Chapter 2: Last Meal
When Vira arrived to the dinning room, she wasn't surprised to find that the others had already started on their breakfast without her. She glanced about, taking advantage of the fact that no one had yet noticed her arrival. The room hadn't seemed to change much over the years.
It was much like all the other rooms in the manor; impeccably designed with great taste and impressive furnishings. One side was dominated by several windows that nearly reached the very tall ceilings, letting in an almost alarming amount of light from the still early morning. The walls themselves were light charcoal in color and lined with an attractive floral pattern barely a shade darker. Strategically placed about the room were small tables that held a variety of no-doubt expensive items, from vases to sculptures to a few antiquated but unimportant books.
As her eyes finally settled on the absurdly large table that dominated the room, she found herself greeted by two sets of equally gray eyes. She smiled at the sight of the two men in front of her. One smiled back in response; the other turned back to his breakfast without further acknowledgment.
Typical, she thought, slightly frowning as she took her seat at the table.
After a moment, a plate appeared in front of her bringing bacon and eggs and a slice of toast with it; a simple breakfast but one of her favorites. As she began to eat, she heard a soft chuckle from the younger man sitting across from her.
"Someone slept in late today," he said, eyeing the grandfather clock that stood by the wall behind her, "have an absurdly pleasant dream?" he asked, grinning. She only shrugged in response, still thoroughly satiated from that morning's events.
The man eyed her with a quiet suspicion, having obviously expected some sort of retort. She let the question hang in the air, pleasantly surprised to see his grin begin to falter with each passing moment. She smiled inwardly, no longer able to keep the amusement from her eyes.
He noticed, his eyes slightly narrowing in response as he glanced over at the other man who was pleasantly sipping his tea and reading that morning's edition of The Daily Prophet. The man must have felt the slight tension for he looked up briefly, a flicker of confusion, then understanding and amusement reaching his eyes before looking back down at his paper.
"Oh, fuck me." The younger man cursed under his breath - a little too loudly.
"Maybe later, Draco sweetie." She replied, a smile tugging at her lips; thoroughly enjoying his blatant disappointment and possible anger.
Oh Draco, she thought to herself, you're far too emotional for your own good.
The man at the head of the table gave them a questioning sideways glance.
"You're more than welcome to join us, if you'd like." She smiled slyly. The older man looked slightly amused; the other less so, though still obviously intrigued despite himself.
The rest of breakfast passed in silence, which wasn't unusual and not all together unwelcome. For as long as Lucius could remember, this had been the norm for them, although until a few months ago, Narcissa had also been in attendance. Now they were divorced and he realized that he rarely noticed her absence. Whether or not that was a good thing, he had yet to decide; she was the mother of his child after all, shouldn't he feel some remorse? He thought for a moment, trying to decide what it was he had enjoyed about her.
She had certainly always been beautiful, maintaining her figure and poise well into her older years. She was also a pureblood, which was just as important as anything else. Other than that… he wasn't sure. He and Narcissa had never really been in love and had only married for convenience; she for his wealth and he to preserve his social standing. Their life together hadn't been an unhappy one, but it hadn't been incredibly joyous either. That is, until Draco had come along.
The boy was everything he could want in a son; smart and cunning, strong and relentless - not to mention devilishly handsome. He was a miniature copy of Lucius himself, which couldn't please him more. After he had been born, life with Narcissa had become easier and he thought, if only for a moment, that it would be enough to hold them together. He had been right, until there was Vira.
She had been entrusted to him and his family when she was about a month old. Narcissa, he recalled, had been far from thrilled about it.
"You expect me to take someone else's child into my home?" she had asked indignantly.
Lucius sighed; the woman had a terrible habit of making everything somehow a reflection of herself.
Must be a side-effect of being a Black, he had long ago surmised.
"Her parents are dead." He said, forgetting that she, like himself, had little to no compassion. He sometimes gave her too much credit as a woman.
"What do you think this is? Some sort of orphanage?" she scoffed. "I will not have someone else's baggage in my home." She crossed her arms in defiance as Lucius pinched the bridge of his nose, trying to ward away the headache he knew would come.
"You forget, my dear," he began, feeling himself becoming angrier by the moment, "the decision is not yours. The Dark Lord himself has entrusted her care to us."
"But we already have our own child, Lucius!" she continued, whining, "I don't see why we have to be the ones to take care of her. Surely there are others who are better suited."
"You dare question the Dark Lord's decision?" Lucius finally snapped in anger, she never did understand the meaning of unquestionable loyalty.
She sighed. "I just don't think it's wise is all. What will people think when they see her? What will they say? Have you even thought about it, Lucius? She has your eyes for god's sake!" Lucius reeled.
"What, exactly, are you insinuating?" He hissed through gritted teeth. Certainly she didn't think he would have a child with another woman and force her to raise it - he had more class than that.
"It's not about what I think, Lucius, I'm only concerned about what they will think." She said, waving her hand in no particular direction.
Of course she is, he thought, livid by the audacity of her accusations.
"Let me make this clear." he finally growled, "She is not my child and don't you ever accuse me of such things again." he paused, needing to calm himself before continuing lest he be tempted to hex her where she stood.
"And she will stay with us." He waited, hoping to see any sign of understanding in her eyes. After a moment, he continued, "Her reason for being here will be made clear by the Dark Lord himself. No one would dare cross him."
Or me, he thought bitterly to himself.
And he did; the Dark Lord informed his followers of Vira's predicament; her father had died serving him and she would now be staying with the Malfoys on account of having no other family to speak of. That worked well enough to deter any presumptions anyone might have had about Lucius, but there were other mysteries surrounding the child herself.
The Dark Lord had an obvious interest in her, questioning Lucius on how she was doing whenever the group gathered. As they grew closer to what would be later known as the end of the first war, his inquiries grew more insistent. It didn't go unnoticed by the rest of his followers. It was understood that her father had been extremely loyal, but many couldn't help but wonder why that would entitle her to his favor over others like herself.
What's more, none could specifically remember who her parents were. Many had died serving the Dark Lord, but none could recall one who had a child matching Vira's description. It was suggested that they had been part of his inner circle, kept secret from the rest of them. It made some sense, but still left many wondering.
In fact, there were many secrets concerning Vira - secrets that only the Dark Lord, Vira and himself knew the details of – the mystery of who her parents were was only the beginning.
Soon thereafter, the Dark Lord himself had perished at the hands of the Potter boy. He remembered that night clearly.
Lucius had led a raid through Hogsmeade; apparating to the edge of town in the dead of night ready for battle. It had been bitterly cold, their wind-kissed skin flushed red as they made their way with wands drawn. His blood was thick with anticipation, adrenaline running through his veins.
They marched, the others breaking off little by little as they reached the buildings that lined the streets. He stayed in the open, watching and waiting, ready to break the silence with the screams of the first soul unfortunate enough to cross his path. As the first shops went up in flames, he got his chance.
The woman looked to be about his own age, dressed in her nightgown, clutching tightly to her wand as she ran from the building. He watched for a moment as she was followed by two men, one-possibly her husband-and the other, a younger man, followed closely behind. They seemed terrified, eyes-wide as they ran for one of the side alleys in an attempt to get away. Lucius smiled at the sight, steadying his arm as he raised his wand at the back of the younger man.
"Avada Kedavra!" he yelled, a flash of green light hitting him in the back before he could round the corner.
"Nice," he heard from behind him, "but did you really have to kill him?"
"You're the one that let them get away, Greyback." Lucius chuckled as he turned to the man stepping out of the flames of the burning building. The man's eyes glowed amber as a grin spread across his face.
"It's much more fun this way, don't you think?" He asked licking his lips.
"I suppose it is." Lucius smiled.
Soon thereafter most of the town was ablaze. He enjoyed the chaos around him immensely. The crackling and heat of the fires on his back, the sounds of hexes and screams around him; it was a game to most of them, but after a while he had grown bored. Sure Greyback and others like him drew pleasure from the rush of the kill itself, but he had always required a bit more.
It was a simple thing to kill, but it wasn't terribly satisfying if there was no difficulty involved. The man he had killed earlier had only given him satisfaction because he had considered it a test of accuracy, one which he had passed; but now, he wanted to fight wit for wit. These simpletons contained none of that which would cause him any difficulty. What he needed was a real challenge.
For many minutes Lucius stood near the center of the town, throwing an occasional curse when someone seemed to slip away from the eyes of the rest of the Death Eaters. He briefly contemplated leaving the rest of the town's residentsfor his group and going to join a raid nearer to the ministry when he heard the unmistakable sound of several apparations. The Order.
Finally, he thought to himself, a grin spreading across his face as he headed in the direction from which the sounds had come.
The battle had been exactly as he liked it to be - fast. Curse, block, dodge, block and curse again; it was a marvelous thing to be caught up in the movement of it all. There was barely time to think before something else was thrown at you; exactly the kind of moment that distinguished the strong from the weak. Many perished on either side but he survived.
When he finally returned home, he found a hysterical Vira in the arms of a deeply unpleased Narcissa.
"She's been like this for hours; I can't get her to stop!" Narcissa had cried, obviously exhausted and at wit's end by this point. Lucius took the girl into his arms and tried to calm her; he was painfully aware that he had not yet had the time to change and wanted nothing more than to rest. What's more, he didn't know what he was supposed to do to calm her; he usually left Narcissa to the task. After what felt like hours, he finally succeeded; though he thought it due more to her own exhaustion rather than his attempts.
As he went to place the now sleeping child into her crib, the nursery door swung open, causing Vira to stir for a moment. Lucius glared at the man who walked through the door, somewhat surprised to see who it was. There Severus stood looking somewhat distraught – which spoke volumes about how disturbed he must have truly been.
He stood for a few moments, seemingly unsure as to what to say or do as he made no motion to enter. When Lucius thought he'd had enough of the tension coming from the dark figure and was going to demand an explanation, the man simply muttered, "The Dark Lord has fallen" and swept from the room leaving Lucius staring after him in disbelief.
In all the years Vira had lived with them, they had never led her to believe she was a Malfoy - it was unnecessary. The Dark Lord had plans for her and in orderfor her to fulfill them, she needed to know who she was. Lucius had planned on telling Vira the whole truth when she was old enough to comprehend the weight of it, to appreciate her lineage and what it meant for her.
As she grew, he was pleased to see how much like her father she really was. The best and most able of the Dark Lord's followers taught her how to use magic at one of his last commands; Bellatrix showed her the uses of various curses and hexes, Severus taught her potions, and he himself trained her in defenses and counter-attacks. Of course she had not been allowed a wand, but by the time she had turned 11, it was all she needed. She was quick-witted in her theoretical studies, infinitely cunning and ruthless, amazingly fast once she was able to use a wand, and she carried herself with a sense of superiority that any pureblood parent would be proud of.
What had startled him was that her sense of superiority extended beyond that of simply being above mudbloods; she saw herself above mudbloods and purebloods alike, even above himself and his family. She was never rude or entirely disobedient, but her steel-gray eyes communicated exactly where she saw the standing of others to be.
He often wondered about the thoughts that went through her mind, it was somewhat disconcerting to be referred to as Lucius, never Sir and rarely Malfoy. It had been that way since she had learned to speak. She had never called him dad, for which he was grateful, but it did have him wondering.
"I have always known," she said when he told her the truth, "I could always feel it."
He couldn't say that he was surprised, it explained a lot, but he did wonder how.
"He speaks to me," she said as way of explanation, "The Dark Lord." She closed her eyes, breathing in deeply as she did so.
"He is growing strong again; I can feel it." He watched as a frightening smile crossed her face, making even him feel uneasy at its sadistic nature. Suddenly, her eyes snapped open and her smile broadened.
"He says he will be back soon." She had been twelve then.
Shortly thereafter Vira and Draco had begun school. It was imperative that Vira remained unassociated with himself and the other former Death Eaters. So while Draco attended Hogwarts, Vira had been sent to Durmstrang under the care of another Death Eater - one who was relatively unknown to all but the Dark Lord's most trusted followers.
Vira sat patiently, watching the two men finishing their breakfast. This would undoubtedly be the last time the three of them ate together and she aimed to enjoy it. She watched the pensive look on Lucius' face, vaguely inquisitive about what he could be contemplating. Maybe he missed Narcissa, though she couldn't fathom why. The woman had always hated her and she had unabashedly felt the same. She remembered the day she left for Durmstrang, how excited Narcissa had been to finally be rid of her.
To Vira, Narcissa was nothing more than a waste of skin. She relied on her husband for everything. She was weak, and if there was one thing Vira hated most, it was a weak woman. The best thing the woman had ever done was have Draco, who amused her to no end. Actually, he had been the only one of the three that she had seen with any regularity; and as a result, she and the Malfoys had always been more like strangers than anything.
"Ready to go, Vira?" Draco asked. She noticed a hint of something akin to the anger in his eyes and frustration in his tone. She narrowed her eyes slightly in response.
"Certainly." She replied shortly. How dare he be angry with me? She couldn't help but think as she grabbed her robe from the rack and followed him towards the door.
She was still lost in thought when he stopped suddenly, causing her to run into him.
"Draco!" She growled.
"Sorry," he said nonchalantly, an air of slight amusement about him. "I just remembered something I forgot." She sneered as she watched him run towards his room.
"I think you might be forgetting something as well, Vira," Lucius whispered from behind her when Draco was out of sight.
"Is that so?" she asked with a raised eyebrow, turning to face him.
"Yes." he said as he moved closer to her, hanging his cane over his arm and grabbing her by the shoulders. Vira was only slightly puzzled as he squared her to him and moved his hands to her neckline. He pushed back her collar, exposing the now purple teeth marks he had left that morning. He grinned as he traced them with his fingers before moving back to grasp her collar.
"It seems you've forgotten to fix your tie," he said, locking his eyes with hers.
"Have I now?" she finally asked, still mesmerized by the movement of his fingers even as he finished tying her tie. She paused, registering the lust in his eyes and couldn't help but chuckle at him.
"Didn't you get enough this morning?" she continued, a devilish gleam in her eyes.
"Yes, but now I want something else." He smiled as he moved his head in closer to hers, locking her into a kiss. She wrapped her arms around him, pulling him in closer as she enjoyed the feeling of his body pressed against hers. He was a marvelous kisser – amongst other things. When they finally pulled apart, it took a moment for them to realize Draco had returned.
"Are you quite finished now?" he asked, arms crossed in clear irritation.
"Right," Vira began, "shall we then?" she asked walking to the waiting house elf that would be handling the rest of the luggage for them. The two men followed and they soon disapparated from the manor.
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