Chapter 24: The Tainted Snowflake
"Is everything alright?" Lucius asked as Scabior entered the drawing room.
Scabior nodded, his expression somewhat weary.
"Yes, she's alright. She's just a bit stressed out from everything tha's gone on this week. She's tired. But after she rests up a bit she'll be fine."
"And you?"
Scabior sighed heavily, his hands in his pockets as he stared down at the floor.
Lucius walked over to the mahogany cabinet in the corner of the room. He removed a bottle of brandy from one of the shelves in the cabinet, along with two glasses.
"Would you care for a drink?" he asked, pouring some of the brandy into a glass and offering it to Scabior.
"Would I?" Scabior snatched the bottle from Lucius' hand and started drinking straight from the bottle.
Lucius frowned slightly and rolled his eyes.
After consuming nearly half the bottle of brandy in a single go, Scabior wiped his mouth with the back of his gloved hand and set the bottle down on a nearby table.
"Lucius, there's something I'd like to discuss with you."
"Go on," said Lucius, taking a small sip of brandy from the glass that had originally been meant for Scabior.
"A couple days ago you mentioned to Violet 'ow you an Narcissa used to visit 'er family. Violet says she 'as no memory of this. An now I'm curious to learn more about these visits tha she doesn't remember."
Lucius' brow knitted together, the frown once again appearing for a moment on his face.
"I can tell you more about that particular topic if you wish. Although I don't know why she has difficulty recalling those visits. She might have been quite young when I first met her family, but the Malfoys and the Stregherias remained in contact for a number of years after our first meeting.
"I met the Stregherias shortly after graduating from Hogwarts," Lucius began. "They had just moved here from Italy, and it didn't take long for word to spread that they were supporters of the Dark Lord. In fact that's why they came to London in the first place. Violet's father was interested in becoming a Death Eater. So I went to them to discuss recruiting options."
He smirked as he spoke the last sentence and took another sip of brandy.
"Did 'er father become a Death Eater?" Scabior asked.
"Oh yes, indeed he did," replied Luciuis. "He stayed with us for a few years, and was an extremely dedicated and hard working servant to the Dark Lord. Right up until the day of his death shortly after the birth of his second child."
"I think I need another drink..."
Scabior reached for the bottle of brandy on the table and drank an entire glassful of the deep brown liquid before the conversation resumed.
"Didn't Violet ever tell you anything about her parents?" Lucius asked.
"Not really, no." Scabior shook his head. "She's told me about 'er mum, but she acts as though she never knew 'er father. She doesn't speak of him except to say that 'e left 'ome when she was a year old an never returned."
"Hmm..." Lucius pondered Scabior's words while slowly swirling the liquid in his glass. "Perhaps miss Violet was never informed by her mother that her father was one of us."
"I don't know. Though I imagine she would 'ave mentioned something like tha if she knew about it." Scabior sighed and took another swig of brandy. "Tell me, did anyone else ever accompany you an Narcissa during these visits? Say per'aps a man with pale skin an white 'air?"
"Yes," Lucius replied, looking a little surprised at Scabior's question. "How did you know that? Has Violet begun to remember something of our visits?"
You could say tha," Scabior said at length. "Or at least I think she 'as."
Lucius' expression changed to one of mild confusion. "What exactly do you mean by that?"
Scabior hesitated, his gaze drifting to the corner of the room.
He knew he could trust Lucius better than any of his men. Lucius Malfoy was his best friend. And if he was going to tell anyone about Violet's visions and hidden abilities it would be him. He would have to tell Lucius about her gift if he wanted to unravel the mysteries of her forgotten past and the nightmares that were plaguing her.
"Tell me more about this bloke with the white 'air," said Scabior, looking back at Lucius. "I want to know more about 'im first."
"His name is Freeman Snowden," Lucius said. "He is...well, he's an odd sort of fellow. Always obsessed over many things."
"Like wha?"
"Like being the last in his family. He came from a line of purebloods far more ancient than my own. And he didn't want the Snowden family to end with him. He became obsessed with having a child to continue his family's bloodline. He even went so far as to suggest prearranged marriages to parents who had daughters as young as three years old."
"Do you think 'e did tha with Violet's parents?"
"I wouldn't put it past him." There was a glint of hatred in Lucius' cold grey eyes as he said this. "He'd sink low enough to achieve his goals by any means. He is a very sick and twisted man, Scabior. I honestly wouldn't be surprised if he did try to arrange a marriage with Violet when she was young."
"So I take it this Snowden isn't very popular with the ladies. Otherwise 'e would 'ave been able to snatch one for 'imself."
"No, he's not popular with the ladies." Lucius' top lip curled in disgust. "He has an unhealthy attraction to young children. It's one of the many things he obsesses over. And this drove people away more than it welcomed them in. That's one of the reasons why I started distancing myself from him.
"The last time I saw him was shortly after Narcissa and I were married. He became insanely jealous of the two of us the moment he heard we were expecting our first child. He attacked Narcissa in a violent fit of rage. And after dueling with him to protect my pregnant wife, I promptly ejected him from the manor, making it very clear that he was no longer welcome in my house again."
Scabior paused, the bottle of brandy halfway to his open mouth. He slowly lowered the bottle, his eyes wide as he whispered, "'E attacked Narcissa?"
"Yes," Lucius said simply. "I have not seen him since. Nor do I ever wish to see him again."
For the second time that day Scabior felt anger rise up in his heart, and he gripped the bottle of brandy so tightly in his clenched fist that Lucius feared the bottle might shatter.
But Lucius did not know the extent of Scabior's anger or why he felt that way. He assumed it was due to Freeman's attack on Narcissa, and he was partly right. But Scabior's mind was now racing, filled to the brim with unpleasant thoughts concerning Violet's fear of Freeman.
What had Freeman done to cause such fear? Had he tried to hurt Violet as well? He he tried to rape or molest her? Had he possibly attempted to erase her memories of him when things went too far, so she couldn't go to anyone for help because she wouldn't remember who had hurt her?
"Scabior."
Lucius' smooth voice interrupted his thoughts as the blond wizard placed a hand on Scabior's shoulder to draw his attention.
"I think perhaps you ought to go back to bed and rest, Scabior. Your fever just broke this morning. And with all the upset and stress you've experienced in the last hour, it could cause you to have a relapse."
"I doubt it," Scabior snorted, scowling at him. "I'm not as fragile as Bellabitch might 'ave you believe." He took another swig of brandy to calm his nerves, draining the bottle of its last ounce of fluid. "Do you 'ave any photos of this Snowden? I need to know wha this bastard looks like."
"Yes, I believe I may still have one somewhere. But why do you need to know what he looks like?" said Lucius, now feeling utterly perplexed by Scabior's question.
"Because I think 'e may 'ave done something to Violet." And with that Scabior explained to Lucius about the nightmares Violet had been having.
A short while later Scabior returned to the room he was sharing with Violet. He carried in his pocket the one remaining photo Lucius could find of Freeman Snowden.
He wanted to show it to Violet in order to confirm whether or not Freeman was the man from her nightmares. But when he returned, he found her sound asleep with a small drinking glass in her hand. A half inch of liquid filled the bottom of the glass which Scabior recognized as dreamless sleep potion.
Violet had fallen asleep before she could consume the entire dose of potion. She was now resting peacefully, sleeping soundly without any worries of the mysterious man invading her dreams.
Scabior sat down on the bed beside her, removing the glass from her hand and placing it on the bedside table.
"Sweet dreams, love," he said softly. "We'll deal with things later after you're fully rested."
A/N: there is now a table of contents in my profile where you can find a link to my Fragments of Silver character profiles, as well as information regarding upcoming stories and other Scabior related fanfiction I have written.