Well, everyone seemed to want some more, so I wrote some more. And, as I hope you can see through this chapter, I'm attempting to change the face of the Malfoy's slightly to my readers - I don't find it probable that an entire family can be evil for absolutely no discernable reason. That's why Remus isn't evil, whereas Lucius is… it's a personal choice. Plus you still need a reason. I'm hoping to answer a lot of questions from the book's for myself with this fiction, which is why it will be rather strange to some people.

Disclaimer: The world, Lucius Malfoy and Remus Lupin belong to J.K. Rowling. Alexander, Ariadne, Roxane, Archibald and Cassius all belong to myself. If you really want to use them, (which I sincerely doubt) just send me an email. I'll probably let you, so I wouldn't worry. St. Mungo's belongs to JK too. And the quote at the beginning comes from Chapter Ten of "The Enchanted Wood" by Enid Blyton - a book I know for certain was around in this time frame. :)

If you find any errors in this story, through grammar or spelling, or anything else, please tell me in your review. So, read and review, and I will be very happy! And quite possibly write more… even though I'll do that anyway, I might take longer this way.

Enjoy the story!

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Chapter One

Not An Heir

July 17th 1959, 5:08pm

"So Jo, dressed in his little bearskin, and looking just like a little white bear himself, crept off over the ice and snow, not seen by anyone. He ran as soon as he thought he was out of sight. But he met nobody; not a soul was to be seen. Only a lonely seal lay on a shelf of ice, but even he dived below as soon as he saw him…"

As her son squirmed in her lap restlessly, Ariadne Malfoy noticed an owl fluttering at the window. Her eyes brightened and she slid Lucius onto the sofa, standing and hurrying to the window to let the owl in from the heat. She recognised the crest it wore immediately. Pouring some water into a dish for the owl, she raced towards her husband's study.

Alexander looked up from his work to see his wife standing breathlessly in the doorway. "Yes, dear?" he questioned, a tired tone to his voice, and Ariadne held out the letter she held in her hand, an excited smile reflected in her steel-blue eyes. Curious, he opened the envelope and pulled from it a thick piece of parchment. "St. Mungos?" he asked his wife, and she nodded, motioning for him to continue.

Alexander read the letter aloud:

"Dear Mr. Alexander Malfoy and Family,

We are pleased to announce the birth of a grandson to yourself and your wife, born 17/07/1959, at exactly 5:01pm. His weight was 8lb. 6oz. and he was born with brown hair and hazel eyes.

His name has been decided by his father, Archibald Lupin, to be named after his father, and secondly after your own, by the mother Roxane Malfoy.

We congratulate you on the birth of the newest addition to your family, Remus James Lupin, and we invite you to visit us at your leisure.

Yours truly,

The Staff at St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies, Injuries and other Medical Conditions."

"Remus James Lupin," Ariadne smiled to herself, dreaming of her new grandson. "It's a good name. Roxane chose well."

"Didn't you hear a word I read?" Alexander looked irritated. "First grandson in this family, and not an heir! Named after a fool like all the Lupin's… should never have allowed Roxane to go around marrying a Ministry idiot like that, who knows nothing about the world. She'll live to regret it, I'll put my word on that!"

Ariadne reached out and placed a calming hand on her husband's arm. "Settle yourself, Alexander. We should be grateful to have any grandchildren at all, what with all the trouble that's stirring up in the world." She sighed heavily, and sank down into a nearby chair. "And I was foolish enough to think that everything had been solved with the destruction of Grindelwald."

Alexander knelt in front of her; determination set in his face. "I promise you, Ariadne, that the Malfoy's will become a respectable family once more. And I won't try to take the easy way out this time." He smiled at his wife, and she found herself able to believe his words. "I swear on our marriage, on our family, and on our lives. I will not be tempted."

"I believe you." Taking his face in her hands, she kissed her husband softly and felt his arms wrap around her tightly. She broke the kiss and stared deeply into his hazel eyes. "I think Remus has your eyes, my love."

He laughed and gazed at his wife mockingly. "Well, then we're assured that he's a true Malfoy, are we not?"

"Eyes are the window to the soul, some people say."

Alexander stood and held his arms open wide, a grin on his aged face. "Then I doth proclaim it thus: Remus James Lupin is a Malfoy, be not in name. He is not an heir, but shall be the greatest Malfoy that ever lived!" Dropping back to his wife's side, he kissed her cheek quickly. "Best reply to this letter, then I'll ask Lucius what he thinks about a trip to the zoo for tomorrow."

Ariadne was left sitting in the study, contentment evident in her entire body. She sighed as she thought of how this day would go down in history for the Malfoy family. "The day when Remus Lupin was born, and the day when I regained hope. Grindelwald was nearly the end of this family once, and I won't let anything - or anyone - else tear us apart." The sincerity of Alexander's words reappeared in her memory and she closed her eyes to think of the future. I believe you, Alex. I believe you.

***

"Sister Roxane?"

A tall, slim girl of only twenty turned in her chair to face her younger brother, and she balanced her child in her lap as she smiled at him. "Good evening, Lucius. How was your day today?"

Lucius grinned broadly. "Smashing! Father took me to the zoo and I got to see the seals and the giraffes and the big lion! It was excellent!"

Roxane smiled happily. "It sounds simply wonderful, Lucius." She lent in closely to the small boy and whispered conspiratorially: "Whenever I went to the zoo, I made it a point of seeing the otters. They were always my favourite. But don't tell Cassius - he was more of a hyena man himself." Lucius giggled and stared at the baby who had just begun to awaken. She followed his gaze and held the child out to her brother. "Would you like to hold your nephew, Lucius?"

He nodded quickly, and Roxane moved over to let him sit on the couch. "He's a little heavy, so it might be better if you sat down." Lucius climbed onto the lounge, and then outstretched his arms, ready to hold Remus in them. Roxane placed the child in her brother's hands and stood, watching for a moment as Lucius adjusted to the weight. "I'm going to go get a drink? You want anything?" Lucius shook his head, and stared after his sister as she left the room.

Gazing down at the now-calm face of his nephew, Lucius felt a strange feeling overcome him. The boy heard a voice speaking in his head, and this voice made him angry. He will destroy you… it whispered, and Lucius felt his scalp grow hot as he listened to the stories it told him. With him, you will fail in the eyes of everyone around you. Without him, you will be glorified and will stand beside me as a ruler of the entire magical world. He shook his head, feeling hot tears spring to his eyes. What was this voice asking him? You will never get a better chance than this one, Lucius Malfoy. Do it now or regret it forevermore.

"I don't understand," Lucius sobbed as he sat there, trying to fight the urge that threatened to overcome his being. "Who are you? Why are you here?"

Kill him. He is weak and without protection. Kill him now.

"No!" Lucius pushed the baby out of his lap and raced from the room, running down the long hallways, trying desperately to find someone who could help him fight the monster in the living room. As he hurried around one corner he bumped into a tall figure and fell backwards to the ground. Lucius' sobs grew louder and the shadow reached down to lift him up, shushing him softly.

"Lucius, it's alright. Just a bump on your head, or so I'm guessing. You should know not to race around these halls in the dark."

As light fell over his rescuer's face, he recognised it immediately. "Cassius!" he exclaimed thankfully. "You have to come with me! Someone was trying to hurt Remus!"

Cassius looked doubtful. "Are you sure this wasn't just another one of your nightmares, Lou?"

The small boy shook his head vehemently. "It was someone inside my head. They told me I should kill Remus because he was going to hurt me. I got scared and wanted Mother but I found you instead." Cassius smiled reassuringly at his young brother, but his mind was whirling with possibilities. Is this not what we learnt of at school, of Dark Wizards that could infiltrate minds in mysterious ways? Still, Lucius is but a child and might have been imagining things. He emerged from his reverie to see Lucius looking at him rather impatiently. "Well, are we going to go and save Remus or not?!"

The man nodded. "Of course. He is a Malfoy, and well-deserving of all the aid we can give."

Lucius puffed out his chest proudly. "Then let's go!" He ran back towards the living room, and Cassius found himself struggling to keep up. I guess a few years without Quidditch weren't a good choice for me. I've developed a Ministry paunch, just like all Government officials. With an inward smirk, Cassius hurried after Lucius as fast as he could.

When he arrived, out of breath, he saw Roxane berating Lucius rather heavily. "Lucius, what were you doing?! Anything might have happened to Remus while you were off roaming the halls, doing whatever!" Roxane glanced up to see Cassius, and a knowing look replaced the irritation on her face. "Oh, I see. Obviously you're involved with this also, aren't you?"

Cassius shook his head. "Yes and no. But please stop blaming Lucius - he was scared, so he ran to find Mother."

"Mother?" Roxane looked unconvinced. "And why exactly did he need Mother? I only left him for a moment or two."

"Well, obviously long enough for him to hear a voice in his head - not to mention one who tried to persuade him to hurt your son. He did the right thing in seeking one of us out."

Roxane looked shocked. She stared at Lucius in disbelief. "What happened? What did they say?"

Lucius started to cry once more, and Cassius placed an arm around him defensively. The boy pushed his hand away and ran out of the room once more. Cassius sighed. "Something about Remus becoming a threat to Lucius when he was older, or that's about as much as I could discern. Lucius seemed pretty upset."

"Remus? A threat? How could he possibly be a threat to Lucius if he isn't an heir?" Roxane shook her head, perturbed. "Are you sure he didn't just imagine it?"

"I really don't know. Either way, maybe it's better to keep Remus in your wing to yourself for a little while. Or at least while Lucius is around. Once he's at school, Mother and yourself will have the days to yourself."

"Are you sure? I don't know if putting myself under house arrest…"

Cassius put his hand on her shoulder. "Anything's better than upsetting Lucius. He may be small, but he's got plenty of pull in this household - a lot more than we did when we were young. But those were the days when children were rarely seen and never heard, weren't they?"

Roxane smiled at the memory. "Father really hated us half the time, didn't he? Not that I blame him, with us running around all summer like crazed lunatics!"

Cassius smothered a laugh. "We were struck by a little moon-madness, I believe - we were like werewolves, calm half the time and insane the rest."

A cool shudder came over Roxane at these words and she remembered Lucius' ordeal. "Do you think someone might've been speaking to Lucius through his mind - trying to make him kill Remus?"

"It's possible. Mother told me about Dark Wizards who were capable of such things - and there's always the Imperious Curse to watch out for."

"But… the Imperious Curse… it's…!"

Cassius nodded. "I know. It's a big price to pay, but I doubt that anything happened. Probably just Lucius' imagination running away with him, or a 'day-mare' of some sort. Children are unusual creatures."

Roxane clutched Remus closer to her at this comment, and kissed him softly on the head to comfort herself. "Yes, they are," she murmured, before taking her leave and retiring to her quarters. She never told anyone about the voice she heard in her own head that night, but it echoed in her mind for many years to come.

Don't worry… you can't protect him forever.

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