Monsters
We make our own monsters, then fear them for what they show us about ourselves
(Mike Carey)
"I have to admit, I did not think you would agree," Lucius Malfoy said smirking down at his son.
Draco scowled, "Do not fool yourself into thinking me being here is a choice I made. You know very well we could not ignore the summons."
"That's why you sent it, didn't you?" Theo asked turning to look at his own father, "We could very easily burn a letter, but a summons from the Sacred 28, hell even I have to admit that was rather smart on your part."
Theodore Nott Senior smirked at his son from across the table, "You seem to forget who I am, son."
"I haven't forgotten," Theo told him, "Now why don't you tell us why the fuck we're here?" he demanded.
"Langauge Theodore!" his father scolded, "Just because you're hanging around filth does not mean you should forget everything I've taught you!"
Daphne who had seated herself between the two boys all but scowled, recognising the feeble attempt Nott Senior had made to get a rise from his son. They were better than childish name calling now.
"Why are we here?" Daphne asked looking at her father.
Alcott merely smirked at her and she felt her anger rise, remembering her sister still in the hospital bed.
"Ah, my dear soon to be daughter- in – law," Nott Senior said looking at her. "Well, at least Theodore had enough sense to find a decent pureblood."
"You could learn something from him," Lucius chastised Draco.
Draco clenched his fists under the table, "Enough games. You've been given an hour's pass from Azkaban, I suggest you use your time wisely because you won't be seeing the light of day ever again, after this."
Lucius frowned, "You always failed to see the big picture; always a disappointment."
"If I have disappointed you, then I must finally be doing something right," Draco told him.
Lucius glared at his son and shifted slightly in his chair, his restraints knocking against the cold steel of the table.
"You've been causing quite the ruckus as the Ministry," Nott Senior said looking between the four children. "When Alcott told us that you had joined the council, we were rather surprised."
"Pleasantly surprised," Lucius said with a smile. They looked at him with confusion and he smirked almost triumphantly before carrying on, " Naturally we thought it was some ploy, to gain the trust of the public before using that power to set things right."
Draco would have laughed had the situation not been so serious.
"But when news of what you had been doing within the chamber reached us, we were quite disturbed." Lucius continued.
"We had thought to give you more time," Nott Senior said.
"Time for what?" Theo asked.
"To remember everything we had taught you," Nott Senior told him. "To remember who you are loyal too," he pressed.
"We would have accepted your betrayal on us the first time, had put it down to nothing more as childish mistakes," Lucius said patronisingly, "We would have forgiven your foolishness and ill-fitted illusions of grandeur had you not taken so long to have these bloody chains removed," Lucius sneered down at the heavy chains on his hands, "But here we are, almost a year after you've entered the most powerful council in the wizarding government, and your fathers are still sit in chains!"
"My son, the Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot! And here I sit!" Nott Senior all but roared. "Are you not ashamed of yourselves?"
"No," Draco simply said.
"Not even a little bit," Theo agreed.
"We have nothing to be ashamed of," Daphne said looking right at her father.
"You shame us all!" Lucius cried. "Centuries of good breeding, upholding family traditions and ensuring the legacy continues and it all goes to waste on you ungrateful bastards!"
Draco leaned forward, "Well I wouldn't say it all goes to waste," he said smirking a little, "I mean, it's only thanks to the family name and centuries of wealth that we were even allowed to get this far."
Lucius didn't seem bothered by that, "Well this will be the last of it."
"Theodore, you will have that precious council of your realise us of these chains and have all charges cleared," Nott Senior ordered.
Theo looked at his father before he burst out laughing. "Why the fuck would I do something so stupid?' he questioned, "I have you exactly where I've always wanted you."
"We do not take orders from you any more," Draco told them.
Lucius scoffed, "You're so quick to think you've figured everything out, that you have won. But you haven't. Once again, son, you have underestimated me."
"No, I haven't," Draco assured him. "I know exactly the kind of man you are. The monster you are, after all, you tried very hard to make me in your image."
"Clearly I failed," Lucius spat.
"Yes, you failed," Draco said with a smile. "You failed then and you've failed now."
Their fathers looked at them, trying to judge the people they'd become. Perhaps hoping in some way they could still be twisted to their advantage.
"You see," Theo started, "We're no longer yours. You don't get to command and we certainly won't be following."
"Enough of this nonsense!" Nott Senior cried vehemently. "You will do as you're told!"
"No, we won't," Theo argued, "We're not yours to command or to torment anymore."
"You will always be ours to torment," Lucius sneered darkly. "You carry our name, waste our wealth, disgrace our power and you want to sit here and tell us we have no control over it! Well, I shall not stand for it!"
"You forget there are laws, magic more powerful than you or I," Nott Senior told them. "You have failed us and now its time to make things right."
"That is exactly what we've been trying to do," Theo said shrugging.
"Is that what you've been doing?" Nott Senior mocked, "You've always been a disappointment, Theodore. You sit with all the power and you waste it away on lawmaking for mongrels, mudbloods and traitors! Though I suppose you are not entirely to blame for it," he said looking at Lucius and Alcott, "Your mother ruined you. She was weak and she made you weak just like her."
Theo leaned across the table scowling, "My mother was strong and brave. She fought for me, she loved me and that is why you killed her," he said menacingly.
Nott Senior smirked, "You're still on that?" he all but mocked but then he looked at his son, considering a thought for a moment, "Is that why I'm still here?" he asked, "Because I killed your mother? Is this revenge, son?"
"Nothing I ever do will be enough for what you did to my mother," Theo told him.
"Then why am I still here?" Nott Senior demanded. "Your mother's death was a long time ago. If this is not revenge, then what is it?"
"Justice," Theo answered.
"For what?" Nott Senior asked, "I haven't done anything wrong."
Theo chuckled humourlessly, "You helped start a war, killed hundreds of innocents, condemned twice as many more to die at the hands of your beloved psychopathic hypocritical leader and you actually have the audacity to claim you're innocent?"
"Of course we're innocent!" Nott Senior yelled.
"We were following in the traditions of our fathers! Ensuring the legacy continues. We had a responsibility to our name and we upheld it," Lucius insisted.
"No, you destroyed it!" Draco argued. "You destroyed us!"
"Spare me your tragedies, Draco," Lucius mocked. "We tried to make you better! But I guess we were fated to have children that disappoint us."
"Just as we were fated to have fathers who were nothing but monsters," Draco countered.
"Oh yes, it's very easy to make us the villains in your pretty little story. After all, people do love a good story," Alcott ridiculed. "As you've proven with the council.'
"It's not a story," Daphne bit out, "It's the truth."
"You stay out of this!" Alcott threatened. "You and your sister have done enough damage!"
"And you saw fit to punish her, didn't you?" Daphne spat.
"Punish her?" Alcott questioned with a laugh, "Oh I haven't punished her, yet. That was merely a warning. The rest is still to come."
"No," Daphne insisted, "You will never hurt her again."
"And by what power do you think you can stop me?" Alcott demanded of her.
"The same power that had you kicked off the council," Daphne told him.
"You think you have true power?" Alcott sneered at her, "It's nothing but an illusion! We are still in control here!"
"And yet you still sit in chains," Daphne noted dryly.
"A complication," Alcott admitted.
"We will have it undone soon enough," Lucius promised.
"How?" Draco questioned.
"Alcott was right, you have no true power here," Lucius berated, "Everything you think you're in control of is just a mere illusion. We have let you believe it thus far, having hoped that you might do some good in the name of duty and family, but that was clearly a waste of time. You don't have what it takes to do what needs to be done. You're weak, the lot of you."
"Just because we refuse to be the monsters you are, does not make us weak," Theo countered. "We chose to be better."
Nott Senior laughed, "You've deluded yourself into thinking this is better! No, my son, it's far from it. But we will make it right."
"See, despite all the power you think you have right now, we have much more." Alcott told them, "After all it's only because of us that you have any of this, to begin with."
"It was Sacred 28 that brought you here today, and it will be Sacred 28 that tears it away from you," Lucius said.
"You claimed your seats of power on a technicality," Alcott said, "Yes, you had every right to the seats on the council, but that was only for a period of time. Seats acquired through inheritance where the previous owner is still alive can be disputed after a time."
"As you can see, we're very much alive," Lucius said gesturing to himself and the other two.
"That truly is our misfortune," Theo commented, "You couldn't have done the decent thing and just rolled over and died in the war, could you?"
Nott Senior's eyes flashed dangerously, "I've warned you before about how you talk to us boy!" he spat.
Theo scoffed, "I am not your boy. I may share your blood and carry your name but I was never yours."
Nott Senior scowled but didn't say anything as Draco leaned further onto the table, "Let's stop the games and get down to why we're actually here. You see while you believe you're won... you actually haven't."
"Far from it actually, Theo added looking gleefully smug. "You and your fucking pride have just cost you everything."
"What in the devil are you talking about boy?" Lucius demanded.
"You were right of course," Draco answered, "Seats can be acquired through inheritance where the previous occupant is still alive can be disputed after a time. But those claims can also be rejected if the previous occupants are shown to be unworthy of such power."
"The only one unworthy here is you," Lucius spat.
"Of course you would think that," Draco said not bothered by his father's words. Once upon a time, they might have mattered but not anymore. He knew his worth now. Had learned from his friends ... no his family and especially his wife exactly what his worth was. He was not bothered by the venom his father spat.
"You plan to prove us unworthy then?" Nott Senior asked mockingly, "You forget I practically own half the damned council! They won't dare oppose me! You only sit in that chair because I have allowed it! But I see now that was a mistake. You have proved unworthy at every opportunity Theodore," he said disgustedly.
"Good," Theo said firmly. "I would never want to be anything close to whatever twisted ideology you have of being worthy. "And yes, we are going to prove you unworthy. We won't have to try very hard I'm sure."
"It won't do you any good," Nott Senior warned. "You've made a mistake in thinking you can actually win against us."
"No, your mistake is underestimating us," Daphne said smirking.
"Would you like to tell them or should I?" Draco asked his friends.
"I think Daphne should tell them," Theo said with a smirk.
Daphne leaned forward bracing herself on the table. "You were absolutely right father, our claim to our seats of power is a technicality but you see you've made one very big mistake ."
"And what would that be?" Alcott spat.
"You hurt my little sister... again. And this time I won't let you get away with it." Daphne promised. "You called us here because you're afraid you'll slip away into the shadows, forgotten... and you're quite right. That is exactly what's going to happen. But first, we're going to give you the show you want. we're going to air out every dirty thing you've done. We're going to prove to the world that you're completely unworthy of the title, privilege and money that comes with being Sacred 28."
"You can't prove a fucking thing," Alcott scoffed. "I made sure of that."
"Is that why you wiped Tori's memory?' Daphne asked. "Because she knew you were planning to stop us but she also knew how to stop you."
"Stupid girl never learns!" Alcott said. "Every bit as foolish and naive as you are!"
"Oh no, she's much smarter than me," Daphne said with a smile that had all their fathers feeling a little unnerved. What gave her the confidence right then when they were about to pull apart everything their ungrateful children had worked on building? Alcott smiled as her supposed stupidity.
"I see you haven't learned either," he commented. "You can delude yourself all you want, we know there's no winning against us. You have a lifetime of experience on this matter and you're still so foolish to try."
"But we didn't try, we actually succeeded." Daphne corrected. "You thought you were so clever in trying to cover up your dirty little secrets but now that will be the beginning of your end."
"Such dramatics," Alcott commented momentarily unfazed.
Daphne smirked, "The council has every right to listen to your claims but that won't matter. When we prove to the council that you're not worthy of any title they'll throw you into the darkest cells Azkaban has."
"You have nothing," Lucius sneered.
"We have everything," Draco threatened, "We know everything."
Lucius looked at his son and saw there was no fear in his eyes. There was only confidence and pride which he had not given to him. He didn't know what to do so he did the only thing that felt natural, he lashed out choosing to believe his son was trying to play him for a fool.
"Lies!" Lucius spat, "You know nothing! And you will regret coming in here with this insolence! You are not our children! You are no son of mine!" Lucius yelled.
"You're right," Draco said, "We are not yours. You almost had us, keeping us in your shadows, but you didn't count on one very important thing."
"And what might that be?" Lucius sneered.
"Your wife," Draco smirked. "She is much smarter than you ever gave her credit for. Your biggest mistake was believing she was ever devoted to you."
Lucius growled, "Narcissa was always a fool, especially where you were concerned. Coddling the lot of you and trying to undo everything we were trying to teach you."
"Oh she didn't try to undo anything, she did undo it," Draco corrected.
Lucius was smart enough to know when he was back into a corner. There was indescribable confidence in his son, it had him slightly worried, not that he would ever admit to that.
"Just what the hell are you playing at here boy?" Lucius asked looking at Draco.
Draco smirked, "You were right, the seat of power does not belong to me... but it doesn't belong to you either." Lucius glowered at his son but Draco didn't give him the opportunity. "The seat falls to the next available member of the family, which would be your wife."
"She cannot! she is a woman!" Lucius roared.
"My dear father, such archaic thoughts will do you no good no," Draco said chided as if he were talking to a small child, "You will find that many of the seats on the council are taken up by women. Our dear Pansy fills in the seat of her dead father."
"That girl is a complete disgrace to everything we stand for!" Alcott yelled. "Shacking up with the god damned saviour!"
Draco paid Alcott's outburst no attention as he continued, "Things are changing. You see, your wife holds the seat of power for the House of Malfoy ... and Black."
Lucius paled as he listened, "Two major houses with two major contributing magical lines. You are currently in no position to hold such titles," he said motioning to the chains around his hands. "You can make as many appeals to the council as you would like but I can assure you, Lucius, nobody is going to give you even an inch of respect, let alone authority or power."
"And what do you possess that makes you so confident in that?" Lucius dared to ask.
'You forget that she was there for everything. Every little evil thing you have done, she stood in your shadow watching, quietly. But I will not stay quiet anymore. I am going to make sure you spend the rest of your days far away from us," Draco vowed.
"Insolent child! You forget your place!" Lucius bellowed tugging at the chains around his hands.
"It's right here! Beside my friends!" Draco told him meeting his glare every inch.
"You don' know what you're doing! ," Lucius threatened, "You and your good for nothing mother!"
"Your threats will do you no good anymore Lucius," Draco told him.
"You underestimate what I can do from this cell, even with these chains," he said rattling said chains.
"And you have underestimated your wife at every turn. That was your biggest mistake." Draco said. "As the legitimate holder of both the seats of the House of Malfoy
and Black, it is well within her rights to chose an appropriate heir to these seats of power."
"Draco!," Lucius growled in warning.
He smirked at his father, "You see your wife has decided that the only person who is capable of upholding the duties of these titles is... well me" he said explained.
"It won't matter," Lucius seethed. "It changes nothing."
"It changes everything," Draco corrected, "No need to look so scared Lucius," He taunted, "This has been a long time coming."
"You see not only will she be transferring all titles to me, but she's brought some troubling issues to the Wizengamot and they've been ever so eager to listen," he taunted.
"You would destroy us all over some pettiness you feel towards Lucius! Because we .. didn't coddle you like the damned spoilt brats you are! " Nott Senior objected, "Thousands of years of traditions and good breeding all gone!"
"Yes! Thousands of years of that blasted breeding and ancient traditions that have no place in our future! We couldn't do anything when you killed Delihah. But we can do something now," Daphne told them. She felt Theo stiffen beside at the mention of his mother and she reached under the table for his hand, grasping it tightly in hers.
"You've always been a disappointment, the whole damn lot of you!" Nott Senior roared, "it sickens me to think this is what has become of my legacy!"
"To hell with you and your fucking legacy!" Theo yelled.
"You would destroy everything I have built! Everything generations of Notts have built because your whore of a mother was too weak to do as she was told?" Nott spat at his son. Theo jerked forward but Daphne quickly grabbed hold of his elbow.
"You are nothing without us!" Lucius accused, "Everything that you are is because of us! All these rights and money and power that you're throwing around, that is only because of us! Because we have allowed it, because we have allowed you to live," Lucius thundered. His chains shook with rage and he pointed his finger accusingly at the three seated across from him.
"I believed that to be true once upon a time too," Draco said narrowing his eyes at his father, "I believed that all we were nothing but the hollow little monsters you tried to carve us into, but I was wrong."
"Have some sort of epiphany did you?" Alcott taunted, "Did your little mudblood wife help with that?"
Draco clenched his fist once more but didn't rise to the bait. "I almost died fighting a war you helped start; nearly lost the love of my life and my friends too. But that woman that you speak of with such hate, my wife, my too -good -for- me, beautiful, intelligent wife, she never up. Not on me, not on my love and not what she thought I was capable of. And if she could have such faith in us as tainted and flawed as we are then maybe we were worth saving," Draco said with a smile. "I don't expect you to understand."
"How could you?' Daphne questioned rhetorically, "when you don't feel any love for us, your own flesh and blood!"
"You are no children of ours!" Nott Senior bellowed, "I should have done away with you when I killed your mother! Better late than never I guess! You and your pathetic little darling won't last that much I promise you!" Nott Senior roared.
"Theo no!" Daphne cried but she wasn't fast enough to stop Theo this time as he reached across the table grabbing his father by the collar of his shirt, "I loved my mother, with all my heart. She was the only good thing in my life and she deserved better than you. I couldn't save her but I will be damned if I let you even think about touching Daphne. You will not take her away from me." he said menacingly.
"Theo," Daphne said gently laying her hand on his. Theo shook with unbridled rage and Daphne tried reaching for him again, "Theo, no one will ever take me away from you,' she whispered to him.
He looked up to meet her eyes and when he saw the pleading look he let his father go, hearing as he landed on the table with a hard thunk! The rattling of his chains echoing in the silence that followed.
Daphne reached into the deep pockets of her robes and pulled out an envelope. She threw it across the table watching as it landed in front of her father.
"What is this?" Alcott asked with distaste.
"Summons," she replied.
"What?" he spat.
"You've all been summoned to answer for the war-related crimes you committed, in front of the Wizengamot," she told them smirking.
"Our trial is not for another month," Lucius reminded her snidely. "It is not something we are unaware of, and it is only a formality. These charges won't stand."
"They disappeared before and they will again this time," Nott Senior said unbothered.
"Oh this trial is not for this war, it's for the war crimes you committed in the name of your Dark Lord the first time," she explained. "These are special circumstances and given the history powerful men such as yourself have had in resurrecting dark wizards, the council saw fit to look more closely at your involvement during the first war... and after too."
"There is no proof we did anything. I made sure of that," Alcott told her smugly.
"No daddy dearest, you tried too but you failed," Daphne patronised, "You three seem to forget that we're not alone in this. You see before she was Lady Malfoy, she was Narcissa Black," Daphne said looking to Lucius with a smirk, "and she is far more powerful and capable than you ever cared to know. She was able to undo the little memory trick you pulled with Astoria."
"You... you undid the spell?" Alcott asked disbelievingly.
"We did," Daphne affirmed looking at the man in complete disgust. "And then she told me all about the little vials of evidence you kept in the secret shelf of your library. The council was most interested in viewing those. They found it most... incriminating," she told them.
There was an awful sinking feeling Lucius had that perhaps he had perhaps underestimated he children. The notion that they had actually lost was not something either of the patriarchs wanted to accept. They could not have lost to their children! Their ungrateful - spoilt - good-for-nothing-children! Their children who were supposed to carry on their proud legacies not burn it down.
"You!" Lucius cried accusingly.
"Oh no," Daphne snapped, "You only have yourself to blame for this. You did this to us! This is all on you."
"I did nothing but my duty!" Lucius defended. "You know nothing of what it means to uphold the values of our families! You're to busy burning everything down!"
"Don't you dare speak of duty when I have this thing forever imprinted on my hand!" Draco yelled shoving his sleeve up so his face could see the dark mark bolding tattoed on his pale skin. "You are nothing but a pathetic coward who spent years hiding behind his money, his precious dark lord and his name. Well, that ends today!"
"Draco!" Lucius cried hoping to reign in his son again. He could not lose control of his son! It was all he had now.
"When we're done you will have nothing," Theo promised, "Your dark lord is dead, you have no money, no power and soon enough you won't be worthy of the name. We're making our own legacies, one that you will never be worthy of. But one in which my mother would be proud of, one in which my soon to be wife will be proud to share with me. One that I will be proud and honoured to share with my children. It will be new and not tainted in blood and your cruelty. Your reign ends today."
Draco smiled, "We'll see you at the trial then," he said standing. Theo and Daphne followed suit, turning to face the fathers for one last time.
"I just want you to know that I have enjoyed every moment of watching everything you treasure burn to the fucking ground. It's not nearly enough for what you did to my mother but I know now that she would be proud." He looked at Daphne as she smiled at him, "I will be everything you were not. A good husband and a good father. At least you taught me what it means to be a completely uselessly father and husband. But my mother, through all her ... coddling was it you called? - through all of that at least she made sure I would turn out to be somewhat of a decent man. Decent enough to find a witch too good for me who loves me anyway," he said as Daphne reached for his hand. "As much I hate you for taking my mother from me, I'm grateful she's gone, so far from your torment that she'll never have to suffer again."
"And now neither will we," Daphne said looking down at her father.
"You think you can escape us?" Alcott sneered.
"I know you probably don't care," Theo said looking at Alcott, " But I promise to take very good care of Daphne and I will always watch over Astoria."
"They're your problem now Nott," Alcott spat. "Keep them for all I care! Useless girls!"
Daphne scowled, "I want you to remember something father," she said holding tightly to Theo's hand, "when you're sitting alone in your cell, I want you to know that your daughters are happy and loved and there will never be an opportunity for us to miss you. Theo is all I will ever need and is already ten times the man you ever were. I wish you could see your sons for the amazing men that they are," she sighed bitterly looking between Nott Senior and Lucius, "But that will be your greatest mistake and I want you to regret that every day from today till the end of your miserable lives. You - all of you," Daphne said gesturing to all three chained men, "will slip away into the shadows, relics of a war lost, long forgotten and you will never missed."
"You will be nothing more than a failed shadow of us!" Lucius raged. "Soon enough everyone will see that too!"
"No," Draco said, "You might have made us in your image but we stopped belonging to you the day we sold you out. And I would sell you out again ... in a heartbeat," Draco said. He leaned down close to his father, "enjoy the rest of your miserable existence father. I hope you live a long and lonely life. I want you to sit in your dark cell and hear of the wonderful amazing things your son is doing. When you hear of all your traditions we're burning down; when you hear of your legacy that I'm going to rip apart, perhaps one day you'll even hear stories that your only son has become Minister or maybe when you hear of all the half-blood grandchildren I am going to give you, I want you to know that it all happened in spite of you. We survived in spite of you." He said with finality looking down at the three men.
Draco stood rebuttoning his suit blazer as his father and the other two men fumed over his words.
"You can't!" Lucius roared shaking his chains furiously. "I won't be here long! You have not won!"
"Of course I have," Draco said smiling, "And you're right, you won't be here for long. You're going to be here forever."
"Draco!" Lucius yelled his chains banging against the table.
"This is the end of your legacy father. Take a good look," Theo said smiling, "This is it. This is the end of everything you built. How fitting that it should end in a pathetically dark room with three pathetic bastards grovelling before their children."
"Theodore!" His father roared.
"Have a nice existence you miserable bastards," Theo said smiling as he led Daphne out of the room. Draco followed her, allowing the door to slam shut behind him sealing the screams from their fathers forever.
AN: Hi all!
The most sincerest of apologies for not updating sooner! It's been kind of hectic, I quit my job and had to pack up and move back to my own country all in the space of a few weeks! I'm terribly sorry! Anyways I have promised to finish this and I will! There are only a few more chapters left. This chapter was a little difficult to write after all these are the very monsters that inspired this story...
Thank you to all the amazing readers who have followed, favourited and reviewed this story! Please do review and tell me what you think so far. Your reviews keep me inspired and motivated.
xoxo
Immortal Dragon Empress