Disclaimer: I own nothing. It's very unfortunate.
AN: Chapter 3. Has anyone been looking forward to this? I have plans through chapter six and I'm working on planning chapter 7. I know what I want to happen somewhere around 10 or 11 though XD Anyways, for those who think the dynamics are weird…of course they are. You have an abused child, a neglected Luna, a nice Draco and well no one really knows all that much about Blaise Zabini; plus a fatherly Lucius. What a mix. In any event, this is how I want them.
Amber was outside running again. Luna had gone in half an hour ago but Amber had only pushed herself harder—this was the way she chose to ignore what the Dursleys did to her. Then there was a small part that felt she deserved what had happened.
As she went to run around the house for a sixth time, Amber ran into something hard and stumbled backwards. Rough hands closed on her upper arms and she found herself looking into cold black eyes that held a very deep depth. He wore all black and his black hair had a slightly greasy look to it.
"Good morning, miss…?"
She raised an eyebrow at the clearly leading question and smirked. "You're at Malfoy Manor, sir. Go ask the head of house if you'd like to interrogate residents of the Manor." With that she turned and continued her run, pushing herself harder.
The man continued watching her for a few moments longer before turning and heading inside the Manor, being led by a house elf to the lounge that overlooked the area in which gave a view of the majority of the area in which the girl was running.
"Who is that, Lucius?"
"She did not tell you?"
"No; she was rude and disrespectful."
Lucius finally turned to his friend and raised an eyebrow. "Was there some reason for her to respect you?"
"I'm Severus Snape. Of course there is. Don't be obtuse."
Lucius smirked. "You won't get instant respect from this one, Severus."
"Who is she?"
"Amber Juniper Rose Potter."
"Why is Potter here?"
"Well, you're going to be tutoring her in Potions. She's very interested."
"You want me to tutor Potter?"
Lucius glanced outside at the still running girl. "Yes. But first go to breakfast. I'm going to go retrieve a certain runner."
Severus smirked, assuming Lucius was going to yell at her, and headed for the breakfast room while Lucius went outside.
He walked into the breakfast room only to come face to face with three more children and an innocently smiling Narcissa. Anytime Narcissa smiled innocently was a time to worry in his opinion.
"Why are you smiling at me?"
"You met Amber."
"What on earth would make you think that?"
"You look more irritated than normal."
Severus glared at her and said nothing.
Lucius, meanwhile, had headed outside and stood waiting in one place for Amber to come running back by.
When she did, he grabbed her, wrapping an arm around her waist to try to stop her more gently than he would have been able to had he grabbed her. When she looked up he noticed she was absolutely covered in sweat and her eyes were filled with tears.
"Amber, you have to stop running. You'll make yourself sick. What's wrong?"
Amber just stared at him for a moment and then her eyes fluttered shut and she collapsed, falling quickly to the ground right up until he lifted her into his arms bridal style and carried her inside.
"Narcissa!"
Narcissa hurried out of the breakfast room and her eyes went wide. "What happened?"
"She ran too much I think. She collapsed."
Narcissa gestured for the stairs and Lucius nodded, carrying her up the stairs. It wasn't hard considering she was much lighter than she should have been.
Amber woke up shortly after Lucius got up the stairs and looked up at him with a smile that made it perfectly clear she still wasn't fully awake or aware of her surroundings.
At another time, Lucius may have chastised her for being unaware, but today he just realized it was a spark of innocence that he didn't believe Amber to have.
"Hi daddy." Her words, mumbled though they were, shocked him and then she fell back to sleep immediately.
Lucius sighed and went into her bedroom, laying her onto the bed. She likely just needed a few hours rest. Unfortunately for his train of thought, Amber woke back up the moment he laid her on the bed.
"Luc?"
"Yes…you passed out, Amber. You pushed yourself too hard while running. You need to be more careful, young lady." His voice held a slightly stern note as he chastised her and she looked up at him with puppy dog eyes.
"Pepper up?"
Lucius sighed but nodded, calling a house elf for one. He should have known. When the elf brought it back, he held it out to her.
Amber brightened and grabbed it, swallowing with a practiced ease that made him suspicious of how many times already in the last two days she had taken potions.
She was out of bed immediately and headed for the stairs until he grabbed her around the waist.
"Where you going?"
She gave him a look that quite clearly questioned her intelligence. "Breakfast. Don't be stupid."
"And don't you be disrespectful."
Her eyes diverted to the floor. "Yes sir."
Lucius sighed. 'Damn Dursleys.' He sighed and tossed her over his shoulder. He smiled when she giggled slightly and then carried her downstairs and into the breakfast room where everyone had been waiting.
"Good morning, everyone."
"Luc! Let me down!"
Lucius spun around. "Hmm, I thought I'd heard Amber. I must be mistaken." He sat down carefully in his chair, moving his arms so she would fall gently into his lap and feigned surprise when she did.
"Amber! Where did you come from?"
Amber rolled her eyes and tried to get up but his arm barricaded her. "Luc, may I pretty please get up and move into my chair right there so that everyone may eat whilst they are still hungry?"
Lucius smirked at Severus slack-jawed expression and kissed the top of her head. "Of course, my dear." He moved his arm and nudged her gently. She took her place to his left and on Draco's right and then poked Draco in the ribs.
Draco yelped and glared at her. "Was that really necessary?!"
She stole a piece of bacon from his plate and then nodded seriously. "Yes it was." Then she turned to Severus. "So I'm pretty sure Lucy over there," She smirked when he glared at her, "told you exactly who I am…or at least the original last name, so who in the hell might you be?"
"How disrespectful."
Amber raised an eyebrow and glanced at Draco, "what reason could I possibly have to respect you?"
"I am Severus Snape, Potions Master and Potions Professor at Hogwarts. I will be teaching you potions from your first year at least until your fifth." Severus looked proud and clearly looked like he felt he should be congratulated.
Amber finished her bite of scrambled egg, bacon and toast and looked at Lucius. "Does he always act like a peacock?"
Her question was so innocently put that everyone at the table, aside from Severus Snape, started laughing.
Severus Snape just glared at her. "Listen you little brat—"
"Severus." Lucius' voice held danger as he reached out and rested a hand on Amber's arm. He gave her a fond look while she glared at the Potions Master.
"No you listen you black bat buffoon. You want my respect then earn the damn respect. I don't go giving it out willy nilly. I'm not some weak-minded bint you can scare into showing either fear or respect. So if you want it then you damn well better earn it."
She glared at him once more and left the room. Narcissa's face found her hands and Lucius sighed. "Did you have to, Severus?"
"What the hell is her problem?"
Draco looked at his godfather a moment before speaking in a measured and barely controlled voice, "her problem is that you are a bully that needs to realize his shit stinks too."
With that the other three kids also got up, every single one leaving the room with a scathing look at the black-haired man.
Severus stared agape after them until Lucius raised an eyebrow. "You will be tutoring her in Potions. Likely, she will be in the lab you usually use while you are here. She's been working on something in there for the last two days. I'm going to go talk to her and then you can come back another time to begin. Next Monday sounds like a perfect plan. Narcissa can show you out."
Then Lucius left as well leaving Severus with only Narcissa who looked more than a little dangerous in her anger at the particular moment.
"Severus Tobias Snape. That girl in there is like a daughter to me and one day she will be. You will be sweet to her or so help me Merlin you will never enter this Manor again. Do you understand me?!" Her eyes flashed which was much scarier than their usual emotionless gray.
He nodded quickly and five minutes later had gone outside and apparated away.
Meanwhile, Lucius had found the three kids congregated outside of the Potions workroom. He looked at them curiously, "is she in there?"
"We think so?"
"What do you mean you think?"
Draco answered first. "Well, her magic warded and locked the room. We can't get in and she won't answer the door when we knock."
"Go outside, children. Amber will join you shortly."
The other three nodded and headed outside while Lucius got to work dismantling the wards she had managed to put into place. It took him a full twenty minutes before he finally was able to open the door and enter the room.
Unlike what he had assumed, he did not see her anywhere. When he looked more carefully around the room, he found her curled up until a table in the corner of the room. He sighed and headed across the room to her, kneeling down in front of her.
"Amber?"
"He's just like my uncle."
"He will never touch you." Lucius didn't know exactly what had gone on in her ex-home but now he knew he had to find out.
Amber was shaking and he reached forward slowly, not really knowing how she would react. He was slightly more than shocked when she threw herself forward and into his arms, curling into a ball against him as she cried.
He just rocked them both back and forth, calming her down slowly. When she was calmer, he brushed her hair back from her face.
"Amber, I need you to tell me what happened there."
"I don't want to."
"I realize that. I do. However, I need you to tell me."
"They…hurt me."
Lucius tensed, thinking of all the ways one could hurt a very small, female child.
"How, sweetheart, how?"
Amber shakily began the story of her abuse. She spoke all the things he had wanted to know and everything he hadn't wanted to be true. When she finally stopped, he held her tighter.
"What do you want me to do about this?" He did want her opinion before he went and committed murder on her relatives.
She looked up and in that moment her eyes shown with angry fire. "I want to kill them."
Lucius almost smiled. "That's my girl."
After Lucius had sent her outside, Amber took a detour to the library, picking up many different books on curses—the more painful ones.
She brought those books to her bedroom and hid them beneath her bed, then headed outside to join the other three where they were pushing each other into the pool.
"Hey guys."
They each gave her a smile and coursed together, "Hey Amber."
Draco came up to her and drug her over to them and then jumped into the water, dragging her with him.
The Dursleys had made her heartless but her new family was slowly giving her that back.
Disclaimer: I don't want to hear "Abused children don't respond like that" because I was abused growing up. The judge said it was one of the worst cases he had ever seen and I would have responded exactly like that to having a family who tries that hard to show they cared. Chapter 4 will be finished and posted tomorrow as it is currently halfway done.
