:Grand Ballroom, 7 November:

Lucius entered and immediately saw the Dark Lord where he sat impatiently upon a hastily erected throne. His black cloak looked less pristine than other times and the general atmosphere was one of anger and frustration. Other Death Eaters, all wearing their masks, stood in a semi-circle around the room.

"Lucius," the hiss echoed across the floor and hit him square in the chest. The white haired man stepped into the opening. "Bring Julian back here, immediately."

"Of course, My Lord."

There was the unsaid understanding that the youth could destroy them all. Voldemort hated the idea that his concubine, his servant, could, in one interview, bring his entire life's work to the ground. Julian was not one to be betrayed though and now the Dark Lord realized this.

The evil leader nodded and then a smile came to his lips, "How is your daughter?"

"She is still too young to do anything My Lord."

"Perhaps…" The Dark Lord waved his hand and Lucius rejoined the group.

The masks, a sea of the exact same black-lipped faces, stared at him as he set his thoughts aside and stood. "My followers," he said and growled deep in his throat, "A new threat has arisen. Azriel Snow and Julian Malfoy are top priority. I will begin plans to draw the whore from hiding and into the open where we may kill him. Azriel will be more difficult, his inhuman side will not go so quietly. That is where the mercenaries will be of help to us…Call in the Death nymphs, tell them it is for a good cause."

A follower rushed to the fireplace and disappeared through green flames. Lucius looked at the fire and then the stone clock face. Camille would awaken soon to feed their daughter…she had outright refused the name and taken to calling her Heleen, Heleen Bidelia Malfoy.

The preliminary birth records had it this way and Lucius hated that. Heleen was a wretched, common name and soon enough it would be altered. As soon as Chael was born and the official records written up the names would be switched and his way will have prevailed.

"My Lord," the fire roared green as the follower stepped through, "Her Majesty the Queen of Death has agreed to come speak with you on such short notice."

Voldemort had not expected her to come and so he stood as the fire crept, like water, up the sides of the fire place until only a wall existed. Through it stepped a terrible demon of a woman. She had blackish grey scales and hands tipped by dangerous claws. Her eyes were yellow and the pupil was a vertical slit, touching the heavy lashes on either side.

"Dark Lord," she hissed, showing grand fangs. One hand was wrapped around a tall trident, the handle carved with demonic creatures, skulls and symbols that glowed as her hand touched them. "I hear there is work to be done."

"Yes, Akada'Nsha? Is that the name you used?"

She laughed and a sparkle of gray covered her until the merqueen stood before him, "They never suspected a thing."

He smiled back, a devious mastermind of evil, this one.

"Tell me," he walked towards her as she took on her nymph form again, "Do you have any objection to killing a half-breed?"

"Half breed what?" she asked though she knew the answer.

"Part Fire, part Ice, part human," he said and she cocked her head to the side, cracked her neck and smiled, showering her fangs again.

"Hunting such a thing will be nothing but fun, Lord, I assure you my hunters will find it most enjoyable."

"Good," he nodded, "I do hope you bring back his bleeding heart."

She leaned against her trident, "I have no greater wish than that. Now tell me," she brushed past him and into the centre, "Where is the whore these days?"

"Julian is on the Hogwarts grounds as well but I have plans for him. Focus your energy on the Night Snow."

Lucius thought perhaps he was the only one to see the slight narrowing of her eyes. "I do hope you did not just tell me what to do."

"I-"

"Killing the half-bred Night Snow is a favor, from the kindness of my heart and the fact that it serves my purposes as well," her trident struck the ground with a deafening thud. "If Julian's death is convenient I will kill him. Do not think, Voldemort, that you are the only ruler who commands a fearsome army."

He nodded, unwilling to press her temper further, "Of course, Dread Queen Roua, I would not dream of it."

She nodded. "I should return to my colony. Remember your place or your life will be mine as well," she said and ran her thumb over one of the skulls. The eyes glowed white with the ghosts of thousands dead.

The fire expanded and let her through but died immediately to a trio of glowing embers.

Immediately two men fell to the ground, dead.

"What?" the Death Eaters near them gasped and backed away.

"The price of her visit," Voldemort waved it off, "Someone get them out of here."

"What should we do with them?"

"Send them to Hogwarts, as a gift."

:Hogwarts School, 9 November:

"What's that?"

"What?"

"Where?"

"Oh my god."

"What is it?"

Kids were standing at windows, point at the lake and shouting for others to look as well. A small boat floated across the icy surface laden by a pair of dark, indistinguishable figures. Julian and Azriel stood at a window, hanging out to try and figure out what the shapes were. Julian was throwing out some ridiculous ideas and getting annoyed looks from the Lord.

"Male strippers come to tease us with an aquatic strip down?"

Azriel felt the urge to hurl him out the window, not a strong urge but it was there.

"Ooh, giant fish for a cookout?"

"No."

"Okay…flank steaks from a magically altered cow…for a cookout?'

"Stop thinking about food Julian."

"I'm sorry but I did miss lunch because of you."

"It is not my fault you got yourself locked in a broom closet."

"Yes it is, you locked me in there."

"I surely did not," Azriel shook his head and, unwilling to hear anymore, hopped out the fourth story window and levitated himself to the ground.

"Dammit," Julian wrinkled his nose at him, "You overgrown cat."

"I'm not a cat," he yelled up as Dumbledore exited the front doors with Snape, Narcissa and Violet on his heels.

"What's going on here?"

"I have a bad feeling about those, whatever they are," Narcissa stopped walking she even took a step away from them.

"Mrs. Malfoy, don't be paranoid, I'm sure it's just a-"

"No," she stopped the Head Master, "I will be whatever I want. Those are dark things…"she closed her eyes and shook her head, "They are evil."

"Really, Narcissa, this is hardly the time for-"

Severus levitated them from the boat and onto the shore. He drew back the cloak on one but immediately put it back, "Albus," he hissed and the old man walked over. Severus lifted the hood just enough so he could see the doll-like mask stuck on a pale and bloated corpse.

"Oh my word," Albus covered his mouth, "Children," he looked at the windows, "Go back to class," he ordered and they scattered from the windows. Julian rushed out the front doors, slightly pink and worried looking.

"Let me see them," he went to the bodies, removed the masks and identified them. "They are Andrew Iris and John Udise, non-ranked nobodies, jobless, wifeless, childless; alone in the world."

"Then why did he send them to us?"

Severus drew his wand away from them, "They were not poisoned nor was the Killing Curse used. They did die unnaturally but from what, I do not know."

Narcissa drew closer, "The Queen of Death."

"What?"

Narcissa shook her head, reminding her that death was controlled by no one. The woman-esque thing was not the Queen of Death. "She rules the Death Nymphs, an ancient race originally trapped in a state between being living and dead. Over time they have come to be real, living beings and now kill in order to grow their armies. Any killed by the Death Nymphs loose their soul to dark magic and are left to follow the Queen as a mindless soldier. The muggle story of zombies has evolved from them, the Dead Army. She has no use for these two and so left their bodies but took all life. Most likely, since they are Death Eaters, she has recently had a dealing with the Dark Lord and these were the toll of her compliance."

Snape nodded, "The meeting last night, the one I was not called to, Lucius said she came and killed. Apparently, she disguised herself as the queen of the lake's merpeople in order to get a look at the layout of the grounds as well as the students. Dumbledore, this is serious."

"Roua does not need knives or spells to kill, she needs only to see them," Narcissa said, "The lives of everyone in the school are at stake."

"No," Azriel snarled, "She is after my life. Nymphs hate half-breeds like me and the Dark Lord will want me dead as well. I will fight her, Roua is nothing but a bully, she did not earn her power, she inherited it."

"Did not you get your power the same way?" Dumbledore asked.

Azriel whirled around, showed his fangs and snarled at the Head Master, "I inherited my genetics but I chose this path and I have spent my life learning about what I can and cannot do. Do not dare compare to that false Queen, if you ever do it again, I'll rip out your throat and cook it in a stew."

The old man backed away quickly.

"Run off you old bat," his teeth flashed and the man began to leave.

"Azriel," Julian went to his side, "Was that such a good idea?"

"Best idea I have had in ages."

"He'll evict you though," Julian said with a frown.

"I'll roast him in a Hawaiian themed festival," Azriel countered.

"Stop it," Narcissa quieted them, "We must destroy those."

Julian pointed his wand at them, "Corpus Destruis," and they were gone.

She gave him a 'look', "I meant in a proper burial."

"Their souls are gone, what need have we of such formalities?"

She let it drop and walked with Severus back to the main building.

"A cat am I?" Azriel asked with a quirked eyebrow.

"An overgrown cat," Julian clarified and began his own march back to the castle.

"Why do you say that?"

"You purr, for starters," Julian said, "And when I think of a cat, I think of you."

"That does not mean I am a cat; that means you have strange association patterns."

"You are a cat," Julian smirked.

"I am no more a cat than you are an owl."

"I would be a Screech Owl, actually," Julian corrected him.

"Strange bird, aren't you?" The half-breed crossed his arms.

"As strange as one like me can be," the Malfoy answered, "Though, no stranger than you."

:Slytherin Common Room:

"She's so cute," Pansy tickled the baby.

"I know," Draco was sitting with her in his arms and Heleen squealed happily, loving the attention. "You're mummy may be a whore but I think you're adorable."

The baby laughed happily, not understanding a thing.

Harry playfully smacked his blonde but received a playful smile in return.

Blaise and Ron were on one couch sharing a large mug of tea. Hermione and Theo, sharing another mug of tea, were on the couch opposite them with Harry, Draco, Heleen and Pansy on the couch in between.

"A-bwa-bwa," Draco bounced her a little, "I want one just like you."

Heleen squawked and made a spit bubble.

"That's gross," Blaise said with a smile.

"So are you," Draco stuck out his tongue, "She's my half-sister and I think she's cute."

"You think Indigo is adorable too," Theo pointed out.

"She is gorgeous," Draco snapped. "I'm so sad she's not allowed at school."

"You shouldn't be allowed in school," Theo mumbled and Hermione had to cover her mouth so she would not spray tea all over.

"Oh, ha ha," Draco mocked him, "If I were you I would pay more attention to my girlfriend than my best friend."

Theo made a strange noise and said nothing.

Blaise smiled, "Witty thing, isn't he?"

"Quite," Ron agreed sarcastically.

"How in the world did you make it so no one would come through here…I mean…so we three could be here and meet Heleen?" Hermione came to sit on Draco's other side.

"Pansy," He answered and handed her the baby, "She's very good at locking people in and out of places."

"Oh."

"Indeed."

If you are unclear on the idea of Death Nymphs then say so and I'll explain it in a footnote at the end of the next chapter. If not then...don't worry about it.
I introduced Heleen Bidelia Malfoy, I imagine her as a really cute baby even is Lucius is her daddy. I mean, Draco turned out cute, right?
It's weird to think so much has happened in the story but it's still November...kind of strange. I'll start moving things towards the STORM BALL soon so we can see them dance and look gorgeous and snog all night. The Dark Lords plots will surface. Narcissa's intentions will become clear as well as the whole Julian/Azriel thing I find myself writing. I don't know if I want them to become just friends or more...do you guys want me to continue pairing everyone up or are they okay as friends?

THANK YOU SO MUCH!
You are all so amazing, I've said it before but I'll say it again: I LOOOOOVE YOU!

LOVE
FireStorm