DISCLAIMER: I don't own Harry Potter or any of the characters, places, etc that you may recognize. I make zero dollars.

Cataclysmic Bonds

Chapter 1: Demon in the Dark

**WARNING: Child abuse**

The screams woke them from a sound sleep. Wand drawn, Lucius Malfoy rushed to his son's room. His fierce little boy, lay twisted in his silk sheets. The young boy was curled up in a ball cradling his arm to his chest.

"Draco? What is it son?"

Tears streaming down his face, young Draco replied, "It hurts. He broke it. Why did the bad man hurt her?"

"Her? Who hurt who? Did someone hurt you?"

Narcissa had followed her husband into Draco's room. She sat on the edge of Draco's bed and reached for his arm.

"Let me look Dragon. Let's see your arm."

She gently pulled the sleeve of his pajama's up, revealing flawless, unblemished skin.

"There now. See? It isn't broken Love."

Draco crawled into his mother's lap and held onto her tightly.

"Not me Mummy. The mean man hurt that little girl. The one I saw in my dream."

"In your dream? It's just a bad dream Sweetheart. No one has been hurt."

Draco began to sob harder.

"But it is real. He did hurt her. And then he left her all alone in the dark room again. He said it was her punishment for crying. She needs help Mummy. Can we help her? Please?"

Lucius watched as he tried to calm his racing heart. He should be relieved it was only a nightmare. But the conviction in Draco's tone made him wonder if it was something more. There was no doubt whatsoever in Draco's mind that what he saw had happened. Gently carding his fingers through Draco's fine, platinum hair he tried to soothe his son.

"Draco. Can you tell me exactly what happened?"

"Will you help her?"

"I will do my best. But you have to calm down and tell me what happened Draco."

Narcissa looked at her husband, her eyes questioning. She rubbed Draco's back as he took a few shuddering breaths, trying to calm himself.

Draco was relieved his Daddy would help. His Daddy would take care of her. He would find her and teach that mean man a lesson. His Daddy was a strong, powerful wizard.

"Ok. She was in the dark room again. Her tummy hurt because she was hungry. But the man hadn't let her out of the room all day. She started crying. It wasn't loud. But the man heard her."

"He opened the door and started yelling at her to be quiet. She begged him for food. But he said she didn't deserve to eat. The man turned to leave and she grabbed his pant leg. He stopped, grabbed her by the arm and lifted her up. He yelled at her not to touch him."

"He called her a demon and shook her around before he threw her away. She hit the floor hard. Her arm made a loud funny noise, and it hurt her really badly. The man didn't care. He told her at least now she had something to cry about. Then he left her all alone again in the dark room."

"Is this the first time you have seen her Draco?"

He shook his head.

"No. Sometimes she is just lonely and scared. She doesn't like the dark. Bad things happen in the dark."

"It's ok Draco. I will look into it ok? Just do me one favor. If you dream anymore about her, come tell me ok?"

"Ok Daddy. I will."

Yawning, he allowed his mother to tuck him back into bed. His eyes closed and his breathing evened out. Exiting the room, Narcissa took one last look at her sleeping Dragon.

Taking her husband's arm, they headed back to their room. He was lost in his thoughts.

"What are you thinking my Love?"

"What if it wasn't just a nightmare? How would he even think to dream about something so violent? What if it's something else?"

"Like what? Seers do not run in either of our families. And it would be quite impossible for him to be one. He has never shown any signs before. It was just a nightmare. He has a very active imagination, you know that."

Lucius nodded his head absently. He couldn't shake the feeling that it was something else though. He thought about it until the first rays of the sun shone through the window.

Days passed, and the incident was all but forgotten. That is until his son found him in his study early one morning. It was easy to see Draco had just risen. His hair was all mused, still in his night clothes. His little fists rubbed his eyes as he crawled up in Lucius's lap.

"Daddy. You said to come to you if I saw her again. I did."

Lucius was briefly puzzled before it clicked. He was speaking of the girl from his nightmare. It was unlikely that his five year old son was making up such a story.

"What happened this time son?"

Draco looked up at his father. His eyes serious as he tells him what he dreamed.

"She's scared. She was starving. Her magic unlocked the door and she snuck out to get something to eat. The man caught her. He tried to hit her and her magic blasted him away. She didn't do it on purpose. She can't help it. She's like me when my magic causes accidents."

"She's a witch?"

"Yes Daddy."

Lucius rubbed his son's back soothingly.

"Is that all that happened?"

"No. The man yelled a lot. He said he needed to force the demon out of her. He locked her back in the room and told her he was going to see a man about exercise. Why would he go see a man about exercise?"

"Exercise? Do you mean Exorcism?"

"Yes. That's what he said. What's that mean?"

To say Lucius was convinced it wasn't just a dream any longer was an understatement. The questions remained though. Why was his son dreaming about this girl? If she was real, where was she? He decided to call Severus.

"Nothing you need to worry about Draco. Now. Shouldn't you be getting dressed and having breakfast? your friends will be over this afternoon."

"Yes sir."

He slid off his father's lap and padded to the door. He stopped, looked back at his father who was lost in his thoughts. Draco was assured his Daddy would help the girl. He exited the room knowing he had done what he needed to. Now he could enjoy the time with his mates

XXXX

The girl opened her eyes. The room was mostly dark, just a small sliver of light under the door that let her know day had come. She wasn't sure exactly what her Uncle had planned for her. But she was sure it wasn't good. He was very angry with her after the accident last night.

Flashback

She didn't know how the door had unlocked but she was too hungry to not take the risk. She tried to be as quiet as she could. Her Uncle had fallen asleep in front of the telly again. She crept on tiptoe to the kitchen.

She silently opened the fridge. She knew she had to only take a little or he would notice. She reached for the plate that had piles of ham on it. She scrunched her nose at the sight of her dirty hands. But Uncle hadn't allowed her a bath yet this week. She glanced at the sink. Could she manage to wash her hands without waking him up?

Her stomach growled again. Better not risk it. She picked up a piece of ham and stuffed it in her mouth. Next she spied a bowl of pudding. She crept to the kitchen doorway and glanced into the living room. Uncle was still in his chair. She didn't think he had moved. She slowly opened the drawer to get a spoon. As she was closing it, the kitchen light clicked on.

"I know you aren't out of your room. And I know you aren't stealing my food."

She froze and the spoon clattered to the floor. She scrambled as far away from her Uncle as she could. Which wasn't too far considering the cabinet at her back. She stuttered her way through an apology.

"I-I-I'm sorry U-uncle. I don't know h-how the door o-opened. And I was awfully hun-ngry."

His face twisted into a sneer.

"And you thought you would help yourself to my food did you? Like you deserve to eat it?"

He stepped towards her.

"Demons don't deserve to eat. It's because of you my entire family is dead. Your demonic powers killed them. You should be grateful I took you in at all."

"Y-yes Uncle. I-I am."

He seemed content with her answer for a moment. Then his eyes narrowed.

"What all did you steal?"

"Nothing. Nothing Uncle."

He glanced at the open fridge door then back at her.

"I don't believe you. Don't lie to me!"

"I-I ...it was only a small piece of ham. I swear that's it!"

He growled at her, a sure sign of the impending explosion of anger. His grabbed her arm and drew back his hand to slap her. A bright burst of light came from her and blasted him back. She cowered beside the cabinet afraid of what had just happened. He picked himself up, grabbed her arm again and dragged her back to the room.

"Beating you doesn't work. Starving you doesn't work. I will force the demon out of you. Yeah. That will work. I should have done this after the first time your demonic powers showed."

He shoved her back in the room and closed the door. After he engaged the lock he slid a chair under the handle to make sure she couldn't get out.

"Don't get too comfy. I'm going to see a man about an exorcism."

The house fell silent as he left. She allowed the tears to fall. She didn't know what was going to happen. She prayed she could get out of here. She even promised she wouldn't use her demon powers if she could help it.

AUTHOR NOTES: Evil plot bunnies won't leave me alone. This is the start of a new story. As much as I tried to ignore it, it had to be written. As always. Read. Review.