The rest of the year passed relatively quickly. Not much happened with the exception of a few well played pranks on the Gryffindors. Kat had come to Hogwarts a few more times and Lucius found himself confused as to whether he liked her, or wanted to kill her. He guessed it depended on his mood and her attitude of the day. As for Aurora, he was a little shocked that she was a vampiric elven princess, but it quickly wore off after he thought about it for a while. He had quickly found out she wasn't nearly as fragile as he had first thought. As it turned out her father hadn't sent her away because he was afraid she would be harmed, he sent her away to keep her from going out to battle too many times. Kat had told him that Rory was a particularly well known warrior and her enemies feared her as much as her people loved her. Lucius was pleased to find that Rory was the one who came up with battle strategies and used her gift to help plan the numerous follies on their rival house. Lucius was almost glad that third year was over so they could start fourth year. Almost.
He knew he would miss Aurora, she had become his best friend. The elven princess had a way of latching onto his heart and making sure he could never fully get rid of her presence there. They had truly become thick as thieves and he wasn't sure if he could handle a full summer of high society events full of pompous pure-bloods and the rest of those who considered their class far above the rest of the population's. When he voiced his concerns to his friend and her cousin he was more than a little taken aback of their reactions.
Flashback:
Both girls burst into a fit of giggles.
"What in the name of Merlin is so funny?" Lucius demanded.
Rory sobered up enough to control the giggling and give him an answer. "Oh trust me Lucius, you don't know the meaning of pompous. Not until you've attended court in Meldredh, or at least one of daddy's soirées,"She said, her eyes shining brightly.
"Meldredh?" Lucius asked.
Kat sighed, "Aurora's kingdom." she said, rolling her eyes.
"My father's kingdom," Aurora corrected somewhat crossly, "and anyway, my father holds the largest dinner parties in the realm, which causes a mass build-up of pretentious idiots filling the halls of the castle."
"Its true," Kat interjected, "they're so stuck-up that they actually gasp if you use the word legs as opposed to limbs.
Aurora began to laugh again, "And they get even more worked up if you show said legs." Aurora said with a wink and a wicked grin at Lucius, who was currently shaking his head at his friends antics.
End
Lucius chuckled at the memory. He was definitely going to miss the little spitfire over the summer. The young blonde looked out the window next to him and decided to take advantage of one of the few sunny days in England and go for a walk. When he stepped out side the air was warm, but not unbearably so. The scent of lilies and roses drifted from the close by gardens and swirled around him. He inhaled deeply and began to walk, not caring where he was going, just glad to be out in the open air and not in the eerily quiet, empty manor. It was later in the day, about three o'clock, so the sun wasn't blindingly bright, but still high enough to bathe his surroundings in radiant sunlight.
After walking for about a half an hour he stopped and looked around. The manor was now a mere speck in the distance and Lucius realised that he was heading towards Stonehenge, he could already see the top of the ring of stones. He knew he was getting a little too far from the manor for his mother's comfort but figured what she didn't know wouldn't kill her. He continued down to the stone structure and was only about three metres before the first wave of magic hit him. He knew it was the summer solstice and his magic, as well as other witch's and wizard's, would be heightened for about a week, but what hit him was stronger than anything he had ever felt. It was like he had walked into a wall made purely of magical energy. The curious thing about it though, was the fact that he picked up more than one magical signature. He had expected maybe one or two magical beings to be there, but it was unusual for more than one or two people to be there due to all of the muggles there, futilely trying to somehow channel some sort of imaginary entity through the formation. Lucius laughed at the thought.
Muggles were so strange. He shook his head and continued walking.
The magic had apparently recognised him as a magical being and was now swirling around him like a warm summer breeze. Once he climbed up a small incline he was at eye level with the rock formation. What saw him shocked him to his core. There weren't any muggles, there weren't any young witches and wizards partying, there weren't any centaurs sacrificing a doe (Lucius was a little sceptical on the latter, but it still seemed to make more sense than what he was looking at now). No, there wasn't any of that. Instead there was a small group of people so elegant in their movement that there was very little chance that any of them were human. And in the middle of them was the last person he expected to see in Wiltshire. Aurora.
Aurora's POV
Aurora huffed at her advisor. It wasn't her fault she was battle oriented, she grew up with six brothers a father, and no mother. Well, her mum didn't die until she was seven, but even then her mother was a complete tomboy, motherly, but a tomboy none the less. She usually didn't mind Gaius' counsel, but for him to tell her that once she got home she wasn't allowed to fight, that was crossing the line. And to top off her already not-so-sterling mood, Fenniel, one of her father's numerous counsel members kept reminding her of something she'd rather forget. She truly loathed Fenniel and made a mental note to fire him once she inherited the throne. She wanted nothing more that to stalk off into the safety of the middle the stones in front of her, at least they understood how she felt, in a group but still alone. As if sensing her cousin wasn't as happy as usual, Kat walked up beside her and fixed her crown. Aurora smiled and thanked her. She really did love her cousin, even if she had the tendency to be a pain every once in a while. Then again, Aurora would probably be bitchy on occasion too if she had to go to Beauxbatons.
"You okay Rory?" Kat asked, concern filling her eyes.
Aurora took a deep breath and nodded with a smile, "Yeah, I'm just nervous about going back, I was hoping I could go out and fight to calm my nerves, but apparently daddy thinks that I'm too dagger-happy," she said, rolling her eyes.
"You, Rory, are a very strange girl," Kat said with a chuckle.
Aurora smiled and nervously tugged on a lock of her long hair. At the feel of it she was automatically reminded of Lucius. She loved his hair, it was long and blonde but strangely not feminine in the least. She was happy she had managed to make at least one friend in this god forsaken realm. She missed Meldredh terribly and Lucius had managed to distract her from her home sickness. And distracting her was not an easy feat. But Lucius wasn't here now, and it was going to take a lot more that just a thought of him to distract her from this. It had been months since she had last seen her father and from the news from her brothers, he was even worse than when she had left Meldredh.
It had all started when her mother died. Her father didn't really mourn for her mother, he just carried on like nothing was out of the ordinary. Then, gradually, reality struck and he never really recovered. Now Aurora was facing the possibility of having to take emergency control of Meldredh and was terrified. Sure she had fought against bloodthirsty savages and monsters on a daily basis for weeks at a time, but controlling a kingdom larger than all of earth's seven continents combined at the tender age of 14 scared the life out of her. Lucius had become something of a security blanket to her over the past nine or so months. She always felt safe with him, almost as safe as she felt with Gaius. The fact that he wouldn't be anywhere near her and Gaius would most likely be called to attend to her father just made her feel even worse.
The ebony-haired princess sighed and looked around. She did a double take when she saw a figure approaching her and her troupe of warriors and advisers. She motioned for a soldier she recognised as Cassius to come closer. He bowed as he approached her.
"Yes, your highness?" he asked.
"Cassius, go see who that is, he looks familiar."
"Yes, malady."
Less than two minutes later Cassius trotted over with the individual in tow. Cassius didn't even get the chance to explain anything before Aurora tackled Lucius to the ground laughing.
Lucius' POV
Lucius hit the ground with a thud and laughed at the princess on top of him. She really did look pretty with the sun around setting behind her, creating a golden halo of light around her head. Lucius blinked a few times at his thought process. He had always thought of Rory as pretty, but he never dwelt on it like he had been recently. She gave a little cough and got up, breaking Lucius out of his reverie. He smiled when he saw that she was blushing madly.
"You know, we've known each other for a while now. You don't have to get all flustered every time you tackle me, or hug me, or," he smirked at her, "wake up on me."
Aurora was really blushing now, "Hey! That's not fair! I... I mean you... ugh, I give up!"
Lucius smirked again and walked over to her. "It's okay princess, I was cold anyway."
Aurora bristled at the dreaded nickname,"I though I told you not to call me that?"
Lucius shrugged, "Yeah but I like getting you mad, its amusing."
Aurora was about to retort when Lucius' arms snaked around her waist. She just relaxed and enjoyed having Lucius by her side again.
"I missed you," Lucius said.
"I missed you too. You got taller." Rory smiled.
"No, you just got shorter."
Aurora gave him a half-hearted glare and playfully swatted his chest before hugging him. He noticed she did that a lot when she go emotional.
"And as touching as this scene is, no pun intended, I really must ask you to to not profess your love in front of those of us who wish to keep their lunch."
Lucius slowly let Rory go and glared at Kat, who did the mature thing and promptly stuck her tongue out at him. He rolled his eyes and turned back to Rory who was talking to the man who had approached him in some strange language.
"Its Faerie, the language." Kat said, "She's just asking Cassius when we're leaving."
Aurora looked at Lucius with her hazel puppy dog eyes. Oh Merlin, not those eyes, Lucius thought.
"We're leaving at sundown." she said sullenly, then her eyes lit up like a light bulb had gone off behind them. "I know, why don't you come with us!"
Lucius looked at her dumbly (which really isn't a good look on a Malfoy). "C- come with you? How? Will these people even let me? All of my clothes are here!"
Aurora gave another laugh, "One, you wouldn't have to do anything, the portal is opened by elven magic, not human magic. Two, you wouldn't need clothes," she blushed at the look he gave her, "My brother has some that should fit you, and if they don't then we can just adjust them magically. And three, I'm a princess, and one that can handle a sword better than any of these men, so the idiots have to do what I say."
Lucius chuckled at her,"Fine, but what about my parents? I'm sure they'd like to be informed if their son has been dragged off into another realm by an impulsive elven princess."
She tried and failed to give him an actual glare then just shrugged. She grabbed his hand and before he had time to protest they were standing in front of his mother and father.
"Mr. Malfoy, Mrs. Malfoy, so sorry for the intrusion but I was wondering if I could impulsively drag your son into another realm?"
Abraxas Malfoy didn't even look up from his newspaper, "How long will you two be gone?"
Lucius gaped at his father as Rory answered, "Three weeks, we'll be back a week before school starts."
"Lucius, close your mouth, you'll catch flies. Very well, you may take him, Merlin knows it could do him some good to learn about another culture." the elder Malfoy said drolly. "Don't get into too much trouble."
Aurora gave him a wicked grin, "I'm a princess sir, I could burn down an entire village and people would think it was adorable."
To anyone who didn't know Aurora that would have sounded arrogant and condescending, but Lucius heard the bitterness laced through her words.
Abraxas chuckled, "I hope you don't actually planning on burning down a village."
"No promises," Rory joked as she grabbed Lucius and transported them back to Stonehenge.
Lucius was too shocked to notice the sudden change of scenery around him. Had Rory just engaged in playful banter... with his father?
Aurora's POV
When they got back to Stonehenge there were the four guards and Kat were waiting for them.
"So is Lucy coming with us?" Kat asked with a smirk.
Lucius glared at her and Rory hit her playfully as the two girls bubbled over with laughter. Before Lucius had the chance to reply an Fenniel walked over to the trio and bowed respectfully to Aurora.
"It is time, Milady." he said smoothly.
Aurora inclined her head gracefully and followed him to the centre of the stones. The sun was just dipping into the horizon, casting shadows lazily on the planes around them. The setting orb had cast a gentle golden glow over all within the structure. The entire area was enveloped in an ancient magic that had everyone sombre, even Kat, who usually had a smirk set firmly on her face, held a neutral expression and had her hands clasped respectfully in front of her. The elves, along with Lucius and Kat, had formed a perfect circle around Aurora as the princess began the ritual.
"Yedh neirdeh. Haevo delgh matroh!" she said, eerily calm.
The stones around them began to radiate a bright green light and a humming sensation made its way through Aurora's body. She closed her eyes as she absorbed the light, allowing it to warm her suddenly chilled frame. As she opened her eyes the light was poured into them, illuminating them with the same green light. A wind swirled around her gently.
"Mehadre id ludh so luid." she finished quietly. Her eyes returned to normal and her body stopped humming.
The stones reabsorbed the light and then everything went dark before a blinding light flashed to the right of the group where three stones made up a doorway. Instead of seeing a continuation of Wiltshire it opened up to a lush forest.
Aurora smiled at the scene before collapsing.
Lucius' POV
Lucius watched as one of the guards caught her and stepped over the threshold and into the forest. Just before he stepped through Rory woke up and was placed back on the ground. She turned to Lucius and smiled at him happily. He looked around in awe as he entered the magical woods. Everything was emitting a soft silvery glow, giving off the impression that it took a great deal of magic to create this world. When Lucius looked over to Rory her eyes were closed and she was taking deep breaths, almost as if she was trying to calm herself down.
"Are you alright Rory?" he asked cautiously.
She gave him a half smile and nodded, "Fine, just a little nervous. Haven't been here in awhile."
Lucius gave her a look.
"Okay, I'm scared."
Lucius arched an eyebrow, "What do you have to be scared of, if anyone should be scared its me. I'm in a different realm and I just heard something in the bushes over there."
Rory laughed, "Don't worry, there's nothing in these woods that could kill you. And its not that this realm scares me, quite the opposite really, its seeing my father again that scares me. Last time I was here he wasn't quite... himself. I'll explain later."
Lucius nodded and kept walking but then what Rory said finally registered. "Wait Rory, what did you mean when you said nothing in these woods could kill me?"
Rory just smiled and kept walking, quietly humming to herself. Lucius forced himself to calm down, there's nothing to be afraid of, he thought, you're surrounded by four warriors, to vampires, one being a sorceress, plus you have your wand.
Just as Lucius was getting used to the feel of the forest the troupe came to a sudden halt. He raised an eyebrow towards Aurora who smiled giddily. There was a wall of vines in front of them and the elf who had spoken to Rory earlier muttered an incantation and the vines parted.
Aurora turned towards him and whispered, "We're here!"
A/N review please :)
