone. They have a very tense relationship which will be explored. Additionally, a lot of the AU points will be answered and implemented into the flow of the story and I'm hoping to do so as seamlessly. Alright. Enough chatter. Let's get it.
- L.H
CHAPTER ONE: TAKE CARE OF YOURSELF…
`` But carry the whole world… just forget that it hurts… ``
SETTING: Twenty-Six Years Ago. 31st October. All Hallows Eve.
"Merlin's mercy, it's a boy!"
Miss Cleary, the Van Buren family nurse, declared as a banshee-rivaling shriek filled the stone halls of the Van Buren estate in Trowbridge, Wiltshire.
Annabelle Van Buren lay spent on the bed, Emery Van Buren dabbing a cool cloth on his wife's brow and face to remove the skin-drenching sweat that had come from her physical efforts in delivery. Her breathing was heavy but she looked up at Emery, appreciative of the kindness in his eyes and the gesture of the cool compress to her skin. Her skin felt like a fire was raging beneath her skin but the moment she heard her precious son's wailing, tears joined the sweat on her face.
"Listen to those lungs, Emery, my goodness," Annabelle said, a soft laugh escaping her tired body after hearing her son's first cries.
"That's a Van Buren traits shining through, I wager," Emery responded, a smile on his face as warm as a summer's sun, a deep-rooted admiration for his wife etched in his features.
"Ten fingers, ten toes. We have a healthy young lad!" Miss Cleary declared proudly, "He'll be right with you, Miss Annabelle."
The first few moments of his life, Annabelle had her eyes closed as she tried to ignore the throbbing pain inside of her body. Childbirth was a pain like nothing she had ever experienced and at the age of twenty-one, having a child never was in the plans. Alas, her marriage to Emery, her teenage crush, at the age of nineteen brought forward a lot of changes in her life. The biggest one was her last name no longer being Malfoy but the unexpected pregnancy was another big one. She had planned on having children, but selfishly, she wasn't sure that she was prepared for it at that stage in her life. Upon finding out that she was with child, Annabelle knew that she had to prepare for anything.
Both Annabelle and Emery had a mutual way of thinking when it came to how they wanted to raise their children, which was a topic of discussion that happened not long after finding out Annabelle was pregnant. They wanted to make sure their children had the best in life they possibly could provide. Annabelle and Emery were a well off couple so financially, a child was not something they had to worry about for financial reasons. Both Annabelle and Emery came from wealthy, respected (for better or worse) families, and Emery was a professional Quidditch player, a beater, who played for The Appleby Arrows with a great reputation and a family lineage of professional Quidditch stars.
Many thoughts went through Annabelle's mind regarding their newborn son.
What she envisioned for him.
What she hoped for his future.
Where she saw him in five… ten… fifteen years on from that day.
"Here you are, Madam Annabelle, your beautiful boy." Miss Cleary said, gently placing the swaddled child in the arms of his mother. "What will we be calling him, Madam?"
"Nero," Annabelle said, her tone soft as she looked at the face of the tiny child in her arms. He looked far more perfect than even she had envisioned. "Nero Armand Van Buren."
"That is a beautiful name, Madam."
"He is perfect, therefore he deserves a name fitting of such standard."
Nero was a name derived from the last Roman emperor of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, youngest sole emperor until Elagabalus. Armand was a name handpicked by Annabelle to immortalize Armand Malfoy; the first Malfoy ancestor in Great Britain, arriving from France with the Norman Invasion. He was the founder of Malfoy Manor, a piece of real estate that he acquired from King William I in exchange for his services.
A wizard was only as great as his name and Annabelle learned that from Lord Voldermort's teachings. Not to say that Annabelle anticipated that her son would be that level of wizard but she could aspire as such for her first born.
Annabelle held Nero to her chest, her hand gently cradling his head. Even if she hadn't originally wanted to be a parent so young, once she held him, all of her thoughts on that seemed to vanish like fog once the warmth of sunlight engulfed it. Emery watched Annabelle with loving eyes and a love in his heart that felt incredibly overwhelming. He already loved her, he was in love with her, and had been in love with her for what felt like a small age but seeing her holding their first born was truthfully a moment that he could not have prepared himself for.
Emery's love for Annabelle proved that even if you didn't share all views with them, you could still love them eternally, and do spectacular things with them.
"What do you think he'll become, Anna, luv?" Emery inquired, his tone soft yet curious, as he gazed upon the new love of his life with his original. "Do you think he'll be something grand?"
"Yes," Annabelle cooed, her fingertips gently caressing her child's cheek to feel over his skin. "I believe he'll be a marvel, a great wizard one day." She looked up at Emery. "Perhaps he'll play Quidditch one day, like you. Or perhaps he'll do things that are far greater than both of us could ever dream of."
"With your love and guidance, I have no doubt he is destined for greatness due to that and that alone," Emery smiled, his hand gently caressing and holding the side of Annabelle's face. When her face turned into his hand, he leaned in, kissing her forehead. "I will live for you both and I would die for you both. To ensure that you are both taken care of and to make sure you are both safe. Nothing will ever surpass either of you. Nothing ever could."