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"That's a weird name." Cygnus mumbled. "But I like it." He quickly added when Rabastan narrowed his eyes.

"You better." Rabastan said playfully. "And I like yours."

Cygnus wrinkled his nose. "Harry is pretty boring compared to yours."

Rabastan chuckled. "But that's not your name."

Cygnus remained silent for long minutes. "Right. What's my real name then?"

"That'd be Cygnus."

"Oh. So that's why my brother called me Cygni earlier." Cygnus' face lit up in realization.

"I suppose so. You were named after your mother's father, that's what Bella told me at least." Rabastan explained.

"Who's Bella?"

"Your aunt. My sister-in-law. Her name's Bellatrix."

"That's a beautiful name." Cygnus smiled and then a deep blush appeared on his cheeks as he wanted to ask Rabastan about his parents' names but didn't how.

Rabastan decided that he liked that blush and would do anything to make it appear on Cygnus' sweet cheeks from now on. A flushed Cygnus was the cutest thing in the world in his opinion. "Go on, you can ask me anything." He urged the teen as he noticed that he was nearly turning crimson red.

"Um... I, uh, I wanted to-to know if, maybe, you-you knew my p-parents' names." Cygnus stammered.

A flushed and stammering Cygnus was way better than a simply flushed Cygnus. Rabastan relished in the sight the teen made. "Course I do. What would you do for me to tell you?" The Lestrange Heir asked playfully, his midnight blue eyes boring holes into Cygnus's.

Cygnus's eyes widened dramatically and a blend of surprise and fear flashed through them. The teen subconsciously tightened his hold on the bedclothes and pulled them up to his chin. Rabastan winced inwardly at his foolishness. "I was kidding. I was just kidding, I promise." He lifted his hands in surrender and got off the bed. He went back to the chair he occupied before and took hold of it, moving deliberately slow. He put the chair next to Cygnus' bed and sat down on it. "See? Not gonna hurt you."

A nervous smile appeared on Cygnus' lips. His grip on the covers slackened as his muscles slightly relaxed. Rabastan awkwardly cleared his throat. "Your mother's name is Narcissa, way too vain if you ask me. Your father's name is Lucius, way too pompous. And your brother's name is Draco, a typical brat's name."

A giggle escaped Cygnus' lips at the way Rabastan mocked his family. The man was funny, and carefree, and kind. He got a little scared of him before but Cygnus realized that he might have overreacted a bit. He decided that he liked him. Very much. The teen loved the way his family's names were gracious and elegant. It fitted them perfectly. His favorite name remained his own though. He liked the way he was named after his grandfather above all.

"And your last name's Malfoy by the way. Still pompous. You'll have to thank your dear daddy for that." Rabastan chuckled.

Cygnus. His name was Cygnus. Cygnus Malfoy. He loved it. He had his grandfather's name and his father's last name. He would be sure to wear it with pride. It was certainly better than Harry. Plain and boring Harry. Lucius Malfoy, Narcissa Malfoy, Draco Malfoy and Cygnus Malfoy. It was so graceful!

"What was Mum's last name before she married Dad?" Cygnus asked. He wanted to know everything.

"She was a Black."

Cygnus nodded absentmindedly. He mentally made quick summary of the people he knew now. Lucius Malfoy, his dad. Narcissa Malfoy, his mum who was born a Black. Draco Malfoy, his brother. Bellatrix Lestrange, his aunt who was also born a Black. Cygnus Black, his maternal grandfather. And then there was Rabastan, his aunt's husband's brother. His uncle's brother really and who didn't want Cygnus to consider him an uncle. Rabastan Lestrange. It had a certain ring to it. He yawned heavily, pulling himself out of his musings.

"Can I ask you more questions?" Cygnus asked bashfully.

"Obviously." Rabastan smiled warmly. "That's why I'm here for."

"Thought you were here to protect me." The fair-haired teen said sleepily.

Rabastan laughed wholeheartedly. "Got me here, smartass."

"Rabastan, shut up!" Draco hissed from his place on the bed, making both Cygnus and Rabastan jump out of their skin.

"I'm sorry, your Highness. You can go back to your beauty sleep now." Rabastan replied, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

Draco lifted his head up from his pillow to glare at the man. "I hate you." He hissed dangerously. "And leave my brother alone. He needs his sleep. He doesn't need you to bother him with your preposterous and useless sarcasm."

Rabastan ignored Draco and turned back toward Cygnus. "I gotta admit that you look... exhausted. A cute exhausted, mind you, but exhausted anyway."

Cygnus was too tired to do anything other than yawn, he couldn't even find it in himself to blush when Rabastan described him as cute. He nuzzled his pillow. He wanted to stay awake and talk with Rabastan, learn more and more about his new family but his eyelids were growing heavy. He couldn't keep them open anymore.

"G'night, Rabi." He mumbled in his pillow without even realizing.

Rabastan snorted at the nickname the teen had given him. No one had ever called him that before. His brother often called him 'Rab', the Malfoys did it too sometimes, merely because they knew that he despised the nickname. But here Cygnus was, a teen he had known for no more than an hour, calling him Rabi as if they had been best-friends for years. Rabastan didn't mind it though, he found it endearing that Cygnus liked him enough to give him a nickname.

"Night, little elfling." He whispered back, the teen already fast asleep. He groaned when a pillow hit him square in the head. He had never hated Draco as much as he did now.

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Cygnus slowly woke up the next morning, feeling something press on his thigh. He sleepily opened his eyes and caught sight of a sleeping Rabastan, still seated on his chair, but he was now bent over, his head resting on Cygnus' thigh. The teen tried to lift his leg but it only caused Rabastan to frown in his sleep and to nuzzle his thigh. Cygnus giggled. Rabastan's head was facing Cygnus, allowing him to watch him sleep. His face was completely relaxed, making him look a lot younger, Cygnus could have sworn he was no older than twenty-five. Which reminded him that he had to ask Rabastan about his age. Cygnus loved the way the man's eyelids fluttered as he dreamt, his dark eyelashes resting softly on his cheekbones.

Cygnus nearly jumped out of his skin when the door opened, revealing a tired-looking Lucius. His legs moved on their own accord, waking Rabstan up in the process while Narcissa and Draco slept on. Something flashed through Lucius' eyes as they fell on Rabastan's head resting on his son's thigh.

"Get up." He said sternly while Rabastan tiredly rubbed his eyes. "We have to talk."

Rabastan frowned and nodded mutely. He got up and shot a smile at Cygnus when he caught him staring. "It was nice talking to you. See you soon, I hope at least. Love your ears by the way." He smirked and left the room, Lucius short on his tail.

Cygnus frowned, trying to comprehend what Rabastan had told him. He reached for his ears and a surprised squeak left his mouth when he felt their pointy ends. He slowly got out of the bed, careful as to not wake his mother and his brother and went to the mirror in the bathroom. He was still wearing his deep green pyjamas that he had woke up in yesterday. And here they were, his ears. They were as pale as the rest of his skin; deadly pale. They had grown an inch since the last time he had saw them and were now pointy. He touched them, they were incredibly soft, like silk.

"Are you okay?" Draco whispered softly as he appeared behind him.

Cygnus shrugged helplessly, still staring at his ears. Who was he? He as sure as hell wasn't the teen he had been two days ago. He wasn't even human anymore. What was he? He didn't even know. He threw a quick glance at his brother through the mirror and saw that his ears were perfectly normal. Cygnus was the only one with pointy ears. He was not normal. Maybe they were right then. A freak. That's all he was. A disgusting freak. He wondered how Rabastan had managed to talk to him through the night, how he had managed to stand next to a freak such as himself. He was glad that Rabastan was gone now, he would not be infected with his freakishness then. It was all for the best.

"They were right." Cygnus mumbled, his eyes wide with abhorrence. He hated himself. He silently slid down to the floor, clutching his ears between his hands, trying to make them disappear.

"What are you talking about?" Draco knelt down next to his brother.

"They were right. I'm a freak. I'm not even human. I'm a freak. A freak." He started to rock back and forth. "Go away. Go away."

"Cygni." Draco mumbled, his eyes filling with tears at his brother's distress.

"LEAVE ME ALONE!" Cygnus screamed.

Every item made of glass, the mirror and the window exploded. Every bit of mirror fell on the boys, scratching and piercing Draco's skin while Cygnus remained suspiciously unharmed.

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Rabastan stretched, his bones cracking back into place as he started to walk down the deserted hallway. He almost winced and let out a hiss when Lucius forcibly grabbed his arm, forcing him to stop and turn toward the fair-haired man. The brunette tried to appreciate Lucius' features as he faced him but they lacked a certain softness and endearing icy blue eyes for Rabastan to completely be captivated.

"What were you doing?" He hissed through gritted teeth.

"Sleepin'?" Rabastan had to admit that he was at a kind of a loss here.

"That's not what I'm talking about and you know it! I'm not going to let you do that. He's my son, not one of your sluts."

Rabastan nearly chocked on his saliva. "He's fifteen!" He protested, his mouth hanging open in shock.

"Exactly. He's fifteen. So you'll do well to remember to stay away from him, am I understood?" Lucius' voice was dangerously low and threatening. So much so that a cold sweat broke onto Rabastan's forehead.

"Y-Yeah." He stuttered pathetically.

"Good." Lucius' smile was menacingly sweet as he lightly slapped Rabastan's cheek. "I don't want to see you near my son ever again. Never." The fair-haired man's voice was dripping with venom. "Leave."

Rabastan nodded hastily but froze when he heard a scream and an extremely loud crashing sound.

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