As I slowly make my way from mine and Draco's bedroom to the nursery, a cold chill runs down my spine. I shiver and wrap my arms around myself instinctively and then walk through the nursery door. Skylar, who has grown so accustomed to my immediate entrance every time he starts crying, falls silent as soon as he sees me; he seems to have realized that his troubles usually disappear not long after I enter the room.
I lean down carefully and slowly lift 'the Bean' out of his crib and into my arms, and when I'm standing upright again I hug him close to my chest. Looking down and smiling, I speak to him softly. "What's wrong, Sky?" I ask him in a voice barely louder than a whisper. Skylar just stares up at me in response, his eyes full of wonder. Unable to keep myself from thinking how cute my son is, I assume he's hungry and flick my wand and cause a pre-made bottle to appear in my hand.
As soon as the bottle is in my hand, I slowly start making my way over to the rocking chair to have a seat while I feed Skylar. Before I reach the chair, however, I hear a loud crashing noise that sounds a lot like glass breaking. The noise startles me so much that I jerk involuntarily and gasp loudly, and little Skylar, who is frightened by both the noise and by my reaction to it, starts wailing.
Though I'm curious as to what the sound was, my first priority is to calm my child, and I immediately begin doing so. When shushing him doesn't work, I put the bottle into his mouth, and he immediately falls silent and starts eating ravenously. Having taken care of the 'Skylar' situation, I'm now free to investigate what caused that loud noise Skylar and I just heard. As I walk towards the nursery door with Skylar still in my arms sucking on his bottle, I realize that the sound was probably caused by one of the maids or house elves. They were probably on this floor cleaning and dropped some sort of glass object, and it broke, I tell myself. I realize when I reach the doorway to the nursery and look out into the hallway, however, that this was not the case.
Towards the end of the hallway, I notice several large shards of broken glass lying on the hallway floor. My eyebrows furrow at the sight, and now several new ideas of what could have been broken begin flying through my mind. As I'm still halfway inside the nursery, my view is obstructed by the door frame, so I take a step out into the hallway in an attempt to get a better view of the glass shards to determine where they came from. As soon as I step out into the hallway, however, I immediately begin to wish I hadn't.
Stepping beyond the nursery's door frame, I turn my neck to the right to witness a terrifying sight; there's a rather sinister looking man standing at the end of the hallway in front of a broken window, amidst all the broken glass shards. My eyes widen in terror and I immediately get the uneasy feeling that this man means me harm. He stares directly at me with an evil smirk on his face, and I can't help but notice the ripped places and sporadic blood stains on his dirty clothes. The man's hair and scruffy beard are brown and wild, as are his eyes. As he and I continue to stare at each other, I feel the overwhelming urge to run. My feet however, remain glued to the spot; I'm frozen in terror.
A million different possible scenarios run through my head in the few seconds of eerie silence that pass between us, and none of them are good. Just as I begin to wonder if I should ask the evil-looking man what he wants, he opens his mouth and speaks to me in a deep, raspy voice. "So it is true," he says matter-of-factly. "The Malfoy family does indeed have a new member." Startled by the man's strange statement, I gather my bravery and respond.
"Wh… What are you doing here?" I ask him, unable to hide the terror in my voice. The stranger smiles evilly and chuckles at my question, rubbing his chin with his hand thoughtfully. I can't help but notice that his teeth look rather pointy as he smiles.
"It's really quite simple," he replies darkly a moment later. "I want the child. Give him to me, and I'll let you live."
Now having more than just the uneasy feeling in the pit of my stomach to suggest that this strange man means to do harm, my heart fills with dread. There's no way this man will ever get Skylar from me, I tell myself. I consider running, but realize the man would probably catch me very quickly in my weakened post-baby body. I think of calling out to Draco through our love bond, but feel certain that this would only ensure his death, along with mine. Seeing no other alternative, I take a large step backwards into the nursery with the infant still cradled in my arms and sucking on his bottle obliviously.
Making a futile attempt at closing the door behind me, I gasp and jump away quickly as the man thrusts it open and steps into the room, flashing an evil smile as he closes the door behind himself. Suddenly remembering something I hadn't before now, I speak to the man loudly, knowing that Draco and Lucius will be able to hear me due to the Sonorus Charm Draco's placed on the room. "Please, just leave us alone," I plead. The man merely chuckles in response and continues to draw closer to Skylar and I. "What do you want?" I continue, now certain that I've got Draco's attention, "Who are you?"
"That's enough of your stalling," the stranger replies gruffly. "Give me the boy."
"No!" I scream. Frustrated, the man reaches forward and extends his hands towards my arms in an effort to pry the baby from my grasp. Panicking, I do everything in my power to keep Skylar out of the man's reach. I gasp loudly and call out for Draco. Almost immediately, there's a loud noise and a flash of light from the nursery doorway, causing a sense of relief to rush over me.
The man before me barely has time to turn around and react to the noise, and then he falls flat on his face; Lucius, who's standing next to Draco in the doorway with his wand drawn, has apparently cast a Full-Body Bind Curse upon the intruder. He leaves the curse upon the man just long enough so that Draco can use his wand to conjure up iron chains to wrap the man in, and then he lifts the curse. Immediately after he's imprisoned the man within the iron chains, Draco frantically hurries into the room, coming to the corner where I'm cowering with Skylar in my arms. Abandoning his wand on the floor carelessly at my feet, he places his hands tenderly on the sides of my face.
"Are you all right?" he asks, panic evident in his voice and in his widened, terror-stricken eyes. Still in shock, I simply stare into his face but don't answer him as silent tears start to pour from my eyes. My silence only serves to frighten Draco even more; "Are you all right?" he asks again. "Are you hurt? Is Skylar hurt? Darling, please answer me!" Hearing the concern in Draco's voice serves as a catalyst to pull me out of my trance-like state, and I nod my head and exhale slowly.
"I'm fine…" I finally reply, barely louder than a whisper. "We're both fine." Hearing this, Draco breathes a sigh of relief and wraps his arm around me, pulling myself and the baby resting in my arms into a careful embrace. With my head now resting against my fiancé's comforting shoulder, the full horror of the situation hits me, and I start sobbing loudly.
"There there, love," Draco says soothingly in my ear, "it's all right; I'm here."
"Who is he? What does he want?" I wail in response.
"I don't know love," Draco replies, "but I mean to find out." At this, he releases me from his embrace and stoops to pick up his wand before addressing the chained-up stranger in a menacing tone. "Who sent you?" he asks. "Why are you here?" Instead of answering, the man, who's still laying face-down on the nursery floor, starts chuckling in response.
A few seconds later he says plainly, "You'll never know."
Clearly dissatisfied with that answer, Draco flicks his wand and shouts "CRUCIO!" loudly. Immediately, the man starts writhing in agony, clearly in the most horrible pain he's ever experienced in his life. Draco and Lucius, who has just crossed the room to stand next to his son during the interrogation, seem unaffected by the man's condition, and Draco keeps him under the Cruciatus Curse for what seems like a lifetime. The man cries out in anguish, begging for the torture to stop. Skylar is frightened by all the noise and stops drinking his bottle, choosing to cry loudly instead. I, however, barely hear him; my eyes and mind are focused on the squirming stranger on the floor suffering Draco's wrath.
Though I understand why Draco is torturing the man, this is the first time I've seen him use an unforgiveable curse, and it's thoroughly shocking. Furthermore, this is the first time I've seen the Cruciatus Curse used; its effects are truly as horrific as I've learned in school. Though I was terrified of him only moments ago, I start to pity the man, and find it impossible to pry my eyes away from his terrified face. Narcissa, who'd been standing just inside the nursery door until this point, senses my uneasiness.
"Draco, stop!" she cries. Draco and Lucius appear not to have heard her; they simply continue staring down watching the man on the floor writhe in pain. Narcissa yells loudly, "That's enough!", but her husband and son remain oblivious to her pleas. Finally, she crosses the room and places a hand on Draco's shoulder and shakes him violently. "For Merlin's sake, Draco!" she yells as she continues to shake him, "STOP RIGHT THIS INSTANT! Do you even realize what this is doing to Jayde? You're frightening her!"
At the mention of my name, Draco ends the stranger's torture and both he and Lucius automatically turn their heads in my direction. Noticing the look of horror that is etched upon my face, Draco softens his expression and walks back over to me. His now calm and peaceful demeanor eases my fears, and even Skylar is more at peace now that the stranger is no longer screaming in pain. When Draco's standing directly in front of me, he caresses the right side of my face with his left hand, and I find myself amazed at just how quickly he can transform from angry, protective torturer to loving, caring father and husband. "I'm sorry, love," he says softly. "I shouldn't have done that in front of you; my anger got the better of me. Please, go downstairs with Mother and Skylar while Father and I finish up here."
Before I can respond to his request, the imprisoned man on the floor speaks up, drawing everyone's attention to him. "Please, no more!" he says, sounding much more weak and much less confident now than he did a moment ago. "I'll tell you everything!" he continues, "Just please, no more torture!"
"All right then," Lucius replies, immediately taking the man up on his offer. "Who are you?"
"Davies! Ralph Davies!" the man replies instantly.
"And why are you here? Who sent you?" Draco asks. The strange man called Davies replies much more hesitantly this time, but answers nonetheless.
"Our leader… Gr… Greyback," he finally stutters.
"Filthy werewolf scum!" Lucius says with a snarl, before spitting on the stranger. I suddenly remember the various details about the man that had frightened me; his torn and bloodly clothes and his pointy teeth, and Narcissa and I both gasp at the realization that mine and Skylar's assailant was a werewolf. Draco, however, seems too curious to be shocked right now, and continues questioning the man.
"And what does Greyback want with my wife and child?" he asks, anger and frustration evident in his tone. "This is the second time your kind have invaded Malfoy Manor since Jayde arrived," he continues, "Why?"
"I don't know!" werewolf Davies replies, "All I know is that Greyback sent me on this mission… said it was top secret and that I couldn't fail him. He sent me to find out if the Malfoy child had been born, and to try and take it. He's been obsessing over it for months; ever since he got word that there was a Nimbimagus in town and she was having young Malfoy's child. The first invasion was purely for information; he said he had to be sure it was the right Nimbimagus." My eyebrows furrow at this statement, and I look up to see the same expression on Narcissa's face. Draco and Lucius, however, remain un-fazed.
"But why is it so important to him?" Lucius asks angrily.
"I told you, I don't know!" the stranger replies pleadingly, "He won't tell a soul!" An eerie silence follows this statement, which Draco interrupts a moment later to ask another question.
"How did you get in the house?" he asks.
"Through the window," the werewolf replies.
"And how did you get onto the grounds?" Lucius asks in response.
"Apparated," the stranger replies simply.
"You're lying!" Lucius yells at the man. "It is impossible to apparate into or out of the Manor grounds; they're protected by an enchantment with a password which only myself and the Ministry have access to. And the gates and Floo network are protected as well." At this, the werewolf chuckles again.
"You think that's going to stop Fenrir?", he asks. "He's got someone in the Ministry… someone high up in the Auror office. He had him lift the enchantments so I could get in." Seeming enraged, Lucius asks the man to tell him the name of Greyback's accomplice. "Starts with an 'S'… Savage! Yeah, that's it; Savage!" the man replies. Lucius, seeming rather pleased with himself, smirks in response.
"Well as soon as I'm finished with you, I promise you your comrade will be next," he says menacingly. Then he raises his wand to cast a spell, but Draco stops him.
"Wait, father!" he cries, "There's something else we need to know." Seeming a bit perturbed but also curious, Lucius lowers his wand. "Greyback," Draco continues, "Does he have any more attacks planned?"
"How could he?" the werewolf replies, "I'm the last one left of the whole pack! And if there's one thing I do know about Fenrir Greyback, it's that he's not going to take on any of the dangerous jobs himself; he loves his life of feeding off the weak too much to risk it."
"Good," Lucius says to Draco. "We'll just take care of him and then get this whole 'Savage' situation taken care of, and then we won't have to worry about this 'Greyback' business any longer." Draco breathes a quiet sigh of relief at this, and then turns to face me.
"Come on love," he says gently, "Let's get you and Skylar out of here." He wraps an arm around my waist and starts guiding me from the nursery back to our bedroom.
Almost immediately after Draco closes the door behind us, I hear Lucius yell "Avada Kedavra" from the next room, and I can't help but wince at the thought that my almost Father-In-Law has just killed someone. Draco senses my uneasiness and pulls me close to him.
"It's all right, darling," he says sweetly, "We don't have to worry about this anymore; you heard the man… Greyback's not going to try anything else." I feel comforted by Draco's words as we walk over to our bed and have a seat, but I can't fight the feeling that the worst is yet to come.
Author's Note: Well, the second book is now officially finished. I was hoping to have the first chapter of the third book up by now, but it's still not quite finished. The book's title will be "Amortentia's Aftermath". If you'd like me to PM you when it is posted, let me know in a review! Thank you all SO much for your continued support and feedback, and I really hope you've enjoyed it! I hope to see you all in book 3!