Hi there folks! Here it is! The second Lost Daughters! Clover's story. And so on with the show!
Disclaimer: I no Own! Boo.
Oleander and Ink
By SeatedQueenintheSky
Chapter One- Teach One To Smell...
A dense fog was over Malfoy Manor the first time he caught her scent. When he saw her, it surprised him deeply that such a matured smell could come from her. She was a young thing, younger than his nineteen years, maybe twelve or thirteen and all knees and elbows, wide eyes and sleek waves. Trusting and innocent, yet scorned and defaced. She hadn't seen the world at all, and yet he was sure if pushed to the correct limits she could make you believe anything she said, make you feel the worst pain imaginable.
Narcissa Malfoy led him through the bright Manor, children's laughter filling the halls. Lady Malfoy stopped and held out her arm just as three boys came stampeding through the hall. They threw taunts over their shoulders, grinning at the taller woman as they ran past. Scabior watched them, wondering who they were yelling at, but then he heard a sailors mouth from the direction they had run from. Narcissa sighed, putting out her hand just as a young girl came tearing after them, catching her right shoulder in her tight grasp.
"Clover Electra, you will stop this this instant. Look at you, after all the hard work we did," the blonde said with an apologetic smile towards Scabior. He shrugged and watched as she bent down trying to corral the chaos that was the young girl.
"B-But Draco and his friends-" Clover started, her eyes darting to Scabior as she was cut off.
"But nothing, young lady. Your hair, what did you do to it. We spent all morning on your hair. And your dress. Clover, you really ripped your dress?"
Scabior watched as the girl opened her mouth, only to close it tight again, glaring down the hall at the three boys who were snickering and whispering to each other. Narcissa sent him another apologetic smile as she grasped the girl's hair and pulled at it, pacing it in a low bun at the nape of her neck. The older woman sighed again at the floor length pink dress that was ripped up the left side to the girl's hip.
"I'll fix that later before dinner. Now stop chasing those boys. You are a young lady, and young ladies do not run about the halls chasing boys. You'll need to stay presentable, your father and I have important guest coming for dinner tonight, and we can't very well have our children looking like barbarians, can we? Why don't you go play your scales, and then I'll come get you to help me prepare for tonight?"
"Yes, ma'm," the girl replied tightly, her glare still on the blond boy who childishly stuck his tongue out at her before turning and running off with his friends. She stood still as Narcissa and Scabior passed, her her tiny hands clenching into fists, jaw tight, and eyes staring pointedly down the hall. Scabior looked back, his blue-grey eyes watching the girl happily, stopping as Narcissa continued her brisk pace to look around the corner at the girl. Clover still stood here, quiet as if waiting to hear herself alone. Then suddenly she reached up and began yanking the pins from her hair letting it fall in a sleek curtain of chocolate about her angular face. She tilted her head back, closing her eyes, taking away her most vital of senses. Scabior smiled as she slowly began walking and then, with a deft knowing of the Manor, she took off in a run.
Scabior grinned as he realised her eyes were still closed.
Scabior stepped outside the manor, thinking of the job he was just assigned. He couldn't get caught on this one, not at all. If he did, there was no telling what would happen. And no way would it be traced back to the Malfoys. He puffed his cigarette to life and exhaled the toxic bit of smoke. He leaned back against the brick of the home he had been invited to and looked out over the grounds. They were quite expansive and it left the Tracker with an uneasy feeling in the pit of his stomach. This family of privilege had it so easy held everything they had without even lifting a finger to work for it.
A sound to his left had him glancing over with a smirk at the only non-blond person that he had seen in the family. It was quite obvious, really, that the girl wasn't part of their immediate family. She looked like the Lady of the house but that was as far as any comparison's could be drawn. Once again, Scabior was in shocked of the smell that permeated from the young girl. It was a smell that made his throat itch and then close up as if he were allergic to it. Ink and oleander. Shocking him even more was that she was paying him absolutely no attention. A child her age, you would think she would be staring at the strange man that was in her home, but her attention was solely focused on the back yard. She stared intently at the hedges of the garden maze as if she could see through them.
"Want 'elp? Findin' 'em, I mean?" he asked, wondering why he was even talking to the brat.
"Like you could actually help," the girl scoffed, finally letting him see her stormy gaze. "You'd probably tell them I was coming. Being a guy and all. It's the only reason they won't let me in on what they're doing. Because I'm a girl. And Lucrezia doesn't care, she's happy just being in her room."
Smirking down at the girl, he crouched down looking her in the eye. He didn't know who the hell Lucrezia was, but he didn't care. The girl in front of him was much more interesting. His blue-grey met her dark grey and his smirk grew to a small smile. "I swear I won't tell 'em we're coming... on one condition."
Her eyes narrowed, looking funny on her face since only moments ago they took up most of the space on her cheeks. A maniacal gleam took over and she raised a brow. "What is it? The condition?"
He tapped his cheek with two fingers, a knowing smile on his lips. She stared at him for a moment, searching him it seemed, before she leaning in and touching her soft lips to his clean shaven face. His throat closed up as he pulled in a deep breath, his senses filling with her cloying scent. She pulled away and he swallowed before smiling a genuine smile at her.
"Let's go catch us some fugitives," he said, turning. "Up you go."Grasping her knees as she wrapped her arms about his neck, he turned his head slightly. "Can ya see 'em?"
"No. Why would I need your help if I could see them?" she asked.
"Can ya smell 'em?"
"What?"
"Close your eyes and open your instincts. Use sommthin other than your eyesight," he said quietly walking towards the maze. He could already smell them, the three boys. He knew exactly where they were. Not in the center, but nearing there, they seemed to have stopped and were doing something that had his nose twitching.
"I smell smoke. Leather. Dirt," she said quietly, and Scabior smiled to himself.
"Good. 'at's me. Now try somm'here else. Do what ya did earlier when ya closed your peepers." He felt her gasp and chuckled lightly. "Yeah, I was watchin' ya. Your pretty good, but I can help ya get better. Now do it."
He felt her relax against his back and take deep calming breaths. And then she stiffened.
"I can hear them. They're talking rather loudly really. To the left of us," she said quietly, as if they were right next to them. Scabior grinned and walked into the maze, putting the girl down and holding out a hand to her. She grabbed it, not noticing like he did how it was swallowed by his grasp. She still had her head tilted up, listening intently to what the boys were saying. "They're talking about me."
"'ey, 'ow about tryin' to smell 'em out. Sometimes there be barriers up where you can't hear nothin'. But they yet to come up with a smell barrier. I know exactly where they at. But you gotta learn 'ow to do this too."
She looked up at him and nodded. Closing her eyes and stepping away from him to distinguish other smells. Her eyes closed and Scabior sat down, crossing his legs under him as he watched her.
"Bleach, sand, fire burning," she said quietly, shaking her head with each one. She was differentiating without his help, and he couldn't keep the smile from his face. She was a natural. "Grass. Broom polish, something floral... there!" Clover looked back at him, seeing his gaze on her, waiting to hear what it was she had smelt. "Evergreen."
He nodded once and stood. She grabbed his hand, pulling him along until they got a row over from the center. The boys sat huddled together over a cauldron, adding ingredients. They didn't even notice the little girl until she was right on them, standing with her hands on her hips and looking into the boiling pot.
"Your doing magic outside of school. I'm telling mum," she said, her head in tilt just a bit as she stared down her nose at the three. Scabior grinned, seeing why they didn't want the girl near them while they brewed whatever it was they were brewing. "Or maybe not... on one condition."
They all looked up at her, wide eyed and nodded their heads quickly, willing to do anything.
"Go hide again so I can find you."
Scabior laughed aloud, and looked down at the little girl. This could prove interesting.
A/N: Ahhhh! What you all think? Review! I'll even allow critflames on this one!
