Chapter Four - The Turning Point

Prince Ivan climbed over the wall and saw the attic.
And, just as the wolf had said, in the attic window a golden cage was hanging,
And the firebird was in the cage.
He took out the bird and put it under his coat.
But as he looked at the golden cage he could not help coveting it.
It was made of precious gold; how could he leave it behind?

From The Firebird by Igor Stravinsky

August 31st, 1969 – Waning Gibbous Moon
Nott Estate, Lacock, Wiltshire

Lucius

The orchards behind the Nott Estate were splendidly decorated, strings of tiny white lights wrapping around every tree and enchanted, glowing dragonflies hovering in the warm evening air. A silver fountain shaped as a beautiful enchantress, a serpent coiling about her bare leg, erupted sparkling water that shimmered in the starlight. Platters of hors d'oeuvres whisked weightlessly around the party-goers, and a champagne pyramid was constantly refilling itself. Lucius had to admit, Midas Nott had a mother with impeccable taste.

"This party is bloody boring," Eldred muttered beside him, taking off his glasses and polishing them rigorously.

Lucius snorted. "You really have no appreciation for the finer things in life."

"Oh I have plenty of appreciation for pretty fountains and party decorations," his friend replied huffily. "I just think it's a bit of a waste of money if all you're going to do is stand around and stare at each other all evening."

Lucius leaned in, whispering conspiratorially, "Not at each other, idiot. They're all checking out Fiorenza Zabini. Looks like someone grew up over the summer." He gestured to the tall, dark haired girl with slanted violet eyes who was pretending to listen to whatever Midas was babbling on about, but in reality was preening shamelessly as she soaked in the stares of every male present.

"Your newest conquest, I assume?" Eldred asked casually, replacing his glasses.

"Fee? Hardly. I don't like dating anyone prettier than me," he answered truthfully.

His friend grinned, nudging him in the side. "Oh? Is Lucius Malfoy – dare I say – jealous of all the attention Miss Zabini is receiving? Hurting your chances of being featured on the cover of Witch Weekly this year? Scared she'll hog the mirror in the common room to-"

The dark-haired wizard stopped his questioning as a glass of champagne was suddenly emptied on his head. "That was mature," he muttered, grabbing a napkin from a nearby table while the blond smirked at his own prank. "I spent hours doing my hair you know."

"And that's what you came up with?" Lucius asked in mock horror. "No wonder the witches aren't lining up for a chance with you." He earned a playful punch from his friend, who, despite still dripping champagne everywhere, was grinning ear to ear.

"It's my fault I said I was bored I suppose," he said, cleaning his glasses again.

"You said it," Lucius replied, shrugging.

"Oh by the way, how was Rome?" Eldred asked, grabbing another napkin.

Lucius's face darkened, but he tried to sound casual. "It was…um…educational," he finished lamely. "My father was mostly busy with meetings, so I spent time checking out the sites."

Despite Eldred's best friend status, Lucius shared as little as he could about his family's darker activities, particularly when they involved magical creatures. His friend was obsessed with vampires, and to a lesser extent, centaurs, giants and werewolves. He wrote the Daily Prophet almost weekly complaining about the oppressive legislations that continued to be put in place in the Department of Magical Creatures, and would certainly be appalled to find out that his own friend had a pet werewolf in the Manor's dungeon.

"Checked out the sites, did you?" Eldred was asking, his brow furrowed. "How was the Uffizi gallery? I've always wanted to go."

"Charming," Lucius murmured, his thoughts distracting him. "Ow! What was that for? You hit the same spot!" he yelled at his friend, who had punched him in the arm again.

"The Uffizi gallery is in Florence," Eldred replied, rolling his eyes. "If you weren't sight-seeing, what were you doing?"

Lucius opened his mouth to give some sort of made up reply, but was luckily saved by the appearance of a tall, blonde witch with a sharp face striding towards them. He groaned inwardly. Narcissa Black was very pretty, when she wasn't looking like she had something very unpleasant under her nose, and while he knew the chance of them being married someday was high, he saw her more as a rather unpleasant chore that he'd have to tackle eventually. Not to mention that it somewhat irked him that the look of disgust on her face seemed to deepen every time his best friend was around.

"Uh – hey, uh, Narcissa!" Eldred stuttered, turning bright pink. She stared at him blankly, then averted her attention to Lucius, who winced slightly on his friend's behalf.

"Lucius, I've been looking for you everywhere. This party is so dull," she pouted. When Lucius shrugged and reached over to fill his glass, her gaze flicked back to his companion. "What happened to you…apologies, what's your name again?" she asked, taking in the other boy's wet appearance.

"Oh that's my fault," Lucius hastily cut in, calling over one of the adults so they could perform a drying spell on his friend. "Clumsy me."

"W-worple! El…Eldred Worple," the once again dry wizard spluttered, turning a darker shade of pink. He nervously tugged at the collar of the new shirt Lucius had purchased for him the day before, and opened his mouth to say something else, but closed it again and stared at the ground.

Narcissa raised a sophisticated eyebrow and turned back to Lucius. "My mother is already hinting that she wants to leave. Ever since the Sister-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named pulled her stunt, she's been spending as little time as possible in society."

Lucius paused before speaking, waiting to see if Eldred would come up with something to say, but when his friend continued to study his shoes, he replied, "My parents and I were sorry to hear of your loss. She's been disowned, I assume?"

The young woman snorted indelicately. "You need to ask?"

"Who's been disowned?" a husky, feminine voice interrupted. The three teenagers turned as the beautiful Fiorenza Zabini waltzed up to them. The silver dress she wore clung to her waist and neck, exposing just enough collarbone to be both modest and alluring. Three jaws dropped as she lazily pulled out a small black fan and started airing herself, tendrils of black hair fluttering across her face.

Lucius was the first to get a hold of himself. "You haven't heard? Andromeda Black married some Muggle-born lowlife."

"Oh, that. Yes, I'd heard. Such a pity. Apparently the man wasn't rich, or even handsome. What on earth would be the point?" Fiorenza replied, sighing. Lucius snorted, while Eldred gave Narcissa a pained look.

Narcissa was looking at the other witch like she'd just admitted to drowning kittens in the lake. She turned back to the boys with a sniff. "Anyway, I should go…I'll see you at school, Lucius…Worple, Zabini," she added, her lip curling in distaste at the last two names, which Eldred missed as he was still studiously inspecting his shoes, and Fiorenza ignored.

When the witch was gone, Lucius smacked his friend on the arm. "What the hell was that, Worple? Weren't you supposed to do your grand move?"

His friend shrugged, rubbing his arm. "Wasn't the right time," he mumbled.

Lucius rolled his eyes skyward. "Merlin help me, I'm friends with a wizard who would jump headfirst into a herd of angry centaurs, but bring over one little girl and his brain turns into flubberworms."

"Hey!" Eldred protested, but at the glare his friend shot him he muttered, "That's insulting to flubberworms."

"Quite," Lucius agreed. At Fiorenza's raised eyebrow, he added, "Eldred was planning on asking Narcissa to Hogsmeade today."

Eldred gave his friend a mortified look as the girl rolled her eyes. "Honestly, Worple, your little infatuation is practically common knowledge."

Lucius chuckled into his glass.

Fiorenza stepped back and gave Eldred a long, appraising look. "While the glasses and bewildered expression give you a certain…charm," she smirked before continuing, "You're certainly not anywhere near attractive enough to woo a Black daughter on looks alone, so I would recommend choosing a career that makes plenty of money. Or, marry an heiress, wait for her to die, and then pursue Narcissa." She shrugged at the horrified expression on Eldred's face. "I honestly don't think you have any other options."

Eldred covered his face with his hands, mumbling, "I'm doomed," into them before grabbing a glass of champagne and throwing it back in one go.

"Fee, I think dear Eldred and I might need to have a little…private chat," Lucius said, keeping an eye on the other wizard as he reached for more alcohol.

"Of course. I think it's time for me to go anyway. This little exchange has been the most interesting thing to happen all night, and I daresay that's rather depressing. See you boys on the train," she finished, giving a small wave with her fan before sauntering off.

Seeing the wretched expression on the other wizard's face, Lucius grabbed a bottle of champagne and nudged Eldred's side with his elbow. "You were right, this party is boring. Too many adults and all the girls are leaving. New plan. Let's floo back to yours and get sloshed."

Eldred shook his head. "Both parents are home right now, and Dad's in one of his moods."

Lucius hesitated, but made up his mind at the continued look of misery on his friend's face. "We'll go back to the Manor then. It's not far from here; if we walk, we can drink this on the way, and hang out by the river near the grounds."

"Really? You sure your parents won't mind?" Eldred asked hopefully.

Lucius frowned slightly at the other boy's reaction. He knew it wasn't the champagne his friend was asking about. He'd never invited him over before, and for good reason. The last thing he needed was for the overly clumsy wizard to stumble into an artefact riddled with dark magic that would make his nails fall out, or get lost and wander through the dungeons to see the guests that happened to be there.

Anytime Eldred had hinted at maybe spending time at Lucius's home instead, Lucius had shrugged him off, usually blaming his parents, which wasn't all lies. His mother had no opinion, but his father, though not necessarily against the friendship, also wouldn't be particularly enthralled with the poor, unrefined boy poking around his mansion.

On the other hand, this really was an exception. "It's a warm night, so we'll just stay outside. You can floo home before they wake up. Good?" Eldred nodded, grinning. "All right. Let's go drown our sorrows. You know what, grab a second bottle."

Following his orders, Eldred grabbed some more champagne and went after Lucius to the front gates, too preoccupied to think to ask the other boy why he'd said our sorrows.

Malfoy Manor, Lacock, Wiltshire

Nearly an hour later, two young wizards stumbled through the gates to Malfoy Manor, holding each other for support, cigarettes dangling from their mouths. The evening air was thick, and the Manor loomed before them, grand and imposing.

"This isssss yer house?" Eldred slurred, the cigarette falling from his mouth as he gaped open-mouthed at the mansion. "I knew you had money, but Salazar's balls, Malfoy…"

Lucius's nose wrinkled at the crass expression, and he attempted to straighten so he could properly look down his nose at the somewhat shorter boy, faltering only slightly. "I told you I was filthy rich, idiot."

Eldred's eyes crossed a little as he slumped further forward without a shoulder to lean on. "Everyone knows you're filthy rich, princess. It's jus' different seeing it, s'all," he muttered, a dark look passing through his eyes that Lucius didn't notice. He went to take a sip from his champagne bottle, but let out a disappointed snort at finding it empty before smashing it against the gate.

"Shhh! What'd you do that for?" Lucius hissed as he steadied himself against the bars.

"S'empty," Eldred mumbled, trying to balance himself, but instead falling forward onto the grass. Lucius chuckled despite himself, and went over to help the other wizard.

"You're rubbish at holding your champagne, Worple," Lucius stated. "Come on, the river's this way. And I'll push you in if you make any more noise," he threatened.

The Malfoy heir led his friend to the left of the main entrance, towards the trees that bordered the grounds. Once under cover of the foliage, Eldred pushed away from him, shooting the blond an accusing stare. "Yer not as drunk as me, you git!" he said huffily, leaning against a tree.

"I'm plenty drunk," Lucius replied, wavering backwards as proof. He leaned against his own tree. "Just better at keeping it together than you, obviously."

Eldred looked up at him, his brow furrowing as if trying to work something through in his head. "Spend a lot of time hangin' onto control, Malfoy?"

"That's a strange question," Lucius replied slowly, the words feeling thick on his tongue. He tried to come up with something else to say, but his brain felt foggy.

His friend shrugged, slumping further down on his tree. "More of a statement, really." He paused. "What happened in Rome, Lucius?"

"I-I told you," Lucius stammered. "My father had meetings. I saw the city."

"You're lying," Eldred insisted. "Something happened. You've been all…" he threw up his hands to show how he thought Lucius had been acting, "weird, since you got back. What's goin' on?"

A piercing headache was forming above the bridge of Lucius's nose, and he pinched the spot, looking at the ground. "Why is this so important to you?"

"I'm a Slytherin. I lie all the time and hate being lied to. We're a bunch o' hypocrites. Now tell me, or I'll go running through your precious Manor to find whatever it is you don't want me lookin' at." Eldred crossed his arms and planted his legs apart, wavering only slightly, showing the other boy how unwilling he was to move until he got his answers.

"What if whatever I'm hiding isn't in the Manor?" Lucius bit back, instantly regretting the words.

"Ha! There is something," Eldred gloated. His tone turned softer at his next words, and he spoke slowly, trying not to slur. "I'm your friend, Lucius. You've been twitchy and red-eyed since you got back from your trip. I'm worried about you."

Lucius looked up at him, a pained expression on his face. "I can't tell you, Eldred."

"Can't, or won't?" the other boy asked shortly.

"Both," he replied honestly. "I can't because…well, because my entire family could spend time in Azkaban if you went to the Ministry." Eldred started to protest, but Lucius held up a hand to silence him. "Even if you didn't, if my father found out you knew…let's just say, that's probably the worst that could happen." He sighed, and hesitated before continuing.

"Not good enough," Eldred said abruptly. "I've always known your family's up to illegal activities – hell, I'm sure all of wizarding Britain knows. Never stopped your father before. Why won't you tell me?"

Lucius remained silent.

"Is it because…I'm not really a friend to you? Is that it?" Eldred took the other boy's continued silence as confirmation and angrily raised his voice. "What, now I'm not good enough for you to share anything? I'm your friend as long as I'm useful; you stay at my house, drink my firewhiskey, order me around, but when it comes to real friendship, I'm too…insignificant for the rich, stick-up-his-arse Malfoy heir?"

"Oh, bloody hell, Worple!" Lucius finally yelled, exasperated. "It's because, I'm afraid that if I tell you, you won't want to be my friend anymore!" He turned away from the other wizard and stared up at the few stars he could see poking through the treetops. "I don't have anyone else," he added softly.

Eldred was quiet now, and walked over to where Lucius stood, tilting his gaze upwards along with the blond. "You can tell me anything," he said quietly. They both shot each other awkward glances when the other wasn't looking, suddenly embarrassed at the display of emotion as the alcohol started to wear off.

Lucius dug his cigarettes out of his pocket, and offered one to Eldred. The other boy took it, and the two lit their smokes and continued to stand in silence. After several long minutes, Lucius finally said, "My father took me to the Colosseum."

Eldred raised his eyebrows. "That doesn't sound too traumatizing…?"

"You misunderstand…" Lucius's voice trailed off, and he cleared his throat before continuing. "The Colosseum is still being used for its…original purpose." At his friend's confused expression, Lucius sighed. "Wizards buy tickets and place bets on, well, gladiators. Werewolf gladiators, to be exact. Though sometimes other magical creatures are involved."

Eldred's mouth fell open. "You were at a werewolf fight? I've read about those – I thought they'd been completely wiped out, apparently I have a few book editors to send Howlers to – but Lucius, those are supposed to be beyond brutal to watch. Your father just let you…tag along? No warning?"

"I don't need your pity," Lucius snapped, though he softened slightly at his friend's hurt look. "Look…that's not all. Ah, try not to get too angry." At the other wizard's nod, Lucius took a deep breath while flicking away his cigarette. "My father may have…purchased…a new pet, during our travels. A new pet…for me," he finished, wincing at the enraged expression on his friend's face.

"You…you have a werewolf PET? In your gods damned HOUSE?" the other wizard seethed, hands balling into fists.

"You promised not to get angry," Lucius reminded him, though his words were lost as his friend started shouting.

"YOU'RE KEEPING A WEREWOLF LOCKED UP IN THAT?" he bellowed, pointing in the direction of the Manor.

"Apparently," Lucius replied, eyes narrowing as he looked at his friend coolly. "See, this is why I didn't want to tell you. Figured you'd start screaming like a banshee and go all righteous Gryffindor on me."

"You don't have to be in Gryffindor to realize that enslaving a living creature for your own entertainment is sick," Eldred snapped, and Lucius visibly flinched at his words.

"It's not like I have a fucking choice!" he yelled back. "My father bought the beast before I could even blink, telling me that somehow I'm supposed to train her and get her ready to fight and everything, and then he set up this huge cage and started practicing curses on her and it was awful and I had to just stand there, because what else was I supposed to do? Have you met my father? Wait, no, you haven't, but let me tell you, he could perform the killing curse in his sleep! What would you have me DO?" At the end of his tirade, he realized that Eldred was staring at him with those pity-filled eyes again, and he angrily turned to stomp away.

"Lucius – wait!" Eldred yelled. Lucius stopped, and leaned against a tree again, the combination of alcohol, emotion and breathlessness getting the better of him. "You can't just leave her here," Eldred said quietly.

The Malfoy heir shrugged dejectedly, his back still to the other boy. "What else can I do?"

"You should set her free," was the instant response.

Lucius laughed mirthlessly. "She's a Muggle with no memories. How far do you think she'd get before being scooped back up and returned to the Manor? Well, we can always hope she'll die first. That would be preferable to whatever punishment my father would have planned."

"Then…we'll take her somewhere they'd never think of," Eldred tried, and Lucius whirled on him.

"Didn't you hear me? She's a Muggle werewolf. All right, so we somehow manage to bring her to some untraceable island in the Caribbean. How long before she starts eating all its inhabitants? How long before she finally drives herself completely insane? Do you really think that would be better than her current fate?"

"You could bring her to Hogwarts," his friend hesitantly offered, pushing his glasses to the top of his head and rubbing his eyes.

Lucius shook his head. "In what? I can't just walk onto the train with her, she looks…different. She'd attract too much attention. And how do we get her past my father? And how would we keep her anonymous once at school? Dumbledore seems to know everything. Pretty sure an extra student with a scratched up face and a tendency to attack everyone out of nowhere won't escape his notice."

Eldred set his glasses back on his nose and started pacing back and forth between the trees. "If she came on the train with me, she'd be a lot less noticeable. No one pays attention to me. We could maybe wrap a scarf around her head or something – it would look weird, but if we keep away from the Prefect car, we might be able to avoid too many questions."

His eyes flicked over to Lucius for encouragement, but upon receiving none, continued forming his plan. "Once we're on the train we can use magic, so I could put a Disillusionment charm on her – I figured that one out last year when I was skipping Potions, remember? Anyway, that won't fool the wards on the school grounds, but if we're quick enough and get off the train with everybody else, there might be enough people around to confuse them temporarily."

Lucius was looking at his friend as if he'd been hit on the head with something very heavy. "Even if this insane plan of yours worked, Worple, what are we supposed to do once we get to Hogwarts? Keep her on a leash for ten months? What about my father, think he'll be pleased to hear his new purchase has made the great escape? Also, your plan hinges on the assumption that the girl will be a willing participant, an assumption that I am quite positive you're wrong about."

The other boy continued pacing between the trees, muttering things that Lucius had a hard time catching. "Is this what he meant…Yes, this is what it's for. But now? No…there isn't very much, what if it's wrong? There's no other way though…"

Eldred suddenly came to an abrupt halt. "I know what to do," he said confidently, pulling a tiny vial containing a pure gold liquid from his pocket. "I found this in my dad's desk this morning."

Lucius stared at the vial in shock. "Eldred," he breathed, eyes locked on the swirling potion. "That's-

"Felix Felicis," the other wizard stated proudly. "Enough for twelve hours of luck!"

Lucius's eyebrows knit together as he looked from his friend and back to the potion again. "How…how did you even recognize it? That's a really advanced potion, and you're hardly ever in class!"

"I pay attention when I think it's interesting," Eldred, replied, shrugging.

"But how come your father had it? And won't he be angry when-"

"That's not important," Eldred said firmly, cutting him off. "What's important is that we have it, and now we can use it."

"I still don't get-" Lucius started, but Eldred cut him off again.

"Lucius! You can't leave the poor creature in the Manor with your father. You really think you could live with the blood on your hands? You're not as tough or cruel as you pretend to be. So, have you got a better plan?" Eldred crossed his arms and stared pointedly at him.

"All right," Lucius said, frowning. "Which one of us should take the potion? I need it to deal with my Father, you need it if you're bringing her with you, and we both need it once we arrive at school."

"Hmm…I think you might need it more than me, considering the rumours I've heard about your father. My parents should be gone in the morning – I usually floo to the platform – the only tricky bit is getting her to, as you say, come willingly," Eldred replied thoughtfully. "What about a forgetfulness potion? She'll just be sort of confused and might be easier to bring with us."

"What's with all the brilliant potion ideas all of a sudden?" Lucius grumbled, pinching the bridge of his nose to try and keep the headache forming at bay.

"That's a first-year potion," Eldred muttered defensively.

Lucius sighed, no longer really caring. "Whatever. That could actually work. We probably don't even have to brew it – we keep a store of all kinds of potions in the dun- ah, cellar." He pulled his silver pocketwatch out and squinted at the elegant face in the starlight. "It's nearly four, so if I take the potion now, it will run out while we're on the train. Think it'll give me some solutions by that time?"

"I'm not sure we have much of a choice," the other boy replied. "If we want to get her out of here unnoticed, we're going to have to do it now while everyone's asleep. I'm not sure all the luck in the world will help you get past an awake Abraxas undetected."

"I'm afraid you're right. I'll leave a few drops in the vial, in case we run into complications at the castle." Eldred nodded. "Well, if it doesn't work, we'll hang out in the Underworld, I suppose."

Eldred grinned, handing over the vial. "Cheers, mate."

Lucius plucked the potion from his friend's hand. "I'm going to regret this in the morning," he muttered, before drinking almost every last drop of liquid luck.

Rionach

She woke to the sound of soft footsteps creeping down the stone stairs to her cell. Keeping her breathing rhythmic and slow, she cracked one eye open as the younger one – Lucius. Light. – fumbled with a large key at the door. In the few seconds she had before the cell was opened, she assessed the situation.

He had a friend with him. She wondered if he was there to show off his new pet; the latest exotic attraction for wealthy teenagers. But her mind shifted to when she saw the hurt and self-loathing in his eyes, both the day before on the grounds and a few days prior, beneath the Colosseum, and she decided that couldn't be why he was here.

The other boy was telling him to hurry, they haven't much time. Time for what? A cold feeling crept over her as she considered the things that two young men with a caged pet might attempt, but she stifled that as well. The wolf inside was telling her no, he is not a threat; and she had grown to listen and trust in her.

Regardless of motive, Rionach considered her escape options. She had absolutely no idea where she was. Somewhere in Britain. She remembered what the old man was saying yesterday, that Lucius couldn't use magic because of his age. The other boy seemed to be the same age, but in the dark, she couldn't be sure. She could easily push past them, but then what?

She thought back to when Pettigrew had first started training her, and she had tried to escape on her first night. She bolted easily enough, but some sort of invisible barrier was put up around his house, and the pain was so excruciating she blacked out. She tried again, three times, but again and again she was struck down by the barrier.

Her new owner was no fool, and if she were to pass out during an escape attempt, she feared what may come later. The old man knew her secret; she didn't doubt that he could use it to slink within her mind and destroy her from the inside out.

She decided to wait. The boys were arguing in hushed voices, but her wolf hearing managed to pick out the words easily enough. It seemed that they wanted to give her a potion of some sort, but couldn't decide who should approach her.

"You're the one who knows all about werewolves – you go pour it down her throat!" Lucius was whispering furiously. The other boy shook his head.

"But you're the one with all the luck! And besides, this is your pet, you get to make this right!"

Make this right? A strange, light feeling unfurled in her stomach, and after a moment, she realize that it must be hope. She kept her eyes shut, eager to learn more.

"Maybe we don't need a sleeping potion," Lucius was saying hopefully. "She's already asleep, and Felix isn't telling me to give it to her, so…"

The other boy sighed impatiently. "I don't care what Felix is telling you. She's a bloody werewolf. She'll wake up the second you're beside her. I'm surprised she hasn't woken up already."

Rionach heard someone approaching, then felt warm breath on her face as Lucius listened to her breathe. She could smell cigarettes, alcohol, and lemons. Something cool and hard touched her lips, causing her eyes to snap open in surprise, bringing her face to face with her captor. For a second, their eyes locked, his widening in surprise. She noticed he held a glass beaker of some sort - most likely what she felt against her lips - and with a snarl pushed him away with one hand and knocked the beaker out of his grasp with the other, the glass and liquid within smashing across the concrete floor.

Both boys stepped backwards, hands up, terrified expressions on their faces. Lucius kept his eyes fixed on me while the other started fumbling in his pocket, producing his wand. "We don't want to hurt you," he said firmly, wand held high.

Rionach kept her eyes locked on Lucius. "You can't use magic," she ventured, watching for reactions.

Lucius shook his head slightly while the other spoke. "We can in self-defense, but we don't want to," he said clearly.

She cocked her head to the side with a sneer, knowing that the way the expression twisted her scar had a rather terrifying effect. "What were you planning on doing with me?" she asked bluntly.

Lucius continued to let the other boy speak for him. She noticed with interest that he hardly registered her face changing, while the other boy looked a bit green. "We want to take you with us to Hogwarts. That's our school. You'll be safe there."

She scratched her face while processing this information. Logically, she felt that she should be asking more questions, acting more defensive and planning her escape. But the wolf was telling her to wait, and deep down, she knew the wolf was right. What choice did she have? And if she did escape, what life could she make for herself? A wolf girl with no memories, no magic, no one to trust.

All she knew were the months that she'd lived with Pettigrew and trained, the wolf within and snippets of memories keeping her sane, telling her to keep fighting, both in the arena and in her mind.

"What was that?" Rionach asked, pointing to the puddle of liquid and broken glass.

"A sleeping potion," the other boy answered. "We were going to keep you asleep until it was time to get on the train, and then give you a forgetfulness potion so you wouldn't act aggressively while we led you onboard. Once you were on the train, I could hide you with a spell. We're allowed to use magic on the train. But since you're awake…" he trailed off hopefully, glancing at Lucius.

"Since I'm awake, you're hoping I'll just walk out with you," Rionach finished. She twisted her face again, deepening the sneer, and this time even Lucius inhaled sharply. "What if I don't want to go with you? What if…all of this…" she gestured around herself, "is all I want? A life where I train, I fight, I win. I die in the arena someday."

"That isn't all you want," Lucius said quietly, speaking for the first time. "You're not the fearless monster you pretend to be."

She froze, staring at him. So, he is as perceptive as the old man, it would seem. The wolf within was strangely quiet. "And if I resist?" she asked, already knowing the answer.

"Eldred will put you in a body-bind, and we'll leave you here for my father to play with," Lucius answered coldly.

The old man was his father. A small tug of pity pulled at her stomach, but she ignored it for now. "And what if…your father…finds us before we leave?"

Lucius shrugged. "Then we might as well just slit each other's throats."

Rionach nodded slightly. "Are you still going to give me those potions?"

"We have to," Eldred piped up. "Even if you're willing, we can't take any chances."

"All right," she said reluctantly. Lucius stepped back, then disappeared briefly, leaving Eldred and his wand to guard the girl. She narrowed her eyes at him. "What are you doing here, anyway?"

He looked above her as he spoke. "Lucius told me about you and I convinced him to take you with him. It's thanks to me that you're getting out of this mess."

"Out of this mess?" she snorted. "Sounds to me like I'm trading one cage for another. Yours just sounds a little more…comfortable."

He looked at her thoughtfully, trying to work something out. "I don't understand…" he started, brow furrowed. "You've never known freedom – Lucius told me your memories were wiped when you were captured. But you understand that you're imprisoned, you seem to know a better life is outside of these walls."

Rionach eyed him carefully, wondering how much she should tell. "The poachers took my memories of my family, yes," she said slowly. "And the gaps in my mind mean that there are a lot of pieces of knowledge that don't quite…fit. But I remember having a home. I remember feeling loved. I remember reading, and loving to learn." She paused, unsure how to phrase the next sentence. "I remember there being…more. More than just pain, and bloodshed, and attacking in the arena."

Eldred noded, opening his mouth to say something, but at that moment Lucius returned, holding two of the glass beakers. "You," he says brusquely, pointing his chin at Rionach. "Follow me. Eldred, follow behind. Keep your wand on her."

Rionach followed the Lucius up the stairs and through the servants' quarters. Four of the strange elf creatures were sleeping haphazardly around the kitchen, snoring loudly. She paused, seeing that Dobby was among them, drooling slightly on the counter, a half empty bottle in his right hand.

She had little time to ponder the strange scene, as Eldred's wand gently pushes between her shoulder blades. She quickened her pace to catch up with Lucius. They walked for what seemed to be several minutes – the place was massive – before they were finally standing in front of a huge, stone fireplace, across from what she deduced was the front door.

Lucius thrust one of the beakers towards the girl. "Drink this," he said curtly, not looking her in the eye.

Rionach took the potion from him warily. "This will just make me sleep?"

He noded. "For about six hours. When you start to wake up, Eldred will give you this one," he held up the other beaker, "and it will make you forget where you are and what you're doing. When you're on the train, you'll get another sleeping potion."

Rionach looked at Eldred, who was watching her optimistically, and back at Lucius, whose face was impassive. I could still run. I could throw this potion back at them, run out that front door, see how far I can get. Maybe live in a forest somewhere, live off the land, sleep under the stars. There was an appeal to that plan. It was also useless.

So she obediently closed her eyes and drank the potion. The world dripped away, colour running and blurring together, and as she fell she was vaguely aware of Eldred reaching out to catch her before everything turned black.

Lucius

"That was lucky," Eldred said, grinning, as he dragged the unconscious werewolf into the fireplace with him.

Lucius handed him the floo powder, an eyebrow raised. "I told you Felix didn't want to give her the sleeping potion yet."

"Felix was right!" Eldred started to say his address, but paused, looking at his friend. "She still has some memories. She doesn't remember her family or where she's from, but she wasn't completely wiped either. I think…she might be sort of, well, normal one day."

"She's still a werewolf," Lucius snapped. He looked down at the sleeping, scarred face. "I watched her chew the tail off another wolf in the arena. Keep that in mind when you're busy thinking up pet names for your new, 'normal' friend."

Eldred frowned, but then shook his head, a smile creeping over his features. "You did the right thing today, Lucius," he said, before announcing his destination and throwing the floo powder down. In a swirl of green flames, they were gone.

Lucius wrapped his arms around himself. The silence in the Manor felt thick with the girl and Eldred now gone. He vaguely wondered why he didn't feel more elated – he'd read before that Felix Felicis was supposed to fill the drinker with purpose and confidence – but supposed that his anxieties were too great for even Felix to take away.

Now, though, Felix was telling him quite firmly to get a few hours of sleep before dealing with tomorrow. He headed to his quarters and lay on his bed, still fully clothed, and amazingly, within seconds, he drifted into a dreamless sleep.